African Plate

E17078

major tectonic plate tectonic plate

The African Plate is a major tectonic plate that underlies the continent of Africa and adjacent oceanic crust, playing a key role in continental drift, seismic activity, and the formation of geological features such as rift valleys and mountain ranges.

Aliases (3)

Statements (53)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	major tectonic plate → tectonic plate →
associatedWith	Alps–Apennines collision zone → Atlas Mountains → East African Rift System → Iceland hotspot via Mid-Atlantic Ridge → Mediterranean subduction zones →
boundedBy	Antarctic Plate → Arabian Plate → Caribbean Plate → Eurasian Plate → Indian Plate → Mid-Atlantic Ridge → Nazca Plate → Somali Plate → South American Plate →
causes	earthquakes along its boundaries → seafloor spreading in the Atlantic Ocean → volcanism in East Africa →
containsFeature	Nubian Plate (main portion) → oceanic crust of Central Atlantic → oceanic crust of South Atlantic →
continent	Africa →
hasBoundaryType	convergent boundary → divergent boundary → transform boundary →
hasType	continental plate → oceanic plate →
includesRegion	Central Atlantic Ocean floor → East African Rift → Mediterranean Sea floor segments → Red Sea → Sahara Desert → South Atlantic Ocean floor →
locatedIn	Eastern Hemisphere → Northern Hemisphere → Southern Hemisphere →
motionDirection	northeastward → northward →
motionSpeed	about 2.15 cm per year →
movesRelativeTo	Antarctic Plate → Eurasian Plate → South American Plate →
partOf	lithosphere →
playsRoleIn	continental drift → formation of mountain ranges → formation of rift valleys → seismic activity in Africa →
riftingWith	Somali Plate →
separatingFrom	North American Plate → South American Plate →
underlies	African continent → adjacent oceanic crust →

Referenced by (39)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Central Indian Ridge → East African Rift ("Nubian Plate") → Indian Ocean Ridge system → Mediterranean Ridge region → Mid-Atlantic Ridge → Romanche Trench → South Atlantic mid-ocean ridge system → Southwest Indian Ridge →	separates
Antarctic Plate → Arabian Plate → South American Plate →	borders
Eurasian Plate → Indo-Australian Plate → North American Plate →	hasBoundaryWith
Aegean Sea Plate → Eurasian Plate → Somali Plate ("Nubian Plate") →	movesRelativeTo
Calypso Deep → Cumbre Vieja → Romanche Fracture Zone →	tectonicPlate
Tyrrhenian region ("African Plate margin") → Western Mediterranean →	locatedOn
East African Rift → Somali Plate →	partOf
Antarctic Plate → Somali Plate ("Nubian Plate") →	separatedFrom
Hellenic Trench →	associatedWith
Aegean Sea Plate →	boundedBy
African Plate ("Nubian Plate (main portion)") →	containsFeature
Bouvet Triple Junction region →	hasTectonicPlate
Eurasian Plate →	interactsWith
Azores Triple Junction →	involvesPlate
Arabian Plate →	isRiftingFrom
Afar Triangle ("Nubian Plate") →	plateBoundary
Red Sea →	plateBoundaryBetween
Hellenic Arc →	plateInvolved
breakup of Gondwana →	resultsIn
Somali Plate →	separatingFrom
Hellenic subduction system →	subductingPlate