What happens at a divergent plate boundary?
1 Answer
The plates divergent or move apart.
Explanation:
A divergent boundary is a place where the convection currents in the mantle move upwards. This upwelling of magma splits and push the earth's crust apart.
Divergent boundaries occur at the mid ocean ridges. Here fresh lava reaches the surface, creating underseas mountains, volcanos that sometimes reach the surface as in Iceland. New crust is formed at the mid ocean ridges separating into two different tectonic plates.
Rift valleys like that of East Africa are also thought be be caused by divergent plate boudoirs. A rift valley is a place where the crust is splitting apart. The weak spot in the crust caused by the movement of mantle under neath causes new oceans and lakes to from along the divergent boundary. Also volcanos are formed like Mount Kenya.
At a divergent boundary the plates move apart from each other as fresh magma rises to the surface to create new crustal material.
