Középatlantihátság

Középatlantihátság, also known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, is an oceanic ridge located in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a divergent tectonic plate boundary where the North American and Eurasian plates are pulling apart, and the South American and African plates are also separating. This geological feature stretches for approximately 16,000 kilometers from the Arctic Ocean to the coast of Antarctica, making it the longest mountain range on Earth.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is characterized by a rift valley at its crest, where volcanic activity is prevalent. New oceanic crust is continuously formed as magma rises from the Earth's mantle, cools, and solidifies. This process is known as seafloor spreading. The ridge is not a uniform mountain range; it is segmented by transform faults, which are areas where plates slide past each other horizontally.

Hydrothermal vents are common along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These vents release superheated, mineral-rich water into the surrounding ocean, supporting unique ecosystems of chemosynthetic organisms. These ecosystems are of significant interest to scientists studying the origins of life and the potential for life in extreme environments. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge plays a crucial role in plate tectonics and the Earth's geological evolution.