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Woodlark Plate
Small tectonic plate located to the east of the island of New Guinea / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Woodlark Plate is a small almost triangular shaped tectonic plate located east of the island of New Guinea and situated mainly within the northern half of the Woodlark Basin. It is located in a very complex tectonic environment, that because of associated features, has been extensively studied since it was first proposed to exist. It is now known to be much smaller than originally proposed, mainly because of information from GPS stations on islands and sea floor studies that have fully defined its margins.
Quick Facts Type, Movement1 ...
Woodlark Plate | |
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![]() Approximate surface projections of active tectonic plates. Key: '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000000-QINU`"' Woodlark Plate], '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000001-QINU`"' Trobriand Plate, '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000002-QINU`"' Solomon Sea Plate, '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000003-QINU`"' Active trench subduction boundaries, '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000004-QINU`"' Inactive trench subduction boundaries, '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000005-QINU`"' current spreading boundary. The Australian Plate to the southeast and the Pacific Plate to the northwest are not shown, but their complex collision has created these microplates. Click and then mouse over shows feature names. | |
Type | Microplates |
Movement1 | northeast |
Speed1 | 58 mm/year |
Features | New Guinea, Pacific Ocean |
1Relative to the African Plate |
Close
W. P.
Manus
Basin
Basin
North
Solomon
Trough
Solomon
Trough
Woodlark Rise
Trobriand
Trough
Trough
Pock-
lington
Trough
lington
Trough
Pocklinton Rise
Seafloor topographic map of area of Woodlark Plate (W. P.) which is confined to the north of the Woodlark Basin's mid oceanic ridge.[1] The eastern part of the mid oceanic ridge boundary can be seen between the black label W.P, and the white label Woodlark Basin below it.