Geologists generally agree that the following tectonic plates currently exist on Earth's surface with roughly definable boundaries. Tectonic plates are sometimes subdivided into three fairly arbitrary categories: major (or primary) plates, minor (or secondary) plates, and microplates (or tertiary plates).[1]
Major plates
Map showing Earth's principal tectonic plates and their boundaries in detail
These plates comprise the bulk of the continents and the Pacific Ocean. For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20millionkm2 (7.7millionsqmi)
African Plate– Tectonic plate underlying AfricaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 61,300,000km2 (23,700,000sqmi)
Antarctic Plate– Major tectonic plate containing Antarctica and the surrounding ocean floorPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 60,900,000km2 (23,500,000sqmi)
Eurasian Plate– Tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of EurasiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 67,800,000km2 (26,200,000sqmi)
Indo-Australian Plate– Major tectonic plate formed by the fusion of the Indian and Australian platesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets (sometimes considered to be two separate tectonic plates) – 58,900,000km2 (22,700,000sqmi)
Australian Plate– Major tectonic plate separated from Indo-Australian plate about 3 million years agoPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 47,000,000km2 (18,000,000sqmi)
Indian Plate– Minor plate that separated from GondwanaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 11,900,000km2 (4,600,000sqmi)
North American Plate– Large tectonic plate including most of North America, Greenland and part of SiberiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 75,900,000km2 (29,300,000sqmi)
Pacific Plate– Oceanic tectonic plate under the Pacific OceanPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 103,300,000km2 (39,900,000sqmi)
South American Plate– Major tectonic plate which includes most of South America and a large part of the south AtlanticPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 43,600,000km2 (16,800,000sqmi)
Minor plates
These smaller plates are often not shown on major plate maps, as the majority of them do not comprise significant land area. For purposes of this list, a minor plate is any plate with an area less than 20millionkm2 (7.7millionsqmi) but greater than 1millionkm2 (0.39millionsqmi).
Amurian Plate– A minor tectonic plate in eastern AsiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Arabian Plate– Minor tectonic platePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 5,000,000km2 (1,900,000sqmi)
Burma Plate– Minor tectonic plate in Southeast AsiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 1,100,000km2 (420,000sqmi)
Caribbean Plate– A mostly oceanic tectonic plate including part of Central America and the Caribbean SeaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 3,300,000km2 (1,300,000sqmi)
Caroline Plate– Minor oceanic tectonic plate north of New GuineaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 1,700,000km2 (660,000sqmi)
Cocos Plate– Young oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central AmericaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 2,900,000km2 (1,100,000sqmi)
Indian Plate– Minor plate that separated from GondwanaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 11,900,000km2 (4,600,000sqmi)
Nazca Plate– Oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basinPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 15,600,000km2 (6,000,000sqmi)[note 1]
New Hebrides Plate– Minor tectonic plate in the Pacific Ocean near VanuatuPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 1,100,000km2 (420,000sqmi)
Okhotsk Plate– Minor tectonic plate in AsiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Philippine Sea Plate– Oceanic tectonic plate to the east of the PhilippinesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 5,500,000km2 (2,100,000sqmi)
Scotia Plate– Minor oceanic tectonic plate between the Antarctic and South American platesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 1,600,000km2 (620,000sqmi)
Somali Plate– Minor tectonic plate including the east coast of Africa and the adjoining seabedPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 16,700,000km2 (6,400,000sqmi)
Sunda Plate– Tectonic plate including Southeast AsiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Yangtze Plate– Tectonic plate carrying the bulk of southern ChinaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Microplates
These plates are often grouped with an adjacent principal plate on a tectonic plate world map. For purposes of this list, a microplate is any plate with an area less than 1 million km2. Some models identify more minor plates within current orogens (events that lead to a large structural deformation of Earth's lithosphere) like the Apulian, Explorer, Gorda, and Philippine Mobile Belt plates.[2] The latest studies have shown that microplates are the basic elements of which the crust is composed and that the larger plates are composed of amalgamations of these, and a subdivision of ca. 1200 smaller plates has come forward.[3][4]
The new Global Tectonic Map with the subdivision of the Continents, Oceans and Mobile mountain belts in ca. 1200 smaller plates. Legend: Green: Terrane (microplate) boundaries in the Continental Blocks, Cyan: Terranes of the Oceanic Plates, Orange: terranes inside the Mobile Belts, Blue: Oceanic transform faults; Red: Fault zones in the Continental and Mountain belt domain; Purple: Main subduction zones and suture zones; Orange dots: volcanoes.
African Plate
Lwandle Plate– Mainly oceanic tectonic microplate off the southeast coast of AfricaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Rovuma Plate– One of three tectonic microplates that contribute to the Nubian Plate and the Somali PlatePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Maoke Plate– Small tectonic plate in western New GuineaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Niuafo'ou Plate– Small tectonic plate west of TongaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Tonga Plate– Small tectonic plate in the southwest Pacific OceanPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Woodlark Plate– Small tectonic plate located to the east of the island of New GuineaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Caribbean Plate
Gonâve Microplate– Part of the boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean platePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Hispaniola Microplate
North Hispaniola Microplate
Panama Plate– Small tectonic plate in Central AmericaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Rivera Plate– Small tectonic plate off the west coast of MexicoPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Eurasian Plate
Adriatic Plate, also known as the Apulian Plate– A small tectonic plate in the MediterraneanPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Aegean Sea Plate, also known as Hellenic Plate– A small tectonic plate in the eastern Mediterranean SeaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Anatolian Plate– Continental tectonic plate comprising most of the Anatolia (Asia Minor) peninsulaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Banda Sea Plate– Minor tectonic plate underlying the Banda Sea in southeast AsiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Hreppar Microplate – Small tectonic plate in south Iceland, between the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate
Iberian Plate– Small tectonic plate now part of the Eurasian platePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Iranian Plate– Geological feature in AsiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Molucca Sea Plate– Small fully subducted tectonic plate near IndonesiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Halmahera Plate– Small tectonic plate in the Molucca SeaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Sangihe Plate– Microplate within eastern IndonesiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Okinawa Plate– Minor tectonic plate from the northern end of Taiwan to the southern tip of KyūshūPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Pelso Plate– Small tectonic unit in the Pannonian Basin in EuropePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Timor Plate– Microplate in Southeast Asia carrying the island of Timor and surrounding islandsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Tisza Plate– Tectonic microplate, in present-day EuropePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Juan de Fuca Plate– Small tectonic plate in the eastern North PacificPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets – 250,000km2
Explorer Plate– Oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Vancouver Island, CanadaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Gorda Plate– One of the northern remnants of the Farallon PlatePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Nazca Plate
Coiba Plate– Tectonic plate off the coast south of Panama and northwestern ColombiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Malpelo Plate– A small tectonic plate off the coast west of Ecuador and ColombiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
North American Plate
Greenland Plate– Supposed tectonic microplate containing the Greenland cratonPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets[9]
Balmoral Reef Plate– Small tectonic plate in the south Pacific north of FijiPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Bird's Head Plate– Small tectonic plate in New GuineaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Conway Reef Plate– Small tectonic plate in the south Pacific west of FijiPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Easter Microplate– Very small tectonic plate to the west of Easter Island
Galápagos Microplate– Very small tectonic plate at the Galápagos triple junctionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Juan Fernández Plate– Very small tectonic plate in the southern Pacific OceanPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Manus Plate– Tiny tectonic plate northeast of New GuineaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
North Bismarck Plate– Small tectonic plate in the Bismarck Sea north of New GuineaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
North Galápagos Microplate– Tectonic plate off west South AmericaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Solomon Sea Plate– Minor tectonic plate near the Solomon Islands archipelago in the Pacific OceanPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
South Bismarck Plate– Small tectonic plate in the southern Bismarck SeaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Trobriand Plate– Small tectonic plate located to the east of the island of New GuineaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Philippine Sea Plate
Mariana Plate– Small tectonic plate west of the Mariana TrenchPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
South Sandwich Plate– Small tectonic plate south of the South American PlatePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Somali Plate
Madagascar Plate– Tectonic plate formerly part of the supercontinent GondwanaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
South American Plate
Altiplano Plate
Falklands Microplate
North Andes Plate– Small tectonic plate in the northern AndesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets (mainly in Colombia, minor parts in Ecuador and Venezuela)
In the history of Earth, many tectonic plates have come into existence and have over the intervening years either accreted onto other plates to form larger plates, rifted into smaller plates, or have been crushed by or subducted under other plates.
The following is a list of ancient cratons, microplates, plates, and terranes which no longer exist as separate plates. Cratons are the oldest and most stable parts of the continental lithosphere, and shields are exposed parts of them. Terranes are fragments of crustal material formed on one tectonic plate and accreted to crust lying on another plate, which may or may not have originated as independent microplates: a terrane may not contain the full thickness of the lithosphere.
African Plate
Atlantica– Ancient continent formed during the Proterozoic about 2 billion years ago
Zimbabwe Craton– Area in Southern Africa of ancient continental crust (Zimbabwe)
Antarctic Plate
Bellingshausen Plate– Ancient tectonic plate that fused onto the Antarctic PlatePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Charcot Plate– Fragment of the Phoenix tectonic plate fused to the Antarctic PeninsulaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
East Antarctic Shield, also known as East Antarctic Craton– Cratonic rock body which makes up most of the continent Antarctica
Phoenix Plate– Tectonic plate that existed during the early Paleozoic through late Cenozoic timePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Eurasian Plate
Armorica– Microcontinent or group of continental fragments rifted away from Gondwana (France, Germany, Spain and Portugal)
Farallon Plate– Ancient oceanic plate that has mostly subducted under the North American PlatePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets (split into the Cocos, Explorer, Juan de Fuca, Gorda Plates, Nazca Plate, and Rivera Plates)
Laurentian Craton, also known as North American Craton– Craton forming the geological core of North America (Canada and United States)
Insular Plate– Ancient oceanic platePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Intermontane Plate– Ancient oceanic tectonic plate on the west coast of North America about 195 million years agoPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Izanagi Plate– Ancient tectonic platePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Mexican Plate
Nain Province– Part of the North Atlantic Craton in Labrador, Canada (Canada)
Newfoundland Plate
North Atlantic Craton– Archaean craton exposed in Greenland, Labrador, and northwestern Scotland
Nova Scotia Plate
Rae Craton– Archean craton in northern Canada north of the Superior Craton (Canada)
Hasterok, D., Halpin, J., Collins, A.S., Hand, M., Kreemer, C., Gard, M., and Glorie, S. (2022); New maps of global geological provinces and tectonic plates. Earth Science Reviews, 2022.
Niels Henriksen; A.K. Higgins; Feiko Kalsbeek; T. Christopher R. Pulvertaft (2000). "Greenland from Archaean to Quaternary"(PDF). Greenland Survey Bulletin. No.185. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
Cordani, U.G.; Cardona, A.; Jiménez, D.M.; Dunyl, L.; Nutman, A.P. (2003). Geochronology of Proterozoic basement from the Colombian Andes: Tectonic history of remnants from a fragmented Grenville Belt. 10o Congreso Geológico Chileno. pp.1–10.
