Main Menu >  Plate Tectonics and Volcanoes  >  Mid-Atlantic Ridge >  As Plates Spread, Iceland Grows Iceland straddles the North American and Eurasian Plates, which are separating at a rate of 2 cm (0.8 in) per year. Is the island being torn in two? Yes, but...basaltic lava that is erupted from the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where it cuts across Iceland, builds the island as fast as it is torn apart.