Izanagi plate in the context of "Farallon plate"

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⭐ Core Definition: Izanagi plate

The Izanagi plate (named after the Shinto god Izanagi) was an ancient tectonic plate, which began subducting beneath the Okhotsk plate 130–100 Ma (million years ago). The rapid plate motion of the Izanagi plate caused northwest Japan and the outer zone of southwest Japan to drift northward. High-pressure metamorphic rocks were formed at the eastern margin of the drifting land mass in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, while low-pressure metamorphic rocks were formed at its western margin in the Abukuma metamorphic belt. At approximately 55 Ma, the Izanagi Plate was completely subducted and replaced by the western Pacific plate, which also subducted in a northwestern direction. Subduction-related magmatism took place near the Ryoke belt. No marked tectonics occurred in the Abukuma belt after the change of the subducted plate.

The discovery of an extinct Jurassic–Cretaceous spreading system in the northwest Pacific led to the introduction of the extinct Kula plate in 1972. The Izanagi plate was subsequently introduced in 1982 to explain the geometry of this spreading system. Knowledge of the former Izanagi plate is limited to Mesozoic magnetic lineations on the Pacific plate that preserve the record of this subduction.

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👉 Izanagi plate in the context of Farallon plate

The Farallon plate was an ancient oceanic tectonic plate. It formed one of the three main plates of Panthalassa, alongside the Izanagi plate and the Phoenix plate, which were connected by a triple junction. The Farallon plate began subducting under the west coast of the North American plate—then located in modern Utah—as Pangaea broke apart and after the formation of the Pacific plate at the center of the triple junction during the Early Jurassic. It is named for the Farallon Islands, which are located just west of San Francisco, California.

Over time, the central part of the Farallon plate was subducted under the southwestern part of the North American plate. The remains of the Farallon plate are the Explorer, Gorda, and Juan de Fuca plates, which are subducting under the northern part of the North American plate; the Cocos plate subducting under Central America; and the Nazca plate subducting under the South American plate.

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Izanagi plate in the context of Pacific plate

The Pacific plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million km (40 million sq mi), it is the largest tectonic plate.

The plate first came into existence as a microplate 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Izanagi plates. The Pacific plate subsequently grew to where it underlies most of the Pacific Ocean basin. This reduced the Farallon plate to a few remnants along the west coast of the Americas and the Phoenix plate to a small remnant near the Drake Passage, and destroyed the Izanagi plate by subduction under Asia.

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Izanagi plate in the context of Phoenix plate

The Phoenix plate (also known as the Aluk plate or Drake plate) was a tectonic plate that existed during the early Paleozoic through late Cenozoic time. It formed a triple junction with the Izanagi and Farallon plates in the Panthalassa Ocean as early as 410 million years ago, during which time the Phoenix plate was subducting under eastern Gondwana.

By the late Jurassic–early Cretaceous, 150–130 million years ago, the Pacific plate arose from the Izanagi–Farallon–Phoenix triple junction, resulting in the creation of the Izanagi–Pacific–Phoenix and Farallon–Pacific–Phoenix triple junctions. Subduction ceased east of Australia about 120 million years ago, during which time a transform/transpressional boundary formed. This transform/transpressional boundary with the Phoenix plate lasted until about 80 million years ago as the plate continued to descend southwards as a result of Late Cretaceous subduction under the Antarctic Peninsula.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Pacific plate ← Pacific Plate ← Farallon plate ← Phoenix plate
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Early Jurassic → Izanagi → Tectonic plate → Subduction → Okhotsk microplate → Megaannum → Japan → Metamorphic rocks → Orogenic belt → Pacific plate → Magmatism → Jurassic → Cretaceous → Kula plate → Mesozoic → Geomagnetic reversal →