Magnitude 7.6 CARLSBERG RIDGE

Mid-ocean ridges are divergent plate boundaries, where two tectonic plates move apart from each other. New oceanic crust is formed as magma rises up between the two diverging plates. Active spreading ridges are offset by zones known as transform faults, where plates slide horizontally past each other neither destroying or forming crust. This gives the plate boundary a zig-zag pattern. Ocean ridges represent the longest, linear uplifted features of the earth's surface and are marked by a belt of shallow earthquakes. Earthquakes can be caused by the release of tensional stress in the uplifted ridge or by the horizontal movement of plates along the transform faults.