The Philippine Sea plate is the largest of the collage of plates and marginal basins that occupy the complex boundary zone between the three major plates that converge in East Asia: the Pacific, Indo-Australian, and Eurasian/Sundaland plates (Figures 1 and 2).
What tectonic plate is Philippines on?
Along its western margin, the Philippine Sea plate is associated with a zone of oblique convergence with the Sunda Plate. This highly active convergent plate boundary extends along both sides the Philippine Islands, from Luzon in the north to the Celebes Islands in the south.
How many tectonic plates are there on Earth?
The Earth is made up of roughly a dozen major plates and several minor plates. The Earth is in a constant state of change. Earth’s crust, called the lithosphere, consists of 15 to 20 moving tectonic plates.
What causes the tectonic plates to move?
The main driving force of plate tectonics is gravity. If a plate with oceanic lithosphere meets another plate, the dense oceanic lithosphere dives beneath the other plate and sinks into the mantle. … The sinking oceanic lithosphere drags the rest of the tectonic plate and this is the main cause of plate motion.