From:	Ereskanti <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject:	Re: Petrolia? (Re: Considering things from St. Dunkhelzahn's
Date:	Wed, 20 May 1998 18:32:49 EDT

In a message dated 5/20/98 9:25:12 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
sommers@*****.UMICH.EDU writes:

> That's true. I forgot about Iceland, for example, being created out of some
> lava flows. But overall is there nearly as much activity there as in the
> Pacific? Its been about 10-12 years since I had a lot of geography, so I'm
> trying to remember. I know that one of the plates runs through the
> Atlantic, but that it was a more stable meeting than the Pacific one.
>
Yes and No. In an outward expression, yes, it's more publicly recognized that
the PacRim is more volcanically active than the Atlantic Basin. The "Mid-
Atlantic Ridge" is probably the plate activity you are referring to. Iceland
and Greenland are, IIRC, at the upper branch of the North Atlantic's junction
in those plates. The "spreading" of those two plates is where the weaknesses
have allowed for the volcanic activity to puncture through the strata and
cause the activity that I mentioned.

-K