A Land Divided

The gap between Europe and the United States is widening - by one inch a year. This spectacular underwater photograph shows the vast gap between the two tectonic plates, as seen by a British scuba diver. Alex Mustard, 36, dived 80 feet into the crevice between North America and Eurasia to reveal the stunning landscape.The area - near Iceland - is riddled with faults, valleys, volca
noes and hot springs, caused by the plates pulling apart at about 1 inch per year.

Alex snapped away as he and his dive partners swam through fresh water canyons Silfra, Nes and Nikulasargja, which are up to 200 feet deep. He also took photographs of the Arnarnes Strytur chimney, which forms a cloudy plume as 80 C water is ejected from the earth's crust and hits the cool 4 C sea water. Alex, from Southampton, Hants, said: "The photo shows diving in the unique underwater world of Iceland which, like on land, is formed by the volcanic landscape of the country.

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