Juan de Fuca Plate

A Cutway of the Juan de Fuca Plate
Image source: USGS

The Juan De Fuca Plate is a small tectonic plate which is now locked together with the North American Plate. It was created from the Juan de Fuca Ridge which is sinking underneath the western side of the North American Plate.

The plate is west of all the American states of Washington and Oregon and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Both the plate and ridge are named after the explorer . It is the smallest tectonic plate in the world.[source?] The second smallest tectonic plate (the Scottish plate) is 6.7 times larger.

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