Underway geophysics, deep two camera work, and preliminary geochemical and magnetic studies, from a 1980 cruise to the Juan de Fuca Ridge, allow the following interpretations: (1) the central third (between 45.4¿N and 46.5¿N) of the ridge is now actively spreading from a zone which is 10 to 20 km west of the axis bisecting the Brunhes--Matuyama magnetic reversal boundary, (2) the apparent terminus of surficial igneous activity at the northern tip of the active 'Cobb Propagator' has been identified by dredging and camera work; the tip appears curved, or offset slightly, to the west, does not correspond to the northernmost tip of the central magnetic anomaly , and spreading has been initiated beneath sediments farther north and (3) iron and titanium in fresh glasses from the active volcanic zone exhibit a progressive enrichment northward, then a pronounced reversal to more 'normal' concentrations in the vicinity of the Cobb Offset.