View source for Earth:List of tectonic plates

{{Short description|Overview of different types of tectonic plates}}
[[File:Tectonic plates 2022.svg|upright=1.35|thumb|Map of sixteen of Earth's tectonic plates, showing plate boundary types:<br />
[[Earth:Divergent boundary|Divergent]]:
{{legend-line|#a50f15 solid 2px|Spreading center}}
{{legend-line|#e7298a solid 2px|Extension zone}}
[[Earth:Convergent boundary|Convergent]]:
{{legend-line|#08519c solid 2px|[[Earth:Subduction|Subduction zone]]}}
{{legend-line|#8c6bb1 solid 2px|[[Earth:Collision zone|Collision zone]]}}
Transform:
{{legend-line|#fe9929 solid 2px|Dextral transform}}
{{legend-line|#006837 solid 2px|Sinistral transform}}]]

[[Image:Plate tectonics map.gif|thumb|Plate tectonics map from NASA]]

This is a '''list of tectonic plates''' on [[Astronomy:Earth#Surface|Earth's surface]]. [[Earth:Plate tectonics|Tectonic plates]] are pieces of [[Earth:Earth's crust|Earth's crust]] and uppermost [[Earth:Mantle (geology)|mantle]], together referred to as the [[Earth:Lithosphere|lithosphere]]. The plates are around {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} thick and consist of two principal types of material: [[Earth:Oceanic crust|oceanic crust]] (also called ''[[Earth:Sima (geology)|sima]]'' from [[Chemistry:Silicon|silicon]] and [[Chemistry:Magnesium|magnesium]]) and [[Earth:Continental crust|continental crust]] (''[[Earth:Sial|sial]]'' from silicon and [[Chemistry:Aluminium|aluminium]]). The composition of the two types of crust differs markedly, with  [[Earth:Mafic|mafic]] [[Earth:Basalt|basalt]]ic rocks dominating oceanic crust, while continental crust consists principally of lower-[[Physics:Density|density]] [[Earth:Felsic|felsic]] [[Chemistry:Granite|granitic]] rocks.

==Current plates==
[[Geologist]]s generally agree that the following tectonic plates currently exist on [[Astronomy:Earth#Surface|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'').<ref name="Madaan 2020">{{cite web |last=Madaan |first=About Sonia |title=7 Major Tectonic Plates (Pacific, African, Eurasian, Antarctic and more) |website=Earth Eclipse |date=2020-08-18 |url=https://eartheclipse.com/geology/tectonic-plates.html#How_Many_Tectonic_Plates_Are_on_Earth |at=How Many Tectonic Plates Are on Earth?|access-date=2022-05-12}}</ref>

===Major plates===
[[Image:Tectonic plates boundaries World map Wt 180degE centered-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.85|Map showing Earth's principal tectonic plates and their boundaries in detail]]

These plates comprise the bulk of the continents and the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific Ocean]]. For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20 million km<sup>2</sup>.

* {{annotated link|Earth:African Plate}} – 61,300,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Antarctic Plate}} – 60,900,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Eurasian Plate}} – 67,800,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Indo-Australian Plate}} (sometimes considered to be two separate tectonic plates) – 58,900,000 km<sup>2</sup>
** {{annotated link|Earth:Australian Plate}} – 47,000,000 km<sup>2</sup>
** {{annotated link|Earth:Indian Plate}} – 11,900,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:North American Plate}} – 75,900,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Pacific Plate}} – 103,300,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:South American Plate}} – 43,600,000 km<sup>2</sup>

===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 20 million km<sup>2</sup> but greater than 1 million km<sup>2</sup>.

* {{annotated link|Earth:Amurian Plate}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Arabian Plate}} – 5,000,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Burma Plate}} – 1,100,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Caribbean Plate}} – 3,300,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Cocos Plate}} – 2,900,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Indian Plate}} – 11,900,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Nazca Plate}} – 15,600,000 km<sup>2</sup>{{refn|group=note|15,600,000 km<sup>2</sup> is the original size before the 2017 split of the [[Earth:Coiba Plate|Coiba]] and [[Earth:Malpelo Plate|Malpelo]] plates.}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:New Hebrides Plate}} – 1,100,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Okhotsk Plate}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Philippine Sea Plate}} – 5,500,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Scotia Plate}} – 1,600,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Somali Plate}} – 16,700,000 km<sup>2</sup>
* {{annotated link|Earth:Sunda Plate}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Yangtze Plate}}

===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 km<sup>2</sup>. Some models identify more minor plates within current [[Physics:Orogeny|orogens]] (events that lead to a large structural deformation of [[Earth:Lithosphere#Earth's lithosphere|Earth's lithosphere]]) like the Apulian, Explorer, Gorda, and Philippine Mobile Belt plates.
<ref>Bird, P. (2003). "An updated digital model of plate boundaries". ''Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems'' 4 (3): 1027. {{doi|10.1029/2001GC000252}}. http://peterbird.name/publications/2003_PB2002/2003_PB2002.htm.</ref> One study has theorized that microplates may be the basic elements of which the crust is composed. 
<ref name ='van Dijk_2023'> van Dijk, J.P. (2023); The New Global Tectonic Map - Analyses and Implications. Terra Nova, 2023, 27 pp.  DOI 10.1111/TER.12662 </ref>

* African Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Lwandle Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Rovuma Plate}}

* Antarctic Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Shetland Plate}}

* Australian Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Capricorn Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Futuna Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Kermadec Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Maoke Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Niuafo'ou Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Tonga Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Woodlark Plate}}

* Caribbean Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Gonâve Microplate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Panama Plate}}

* Cocos Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Rivera Plate}}

* Eurasian Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Adriatic Plate|aka=the Apulian Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Aegean Sea Plate|aka=Hellenic Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Anatolian Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Banda Sea Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Hreppar Microplate}} – Small tectonic plate in south Iceland, between the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Iberian Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Iranian Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Molucca Sea Plate}}
*** {{annotated link|Earth:Halmahera Plate}}
*** {{annotated link|Earth:Sangihe Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Okinawa Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Pelso Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Timor Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Tisza Plate}}

* {{annotated link|Earth:Juan de Fuca Plate}} – 250,000 km<sup>2</sup>
** {{annotated link|Earth:Explorer Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Gorda Plate}}

* Nazca Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Coiba Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Malpelo Plate}}

* North American Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Greenland Plate}}<ref>{{cite news |author1=Niels Henriksen |author2=A.K. Higgins |author3=Feiko Kalsbeek |author4=T. Christopher R. Pulvertaft |year=2000 |title=Greenland from Archaean to Quaternary |work=Greenland Survey Bulletin |issue=185 |url=http://www.geus.dk/publications/bull-gl/nr185/nr185_p12-24.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=2009-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207074112/http://www.geus.dk/publications/bull-gl/nr185/nr185_p12-24.pdf |archive-date=2008-12-07}}</ref>
** {{annotated link|Earth:Queen Elizabeth Islands Subplate}}

* Pacific Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Balmoral Reef Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Bird's Head Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Conway Reef Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Easter Microplate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Galápagos Microplate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Manus Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:North Bismarck Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:North Galapagos Microplate|North Galápagos Microplate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:South Bismarck Plate}}
** {{annotated link|Earth:Trobriand Plate}}

* Philippine Sea Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Philippine Mobile Belt|aka=Philippine Microplate}}

* Scotia Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:South Sandwich Plate}}

* Somali Plate
** {{annotated link|Earth:Madagascar Plate}}

* South American Plate

==Ancient tectonic plates==
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 [[Earth:Craton|cratons]], microplates, [[Earth:Plate tectonics|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 ===
* {{annotated link|Earth:Atlantica}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Congo Craton}} (Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sudan, and Zambia)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Kalahari Craton}} (South Africa)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Saharan Metacraton}} (Algeria)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Tanzania Craton}} (Tanzania)
* {{annotated link|Earth:West African Craton}} (Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo)
* Zaire Craton (Congo)

=== Antarctic Plate ===
* {{annotated link|Earth:Bellingshausen Plate}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Charcot Plate}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:East Antarctic Shield|aka=East Antarctic Craton}}

=== Eurasian Plate ===
* {{annotated link|Earth:Armorican terrane|Armorica}} (France, Germany, Spain and Portugal)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Avalonia}} ({{wipe|Canada}}, Great Britain, and {{wipe|United States}})
* {{annotated link|Earth:Baltic Plate}}
* Belomorian Craton
* Central Iberian Plate
* {{annotated link|Earth:Cimmeria (continent)|Cimmerian Plate}} ([[Earth:Anatolia|Anatolia]], [[Religion:Iran|Iran]], Afghanistan, [[Place:Tibet|Tibet]], [[Place:Indochina|Indochina]] and [[Biology:Malay Peninsula|Malaya]])
* East China Craton{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:East European Craton}}
* {{annotated link|Place:Baltic Shield|aka=Fennoscandian Shield}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Dzungaria|Junggar Plate}} and Eastern Kazakhstan
* {{annotated link|Earth:Kazakhstania}} and the Junngar Basin in China 
* {{annotated link|Earth:Lhasa terrane}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Massif Central}}
* Moravo Silesian Plate
* {{annotated link|Earth:Midlands Microcraton}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:North China Craton}}
* Ossa-Morena Plate
* {{annotated link|Earth:Piemont-Liguria Ocean|Piemont-Liguria Plate}}
* Proto-Alps Terrane
* {{annotated link|Earth:Rhenohercynian Zone|Rhenohercynian Plate}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Siberia (continent)|Siberian Craton}}
* South Portuguese Plate
* Tarim Craton
* Teplá-Barrandian Terrane
* {{annotated link|Earth:Ukrainian Shield}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Valais Ocean|Valais Plate}}
* Volgo-Uralian Craton
* Yakutai Craton
* {{annotated link|Earth:South China (continent)|Yangtze Craton}}

=== Indo-Australian Plate ===
[[File:Ausgeolbasic.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Basic geological regions of Australia, by age]]
[[File:India Geology Zones.jpg|thumb|Map of chronostratigraphic divisions of India]]

* Altjawarra Craton ([[Earth:Australia (continent)|Australia]])
* Bhandara Craton, ([[Earth:Indian subcontinent|India]])
* Bundelkhand Craton, (India)
* Central Craton (Australia)
* Curnamona Craton (Australia)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Gawler Craton}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Pilbara Craton}}
* Singhbhum Craton (India)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Yilgarn Craton}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Australian Shield|aka=Western Australian Shield}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Zealandia}}. See [[Earth:Moa Plate|Moa Plate]] and [[Earth:Lord Howe Rise|Lord Howe Rise]]

=== North American Plate ===
[[File:North america basement rocks.png|thumb|[[Earth:North America|North America]]n cratons and basement rocks]]

* {{annotated link|Earth:Avalonia}} (Canada, Great Britain, and United States)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Churchill Craton}} (Canada)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Farallon Plate}} (split into the Cocos, Explorer, Juan de Fuca, Gorda Plates, Nazca Plate, and Rivera Plates)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Hearne Craton}} (Canada)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Laurentia|Laurentian Craton|aka=North American Craton}} (Canada and United States)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Insular Plate}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Intermontane Plate}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Izanagi Plate}}
* Mexican Plate
* {{annotated link|Earth:Nain Province}} (Canada)
* Newfoundland Plate 
* Nova Scotia Plate
* {{annotated link|Earth:Rae Craton}} (Canada)
* Sask Craton (Canada)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Sclavia Craton}} (Canada)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Slave Craton}} (Canada)
* {{annotated link|Earth:Superior Craton}} (Canada)

=== South American Plate ===
* {{annotated link|Earth:Amazonian Craton}} ({{wipe|Brazil}})
* {{annotated link|Earth:Río de la Plata Craton}} ({{wipe|Argentina}} and Uruguay)
* {{annotated link|Earth:São Francisco Craton}} (Brazil)

== See also ==
*{{annotated link|Earth:Asthenosphere}}
*{{annotated link|Earth:Continent}}
*{{annotated link|Earth:Craton}}
**{{annotated link|Earth:Platform (geology)|Platform}}
**{{annotated link|Earth:Shield (geology)|Shield}}
*{{annotated link|Earth:Earth's crust}}
**{{annotated link|Earth:Continental crust}}
**{{annotated link|Earth:Oceanic crust}}
*{{annotated link|Earth:Earth's mantle}}
**{{annotated link|Earth:Lower mantle (Earth)|Lower mantle}}
*{{annotated link|Chemistry:Geochemistry}}
**{{annotated link|Earth:Sial}}
**{{annotated link|Earth:Sima (geology)|Sima}}
*{{annotated link|Earth:Hydrosphere}}
*{{annotated link|Earth:Lithosphere}}
*{{annotated link|Earth:Ocean}}
*{{annotated link|Earth:Plate tectonics}}
**[[Earth:List of tectonic plate interactions|List of tectonic plate interactions]] – Types of plate boundaries
*{{annotated link|Earth:Supercontinent}}

== Notes and references ==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist|group=note}}

=== References ===
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
;North Andes Plate
* {{cite journal |last=Restrepo |first=Jorge Julián |last2=Ordóñez Carmona |first2=Oswaldo |last3=Martens |first3=Uwe |last4=Correa |first4=Ana María |year=2009 |title=Terrenos, complejos y provincias en la Cordillera Central de Colombia (Terrains, complexes and provinces in the central cordillera of Colombia) |url=https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/ingenieria_sogamoso/article/view/908 |journal=Ingeniería Investigación y Desarrollo |volume=9 |pages=49–56 |access-date=2019-10-31}}
* {{cite journal |last=Fuck |first=Reinhardt A. |last2=Brito Neves |first2=Benjamim Bley |last3=Schobbenhaus |first3=Carlos |year=2008 |title=Rodinia descendants in South America |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287701535_From_Rodinia_to_Western_Gondwana_An_approach_to_the_Brasiliano-Pan_African_Cycle_and_orogenic_collage |journal=Precambrian Research |volume=160 |pages=108–126 |access-date=2019-10-29}}
* {{cite conference |last=Cordani |first=U.G. |last2=Cardona |first2=A. |last3=Jiménez |first3=D.M. |last4=Dunyl |first4=L. |last5=Nutman |first5=A.P. |year=2003 |title=Geochronology of Proterozoic basement from the Colombian Andes: Tectonic history of remnants from a fragmented Grenville Belt |publisher=10<sup>o</sup> Congreso Geológico Chileno |pages=1–10}}
* {{cite journal |last=Restrepo |first=Jorge Julian |last2=Toussaint |first2=Jean F. |year=1988 |title=Terranes and continental accretion in the Colombian Andes |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279701945_Terranes_and_Continental_Accretion_in_the_Colombian_Andes |journal=Episodes |volume=11 |pages=189–193 |access-date=2019-10-31}}

== External links ==
* Bird, Peter (2003) [http://peterbird.name/publications/2003_PB2002/2003_PB2002.htm ''An updated digital model of plate boundaries''] also available as a [http://peterbird.name/publications/2003_PB2002/2001GC000252.pdf large (13 Mb) PDF file]

{{Tectonic plates}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Tectonic Plates}}

[[Category:Tectonic plates|*]]

{{Sourceattribution|List of tectonic plates}}