Pacific–North American plate boundary system

E196197

The Pacific–North American plate boundary system is a major tectonic boundary zone where the Pacific Plate and North American Plate interact through a complex network of faults and plate motions along western North America.

All labels observed (10)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (58)

Predicate Object
instanceOf plate boundary zone
tectonic plate boundary system
transform plate boundary zone
associatedWith crustal deformation
high seismicity
large earthquakes
volcanism in adjacent regions
borders North American Plate
Pacific Plate
characterizedBy crustal extension
distributed shear
oblique convergence
strike-slip faulting
subduction
evolvesFrom Farallon–North American plate boundary
extendsFrom Gulf of California
extendsThrough Baja California
British Columbia
California
Oregon
Washington
Yukon Territory
southeast Alaska
linked to: Southeastern Alaska
extendsTo Gulf of Alaska
formedBy interaction of Pacific Plate and North American Plate
geologicalAge Cenozoic
hasPart Basin and Range Province boundary faults
Calaveras Fault
Cascadia subduction zone
Denali Fault
Eastern California Shear Zone
Elsinore Fault Zone
Explorer Triple Junction
linked to: Explorer Plate

Fairweather Fault
Garlock Fault
Gulf of California rift zone
Hayward Fault
Imperial Fault
Mendocino Triple Junction
Queen Charlotte Fault
Queen Charlotte Triple Junction
San Andreas Fault
San Jacinto Fault Zone
Transverse Ranges fault system
Walker Lane belt
Yukon–Alaska plate boundary faults
locatedIn western North America
notableEarthquake 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1964 Alaska earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1994 Northridge earthquake
partOf Pacific Ring of Fire
relativeMotionRate about 40 to 50 millimeters per year
relativeMotionType right-lateral strike-slip
studiedInDiscipline plate tectonics
seismology
structural geology

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (19)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Queen Charlotte Fault partOf Pacific–North American plate boundary system
California Coast–Sierra Nevada–Transverse Ranges transition zone relatedTo Pacific Plate–North American Plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
San Jacinto Fault Zone tectonicSetting Pacific–North American plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Garlock Fault partOf Pacific–North America plate boundary zone
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Salton Trough partOf Pacific–North American plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Explorer Ridge partOf Pacific-North America plate boundary system
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Mendocino Fracture Zone near Pacific Plate–North American Plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Jalisco Block partOf North American plate boundary region
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes regionTectonics Pacific Plate–North American Plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Pacific–North American plate boundary system hasPart Yukon–Alaska plate boundary faults
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Queen Charlotte Triple Junction partOf Pacific–North America plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Fairweather Fault partOf Pacific–North American plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Superstition Mountain segment tectonicSetting Pacific–North America plate boundary region
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
1968 Borrego Mountain earthquake plateBoundary Pacific Plate–North American Plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Anza segment tectonicSetting Pacific–North America plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Imperial Fault formsPartOf Pacific–North America plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Brawley Seismic Zone partOf Pacific–North American plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Transverse Ranges orogeny tectonicSetting Pacific–North American plate boundary
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system
Walker Lane belt partOf Pacific–North American plate boundary zone
linked to: Pacific–North American plate boundary system