CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>African plate - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"7acf15c5-5c97-43eb-9aa1-30b6a8074eeb","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"African_plate","wgTitle":"African plate","wgCurRevisionId":1255255223,"wgRevisionId":1255255223,"wgArticleId":521081,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description matches Wikidata","Tectonic plates","Geology of Africa","Geology of the Atlantic Ocean","Geology of the Indian Ocean"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"African_plate","wgRelevantArticleId":521081,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia", "wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":9000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q203548","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false, "wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","ext.scribunto.logs","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init", "ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/AfricanPlate.png/1200px-AfricanPlate.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1513"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/AfricanPlate.png/800px-AfricanPlate.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1009"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/AfricanPlate.png/640px-AfricanPlate.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="807"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="African plate - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_plate"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_plate"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-African_plate rootpage-African_plate skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=African+plate" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=African+plate" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=African+plate" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=African+plate" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Boundaries" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Boundaries"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Boundaries</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Boundaries-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Components" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Components"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Components</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Components-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Modern_movements" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Modern_movements"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Modern movements</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Modern_movements-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">African plate</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 55 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-55" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">55 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AD%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9" title="الصفيحة الإفريقية – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="الصفيحة الإفريقية" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placa_africana" title="Placa africana – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Placa africana" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrika_plit%C9%99si" title="Afrika plitəsi – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Afrika plitəsi" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-azb mw-list-item"><a href="https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A2%D9%81%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%82%D8%A7_%D8%B5%D9%81%D8%AD%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%B3%DB%8C" title="آفریقا صفحه‌سی – South Azerbaijani" lang="azb" hreflang="azb" data-title="آفریقا صفحه‌سی" data-language-autonym="تۆرکجه" data-language-local-name="South Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>تۆرکجه</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B0" title="Африканска плоча – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Африканска плоча" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bs mw-list-item"><a href="https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afri%C4%8Dka_plo%C4%8Da" title="Afrička ploča – Bosnian" lang="bs" hreflang="bs" data-title="Afrička ploča" data-language-autonym="Bosanski" data-language-local-name="Bosnian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bosanski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placa_africana" title="Placa africana – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Placa africana" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africk%C3%A1_deska" title="Africká deska – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Africká deska" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikanske_plade" title="Afrikanske plade – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Afrikanske plade" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikanische_Platte" title="Afrikanische Platte – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Afrikanische Platte" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aafrika_laam" title="Aafrika laam – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Aafrika laam" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91%CF%86%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE_%CF%80%CE%BB%CE%AC%CE%BA%CE%B1" title="Αφρικανική πλάκα – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Αφρικανική πλάκα" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placa_africana" title="Placa africana – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Placa africana" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrika_plato" title="Afrika plato – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Afrika plato" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikako_plaka" title="Afrikako plaka – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Afrikako plaka" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B5%D9%81%D8%AD%D9%87_%D8%A2%D9%81%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%82%D8%A7" title="صفحه آفریقا – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="صفحه آفریقا" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaque_africaine" title="Plaque africaine – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Plaque africaine" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ga mw-list-item"><a href="https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pl%C3%A1ta_na_hAfraice" title="Pláta na hAfraice – Irish" lang="ga" hreflang="ga" data-title="Pláta na hAfraice" data-language-autonym="Gaeilge" data-language-local-name="Irish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Gaeilge</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placa_africana" title="Placa africana – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Placa africana" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%95%84%ED%94%84%EB%A6%AC%EC%B9%B4%ED%8C%90" title="아프리카판 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="아프리카판" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%AB%E0%A4%BC%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9F" title="अफ़्रीकी प्लेट – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="अफ़्रीकी प्लेट" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afri%C4%8Dka_plo%C4%8Da" title="Afrička ploča – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Afrička ploča" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lempeng_Afrika" title="Lempeng Afrika – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Lempeng Afrika" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placca_africana" title="Placca africana – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Placca africana" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%97_%D7%94%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%90%D7%99" title="הלוח האפריקאי – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="הלוח האפריקאי" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%90%E1%83%A4%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%99%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%A4%E1%83%98%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90" title="აფრიკის ფილა – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="აფრიკის ფილა" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamba_la_Afrika" title="Bamba la Afrika – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Bamba la Afrika" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kiswahili</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ky mw-list-item"><a href="https://ky.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%8B" title="Африка платформасы – Kyrgyz" lang="ky" hreflang="ky" data-title="Африка платформасы" data-language-autonym="Кыргызча" data-language-local-name="Kyrgyz" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Кыргызча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikos_plok%C5%A1t%C4%97" title="Afrikos plokštė – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Afrikos plokštė" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikai-lemez" title="Afrikai-lemez – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Afrikai-lemez" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%9F%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B0" title="Африканска Плоча – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Африканска Плоча" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%87_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%87" title="الصفيحه الافريقيه – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="الصفيحه الافريقيه" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaanse_Plaat" title="Afrikaanse Plaat – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Afrikaanse Plaat" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ne mw-list-item"><a href="https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%AB%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%96%E0%A4%A3%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A1" title="अफ्रिकी भूखण्ड – Nepali" lang="ne" hreflang="ne" data-title="अफ्रिकी भूखण्ड" data-language-autonym="नेपाली" data-language-local-name="Nepali" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>नेपाली</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%95%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AB%E3%83%97%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88" title="アフリカプレート – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="アフリカプレート" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_afrikanske_kontinentalplaten" title="Den afrikanske kontinentalplaten – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Den afrikanske kontinentalplaten" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_afrikanske_plata" title="Den afrikanske plata – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="Den afrikanske plata" data-language-autonym="Norsk nynorsk" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Nynorsk" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk nynorsk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-oc mw-list-item"><a href="https://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placa_africana" title="Placa africana – Occitan" lang="oc" hreflang="oc" data-title="Placa africana" data-language-autonym="Occitan" data-language-local-name="Occitan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Occitan</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pnb mw-list-item"><a href="https://pnb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%82%DB%8C_%D9%BE%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%B9" title="افریقی پلیٹ – Western Punjabi" lang="pnb" hreflang="pnb" data-title="افریقی پلیٹ" data-language-autonym="پنجابی" data-language-local-name="Western Punjabi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>پنجابی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C5%82yta_afryka%C5%84ska" title="Płyta afrykańska – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Płyta afrykańska" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placa_Africana" title="Placa Africana – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Placa Africana" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Африканская плита – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Африканская плита" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_plate" title="African plate – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="African plate" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africk%C3%A1_plat%C5%88a" title="Africká platňa – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Africká platňa" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afri%C5%A1ka_plo%C5%A1%C4%8Da" title="Afriška plošča – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Afriška plošča" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B0" title="Афричка плоча – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Афричка плоча" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afri%C4%8Dka_plo%C4%8Da" title="Afrička ploča – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Afrička ploča" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikan_laatta" title="Afrikan laatta – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Afrikan laatta" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikanska_kontinentalplattan" title="Afrikanska kontinentalplattan – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Afrikanska kontinentalplattan" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9C%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2" title="แผ่นแอฟริกา – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="แผ่นแอฟริกา" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrika_levhas%C4%B1" title="Afrika levhası – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Afrika levhası" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Африканська плита – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Африканська плита" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BA%A3ng_ch%C3%A2u_Phi" title="Mảng châu Phi – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Mảng châu Phi" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu mw-list-item"><a href="https://wuu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9D%9E%E6%B4%B2%E6%9D%BF%E5%9D%97" title="非洲板块 – Wu" lang="wuu" hreflang="wuu" data-title="非洲板块" data-language-autonym="吴语" data-language-local-name="Wu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>吴语</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9D%9E%E6%B4%B2%E6%9D%BF%E5%9D%97" title="非洲板块 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="非洲板块" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q203548#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/African_plate" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:African_plate" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/African_plate"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/African_plate"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/African_plate" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/African_plate" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&oldid=1255255223" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=African_plate&id=1255255223&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAfrican_plate"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAfrican_plate"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=African_plate&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:African_tectonic_plate" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q203548" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Tectonic plate underlying Africa</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="background-color: #e7dcc3;">African plate</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:AfricanPlate.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/AfricanPlate.png/280px-AfricanPlate.png" decoding="async" width="280" height="353" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/AfricanPlate.png/420px-AfricanPlate.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/AfricanPlate.png/560px-AfricanPlate.png 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="1614" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;">Type</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates#Major_plates" title="List of tectonic plates">Major</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;">Approximate area</th><td class="infobox-data">61,300,000 km<sup>2</sup> (23,700,000 sq mi)<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;">Features</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Africa" title="Africa">Africa</a>, <a href="/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a>, <a href="/wiki/Red_Sea" title="Red Sea">Red Sea</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>African plate</b>, also known as the <b>Nubian plate</b>, is a <a href="/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates#Major_plates" title="List of tectonic plates">major tectonic plate</a> that includes much of the <a href="/wiki/Continent" title="Continent">continent</a> of <a href="/wiki/Africa" title="Africa">Africa</a> (except for its <a href="/wiki/East_Africa" title="East Africa">easternmost part</a>) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It is bounded by the <a href="/wiki/North_American_plate" title="North American plate">North American plate</a> and <a href="/wiki/South_American_plate" title="South American plate">South American plate</a> to the west (separated by the <a href="/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_Ridge" title="Mid-Atlantic Ridge">Mid-Atlantic Ridge</a>); the <a href="/wiki/Arabian_plate" title="Arabian plate">Arabian plate</a> and <a href="/wiki/Somali_plate" title="Somali plate">Somali plate</a> to the east; the <a href="/wiki/Eurasian_plate" title="Eurasian plate">Eurasian plate</a>, <a href="/wiki/Aegean_Sea_plate" title="Aegean Sea plate">Aegean Sea plate</a> and <a href="/wiki/Anatolian_plate" class="mw-redirect" title="Anatolian plate">Anatolian plate</a> to the north; and the <a href="/wiki/Antarctic_plate" title="Antarctic plate">Antarctic plate</a> to the south. </p><p>Between <span class="nourlexpansion plainlinks" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://geoltime.github.io/?Ma=60">60</a> million years ago</span> and <span class="nourlexpansion plainlinks" style="white-space:nowrap;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://geoltime.github.io/?Ma=10">10</a> million years ago</span>, the <a href="/wiki/Somali_plate" title="Somali plate">Somali plate</a> began <a href="/wiki/Rift_(geology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Rift (geology)">rifting</a> from the African plate along the <a href="/wiki/East_African_Rift" title="East African Rift">East African Rift</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Since the continent of Africa consists of crust from both the African and the Somali plates, some literature refers to the African plate as the <i>Nubian plate</i> to distinguish it from the continent as a whole.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Boundaries">Boundaries</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Boundaries"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The western edge of the African plate is a <a href="/wiki/Divergent_boundary" title="Divergent boundary">divergent boundary</a> with the <a href="/wiki/North_American_plate" title="North American plate">North American plate</a> to the north and the <a href="/wiki/South_American_plate" title="South American plate">South American plate</a> to the south which forms the central and southern part of the <a href="/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_Ridge" title="Mid-Atlantic Ridge">Mid-Atlantic Ridge</a>. The African plate is bounded on the northeast by the <a href="/wiki/Arabian_plate" title="Arabian plate">Arabian plate</a>, the southeast by the <a href="/wiki/Somali_plate" title="Somali plate">Somali plate</a>, the north by the <a href="/wiki/Eurasian_plate" title="Eurasian plate">Eurasian plate</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Aegean_Sea_plate" title="Aegean Sea plate">Aegean Sea plate</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Anatolian_plate" class="mw-redirect" title="Anatolian plate">Anatolian plate</a>, and on the south by the <a href="/wiki/Antarctic_plate" title="Antarctic plate">Antarctic plate</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Southwest_Indian_Ridge" title="Southwest Indian Ridge">Southwest Indian Ridge</a>. All of these are divergent or spreading boundaries with the exception of the northern boundary and a short segment near the <a href="/wiki/Azores" title="Azores">Azores</a> known as the <a href="/wiki/Terceira_Rift" title="Terceira Rift">Terceira Rift</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Components">Components</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Components"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Italia_Interazione_placche_tettoniche.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Italia_Interazione_placche_tettoniche.JPG/310px-Italia_Interazione_placche_tettoniche.JPG" decoding="async" width="310" height="300" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Italia_Interazione_placche_tettoniche.JPG/465px-Italia_Interazione_placche_tettoniche.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Italia_Interazione_placche_tettoniche.JPG 2x" data-file-width="548" data-file-height="530" /></a><figcaption>Tectonic dynamics in the Adriatic basin - The western limit of the Adriatic basin currently shifts by about 40 mm per year towards the east, under the thrust of the Eurasian plate, resulting in a gradual narrowing of the Adriatic Sea. The Po Valley is part of the African plate. (Text in Italian)</figcaption></figure> <p>The African plate includes several <a href="/wiki/Craton" title="Craton">cratons</a>, stable blocks of old crust with deep roots in the <a href="/wiki/Mantle_(geology)" title="Mantle (geology)">subcontinental lithospheric mantle</a>, and less stable <a href="/wiki/Terranes" class="mw-redirect" title="Terranes">terranes</a>, which came together to form the African continent during the assembly of the <a href="/wiki/Supercontinent" title="Supercontinent">supercontinent</a> <a href="/wiki/Pangaea" title="Pangaea">Pangea</a> around 250 million years ago. The cratons are from south to north, the <a href="/wiki/Kalahari_Craton" title="Kalahari Craton">Kalahari Craton</a>, <a href="/wiki/Congo_Craton" title="Congo Craton">Congo Craton</a>, <a href="/wiki/Tanzania_Craton" title="Tanzania Craton">Tanzania Craton</a> and <a href="/wiki/West_African_Craton" title="West African Craton">West African Craton</a>. The cratons were widely separated in the past, but came together during the <a href="/wiki/Pan-African_orogeny" title="Pan-African orogeny">Pan-African orogeny</a> and stayed together when <a href="/wiki/Gondwana" title="Gondwana">Gondwana</a> split up. The cratons are connected by <a href="/wiki/Orogeny" title="Orogeny">orogenic belts</a>, regions of highly deformed rock where the <a href="/wiki/Tectonic_plates" class="mw-redirect" title="Tectonic plates">tectonic plates</a> have engaged. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Saharan_Metacraton" title="Saharan Metacraton">Saharan Metacraton</a> has been tentatively identified as the remains of a craton that has become detached from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, but alternatively may consist of a collection of unrelated crustal fragments swept together during the Pan-African <a href="/wiki/Orogeny" title="Orogeny">orogeny</a>. </p><p>In some areas, the cratons are covered by <a href="/wiki/Sedimentary_basin" title="Sedimentary basin">sedimentary basins</a>, such as the <a href="/wiki/Tindouf_Basin" title="Tindouf Basin">Tindouf Basin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Taoudeni_Basin" title="Taoudeni Basin">Taoudeni Basin</a> and <a href="/wiki/Congo_Basin" title="Congo Basin">Congo Basin</a>, where the underlying archaic crust is overlaid by more recent <a href="/wiki/Neoproterozoic" title="Neoproterozoic">Neoproterozoic</a> sediments. The plate includes <a href="/wiki/Shear_zone" title="Shear zone">shear zones</a> such as the <a href="/wiki/Central_African_Shear_Zone" title="Central African Shear Zone">Central African Shear Zone</a> (CASZ) where, in the past, two sections of the crust were moving in opposite directions, and rifts such as the <a href="/wiki/Anza_trough" title="Anza trough">Anza Trough</a> where the crust was pulled apart, and the resulting depression filled with more modern sediment. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Modern_movements">Modern movements</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Modern movements"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Motion_of_Nubia_Plate.gif" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Motion_of_Nubia_Plate.gif" decoding="async" width="300" height="300" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></a><figcaption>Today, the African plate is moving over Earth's surface at a speed of 32.51 km per million years relative to the Earth's "average" <a href="/wiki/Plate_tectonics" title="Plate tectonics">crust</a> velocities (see <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~chuck/MORVEL/">NNR-MORVEL56</a>)</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Tectonical_map_of_East_Africa.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Tectonical_map_of_East_Africa.png/310px-Tectonical_map_of_East_Africa.png" decoding="async" width="310" height="261" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Tectonical_map_of_East_Africa.png 1.5x" data-file-width="454" data-file-height="382" /></a><figcaption>Map of East Africa showing some of the historically active volcanoes (red triangles) and the <a href="/wiki/Afar_Triangle" title="Afar Triangle">Afar Triangle</a> (shaded, center) – a <a href="/wiki/Triple_junction" title="Triple junction">triple junction</a> where three plates are pulling away from one another: the Arabian plate, the African plate, and the Somali plate (USGS)</figcaption></figure> <p>The African plate is rifting in the eastern interior of the African continent along the <a href="/wiki/East_African_Rift" title="East African Rift">East African Rift</a>. This rift zone separates the African plate to the west from the Somali plate to the east. One hypothesis proposes a <a href="/wiki/Mantle_plume" title="Mantle plume">mantle plume</a> rising beneath the <a href="/wiki/Afar_Triangle" title="Afar Triangle">Afar region</a> pushing the crust outward, whereas an opposing hypothesis explains the rifting by dynamics in the crust, as a break in the African plate along a line of maximum weakness as plates to its east move rapidly northward. </p><p>The African plate's speed is estimated at 2.15 cm (0.85 in) per year.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It has been moving over the past 100 million years or so in a general northeast direction. It is pushing closer to the <a href="/wiki/Eurasian_plate" title="Eurasian plate">Eurasian plate</a>, causing <a href="/wiki/Subduction" title="Subduction">subduction</a> where <a href="/wiki/Oceanic_crust" title="Oceanic crust">oceanic crust</a> is converging with <a href="/wiki/Continental_crust" title="Continental crust">continental crust</a> (e.g. portions of the central and eastern <a href="/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean</a>). In the western Mediterranean, the relative motions of the Eurasian and African plates produce a combination of lateral and compressive forces, concentrated in a zone known as the <a href="/wiki/Azores%E2%80%93Gibraltar_Transform_Fault" class="mw-redirect" title="Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault">Azores–Gibraltar Fault Zone</a>. Along its northeast margin, the African plate is bounded by the <a href="/wiki/Red_Sea_Rift" title="Red Sea Rift">Red Sea Rift</a> where the <a href="/wiki/Arabian_plate" title="Arabian plate">Arabian plate</a> is moving away from the African plate. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/New_England_hotspot" title="New England hotspot">New England hotspot</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a> has probably created a short line of mid- to late-<a href="/wiki/Tertiary" title="Tertiary">Tertiary</a> age <a href="/wiki/Seamount" title="Seamount">seamounts</a> on the African plate but appears to be currently inactive.<sup id="cite_ref-SE_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SE-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160605161523/http://geology.about.com/library/bl/blplate_size_table.htm">"Sizes of Tectonic or Lithospheric Plates"</a>. About.com. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://geology.about.com/library/bl/blplate_size_table.htm">the original</a> on 5 June 2016<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">30 June</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Sizes+of+Tectonic+or+Lithospheric+Plates&rft.pub=About.com&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fgeology.about.com%2Flibrary%2Fbl%2Fblplate_size_table.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAfrican+plate" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://africa-arabia-plate.weebly.com/somali-plate.html">"Somali Plate"</a>. Ashten Sawitsky<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">30 June</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Somali+Plate&rft.pub=Ashten+Sawitsky&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fafrica-arabia-plate.weebly.com%2Fsomali-plate.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAfrican+plate" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChuGordon1999" class="citation journal cs1">Chu, D.; Gordon, R.G. (1999). "Evidence for motion between Nubia and Somalia along the Southwest Indian ridge". <i>Nature</i>. <b>398</b> (6722): 64–67. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999Natur.398...64C">1999Natur.398...64C</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2F18014">10.1038/18014</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4403043">4403043</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Nature&rft.atitle=Evidence+for+motion+between+Nubia+and+Somalia+along+the+Southwest+Indian+ridge&rft.volume=398&rft.issue=6722&rft.pages=64-67&rft.date=1999&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A4403043%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1038%2F18014&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1999Natur.398...64C&rft.aulast=Chu&rft.aufirst=D.&rft.au=Gordon%2C+R.G.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAfrican+plate" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHuang1997" class="citation web cs1">Huang, Zhen Shao (1997). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://hypertextbook.com/facts/1997/ZhenHuang.shtml">"Speed of the Continental Plates"</a>. <i>The Physics Factbook</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">7 June</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Physics+Factbook&rft.atitle=Speed+of+the+Continental+Plates&rft.date=1997&rft.aulast=Huang&rft.aufirst=Zhen+Shao&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fhypertextbook.com%2Ffacts%2F1997%2FZhenHuang.shtml&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAfrican+plate" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-SE-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-SE_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDuncan1984" class="citation journal cs1">Duncan, R.A. (1984). "Age progressive volcanism in the New England Seamounts and the opening of the central Atlantic Ocean". <i>Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth</i>. <b>89</b> (B12): 9980–90. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1984JGR....89.9980D">1984JGR....89.9980D</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1029%2Fjb089ib12p09980">10.1029/jb089ib12p09980</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Geophysical+Research%3A+Solid+Earth&rft.atitle=Age+progressive+volcanism+in+the+New+England+Seamounts+and+the+opening+of+the+central+Atlantic+Ocean&rft.volume=89&rft.issue=B12&rft.pages=9980-90&rft.date=1984&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1029%2Fjb089ib12p09980&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1984JGR....89.9980D&rft.aulast=Duncan&rft.aufirst=R.A.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAfrican+plate" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=African_plate&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/understanding.html">USGS – Understanding plate motions</a></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMeijerWortel1999" class="citation journal cs1">Meijer, P. Th.; Wortel, M. J. R. (1999). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1029%2F1999JB900009">"Cenozoic dynamics of the African plate with emphasis on the Africa-Eurasia collision"</a>. <i>Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth</i>. <b>104</b> (B4): 7405–7418. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999JGR...104.7405M">1999JGR...104.7405M</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1029%2F1999JB900009">10.1029/1999JB900009</a></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Geophysical+Research%3A+Solid+Earth&rft.atitle=Cenozoic+dynamics+of+the+African+plate+with+emphasis+on+the+Africa-Eurasia+collision&rft.volume=104&rft.issue=B4&rft.pages=7405-7418&rft.date=1999&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1029%2F1999JB900009&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1999JGR...104.7405M&rft.aulast=Meijer&rft.aufirst=P.+Th.&rft.au=Wortel%2C+M.+J.+R.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1029%252F1999JB900009&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAfrican+plate" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Tectonic_plates" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Tectonic_plates" title="Template:Tectonic plates"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Tectonic_plates" title="Template talk:Tectonic plates"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Tectonic_plates" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Tectonic plates"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Tectonic_plates" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Plate_tectonics" title="Plate tectonics">Tectonic plates</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates#Major_plates" title="List of tectonic plates">Major plates</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">African</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Antarctic_plate" title="Antarctic plate">Antarctic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eurasian_plate" title="Eurasian plate">Eurasian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indo-Australian_plate" title="Indo-Australian plate">Indo-Australian</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Australian_plate" title="Australian plate">Australian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indian_plate" title="Indian plate">Indian</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_American_plate" title="North American plate">North American</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pacific_plate" title="Pacific plate">Pacific</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_American_plate" title="South American plate">South American</a></li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="6" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px;padding:1.0em;"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_centered-en.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="World map indicating tectonic plate boundaries"><img alt="World map indicating tectonic plate boundaries" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_centered-en.svg/120px-Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_centered-en.svg.png" decoding="async" width="120" height="73" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_centered-en.svg/180px-Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_centered-en.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_centered-en.svg/240px-Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_centered-en.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="4903" data-file-height="2996" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates#Minor_plates" title="List of tectonic plates">Minor plates</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Amurian_microplate" title="Amurian microplate">Amurian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arabian_plate" title="Arabian plate">Arabian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burma_plate" title="Burma plate">Burma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Caribbean_plate" title="Caribbean plate">Caribbean</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Caroline_plate" title="Caroline plate">Caroline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cocos_plate" title="Cocos plate">Cocos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indian_plate" title="Indian plate">Indian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nazca_plate" title="Nazca plate">Nazca</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Hebrides_plate" title="New Hebrides plate">New Hebrides</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Okhotsk_microplate" title="Okhotsk microplate">Okhotsk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philippine_Sea_plate" title="Philippine Sea plate">Philippine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scotia_plate" title="Scotia plate">Scotia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Somali_plate" title="Somali plate">Somali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sunda_plate" title="Sunda plate">Sunda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yangtze_plate" title="Yangtze plate">Yangtze</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates#Microplates" title="List of tectonic plates">Microplates</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Adriatic_plate" title="Adriatic plate">Adriatic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aegean_Sea_plate" title="Aegean Sea plate">Aegean Sea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anatolian_sub-plate" title="Anatolian sub-plate">Anatolian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Balmoral_Reef_plate" title="Balmoral Reef plate">Balmoral Reef</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Banda_Sea_plate" title="Banda Sea plate">Banda Sea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bird%27s_Head_plate" title="Bird's Head plate">Bird's Head</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Capricorn_plate" title="Capricorn plate">Capricorn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coiba_plate" title="Coiba plate">Coiba</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Conway_Reef_plate" title="Conway Reef plate">Conway Reef</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Explorer_plate" title="Explorer plate">Explorer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Futuna_plate" title="Futuna plate">Futuna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_microplate" title="Galápagos microplate">Galápagos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gon%C3%A2ve_microplate" title="Gonâve microplate">Gonâve</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gorda_plate" title="Gorda plate">Gorda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greenland_plate" title="Greenland plate">Greenland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Halmahera_plate" title="Halmahera plate">Halmahera</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iberian_plate" title="Iberian plate">Iberian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iranian_plateau" title="Iranian plateau">Iranian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Juan_de_Fuca_plate" title="Juan de Fuca plate">Juan de Fuca</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Juan_Fern%C3%A1ndez_plate" title="Juan Fernández plate">Juan Fernández</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kerguelen_Plateau" title="Kerguelen Plateau">Kerguelen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kermadec_plate" title="Kermadec plate">Kermadec</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lwandle_plate" title="Lwandle plate">Lwandle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Madagascar_plate" title="Madagascar plate">Madagascar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malpelo_plate" title="Malpelo plate">Malpelo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manus_plate" title="Manus plate">Manus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maoke_plate" title="Maoke plate">Maoke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mariana_plate" title="Mariana plate">Mariana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Molucca_Sea_plate" title="Molucca Sea plate">Molucca Sea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Niuafo%27ou_plate" title="Niuafo'ou plate">Niuafo’ou</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_Andes_plate" title="North Andes plate">North Andes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_Bismarck_plate" title="North Bismarck plate">North Bismarck</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_Galapagos_microplate" title="North Galapagos microplate">North Galápagos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Okinawa_plate" title="Okinawa plate">Okinawa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Panama_plate" title="Panama plate">Panama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pelso_plate" title="Pelso plate">Pelso</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philippine_Mobile_Belt" title="Philippine Mobile Belt">Philippine Mobile Belt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rivera_plate" title="Rivera plate">Rivera</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rovuma_plate" title="Rovuma plate">Rovuma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sangihe_plate" title="Sangihe plate">Sangihe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Seychelles_microcontinent" title="Seychelles microcontinent">Seychelles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shetland_plate" title="Shetland plate">Shetland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Solomon_Sea_plate" title="Solomon Sea plate">Solomon Sea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_Bismarck_plate" title="South Bismarck plate">South Bismarck</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_Sandwich_plate" title="South Sandwich plate">South Sandwich</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timor_plate" title="Timor plate">Timor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tisza_plate" title="Tisza plate">Tisza</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tonga_plate" title="Tonga plate">Tonga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trobriand_plate" title="Trobriand plate">Trobriand</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Victoria_microplate" title="Victoria microplate">Victoria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Woodlark_plate" title="Woodlark plate">Woodlark</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates#Ancient_tectonic_plates" title="List of tectonic plates">Ancient plates</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Baltic_plate" title="Baltic plate">Baltic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bellingshausen_plate" title="Bellingshausen plate">Bellingshausen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charcot_plate" title="Charcot plate">Charcot</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cimmeria_(continent)" title="Cimmeria (continent)">Cimmeria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Farallon_plate" title="Farallon plate">Farallon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Insular_plate" title="Insular plate">Insular</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Intermontane_plate" title="Intermontane plate">Intermontane</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Izanagi_plate" title="Izanagi plate">Izanagi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kula_plate" title="Kula plate">Kula</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lhasa_terrane" title="Lhasa terrane">Lhasa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Agulhas_Basin" title="Agulhas Basin">Malvinas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moa_plate" title="Moa plate">Moa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phoenix_plate" title="Phoenix plate">Phoenix</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kshiroda_plate" title="Kshiroda plate">Kshiroda</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Mid-ocean_ridge#List_of_mid-ocean_ridges" title="Mid-ocean ridge">Oceanic ridges</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aden_Ridge" title="Aden Ridge">Aden Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Carlsberg_Ridge" title="Carlsberg Ridge">Carlsberg Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Indian_Ridge" title="Central Indian Ridge">Central Indian Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chile_Ridge" title="Chile Ridge">Chile Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cocos_Ridge" class="mw-redirect" title="Cocos Ridge">Cocos Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_Pacific_Rise" title="East Pacific Rise">East Pacific Rise</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Explorer_Ridge" title="Explorer Ridge">Explorer Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gakkel_Ridge" title="Gakkel Ridge">Gakkel Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_Islands#Geology" title="Galápagos Islands">Galápagos Spreading Center</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gorda_Ridge" title="Gorda Ridge">Gorda Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Juan_de_Fuca_Ridge" title="Juan de Fuca Ridge">Juan de Fuca Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_Ridge" title="Mid-Atlantic Ridge">Mid-Atlantic Ridge</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nikolai_Knipovich" title="Nikolai Knipovich">Knipovich Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kolbeinsey_Ridge" title="Kolbeinsey Ridge">Kolbeinsey Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greenland_Plain" title="Greenland Plain">Mohns Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_Ridge#Iceland" title="Mid-Atlantic Ridge">Reykjanes Ridge</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pacific%E2%80%93Antarctic_Ridge" title="Pacific–Antarctic Ridge">Pacific–Antarctic Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_American%E2%80%93Antarctic_Ridge" title="South American–Antarctic Ridge">South American–Antarctic Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southeast_Indian_Ridge" title="Southeast Indian Ridge">Southeast Indian Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Indian_Ridge" title="Southwest Indian Ridge">Southwest Indian Ridge</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Mid-ocean_ridge#List_of_ancient_oceanic_ridges" title="Mid-ocean ridge">Ancient oceanic ridges</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aegir_Ridge" title="Aegir Ridge">Aegir Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alpha_Ridge" title="Alpha Ridge">Alpha Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Antarctic%E2%80%93Phoenix_Ridge" title="Antarctic–Phoenix Ridge">Antarctic–Phoenix Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kula%E2%80%93Farallon_Ridge" title="Kula–Farallon Ridge">Kula–Farallon Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mid-Labrador_Ridge" title="Mid-Labrador Ridge">Mid-Labrador Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pacific%E2%80%93Farallon_Ridge" title="Pacific–Farallon Ridge">Pacific–Farallon Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pacific%E2%80%93Kula_Ridge" title="Pacific–Kula Ridge">Pacific–Kula Ridge</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3"><div> <ul><li><b><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:WikiProject_Geology.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/WikiProject_Geology.svg/16px-WikiProject_Geology.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/WikiProject_Geology.svg/24px-WikiProject_Geology.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/WikiProject_Geology.svg/32px-WikiProject_Geology.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="327" data-file-height="328" /></a></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Geology" title="Portal:Geology">Geology portal</a></b></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="List-Class article"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/16px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/23px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/31px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <b><a href="/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates" title="List of tectonic plates">List</a></b></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <b><a href="/wiki/Category:Plate_tectonics" title="Category:Plate tectonics">Category</a></b></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Commons page"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/24px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></span></span> <b><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Plate_tectonics" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Plate tectonics">Commons</a></b></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Major_African_geological_formations" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Major_African_geological_formations" title="Template:Major African geological formations"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Major_African_geological_formations" title="Template talk:Major African geological formations"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Major_African_geological_formations" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Major African geological formations"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Major_African_geological_formations" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Major African geological formations</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Plate_tectonics" title="Plate tectonics">Plates</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>Major plates: <a class="mw-selflink selflink">African plate</a></li> <li>Minor plates: <a href="/wiki/Somali_plate" title="Somali plate">Somali plate</a></li> <li>Microplates: <a href="/wiki/Lwandle_plate" title="Lwandle plate">Lwandle plate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Madagascar_plate" title="Madagascar plate">Madagascar plate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rovuma_plate" title="Rovuma plate">Rovuma plate</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Seychelles_plate&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Seychelles plate (page does not exist)">Seychelles plate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Victoria_Microplate" class="mw-redirect" title="Victoria Microplate">Victoria Microplate</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Craton" title="Craton">Cratons</a> and <a href="/wiki/Shield_(geology)" title="Shield (geology)">shields</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arabian-Nubian_Shield" title="Arabian-Nubian Shield">Arabian-Nubian Shield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Congo_Craton" title="Congo Craton">Congo Craton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kaapvaal_Craton" title="Kaapvaal Craton">Kaapvaal Craton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kalahari_Craton" title="Kalahari Craton">Kalahari Craton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Saharan_Metacraton" title="Saharan Metacraton">Saharan Metacraton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tanzania_Craton" title="Tanzania Craton">Tanzania Craton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tuareg_Shield" title="Tuareg Shield">Tuareg Shield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_African_Craton" title="West African Craton">West African Craton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zimbabwe_Craton" title="Zimbabwe Craton">Zimbabwe Craton</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Shear_zone" title="Shear zone">Shear zones</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aswa_Dislocation" title="Aswa Dislocation">Aswa Dislocation</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Broodkop_Shear_Zone&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Broodkop Shear Zone (page does not exist)">Broodkop Shear Zone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_African_Shear_Zone" title="Central African Shear Zone">Central African Shear Zone</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Chuan_Shear_Zones&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Chuan Shear Zones (page does not exist)">Chuan Shear Zones</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foumban_Shear_Zone" title="Foumban Shear Zone">Foumban Shear Zone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kandi_Fault_Zone" title="Kandi Fault Zone">Kandi Fault Zone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mwembeshi_Shear_Zone" title="Mwembeshi Shear Zone">Mwembeshi Shear Zone</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Todi_Shear_Zone&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Todi Shear Zone (page does not exist)">Todi Shear Zone</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Western_Meseta_Shear_Zone&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Western Meseta Shear Zone (page does not exist)">Western Meseta Shear Zone</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Orogen" class="mw-redirect" title="Orogen">Orogens</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Alpine_orogeny" title="Alpine orogeny">Alpine Orogen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cape_Fold_Belt" title="Cape Fold Belt">Cape Fold Belt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Damara_orogeny" title="Damara orogeny">Damara Orogen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_African_Orogeny" title="East African Orogeny">East African Orogen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eburnean_orogeny" title="Eburnean orogeny">Eburnean Orogen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gondwanide_orogeny" title="Gondwanide orogeny">Gondwanide Orogen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kibaran_orogeny" title="Kibaran orogeny">Kibaran Orogen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kuunga_orogeny" title="Kuunga orogeny">Kuunga Orogen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mauritanide_Belt" title="Mauritanide Belt">Mauritanide Belt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pan-African_orogeny" title="Pan-African orogeny">Pan-African orogens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Terra_Australis_Orogen" title="Terra Australis Orogen">Terra Australis Orogen</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Rift" title="Rift">Rifts</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Afar_Triangle" title="Afar Triangle">Afar Triangle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anza_trough" title="Anza trough">Anza trough</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bahr_el_Arab_rift" title="Bahr el Arab rift">Bahr el Arab rift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Benue_Trough" title="Benue Trough">Benue Trough</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Blue_Nile_rift" title="Blue Nile rift">Blue Nile rift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_African_Rift" title="East African Rift">East African Rift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gulf_of_Suez_Rift" title="Gulf of Suez Rift">Gulf of Suez Rift</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lamu_Embayment&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Lamu Embayment (page does not exist)">Lamu Embayment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Melut_Basin" title="Melut Basin">Melut Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Muglad_Basin" title="Muglad Basin">Muglad Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Red_Sea_Rift" title="Red Sea Rift">Red Sea Rift</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sangha_aulacogen&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Sangha aulacogen (page does not exist)">Sangha Aulacogen</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Atbara_rift&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Atbara rift (page does not exist)">Atbara rift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Urema_Valley" title="Urema Valley">Urema Valley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_and_Central_African_Rift_System" title="West and Central African Rift System">West and Central African Rift System</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/White_Nile_rift" title="White Nile rift">White Nile rift</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Sedimentary_basin" title="Sedimentary basin">Sedimentary basins</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Angola_Basin" title="Angola Basin">Angola Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aoukar" title="Aoukar">Aoukar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Blue_Nile_Basin" title="Blue Nile Basin">Blue Nile Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chad_Basin" title="Chad Basin">Chad Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Congo_Basin" title="Congo Basin">Congo Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Douala_Basin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Douala Basin (page does not exist)">Douala Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/El_Djouf" title="El Djouf">El Djouf</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Karoo_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Karoo Basin">Karoo Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Gabon_Basin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Gabon Basin (page does not exist)">Gabon Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iullemmeden_Basin" title="Iullemmeden Basin">Iullemmeden Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Kufra_Basin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Kufra Basin (page does not exist)">Kufra Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Murzuq_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Murzuq Basin">Murzuq Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Niger_Delta_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Niger Delta Basin">Niger Delta Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ogaden_Basin" title="Ogaden Basin">Ogaden Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orange_River_Basin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Orange River Basin (page does not exist)">Orange River Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ouled_Abdoun_Basin" title="Ouled Abdoun Basin">Ouled Abdoun Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Owambo_Basin" title="Owambo Basin">Owambo Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reggane_Basin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Reggane Basin (page does not exist)">Reggane Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rio_del_Rey_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Rio del Rey Basin">Rio del Rey Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sirte_Basin" title="Sirte Basin">Sirte Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_Coastal_Basin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Somali Coastal Basin (page does not exist)">Somali Coastal Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Taoudeni_Basin" title="Taoudeni Basin">Taoudeni Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tanzania_Coastal_Basin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Tanzania Coastal Basin (page does not exist)">Tanzania Coastal Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tindouf_Basin" title="Tindouf Basin">Tindouf Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkana_Basin" title="Turkana Basin">Turkana Basin</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Mountain_range" title="Mountain range">Mountain ranges</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/A%C3%AFr_Mountains" title="Aïr Mountains">Aïr Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atlas_Mountains" title="Atlas Mountains">Atlas Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aur%C3%A8s_Mountains" title="Aurès Mountains">Aurès Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bambouk_Mountains" title="Bambouk Mountains">Bambouk Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Blue_Mountains_(Niger)" title="Blue Mountains (Niger)">Blue Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cameroon_line" title="Cameroon line">Cameroon line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Pangean_Mountains" title="Central Pangean Mountains">Central Pangean Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chaillu_Mountains" class="mw-redirect" title="Chaillu Mountains">Chaillu Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drakensberg" title="Drakensberg">Drakensberg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Arc_Mountains" title="Eastern Arc Mountains">Eastern Arc Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Rift_mountains" title="Eastern Rift mountains">Eastern Rift mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethiopian_Highlands" title="Ethiopian Highlands">Ethiopian Highlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Escarpment,_Southern_Africa" title="Great Escarpment, Southern Africa">Great Escarpment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Karas_Mountains" title="Great Karas Mountains">Great Karas Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guinea_Highlands" title="Guinea Highlands">Guinea Highlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hoggar_Mountains" title="Hoggar Mountains">Hoggar Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Imatong_Mountains" title="Imatong Mountains">Imatong Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jebel_Uweinat" class="mw-redirect" title="Jebel Uweinat">Jebel Uweinat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Loma_Mountains" title="Loma Mountains">Loma Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mandara_Mountains" title="Mandara Mountains">Mandara Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marrah_Mountains" title="Marrah Mountains">Marrah Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mitumba_Mountains" title="Mitumba Mountains">Mitumba Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nuba_Mountains" title="Nuba Mountains">Nuba Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rif" title="Rif">Rif Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rwenzori_Mountains" title="Rwenzori Mountains">Rwenzori Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sankwala_Mountains" title="Sankwala Mountains">Sankwala Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Serra_da_Leba" title="Serra da Leba">Serra da Leba</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Serra_da_Chela" title="Serra da Chela">Serra da Chela</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Teffedest_Mountains" title="Teffedest Mountains">Teffedest Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tibesti_Mountains" title="Tibesti Mountains">Tibesti Mountains</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Inselberg" title="Inselberg">Inselbergs</a> (aka koppie)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anti-Atlas" title="Anti-Atlas">Anti-Atlas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mount_Gorongosa" title="Mount Gorongosa">Mount Gorongosa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jugurtha_Tableland" title="Jugurtha Tableland">Jugurtha Tableland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mount_Mabu" title="Mount Mabu">Mount Mabu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mulanje_Massif" title="Mulanje Massif">Mulanje Massif</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mont_Ni%C3%A9nokou%C3%A9" title="Mont Niénokoué">Mont Niénokoué</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wase_Rock" title="Wase Rock">Wase Rock</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zuma_Rock" title="Zuma Rock">Zuma Rock</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_inselbergs" title="List of inselbergs">List of inselbergs</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_plate&oldid=1255255223">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_plate&oldid=1255255223</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Tectonic_plates" title="Category:Tectonic plates">Tectonic plates</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Geology_of_Africa" title="Category:Geology of Africa">Geology of Africa</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Geology_of_the_Atlantic_Ocean" title="Category:Geology of the Atlantic Ocean">Geology of the Atlantic Ocean</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Geology_of_the_Indian_Ocean" title="Category:Geology of the Indian Ocean">Geology of the Indian Ocean</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 3 November 2024, at 23:34<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_plate&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-gbbp4","wgBackendResponseTime":166,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.448","walltime":"0.622","ppvisitednodes":{"value":1070,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":53962,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":749,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":11,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":2,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":38201,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 508.470 1 -total"," 31.28% 159.046 2 Template:Navbox"," 31.09% 158.073 1 Template:Tectonic_plates"," 24.82% 126.188 1 Template:Reflist"," 18.95% 96.358 3 Template:Cite_web"," 17.91% 91.042 1 Template:Infobox_tectonic_plate"," 15.84% 80.541 1 Template:Short_description"," 15.51% 78.865 1 Template:Infobox"," 9.27% 47.115 2 Template:Pagetype"," 6.04% 30.719 2 Template:Convert"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.275","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":6883862,"limit":52428800},"limitreport-logs":"table#1 {\n [\"size\"] = \"tiny\",\n}\n"},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-v5bt4","timestamp":"20241122140719","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"African plate","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/African_plate","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q203548","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q203548","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2004-03-12T03:54:11Z","dateModified":"2024-11-03T23:34:46Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/1\/10\/AfricanPlate.png","headline":"tectonic plate underlying Africa"}</script> </body> </html>