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The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate, which began subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate
North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia....
— then located in modern Utah
Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
— as Pangaea
Pangaea

Pangaea, Pang?a or Pangea was the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
 broke apart during the Jurassic
Jurassic

The Jurassic is a geologic period that extends from about annum to  Ma, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous....
 period. It is named for the Farallon Islands
Farallon Islands

The Farallon Islands, or Farallones, are a group of islands and rocks found in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA....
 which are located just west of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
.

Over time the central part of the Farallon Plate was completely subducted under the southwestern part of the North American Plate. The remains of the Farallon Plate are the Juan de Fuca
Juan de Fuca Plate

The Juan de Fuca Plate, named after the Juan de Fuca, is a tectonic plate arising from the Juan de Fuca Ridge, and subduction under the northerly portion of the western side of the North American Plate at the Cascadia subduction zone....
, Explorer
Explorer Plate

The Explorer Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.To the east, the Explorer Plate is being subduction under the North American Plate....
 and Gorda
Gorda Plate

The Gorda Plate, located beneath the Pacific Ocean off the coast of northern California, is one of the northern remnants of the Farallon Plate. It is sometimes referred to as simply the southernmost portion of the neighboring Juan de Fuca Plate, another Farallon remnant....
 Plates, subducting under the northern part of the North American Plate
North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia....
, the Cocos Plate
Cocos Plate

The Cocos Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it....
 subducting under Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
 and the Nazca Plate
Nazca Plate

The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America....
 subducting under the South American Plate
South American Plate

The South American Plate is a tectonic plate covering the continent of South America and extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.The easterly side is a divergent boundary with the African Plate forming the southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge....
.

It is thought that much of the plate initially went under North America (particularly the western United States and southwest Canada) at a very shallow angle, creating much of the mountainous terrain in the area (particularly the southern Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
).






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The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate, which began subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate
North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia....
— then located in modern Utah
Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
— as Pangaea
Pangaea

Pangaea, Pang?a or Pangea was the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
 broke apart during the Jurassic
Jurassic

The Jurassic is a geologic period that extends from about annum to  Ma, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous....
 period. It is named for the Farallon Islands
Farallon Islands

The Farallon Islands, or Farallones, are a group of islands and rocks found in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA....
 which are located just west of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
.

Over time the central part of the Farallon Plate was completely subducted under the southwestern part of the North American Plate. The remains of the Farallon Plate are the Juan de Fuca
Juan de Fuca Plate

The Juan de Fuca Plate, named after the Juan de Fuca, is a tectonic plate arising from the Juan de Fuca Ridge, and subduction under the northerly portion of the western side of the North American Plate at the Cascadia subduction zone....
, Explorer
Explorer Plate

The Explorer Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.To the east, the Explorer Plate is being subduction under the North American Plate....
 and Gorda
Gorda Plate

The Gorda Plate, located beneath the Pacific Ocean off the coast of northern California, is one of the northern remnants of the Farallon Plate. It is sometimes referred to as simply the southernmost portion of the neighboring Juan de Fuca Plate, another Farallon remnant....
 Plates, subducting under the northern part of the North American Plate
North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia....
, the Cocos Plate
Cocos Plate

The Cocos Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it....
 subducting under Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
 and the Nazca Plate
Nazca Plate

The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America....
 subducting under the South American Plate
South American Plate

The South American Plate is a tectonic plate covering the continent of South America and extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.The easterly side is a divergent boundary with the African Plate forming the southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge....
.

It is thought that much of the plate initially went under North America (particularly the western United States and southwest Canada) at a very shallow angle, creating much of the mountainous terrain in the area (particularly the southern Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
). A large fragment of the subducted plate is believed to presently be in the mantle under eastern North America. It is also speculated that the associated spreading center was also subducted and may be responsible for the rifting which has created the Basin and Range
Basin and Range

The Basin and Range Province is a large geologic province which includes parts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, typified by basin and range topography....
 geologic province.

The Farallon Plate is also responsible for transporting old island arcs and various fragments of continental crustal material rifted off from other distant plates and accreting them to the North American Plate. These fragments from elsewhere are called terrane
Terrane

A terrane in geology is a fragment of crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and Accretion ? "Suture " ? to crust lying on another plate....
s (sometimes, "exotic" terranes). Much of western North America is composed of these accreted terranes.

See also

  • Kula Plate
    Kula Plate

    The Kula Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate under the northern Pacific Ocean south of the Near Islands segment of the Aleutian Islands. It is subduction under the North American Plate at the Aleutian Trench and is surrounded by the Pacific Plate....
  • Izanagi Plate
    Izanagi Plate

    The Izanagi Plate was an ancient tectonic plate, which began Subduction beneath the eastern Eurasian Plate during 130 - 100 Ma. The rapid plate motion of the Izanagi Plate caused the northward drift of north-west Japan and the outer zone of south-west Japan....


External links

  • Pictures and animations of the subduction of the Farallon Plate at NASA
    NASA

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
    's Goddard Space Flight Center
    Goddard Space Flight Center

    File:Goddard aerial.gifThe Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center....
    :