Where plates descend
A trench locates the seafloor edge of a subduction system. The slab is the plate that continues down into the mantle. Slab geometry varies along each margin.
BOUNDARIES
Explore an example
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Plate colours identify regions, not risk.
Select two map points to examine earthquakes near a line.
Read earthquake depth
Earthquake depth adds a third dimension to the map. A band of progressively deeper events can help trace a descending slab, although individual earthquakes do not define its whole surface.
Compare the Andes and Japan
Nazca lithosphere descends beneath South America. Around Japan, both the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates subduct, along different margins and beneath different regional plate blocks.
Sources and map method
Plate outlines use Peter Bird's PB2002 model, distributed by Nordpil under the Open Data Commons Attribution licence. Coastlines and country outlines are Natural Earth public-domain data. Boundary detail is limited by the source model.
- USGS: Introduction to subduction zones
- USGS: Global subduction zone geometry
- USGS: Japan and vicinity tectonic map
- Map dataset sources and licences
- PB2002 geometry and licence
- Natural Earth terms
Country lookup compares simplified land outlines with the plate model. Boundaries and historical coastlines are modelled features. This atlas explains geography; it does not predict earthquakes or provide site-specific hazard estimates.