North American Plate

American  

[nawrth uh-mer-i-kuhn pleyt] / ˈnɔrθ əˈmɛr ɪ kən ˈpleɪt /

noun

Geology, Oceanography.

1. a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising Greenland and the continent of North America and the suboceanic Labrador and North American Basins, and bounded on the east by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on the south by the Caribbean and South American Plates, and on the west by the San Andreas Fault and the Aleutian Trench.

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Etymology

Origin of North American Plate

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

In Washington’s case, the Juan de Fuca Plate is sliding underneath the North American Plate, resulting in the Cascades and related volcanoes.

From Seattle Times • May 18, 2024

And he’s astute in explaining the science: the crust of the Pacific Plate pushing under the North American Plate.

From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2020

Oceanic crust tends to be heavier than continental crust, so for the most part the Juan de Fuca Plate is diving beneath the North American Plate in a process called subduction.

From Washington Times • Jul. 19, 2015

Furthermore, many plates, including our own North American Plate, move along nicely — albeit slowly — without any slab-pull happening.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

At 2:46 P.M. on March 11, an area of the North American Plate about 190 miles long broke free from the Pacific Plate.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland