<p>Something that's been bugging me for some time now. If, for example, Antarctica started subducting in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean (I'm aware it's not and isn't predicted to), and began subducting the mid-atlantic ridge under itself, what would that do to the divergence of Africa and South America? with the ridge gone, what motion would the plates and especially the continental crust of either continent undergo?</p>
<p>Possible bonus question - if a continental plate begins subducting a divergent process underneath itself, what geologic upheaval would that cause for the continent?</p>
<p>Thank you for your time.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-25T09:00:51.487Z
There is actually one place on Earth where this special type of triple junction exists: the [Chile triple junction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile_Triple_Junction). A mid-oceanic ridge, the Chile Rise, separating the Nazca and Antarctic plates, is being subducted under the South America plate.
Jean-Marie Prival
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-25T22:54:04.937Z
@Jean-MariePrival sounds like a great answer!
JeopardyTempest
<geology><continental-rifting>
Would 2 continental landmasses at a divergent boundary (i.e. Africa and S/A) stop/reverse direction if a continent overrode the original rift?
N Francis
# Would 2 continental landmasses at a divergent boundary (i.e. Africa and S/A) stop/reverse direction if a continent overrode the original rift?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-01-24)

Something that's been bugging me for some time now. If, for example, Antarctica started subducting in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean (I'm aware it's not and isn't predicted to), and began subducting the mid-atlantic ridge under itself, what would that do to the divergence of Africa and South America? with the ridge gone, what motion would the plates and especially the continental crust of either continent undergo?

Possible bonus question - if a continental plate begins subducting a divergent process underneath itself, what geologic upheaval would that cause for the continent?

Thank you for your time.

**Tags:** geology, continental-rifting

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There is actually one place on Earth where this special type of triple junction exists: the [Chile triple junction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile_Triple_Junction). A mid-oceanic ridge, the Chile Rise, separating the Nazca and Antarctic plates, is being subducted under the South America plate.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 sounds like a great answer!  

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