Arabian Plate

The Arabian Plate is a minor tectonic plate in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres.

It is one of the three continental plates (along with the African and the Indian Plates) that have been moving northward in geological history and colliding with the Eurasian Plate. That is resulting in a mingling of plate pieces and mountain ranges extending in the west from the Pyrenees, crossing Southern Europe to Iran, forming the Alborz and the Zagros Mountains, to the Himalayas and ranges of Southeast Asia.

Lexicology

The ''Arabian Plate'' is a designation of the region, and it is also sometimes referred to as the ''Arab Plate''.

Borders

The Arabian Plate consists mostly of the Arabian Peninsula; it extends westward to the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea and northward to the Levant. The plate borders are:

*East, with the Indian Plate, at the Owen Fracture Zone
*South, with the African Plate to the west and the Somali Plate and the Indian Plate to the east
*West, a left lateral fault boundary with the African Plate called the Dead Sea Transform (DST), and a divergent boundary with the African Plate called the Red Sea Rift which runs the length of the Red Sea;
*North, convergent boundary with the Anatolian Plate and Eurasian Plate, including the East Anatolian Fault, Zagros fold and thrust belt, and Makran Trench.

History

The Arabian Plate was part of the African Plate during most of the Phanerozoic Eon (Paleozoic–Cenozoic), until the Oligocene Epoch of the Cenozoic Era. The Red Sea rifting began in the Eocene, and the separation of Africa and Arabia occurred approximately in the Oligocene, and since then the Arabian Plate has been moving toward the Eurasian Plate. The opening of the Red Sea rift led to volcanic activity. There are volcanic fields called the Older Harrats, such as Harrat Khaybar and Harrat Rahat, cover parts of the western Arabian Plate. Some activity still continues especially around Medina, and there are regular eruptions within the Red Sea.

The collision between the Arabian Plate and Eurasia is pushing up the Zagros 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 and regions

Countries within the plate include Arabia in its entirety (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen), Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Levant (eastern Lebanon, Jordan, eastern Israel and Syria) and Mesopotamia (Iraq). Regions include parts of Awdal (Somalia/ Somaliland), the Khuzestan Province (Iran), the Southeastern Anatolia Region (Turkey), and the Southern Denkalya Subregion (Eritrea).

References

{{Tectonic plates

Arabian Peninsula
Cenozoic geology of Africa
Cenozoic geology of Asia
Geology of Africa
Geology of Asia
Geology of the Indian Ocean
Natural history of Western Asia
Tectonic plates