19/05/2026
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Almannagjá Gorge
This is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Where visitors stands between the two tectonic plates.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is geologically significant because it marks the boundary where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet and separate. Volcanic eruptions at this boundary create new ocean floor and at the same time, push the two tectonic plates apart at rates of 1 cm to 20 cm per year, a process known as sea-floor spreading. As oceanic plates move apart, rock melts and wells up from tens of kilometres deep, producing enormous volcanic eruptions of basalt, and building the longest chain of volcanoes in the world.
The place where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is best visible is at Thingvellir National Park, in southwestern Iceland. The continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks or faults which traverse the region, the largest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable canyon.
