Izanagi Plate
Encyclopedia
The Izanagi Plate was an ancient tectonic plate, which began subducting
beneath the Okhotsk section
of the North American 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. Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks were formed in the eastern margin of the drifting land mass, while Abukuma metamorphic rocks were formed in its western margin. At approximately 95 Ma, the Izanagi Plate was completely subducted and replaced by the western Pacific Plate
which also subducted in the north-western direction. Subducted-related magmatism took place near the Ryoke belt. No marked tectonics occurred in the Abunkuma belt after the change of the subducted plate.
Subduction
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge. These 3D regions of mantle downwellings are known as "Subduction Zones"...
beneath the Okhotsk section
Okhotsk Plate
The Okhotsk Plate is a tectonic plate covering the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin Island and Tōhoku and Hokkaidō in Japan. It was formerly considered a part of the North American Plate, but recent studies indicate that it is an independent plate, bounded on the north by the...
of the North American Plate
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
during 130 - 100 Ma. The rapid plate motion of the Izanagi Plate caused the northward drift of north-west Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the outer zone of south-west Japan. Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks were formed in the eastern margin of the drifting land mass, while Abukuma metamorphic rocks were formed in its western margin. At approximately 95 Ma, the Izanagi Plate was completely subducted and replaced by the western Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres, it is the largest tectonic plate....
which also subducted in the north-western direction. Subducted-related magmatism took place near the Ryoke belt. No marked tectonics occurred in the Abunkuma belt after the change of the subducted plate.
External links
- Geodynamics of Japan
- late Cenomanian – early Campanian (PDF) (not available without registration (free))