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Pacific Plate

The Pacific plate is shown in pale yellow on this map
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The Pacific plate is shown in pale yellow on this map

The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.

To the north the easterly 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 the easterly side is a transform boundary with the North American Plate along the San Andreas Fault and a boundary with the Cocos Plate. To the south the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Nazca Plate forming the East Pacific Rise.

The southerly side is a divergent boundary with the Antarctic Plate forming the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge.

The westerly side is a convergent boundary subducting under the Eurasian Plate to the north and the Philippine Plate in the middle forming the Mariana Trench. In the south, the Pacific Plate has a complex but generally convergent boundary with the Indo-Australian Plate, subducting under it north of New Zealand. The Alpine Fault marks a transform boundary between the two plates, and further south the Indo-Australian Plate subducts under the Pacific Plate.

The northerly side is a convergent boundary subducting under the North American Plate forming the Aleutian Trench and the corresponding Aleutian Islands.

The Pacific Plate contains an interior hot spot forming the Hawaiian Islands.

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