Hidden deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, researchers have uncovered ... What they found was unexpected—zones resembling ancient tectonic plates in areas where no subduction processes occur.

The large blue area in the western Pacific (right above the center of the image) was not known until now. According to this model, submerged tectonic plates should be found near subduction zones, ...

Two Buried Supercontinents Under Africa and the Pacific Ocean Could Be Much Older Than Previously Assumed Earth has several ...

The map highlights in yellow the zones of the Pacific Plate that are being pulled apart by the sinking tectonic plate along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The tiny Juan de Fuca plate is largely responsible for the volcanoes that dot the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The plates make up Earth's outer shell, called the lithosphere.

Movement along the San Andreas Fault was to blame. The North American and Pacific tectonic plates had moved past each other by more than 15 feet — compared to an annual average of two inches.

The Ring of Fire exists where the Pacific Plate, which sits under the ocean, meets with many other tectonic plates. The Ring ...

Movement along the San Andreas Fault was to blame. The North American and Pacific tectonic plates had moved past each other by more than 15 feet — compared to an annual average of two inches.