2. At diverging plate boundaries of oceanic-oceanic plates , magma rises from the mantle to fill the gap between the plates as they move apart. When two oceanic plates diverge , a mid-oceanic ridge is formed.
2.1. Example: Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean , which was formed when the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate moved away from each other.
3. Are areas where two plates move away from each other.
4. Divergent plate boundaries can be found at oceanic-oceanic plate boundaries and continental-continental plate boundaries.
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q4Yqctq6nE
6. Diverging plates can cause continental to break up. When plates diverge or move apart , they are stretched , causing fractures to form at the plate boundary. Therefore , the land in between the two continental crusts sink , forming a linear depression know as rift valley.
6.1. Example : The East Rift Valley was formed as a result of two continental plates moving away from each other . This involves the Nubian boundary of the African Plate moving away from the Somalian boundary of the African Plate .
7. New sea floor is formed , Mid-Atlantic Ridge is formed.
7.1. At divergent boundaries, two plates move apart from each other and the space that this creates is filled with new crustal material sourced from molten magma that forms below.The hot spot which may have initiated the Mid-Atlantic Ridge system currently underlies Iceland which is widening at a rate of a few centimeters per year.
8. Rift Valley is formed , number of active volcanoes and earthquakes fractures found.