Right now I’m in Iceland at the latitude 64° 8’4.27″N and longitude 21°53’43.62″W. Iceland has a divergent boundary. A divergent boundary is when two plates are heading in opposite directions away from each other. Iceland is one of the few places where a divergent boundary is above sea level. Most divergent boundaries are in the sea and cause volcanic material to be brought to the surface and then it forms a new ocean floor. However, in Iceland, there is a divergent boundary between the North American plate and the Eurasian plate. They are moving away from each other at a rate of about 2 centimeters every year. This causes volcanic material to be brought to the surface in Iceland. There was so much volcanic material being brought to the surface at one point that an island was created/formed (Iceland). So, because of this divergent boundary, Iceland actually has a lot of volcanoes (for example the Eldfell Volcano). On April 14, 2010, the Eyjaföll volcano in Iceland exploded and caused a huge cloud of ash to travel across the UK causing widespread disruption. Iceland also has lots of earthquakes because of this divergent boundary. In fact in the last 48 hours Iceland has had about 15 minor earthquakes.
Here I am with a group of people and we are actually walking on the boundary between the North American plate (on our right) and the Eurasian plate (on our left). 
earthsciencetravels 
Leave a comment