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The North American plate is a tectonic plate containing most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores.With an area of 76 million km 2 (29 million sq mi), it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific plate (which borders the plate to the west).
The Pacific plate (carrying the city of Los Angeles) is moving northwards with respect to the North American plate. The Queen Charlotte Fault on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America The Motagua Fault , which crosses through Guatemala , is a transform boundary between the southern edge of the North American plate and the northern edge of ...
The Pacific plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million km 2 (40 million sq mi), it is the largest tectonic plate. [2] The plate first came into existence as a microplate 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Izanagi plates. The Pacific plate subsequently grew ...
The Pacific plate, to the west of the fault, is moving in a northwest direction while the North American plate to the east is moving toward the southwest, but relatively southeast under the influence of plate tectonics. The rate of slippage averages about 33 to 37 millimeters (1.3 to 1.5 in) a year across California. [10]
The Mendocino triple junction is located at the eastern end of the Mendocino fracture zone where it approaches Cape Mendocino. The Mendocino triple junction (MTJ) is the point where the Gorda plate, the North American plate, and the Pacific plate meet, in the Pacific Ocean near Cape Mendocino in northern California.
The Pacific Plate forced its way under the North American plate, triggering geologic upheaval, including volcanism, on the west coast. [62] Ichthyosaurs remained the dominant marine reptiles of the Early Jurassic, but as the Jurassic progressed that title was gradually transferred to the plesiosaurs.
Stresses from the neighboring North American plate and Pacific plate cause frequent earthquakes in the interior of the plate, including the 1980 Eureka earthquake (also known as the Gorda Basin event). [3] The easterly side is the Cascadia subduction zone where the plate subducts under the North American plate in northern California
The region is part of the Ring of Fire: the subduction of the Pacific and Farallon Plates under the North American Plate is responsible for many of the area's scenic features as well as some of its hazards, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and landslides. The geology of the Pacific Northwest is vast and complex.