Antarctic Plate

[ ant-ahrk-tik pleyt, -ahr-tik ]

noun

, Geology.

1. a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising Antarctica and adjacent ocean basins (the South Indian, Southeast Pacific, and Atlantic-Indian Basins) and bounded on the north by the Nazca, South American, African, Indo-Australian, and Pacific Plates.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Antarctic Plate¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Reconstructions of Antarctic plate tectonics before 43 million years ago therefore rely on circumstantial geological evidence9.

From Nature

The Indian Ocean floor is marked by the steep and rugged Southwest Indian Ridge, where the northern African and southern Antarctic plates move away from each other, and the relatively smooth and flat Southeast Indian Ridge, where the northern Indo-Australian plate moves away from the southern Antarctic plate.

From Scientific American