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For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20 million km 2 (7.7 million sq mi) African plate – Tectonic plate underlying Africa – 61,300,000 km 2 (23,700,000 sq mi) Antarctic plate – Major tectonic plate containing Antarctica and the surrounding ocean floor – 60,900,000 km 2 (23,500,000 sq mi)
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.
Map showing the Indo-Australian plate (IA) and other major plates The Indo-Australian plate, shown as its two subdivisions: the Indian plate (red) and the Australian plate (orange) The Indo-Australian plate is or was a major tectonic plate. It is in the process of separation into three plates, and may be currently separated into more than one ...
This paradoxically results in divergence which was only incorporated in the theory of plate tectonics in 1970, but still results in net destruction when summed over major plate boundaries. [2] Divergent boundaries are areas where plates move away from each other, forming either mid-ocean ridges or rift valleys. These are also known as ...
Tectonic plates are made up of Earth’s crust and the rigid top layer of the mantle, known as the lithospheric mantle. The planet has around a dozen large and irregularly shaped tectonic plates ...
The Caribbean plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the northern coast of South America. Roughly 3.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles) in area, the Caribbean plate borders the North American plate, the South American plate, the Nazca plate and the Cocos plate.
The Australian plate is a major tectonic plate in the eastern and, largely, southern hemispheres. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana , Australia remained connected to India and Antarctica until approximately 100 million years ago when India broke away and began moving north.