The Bouvet Triple Junction is a geologic triple junction

Triple junction

A triple junction is the point where the boundaries of three tectonic plates meet. At the triple junction a boundary will be one of 3 types - a ridge, trench or transform fault - and triple junctions can be described according to the types of plate margin that meet at them...

 of three tectonic plates located on the seafloor of the South Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

, named after Bouvet Island

Bouvet Island

Bouvet Island is an uninhabited Antarctic volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,525 km south-southwest of South Africa. It is a dependent territory of Norway and, lying north of 60°S latitude, is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty. The centre of the island is an ice-filled crater of an...

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The three plates which meet here are the South American Plate

South American Plate

The South American Plate is a continental tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America and also a sizeable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge....

, the African Plate

African Plate

The African Plate is a tectonic plate which includes the continent of Africa, as well as oceanic crust which lies between the continent and various surrounding ocean ridges.-Boundaries:...

, and the Antarctic Plate

Antarctic Plate

The Antarctic Plate is a tectonic plate covering the continent of Antarctica and extending outward under the surrounding oceans. The Antarctic Plate has a boundary with the Nazca Plate, the South American Plate, the African Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, the Scotia Plate and a divergent boundary...

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The Bouvet Triple Junction is an R-R-R type, that is, the three plate boundaries which meet here are oceanic ridges: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Mid-Atlantic Ridge

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. It separates the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate in the North Atlantic, and the African Plate from the South...

 (MAR), the Southwest Indian Ridge

Southwest Indian Ridge

The Southwest Indian Ridge is a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the southwest Indian Ocean. It separates the African Plate to the north from the Antarctic Plate to the south....

 (SWIR), and the American-Antarctic Ridge

American-Antarctic Ridge

The American-Antarctic Ridge is a tectonic spreading center between the South American Plate and the Antarctic Plate. It runs along the seafloor from the Bouvet Triple Junction in the South Atlantic Ocean southwestward to a major transform fault boundary east of the South Sandwich...

(AAR)