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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 East Pacific Rise near Easter Island is the fastest spreading mid-ocean ridge, with a spreading rate of over 15 cm/yr. [2] The Pacific plate moves generally towards the northwest at between 7 and 11 cm/yr while the Juan De Fuca plate has an east-northeasterly movement of some 4 cm/yr. [3]
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.
Nazca plate – Oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin – 15,600,000 km 2 (6,000,000 sq mi) [note 1] New Hebrides plate – Minor Pacific Ocean tectonic plate – 1,100,000 km 2 (420,000 sq mi) Okhotsk microplate – Minor tectonic plate in Asia
The modern understanding of the plate tectonic cycle predicts that remnants of submerged plates will be found near subduction zones. ... is in the western Pacific, where the presence of a ...
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]
These plates, called tectonic plates, can push against each other. Earthquakes are most common along fault lines, which are fractures that allow the plates to move.
[1] 10 Ma to 1.5 Ma prior to the triple junction's current location, it was located southwest of Vancouver Island [1] The movements of the triple junction have been characterized by two major shifts in the Pacific-North American Tertiary plate tectonic record. First, at approximately 40 Ma the relative plate motions switched from orthogonal ...