African Plate

American  

noun

Geology.

1. a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising the African continent as well as adjacent ocean basins (the Canary, Cape Verde, Angola, Cape Agulhas, Somali, Madagascar, and Natal Basins), and bounded on the north by the Eurasian and Arabian Plates, on the east by mid-ocean ridges (the Southwest Indian, Mid-Indian, and Carlsberg Ridges), on the south by the Antarctic Plate, and on the west by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

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Example Sentences

The broader region is crisscrossed by active fault lines created as the African Plate presses northeastward against the Hellenic Plate.

From Science Daily • Feb. 17, 2026

The Red Sea formed by separation of the Arabian Plate from the African Plate beginning 30 million years ago.

From Science Daily • Oct. 8, 2025