South American Plate

American  

noun

Geology.

1. a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising the continent of South America and several ocean basins and bounded on the north by the Caribbean Plate, on the east by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on the west by a submarine trench that borders the western coast of the continent, and on the south by the Antarctic Plate.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

South American Plate

These rocks formed during a key period when the South American Plate was interacting with the continental portion of Central America.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

The country sits on one of the most active tectonic boundaries in South America, where the Caribbean Plate is sliding eastward along the South American Plate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Similarly the South American Plate extends across the western part of the southern Atlantic Ocean, while the European and African plates each include part of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

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