Scotia Plate
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The Scotia plate, shown in blue-green towards the bottom of the map
The Scotia Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate bordering the South American Plate on the north, the South Sandwich Plate to the east, and the Antarctic Plate on the south and west.
The north and south boundaries of the plate are transform fault boundaries. At the eastern margin the Scotia has a spreading boundary between it and the small South Sandwich Plate. The South American Plate is subducting under east side of the South Sandwich Plate, which is thought to have brought about its separation from the Scotia Plate, starting as backarc spreading. The western boundary with the Antarctic plate is a complex and rather ill-defined boundary.
The plate is named after the Scotia sea, under which it lies.
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