North American Plate

E6038

lithospheric plate tectonic plate

The North American Plate is a major tectonic plate that underlies most of North America, parts of the Atlantic Ocean, and surrounding regions, playing a key role in shaping the continent’s geology and seismic activity.

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All labels observed (9)

Label	Occurrences
North American Plate canonical	137
North American tectonic plate	2
Laurentia	1
North American Basin	1
North American Plate (geophysical model)	1
North American Plate and Eurasian Plate	1
North American Plate at Mexico	1
North American Plate western margin in California	1
Pacific–North American plate boundary region	1

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	lithospheric plate ⓘ tectonic plate ⓘ
approximateSpeed	about 1 to 2 centimeters per year relative to the mantle ⓘ
boundaryFeature	Cascadia Subduction Zone ⓘ surface form: Cascadia subduction zone Gulf of California rift zone ⓘ Mid-Atlantic Ridge ⓘ Queen Charlotte Fault ⓘ San Andreas Fault ⓘ
causes	earthquakes in western North America ⓘ seafloor spreading in the North Atlantic ⓘ volcanism in the Cascades ⓘ
containsFeature	Appalachian Mountains basement ⓘ Canadian Shield ⓘ interior North American craton ⓘ
continent	North America ⓘ
geologicalAge	assembled from older cratons in Precambrian time ⓘ
hasBoundaryType	convergent boundary ⓘ divergent boundary ⓘ transform boundary ⓘ
hasBoundaryWith	African Plate ⓘ Caribbean Plate ⓘ Cocos Plate ⓘ Eurasian Plate ⓘ Juan de Fuca Plate ⓘ Nazca Plate ⓘ Pacific Plate ⓘ
includesRegion	continental crust of North America ⓘ oceanic crust in western Atlantic Ocean ⓘ parts of Siberia (Chukotka microplate area) ⓘ
isSubductingOver	Cocos Plate in Mexico region ⓘ Juan de Fuca Plate ⓘ surface form: Juan de Fuca Plate at Cascadia
meetsAtTripleJunction	Azores Triple Junction ⓘ Cape Mendocino ⓘ surface form: Mendocino Triple Junction
motionRelativeTo	Pacific Plate ⓘ
motionType	generally west-southwest relative to the mantle ⓘ
namedAfter	North America ⓘ
oceanicPartAge	Atlantic oceanic crust mostly Mesozoic and younger ⓘ
partOf	Earth lithosphere ⓘ
role	key role in North American seismic activity ⓘ key role in shaping North American geology ⓘ
separates	Pacific Ocean basin from interior of North America ⓘ
studyField	geophysics ⓘ plate tectonics ⓘ
type	major tectonic plate ⓘ
underlies	Greenland ⓘ most of North America ⓘ part of the Atlantic Ocean ⓘ parts of the Arctic Ocean seafloor ⓘ parts of the Caribbean region ⓘ

Referenced by (146)

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

Pacific Ocean → hasTectonicBoundary → North American Plate ⓘ

Pacific Ring of Fire → associatedWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Puerto Rico Trench → separates → North American Plate ⓘ

Puerto Rico Trench → oceanBasin → North American Plate ⓘ

this entity surface form: North American Basin

Mid-Atlantic Ridge → separates → North American Plate ⓘ

Pico de Orizaba → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

San Andreas Fault → tectonicPlateBoundaryBetween → North American Plate ⓘ

San Andreas Fault → formsBoundaryOf → North American Plate ⓘ

this entity surface form: North American Plate western margin in California

Juan de Fuca Plate → borders → North American Plate ⓘ

Juan de Fuca Plate → subductsBeneath → North American Plate ⓘ

Juan de Fuca Plate → movesRelativeTo → North American Plate ⓘ

Juan de Fuca Plate → overriddenBy → North American Plate ⓘ

Cascade Volcanic Arc → overridesPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Pacific Plate → boundedBy → North American Plate ⓘ

Pacific Plate → movesRelativeTo → North American Plate ⓘ

Pacific Plate → subductsBeneath → North American Plate ⓘ

Aleutian Arc → formsBoundaryWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Aleutian Arc → overridingPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Baja California Peninsula ranges → geologicalSetting → North American Plate ⓘ

this entity surface form: Pacific–North American plate boundary region

Ring of Fire → associatedWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Eurasian Plate → hasBoundaryWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Eurasian Plate → interactsWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Eurasian Plate → movesRelativeTo → North American Plate ⓘ

Kamchatka volcanic arc → overridingPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Cocos Plate → borders → North American Plate ⓘ

Cocos Plate → subductsBeneath → North American Plate ⓘ

Cocos Plate → movesRelativeTo → North American Plate ⓘ

Cocos Plate → overriddenBy → North American Plate ⓘ

this entity surface form: North American Plate at Mexico

Pacific coast of North America → associatedWithPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt → overlies → North American Plate ⓘ

Cape Mendocino → tectonicPlateBoundary → North American Plate ⓘ

Explorer Plate → bordersWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Explorer Plate → subductsBeneath → North American Plate ⓘ

Explorer Plate → isSmallerThan → North American Plate ⓘ

Brownson Deep → tectonicPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Gakkel Ridge → tectonicBoundaryBetween → North American Plate ⓘ

Caribbean Plate → hasBoundaryWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Caribbean Plate → isOverriddenBy → North American Plate ⓘ

Appalachian orogeny → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

this entity surface form: Laurentia

African Plate → separatingFrom → North American Plate ⓘ

Aleutian Islands → tectonicPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Gorda Plate → bordersWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Gorda Plate → subductsBeneath → North American Plate ⓘ

Farallon Plate → subductedBeneath → North American Plate ⓘ

Farallon Plate → wasAdjacentTo → North American Plate ⓘ

Sierra de las Cruces → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

Rivera Plate → borders → North American Plate ⓘ

Rivera Plate → interactsWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Rivera Plate → movesRelativeTo → North American Plate ⓘ

Rivera Plate → isSubductingBeneath → North American Plate ⓘ