The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων tektōn "builder" or "mason" describes the large scale motions of Earth 's Lithosphere Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR is a Mid-ocean ridge, a Divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The Chersky Range is a chain of Mountains in northeastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust. The continental crust is the layer of granitic, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic rocks which form the Continents and the areas of shallow seabed Oceanic crust is the part of Earth's Lithosphere that surfaces in the Ocean basins The interior of the main continental landmass includes an extensive granitic core called a craton. Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. A craton ( Greek kratos / κρἀτος ( neut. "strength" is an old and stable part of the Continental crust that has survived Along most of the edges of this craton are fragments of crustal material called terranes, accreted to the craton by tectonic actions over the long span of geologic time. A terrane in Geology is a fragment of crustal material formed on or broken off from one Tectonic plate and accreted — " sutured " It is believed that much of North America west of the Rockies is composed of such terranes. Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America.
The easterly side of the North American Plate is a divergent boundary with the Eurasian Plate to the north and the African Plate to the south forming the northern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In Plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a The Eurasian Plate is a Tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional Continents of Europe The African Plate is a Tectonic plate which includes the Continent of Africa, as well as oceanic crust which lies between the continent and various surrounding The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR is a Mid-ocean ridge, a Divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The southerly boundary with the Cocos Plate to the west and the Caribbean Plate to the east is a transform fault, represented by the Cayman Trench under the Caribbean Sea and the Motagua Fault through Guatemala. The Cocos Plate is an oceanic Tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic Tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South The Cayman Trough, or Cayman Trench, also called Bartlett Deep, or Bartlett Trough, is a complex Transform fault zone which contains a small For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere The Motagua Fault (also Motagua Fault Zone) is a major active left lateral-moving Transform fault which cuts across Guatemala. Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest The rest of the southerly margin which extends east to the Mid Atlantic Ridge and marks the boundary between the North American Plate and the South American Plate remains poorly understood and undefined. The westerly boundary is the Queen Charlotte Fault running offshore along the coast of Alaska and the Cascadia subduction zone to the north, the San Andreas Fault through California, the East Pacific Rise in the Gulf of California, and the Middle America Trench to the south. The Queen Charlotte Fault is an active Transform fault, located between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate, Canada's equivalent of the The Cascadia Subduction zone is a Subduction zone, a type of convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver Island to The San Andreas Fault is a geologic Transform fault that runs a length of roughly 800 miles (1300 km through California in the United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The East Pacific Rise is a Mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. " Sea of Cortez " redirects here For the book by John Steinbeck, see The Log from the Sea of Cortez. The Middle America Trench is a major Subduction zone, an Oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America On the northerly boundary is a continuation of the Mid-Atlantic ridge called the Gakkel Ridge. The Gakkel Ridge (formerly known as the Nansen Cordillera and Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge) is a Mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary The rest of the boundary in the far northwestern part of the plate extends into Siberia. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving This boundary continues from the end of the Gakkel Ridge as the Laptev Sea Rift, on to a transitional deformation zone in the Chersky Range, then the Ulakhan Fault, and finally the Aleutian Trench to the end of the Queen Charlotte Fault system. The Laptev Sea Rift is a divergent Tectonic plate boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate located on the Arctic Ocean The Chersky Range is a chain of Mountains in northeastern Siberia. The Ulakhan Fault is a left-lateral moving Transform fault which runs along the boundary between two Tectonic plates in northeast Asia, the North American The Aleutian Trench (or Aleutian Trough) is a Subduction zone and Oceanic trench which runs along the southern coastline of Alaska and the The Queen Charlotte Fault is an active Transform fault, located between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate, Canada's equivalent of the
On its western edge the Farallon Plate has been subducting under the North American Plate since the Jurassic period. The Farallon Plate was an ancient Oceanic plate, which began Subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate &mdash then located in modern In Geology, a subduction zone is an area on Earth where two tectonic plates meet and move towards one another with one sliding underneath the other The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma (million years ago to Ma that is from the end of the Triassic to the beginning The Farallon Plate has almost completely subducted beneath the western portion of the North American Plate leaving that part of the North American Plate in contact with the Pacific Plate as the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is a geologic Transform fault that runs a length of roughly 800 miles (1300 km through California in the United States. The Juan de Fuca, Cocos, and Nazca Plates are remnants of the Farallon Plate.
The boundary along the Gulf of California has not yet been clearly described and research is ongoing. " Sea of Cortez " redirects here For the book by John Steinbeck, see The Log from the Sea of Cortez. The Gulf is underlain by the northern end of the East Pacific Rise. The East Pacific Rise is a Mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. West of the Rise is the Pacific Plate. East of the Rise, most tectonic maps show the North American Plate. It is generally accepted that a piece of the North American Plate was broken off and transported north as the East Pacific Rise propagated northward, creating the Gulf of California. The block which broke off is known geologically as the Salinian Block. The Salinian Block is a geologic province of which lies west of the main trace of the San Andreas Fault system in California. However, it is as yet unclear whether the oceanic crust east of the Rise and west of the mainland coast of Mexico is actually a new plate beginning to converge with the North American Plate, consistent with the standard model of rift zone spreading centers generally.
A few hotspots are thought to exist below the North American Plate. In Geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earth's surface that has experienced active volcanism for a long period of time The most notable hotspots are the Yellowstone, Raton and Anahim hotspots. The Yellowstone Caldera is the volcanic Caldera in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. The Raton hotspot is a volcanic hotspot which is responsible for the volcanic activity which forms the volcanoes in New Mexico, United States The Anahim hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in central British Columbia, Canada. These are thought to be caused by a narrow stream of hot mantle convecting up the Earth's core-mantle boundary called a mantle plume,[1] although some geologists prefer upper-mantle convection as a cause. In Physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is Energy transferred from one body or system to another due to a difference in Temperature The mantle is a part of an Astronomical object. The interior of the Earth, similar to the other Terrestrial planets, is Chemically divided Convection in the most general terms refers to the movement of molecules within Fluids (i The core-mantle boundary (or CMB in the parlance of solid earth geophysicists lies between the Earth's Silicate mantle and its liquid Iron - Nickel A mantle plume is an upwelling of abnormally hot rock within the Earth's mantle. [2][3] The Yellowstone and Anahim hotspots are thought to have first arrived during the Miocene period and are still geologically active, creating earthquakes and volcanoes. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the The Yellowstone hotspot is most notable for the Yellowstone Caldera and the many calderas that lie in the Snake River Plain while the Anahim hotspot is most notable for the Anahim Volcanic Belt, currently found in the Nazko Cone area. The Yellowstone Caldera is the volcanic Caldera in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption The Snake River Plain is a geologic feature located primarily in the American state of Idaho. The Anahim Volcanic Belt is a 600- Kilometre -long Volcanic belt, stretching from just north of Vancouver Island to near Quesnel, British Nazko Cone is a small potentially active Basaltic Cinder cone in central British Columbia, Canada, located 75 km west of Quesnel
Plate motion
For the most part, the North American Plate moves in roughly a southwest direction away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The motion of the plate cannot be driven by subduction as no part of the North American Plate is being subducted (except for a very small section comprising part of the Puerto Rico Trench), thus other mechanisms continue to be investigated. The Puerto Rico Trench is an Oceanic trench located on the boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. One recent study suggests that a mantle convective current is propelling the plate. [4]
See also
References
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