South Sandwich plate

South Sandwich plate
Type	Minor
Approximate area	170,000 km2
Movement1	east
Speed1	47mm/year
Features	South Sandwich Islands, Southern Ocean
1Relative to the African plate

Map of South Sandwich Plate (SAN) shows its position between the Scotia Plate (SCO), South American Plate (SAM) and the Antarctic Plate (ANT). There are also visible The East Scotia Ridge (ESR), South Sandwich Islands (SSI) and the South Sandwich Trench (SST).

The South Sandwich Plate or Sandwich Plate is a minor tectonic plate bounded by the subducting South American Plate to the east, the Antarctic Plate to the south and the Scotia Plate to the west. The plate is separated from the Scotia Plate by the East Scotia Rise, a back arc spreading ridge formed by the subduction zone on its eastern margin.

The South Sandwich Islands are located on this small plate.

References

• Map of tectonic relations at "South Sandwich Islands, southern Atlantic Ocean"
• Kurt Stüwe: Geodynamics of the Lithosphere: An Introduction Springer; 2nd edition (2007) p390 ISBN 978-3-540-71236-7