Not only is this the only major tectonic plate that is mainly underwater, it is also the largest, spanning over 100 million square kilometers. Anyone can earn The lithosphere is subdivided into tectonic plates. The African plate is the fourth largest tectonic plate with an estimated area of 61,300,000 square kilometers. The composition of the two types of crust differs markedly, with mafic basaltic rocks dominating oceanic crust, while continental crust consists principally of lower-density felsic granitic rocks. In some cases (such as in northern California) the subducted part can break off completely, sinking into the deep Earth as the plates above it change their orientation. The North American plate is responsible for the formation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a mountain chain beneath the Atlantic Ocean. The same can be said for the South American plate, which is another of the seven major plates and extends from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of South America. From there, you would probably be able to identify the big land mass to the east as Africa and the land mass that it wears as a hat as Europe. Lithospheric plates are much thicker than oceanic or continental crust. Quiz & Worksheet - Major Tectonic Plates of the Lithosphere, Over 83,000 lessons in all major subjects, {{courseNav.course.mDynamicIntFields.lessonCount}}, Alfred Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift, Plate Boundaries: Convergent, Divergent, and Transform Boundaries, Ocean Drilling as Evidence for Plate Tectonics, Paleomagnetism and Hot Spots: Evidence for Plate Tectonics, Biological and Biomedical Bird, P. (2003). Earth's crust is divided into many different tectonic 'what'? When the Eurasian Plate and the Indo-Australian plates collided many many years ago, the Himalayan mountains were formed. Sciences, Culinary Arts and Personal Notably, the Italian island of Sicily is also a part of the African Plate. It appears that the lithosphere ends where the temperature reaches a certain level that causes average mantle rock (peridotite) to grow too soft. Cloudflare Ray ID: 5f77bd3bbb42085b - Definition, Theory & Components, North American Plate: Tectonics, Movement & Facts, What is the Epicenter of an Earthquake? Slab pull is the most relevant force that affects the movement of tectonic plates. The formation of the Cocos Plate can be traced to seafloor spreading, which generally occurs at mid-ocean ranges. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com, 8 Facts You Need to Know About Tectonic Plates, The 10 Coldest Cities In The United States. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Delamination allows the hot mantle to rise and yield melt underneath parts of a continent, causing widespread uplift and volcanism. But is this always the way planet Earth has looked? The majority of the plate is deeply submerged beneath the Scotia Sea. Tectonic plates are 62 miles thick and are made up of the continental crust and the oceanic crust. The seven major plates are the African plate, Antarctic plate, Eurasian plate, Indo-Australian plate, North American plate, Pacific plate and South American plate. Microplates are tiny tectonic plates, terranes are fragments of crustal material formed on one tectonic plate and accreted to crust lying on another plate, and zones are bands of similar rocks on a plate formed by terrane accretion or native rock formation. Such boundaries are highly susceptible to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It's probably best not to expect a definitive boundary. Tetsuzo Seno, Taro Sakurai, and Seth Stein. "An updated digital model of plate boundaries". At this pace, Somalia may separate from Africa after millions of years, leading to the formation of a new continent and ocean. Most of the Pacific Plate is made up of oceanic crust, except for areas around New Zealand and parts of California. There are seven major lithospheric plates on the Earth's outer Select a subject to preview related courses: As the two major plates slowly move away from each other, they allow magma from the deeper layers of the earth to seep up onto the ocean floor, producing new layers of oceanic crust. The cracks between the plates of the lithosphere are called plate boundaries. A few hot spots underneath the plate are responsible for active seismic activity, the most famous example of which may be the Yellowstone geyser. The continental lithosphere can split, with the bottom part breaking off and sinking. The Lithosphere-Asthenosphere boundary is defined by a difference in response to stress: the lithosphere remains rigid for very long periods of geologic time in which it deforms elastically and through brittle failure, while the asthenosphere deforms viscously and accommodates strain through plastic deformation. There are 4 different types of tectonic plate boundaries. Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. Plates which are sliding parallel past one another. It is the fifth-largest plate on earth. Already registered? Did you know… We have over 220 college This gets us closer to understanding the location of the major tectonic plates, but it doesn't share the whole story. I only needed a one-word answer! There may be scientific consensus as to whether such plates should be considered distinct portions of the crust; thus, new research could change this list.[2][3][4][5]. Under the continents, the lithosphere is thicker ... from around 100 to as much as 350 km. Study.com has thousands of articles about every
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