East Pacific Rise

The East Pacific Rise is a fast-spreading mid-ocean ridge in the eastern Pacific, where seafloor spreading creates new oceanic crust.

Seafloor spreading: The process by which new oceanic crust forms at divergent plate boundaries and moves away from a ridge. It is the process that drives crust formation along the rise.
Mid-ocean ridge: An underwater mountain system formed where tectonic plates diverge and oceanic crust is created. The East Pacific Rise is one member of this global ridge system.
Easter Microplate: A small tectonic plate in the southeastern Pacific, bounded by parts of the East Pacific Rise and nearby ridges. Its boundaries meet the rise near the complex Easter microplate region.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge: A mostly slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge running through the Atlantic Ocean. Its slower spreading and more rugged axial terrain contrast with the rise.
Magma chamber: An underground reservoir of molten or partly molten rock that can feed volcanic eruptions. Magma beneath the ridge supplies much of its erupting lava and new crust.
Divergent boundary: A boundary where two tectonic plates move apart. The rise follows a boundary where oceanic plates separate.
Galápagos Spreading Center: A mid-ocean ridge spreading center north of the Galápagos Islands, between the Cocos and Nazca plates. It continues the plate-divergence system northward from the East Pacific Rise.
Slow-spreading ridge: A mid-ocean ridge where plates separate slowly, commonly producing rugged terrain and a pronounced rift valley. Slow-spreading ridges expose the structural contrasts with the rise's rapid crust production.
Mid-ocean ridge basalt: Basalt produced by partial melting of the mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges. This is the characteristic lava erupted along the rise.
Pacific Plate: The largest tectonic plate, underlying much of the Pacific Ocean basin. Its motion helps set the spreading rate along the ridge's western side.

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