Yangtze Plate
Encyclopedia
The Yangtze Plate, also called the South China Block or the South China Subplate, comprises the bulk of southern China
. It is separated on the east from the Okinawa Plate
by a rift that forms the Okinawa Trough
which is a Back arc basin, on the south by the Sunda Plate
and the Philippine Sea Plate, and on the north and west by the Eurasian Plate
. The Longmenshan Fault
on the latter border was the site of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
.
The Yangtze Plate was formed by the disaggregation of Rodinia
Supercontinent
750 million years ago, in the Neoproterozoic
era. In Triassic
the Yangtze Plate collided with the North China Plate and formed the Sichuan basin
. In Cenozoic the Yangtze Plate was influenced by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian
plates creating the uplifting of the Longmen Mountains
. Its southward motion is accommodated along the Red River fault
.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It is separated on the east from the Okinawa Plate
Okinawa Plate
The Okinawa Plate is a long narrow tectonic plate stretching from the northern end of Taiwan to the southern tip of the island of Kyūshū. To the east lies the Ryukyu Trench and the Pacific Plate. It is separated from the Yangtze Plate by a rift that forms the Okinawa Trough which is a Back arc...
by a rift that forms the Okinawa Trough
Okinawa Trough
The is a seabed feature of the East China Sea. It is an active, initial back-arc rifting basin which has formed behind the Ryukyu arc-trench system in the West Pacific. It developed where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting under the Eurasia Plate....
which is a Back arc basin, on the south by the Sunda Plate
Sunda Plate
The Sunda Plate is the tectonic plate on which the majority of Southeast Asia is located. It was formerly considered a part of the Eurasian Plate, but GPS measurements have confirmed its independent movement at 10 mm/yr eastward relative to Eurasia...
and the Philippine Sea Plate, and on the north and west by the Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
. The Longmenshan Fault
Longmenshan Fault
The Longmenshan Fault is a thrust fault which runs along the base of the Longmen Mountains in Sichuan province in southwestern China. The strike of the fault plane is approximately NE....
on the latter border was the site of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
2008 Sichuan earthquake
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Msand 7.9 Mw occurred at 14:28:01 CST...
.
The Yangtze Plate was formed by the disaggregation of Rodinia
Rodinia
In geology, Rodinia is the name of a supercontinent, a continent which contained most or all of Earth's landmass. According to plate tectonic reconstructions, Rodinia existed between 1.1 billion and 750 million years ago, in the Neoproterozoic era...
Supercontinent
Supercontinent
In geology, a supercontinent is a landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. The assembly of cratons and accreted terranes that form Eurasia qualifies as a supercontinent today.-History:...
750 million years ago, in the Neoproterozoic
Neoproterozoic
The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1,000 to 542.0 ± 1.0 million years ago. The terminal Era of the formal Proterozoic Eon , it is further subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran Periods...
era. In Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
the Yangtze Plate collided with the North China Plate and formed the Sichuan basin
Sichuan basin
The Sichuan Basin is a lowland region in southwestern China. Despite its historical name, it is not only synonymous to Sichuan province, comprising its central and eastern portions as well as part of Chongqing Municipality...
. In Cenozoic the Yangtze Plate was influenced by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
plates creating the uplifting of the Longmen Mountains
Longmen Mountains
The Longmen Mountains , also tautologically referred to in English-language publications as the Longmenshan Mountains, are a mountain range in Sichuan province in southwestern China.-Geography:...
. Its southward motion is accommodated along the Red River fault
Red River fault
The Red River Fault is a major fault in Yunnan, China and Vietnam which accommodates continental China's southward movement It is coupled with that of the Sagaing Fault in Myanmar which accommodates the Indian plate's northward movement, with the land in between faulted and twisted clockwise. ...
.