Divergent Plate Boundaries

Divergent Plate Boundaries

Divergent plate boundaries occur when tectonic plates move away from each other. While they are most commonly found in the oceans, they can also occur on land, creating dramatic geological features. A well-known example is the East African Rift, where the African cont...

A divergent plate boundary on a continent is a tectonic boundary where two continental plates slowly move apart due to convection currents in the Earth's mantle.

As heat from the mantle rises, it causes the overlying crust to stretch and weaken, eventually forming deep fractures known as faults.

As the crust continues to thin, its la...