Eurasian Plate

[ yoo-rey-zhuhn pleyt, -shuhn, yuh- ]

noun

, Geology.

1. a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising the continents of Europe and Asia as well as several suboceanic basins (the West European, Norwegian, Lofoten, Aleutian, and South China Basins), separated from the North American Plate by the subsea Reykjanes Ridge, bounded on the south by the African and Indo-Australian Plates, and on the east by the Philippine and Pacific Plates.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Eurasian Plate¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

The area is particularly vulnerable to temblors due to the tension accumulated from the interactions of two tectonic plates, the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate, which may lead to sudden releases in the form of earthquakes.

From Seattle Times

Part of the Indian Plate appears to be “delaminating” as it slides under the Eurasian Plate, with the dense bottom part peeling away from the top.

From Science Magazine

The thin oceanic slabs readily plunged below the Eurasian Plate while the thick continental crust plowed headlong into Eurasia like a battering ram.

From Science Magazine

North Africa sits on the Nubian plate, also called the African plate, which is slowly moving with respect to the Eurasian plate.

From National Geographic

“Most of the seismicity in Morocco is related to movement on the boundary between the African and Eurasian plate, and therefore the highest level of seismic hazard was thought to exist in the north of the country,” says Jascha Polet, a seismologist and professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University Pomona.

From National Geographic