Science. 1968 Aug 30;161(3844):886-8. doi: 10.1126/science.161.3844.886.
A basalt pavement outcrops almost continuously in a band along the crestal region of the East Pacific Rise from about 14 degrees S to 6 degrees S, that is, for more than 800 ikilometers; the outcrop may well extend beyond the above limits along the axis of the rise. The basalt band is generally between 40 and 60 kilometers wide and is replaced laterally by sediment. The lavas are fresh, "oceanic tholeiites" which were emplaced less than I million years ago by fissure eruptions. These findings, can be explained by the hypothesis of ocean-floor spreading; the basalts are the expression of material originating from the mantle and rising through fissures along the axis of the ridge. The absence of an axial rift valley on the East Pacific Rise may be explained by the fact that large volumes of lava are being outpoured along its crest.
在东太平洋海隆脊顶区，从南纬 14 度到南纬 6 度，几乎连续出露玄武岩露头带，绵延超过 800 公里；在海隆轴线上，该露头带很可能超出上述界限延伸。玄武岩带一般宽 40 至 60 公里，两侧为沉积物。熔岩新鲜，为“大洋拉斑玄武岩”，是不到 100 万年前通过裂隙喷发形成的。这些发现可以用海底扩张假说解释；玄武岩是源自地幔并通过沿脊轴裂隙上升的物质的表现。东太平洋海隆没有轴向裂谷，这可能是由于大量熔岩沿脊顶涌出的原因。
