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

South of this junction, the Pacific plate moves roughly northwest alongside the North American plate, creating the San Andreas fault.

From Science Daily

At the southern end of the Cascadia subduction zone, the team discovered that a portion of the North American plate has broken away and is being dragged downward along with the Gorda plate as it sinks beneath North America.

From Science Daily

South of the triple junction, the Pacific plate is pulling a mass of rock known as the Pioneer fragment beneath the North American plate as it moves northwards.

From Science Daily

The fault separating the Pioneer fragment from the North American plate lies nearly flat and cannot be seen at the surface.

From Science Daily

To better understand these deep events, the team examined seismic data from the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the Pacific Northwest, where the Juan de Fuca plate is sliding beneath the North American plate.

From Science Daily