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.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

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

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T27392 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: North American Plate
Context triple: [Pacific Ocean, hasTectonicBoundary, North American Plate]

A. Pacific Plate
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.
B. North American Cordillera
The North American Cordillera is the vast, complex chain of mountain ranges running along western North America from Alaska through Canada and the United States into Mexico, encompassing systems such as the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada.
C. Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield is a vast geological region of exposed Precambrian rock and thin soils that forms the ancient core of North America, stretching across much of Canada and parts of the northern United States.
D. North America
North America is a large continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres that includes countries such as the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
E. Pacific Ring of Fire
The Pacific Ring of Fire is a vast, horseshoe-shaped zone encircling the Pacific Ocean that is renowned for its intense seismic activity, frequent earthquakes, and numerous active volcanoes.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: North American Plate
Target entity description: 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.

A. Pacific Plate
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.
B. North American Cordillera
The North American Cordillera is the vast, complex chain of mountain ranges running along western North America from Alaska through Canada and the United States into Mexico, encompassing systems such as the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada.
C. Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield is a vast geological region of exposed Precambrian rock and thin soils that forms the ancient core of North America, stretching across much of Canada and parts of the northern United States.
D. North America
North America is a large continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres that includes countries such as the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
E. Pacific Ring of Fire
The Pacific Ring of Fire is a vast, horseshoe-shaped zone encircling the Pacific Ocean that is renowned for its intense seismic activity, frequent earthquakes, and numerous active volcanoes.
F. None of above. chosen

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 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (146)

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

1949 Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake → plate2 → North American Plate ⓘ

Azores Plateau → relatedTo → North American Plate ⓘ

Franciscan Complex rocks → associatedWith → North American Plate ⓘ

North American Datum of 1983 → plateFixedTo → North American Plate ⓘ

this entity surface form: North American tectonic plate

East Pacific tectonic system → hasBoundaryWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Cocos–North America plate boundary → overridingPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Cocos–North America plate boundary → continentalPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Aleutian subduction system → overliesPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Ewing Seamount → locatedOnTectonicPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Almannagjá fault → marksBoundaryBetween → North American Plate ⓘ

Almannagjá fault → separates → North American Plate ⓘ

Silfra fissure → locatedOnTectonicPlateBoundary → North American Plate ⓘ

Silfra fissure → separates → North American Plate ⓘ

Sierra Negra (Puebla) → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

Pacific Plate boundary system → includesBoundaryWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Pacific Ocean drainage basin → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

Albuquerque Basin → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

Sierra Nevada–Great Valley block → partOf → North American Plate ⓘ

Eastern California Shear Zone → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

Mohns Ridge → formsBoundaryBetween → North American Plate ⓘ

Qaanaaq → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

this entity surface form: North American tectonic plate

North American continental margin → partOf → North American Plate ⓘ

Brawley Seismic Zone → plateOnEast → North American Plate ⓘ

Wyoming Basin and Range transition → locatedOn → North American Plate ⓘ

Explorer Plate and Juan de Fuca Plate → interactsWith → North American Plate ⓘ

subject surface form: Explorer Plate

Explorer Plate and Juan de Fuca Plate → subductsBeneath → North American Plate ⓘ

subject surface form: Explorer Plate

California Coast Ranges seismicity → locatedOnTectonicBoundary → North American Plate ⓘ

Walker Lane belt → accommodatesMotionBetween → North American Plate ⓘ

Rivera Triple Junction region → formedByInteractionOf → North American Plate ⓘ

Rivera Triple Junction region → near → North American Plate ⓘ

Cayman Trough transform system → separates → North American Plate ⓘ

Cayman Trough transform system → accommodatesRelativeMotionBetween → North American Plate ⓘ

Volcán de Fuego → tectonicPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Kolbeinsey Ridge → separates → North American Plate ⓘ

Kolbeinsey Ridge → marksBoundaryBetween → North American Plate ⓘ

this entity surface form: North American Plate and Eurasian Plate

Kolbeinsey Ridge → spreadingCenterOf → North American Plate ⓘ

North Atlantic plate boundary system → separates → North American Plate ⓘ

Mid-Atlantic region → hasBoundaryBetween → North American Plate ⓘ

Shikotsu caldera → associatedPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Lesser Antilles subduction zone → subductingPlate → North American Plate ⓘ

Lesser Antilles subduction zone → relatedTo → North American Plate ⓘ

Cascade Range volcanic province → associatedWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Caribbean Plate boundary zone → associatedWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Plantain Garden fault → associatedWith → North American Plate ⓘ

Gonâve Microplate → boundedBy → North American Plate ⓘ

Gonâve Microplate → relativeMotionTo → North American Plate ⓘ

All labels observed (9)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (49)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (146)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited