North American plate in the context of "Caribbean plate"

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a divergent or constructive plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. In the North Atlantic, the ridge separates the North American from the Eurasian plate and the African plate, north and south of the Azores triple junction. In the South Atlantic, it separates the African and South American plates. The ridge extends from a junction with the Gakkel Ridge (Mid-Arctic Ridge) northeast of Greenland southward to the Bouvet triple junction in the South Atlantic. Although the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is mostly an underwater feature, portions of it have enough elevation to extend above sea level, for example in Iceland. The ridge has an average spreading rate of about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) per year.

The African plate, also known as the Nubian plate, is a major tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Africa (except for its easternmost part) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It also includes a narrow strip of Western Asia along the Mediterranean Sea, including much of Israel and Lebanon. It is bounded by the North American plate and South American plate to the west (separated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge); the Arabian plate and Somali plate to the east; the Eurasian plate, Aegean Sea plate and Anatolian plate to the north; and the Antarctic plate to the south.

Between 60 million years ago and 10 million years ago, the Somali plate began rifting from the African plate along the East African Rift. Since the continent of Africa consists of crust from both the African and the Somali plates, some literature refers to the African plate as the Nubian plate to distinguish it from the continent as a whole.

The Azores, officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is an autonomous region of Portugal, in the Atlantic Ocean about 1,400 km (870 miles) west of mainland Portugal. Together with Madeira, it is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal and a special territory of the European Union. It is the westernmost point and region of Portugal.

The Azores is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean.There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets to the east. They extend for more than 600 km (370 mi) and lie in a northwest–southeast direction. All the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no recorded activity in the time since the islands were settled several centuries ago. Mount Pico on the island of Pico is the highest point in Portugal, at 2,351 m (7,713 ft). If measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean to their peaks, the Azores are among the tallest mountains on the planet. The Azores are located at the seismically active Azores triple junction plate boundary where the North American plate, Eurasian plate and Nubian plate meet.

The South American plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The easterly edge is a divergent boundary with the African plate; the southerly edge is a complex boundary with the Antarctic plate, the Scotia plate, and the Sandwich Plate; the westerly edge is a convergent boundary with the subducting Nazca plate; and the northerly edge is a boundary with the Caribbean plate and the oceanic crust of the North American plate. At the Chile triple junction, near the west coast of the Taitao–Tres Montes Peninsula, an oceanic ridge known as the Chile Rise is actively subducting under the South American plate.

The Central American Volcanic Arc (often abbreviated to CAVA) is a chain of volcanoes which extends parallel to the Pacific coastline of the Central American Isthmus, from Mexico to Panama. This volcanic arc, which has a length of 1,100 kilometers (680 mi) is formed by an active subduction zone, with the Cocos plate subducting underneath the Caribbean plate, the North American plate and the Panama plate. Volcanic activity is recorded in the Central American region since the Permian. Numerous volcanoes are spread throughout various Central American countries; many have been active in the geologic past, varying in intensity of their activity according to different factors.

The Okhotsk plate is a minor tectonic plate covering the Kamchatka Peninsula, Magadan Oblast, and Sakhalin Island of Russia; Hokkaido, Kantō and Tōhoku regions of Japan; the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as the disputed Kuril Islands.

Japan's principal fault system is the zone where the Amur plate, the Eastern edge of the Eurasian plate, meets the Okhotsk plate, sometimes considered the Western edge of the North American plate.

The Japan Trench is an oceanic trench part of the Pacific Ring of Fire off northeast Japan. It extends from the Kuril Islands to the northern end of the Izu Islands, and is 8,046 metres (26,398 ft) at its deepest. It links the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench to the north and the Izu–Ogasawara Trench to its south with a length of 800 kilometres (497 mi). This trench is created as the oceanic Pacific plate subducts beneath the continental Okhotsk microplate (a microplate formerly a part of the North American plate). The subduction process causes bending of the down going plate, creating a deep trench. Continuing movement on the subduction zone associated with the Japan Trench is one of the main causes of tsunamis and earthquakes in northern Japan, including the megathrust Tōhoku earthquake and resulting tsunami that occurred on 11 March 2011. The rate of subduction associated with the Japan Trench has been recorded at about 7.9–9.2 centimetres (3.1–3.6 in)/yr.