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The Nazca plate or Nasca plate, [2] named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction , along the Peru–Chile Trench , of the Nazca plate under the South American plate is largely responsible for the Andean orogeny .
The South American plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
The oceanic Nazca plate subducts beneath the continental South American plate at the Peru–Chile Trench. Just north of the Nazca plate, the oceanic Cocos plate subducts under the Caribbean plate and forms the Middle America Trench. Oceanic crust of the South American plate subducts under the Caribbean plate in the Lesser Antilles subduction zone.
Scotia plate – Minor oceanic tectonic plate between the Antarctic and South American plates – 1,600,000 km 2 (620,000 sq mi) Somali plate – Minor tectonic plate including the east coast of Africa and the adjoining seabed – 16,700,000 km 2 (6,400,000 sq mi)
The Pacific plate is moving the fastest at 95 mm/yr NE, then the Cocos plate moving relatively N-NW 67 mm/yr, and 40 mm/yr E –NE for the Nazca plate. [2] Differing border velocities that detect the rate of spreading as well as the lack of/slowing of spreading are also considered as well. [2]
Map showing the location of Nazca Ridge off the west coast of Peru. The Nazca Ridge is a submarine ridge, located on the Nazca plate off the west coast of South America.This plate and ridge are currently subducting under the South American plate at a convergent boundary known as the Peru-Chile Trench at approximately 7.7 cm (3.0 in) per year. [1]
The trench is also a part of the Chile triple junction, an unusual junction that consists of a mid-oceanic ridge and the Chile Rise being subducted under the South American plate at the Peru–Chile Trench. Two seamount ridges within the Nazca plate enter the subduction zone along this trench: the Nazca Ridge and the Juan Fernández Ridge.
This is a tiny plate between Nazca plate and South American plate, it locates east of the Chile ridge. It is proved that Chiloe microplate (Fig-5, 6) is migrated northwards relative to the South American plate which is rather immobile. The Golfo de Penas basin is formed because of the northward movement of Chiloe microplate. [16]