List of plate tectonics topics

This is a list of articles related to plate tectonics and tectonic plates.

What is plate tectonics?

General concepts

• Earth:Asthenosphere – Highly viscous, mechanically weak, and ductile region of Earth's mantle
• Earth:Back-arc basin – Submarine features associated with island arcs and subduction zones
• Earth:Bimodal volcanism – Eruption of both mafic and felsic lavas from a single volcanic centre
• Earth:Continent – Large geographical region identified by convention
• Crust – Outermost solid shell of astronomical bodies
• Earth:Epeirogenic movement – Upheavals or depressions of land exhibiting long wavelengths and little folding
• Earth:Fault (geology) – Fracture or discontinuity in rock across which there has been displacement
  • Earth:Fault mechanics – Field of study that investigates the behavior of geologic faults
• Earth:Flux melting – The process by which the melting point is reduced by the admixture of a material known as a flux
• Earth:Geodynamics – Study of dynamics of the Earth
• Earth:Island arc – Arc-shaped archipelago formed by intense seismic activity of long chains of active volcanoes
• Mantle – Layer inside a planet between core and crust
• Earth:Mohorovičić discontinuity – Boundary between the Earth's crust and the mantle
• Earth:Mountain – Large natural elevation of the Earth's surface
• Earth:Mid-ocean ridge, also known as Oceanic ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Earth:Oceanic trench – Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
• Earth:Paleoclimatology – Study of changes in ancient climate
• Earth:Paleomap – Map of continents and mountain ranges in the past based on plate reconstructions
• Earth:Seamount – Mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface
• Earth:Slab gap hypothesis – Theory in plate tectonics
• Earth:Slab window – Type of gap in a subducted oceanic plate
• Earth:Supercontinent – Landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton
• Earth:Volcano – Rupture in a planet's crust where material escapes

Tectonic plate interactions

Tectonic plate interactions – Movements of Earth's lithosphere

• Earth:Continental drift – Movement of Earth's continents relative to each other
• Earth:Convergent boundary – Region of active deformation between colliding tectonic plates
• Earth:Divergent boundary – Linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other
• Earth:Extensional tectonics – Geological process of stretching planet crust
• Earth:Isostasy – State of gravitational equilibrium between Earth's crust and mantle
• Earth:Leaky transform fault – Transform fault producing new crust
• Physics:Mantle convection – Gradual movement of the planet's mantle
• Earth:Obduction – Overthrusting of oceanic lithosphere onto continental lithosphere at a convergent plate boundary
• Physics:Orogeny – The formation of mountain ranges
• Earth:Passive margin – Transition between oceanic and continental lithosphere that is not an active plate margin
• Earth:Plume tectonics – Geophysical theory of movement of mantle plumes under tectonic plates
• Earth:Ridge push – Proposed driving force for tectonic plate motion
• Earth:Seafloor spreading – Geological process at mid-ocean ridges
• Earth:Strike-slip tectonics – Deformation dominated by horizontal movement in Earth's lithosphere
• Earth:Subduction – A geological process at convergent tectonic plate boundaries where one plate moves under the other
• Earth:Tectonic uplift – Geologic uplift of Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics
• Earth:Thrust tectonics – Concept in structural geology
• Earth:Transform fault, also known as Transform boundary – Plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal
• Earth:Triple junction – Meeting point of three tectonic plates

Back arc basins

Earth:Back-arc basin – Submarine features associated with island arcs and subduction zones

Continents

Earth:Continent – Large geographical region identified by convention

• Earth:Africa – Continent
• Earth:Antarctica – Continent
• Earth:Asia – Continent
• Earth:Australia (continent) – One of Earth's seven main divisions of land
• Earth:Europe – Continent
• Earth:North America – Continent in the Northern Hemisphere
• Earth:South America – Continent

Earth:Supercontinent – Landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton

Paleocontinents

Earth:Paleocontinent – A distinct area of continental crust that existed as a major landmass in the geological past

• Earth:Appalachia (Mesozoic) – A Mesozoic land mass separated from Laramidia to the west by the Western Interior Seaway
• Earth:Armorican terrane – Microcontinent or group of continental fragments rifted away from Gondwana
• Earth:Avalonia – Microcontinent in the Paleozoic era
• Earth:Baltica – Late-Proterozoic to early-Palaeozoic continent
• Earth:Congo Craton – Precambrian craton that with four others makes up the modern continent of Africa
• Earth:Laramidia – Island continent that existed until the end of the Late Cretaceous period
• Earth:Iberian Plate – Small tectonic plate now part of the Eurasian plate
• Earth:Kazakhstania – Geological region in Central Asia
• Earth:Laramidia – Island continent that existed until the end of the Late Cretaceous period
• Earth:Sahul (continent) – A prehistoric continent that consisted of Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania and Seram
• Earth:Siberia (continent) – Ancient craton forming the Central Siberian Plateau
• Earth:South China (continent) – An ancient continent that contained today's South and Southeast China, Indochina, and parts of Southeast Asia
• Earth:Sunda (continent) – A prehistoric continent that consisted of mainland and maritime Southeast Asia
• Earth:Supercontinent – Landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton
  • Earth:Euramerica
  • Biology:Gondwana
  • Earth:Pangaea – Supercontinent from the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic eras
  • Earth:Pannotia – Hypothesized Neoproterozoic supercontinent from the end of the Precambrian
  • Earth:Rodinia – Hypothetical Neoproterozoic supercontinent
  • Earth:Vaalbara – Archaean supercontinent from about 3.6 to 2.7 billion years ago

Earthquakes

Earth:Earthquake – Sudden movement of the Earth's crust

• Earth:Blind thrust earthquake – Movement along a thrust fault that is not visible at the surface
• Earth:Intraplate earthquake – Earthquake that occurs within the interior of a tectonic plate
• Earth:Interplate earthquake – Earthquake that occurs at the boundary between two tectonic plates
• Earth:Megathrust earthquake – Type of earthquake at convergent plate boundaries

Oceans

Earth:Ocean – Body of salt water covering the majority of Earth

Ancient oceans

Earth:List of ancient oceans – List of Earth's former oceans

• Earth:Mirovia – Hypothesized superocean surrounding the supercontinent Rodinia in the Neoproterozoic Era
• Earth:Panthalassa – Prehistoric superocean that surrounded Pangaea
• Earth:Tethys Ocean – Prehistoric ocean between Gondwana and Laurasia

Superoceans

Earth:Superocean – Ocean that surrounds a supercontinent

• Earth:Mirovia – Hypothesized superocean surrounding the supercontinent Rodinia in the Neoproterozoic Era
• Earth:Panthalassa – Prehistoric superocean that surrounded Pangaea

Orogenies

Physics:Orogeny – The formation of mountain ranges

• Earth:List of orogenies – Known mountain building events of the Earth's history
• Earth:Mountain formation – Geological processes that underlie the formation of mountains
• Earth:Fold mountains – Mountains formed by compressive crumpling of the layers of rock

Rifts

Earth:Rift – Geological linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart

• Earth:Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Earth:Saint Lawrence rift system – Seismically active zone paralleling the Saint Lawrence River

Active rifts

• Earth:Propagating rifts – Seafloor features associated with spreading centers at mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins

Continental rifts

• Earth:Laptev Sea Rift – A divergent tectonic plate boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate

Oceanic ridges

• Earth:Explorer Ridge – Mid-ocean ridge west of British Columbia, Canada
• Earth:Gorda Ridge – Tectonic spreading center off the northern coast of California and southern Oregon
• Earth:Juan de Fuca Ridge – Divergent plate boundary off the coast of the Pacific Northwest region of North America
• Earth:East Pacific Rise – A mid-oceanic ridge at a divergent tectonic plate boundary on the floor of the Pacific Ocean
• Earth:Central Indian Ridge – A north-south-trending mid-ocean ridge in the western Indian Ocean
  • Earth:Carlsberg Ridge – Tectonic plate ridge
• Earth:Southeast Indian Ridge – Mid-ocean ridge in the southern Indian Ocean
• Earth:Southwest Indian Ridge – A mid-ocean ridge on the bed of the south-west Indian Ocean and south-east Atlantic Ocean
• Earth:Mid-Atlantic Ridge – A divergent tectonic plate boundary that in the North Atlantic separates the Eurasian and North American plates, and in the South Atlantic separates the African and South American plates
  • Kolbeinsey Ridge (North of Iceland)
  • Mohns Ridge

Aulacogens

• Earth:Gulf of Suez Rift – Continental rift zone that was active between the Late Oligocene and the end of the Miocene
• Earth:Kula-Farallon Ridge – Ancient mid-ocean ridge
• Earth:Mississippi embayment – Low-lying basin filled with Cretaceous to recent sediments
• Earth:New Madrid Seismic Zone – Major seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States
• Earth:Oslo Graben – An inactive Permian geological rift in Norway
• Earth:Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben – Rift valley extending from near Montréal through Ottawa in Canada
• Earth:Timiskaming Graben – Northwesterly extension of the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben

Subduction zones

Subduction zone – A geological process at convergent tectonic plate boundaries where one plate moves under the other

• Earth:Middle America Trench – Subduction zone in the eastern Pacific off the southwestern coast of Middle America

Suture zones

Earth:Suture (geology) – Joining together of separate terranes along a major fault zone

• Earth:Iapetus Suture – Ancient geological fault
• Earth:Indus-Yarlung suture zone – Tectonic suture in southern Tibet
• Earth:Vulcan structure – Convergent tectonic boundary between the Medicine Hat and Loverna Blocks in North America

Tectonic plates

• Earth:List of tectonic plates – Overview of different types of tectonic plates
• Earth:African Plate – Tectonic plate underlying Africa
• Earth:Anatolian Plate – Continental tectonic plate comprising most of the Anatolia (Asia Minor) peninsula
• Earth:Antarctic Plate – Major tectonic plate containing Antarctica and the surrounding ocean floor
• Earth:Arabian Plate – Minor tectonic plate
• Earth:Burma Plate – Minor tectonic plate in Southeast Asia
• Earth:Cocos Plate – Young oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America
• Earth:Eurasian Plate – Tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia
• Earth:Explorer Plate – Oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada
• Earth:Farallon Plate – Ancient oceanic plate that has mostly subducted under the North American Plate
• Earth:Gorda Plate – One of the northern remnants of the Farallon Plate
• Earth:Indian Plate – Minor plate that separated from Gondwana
• Earth:Juan de Fuca Plate – Small tectonic plate in the eastern North Pacific
• Earth:Halmahera Plate – Small tectonic plate in the Molucca Sea
• Earth:Indo-Australian Plate – A major tectonic plate formed by the fusion of the Indian and the Australian plates
• Earth:Pacific Plate – Oceanic tectonic plate under the Pacific Ocean
• Earth:Molucca Sea Plate – Small fully subducted tectonic plate near Indonesia
• Earth:Nazca Plate – Oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin
• Earth:North American Plate – Large tectonic plate including most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia
• Earth:Philippine Sea Plate – Oceanic tectonic plate to the east of the Philippines
• Earth:South American Plate – Major tectonic plate which includes most of South America and a large part of the south Atlantic
• Earth:Sunda Plate – Tectonic plate including Southeast Asia

Terranes

• Earth:Armorican terrane – Microcontinent or group of continental fragments rifted away from Gondwana
• Earth:Avalonia – Microcontinent in the Paleozoic era
• Earth:Cassiar Terrane – Cretaceous terrane located in the Northern Interior of British Columbia and southern Yukon
• Earth:Cymru Terrane – Inferred fault bounded terrane of the basement rocks of the southern United Kingdom
• Earth:Florida Platform – Flat geological feature with the emergent portion forming the Florida peninsula
• Earth:Franciscan Assemblage – A late Mesozoic terrane of heterogeneous rocks in the California Coast Ranges
• Earth:Great Lakes tectonic zone
• Earth:Ivrea zone – Tectonic terrane in the Italian Alps
• Earth:Lhasa terrane – Fragment of crustal material that forms present-day southern Tibet
• Earth:Meguma terrane – Terrane exposed in southern Nova Scotia
• Earth:Omineca Arc – Volcanic arc terrane in western North America
• Earth:Pelso Plate – Small tectonic unit in the Pannonian Basin in Europe
• Earth:Shan–Thai Terrane – Mass of continental crust extending from Tibet into Southeast Asia
• Earth:Stikinia – Fragment of Earth's crust in British Columbia, Canada
• Earth:Tuareg Shield – Geological formation between the West African craton and the Saharan Metacraton in West Africa
• Earth:Wrangellia Terrane – A terrane extending from south-central Alaska through southwestern Yukon and along the Coast of British Columbia

Triple junctions

Earth:Triple junction – Meeting point of three tectonic plates

• Earth:Banda Sea Triple Junction – Point where the boundaries of the Indo-Australian Plate, the Pacific Plate and the Eurasian Plate meet
• Earth:Boso Triple Junction – The meeting point of the Okhotsk Plate, the Pacific Plate, and the Philippine Sea Plate
• Earth:Bouvet Triple Junction – Meeting point of three tectonic plates
• Earth:Chile Triple Junction – Place where the South American, Nazca and Antarctic tectonic plates meet
• Earth:Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone – A fracture zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the migrating triple junction between the North American, South American, and Nubian plates
• Earth:Mount Fuji – Volcano in Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures, Japan
• Earth:Galapagos Triple Junction – Place where the boundaries of the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Pacific Plate meet
• Earth:Iapetus Suture – Ancient geological fault
• Earth:Kamchatka-Aleutian Triple Junction – Place where the Pacific Plate, the Okhotsk Plate, and the North American Plate meet
• Earth:Karlıova Triple Junction – Place where the Anatolian Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the Arabian Plate meet
• Earth:Macquarie Triple Junction – Place where the Indo-Australian Plate, Pacific Plate, and Antarctic Plate meet
• Earth:Mendocino Triple Junction – Point where the Gorda plate, the North American plate, and the Pacific plate meet
• Earth:Queen Charlotte Triple Junction – Point where the Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, and the Explorer Plate meet
• Earth:Rivera Triple Junction – Place where the North American Plate, the Rivera Plate, and the Pacific Plate meet
• Earth:Rodrigues Triple Junction – Place where the African Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, and the Antarctic Plate meet
• Earth:Tongareva triple junction – Defunct triple junction of the Pacific Plate, the Farallon Plate, and the Phoenix Plate

Other plate tectonics topics

• Earth:Paleoclimatology – Study of changes in ancient climate
• Earth:Paleomap – Map of continents and mountain ranges in the past based on plate reconstructions
• Earth:Plate reconstruction – Process of reconstructing the positions of tectonic plates in the geological past
• Earth:Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis – First key scientific test of the seafloor spreading theory of continental drift and plate tectonics
• Earth:Eclogitization – The tectonic process in which the dense, high-pressure, metamorphic rock, eclogite, is formed

Specific areas

(to be reallocated)

• Earth:Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain – Pacific Ocean geologic feature
• Earth:Indian subcontinent – Physiographical region in South Asia
• Earth:Mid-Atlantic Ridge – A divergent tectonic plate boundary that in the North Atlantic separates the Eurasian and North American plates, and in the South Atlantic separates the African and South American plates
• Earth:Mohorovičić discontinuity – Boundary between the Earth's crust and the mantle
• Earth:Molucca Sea Collision Zone – Region of complex tectonic activity in Indonesia
• Earth:Philippine Mobile Belt – Tectonic boundary
• Earth:Tethys Ocean, also known as Tethys Sea – Prehistoric ocean between Gondwana and Laurasia

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