How Many Tectonic Plates Are There?
There are mainly 7 tectonic plates which include African, Antarctic, Eurasian Indo-Australian North American, Pacific, and South American plates. The Pacific Plate is the largest plate with 39,768,522 square kilometers, created what is now the Hawaiian Islands.
S. No. |
Major Plate Name |
Continents and Oceans |
Size (km2) |
---|---|---|---|
1. |
Pacific Plate |
Pacific Ocean |
102,900,000 |
2. |
North American Plate |
United States, Canada, the Arctic Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean |
75,900,000 |
3. |
Eurasian Plate |
Europe, Russia, and Asia |
67,800,000 |
4. |
African Plate |
Africa and the Atlantic Ocean |
61,300,000 |
5. |
Antarctic Plate |
Antarctica |
60,900,000 |
6. |
Indo-Australian Plate |
Australia, India, Oceania, and the Indian Ocean |
58,900,000 |
7. |
South American Plate |
South America and the Atlantic Ocean |
43,600,000 |
1. Pacific Plate
The Pacific main plate is the largest plate located at Pacific Ocean. It stretches across the western coasts of North America to the east coasts of Japan and Indonesia. The activity of the volcanoes that occur in the Hawaiian Islands is caused by an internal hot spot in the Pacific Plate.
2. North American Plate
The North American plate includes the continent of North America as well as a portion of the Atlantic Ocean.
3. Eurasian Plate
The majority of Europe, Russia, and parts of Asia are part of the Eurasian main plate.
4. African Plate
The African plate covers the whole African continent as well as the adjacent oceanic crust of the Atlantic Ocean.
5. Antarctic Plate
The Antarctic plate contains the whole Antarctic continent, including its surrounding oceanic crust. Parts of the African, Australian, Pacific and South American plates surround it. The main plate of Antarctica is thought to move roughly 1 centimeter every year.
6. Indo-Australian Plate
The Indo-Australian plate combines the Australian and Indian plates. However, they are commonly regarded as two distinct plates It also includes the Indian Ocean’s oceanic crust. The Australian plate meets the Pacific plate on its northeast side.
7. South American Plate
The South American plate is a big plate that covers the continent of South America as well as a large part of the Atlantic Ocean.
Tectonic Plates: Theory, Movement and Map
Tectonic Plates are large, rigid pieces of the Earth’s lithosphere, which is the outermost layer of the Earth. These plates, which vary in size and shape, cover the Earth’s surface. They consist of both the Earth’s crust and the uppermost portion of the mantle. Tectonic plates are in constant motion, floating on the semi-fluid asthenosphere beneath them. There are several major and minor tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s surface.
The movement of these plates is driven by forces within the Earth, such as mantle convection, slab pull, and ridge push. Tectonic plates interact with one another at their boundaries, where different types of interactions occur. There are three main types of plate boundaries: divergent boundaries, where plates move away from each other; convergent boundaries, where plates collide and either push against each other, one plate subducts beneath the other, or they crumple and form mountain ranges; and transform boundaries, where plates slide past each other horizontally.
Table of Content
- Tectonic Plate Definition
- Tectonic Plates Theory
- Types of Plate Boundaries
- Tectonic Plates Movement
- Tectonic Plate Map
- How Many Tectonic Plates Are There?
These interactions at plate boundaries result in various geological phenomena, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, the formation of mountain ranges, and the creation of new crust through processes like seafloor spreading. The theory of plate tectonics, which explains the movement and interactions of these tectonic plates, has transformed our understanding of the Earth’s geology and continues to be a fundamental concept in Earth sciences.
Read: Layer of The Earth