EARTH SYSTEM / TECTONIC PLATES

Interactive Tectonic Plates Map

Explore 52 major and minor tectonic plates and regional blocks in a global scientific model of Earth's moving outer shell.

Select any plate to see where it lies, how it moves, and what happens where plates pull apart, press together, or slide past. These boundaries help shape mountains and volcanoes and are where many earthquakes begin.

52: mapped plates & blocks
241: mapped boundary segments

INTERACTIVE WORLD MAP

The plates in motion

Choose a plate on the map to open its profile and highlight its outline.

The interactive map loads in modern browsers. The complete plate directory remains available below.

PLATE DIRECTORY / 52 ENTRIES

Tectonic Plates of the Earth

Open a plate to read its location, movement, boundary processes, and the uncertainty in its mapped outline.

Antarctica Plate Major plate AN

Antarctica looks fixed at the bottom of a map, yet most of its plate is ringed by places where the ocean floor is slowly splitting and making new rock.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Carries land and ocean floor
Movement: It moves only a few centimeters a year. Around much of its rim, it moves away from neighboring plates as new ocean floor forms between them.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries the Antarctic continent and a wide area of ocean floor around it.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are South America Plate, Australia Plate, Pacific Plate, and Africa (Nubia) Plate.

What happens at its edges

Most edges pull apart and make new ocean floor. Near South America, the movement is divided among several smaller plates and breaks where rock slides sideways.

Why the ground is active

Most earthquakes happen far offshore along the moving edges. The interior beneath the ice is much quieter.

What sits on this plate

It carries the Antarctic continent and a wide area of ocean floor around it.

Why it matters

It turns Antarctica from a frozen island on the map into the center of a moving ring of ocean floor.

What the outline helps explain

The outline surrounds Antarctica instead of stopping at its coast, so most of this plate is hidden beneath the Southern Ocean. Near South America, the otherwise simple rim breaks into several smaller moving pieces.

A closer look

Antarctica looks fixed at the bottom of a map, yet most of its plate is ringed by places where the ocean floor is slowly splitting and making new rock.

The bigger story

Antarctica once sat inside a much larger joined landmass. As that land broke apart, new ocean floor opened around the continent and left it isolated near the South Pole.

Landscapes shaped here

Its moving edges create long underwater mountain chains, broad areas of ocean floor, and the narrow sea passage toward South America.

What scientists are still working out

The broad plate is well mapped. Scientists still study how several small plates share movement near the Antarctic Peninsula.

North America Plate Major plate NA

One plate can open an ocean, slide past another plate, and swallow ocean floor at three different edges. North America does all three.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Carries land and ocean floor
Movement: There is no single motion that explains every edge. The Atlantic widens in the east, California slides past the Pacific, and ocean floor moves beneath the northwest coast.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries most of North America, Greenland, part of the Arctic Ocean floor, and a slice of Iceland.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Juan de Fuca Plate, Caribbean Plate, Pacific Plate, and Eurasia Plate.

What happens at its edges

Its eastern edge pulls away from Europe. In California the plates slide sideways. From the Pacific Northwest to Alaska, ocean floor bends and moves below North America.

Why the ground is active

Sideways movement causes California earthquakes. In the northwest, a locked plate contact can produce very large earthquakes, while molten rock rising inland feeds volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It carries most of North America, Greenland, part of the Arctic Ocean floor, and a slice of Iceland.

Why it matters

It is a clear demonstration that the kind of movement matters more than the size of a plate.

What the outline helps explain

The outline continues from North America through Greenland, the Arctic, and into the Atlantic. A plate is not the same as a continent: it can carry both land and a vast area of ocean floor.

A closer look

One plate can open an ocean, slide past another plate, and swallow ocean floor at three different edges. North America does all three.

The bigger story

The Atlantic side records an ocean that is still opening. The Pacific side preserves a very different history in which older ocean plates were mostly consumed beneath the continent.

Landscapes shaped here

These movements shape Iceland, California's long valleys, the Cascade volcanoes, Alaska's mountains, and deep ocean areas offshore.

What scientists are still working out

The broad plate is clear, but many smaller breaks inside western North America continue to share movement in complex ways.

Pacific Plate Major plate PA

The Pacific Plate is slowly being made at some edges and consumed at many others. That moving rim drives much of the Pacific earthquake and volcano belt.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Mainly carries ocean floor
Movement: It generally moves northwest by several centimeters each year. The exact speed changes with location and with what scientists measure it against.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries most of the floor of the Pacific Ocean and almost no land.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are North America Plate, Juan de Fuca Plate, Kermadec Plate, and Nazca Plate.

What happens at its edges

New ocean floor forms along parts of its eastern and southern edges. Older floor bends downward below Alaska, Japan, the Mariana region, Tonga, and New Zealand.

Why the ground is active

Where the plate contact locks and then slips, powerful earthquakes can occur. As the sinking plate carries water downward, it helps hotter rock above it melt and feed volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It carries most of the floor of the Pacific Ocean and almost no land.

Why it matters

It shows the full life cycle of ocean floor: created at one edge, carried across an ocean, and returned deep into Earth at another.

What the outline helps explain

Almost the entire highlighted area is ocean floor, yet its rim reaches the Americas, Alaska, Japan, and New Zealand. One ocean plate links many of the Pacific's earthquake and volcano zones.

A closer look

The Pacific Plate is slowly being made at some edges and consumed at many others. That moving rim drives much of the Pacific earthquake and volcano belt.

The bigger story

Ocean floor born along the plate's eastern side travels across the Pacific for millions of years before much of it bends downward along the northern and western rim.

Landscapes shaped here

This cycle creates undersea mountain chains, deep ocean valleys, curved island chains, and much of the volcano belt around the Pacific.

What scientists are still working out

The plate itself is well mapped. Exact rates and the way motion is divided vary from one boundary section to another.

Eurasia Plate Major plate EU

The quiet interior of Eurasia shares one plate with Iceland, the Mediterranean earthquake belt, and the rising Himalaya.

Rock pulls apart
Plates push together
Mountains rise

Plate type: Carries land and ocean floor
Movement: Its broad interior moves slowly as one piece. At the edges, it separates from North America, meets Africa and Arabia, and is pushed by India.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries most of Europe and Asia, while several smaller moving pieces occupy its eastern and southern margins.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Philippine Sea Plate, North America Plate, Pacific Plate, and Africa (Nubia) Plate.

What happens at its edges

The North Atlantic opens to the west. Farther south, neighboring plates press into Eurasia and squeeze rock upward into long mountain belts.

Why the ground is active

Earthquakes concentrate around the Mediterranean and southern Asia where the plates push together. Volcanoes occur where rock melts near sinking ocean floor or where the outer shell pulls apart, as in Iceland.

What sits on this plate

It carries most of Europe and Asia, while several smaller moving pieces occupy its eastern and southern margins.

Why it matters

It joins the calm interiors of Europe and Asia with several completely different active edges in one plate.

What the outline helps explain

Most of the highlighted plate forms one enormous, uninterrupted area. Along its southern side, that simple outline breaks into many shorter boundaries where several moving pieces press into Eurasia at once.

A closer look

The quiet interior of Eurasia shares one plate with Iceland, the Mediterranean earthquake belt, and the rising Himalaya.

The bigger story

Eurasia grew through repeated meetings of continents and smaller land pieces. Today it is still opening away from North America while being squeezed from the south.

Landscapes shaped here

Its edges help shape Iceland, the Alps, the Mediterranean islands, the Himalaya, and mountain belts across southern Asia.

What scientists are still working out

The broad interior is clear. Eastern and southern Asia contain smaller moving pieces whose borders remain subjects of active research.

Africa (Nubia) Plate Major plate AF

Africa is beginning to split, but not along one clean crack. The eastern side is slowly pulling away through a chain of valleys and volcanoes.

Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past
Plates push together

Plate type: Carries land and ocean floor
Movement: Satellite measurements show the two sides separating by millimeters to a few centimeters each year, depending on the place.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

This outline carries most of Africa west of the continent's active eastern split. The Somalia Plate is shown separately on the other side.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are South America Plate, Eurasia Plate, Somalia Plate, and Arabia Plate.

What happens at its edges

The Atlantic and Indian oceans widen around much of the plate. Inside eastern Africa, the rocky outer shell is stretching and breaking along several branches.

Why the ground is active

Stretching opens breaks where earthquakes occur and lets molten rock rise, which feeds volcanoes in eastern Africa.

What sits on this plate

This outline carries most of Africa west of the continent's active eastern split. The Somalia Plate is shown separately on the other side.

Why it matters

It lets us watch the first stages of a continent dividing, millions of years before a possible new ocean could exist.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted line cuts through eastern Africa instead of following the coast. It marks a place where the continent itself is slowly separating into two moving pieces.

A closer look

Africa is beginning to split, but not along one clean crack. The eastern side is slowly pulling away through a chain of valleys and volcanoes.

The bigger story

The Atlantic shows what a mature split between continents can become. Eastern Africa shows a much earlier stage, where the land is still stretching across branching valleys.

Landscapes shaped here

The movement forms long valleys, steep valley walls, large lakes, volcanoes, and eventually can create new ocean floor.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists continue to measure which branches carry the most movement and how many smaller pieces lie between Nubia and Somalia.

Australia Plate Major plate AU

Australia moved about 1.8 meters between 1994 and 2020, enough that the country had to update its official map coordinates.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Carries land and ocean floor
Movement: It moves north to northeast at about 7 centimeters a year, which is fast for a plate carrying a continent.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries Australia and a large area of nearby ocean floor, then meets crowded plate systems from Indonesia to New Zealand.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Antarctica Plate, Pacific Plate, Sunda Plate, and Timor Plate.

What happens at its edges

Along its north and east, Australia meets island chains and smaller plates. In places it moves below them; elsewhere thick continent-bearing rock is pushed together and lifted.

Why the ground is active

The strongest earthquakes and many volcanoes lie around these northern and eastern contacts, where the movement is concentrated.

What sits on this plate

It carries Australia and a large area of nearby ocean floor, then meets crowded plate systems from Indonesia to New Zealand.

Why it matters

It shows that a continent can move fast enough to outdate precise coordinates within a generation.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted outline extends far beyond Australia's coastline into two oceans. The continent and a large area of ocean floor travel together as one moving plate.

A closer look

Australia moved about 1.8 meters between 1994 and 2020, enough that the country had to update its official map coordinates.

The bigger story

Australia separated from Antarctica and has moved north into a crowded region of island chains and smaller plates. That journey is now building mountains and closing ocean areas.

Landscapes shaped here

Its northern and eastern contacts help raise New Guinea and Timor, shape New Zealand, and feed volcanoes across Indonesia and the southwest Pacific.

What scientists are still working out

Australia's overall movement is measured precisely. The difficult part is how that movement is divided among the many small plates to the north and east.

South America Plate Major plate SA

South America has a quiet Atlantic side and a dramatically active Pacific side because its two long edges move in opposite ways.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates push together

Plate type: Carries land and ocean floor
Movement: It moves generally west by a few centimeters each year as new Atlantic Ocean floor forms between South America and Africa.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries the South American continent and a broad area of Atlantic Ocean floor to the east.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Caribbean Plate, Africa (Nubia) Plate, Scotia Plate, and Nazca Plate.

What happens at its edges

Its eastern edge moves away from Africa. Along the west coast, the Nazca Plate bends downward beneath the continent and squeezes its edge.

Why the ground is active

The western plate contact can lock and release in great earthquakes. Water carried down by the sinking plate also helps create molten rock that feeds Andean volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It carries the South American continent and a broad area of Atlantic Ocean floor to the east.

Why it matters

It explains why the Andes, major earthquakes, and volcanoes line one side of a continent while the opposite coast is far quieter.

What the outline helps explain

South America sits close to the plate's western edge, while the highlighted area reaches far beneath the Atlantic to the east. This helps explain why the Pacific coast is far more active than the Atlantic coast.

A closer look

South America has a quiet Atlantic side and a dramatically active Pacific side because its two long edges move in opposite ways.

The bigger story

South America separated from Africa as the Atlantic opened. At the same time, ocean floor on the opposite side began moving beneath it and raising the Andes.

Landscapes shaped here

That contrast created the broad Atlantic margin, the Andes, the deep Pacific edge, high plateaus, and long volcanic chains.

What scientists are still working out

The broad plate is clear. Scientists continue to resolve how movement is divided among smaller pieces in the northern Andes and far south.

Somalia Plate Regional plate SO

Eastern Africa is slowly pulling away from the rest of the continent. If that movement continues for millions of years, a new ocean could eventually begin to form.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Small moving piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: It separates from the rest of Africa by millimeters to a few centimeters each year. The rate changes from one branch of the split to another.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It carries the Horn of Africa, part of eastern Africa, and nearby western Indian Ocean floor.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Africa (Nubia) Plate and Arabia Plate.

What happens at its edges

Its western edge runs through branching valleys where the continent is stretching. Its eastern edges meet places where new ocean floor already forms.

Why the ground is active

As the rock stretches, it thins and breaks, causing earthquakes. Molten rock can rise through those weakened areas and feed volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It carries the Horn of Africa, part of eastern Africa, and nearby western Indian Ocean floor.

Why it matters

It connects a continent beginning to split with the much later possibility of a new ocean.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted outline includes the Horn of Africa but cuts inland through the continent. That inland edge shows where eastern Africa is slowly pulling away from the rest.

A closer look

Eastern Africa is slowly pulling away from the rest of the continent. If that movement continues for millions of years, a new ocean could eventually begin to form.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists agree that eastern Africa is pulling away, but the movement is spread across several branches and smaller pieces. A single sharp border hides that complexity.

The bigger story

The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden already contain young ocean floor. Farther south, eastern Africa shows the earlier stage, with land stretching before a continuous ocean exists.

Landscapes shaped here

The split creates steep valleys, long lakes, volcanoes, and low areas that may continue widening over geological time.

Nazca Plate Regional plate NZ

A plate hidden beneath the Pacific is one of the main reasons the Andes exist.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Mainly carries ocean floor
Movement: It moves toward South America at roughly 6.5 to 8 centimeters a year, depending on where the rate is measured.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It lies beneath the southeastern Pacific Ocean, directly west of South America.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Juan Fernandez Plate, South America Plate, Galapagos Plate, and Pacific Plate.

What happens at its edges

Along South America, the ocean floor bends downward beneath the continent. Its other edges meet places where new ocean floor forms or plates slide past.

Why the ground is active

The contact with South America can lock and then release in enormous earthquakes. Water carried downward helps hotter rock melt and feed Andean volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It lies beneath the southeastern Pacific Ocean, directly west of South America.

Why it matters

It shows how an unseen ocean plate can build a continent-long mountain range and shape hazards for millions of people.

What the outline helps explain

The long eastern edge of this hidden ocean plate closely follows the Andes. Its shape makes the connection between moving ocean floor and a continent-long mountain and earthquake zone visible.

A closer look

A plate hidden beneath the Pacific is one of the main reasons the Andes exist.

The bigger story

Nazca ocean floor is created farther west, crosses the Pacific, and then moves beneath South America. Its downward journey has shaped the continent for millions of years.

Landscapes shaped here

It helps create the Andes, a deep ocean edge, high plateaus, volcanoes, and some of the world's largest earthquake zones.

What scientists are still working out

The plate's broad movement is clear. Scientists refine how the angle and speed of sinking change along the long South American coast.

India Plate Regional plate IN

India is still pushing into Asia by about 4 to 5 centimeters a year. Over millions of years, that slow movement raised the Himalaya.

One plate sinks below another
Plates push together
Mountains rise

Plate type: Mainly carries a continent
Movement: It moves north to northeast and presses into Eurasia at roughly 4 to 5 centimeters a year.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries the Indian subcontinent and nearby parts of the northern Indian Ocean floor.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Australia Plate, Eurasia Plate, Arabia Plate, and Sunda Plate.

What happens at its edges

Along the Himalaya, two continent-bearing plates push together. Because neither one sinks easily, the rock crumples, thickens, and rises.

Why the ground is active

The Himalayan edge produces major earthquakes as the squeezed rock breaks and slips. It is not a chain of volcanoes; most nearby volcanoes belong to a different plate system farther east.

What sits on this plate

It carries the Indian subcontinent and nearby parts of the northern Indian Ocean floor.

Why it matters

It is the clearest modern example of two continents meeting and building the highest mountains on Earth.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted plate does not end at India's coastline. Its northern edge meets Asia along the curve of the Himalaya, showing where two continent-bearing plates push together.

A closer look

India is still pushing into Asia by about 4 to 5 centimeters a year. Over millions of years, that slow movement raised the Himalaya.

The bigger story

India once moved across an ocean before meeting Asia. The ocean floor between them disappeared, but the continents continued pushing together and raising the Himalaya.

Landscapes shaped here

The meeting of India and Asia built the Himalaya, thickened the high Tibetan region, and created a vast network of active breaks across southern Asia.

What scientists are still working out

The overall meeting of the continents is clear. Research continues on how movement is shared beneath the Himalaya and across the high ground to the north.

Sunda Plate Regional plate SU

Around Indonesia, one approaching plate does not simply move straight under another. Part of the movement goes downward and part is carried sideways along large breaks.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Plates push together

Plate type: Carries land and ocean floor
Movement: The plate itself moves slowly, while ocean floor approaches its southern and western edges by several centimeters each year.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It carries much of mainland Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the shallow seas between them.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Philippine Sea Plate, Australia Plate, Banda Sea Plate, and India Plate.

What happens at its edges

Ocean floor bends downward near Sumatra and Java. Because it approaches at an angle, some movement also travels sideways through Sumatra and nearby regions.

Why the ground is active

Locked contacts below the sea can produce great earthquakes and sometimes displace the ocean. Water carried downward also helps create molten rock that feeds Indonesia's volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It carries much of mainland Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the shallow seas between them.

Why it matters

It explains why Southeast Asia combines powerful earthquakes, volcanoes, island chains, and sideways-moving breaks in one connected system.

What the outline helps explain

One outline joins mainland Southeast Asia, large islands, and the shallow seas between them. Features that look separate on a normal map can move together as one plate.

A closer look

Around Indonesia, one approaching plate does not simply move straight under another. Part of the movement goes downward and part is carried sideways along large breaks.

What scientists are still working out

The central part moves fairly clearly as one piece, but its outer edges are divided among smaller moving blocks. Scientific maps do not all place those edges in exactly the same position.

The bigger story

Southeast Asia sits where ocean floor, continents, and island chains have met repeatedly. The result is not one border but a connected network of sinking and sideways movement.

Landscapes shaped here

These movements create Sumatra and Java's volcanoes, deep offshore seas, high islands, and long chains of mountains.

What scientists are still working out

Researchers continue to improve the borders and speeds of the smaller pieces around Indonesia and mainland Southeast Asia.

Amur Plate Smaller moving piece AM

Northeast Asia is not one perfectly solid part of Eurasia. Satellite measurements reveal several slower-moving pieces inside it.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Volcanoes

Plate type: Small moving piece of a continent
Movement: It moves slowly relative to the rest of Eurasia, commonly around 1 centimeter a year, although estimates vary by study.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

This plate includes parts of northeast China, the Korean Peninsula, and nearby regions in many scientific maps.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Philippine Sea Plate, Eurasia Plate, Okhotsk Plate, and Yangtze Plate.

What happens at its edges

The movement is spread across broad networks of breaks rather than concentrated along one clean ocean edge.

Why the ground is active

Earthquakes occur where these slow movements load old breaks in the continent and around the crowded plate system near Japan.

What sits on this plate

This plate includes parts of northeast China, the Korean Peninsula, and nearby regions in many scientific maps.

Why it matters

It helps explain why earthquakes inside northeast Asia do not fit a simple map with only one huge Eurasian plate.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted outline carves a smaller moving piece out of land usually shown as part of Eurasia. It helps explain why northeast Asia cannot be treated as one perfectly rigid block.

A closer look

Northeast Asia is not one perfectly solid part of Eurasia. Satellite measurements reveal several slower-moving pieces inside it.

What scientists are still working out

Many studies find this moving piece useful, but scientists still debate its western and southern edges and how completely its interior moves as one unit.

Philippine Sea Plate Regional plate PS

The Philippine Sea Plate is almost surrounded by places where one plate sinks below another, creating an exceptional belt of deep earthquakes and volcanoes.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Mainly carries ocean floor
Movement: It generally moves west to northwest. The rate differs around its edges, where nearby plates approach one another by several centimeters each year.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It lies beneath the western Pacific east of the Philippines and south of Japan.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Caroline Plate, Pacific Plate, Eurasia Plate, and Okhotsk Plate.

What happens at its edges

Ocean floor bends downward around much of the plate. In other places, nearby ocean floor sinks below the Philippine Sea side instead.

Why the ground is active

Sinking plates produce earthquakes from near the surface to hundreds of kilometers deep. Water carried downward helps create molten rock that feeds long chains of volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It lies beneath the western Pacific east of the Philippines and south of Japan.

Why it matters

It shows how a plate can be shaped by sinking boundaries on nearly every side.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted plate is enclosed by active edges on almost every side. This crowded outline helps explain the exceptional ring of deep earthquakes and volcanoes around it.

A closer look

The Philippine Sea Plate is almost surrounded by places where one plate sinks below another, creating an exceptional belt of deep earthquakes and volcanoes.

The bigger story

The plate grew from several ocean regions and is now surrounded by places where ocean floor sinks. Its history is recorded in deep seas and volcanic island chains.

Landscapes shaped here

Its edges shape the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, the Izu and Mariana islands, and some of the deepest places in the ocean.

What scientists are still working out

The plate is well established. The detailed history and present movement of the smaller regions around its edges remain active research questions.

Arabia Plate Regional plate AR

Arabia is opening a sea behind it while pushing up mountains ahead of it.

Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past
Plates push together

Plate type: Mainly carries a continent
Movement: It moves north to northeast by a few centimeters each year.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries the Arabian Peninsula between northeastern Africa, Eurasia, and the Indian Ocean.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Eurasia Plate, Somalia Plate, and Africa (Nubia) Plate.

What happens at its edges

The Red Sea widens behind the plate. Along its western side, plates slide past. To the north, Arabia presses into Eurasia and raises mountains.

Why the ground is active

Different edges create different hazards: earthquakes where plates slide or push together, and volcanoes where the rocky outer shell pulls apart near the Red Sea.

What sits on this plate

It carries the Arabian Peninsula between northeastern Africa, Eurasia, and the Indian Ocean.

Why it matters

It connects the splitting of eastern Africa with the mountain-building zone that runs through Iran and beyond.

What the outline helps explain

The Arabian Peninsula nearly fills the highlighted shape. Its western edge opens along the Red Sea while its northern edge presses into Asia, so one plate opens a sea and raises mountains at opposite ends.

A closer look

Arabia is opening a sea behind it while pushing up mountains ahead of it.

The bigger story

Arabia separated from Africa as the Red Sea opened, then continued north into Eurasia. One plate therefore links an opening ocean with two continents pressing together.

Landscapes shaped here

The movement shapes the Red Sea, the long break beside the Dead Sea, and the Zagros Mountains of Iran and Iraq.

What scientists are still working out

The main plate is clear. Scientists continue to study how movement spreads through Iran, Türkiye, and the eastern Mediterranean.

Okhotsk Plate Smaller moving piece OK

Japan and Kamchatka sit in a region too complicated to explain as one clean edge of North America. The Okhotsk Plate is one way scientists divide that movement.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: Some studies find slow movement toward the south or southwest, but the result depends on how the region is divided into plates.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

This outline covers the Sea of Okhotsk area, Kamchatka, and parts of northeastern Japan in many scientific maps.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Philippine Sea Plate, North America Plate, Pacific Plate, and Amur Plate.

What happens at its edges

Pacific ocean floor moves downward along the eastern side. Farther west, the movement spreads through a broad zone of smaller blocks and breaks.

Why the ground is active

The sinking Pacific Plate drives major earthquakes and volcanoes along Japan and Kamchatka. Additional earthquakes occur where movement is shared inland.

What sits on this plate

This outline covers the Sea of Okhotsk area, Kamchatka, and parts of northeastern Japan in many scientific maps.

Why it matters

It gives scientists a more realistic way to describe northeast Asia than treating the entire region as one perfectly fixed plate.

What the outline helps explain

This outline groups the Sea of Okhotsk, Kamchatka, and part of Japan into a smaller moving piece. It avoids pretending that all of northeast Asia moves as one perfectly fixed plate.

A closer look

Japan and Kamchatka sit in a region too complicated to explain as one clean edge of North America. The Okhotsk Plate is one way scientists divide that movement.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists agree on the active Pacific edge, but they still debate whether the whole Okhotsk region should count as a separate plate and where its western border belongs.

The bigger story

The Okhotsk idea emerged because measurements around Japan and northeast Asia fit better when the region is allowed to move separately from the rest of North America.

Landscapes shaped here

Its active Pacific edge helps shape Japan, the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka, deep offshore seas, and long volcano chains.

Scotia Plate Regional plate SC

Between South America and Antarctica, the ocean floor is squeezed into a narrow, curved corridor of sideways movement and small plates.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: Its north and south edges mostly slide sideways past neighboring plates. Farther east, ocean floor bends downward beneath the Sandwich Plate.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies beneath the Scotia Sea between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are South America Plate, Antarctica Plate, and Sandwich Plate.

What happens at its edges

Long sideways-moving breaks border much of the plate, while its eastern end connects to a sinking plate and a curved chain of volcanic islands.

Why the ground is active

Earthquakes follow the sideways-moving edges and the eastern sinking boundary. Volcanoes cluster on the island chain above the sinking ocean floor.

What sits on this plate

It lies beneath the Scotia Sea between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Why it matters

It helps explain how the ocean gateway between South America and Antarctica opened and continues to change.

What the outline helps explain

The long, narrow outline bridges South America and Antarctica, then curls around at its eastern end. That shape links sideways plate movement in the west with a curved volcanic island chain in the east.

A closer look

Between South America and Antarctica, the ocean floor is squeezed into a narrow, curved corridor of sideways movement and small plates.

What scientists are still working out

The Scotia Plate itself is well established, but movement near its eastern end is divided among the Sandwich Plate, small ocean areas, and several breaks in the rock.

The bigger story

The Scotia region opened and changed as South America and Antarctica separated. Small ocean areas and sideways movement helped create the modern passage between them.

Landscapes shaped here

It shapes the curved Scotia island chain, undersea high ground, narrow seas, and the Drake Passage.

Caribbean Plate Regional plate CA

The Caribbean Plate is trapped between two continents, and each side escapes the pressure in a different way.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Mountains rise

Plate type: Mainly carries ocean floor
Movement: It moves generally east relative to North and South America at roughly 1 to 2 centimeters a year.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It lies beneath most of the Caribbean Sea and carries parts of the surrounding island chains and Central American edge.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are North America Plate, South America Plate, and Cocos Plate.

What happens at its edges

Along the north and south, plates mostly slide past. To the east and west, ocean floor moves below the Caribbean region and feeds curved chains of volcanoes.

Why the ground is active

Sideways movement causes damaging earthquakes around the northern Caribbean. Sinking ocean floor drives both earthquakes and volcanoes in the Lesser Antilles and Central America.

What sits on this plate

It lies beneath most of the Caribbean Sea and carries parts of the surrounding island chains and Central American edge.

Why it matters

It packs several kinds of plate movement into a small region surrounded by heavily populated coasts and islands.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted plate fills the sea between North and South America, while many islands sit near its rim. The outline shows why those islands and surrounding coasts share one connected system of earthquakes and volcanoes.

A closer look

The Caribbean Plate is trapped between two continents, and each side escapes the pressure in a different way.

The bigger story

The Caribbean region contains unusually thick ocean floor that has moved between the Americas for tens of millions of years while its edges were repeatedly reshaped.

Landscapes shaped here

Its edges form the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Central American volcanoes, deep ocean areas, and long earthquake-producing breaks.

What scientists are still working out

The main plate is clear. Smaller pieces around Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and Central America divide the movement in ways that remain under study.

Cocos Plate Regional plate CO

A small plate hidden off Mexico and Central America powers a long belt of earthquakes and volcanoes on land.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Volcanoes

Plate type: Mainly carries ocean floor
Movement: It approaches the coast at roughly 7 to 9 centimeters a year, depending on the section being measured.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It lies in the Pacific Ocean just offshore from southern Mexico and Central America.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are North America Plate, Caribbean Plate, Pacific Plate, and Panama Plate.

What happens at its edges

Along its northeastern edge, the ocean floor bends and moves below Mexico and Central America. Other edges are places where new ocean floor forms or plates slide past.

Why the ground is active

The plate contact can lock and then slip in strong earthquakes. Water carried downward helps hotter rock melt, and that molten rock feeds volcanoes inland.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the Pacific Ocean just offshore from southern Mexico and Central America.

Why it matters

It shows why a relatively small ocean plate can shape hazards and landscapes across several countries.

What the outline helps explain

A long edge of this ocean plate faces Mexico and Central America almost coast to coast. That close fit helps explain why one relatively small plate influences hazards across several countries.

A closer look

A small plate hidden off Mexico and Central America powers a long belt of earthquakes and volcanoes on land.

The bigger story

Cocos ocean floor forms in the eastern Pacific, travels toward Mexico and Central America, and then bends downward beneath the land.

Landscapes shaped here

That movement helps create the deep offshore edge, the mountains of Central America, and volcano chains from Mexico to Costa Rica.

What scientists are still working out

The overall movement is clear. Scientists refine how the plate's shape and angle change from one section of coast to another.

Yangtze Plate Smaller moving piece YA

South China may move slightly differently from the rest of Eurasia, but its edges are broad zones rather than clean cracks.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of a continent
Movement: Some studies suggest slow movement toward the southeast, around 1 centimeter a year relative to inland Eurasia. Other studies divide the region differently.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

This outline broadly covers South China and nearby areas of land.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Philippine Sea Plate, Eurasia Plate, Okinawa Plate, and Sunda Plate.

What happens at its edges

Movement is spread across wide networks of breaks and through neighboring small plates near Taiwan, Okinawa, and Southeast Asia.

Why the ground is active

Earthquakes occur where pressure is transferred through breaks in the continent and around the much more active plate contacts to the east and south.

What sits on this plate

This outline broadly covers South China and nearby areas of land.

Why it matters

It helps explain why eastern Asia behaves as several moving pieces instead of one perfectly solid continent.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted outline divides South China from the much larger Eurasian area around it. It represents the idea that eastern Asia moves through several pieces rather than as one perfectly solid continent.

A closer look

South China may move slightly differently from the rest of Eurasia, but its edges are broad zones rather than clean cracks.

What scientists are still working out

South China is a real geological block, but scientists do not all treat it as a separate present-day plate. Its borders are gradual in several places.

Caroline Plate Smaller moving piece CL

North of New Guinea, several large plate systems meet without one clean boundary. The Caroline Plate is one possible ocean-floor piece inside that puzzle.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: There is no dependable single speed for the whole outline. Scientists compare its movement with the Pacific, Philippine Sea, and New Guinea regions.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies near the equator in the western Pacific Ocean, north of New Guinea.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Philippine Sea Plate, Birds Head Plate, Woodlark Plate, and Pacific Plate.

What happens at its edges

Some edges press together, while others spread movement across many shorter breaks and smaller pieces.

Why the ground is active

Earthquakes cluster where these ocean and island systems press, bend, or slide against one another.

What sits on this plate

It lies near the equator in the western Pacific Ocean, north of New Guinea.

Why it matters

It helps organize a region where the motion of several large plates is divided into smaller pieces.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted area is a smaller patch of ocean floor north of New Guinea, surrounded by much larger outlines. Scientists use this extra piece because the movement here does not fit either large plate cleanly.

A closer look

North of New Guinea, several large plate systems meet without one clean boundary. The Caroline Plate is one possible ocean-floor piece inside that puzzle.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists use a Caroline Plate in several models, but its southeastern edge near New Guinea is especially complex and may be divided differently.

North Andes Plate Smaller moving piece ND

The northern Andes are not simply riding on stable South America. Part of the mountain belt is being squeezed northeast as its own moving piece.

One plate sinks below another
Plates push together
Mountains rise

Plate type: Small moving piece of a continent
Movement: Satellite measurements show movement of several millimeters a year toward the northeast relative to the more stable interior of South America.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It covers parts of Colombia, Ecuador, and nearby northern South America in many scientific maps.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are South America Plate, Caribbean Plate, Panama Plate, and Nazca Plate.

What happens at its edges

The piece is squeezed between the Nazca, Caribbean, Panama, and South America plates, so the movement spreads through many breaks and mountain zones.

Why the ground is active

Ocean floor sinking to the west feeds volcanoes and major earthquakes. Inland, squeezed rock breaks and raises the northern Andes.

What sits on this plate

It covers parts of Colombia, Ecuador, and nearby northern South America in many scientific maps.

Why it matters

It explains how part of a continent can be pushed sideways while also being lifted into mountains.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted strip follows the northern Andes instead of staying offshore. It shows that part of a continent can move sideways and rise into mountains as pressure spreads through the land.

A closer look

The northern Andes are not simply riding on stable South America. Part of the mountain belt is being squeezed northeast as its own moving piece.

What scientists are still working out

Satellite measurements show that this region moves, but it also changes shape internally. Drawing it as one solid plate is a useful simplification.

Altiplano Plate Smaller moving piece AP

Pressure from an ocean plate reaches far beyond the South American coast and helps lift the Altiplano, the high plateau of Bolivia and Peru.

Plates slide past
Plates push together
Mountains rise

Plate type: Possible small piece of a continent
Movement: It does not move like one perfectly solid piece of rock. Instead, the region is being squeezed, thickened, and raised as pressure reaches inland.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

On this map, the Altiplano block covers part of the high plateau in Bolivia and Peru, well inland from the Pacific coast.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are South America Plate, North Andes Plate, and Nazca Plate.

What happens at its edges

Its borders mark gradual changes in how the central Andes absorb pressure, not sharp seams that can be located everywhere on the ground.

Why the ground is active

Large earthquakes occur on surrounding breaks in the squeezed continent. Farther west, a sinking ocean plate helps feed the volcanoes of the central Andes.

What sits on this plate

On this map, the Altiplano block covers part of the high plateau in Bolivia and Peru, well inland from the Pacific coast.

Why it matters

It shows that plate pressure can reshape a continent hundreds of kilometers from the place where the plates first meet.

What the outline helps explain

This highlighted block sits far inland on the high plateau of Bolivia and Peru. Its position shows that pressure from a plate edge can reshape land hundreds of kilometers away.

A closer look

Pressure from an ocean plate reaches far beyond the South American coast and helps lift the Altiplano, the high plateau of Bolivia and Peru.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists agree that the central Andes are changing shape, but not all of them draw the Altiplano as a separate plate. This outline is one way to organize a broad zone of movement.

Anatolia Plate Regional plate AT

Arabia pushes north into Eurasia, and Anatolia responds by moving west along two major breaks in the rock.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Plates push together

Plate type: Small moving piece of a continent
Movement: It moves generally west relative to Eurasia, commonly by a few centimeters each year.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It carries most of Türkiye between the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, Arabia, and Eurasia.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Eurasia Plate, Africa (Nubia) Plate, and Arabia Plate.

What happens at its edges

Two long breaks carry much of the sideways movement along northern and eastern Türkiye. To the southeast, Arabia continues to press into the region.

Why the ground is active

When locked sections of these breaks suddenly slip, they can produce destructive earthquakes. Volcanoes in the wider region have several causes and do not follow one simple line.

What sits on this plate

It carries most of Türkiye between the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, Arabia, and Eurasia.

Why it matters

It is a clear example of a piece of a continent being pushed sideways between larger plates.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted piece spans most of Turkiye between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Its westward-pointing shape helps show how part of a continent is being pushed sideways between larger plates.

A closer look

Arabia pushes north into Eurasia, and Anatolia responds by moving west along two major breaks in the rock.

The bigger story

As Arabia presses north, Anatolia cannot move through Eurasia. Much of it instead moves west between two long earthquake-producing breaks.

Landscapes shaped here

The movement shapes Türkiye's mountain belts, long valleys, coastlines, and the deep structure of the Aegean region.

What scientists are still working out

The main motion is measured well. Research continues on how movement is distributed across the many secondary breaks inside the region.

Banda Sea Plate Regional plate BS

Near Banda, a once-simple sinking boundary curls into a tight horseshoe and runs into the Australian continent.

One plate sinks below another
Plates push together
Volcanoes

Plate type: Small moving piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: Movement is divided among rotating pieces as Australia continues north into the curved Banda region. One speed cannot describe the whole system.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies in eastern Indonesia around the Banda Sea, north of Australia and Timor.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Birds Head Plate, Pacific Plate, Sunda Plate, and Timor Plate.

What happens at its edges

Ocean floor still bends downward around part of the curve. Near Timor, thick continent-bearing rock has entered the same zone and changed sinking into rock being squeezed and raised.

Why the ground is active

The tightly curved plate contacts produce earthquakes at many depths. Sinking ocean floor feeds volcanoes, while the meeting of continent-bearing rock raises islands and mountains.

What sits on this plate

It lies in eastern Indonesia around the Banda Sea, north of Australia and Timor.

Why it matters

It captures the moment when an ocean-closing system begins to collide with a continent.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted outline bends tightly around the Banda Sea and reaches toward Timor and Australia. Around that curve, sinking ocean floor gives way to thick continent-bearing rock being squeezed and lifted.

A closer look

Near Banda, a once-simple sinking boundary curls into a tight horseshoe and runs into the Australian continent.

What scientists are still working out

The broad curved system is clear, but movement is shared by several small pieces. Different scientific maps place some of their borders differently.

The bigger story

The Banda curve preserves a change from sinking ocean floor to Australia pressing into the region. That change is happening along the same horseshoe-shaped system.

Landscapes shaped here

It creates deep seas, tightly curved island chains, volcanoes, raised coral islands, and mountains around Timor.

New Hebrides Plate Regional plate NH

Near Vanuatu, plates approach each other at roughly 10 to 12 centimeters a year, making this one of Earth's faster active boundaries.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: Along parts of Vanuatu, the Australian Plate approaches this region at roughly 10 to 12 centimeters a year. That is a rate at the boundary, not one speed for the whole small plate.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies in the southwest Pacific around Vanuatu, between Australia and the broad Pacific region.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Balmoral Reef Plate, Conway Reef Plate, Australia Plate, and Pacific Plate.

What happens at its edges

Australian ocean floor bends downward beside Vanuatu, while movement behind the volcanic islands is divided among smaller pieces.

Why the ground is active

The sinking ocean floor causes frequent earthquakes, including deep ones. Water carried downward helps hotter rock melt and feed Vanuatu's volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the southwest Pacific around Vanuatu, between Australia and the broad Pacific region.

Why it matters

It shows how very fast plate movement can be divided across a chain of islands and several smaller moving pieces.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted plate is a narrow strip along Vanuatu beside much larger moving regions. Its small size shows how rapid plate movement can be divided among an island chain and several smaller pieces.

A closer look

Near Vanuatu, plates approach each other at roughly 10 to 12 centimeters a year, making this one of Earth's faster active boundaries.

What scientists are still working out

The fast boundary beside Vanuatu is well measured, but the small plate's western edge and its movement behind the islands are divided differently in regional studies.

The bigger story

Australia moves below the Vanuatu region while the ocean floor behind the volcanic islands changes shape. Several small plates share that rapid movement.

Landscapes shaped here

The process creates Vanuatu's volcanic islands, deep ocean valleys, raised coastlines, and a chain of active undersea volcanoes.

Kermadec Plate Regional plate KE

Northeast of New Zealand, a deep ocean valley, a chain of volcanoes, and a region being pulled apart sit side by side.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: Pacific ocean floor moves below the Kermadec side of the system rapidly, but the rate changes along the long boundary.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies beneath the southwest Pacific northeast of New Zealand, along the Kermadec island chain.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Australia Plate, Pacific Plate, and Tonga Plate.

What happens at its edges

The Pacific Plate bends downward on the east. Above it lies a chain of volcanic islands, while the rocky outer shell behind that chain is stretching.

Why the ground is active

The sinking plate produces earthquakes from shallow to great depths. Water carried downward helps create molten rock that feeds the volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It lies beneath the southwest Pacific northeast of New Zealand, along the Kermadec island chain.

Why it matters

It places three linked results of a sinking plate close together: a deep ocean valley, volcanoes, and stretching behind them.

What the outline helps explain

The long, narrow outline runs northeast from New Zealand beside a chain of volcanic islands. The same plate edge creates a deep ocean valley, feeds volcanoes, and pulls the area behind them apart.

A closer look

Northeast of New Zealand, a deep ocean valley, a chain of volcanoes, and a region being pulled apart sit side by side.

What scientists are still working out

The main sinking boundary is clear, but scientists divide the long Tonga-Kermadec region into smaller plates in different ways.

The bigger story

Pacific ocean floor bends below the Kermadec region, while the plate contact shifts and stretches the area behind the volcanic islands.

Landscapes shaped here

It produces a deep ocean valley, the Kermadec island volcanoes, and young ocean floor farther west.

Birds Head Plate Smaller moving piece BH

Western New Guinea turns because the huge Australia and Pacific plate systems do not meet along one clean line.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Plates push together

Plate type: Possible small piece of a continent
Movement: The region appears to rotate and move relative to nearby New Guinea blocks, but estimates differ among studies.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It covers the Bird's Head region at the western end of New Guinea in some scientific maps.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Banda Sea Plate, Caroline Plate, and Maoke Plate.

What happens at its edges

Movement is shared among several breaks around western New Guinea rather than carried by one simple border.

Why the ground is active

Earthquakes occur as those neighboring pieces press together, pull apart, or slide past one another.

What sits on this plate

It covers the Bird's Head region at the western end of New Guinea in some scientific maps.

Why it matters

It helps explain why New Guinea must be mapped as several moving pieces instead of one edge between two giant plates.

What the outline helps explain

Several short outlines crowd together around the western end of New Guinea. The highlighted piece is one sign that movement here is shared across many breaks rather than one clean plate border.

A closer look

Western New Guinea turns because the huge Australia and Pacific plate systems do not meet along one clean line.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists agree that western New Guinea moves in a complicated way, but they do not all draw a separate Bird's Head Plate or give it the same borders.

Burma Plate Regional plate BU

West of Myanmar, plates meet at an angle. Part of the movement goes downward below the sea, while the rest travels sideways through the land.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Plates push together

Plate type: Small moving piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: India moves toward Southeast Asia at an angle, so the Burma Plate moves north while also absorbing sideways motion.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It lies along western Myanmar and the Andaman island region, between India and the Sunda Plate.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are India Plate and Sunda Plate.

What happens at its edges

Ocean floor bends downward west of the islands. Farther inland, a major break carries much of the northward sideways movement through Myanmar.

Why the ground is active

The underwater contact can produce very large earthquakes and sea-floor movement. Inland breaks cause shallower earthquakes, while molten rock feeds volcanoes along the island chain.

What sits on this plate

It lies along western Myanmar and the Andaman island region, between India and the Sunda Plate.

Why it matters

It shows how one diagonal plate movement can split into downward motion offshore and sideways motion on land.

What the outline helps explain

The narrow outline runs from western Myanmar into the Andaman island region. It connects ocean floor moving downward offshore with a major sideways-moving break on land.

A closer look

West of Myanmar, plates meet at an angle. Part of the movement goes downward below the sea, while the rest travels sideways through the land.

The bigger story

Because India approaches at an angle, the movement is split. Ocean floor goes downward west of the islands, while the Burma piece moves north along Myanmar.

Landscapes shaped here

This motion shapes the Andaman Islands, Myanmar's long valleys, offshore deep water, and a chain of volcanoes.

Woodlark Plate Smaller moving piece WL

East of New Guinea, a continent is tearing apart and the split changes into newly formed ocean floor within the same region.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Small moving piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: The two sides are moving apart, but the speed and direction vary across several smaller pieces.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies east of New Guinea in and around the Woodlark Sea.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Solomon Sea Plate, Birds Head Plate, Australia Plate, and Maoke Plate.

What happens at its edges

Near New Guinea, rock carrying part of the continent is being stretched and broken. Farther east, the gap is wide enough for molten rock to cool into new ocean floor.

Why the ground is active

Breaking and sliding rock causes frequent earthquakes. Rising molten rock creates new ocean floor where the separation is greatest.

What sits on this plate

It lies east of New Guinea in and around the Woodlark Sea.

Why it matters

It lets scientists study the transition from a continent beginning to split to a young ocean already forming.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted plate begins on the edge of New Guinea and extends east into the ocean. Along that short distance, stretched continent-bearing rock gives way to new ocean floor.

A closer look

East of New Guinea, a continent is tearing apart and the split changes into newly formed ocean floor within the same region.

What scientists are still working out

The active split is well observed, but its borders have been redrawn as satellite and sea-floor measurements improved.

Mariana Plate Regional plate MA

Challenger Deep, the deepest measured point in the ocean, lies where Pacific ocean floor bends downward. It is deeper below sea level than Everest rises above it.

One plate sinks below another
Rock stretches behind volcanoes
Volcanoes

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: The key movement is the Pacific Plate bending and moving below the Mariana side of the system.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It lies in the western Pacific east of the Philippine Sea Plate and beside the Mariana Islands.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Philippine Sea Plate and Pacific Plate.

What happens at its edges

A very deep ocean valley marks the eastern edge. Above the sinking plate is a chain of volcanic islands, and the region behind those islands is pulling apart.

Why the ground is active

Earthquakes follow the plate downward to great depths. Water carried down with it helps hotter rock melt and feed the Mariana volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the western Pacific east of the Philippine Sea Plate and beside the Mariana Islands.

Why it matters

It connects the deepest ocean landscape on Earth with the plate movement that creates deep earthquakes and volcanoes.

What the outline helps explain

The narrow highlighted plate follows the curve of the Mariana Islands. Its eastern edge marks the system that creates Earth's deepest ocean valley, deep earthquakes, and a chain of volcanoes.

A closer look

Challenger Deep, the deepest measured point in the ocean, lies where Pacific ocean floor bends downward. It is deeper below sea level than Everest rises above it.

The bigger story

Old Pacific ocean floor bends steeply downward beside the Mariana Islands. The steep descent helps explain both the exceptional ocean depth and earthquakes far below the surface.

Landscapes shaped here

The system creates Challenger Deep, the Mariana Islands, active undersea volcanoes, and new ocean floor behind the island chain.

What scientists are still working out

The broad movement is clear. Scientists continue to map the detailed shape of the sinking plate and the many small breaks above it.

Molucca Sea Plate Smaller moving piece MS

The remaining ocean floor in the Molucca Sea is being consumed from both sides at once.

One plate sinks below another
Plates push together
Volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: Instead of travelling as a simple intact plate, the remaining ocean floor is being forced downward in opposite directions on its two sides.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies in eastern Indonesia between the Sangihe and Halmahera chains of volcanic islands.

Neighbors and boundaries

Its neighboring plates are shown by the outlines around the selected area.

What happens at its edges

One side moves below the Sangihe island chain and the other below Halmahera. The space between them is closing.

Why the ground is active

Two opposing sinking systems create earthquakes at many depths and feed volcanoes on both sides of the sea.

What sits on this plate

It lies in eastern Indonesia between the Sangihe and Halmahera chains of volcanic islands.

Why it matters

It is the clearest known example of a small ocean area being closed by sinking on both sides.

What the outline helps explain

The tiny highlighted area lies between two curved chains of volcanic islands. Ocean floor is moving downward on both sides, so the space between the chains is being consumed from two directions.

A closer look

The remaining ocean floor in the Molucca Sea is being consumed from both sides at once.

What scientists are still working out

The two-sided sinking is well supported, but the remaining Molucca Sea floor behaves more like a closing fragment than a stable, long-lived plate.

Aegean Sea Plate Regional plate AS

The Aegean region is being pulled apart even while the larger plates around it are pushing together.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Plates push together

Plate type: Small moving piece of a continent
Movement: Satellite measurements show movement generally toward the south or southwest at about 2 to 3 centimeters a year, while the region also stretches internally.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It covers the Aegean Sea, Greece, and western Türkiye, north of the eastern Mediterranean.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Anatolia Plate, Eurasia Plate, and Africa (Nubia) Plate.

What happens at its edges

African ocean floor moves downward to the south. As that sinking edge shifts away, it helps pull the Aegean region outward behind it.

Why the ground is active

Stretching opens many breaks that produce frequent shallow earthquakes. Sinking ocean floor to the south also helps feed volcanoes such as those in the Aegean islands.

What sits on this plate

It covers the Aegean Sea, Greece, and western Türkiye, north of the eastern Mediterranean.

Why it matters

It resolves an apparent contradiction: nearby plates can push together while the rock behind the sinking edge is pulled apart.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted outline groups Greece, the Aegean Sea, and western Turkiye into one small moving piece. Scientists separate it because this region moves and stretches differently from the much larger landmass to the north.

A closer look

The Aegean region is being pulled apart even while the larger plates around it are pushing together.

The bigger story

African ocean floor moves downward south of Greece. As that edge shifts south, it helps pull the Aegean region outward even while Africa and Eurasia move closer overall.

Landscapes shaped here

The motion shapes the Aegean Sea, Greek islands, deep Mediterranean waters, volcanoes such as Santorini, and many earthquake-producing valleys.

What scientists are still working out

The southward movement and stretching are well measured. Scientists continue to test how much is caused by the sinking plate and how much by movement farther east.

North Bismarck Plate Smaller moving piece NB

North of Papua New Guinea, plate movement is divided among many short breaks and small pieces. North Bismarck is one possible piece in that pattern.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: Scientists do not find one dependable speed for the whole outline. Movement is shared with the Manus and South Bismarck regions.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies in the Bismarck Sea north of Papua New Guinea.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are South Bismarck Plate, Caroline Plate, Pacific Plate, and Manus Plate.

What happens at its edges

Some breaks slide sideways, while other short sections pull apart and create young ocean floor.

Why the ground is active

Frequent shallow earthquakes reveal where these small pieces move against one another.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the Bismarck Sea north of Papua New Guinea.

Why it matters

It is a useful way to organize a crowded earthquake belt that cannot be explained by one simple plate edge.

What the outline helps explain

Many short outlines crowd the sea north of Papua New Guinea. The highlighted area is one way to divide a real belt of earthquakes into smaller pieces whose movement can be tested.

A closer look

North of Papua New Guinea, plate movement is divided among many short breaks and small pieces. North Bismarck is one possible piece in that pattern.

What scientists are still working out

Some studies draw a North Bismarck Plate, while others treat parts of it as old or inactive. This outline is a scientific interpretation, not a settled border.

Juan de Fuca Plate Regional plate JF

A narrow strip of ocean floor off the Pacific Northwest could produce effects far larger than its size suggests.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Mountains rise

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: New ocean floor forms along its western edge, moves east to northeast, and then bends below North America.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It lies offshore from northern California, Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are North America Plate and Pacific Plate.

What happens at its edges

The plate is created on one side and consumed on the other. The place where it moves below North America is called Cascadia, the long plate contact off the Pacific Northwest.

Why the ground is active

The Cascadia contact can remain locked for centuries and then produce a very large earthquake. The sinking plate also helps feed the Cascade volcanoes inland.

What sits on this plate

It lies offshore from northern California, Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island.

Why it matters

It shows how a small plate can shape earthquake and volcano hazards across a vast coastal region.

What the outline helps explain

A thin strip of ocean floor lies between the Pacific and the northwest coast of North America. Its small width hides its large influence on earthquakes and volcanoes from northern California to Canada.

A closer look

A narrow strip of ocean floor off the Pacific Northwest could produce effects far larger than its size suggests.

The bigger story

Juan de Fuca is a surviving fragment of a much larger ocean plate that was gradually consumed beneath North America.

Landscapes shaped here

Its movement shapes the offshore Pacific Northwest, the Cascade volcanoes, coastal mountains, and deep structures below the continent.

What scientists are still working out

The plate is well known. Scientists continue to improve estimates of where its contact with North America is locked and how that locking varies.

Okinawa Plate Smaller moving piece ON

Okinawa tells a surprising two-part story: plates press together near the volcanic islands while the rock behind those islands is being pulled apart.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: There is no reliable single speed for the whole outline. The clearest movement is the rocky outer shell stretching behind the Ryukyu volcanic islands.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies between Taiwan and southern Japan around the Ryukyu Islands and the sea immediately to their west.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Philippine Sea Plate, Eurasia Plate, and Yangtze Plate.

What happens at its edges

Near Taiwan, plates push together. Farther northeast, one plate sinks below another and forms the Ryukyu chain of volcanic islands. Behind those islands, the rock is slowly pulling apart.

Why the ground is active

The sinking plate produces earthquakes and helps feed volcanoes. Stretching behind the islands creates additional shallow earthquakes.

What sits on this plate

It lies between Taiwan and southern Japan around the Ryukyu Islands and the sea immediately to their west.

Why it matters

It shows that pushing together and pulling apart can happen side by side within one connected plate system.

What the outline helps explain

The narrow highlighted area runs from Taiwan toward southern Japan, just west of a long island chain. Its position shows how rock can be squeezed at one end while being pulled apart farther along the same system.

A closer look

Okinawa tells a surprising two-part story: plates press together near the volcanic islands while the rock behind those islands is being pulled apart.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists agree that this region is stretching, but they do not all draw Okinawa as a separate plate or place its borders in exactly the same way.

Timor Plate Smaller moving piece TI

Near Timor, thick rock carrying the Australian continent has reached a place that once swallowed only ocean floor, changing sinking into mountain building.

One plate sinks below another
Plates push together
Mountains rise

Plate type: Small moving piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: Australia continues to move north into the region, but the motion is divided among several small pieces and cannot be reduced to one useful speed.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies around Timor and the outer Banda island chain, immediately north of Australia.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Australia Plate, Banda Sea Plate, and Sunda Plate.

What happens at its edges

Ocean floor can sink easily, but thick continent-bearing rock resists. As Australia arrives, the rock is squeezed, stacked, and lifted instead.

Why the ground is active

The changing plate contact produces strong earthquakes. Volcanoes become less continuous where continent-bearing rock has entered the system.

What sits on this plate

It lies around Timor and the outer Banda island chain, immediately north of Australia.

Why it matters

It captures a major change in progress: a boundary that once consumed ocean floor is becoming a meeting of two continents.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted piece sits where the curved Indonesian island system meets Australia. Its position captures a change in progress, from ocean floor sinking to continent-bearing rock being squeezed and lifted.

A closer look

Near Timor, thick rock carrying the Australian continent has reached a place that once swallowed only ocean floor, changing sinking into mountain building.

What scientists are still working out

Timor is best understood as one moving piece inside a broad zone where two continents meet. Its borders do not behave like the clean edges of a large stable plate.

Sandwich Plate Regional plate SW

Far east of South America, ocean floor sinks below a small plate and feeds one of Earth's most remote chains of active volcanoes.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: Ocean floor carried by the South America Plate moves below the Sandwich Plate. The linked plates also spread apart farther west.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies beneath the South Sandwich island chain, east of the Scotia Sea in the South Atlantic.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are South America Plate, Antarctica Plate, and Scotia Plate.

What happens at its edges

The eastern edge is a deep ocean valley where one plate bends down. Behind the volcanic islands, new ocean floor forms as the region pulls apart.

Why the ground is active

The sinking plate causes strong earthquakes and supplies water that helps hotter rock melt beneath the island volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It lies beneath the South Sandwich island chain, east of the Scotia Sea in the South Atlantic.

Why it matters

It completes the Scotia story by connecting sideways plate movement in the west with sinking ocean floor and volcanoes in the east.

What the outline helps explain

The narrow outline curves around the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic. It connects sideways plate movement farther west with sinking ocean floor and volcanoes at the eastern end.

A closer look

Far east of South America, ocean floor sinks below a small plate and feeds one of Earth's most remote chains of active volcanoes.

What scientists are still working out

The movement is real and active, but scientists usually understand this small plate as one part of the larger Scotia and South Sandwich system.

South Bismarck Plate Smaller moving piece SB

Near Papua New Guinea, the motion of two giant plate systems is split among several much smaller pieces. South Bismarck is one of them.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Small moving piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: Movement is carried by several sideways-sliding and pulling-apart breaks, so one speed for the entire plate would be misleading.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies in the southern Bismarck Sea near New Britain and the north coast of Papua New Guinea.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are North Bismarck Plate, Solomon Sea Plate, and Manus Plate.

What happens at its edges

Some short edges slide sideways and others pull apart. Nearby, ocean floor also sinks beneath the island region.

Why the ground is active

The close network of moving breaks causes frequent shallow earthquakes. Sinking ocean floor nearby feeds volcanoes on New Britain.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the southern Bismarck Sea near New Britain and the north coast of Papua New Guinea.

Why it matters

It helps explain why this region needs several small moving pieces rather than one boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates.

What the outline helps explain

Several small outlines meet along the north coast of Papua New Guinea. The highlighted piece helps divide movement that is too complicated for one border between the enormous Australia and Pacific regions.

A closer look

Near Papua New Guinea, the motion of two giant plate systems is split among several much smaller pieces. South Bismarck is one of them.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists commonly use a South Bismarck Plate, but its borders with Manus and North Bismarck are complex and may be drawn differently.

Panama Plate Smaller moving piece PM

Panama is more than a land bridge. It is also a moving link between Central America and the northern Andes.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Plates push together

Plate type: Small moving piece of a continent
Movement: Satellite measurements often show northward movement relative to the Caribbean, while the block also changes shape internally.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It spans Panama and parts of Costa Rica between the Caribbean, Pacific, and northern South America.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are North Andes Plate, Caribbean Plate, and Cocos Plate.

What happens at its edges

To the west, the Cocos Plate moves below Central America. To the east, Panama presses into the northern Andes and transfers movement into the continent.

Why the ground is active

Sinking ocean floor drives earthquakes and volcanoes toward Costa Rica. Farther east, squeezed and sliding rock causes earthquakes without one simple volcanic line.

What sits on this plate

It spans Panama and parts of Costa Rica between the Caribbean, Pacific, and northern South America.

Why it matters

It carries plate movement from an ocean boundary into a mountain belt on land.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted piece crosses the narrow land bridge from Costa Rica toward northern South America. It carries movement from an ocean plate edge into mountains well inland.

A closer look

Panama is more than a land bridge. It is also a moving link between Central America and the northern Andes.

What scientists are still working out

The Panama region clearly moves relative to its neighbors, but it is not perfectly solid. Scientists may describe it as a plate, a sliver, or several connected pieces.

Tonga Plate Regional plate TO

Near northern Tonga, plates approach one another at up to about 24 centimeters per year, one of the fastest plate-boundary rates measured on Earth.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: Near northern Tonga, the Pacific Plate approaches the island chain at up to about 24 centimeters per year. That is the rate between plates at the boundary, not the speed of the whole Tonga Plate.
Map confidence: Well mapped Scientists broadly agree on this plate's outline and overall movement. The map still leaves out many smaller breaks.

Where it is

It lies in the southwest Pacific along the Tonga island chain, east of Fiji and north of Kermadec.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Niuafo'ou Plate, Kermadec Plate, Pacific Plate, and Futuna Plate.

What happens at its edges

Pacific ocean floor bends downward on the east. Behind the volcanic islands, the rocky outer shell pulls apart and creates new ocean floor.

Why the ground is active

Rapid sinking produces frequent earthquakes from shallow to great depths. Water carried downward helps create molten rock for Tonga's volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the southwest Pacific along the Tonga island chain, east of Fiji and north of Kermadec.

Why it matters

It shows how a very fast sinking boundary can pull the region behind it apart at the same time.

What the outline helps explain

The long, narrow outline follows the Tonga island chain east of Fiji. Its shape links very fast ocean-floor sinking on one side with new ocean floor opening behind the islands.

A closer look

Near northern Tonga, plates approach one another at up to about 24 centimeters per year, one of the fastest plate-boundary rates measured on Earth.

The bigger story

The Pacific Plate sinks very rapidly beside Tonga. As the sinking edge shifts eastward, it pulls the ocean floor behind the volcanic islands apart.

Landscapes shaped here

The system creates one of the deepest ocean valleys, the Tonga volcanoes, active undersea vents, and new ocean floor farther west.

What scientists are still working out

The exceptional boundary speed is well measured. The way that movement is divided among the small plates behind Tonga remains complex.

Balmoral Reef Plate Very small moving piece BR

North of Fiji, new ocean floor forms through a broken network rather than along one continuous crack. Balmoral Reef is one possible piece between those breaks.

Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past
Volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: Its movement depends on how scientists divide the surrounding North Fiji region into small plates.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies north of Fiji between the Vanuatu and Tonga plate systems.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are New Hebrides Plate, Conway Reef Plate, Australia Plate, and Pacific Plate.

What happens at its edges

Short sections pull apart, slide sideways, or press together as the wider region adjusts between much larger plates.

Why the ground is active

Shallow earthquakes mark the moving breaks, while nearby sinking ocean floor feeds volcanoes around the island chains.

What sits on this plate

It lies north of Fiji between the Vanuatu and Tonga plate systems.

Why it matters

It helps turn a confusing network of young ocean floor into a map of smaller moving pieces.

What the outline helps explain

Several tiny outlines crowd together north of Fiji. The highlighted shape is one scientific way to divide movement that no single large plate can explain cleanly.

A closer look

North of Fiji, new ocean floor forms through a broken network rather than along one continuous crack. Balmoral Reef is one possible piece between those breaks.

What scientists are still working out

Balmoral Reef is a useful interpretation of the North Fiji region, but the area is changing shape and may contain more small pieces than this global map shows.

Easter Plate Very small moving piece EA

The Easter Plate is not beneath Easter Island. It is a rotating sliver of young ocean floor about 350 kilometers west of the island.

Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past
Volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: The small plate rotates where two nearby cracks are making new ocean floor and partly overlap one another.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies in the southeastern Pacific about 350 kilometers west of Easter Island. The island itself sits on the Nazca Plate.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Pacific Plate and Nazca Plate.

What happens at its edges

New ocean floor forms along its sides while sideways movement and rotation rearrange the narrow overlap between the larger plates.

Why the ground is active

Most earthquakes here are linked to shallow breaking and pulling apart of young ocean floor. Volcanoes form where molten rock rises through those opening cracks.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the southeastern Pacific about 350 kilometers west of Easter Island. The island itself sits on the Nazca Plate.

Why it matters

It shows how a small, temporary plate can be created when a fast-moving ocean boundary cannot connect in one straight line.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted sliver lies west of Easter Island, not beneath the island itself. It formed where a moving ocean boundary overlaps instead of joining in one straight line.

A closer look

The Easter Plate is not beneath Easter Island. It is a rotating sliver of young ocean floor about 350 kilometers west of the island.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists can measure the rotation of this small plate, but it is a temporary feature that changes as the surrounding cracks continue to grow.

Shetland Plate Very small moving piece SL

Near the Antarctic Peninsula, the remains of an older sinking boundary overlap with a newer region that is pulling apart.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of land and ocean floor
Movement: The sea between the islands and the peninsula is slowly widening, while older plate structures still influence the region.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies around the South Shetland Islands and the sea immediately north of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Antarctica Plate, Pacific Plate, and Scotia Plate.

What happens at its edges

Some breaks pull apart and others slide, all within a zone inherited from the older sinking plate.

Why the ground is active

Shallow earthquakes follow the newer breaks. Volcanoes reflect both present-day stretching and the region's older history of sinking ocean floor.

What sits on this plate

It lies around the South Shetland Islands and the sea immediately north of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Why it matters

It lets scientists study how one kind of plate boundary fades while another begins in the same place.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted strip lies between the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. It preserves a small moving piece where an older plate system is fading and new movement is taking over.

A closer look

Near the Antarctic Peninsula, the remains of an older sinking boundary overlap with a newer region that is pulling apart.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists agree that the region is pulling apart, but they still debate how much of the older sinking system remains active and where to draw a separate plate.

Conway Reef Plate Very small moving piece CR

West of Fiji, young ocean floor is divided into several small moving pieces because no single crack can carry all the movement.

Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past
Volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: There is no reliable single speed for this very small plate. Its movement must be understood together with neighboring pieces.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies west of Fiji in the North Fiji region of the southwest Pacific.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Balmoral Reef Plate, New Hebrides Plate, Australia Plate, and Futuna Plate.

What happens at its edges

Short edges pull apart, slide sideways, or locally press together as the wider ocean floor changes shape.

Why the ground is active

Frequent shallow earthquakes show where those short edges move. Nearby volcanoes are fed by both pulling-apart zones and sinking plates.

What sits on this plate

It lies west of Fiji in the North Fiji region of the southwest Pacific.

Why it matters

It is one map solution for dividing a complicated region of young, actively changing ocean floor.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted shape is one of several tiny pieces west of Fiji. Its outline is useful for testing how this changing ocean floor moves, but other scientific maps may divide the same area differently.

A closer look

West of Fiji, young ocean floor is divided into several small moving pieces because no single crack can carry all the movement.

What scientists are still working out

Conway Reef is one possible small plate in a rapidly changing region. Its outline depends strongly on which measurements and map model are used.

Niuafo'ou Plate Very small moving piece NI

Behind Tonga's volcanic islands, the ocean floor is being pulled apart almost as a direct response to the Pacific Plate sinking nearby.

One plate sinks below another
Plates slide past
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: It moves as part of the rapidly widening region behind Tonga, but scientists do not assign one dependable speed to the whole outline.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies in the northern Lau region west of Tonga in the southwest Pacific.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Futuna Plate and Tonga Plate.

What happens at its edges

The rocky outer shell pulls apart and slides along short breaks between Tonga, Fiji, and neighboring small plates.

Why the ground is active

Pulling apart causes shallow earthquakes and lets molten rock rise to create new ocean floor. The nearby sinking Pacific Plate drives deeper earthquakes and volcanic activity.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the northern Lau region west of Tonga in the southwest Pacific.

Why it matters

It shows how a sinking plate can tug on the region behind a volcanic island chain and open new ocean floor there.

What the outline helps explain

The small highlighted plate lies immediately west of Tonga. Its position helps show how rapidly sinking ocean floor can tug on the area behind a volcanic island chain and pull it apart.

A closer look

Behind Tonga's volcanic islands, the ocean floor is being pulled apart almost as a direct response to the Pacific Plate sinking nearby.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists agree that the northern Lau region is widening, but they differ on whether Niuafo'ou moves as one solid plate and exactly where its edges lie.

Solomon Sea Plate Smaller moving piece SS

The Solomon Sea Plate is a shrinking leftover of ocean floor being consumed around more than one side.

One plate sinks below another
Plates push together
Volcanoes

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: The plate is being rotated and consumed within several surrounding sinking boundaries, so one speed would hide the real story.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies east of Papua New Guinea and west of the Solomon Islands.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are South Bismarck Plate, Woodlark Plate, and Pacific Plate.

What happens at its edges

Ocean floor moves downward along more than one edge, while other parts are squeezed or broken between neighboring small plates.

Why the ground is active

The surrounding sinking contacts produce strong earthquakes at many depths and feed volcanoes across nearby island chains.

What sits on this plate

It lies east of Papua New Guinea and west of the Solomon Islands.

Why it matters

It shows the final stages in the life of an ocean plate as larger systems consume it from several directions.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted ocean plate is wedged between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Its crowded edges show an ocean plate nearing the end of its life as neighboring systems consume it from several directions.

A closer look

The Solomon Sea Plate is a shrinking leftover of ocean floor being consumed around more than one side.

What scientists are still working out

The shrinking plate is well recognized, but its surrounding boundaries change through time and are more complex than the clean outline shown here.

Juan Fernandez Plate Very small moving piece JZ

The Juan Fernandez Plate is a temporary rotating piece created because two cracks making new ocean floor overlap instead of meeting cleanly.

Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past
Volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: It rotates as the overlapping cracks around it continue to make new ocean floor and change position.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies in the southeastern Pacific between the larger Pacific and Nazca plates, far from any continent.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Pacific Plate and Nazca Plate.

What happens at its edges

Its short edges are places where ocean floor forms, slides sideways, and is turned by the changing overlap.

Why the ground is active

Shallow earthquakes and undersea volcanoes follow the cracks where new ocean floor forms.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the southeastern Pacific between the larger Pacific and Nazca plates, far from any continent.

Why it matters

It shows that some plates are temporary solutions created by an awkward moving boundary, not permanent pieces of Earth.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted sliver sits inside the wider moving boundary between two enormous ocean plates. It shows that an awkward overlap can create a small, temporary plate rather than one simple line.

A closer look

The Juan Fernandez Plate is a temporary rotating piece created because two cracks making new ocean floor overlap instead of meeting cleanly.

What scientists are still working out

The rotating piece is scientifically useful, but it is temporary and its outline changes as the surrounding ocean-floor cracks evolve.

Maoke Plate Smaller moving piece MO

New Guinea's mountain spine exists where the Australia and Pacific plate systems share their movement across several smaller pieces.

Plates slide past
Plates push together
Mountains rise

Plate type: Possible small piece of a continent
Movement: There is no reliable single speed. Movement is spread among nearby pieces and many breaks through the mountain belt.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

This outline covers parts of western and central New Guinea in some scientific maps.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Birds Head Plate, Australia Plate, and Woodlark Plate.

What happens at its edges

Some regions press together and lift mountains, while others slide sideways as the larger plate systems move past one another.

Why the ground is active

Earthquakes occur throughout the network of moving breaks. Volcanoes form where ocean floor sinks beneath nearby island regions.

What sits on this plate

This outline covers parts of western and central New Guinea in some scientific maps.

Why it matters

It helps explain why New Guinea is a broad zone of mountain building rather than one clean boundary between two large plates.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted outline runs through New Guinea's central mountains instead of following a coast. It helps show that mountain growth and sideways movement are spread across a broad zone of smaller pieces.

A closer look

New Guinea's mountain spine exists where the Australia and Pacific plate systems share their movement across several smaller pieces.

What scientists are still working out

Maoke is one of several possible ways to divide western New Guinea. New measurements have repeatedly changed where scientists draw these small pieces.

Rivera Plate Smaller moving piece RI

The Rivera Plate is small, but it carries ocean floor beneath western Mexico and contributes to earthquakes and volcanoes on land.

One plate sinks below another
Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: It moves generally east to southeast and bends below western Mexico.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies in the Pacific Ocean just off western Mexico, northwest of the Cocos Plate.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are North America Plate, Pacific Plate, and Cocos Plate.

What happens at its edges

Its eastern edge carries ocean floor downward below the continent. Along other short edges, it meets the Pacific and Cocos plates.

Why the ground is active

The sinking plate can produce strong earthquakes offshore and helps create molten rock that feeds volcanoes inland.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the Pacific Ocean just off western Mexico, northwest of the Cocos Plate.

Why it matters

It shows that Mexico's Pacific edge is shaped by more than one sinking ocean plate.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted plate is a small patch of ocean floor just west of Mexico. Its separate outline shows why Mexico's Pacific edge is shaped by more than one sinking ocean plate.

A closer look

The Rivera Plate is small, but it carries ocean floor beneath western Mexico and contributes to earthquakes and volcanoes on land.

What scientists are still working out

Rivera is a recognized small plate, but its southeastern edge blends into a broad changing zone next to the Cocos Plate.

Futuna Plate Very small moving piece FT

Near Fiji and Tonga, the movement of two enormous plates is divided among several much smaller pieces. Futuna is one of them.

Rock pulls apart
Plates slide past
Rock stretches behind volcanoes

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: Its estimated movement changes between scientific models and only makes sense together with the neighboring Tonga and North Fiji regions.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies in the southwest Pacific between Fiji and Tonga.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Conway Reef Plate, Niuafo'ou Plate, and Tonga Plate.

What happens at its edges

Short sections pull apart or slide sideways as the wider region adjusts to rapid plate movement near Tonga.

Why the ground is active

Shallow earthquakes mark the breaks between small pieces. Nearby sinking ocean floor drives deeper earthquakes and volcanoes.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the southwest Pacific between Fiji and Tonga.

Why it matters

It helps explain how broad plate movement is shared across the crowded ocean between Fiji and Tonga.

What the outline helps explain

Several small outlines fill the ocean between Fiji and Tonga. The highlighted shape is one possible piece in a region where rapid movement is shared across many short breaks.

A closer look

Near Fiji and Tonga, the movement of two enormous plates is divided among several much smaller pieces. Futuna is one of them.

What scientists are still working out

Futuna is one possible small plate in a region that is actively changing shape. Its exact outline and ability to move as one piece remain uncertain.

Galapagos Plate Smaller moving piece GP

The Galapagos Plate is not beneath the Galapagos Islands. It is a rotating sliver of ocean floor farther west.

Rock pulls apart
Volcanoes
Earthquakes

Plate type: Small moving piece of ocean floor
Movement: It rotates where three systems making new ocean floor crowd together instead of meeting at one simple point.
Map confidence: Broad picture The main setting is clear, but parts of the outline are divided among smaller moving pieces.

Where it is

It lies west of the Galapagos Islands where the Pacific, Cocos, and Nazca plates meet. The islands themselves sit on the Nazca Plate.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are Pacific Plate, Nazca Plate, and Cocos Plate.

What happens at its edges

Short cracks create new ocean floor around it, while their changing positions turn and reshape the small plate.

Why the ground is active

Shallow earthquakes and undersea volcanoes occur where the young ocean floor pulls apart and rearranges itself.

What sits on this plate

It lies west of the Galapagos Islands where the Pacific, Cocos, and Nazca plates meet. The islands themselves sit on the Nazca Plate.

Why it matters

It shows how three plate edges meeting in one place can create a rotating plate with no continent on it.

What the outline helps explain

The highlighted plate lies west of the Galapagos Islands, not beneath them. It rotates where three moving plate edges crowd together instead of meeting at one simple point.

A closer look

The Galapagos Plate is not beneath the Galapagos Islands. It is a rotating sliver of ocean floor farther west.

What scientists are still working out

Scientists can measure this small plate's rotation, but it behaves more like an evolving junction between three boundaries than a large stable plate.

Manus Plate Smaller moving piece MN

A narrow belt of shallow earthquakes in the Bismarck Sea reveals movement split among many short breaks. The Manus Plate is one possible piece there.

Plates slide past
Volcanoes
Earthquakes

Plate type: Possible small piece of ocean floor
Movement: Motion estimates differ because the Manus region is tightly connected to its neighboring small plates.
Map confidence: Approximate This outline is one useful scientific interpretation. Other maps may divide the region differently.

Where it is

It lies in the Bismarck Sea north of Papua New Guinea, between the North and South Bismarck plates.

Neighbors and boundaries

On this global map, its nearest plate neighbors are North Bismarck Plate, South Bismarck Plate, and Pacific Plate.

What happens at its edges

Short breaks slide sideways or pull apart rather than forming one continuous plate border.

Why the ground is active

The many shallow earthquakes are direct evidence that these small pieces are moving against one another.

What sits on this plate

It lies in the Bismarck Sea north of Papua New Guinea, between the North and South Bismarck plates.

Why it matters

It helps scientists turn a narrow earthquake belt into a testable map of smaller moving pieces.

What the outline helps explain

The tiny highlighted area sits inside a cluster of short outlines north of Papua New Guinea. Scientists use it to test whether a narrow earthquake belt marks a separate moving piece.

A closer look

A narrow belt of shallow earthquakes in the Bismarck Sea reveals movement split among many short breaks. The Manus Plate is one possible piece there.

What scientists are still working out

The earthquake belt is real, but Manus may not move as a fully independent plate. Its outline cannot be separated cleanly from the neighboring Bismarck pieces.

BOUNDARY PROCESSES

What happens where plates meet

Plate boundaries are not all alike. The same global map contains several kinds of movement, often combined in complex regions.

Divergence: Plates pull apart and new crust can form between them.; Rock pulls apart / 34 plates in this dataset
Convergence and subduction: Plates move together and one can sink below another, feeding deep earthquakes and volcanic arcs.; One plate sinks below another / 42 plates in this dataset
Collision: Buoyant crust presses together, thickens, and can raise mountain ranges.; Plates push together / 27 plates in this dataset
Transform motion: Plates slide sideways past one another and release accumulated strain in earthquakes.; Plates slide past / 24 plates in this dataset