#REDIRECT Plate tectonics... covering the continent
Continent
A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents ? they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia .... of South America
South America
South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere.... and extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonics plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and the longest mountain range in the world.... .
In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two List of tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.... with the African Plate
African Plate
The African Plate is a tectonic plate which includes the continent of Africa, as well as oceanic crust which lies between the continent and various surrounding ocean ridges.... forming the southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonics plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and the longest mountain range in the world.... . The southerly side is a complex boundary with the Antarctic Plate
Antarctic Plate
The Antarctic Plate is a tectonic plate covering the continent of Antarctica and extending outward under the surrounding oceans. The Antarctic Plate has a boundary with the Nazca Plate, the South American Plate, the African Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, the Scotia Plate and a divergent boundary with the Pacific Plate forming the Pacific... and the Scotia Plate
Scotia Plate
The Scotia Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate bordering the South American Plate on the north, the South Sandwich Plate to the east, and the Antarctic Plate on the south and west.... .
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#REDIRECT Plate tectonics... covering the continent
Continent
A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents ? they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia .... of South America
South America
South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere.... and extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonics plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and the longest mountain range in the world.... .
In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two List of tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.... with the African Plate
African Plate
The African Plate is a tectonic plate which includes the continent of Africa, as well as oceanic crust which lies between the continent and various surrounding ocean ridges.... forming the southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonics plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and the longest mountain range in the world.... . The southerly side is a complex boundary with the Antarctic Plate
Antarctic Plate
The Antarctic Plate is a tectonic plate covering the continent of Antarctica and extending outward under the surrounding oceans. The Antarctic Plate has a boundary with the Nazca Plate, the South American Plate, the African Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, the Scotia Plate and a divergent boundary with the Pacific Plate forming the Pacific... and the Scotia Plate
Scotia Plate
The Scotia Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate bordering the South American Plate on the north, the South Sandwich Plate to the east, and the Antarctic Plate on the south and west.... . The westerly side is a convergent boundary
Convergent boundary
In plate tectonics, a convergent boundary or convergent plate boundary, also known as a destructive plate boundary , is an actively deforming region where two tectonic plates or fragments of lithosphere move toward one another and collide.... with the subducting 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.... . The northerly side is a boundary with the Caribbean Plate
Caribbean Plate
The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic crust tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America.... . At the Chile Triple Junction
Chile Triple Junction
The Chile Triple Junction is a geologic triple junction located on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean off Taitao Peninsula and Tres Montes Peninsula on the southern coast of Chile.... in Taitato
Taitao Peninsula
The Taitao Peninsula is a westward projection of the mainland of Chile, with which it is connected by the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui, over which the natives and early missionaries were accustomed to carry their boats between the Moraleda Channel and Gulf of Penas.... -Tres Montes Peninsula
Tres Montes Peninsula
The Tres Montes Peninsula is a south-westward projection of Taitao Peninsula which in turn connects to the mainland of Chile by the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui.... the ocenic ridge of Chile Rise
Chile Rise
The Chile Rise is an oceanic ridge, a tectonic divergent plate boundary between the Nazca Plate and Antarctic Plates. Its eastern end is the Chile Triple Junction where the Chile Rise is being subduction below the South American Plate in the Peru-Chile Trench.... is subducting under the South American and
The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate, which began subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate— then located in modern Utah— as Pangaea broke apart during the Jurassic period.... , split into the current 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.... and 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.... are still subducting under the western edge of the South American Plate. This subduction is responsible for lifting the massive Andes Mountains and causing the volcanos which are strewn throughout them. There is some speculation that in addition to subducting the Cocos and Nazca Plates, the westward motion of the South American Plate may have forced the Caribbean and Scotia Plates at its northern and southern ends respectively to squeeze around it. Both share a similar shape and are being subducted along their eastern boundary. They are thought to be ancient volcanic regions formed on the Farallon Plate, with their crust too thick to be subducted under the South American Plate.
There is evidence that South American plate continues to move northwards at a very slow rate.
