| Easter Microplate | |
|---|---|
 Easter microplate (from GeoMapApp) with rough plate boundaries.[1] Four spreading sections make up the eastern border. The west section comes from the north side down in a southwest manner, until it breaks off and becomes the southwest section. Triple junctions on north and south ends are not well defined. | |
| Type | Micro |
| Coordinates | 25°00′S 114°00′W / 25.000°S 114.000°W |
| Approximate area | 160000 |
| Movement1 | East |
| Speed1 | 50 to 140 millimetres (2.0 to 5.5 in)/yr |
| Features | Bordering: Pacific Plate (west) Nazca Plate (east) |
| 1Relative to the African Plate | |
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Easter Plate is a tectonic microplate located to the west of Easter Island off the west coast of South America in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, bordering the Nazca Plate to the east and the Pacific Plate to the west.[2] It was discovered from looking at earthquake distributions that were offset from the previously perceived Nazca-Pacific Divergent boundary.[3] This young plate is 5.25 million years old and is considered a microplate because it is small with an area of approximately 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 sq mi).[4] Seafloor spreading along the Easter microplate's borders have some of the highest global rates, ranging from 50 to 140 millimetres (2.0 to 5.5 in)/yr.[5]
- ^ Naar, David; Hey, R. (May 10, 1991). "Tectonic Evolution of the Easter Microplate". Journal of Geophysical Research. 96 (B5): 7961–7993. Bibcode:1991JGR....96.7961N. doi:10.1029/90JB02398.
- ^ Rusby, Ruth; Searle, Roger (July 1995). "A History of Easter Microplate, 5.25 Ma to present". Journal of Geophysical Research. 100 (B7): 12617–12640. Bibcode:1995JGR...10012617R. doi:10.1029/94JB02779.
- ^ Handschumacher, D. W. (1981). "Structure and evolution of the Easter Plate". Nazca Plate: Crustal Formation and Andean Convergence: A Volume Dedicated to George P. Woollard. Geological Society of America Memoirs. 154: 63–76. doi:10.1130/MEM154-p63. ISBN 0-8137-1154-1.
- ^ Alden, Andrew (Feb 28, 2017). "Here Are the Sizes of Tectonic or Lithospheric Plates". Thought Co.
- ^ Hey, R.; Naar, David (September 26, 1985). "Microplate Tectonics Along a Superfast Seafloor Spreading System near Easter Island". Nature. 317 (6035): 320–325. Bibcode:1985Natur.317..320H. doi:10.1038/317320a0. S2CID 4330384.