The Pacific plate is shown in pale yellow on this map
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.
To the north the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge , the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda Ridge . In the middle the easterly side is a transform boundary with the North American Plate along the San Andreas Fault and a boundary with the Cocos Plate. To the south the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Nazca Plate forming the East Pacific Rise.
The southerly side is a divergent boundary with the Antarctic Plate forming the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge.
The westerly side is a convergent boundary subducting under the Eurasian Plate to the north and the Philippine Plate in the middle forming the Mariana Trench. In the south, the Pacific Plate has a complex but generally convergent boundary with the Indo-Australian Plate, subducting under it north of New Zealand. The Alpine Fault marks a transform boundary between the two plates, and further south the Indo-Australian Plate subducts under the Pacific Plate.
The northerly side is a convergent boundary subducting under the North American Plate forming the Aleutian Trench and the corresponding Aleutian Islands.
The Pacific Plate contains an interior hot spot forming the Hawaiian Islands.
