Gorringe Ridge

The Gorringe Ridge is a seamount in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located some 130 miles west of Portugal, between the Azores and the Strait of Gibraltar along the Azores-Gibraltar fault zone. It is about 60 km wide and 180 km long in the northeast direction. It is known to consist of two peaks, Gettysburg Seamount and Ormond Seamount. The Gettysburg Seamount has a depth of 25m, and the Ormonde Seamount is 65m below the surface.

It was discovered on November 6 1875 by Captain Henry Honychurch Gorringe, and named for him. Gorringe was, at the time, captain of the USS Gettysburg, a ship which was conducting depth sounding operations in the area.

The plate boundaries here are converging at 4 mm/y, as well as sliding past each other. Upper mantle and oceanic crust are exposed along this bank. Ferrogabbro dated at 77 Mya has been intruded, Also at 66 Mya the Canary Hotspot mantle plume passed by and caused alkaline magma to intrude. Where there is crust, it is very thin, so that the moho comes up to the sea floor. Sediment overlies the mantle, so this could be considered as crust. Since the Miocene there has been shortening of the ocean crust absorbed by folding, and thrusting.

Originally known as Gorringe Bank, the ridge has since been renamed Gorringe Ridge.