Amurian Plate

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Map of the Amurian Plate and the adjacent tectonic plates (in French)
Map of the Amurian Plate and the adjacent tectonic plates (in French)

The Amurian Plate (or Amur Plate; also occasionally referred to as the China Plate) is a proposed continental tectonic plate covering Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula, Western Japan, and Primorsky Krai. It is not clear yet whether it is an independent plate or a part of the Eurasian Plate. It is bounded on the north and west by the Eurasian Plate, on the northeast by the Okhotsk Plate, and on the south by the Philippine Plate. The Baikal Rift Zone is considered a boundary between the Amurian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. GPS measurements indicate that the plate is slowly rotating counter-clockwise.

The Amurian Plate may have been involved in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China.

[edit] References

  • Dongping Wei and Tetsuzo Seno. 1998. Determination of the Amurian Plate Motion. Mantle Dynamics and Plate Interactions in East Asia, Geodynamics Series. v.27, edited by M. F. J. Flower et al., 419p, AGU, Washington D.C. (abstract)