Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

 

part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Atlantic Ocean. Extending for 7,500 km from the Reykjanes Ridge (approximately 52° N lat.) to the Chain Fracture Zone near the equator, the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge reaches a maximum width of 1,500 km. The greatest extremes of relief (up to 5.5 km) occur in the rift zone, which is a set of echelonlike, fairly short, sharply outlined ridges separated by rift valleys. The Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge is intersected by numerous transverse faults, which are manifested by narrow horst ridges and overdeepened depressions. The greatest depth of this zone of the ocean floor (7,758 m) is at one of the depressions, the Romanche Fracture Zone.