Editing Triple junction (section)

==History==
The first scientific paper detailing the triple-junction concept was published in 1969 by [[Dan McKenzie (professor)|Dan McKenzie]] and [[W. Jason Morgan]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Evolution of Triple Junctions|first1=D. P.|last1=McKenzie|first2=W. J.|last2=Morgan|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=224|issue=5215|pages=125–133|date=11 October 1969|doi=10.1038/224125a0|bibcode = 1969Natur.224..125M |s2cid=4151329}}</ref> The term had traditionally been used for the intersection of three divergent boundaries or spreading ridges. These three divergent boundaries ideally meet at near 120° angles.

In [[plate tectonics]] theory during the breakup of a continent, three divergent boundaries form, radiating out from a central point (the triple junction). One of these divergent plate boundaries fails (see [[aulacogen]]) and the other two continue spreading to form an ocean. The [[Seafloor spreading|opening]] of the south [[Atlantic Ocean]] started at the south of the [[South America]]n and [[Africa]]n continents, reaching a triple junction in the present [[Gulf of Guinea]], from where it continued to the west. The NE-trending [[Benue Trough]] is the failed arm of this junction.<ref name=Petters1978>{{cite journal
 |jstor=30061985
 |title=Stratigraphic Evolution of the Benue Trough and Its Implications for the Upper Cretaceous Paleogeography of West Africa
 |author=S. W. Petters
 |journal=The Journal of Geology
 |volume=86| issue =  3 
 |date=May 1978
 |pages=311–322|doi=10.1086/649693
 |bibcode=1978JG.....86..311P|s2cid=129346979
 }}</ref>

In the years since, the term triple-junction has come to refer to any point where three tectonic plates meet.