| Yangtze plate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Minor |
| Movement1 | south-east |
| Speed1 | 15mm/year |
| Features | China |
| 1Relative to theAfrican plate | |
TheYangtze plate, also called theSouth China block or theSouth China subplate, comprises the bulk of southernChina. It is separated on the east from theOkinawa plate by a rift that forms theOkinawa Trough which is aback-arc basin, on the south by theSunda plate and thePhilippine Sea plate, and on the north and west by theEurasian plate. TheLongmenshan Fault on the latter border was the site of the2008 Wenchuan earthquake.[1]
The Yangtze plate was formed by the disaggregation of theRodiniasupercontinent 750 million years ago, in theNeoproterozoicera. South China rifted away from theGondwana supercontinent in theSilurian. During the formation of the great supercontinentPangaea, South China was a smaller, separate continent located off the east coast of the supercontinent and drifting northward. In theTriassic, the Yangtze plate collided with theNorth China plate, thereby connecting with Pangaea, and formed theSichuan basin. In the Cenozoic, the Yangtze plate was influenced by the collision of theIndian plate andEurasian plate creating the uplifting of theLongmen Mountains.[2] Its southward motion is accommodated along theRed River fault.
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