Mediterranean Ridge facts for kids

Where the ridge is

The Mediterranean Ridge is a wide ridge in the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. It is next to a rough quarter circle from Calabria, south of Crete, to the southwest corner of Turkey, and from there eastwards south of Turkey, with Cyprus.

From what tectonic theory says, it is caused by the African Plate subducting under the Eurasian and Anatolian plates. As the African Plate moves slowly north-northeastward, it plows up the floor of the Mediterranean, lifting it from the seabed, and then above sea level, making the island of Cyprus.

If the northward movement of Africa continues, the Ridge might grow into a long and high mountain range and destroy the Mediterranean Sea.