Scotia Plate

The Scotia Plate is an oceanic lithospheric plate in the South Atlantic between the South American Plate in the North, the sandwich plate to the east and the Antarctic plate to the south and west.

The northern and southern boundaries of this plate are transform faults. At the eastern edge of the Scotia Plate is the East Scotia Ridge, a mid oceanic ridge separating it from the small sandwich plate. The western boundary to the Antarctic plate is complex and less well defined.

A scientific hypothesis is that the westward movement of the South American Plate, the Caribbean Plate and the Scotia Plate forced at its northern and southern ends to squeeze around them. Both show a similar shape and are bounded on its eastern side by a subduction zone of the South American plate.