iceland lies on the rift plate boundary.
iceland lies on the rift plate boundary.
what type of plate boundary does iceland lie on?
rift
divergent boundary









































in plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts which eventually become rift valleys. most active divergent plate boundaries occur between oceanic plates and exist as mid-oceanic ridges. divergent boundaries also form volcanic islands which occur when the plates move apart to produce gaps which molten lava rises to fill.
divergent boundary
where plate boundaries occur within the continental lithosphere, deformation is spread out over a much larger area than the plate boundary itself. in the case of the san andreas fault continental transform, many earthquakes occur away from the plate boundary and are related to strains developed within the broader zone of deformation caused by major irregularities in the fault trace (e.g., the "big bend" region). the northridge earthquake was associated with movement on a blind thrust within such a zone. another example is the strongly oblique convergent plate boundary between the arabian and eurasian plates where it runs through the northwestern part of the zagros mountains. the deformation associated with this plate boundary is partitioned into nearly pure thrust sense movements perpendicular to the boundary over a wide zone to the southwest and nearly pure strike-slip motion along the main recent fault close to the actual plate boundary itself. this is demonstrated by earthquake focal mechanisms.
earthquake