How does Iceland form where a hot spot meets the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

Iceland is formed by the intersection of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge—a major accreting plate boundary separating the North American and Eurasian plates—and a hot spot located directly beneath it.12

While the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is typically a submarine feature, the presence of this hot spot provides an anomalous supply of magma that has built the ridge above sea level to create the island. This interaction influences the local geology, as evidenced by the Reykjanes Ridge south of Iceland, where the hot spot's influence is thought to be responsible for the absence of a typical rift valley.12

On the island, this tectonic activity manifests as major rifts, volcanoes, and geysers. The continuous process of plate separation causes intermittent fracturing, leading to earthquake swarms and basaltic fissure eruptions as magma rises into the gaps between the diverging plates.13