TheVictoria microplate orVictoria plate is a smalltectonic plate inEast Africa, withLake Victoria at its centre. It is bounded on all sides by parts of the activeEast African Rift System. It is currently rotating anticlockwise. Its boundaries are close to those of the mainlyArchaeanTanzania Craton, with the two arms of the rift system having propagated along the surroundingProterozoicshear belts. To the northwest, west and southwest it has a boundary with theNubian plate, to the northeast and east with theSomali plate and the southeast with theRovuma plate.[1]
The Victoria microplate is rotating counter-clockwise (anticlockwise) relative to the African plate. This rotation is mechanically driven by the interaction between the larger Nubian and Somali plates. As these major plates diverge, the mechanically stronger and rigid Victoria microplate acts as a "rolling bearing" or "cog" between theWestern Rift andEastern Rift branches.[2] The shape of the microplate is largely defined by the underlying Tanzania Craton, a block of ancient, hard rock that resists breaking, forcing the rift valleys to curve around it.
The microplate encompasses significant portions of East African territory. The political boundaries of several nations lie either partially or entirely atop the plate:
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