Plate data: Bird (2003), PB2002, converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil (ODC-By 1.0). Land: Natural Earth (India POV).
The Yangtze Plate carries southeastern China. On this map Wuhan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei all sit on it.1Bird (2003) based it on an aseismic region in southeastern China that seems unaffected by the Himalayan collision.
GPS stations at Wuhan, Shanghai and Taipei move together as if on one rigid plate, about 13 mm per year toward the east-southeast relative to Eurasia (Heki and others 1999, cited by Bird). Geodesists had sometimes called this the South China plate, but that name was already used for a larger Paleozoic plate. Bird chose the name Yangtze, after one of the region's most prominent features.
Its only distinct boundary is in the east, where it collides with the Philippine Sea Plate in Taiwan and separates from the small Okinawa Plate along the Okinawa Trough. To the south, its boundary with the Sunda Plate follows the northern margin of the South China Sea, and should move at rates on the order of 15 mm per year. In the East China Sea, Bird suggests a short, slow boundary with the Amur Plate, with slip of only about 4 mm per year.
Most of its other edges are drawn against parts of Eurasia that are deforming within the Persia-Tibet-Burma orogen. Bird drew them to outline the region of low seismicity and notes that these lines are not necessarily faults, with no implication of special seismic hazard. That is why its long boundary with the Eurasian Plate looks mostly divergent here even though the region is quiet.2
Yangtze Plate in numbers
Measured from its PB2002 outline, the Yangtze Plate covers about 2.2 million km², or 0.4% of the
Earth's surface. That makes it number 18 by area of the 52 plates in the model.
It spans from 18°N to 35°N and from 105°E to 129°E.
Its edge is about 7,134 km long, mostly divergent:
50.9%divergentDivergent boundary. Plates pull away from each other and new crust forms between them. Source (3,634 km)
, 18.2%convergentConvergent boundary. Plates move toward each other and crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another. Source (1,299 km)
and 30.9%transformTransform boundary. Plates slide horizontally past each other. Crust is neither made nor destroyed. Source (2,201 km)
.
Countries whose main landmass sits on this plate: China and Taiwan. Countries that straddle a boundary
are listed under the plate that holds the center of their largest landmass.
Along its boundaries it moves a mean 2.1 cm/yr relative to its neighbors, fastest against the Philippine Sea 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 Yangtze Plate shares a boundary with 5 plates in PB2002, longest shared edge first.
The longest, about 3,790 km, is with the Eurasian Plate; the shortest, about 439 km, is with the Philippine Sea Plate.
Placed by point-in-polygon test on the PB2002 plate outlines (Bird 2003). Bird names GPS stations at Wuhan, Shanghai and Taipei on this plate; Hong Kong is not named.
Computed from the PB2002 plate outlines and boundary types (Bird 2003).
Yangtze Plate FAQ
How big is the Yangtze Plate?
About 2.2 million km², or 0.4% of the Earth's surface, measured from its PB2002 outline. It ranks 18 of 52 plates by area.
Which plates border the Yangtze Plate?
5 plates: Eurasian Plate, Okinawa Plate, Sunda Plate, Amur Plate and Philippine Sea Plate.
What kind of plate boundaries does the Yangtze Plate have?
Mostly divergent boundaries. 50.9% divergent, 18.2% convergent, 30.9% transform, of 7,134 km in total.
How fast does the Yangtze Plate move?
Relative to its neighbors, a mean 21.5 mm/yr (2.1 cm/yr) along its boundaries in PB2002. The fastest boundary is with the Philippine Sea Plate.
