AGG      Tectonic Plates around the world  24/11/2006

The following list of tectonic plates is taken from a map on page 35 Of New Scientist Dated 27 May 2006 Issue 2553.  The distances are my estimates, as no scale is given to the map.  Like the boundaries, the direction of movement is only approximate.

Antarctic Plate                 Covers the whole of the landmass of Antarctica up to the Pacific, Nazca, South American, African, and Australian Plates.  The drift direction appears complex; an arrow on the western side shows an east-north-east drift, an arrow near the centre shows a northerly drift, and an arrow on the eastern side shows a south south easterly drift.  Summing up the three arrows suggests that this plate is rotating clockwise and drifting north

Arabian Plate                  Almost exactly covering Arabia.  No direction of movement is shewn

Australian Plate               The border extends a thousand miles to the west and east.  The top and east abut the Pacific Plate

Caribbean Plate                Appears to be within the N American Plate and covers the set of islands.  No arrow is shown to indicate the direction of movement.

Cocos Plate.                   A small plate on the western side of the isthmus, and about the same size as the Caribbean Plate

Eurasian Plate                 Covers the whole of Europe and Russia up to the western edge of the Pacific Plate that includes Siberia.  The southern limit is through the Mediterranean eastwards but goes to the north of Arabia and India and then goes south through Malaysia and swings eastwards to include Borneo  This plate is moving north-eastward.

Indian Plate                    Covers India and to the north into the Himalayas.  It also covers the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal and southwards to about the latitude of Madagascar

Nazca Plate                    Covers a piece of the Pacific from the S American coast to about the longitude of San Francisco.  The southern limit is a bit above the tip of S America.

North American Plate      Covers North American and Greenland, down to, and including the Caribbean.  Moving West by South

Pacific Plate                    This covers the Pacific Ocean and part of Siberia.    The eastern border abuts N America and extends down to almost the level of the southern tip of S America.  The Nazca Plate takes a chunk out of the Pacific Plate.  The plate is moving west by north.

Philippine Plate                A small plate that surrounds the Philippines

South American Plate      Covers South America and about half way into the Atlantic Ocean.  The bottom of this plate joins the Antarctic Plate.  The west side of the plate is on the west coast of S America and abuts the Nazca Plate.  The plate is moving west by north.

Unknown Plate               The map shows a plate boundaries that cover Siberia and the sea to the north and south.  This plate has no identity