The South American plate is a tectonic plate that extends through South America. It begins on the coast of the Pacific Ocean of this region and expands to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean by the southern limit.
The entire surface of the planet is covered by plates, which are arranged like a large puzzle. That is, the end or boundary of one plate is the beginning of another, and so they are all embedded within the surface layer of the Earth.
The dividing lines between each of the plates are called geological faults. There are major flaws, such as the San Andrés fault, which covers part of the north of the South American plate.
Main Features
Limits
The South American plate borders on the north with the Caribbean plate and the North American plate. To the south has is Antarctic plate.
On the west side it borders with the Nazca plate, named after the Nazca region in Peru, whose only maritime front is the Pacific Ocean.
On the east side, the South American plate borders the African plate, in the south of the Atlantic.
Geological faults and earthquakes
The plates are always in constant motion. The South American plate can move up to 21 millimeters per year in one of its zones.
When one or more plates move together, a large movement of the earth's surface is generated, causing the so-called earthquakes or earthquakes, depending on the magnitude. These are measured with the Richter seismological scale, where 10 is the highest value.
Due to the union of the Nazca plate with the South American plate along the Pacific coast, the region of the Andean Cordillera from Chile to Colombia and its bifurcation in Venezuela are considered highly seismic.
This fault is also known as the Pacific Fire Belt because it exhibits a frequent seismic activity given the intense movement of faults inside and between the plates.
Ecuador has a subdivision of the Nazca plate, which borders the South American plate and causes it to have intense seismic movement. In 2016 this country had an important earthquake near the Pacific coast.
Colombia is another country with high seismic risk and is located in the region of South America, within the South American plate. In 1999 there was an earthquake in the city of Armenia, and is considered the most deadly in Colombian history.
Peru and Chile also have important shortcomings. In the Peruvian case, the 1970 earthquake in the city of Áncash ended with a balance of more than 70,000 deaths.
In the Chilean case, the strongest tremor recorded was in 1960, in the south of the country. An earthquake of great proportions also affected the country in the year 2010.
References
- Seismological Glossary. Venezuelan Foundation of Seismological Investigations (FUNVISIS). Recovered from site: funvisis.gob.ve
- How does the Richter scale work? ROMERO, SARAH. Recovered from the site: muyinteresante.es
- South American plate. EcuRed. Recovered from the site: ecured.cu
- Geological Faults in South America. Page 1 Recovered from the site: prezi.com
- Image N1: Beyond My Ken. Retrieved from site: commons.wikimedia.org