North American Plate

[ nawrth uh-mer-i-kuhn pleyt ]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of North American Plate¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

That can illustrate subtle tectonic plate action between major earthquakes, illustrating how the Pacific plate, where L.A. is located, is nudging northwest relative to the North American plate, where the Mojave Desert is located.

From Los Angeles Times

In Washington’s case, the Juan de Fuca Plate is sliding underneath the North American Plate, resulting in the Cascades and related volcanoes.

From Seattle Times

As it ran into the North American plate, part of it went up and over the crust while the rest was sucked under it.

From Science Daily

In the Cascadia subduction zone — a 600-mile-long stretch that runs from Vancouver Island, British Columbia to Cape Mendocino, California — pressure is building as the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate is pushing under the North American plate, the department said.

From Seattle Times

We live on top of the Cascadia subduction zone, where the Pacific Ocean tectonic plate is slowly sliding under the North American plate.

From Seattle Times