The 'Pacific Plate' is an oceanic
tectonic plate beneath the
Pacific Ocean.
To the north the easterly side is a
divergent boundary with the
Explorer Plate, the
Juan de Fuca Plate and the
Gorda Plate forming respectively the
Explorer Ridge, the
Juan de Fuca Ridge and the
Gorda Ridge. In the middle the easterly side is a
transform boundary with the
North American Plate along the
San Andreas Fault and a boundary with the
Cocos Plate. To the south the easterly side is a
divergent boundary with the
Nazca Plate forming the
East Pacific Rise.
The southerly side is a
divergent boundary with the
Antarctic Plate forming the
Pacific-Antarctic Ridge.
The westerly side is a
convergent boundary subducting under the
Eurasian Plate to the north and the
Philippine Plate in the middle forming the
Mariana Trench. In the south, the Pacific Plate has a complex but generally convergent boundary with the
Indo-Australian Plate, subducting under it north of
New Zealand. The
Alpine Fault marks a
transform boundary between the two plates, and further south the Indo-Australian Plate subducts under the Pacific Plate.
The northerly side is a
convergent boundary subducting under the
North American Plate forming the
Aleutian Trench and the corresponding
Aleutian Islands.
The Pacific Plate contains an interior
hot spot forming the
Hawaiian Islands.