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.

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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.