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What are the minor tectonic plates?

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Q: I am currently studying plate tectonics and references are made to 'major' and 'minor' tectonic plates. Is there ay framework as to which is which? Nazca for example is neither as large nor small as many other plates. How would it be classified? read more

Geologists generally agree that the following tectonic plates currently exist on the Earth's surface with roughly definable boundaries. Tectonic plates are sometimes subdivided into three fairly arbitrary categories: major (or primary) plates, minor (or secondary) plates, and microplates (or tertiary plates). Major/main plates. These plates comprise the bulk of the continents and the Pacific Ocean. For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20 million km 2. read more

Minor Tectonic Plates By Size Somali Plate - 16,700,000 sq km . The Somali Plate is a minor tectonic plate located underneath Africa near the country of Somalia. Currently, the Somali Plate is moving away from continental Africa at a very small pace which equates to around 20 millimetres per annum. read more

The earth's surface is divided up into seven major and eight minor tectonic plates. The minor plates consist of the Caribbean plate, the Arabian plate, the Juan de Fuca plate, the Nazca plate, the Scotia plate, the Philippine plate, the Cocos plate and the Indian plate. read more

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Quakes away from plate boundaries may be triggered by ...
Source: abc.net.au