Ad
related to: maps of islands in the pacific plate
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
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 Tonga plate begins 2,500 km (1,600 mi) NNE of New Zealand and stretches northward, [4] until the plate ends bounded by the Niuafo'ou plate to the northwest and the Pacific plate to the northeast. The Hikurangi Margin is the extension of the Kermadec–Tonga subduction zone further south down the east coast of the North Island.
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]
The umbrella term Pacific Islands has taken on several meanings. [1] Sometimes it is used to refer only to the islands defined as lying within Oceania. [2] [3] [4] At other times, it is used to refer to the islands of the Pacific Ocean that were previously colonized by the British, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch, or Japanese, or by the United States.
The eastern islands of Indonesia (Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands (excluding Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and Sangeang), Halmahera, the Banda Islands and the Sangihe Islands) are geologically associated with subduction of the Pacific plate or its related minor plates and, therefore, the eastern islands are often regarded as part of the Ring of Fire.
The archipelago sits on the Pacific plate. The islands are exposed peaks of a great undersea mountain range known as the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, formed by volcanic activity over a hotspot in the Earth's mantle. The islands are about 1,860 miles (3,000 km) from the nearest continent and are part of the Polynesia subregion of Oceania.
Tectonic map of Alaska and northwestern Canada showing main faults and historic earthquakes. The Queen Charlotte triple junction is a geologic triple junction where three tectonic plates meet: the Pacific plate, the North American plate, and the Explorer plate.
While most of the large earthquakes occur at the contact zone between both tectonic plates, related to the friction during subduction, others are produced in the Pacific plate due to its bending. [14] The Pacific crust that descends into the trench is old, 100–140 Ma, and relatively cold and it can therefore store a lot of elastic energy.