Are rift valleys oceanic or continental?
On Earth, rifts can occur at all elevations, from the sea floor to plateaus and mountain ranges in continental crust or in oceanic crust. They are often associated with a number of adjoining subsidiary or co-extensive valleys, which are typically considered part of the principal rift valley geologically.
What is the difference between rift valleys and oceanic ridges?
The major difference between different types is what type of plate the divergent boundary is between. If the boundary is found between two continental plates you are left with a rift valley. If two oceanic plates begin moving away from each other it creates a mid-oceanic ridge.
What occurs in the rift valleys and oceanic ridges?
As tectonic plates move away from one another at mid-ocean ridges, molten rock from the mantle may well up and harden as it contacts the frigid sea, forming new oceanic crust at the bottom of the rift valley.
How are continental rift valleys formed?
Rift valleys are formed by the movement of plate tectonics; moreover, plate tectonics are formed when tectonic plates separate or move apart from each other. When these plates separate, they move in opposite directions at divergent plate boundaries.
What is a continental rift valley?
A rift valley is a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift. Rift valleys are found both on land and at the bottom of the ocean, where they are created by the process of seafloor spreading.
How are continental rifts and mid-ocean ridges similar?
The topography of mid-ocean ridge and continental rift shows similarities because of the thermostatic uplift of the plate formation and cooling when the plate moves across the ocean.
What is the relationship between a rift valley and a mid-ocean ridge?
Mid-Ocean Ridges Over millions of years, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has formed rift valleys as wide as 15 kilometers (9 miles). In the Pacific Ocean, the East Pacific Rise has created rift valleys where the Pacific plate is separating from the North American plate, Cocos plate, Nazca plate, and Antarctic plate.
What is one way that continental rifts are similar to mid-ocean ridges?
What causes continental rifting?
Rifting can be caused when hot material from a mantle plume reaches the base of a continental plate and causes the overlying lithosphere to heat up. In addition to this the uwards movement of the plume against the base of the plate results in extensional forces, which can cause rifting.
Is a rift valley convergent or divergent?
Areas where plates are colliding form convergent boundaries, and areas where plates are expanding create divergent boundaries. Rift valleys are formed by divergent boundaries that involve continental plates.
What is the major difference between oceanic continental convergence and oceanic oceanic convergence?
Continental plates are much thicker that Oceanic plates. At the convergent boundaries the continental plates are pushed upward and gain thickness. The rocks and geological layers are much older on continental plates than in the oceanic plates. The Continental plates are much less dense than the Oceanic plates.
What is continental rift zones and mid-ocean ridges?
Continental rift zones occur in weak spots in the continental lithospheric plate. A mid-ocean ridge usually originates in a continental plate as a rift zone that expands to the point of splitting the plate apart, with seawater filling in the gap.