How Many Tectonic Plates Are There?
There are 52 tectonic plates in the PB2002 model: 7 major, 13 minor and 32 microplates by area.
- Microplate. A small fragment of a plate, common in wide plate boundary zones such as the Mediterranean-Alpine region. Source
Data source: PB2002 plate model, Bird (2003), converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil, ODC-By 1.0. Download: CSV .
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Major, minor and microplates
No standard rule splits plates into major and minor. We group the 52 PB2002 plates by area: over 20.0 million km² is major, 1.0 million km² to 20.0 million km² is minor, and smaller ones are microplates Microplate. A small fragment of a plate, common in wide plate boundary zones such as the Mediterranean-Alpine region. Source . These thresholds sit at the largest gaps between plate areas.
- 7 major plates (81% of Earth): Pacific, African, Antarctic, North American, Eurasian, Australian and South American.
- 13 minor plates (17%): Somali, Nazca, Indian, Sunda, Philippine Sea, Amur, Arabian, Okhotsk, Caribbean, Cocos, Yangtze, Scotia and Caroline.
- 32 microplates (2%), many of them in plate boundary zones Plate boundary zone. A broad belt where the edges of plates are not clearly defined and the boundary is spread across many small blocks. Source .
Key facts
- PB2002 divides Earth's surface into 52 plates: the 14 large plates of the older NUVEL-1A model plus 38 small ones. Bird (2003)
- The 7 major plates (over 20 million km² each) cover 81% of Earth's surface.
- The 32 microplates (under 1 million km² each) cover only 2% of the surface between them.
- The smallest plate in PB2002 is Manus, at 8,229 km².
- USGS describes the outer layer as broken into "a dozen or more large and small plates". USGS, Historical perspective
- Plates range from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across. The Pacific and Antarctic plates are among the largest. USGS, What is a tectonic plate?
Why sources disagree
The number you read depends on which model a source follows and where it stops counting.
- 7: the plates over 20.0 million km² in our area split. There is no official list of major plates, so a list of 7 depends on where its author draws the line.
- A dozen or more: the wording USGS uses for the large and small plates of the outer layer.
- 14: the large plates of the NUVEL-1A motion model, which Bird (2003) kept as the base of PB2002.
- 52: PB2002, which adds 38 small plates, many of them inside broad plate boundary zones. Bird did not split mountain belts such as the Alps into plates, so even 52 is a simplification.
All 52 plates
Every PB2002 plate, largest first. Sort by any column.
| Rank | Plate | Group | Area (million km²) | Share of Earth | In NUVEL-1A 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pacific | Major | 104.59 | 20.5% | Yes |
| 2 | African | Major | 58.48 | 11.5% | Yes |
| 3 | Antarctic | Major | 58.15 | 11.4% | Yes |
| 4 | North American | Major | 55.43 | 10.9% | Yes |
| 5 | Eurasian | Major | 48.56 | 9.5% | Yes |
| 6 | Australian | Major | 45.99 | 9% | Yes |
| 7 | South American | Major | 41.83 | 8.2% | Yes |
| 8 | Somali | Minor | 19.15 | 3.8% | No |
| 9 | Nazca | Minor | 16.10 | 3.2% | Yes |
| 10 | Indian | Minor | 12.44 | 2.4% | Yes |
| 11 | Sunda | Minor | 8.92 | 1.7% | No |
| 12 | Philippine Sea | Minor | 5.44 | 1.1% | Yes |
| 13 | Amur | Minor | 5.30 | 1% | No |
| 14 | Arabian | Minor | 4.90 | 1% | Yes |
| 15 | Okhotsk | Minor | 3.04 | 0.6% | No |
| 16 | Caribbean | Minor | 2.96 | 0.6% | Yes |
| 17 | Cocos | Minor | 2.93 | 0.6% | Yes |
| 18 | Yangtze | Minor | 2.20 | 0.4% | No |
| 19 | Scotia | Minor | 1.70 | 0.3% | No |
| 20 | Caroline | Minor | 1.53 | 0.3% | No |
| 21 | North Andes | Micro | 0.97 | 0.2% | No |
| 22 | Altiplano | Micro | 0.83 | 0.2% | No |
| 23 | Banda Sea | Micro | 0.70 | 0.1% | No |
| 24 | New Hebrides | Micro | 0.64 | 0.1% | No |
| 25 | Anatolia | Micro | 0.58 | 0.1% | No |
| 26 | Birds Head | Micro | 0.53 | 0.1% | No |
| 27 | Burma | Micro | 0.51 | 0.1% | No |
| 28 | Kermadec | Micro | 0.51 | 0.1% | No |
| 29 | Woodlark | Micro | 0.45 | 0.1% | No |
| 30 | Mariana | Micro | 0.42 | 0.1% | No |
| 31 | Molucca Sea | Micro | 0.42 | 0.1% | No |
| 32 | North Bismarck | Micro | 0.39 | 0.1% | No |
| 33 | Timor | Micro | 0.35 | 0.1% | No |
| 34 | Okinawa | Micro | 0.32 | 0.1% | No |
| 35 | Aegean Sea | Micro | 0.32 | 0.1% | No |
| 36 | South Bismarck | Micro | 0.31 | 0.1% | No |
| 37 | Panama | Micro | 0.27 | 0.1% | No |
| 38 | Juan de Fuca | Micro | 0.26 | 0.1% | Yes |
| 39 | Tonga | Micro | 0.25 | 0% | No |
| 40 | Balmoral Reef | Micro | 0.20 | 0% | No |
| 41 | Sandwich | Micro | 0.18 | 0% | No |
| 42 | Easter | Micro | 0.17 | 0% | No |
| 43 | Conway Reef | Micro | 0.14 | 0% | No |
| 44 | Solomon Sea | Micro | 0.13 | 0% | No |
| 45 | Niuafo'ou | Micro | 0.12 | 0% | No |
| 46 | Maoke | Micro | 0.12 | 0% | No |
| 47 | Rivera | Micro | 0.10 | 0% | No |
| 48 | Juan Fernandez | Micro | 0.10 | 0% | No |
| 49 | Shetland | Micro | 0.07 | 0% | No |
| 50 | Futuna | Micro | 0.03 | 0% | No |
| 51 | Galapagos | Micro | 0.01 | 0% | No |
| 52 | Manus | Micro | 0.01 | 0% | No |
Data source: PB2002 plate model, Bird (2003), converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil, ODC-By 1.0. Download: CSV .
See the largest tectonic plate, every plate on the tectonic plates list, or where they meet on the plate boundaries map.
Print this map Tectonic plates worksheet. Number the plates, with an answer keyGlossary
- Microplate
- A small fragment of a plate, common in wide plate boundary zones such as the Mediterranean-Alpine region. Source
- Plate boundary zone
- A broad belt where the edges of plates are not clearly defined and the boundary is spread across many small blocks. Source
- Divergent boundary
- Plates pull away from each other and new crust forms between them. Source
- Convergent boundary
- Plates move toward each other and crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another. Source
Tectonic plate count FAQ
How many tectonic plates are there?
There are 52 tectonic plates in the PB2002 model: 7 major, 13 minor and 32 microplates by area. The count depends on the model: USGS says a dozen or more, and the NUVEL-1A model used 14.
What are the 7 major tectonic plates?
By area in PB2002, the plates over 20 million km² are Pacific Plate, African Plate, Antarctic Plate, North American Plate, Eurasian Plate, Australian Plate and South American Plate.
Why do sources give different numbers of plates?
Each model draws its own line between a plate and a fragment of a plate boundary zone. The NUVEL-1A motion model described 14 large plates. Peter Bird (2003) kept those and added 38 small plates, many of them inside boundary zones, for 52 in all.
What is the smallest tectonic plate?
In PB2002 it is the Manus Plate, at about 8,229 km².
Is the number of plates changing?
Yes, slowly. Plates split along rifts and join when the ocean between them closes. USGS points to the East African Rift as a place where Africa may split and a new ocean may form.
Sources: Bird (2003); USGS, Historical perspective; USGS, What is a tectonic plate?; USGS, Understanding plate motions.