Juan de Fuca Plate

The Juan de Fuca Plate is a small oceanic tectonic plate off the Pacific Northwest coast. It moves northeast and descends beneath the North American Plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Cascadia Subduction Zone: A convergent plate boundary where the Juan de Fuca Plate descends beneath the North American Plate. This boundary consumes the plate and stores strain that can produce great earthquakes.
Cascadia earthquake: A large earthquake generated on the Cascadia megathrust or nearby faults. The Juan de Fuca Plate's contact with North America makes these earthquakes possible.
Pacific Northwest: A region of western North America that includes parts of the United States and Canada. Its coast and inland volcanic belt overlie the Juan de Fuca Plate's subduction system.
Gorda Plate: A small oceanic plate south of the Juan de Fuca Plate, subducting beneath North America near northern California. It is the southern neighboring remnant of the once-larger oceanic plate system.
Juan de Fuca Ridge: A mid-ocean ridge where new oceanic crust forms between the Juan de Fuca Plate and Pacific Plate. Seafloor spreading here creates much of the plate that later reaches Cascadia.
Cascadia tsunami: A tsunami generated by a major earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Sudden movement of the plate boundary can displace the seafloor and ocean water.
Oceanic crust: The relatively thin, dense crust that forms the ocean floors. The Juan de Fuca Plate carries oceanic crust toward the continent.
Explorer Plate: A small oceanic plate north of the Juan de Fuca Plate, near Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Its partly independent motion distinguishes the northern edge of the Juan de Fuca system.
Transform fault: A fault along which tectonic plates slide horizontally past one another. Transform boundaries connect spreading segments that help define the plate's edges.
Cascade Volcanic Arc: A chain of volcanoes formed above the Cascadia Subduction Zone in western North America. Water released from the sinking plate helps generate magma beneath the arc.

Linked from 11 pages