How old are the rocks of the east coast of north America relative to the rocks right along the mid Atlantic ridge why do you think this is the case?

Answer 1

The rocks along the East Coast of North America are significantly older than the rocks along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is because the rocks along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are constantly being formed due to seafloor spreading, where new crust is generated as tectonic plates move apart. In contrast, the rocks along the East Coast of North America are part of the continental crust, which is much older and more stable. The difference in age is a result of the dynamic processes of plate tectonics and the formation of new oceanic crust.

Answer 2

Well, isn't that just a happy little question! The rocks on the east coast of North America are much older than the rocks along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is because new rock is constantly being formed at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge through volcanic activity, while the rocks on the east coast have been around for much longer, undergoing many changes over time. It's like a beautiful dance between the old and the new, creating a wonderful tapestry of Earth's history.

Answer 3

Sea-floor spreading is the process in which the ocean floor is extended when two plates move apart. As the plates move apart, the rocks break and form a crack between the plates. Earthquakes occur along the plate boundary. Magma rises through the cracks and seeps out onto the ocean floor like a long, thin, undersea volcano.

(Fig 1.11) Sea floor Spreading.

As magma meets the water, it cools and solidifies, adding to the edges of the sideways-moving plates. As magma piles up along the crack, a long chain of mountains forms gradually on the ocean floor. This chain is called an oceanic ridge. The boundaries where the plates move apart are 'constructive' because new crust is being formed and added to the ocean floor. The ocean floor gradually extends and thus the size of these plates increases. As these plates get bigger, others become smaller as they melt back into the Earth in the process called subduction.

The new rock at the edge has no sediments like the sand or mud, since it is formed only recently. Farther away from the ridge, sand and mud gradually settle on it, in an ever-thickening blanket. The oldest rocks may have 14,000 feet of sand and other sediments resting on top of it.

An example of an oceanic ridge is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is one part of a system of mid-oceanic ridgesthat stretches for 50,000 miles through the world's oceans. The underwater mountains of the ridge may not be more than two miles higher than the surrounding sea floor.

On the whole, sea-floor spreading is basically volcanic, but it is a slow and regular process, without the explosive outbursts of the volcanoes on land.

Answer 4

I assume you mean the igneous/metamorphic basement rocks along the east coast, which are older than the rocks along the mid Atlantic ridge. This is becuase the rocks along the coast were formed from the same process that is producing the new rocks along the mid Atlantic ridge now, but were formed longer ago when the ridge was just forming.

Answer 5

The rocks on the East Coast of North America are older than the rocks along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is because the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent boundary where new oceanic crust is forming, pushing the older rocks on the East Coast away from the ridge. The process of seafloor spreading causes the rocks to be younger near the ridge and older farther away from it.