Iceland Plateau

The landscape is constantly experiencing deformation due to the continual addition of magma to the surface and the shifting of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

[3] The geology of the Icelandic Plateau consists of three layers, closely mimicking the structure of oceanic crust but with one key difference, the second layer of the oceanic crust does not contain piles of lava flow like the Icelandic Plateau does.

[2] The Icelandic Plateau began forming approximately 56 Ma, due to the opening of the North Atlantic.

As the plates began to diverge from each other, piles of lava rose to the surface, creating the ridges present on the landscape currently.

[3] Today, there are two main parts of the island, one which is slanted towards the sea floor, and another at a level surface.

Topographic map of Iceland and the Atlantic Ocean. The Iceland Plateau is shown as an oval area encircling Iceland.
A mantle plume model showing the formation of large igneous provinces, which is present in Iceland