EarthMapped Plate motion
World map of relative plate motion arrows along plate boundariesAFRICANANTARCTICSOMALIINDIANAUSTRALIANEURASIANNORTH AMERICANSOUTH AMERICANNAZCAPACIFICARABIANSUNDACARIBBEANCOCOSOKHOTSKJUAN DE FUCAPHILIPPINE SEAAMURSCOTIAYANGTZE

Plate Motion Map

Tectonic plates move a few centimeters a year. Across PB2002's boundaries the median relative speed is 29.9 mm/yr (3.0 cm/yr), and the fastest is 263.3 mm/yr.

  • Relative plate velocity. How fast one plate moves compared with its neighbor across a boundary, in millimeters per year. 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
  • Transform boundary. Plates slide horizontally past each other. Crust is neither made nor destroyed. Source

Data source: PB2002 plate model, Bird (2003), converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil, ODC-By 1.0. Download: CSV .

Last updated

How to read the arrows

Bird's PB2002 model lists, for every short step of every plate boundary, how fast one plate moves relative to the other Relative plate velocity. How fast one plate moves compared with its neighbor across a boundary, in millimeters per year. Source and in which direction. We draw one arrow about every 700 km along each boundary. Its length grows with speed.

Key facts

  1. The fastest boundary step in PB2002 is an oceanic transform fault between the Pacific and Tonga plates near 15°S, 174°W: 263.3 mm/yr (26.3 cm/yr). Bird (2003)
  2. Tonga has the fastest boundaries on average, 114.5 mm/yr. Shetland has the slowest, 9.9 mm/yr.
  3. The slowest step is 0.3 mm/yr, between the Indian and Australian plates.
  4. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge spreads about 2.5 cm a year. The Arctic Ridge is slowest, under 2.5 cm a year, and the East Pacific Rise near Easter Island is fastest, over 15 cm a year. USGS, Understanding plate motions
  5. The San Andreas Fault has moved about 5 cm a year on average over the past 10 million years. USGS, Understanding plate motions
  6. Scientists measure plate motion with magnetic striping on the sea floor and with space geodesy: VLBI, satellite laser ranging and GPS. USGS, Understanding plate motions

Plate speeds

Speed here is the relative velocity along each plate's boundaries, weighted by length. It shows how fast a plate moves against its neighbors, not against a fixed point on Earth. Sort by any column.

Relative speed along each plate's boundaries, PB2002
PlateMean (mm/yr)Mean (cm/yr)Top (mm/yr)Fastest against
Tonga 114.5 11.4 263.3 Pacific
South Bismarck 98.0 9.8 157.6 Solomon Sea
Juan Fernandez 87.9 8.8 202.1 Pacific
Niuafo'ou 85.0 8.5 139.1 Pacific
Nazca 79.2 7.9 151.2 Pacific
New Hebrides 74.5 7.5 128.8 Australian
Sandwich 73.3 7.3 84.1 South American
Pacific 72.7 7.3 263.3 Tonga
Easter 72.0 7.2 136.8 Pacific
Cocos 69.9 7.0 126.3 Pacific
Manus 64.6 6.5 155.9 South Bismarck
Birds Head 64.1 6.4 107.4 Sunda
Okinawa 63.4 6.3 134.9 Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea 60.2 6.0 134.9 Okinawa
Solomon Sea 58.8 5.9 157.6 South Bismarck
North Bismarck 56.9 5.7 145.7 South Bismarck
Galapagos 54.2 5.4 123.3 Pacific
Futuna 52.9 5.3 110.7 Niuafo'ou
Sunda 52.3 5.2 108.2 Philippine Sea
Kermadec 52.1 5.2 130.4 Pacific
Conway Reef 50.2 5.0 118.3 New Hebrides
Juan de Fuca 49.2 4.9 56.3 Pacific
Australian 48.7 4.9 128.8 New Hebrides
Mariana 48.0 4.8 76.7 Pacific
Rivera 46.4 4.6 80.0 Pacific
Antarctic 46.4 4.6 94.7 Pacific
Molucca Sea 39.4 3.9 100.9 Birds Head
Maoke 38.9 3.9 80.4 Birds Head
Balmoral Reef 34.3 3.4 68.9 Australian
Burma 34.2 3.4 56.6 Sunda
Banda Sea 34.1 3.4 76.9 Birds Head
Okhotsk 32.5 3.2 93.1 Pacific
Woodlark 31.3 3.1 106.2 Pacific
Panama 30.1 3.0 79.1 Cocos
South American 29.3 2.9 84.1 Sandwich
Aegean Sea 29.2 2.9 38.1 African
North American 27.8 2.8 78.8 Cocos
Indian 27.8 2.8 53.9 Eurasian
Timor 27.1 2.7 41.4 Sunda
Altiplano 25.5 2.6 66.5 Nazca
North Andes 21.8 2.2 60.9 Nazca
Yangtze 21.5 2.1 86.4 Philippine Sea
Arabian 21.3 2.1 43.6 Eurasian
Eurasian 19.8 2.0 53.9 Indian
Caribbean 19.4 1.9 80.0 Cocos
Anatolia 18.8 1.9 25.6 Eurasian
African 18.2 1.8 38.1 Aegean Sea
Caroline 16.4 1.6 74.1 Woodlark
Somali 16.0 1.6 49.5 Australian
Scotia 15.6 1.6 80.6 Sandwich
Amur 11.8 1.2 55.7 Philippine Sea
Shetland 9.9 1.0 10.0 Antarctic

Data source: PB2002 plate model, Bird (2003), converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil, ODC-By 1.0. Download: CSV .

See why tectonic plates move, the plate boundaries map, or the mid-ocean ridge map.

Glossary

Relative plate velocity
How fast one plate moves compared with its neighbor across a boundary, in millimeters per year. 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
Transform boundary
Plates slide horizontally past each other. Crust is neither made nor destroyed. Source

All terms in the glossary

Plate motion FAQ

How fast do tectonic plates move?
Usually a few centimeters a year. In PB2002 half of all boundary steps move slower than 3.0 cm/yr relative to the neighboring plate, and the fastest moves 26.3 cm/yr.
Which tectonic plate moves fastest?
Measured by the length-weighted speed along its boundaries, the Tonga Plate at 114.5 mm/yr. Its fastest boundary is with the Pacific Plate.
What do the arrows show?
Each arrow sits on a plate boundary and shows how one plate moves relative to the plate on the other side, from the PB2002 step table. Longer arrows mean faster motion. They are not motion relative to the Earth as a whole.
Why do the plates move?
Heat from inside the Earth drives slow mantle convection, and the plates are pushed away from ridges and pulled by sinking slabs at subduction zones. See why tectonic plates move.

Sources: Bird (2003) for every speed; USGS, Understanding plate motions; USGS, Some unanswered questions.