The Kermadec Plate is a long and narrow tectonic plate located west of the Kermadec Trench in the south Pacific Ocean. Also included on this tectonic plate is a small portion of the North Island of New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands. It is separated from the Australian Plate by a long divergent boundary which forms a back-arc basin. This area is highly prone to earthquakes and tsunamis.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Kermadec_Plate_map-fr.png/220px-Kermadec_Plate_map-fr.png)
The Pacific Plate east to west convergence rates with the Australian and Kermadec plates are among the fastest on Earth, being 8 cm (3.1 in) per year in the north and 4.5 cm (1.8 in) per year in the south.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Stratford, W.; Peirce, C.; Paulatto, M.; Funnell, M.; Watts, A. B.; Grevemeyer, I.; Bassett, D. (2015). "Seismic velocity structure and deformation due to the collision of the Louisville Ridge with the Tonga-Kermadec Trench" (PDF). Geophysical Journal International. 200 (3): 1503–1522. doi:10.1093/gji/ggu475. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- Bird, P. (2003). "An updated digital model of plate boundaries". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 4 (3): 1027. Bibcode:2003GGG.....4.1027B. doi:10.1029/2001GC000252.