Pacific Plate

E3547

The Pacific Plate is the largest tectonic plate on Earth, underlying most of the Pacific Ocean and driving significant volcanic and seismic activity along its boundaries.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (3)


Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf lithospheric plate
oceanic plate
tectonic plate
ageRange mostly Mesozoic to Cenozoic oceanic crust
boundaryTypeIncludes convergent boundaries
divergent boundaries
transform boundaries
boundedBy Antarctic Plate
Cocos Plate
Eurasian Plate
Indo-Australian Plate
Juan de Fuca Plate
Nazca Plate
Nazca microplates and smaller plates
North American Plate
Japan Trench
surface form: Okhotsk Plate

Philippine Sea Plate
Rivera Plate
South American Plate
containsFeature Hawaii hotspot track
Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain
Pacific Ocean basin
coversMostOf Pacific Ocean seafloor
drives seismic activity around Pacific Rim
volcanic activity around Pacific Rim
formedBy seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges
hasBoundaryFeature East Pacific Rise
Japan Trench
Mariana Trench
Ring of Fire
San Andreas Fault
Tonga Trench
hasType mostly oceanic crust
isLargest tectonic plate on Earth
locatedOn Earth
movementCauses earthquakes
island arcs
subduction zones
volcanic arcs
movesDirection generally northwest
movesRelativeTo Eurasian Plate
Indo-Australian Plate
North American Plate
namedAfter Pacific Ocean
overlies Earth asthenosphere
partOf Earth lithosphere
subductsBeneath Eurasian Plate
Indo-Australian Plate in some regions
North American Plate
Philippine Sea Plate

Referenced by (103)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Philippine Basin adjacentTo Pacific Plate
Cobb Offset associatedWith Pacific Plate
Juan de Fuca Ridge associatedWith Pacific Plate
Pacific Ring of Fire associatedWith Pacific Plate
Ring of Fire associatedWith Pacific Plate
Tonga Trench associatedWithPlate Pacific Plate
Amur Plate borderedBy Pacific Plate
Okhotsk Plate borderedBy Pacific Plate
Sunda Plate borderedBy Pacific Plate
Antarctic Plate borders Pacific Plate
Cocos Plate borders Pacific Plate
Juan de Fuca Plate borders Pacific Plate
Philippine Sea Plate borders Pacific Plate
Rivera Plate borders Pacific Plate
Nazca Plate bordersPlate Pacific Plate
Explorer Plate bordersWith Pacific Plate
Gorda Plate bordersWith Pacific Plate
eastern Pacific Ocean boundedBy Pacific Plate
Aleutian Trench featureOf Pacific Plate
this entity surface form: Pacific Plate margin
Aleutian Trench formsBoundaryBetween Pacific Plate
Aleutian Arc formsBoundaryWith Pacific Plate
Hawaiian Islands geologicalSetting Pacific Plate
Caribbean Plate hasBoundaryWith Pacific Plate
Eurasian Plate hasBoundaryWith Pacific Plate
Indo-Australian Plate hasBoundaryWith Pacific Plate
North American Plate hasBoundaryWith Pacific Plate
Kīlauea hasGeologicSetting Pacific Plate
Caroline Plate hasMotionRelativeTo Pacific Plate
Pacific Ocean hasTectonicBoundary Pacific Plate
Kuril Islands hasTectonicPlate Pacific Plate
Bird’s Head Plate interactsWith Pacific Plate
Caroline Plate interactsWith Pacific Plate
Eurasian Plate interactsWith Pacific Plate
Rivera Plate interactsWith Pacific Plate
Japan Trench isBoundaryBetween Pacific Plate
Explorer Plate isSmallerThan Pacific Plate
Juan de Fuca Plate isSmallerThan Pacific Plate
Rivera Plate isSmallerThan Pacific Plate
Juan de Fuca Plate isYoungerThan Pacific Plate