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List one real life example of divergent plate boundary?

User Jagat Dave
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Final answer:

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a real-life example of a divergent plate boundary where the tectonic plates are moving apart, creating new oceanic crust from molten basaltic lava. Another example on land is the East African Rift. Most divergent boundaries are found in ocean basins and are associated with shallow earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Step-by-step explanation:

A real-life example of a divergent plate boundary is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is an underwater mountain range that extends through the Atlantic Ocean, formed by the movement of the Eurasian and North American plates in the North Atlantic, and the African and South American plates in the South Atlantic, moving away from each other. Molten basaltic lava rises from the mantle to fill the space created, forming new oceanic crust. Additionally, the East African Rift is a divergent boundary on land, where the African continent is actively splitting into separate plates.

Divergent plate boundaries are primarily found in the ocean basins, and they exhibit shallow earthquakes and some volcanic activity. The mid-ocean ridges are typically offset by numerous transform faults due to the different rates at which the mantle's convection currents cause segments of the ridge to spread apart. These transform faults accommodate the differing spreading rates along the ridge, resulting in a zigzag pattern along the divergent boundary.

User Edward Tshifaro
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