The Atlantic Ocean is currently getting wider at the mid-Atlantic Ridge, a divergent plate boundary that pushes the Old and New Worlds apart at a rate of around 2.5cm per year.

At divergent boundaries in the oceans, magma from deep in the Earth's mantle rises toward the surface and pushes apart two or more plates. Mountains and volcanoes rise along the seam.

Divergent Boundary Also known as spreading boundary, a divergent boundary occurs where two plates move apart, allowing magma, or molten rock, to rise from the Earth's interior to fill in the gap.

New crust is continually being pushed away from divergent boundaries (where sea-floor spreading occurs), increasing Earth's surface. But the Earth isn't getting any bigger. What happens, then, to ...

When they grind past each other, it's called a transform plate boundary, which can cause earthquakes. When they move away from each other, it's known as a divergent boundary, where lava spews out ...