Pacific plate
| Pacific Plate | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Major |
| Approx. Area | 103,300,000 km2 (39,900,000 sq mi) |
| Movement1 | north-west |
| Speed1 | 56–102 mm (2.2–4.0 in)/year |
| Features | Baja California, Hawaii, New Zealand, Pacific Ocean |
| 1Relative to the African Plate | |
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres (40,000,000 sq mi), it is the largest tectonic plate.
The Pacific Plate contains an interior hot spot forming the Hawaiian Islands.
Hillis and Müller are reported to consider the Bird's Head Plate to be moving in unison with the Pacific Plate. Bird considers them to be unconnected.
The north-eastern side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda Ridge. In the middle of the eastern side is a transform boundary with the North American Plate along the San Andreas Fault, and a boundary with the Cocos Plate. The south-eastern side is a divergent boundary with the Nazca Plate forming the East Pacific Rise.
The southern side is a divergent boundary with the Antarctic Plate forming the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge.
The western side, the plate is bounded by the Okhotsk Plate at the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and the Japan Trench, forms a convergent boundary by subducting under the Philippine Sea Plate creating the Mariana Trench, has a transform boundary with the Caroline Plate, and has a collision boundary with the North Bismarck Plate.
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