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North Andes Plate
The North Andes Plate is a sliver of continental crust being extruded northeastward as the Nazca Plate subducts beneath South America at an oblique angle. This escape tectonics has created a complex network of faults throughout Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. The plate's boundaries are marked by major strike-slip faults and active volcanoes, making this region one of South America's most seismically hazardous areas.
Plate Information
Size: 0.6 million km²
Movement: Northeast
Speed: 2 cm/year
Countries: 3
Countries & Territories
Colombia
Ecuador
Venezuela (partial)
Key Facts
- Part of the complex northern Andes deformation
- Escaping northward
- High seismic hazard
- Bounded by major fault systems