How is oceanic crust formed?

Sea-floor spreading is the process responsible for creating more and more oceanic crust along divergent plate boundaries . When magma comes out of the divergent plate boundaries, it cools down rapidly due to the presence of water. read more

New crust and the 'mush zone' Mid-ocean ridges are the boundaries between tectonic plates and are the place where the plates spread apart from each other. Magma from the underlying mantle erupts at the edges, then cools and solidifies to form new ocean crust. read more

Oceanic crust, the outermost layer of Earth’s lithosphere that is found under the oceans and formed at spreading centres on oceanic ridges, which occur at divergent plate boundaries. A cross section of Earth's outer layers, from the crust through the lower mantle. read more