

Along these boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth's mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust.Īlso, what happens at a divergent plate tectonic boundary quizlet? Occurs where 2 tectonic plates separate and create new land. New crust is formed at the mid ocean ridges separating into two different tectonic plates.īesides, what occurs at a divergent plate boundary?Ī divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Divergent boundaries occur at the mid ocean ridges.


This upwelling of magma splits and push the earth's crust apart. Each eruption occurs in only a part of the plate boundary at any one time, but when it does occur, it fills in the opening gap as the two opposing plates move away from each other.A divergent boundary is a place where the convection currents in the mantle move upwards. This supplies the area with vast amounts of heat and a reduction in pressure that melts rock from the asthenosphere beneath the rift area forming large flood basalt or lava flows. Divergent boundaries also form volcanic islands which occur when the plates move apart to produce gaps which molten lava rises to fill.Ĭurrent research indicates that complex convection within the Earth's mantle allows material to rise to the base of the lithosphere beneath each divergent plate boundary. Most active divergent plate boundaries occur between oceanic plates and exist as mid-oceanic ridges. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts which produce rift valleys. In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Because of this, rocks closest to a boundary are younger than rocks further away on the same plate.įreebase (4.10 / 10 votes) Rate this definition: Over millions of years, tectonic plates may move many hundreds of kilometers away from both sides of a divergent plate boundary. Each eruption occurs in only a part of the plate boundary at any one time, but when it does occur, it fills in the opening gap as the two opposing plates move away from each other. This supplies the area with vast amounts of heat and a reduction in pressure that melts rock from the asthenosphere (or upper mantle) beneath the rift area, forming large flood basalt or lava flows.

Divergent boundaries also form volcanic islands, which occur when the plates move apart to produce gaps that molten lava rises to fill.Ĭurrent research indicates that complex convection within the Earth's mantle allows material to rise to the base of the lithosphere beneath each divergent plate boundary. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which eventually become rift valleys. In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Wikipedia (2.00 / 1 vote) Rate this definition:
