Plate data: Bird (2003), PB2002, converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil (ODC-By 1.0). Land: Natural Earth (India POV).
The North American Plate carries North America, Greenland, part of Siberia in PB2002,1 and the western half of the North Atlantic floor. On its eastern edge, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge splits Iceland, as North America moves westward relative to Eurasia (USGS). Along the Krafla fissure zone in northeastern Iceland, displacements from rifting between 1975 and 1984 totalled about 7 m.
In the west, the San Andreas fault zone separates the North American and Pacific Plates. It is about 1,300 km long and slices through two thirds of the length of California. USGS links the volcanoes of the Cascade Range to oceanic-continental convergence, and ties earthquakes along the US Atlantic seaboard to the westward movement of the plate away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Some of its best-known features lie far from any edge. USGS describes the hotspot presumed to exist under Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming. Three gigantic eruptions in the past two million years left large calderas there, the most recent about 600,000 years ago, and the heat of the hotspot still feeds more than 10,000 hot pools and springs, geysers such as Old Faithful, and bubbling mudpots (USGS).
Earthquakes also strike the plate interior. The most widely felt earthquakes ever to strike the United States were centered near New Madrid, Missouri, in 1811 and 1812: three earthquakes, each estimated above magnitude 8.0, were felt as far away as Washington D.C. The Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake of 1886, of about magnitude 7.0, was felt as far away as Chicago, more than 1,300 km to the northwest. USGS explains that East Coast earthquakes are felt over a much larger area than West Coast ones because the eastern half of the country is mainly older rock, not fractured by frequent recent earthquakes (USGS).
North American Plate in numbers
Measured from its PB2002 outline, the North American Plate covers about 55.4 million km², or 10.9% of the
Earth's surface. That makes it number 4 by area of the 52 plates in the model.
It reaches every line of longitude and spans from 90°S to 90°N.
Its edge is about 34,373 km long, mostly divergent:
40.2%divergentDivergent boundary. Plates pull away from each other and new crust forms between them. Source (13,803 km)
, 29.4%convergentConvergent boundary. Plates move toward each other and crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another. Source (10,096 km)
and 30.5%transformTransform boundary. Plates slide horizontally past each other. Crust is neither made nor destroyed. Source (10,474 km)
.
Countries whose main landmass sits on this plate: Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Cuba, Greenland, Guatemala, Iceland, Mexico, Russia and United States of America. Countries that straddle a boundary
are listed under the plate that holds the center of their largest landmass.
North American Plate fact table
North American Plate at a glance, computed from PB2002
Along its boundaries it moves a mean 2.8 cm/yr relative to its neighbors, fastest against the Cocos Plate. Bird (2003)
Neighboring plates Neighbors. Plates that share a boundary with this plate. Most plate movement happens along these narrow zones between plates. Source
The North American Plate shares a boundary with 9 plates in PB2002, longest shared edge first.
The longest, about 10,773 km, is with the Eurasian Plate; the shortest, about 577 km, is with the Rivera Plate.
Computed from the PB2002 plate outlines and boundary types (Bird 2003).
North American Plate FAQ
How big is the North American Plate?
About 55.4 million km², or 10.9% of the Earth's surface, measured from its PB2002 outline. It ranks 4 of 52 plates by area.
Which plates border the North American Plate?
9 plates: Eurasian Plate, Pacific Plate, African Plate, Caribbean Plate, Okhotsk Plate, Cocos Plate, South American Plate, Juan de Fuca Plate and Rivera Plate.
What kind of plate boundaries does the North American Plate have?
Mostly divergent boundaries. 40.2% divergent, 29.4% convergent, 30.5% transform, of 34,373 km in total.
How fast does the North American Plate move?
Relative to its neighbors, a mean 27.8 mm/yr (2.8 cm/yr) along its boundaries in PB2002. The fastest boundary is with the Cocos Plate.
