| Arabian plate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Minor |
| Approximate area | 5,000,000 km2[1] |
| Movement1 | North |
| Speed1 | 15–20 mm/year |
| Features | Arabian Peninsula,Gulf of Aden,Indian Ocean,Persian Gulf,Red Sea |
| 1Relative to theAfrican plate | |
TheArabian plate is aminor tectonic plate in theNorthern andEastern Hemispheres.
It is one of the threecontinental plates (along with theAfrican andIndian plates) that have been moving northward in geological history and colliding with theEurasian plate. This collision is resulting in a mingling of plate pieces and mountain ranges extending in the west from thePyrenees, crossingSouthern Europe toIranian plateau, forming theAlborz and theZagros Mountains, to theHimalayas and ranges ofSoutheast Asia.[2]
TheArabian plate is a designation of the region, and it is also sometimes referred to as theArab plate.[3]
The Arabian plate consists mostly of theArabian Peninsula; it extends westward to theSinai Peninsula and theRed Sea and northward to theLevant. The plate borders are:
The Arabian plate was part of the African plate during most of thePhanerozoic Eon (Paleozoic–Cenozoic), until theOligocene Epoch of the Cenozoic Era. The Red Sea rifting began in theEocene, and the separation of Africa and Arabia occurred approximately25 million years ago in the Oligocene, and since then the Arabian plate has been moving toward the Eurasian plate.[5] The opening of the Red Sea rift led to volcanic activity. There are volcanic fields called the Older Harrats, such asHarrat Khaybar andHarrat Rahat, cover parts of the western Arabian plate. Some activity still continues especially aroundMedina,[6] and there are regular eruptions within the Red Sea.[7]
The collision between the Arabian plate and Eurasia is pushing up theZagros Mountains of Iran. Because the Arabian plate and Eurasian plate collide, some cities such as those in southeastern Turkey (which is on the Arabian plate) may undergo earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes.
Countries within the plate includeBahrain,Djibouti,Iraq,Jordan,Kuwait,Oman,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,Syria,United Arab Emirates andYemen. Regions include theAnti-Lebanon Mountains (Lebanon), parts ofAwdal (Somalia/Somaliland), theKhuzestan province (Iran), theSoutheastern Anatolia region (Turkey), and theSouthern Denkalya subregion (Eritrea).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
