Easter microplate

The Easter plate is a tectonic microplate located to the west of Easter Island off the west coast of South America in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, bordering the Nazca plate to the east and the Pacific plate to the west. It was discovered from looking at earthquake distributions that were offset from the previously perceived Nazca-Pacific Divergent boundary. This young plate is 5.25 million years old and is considered a microplate because it is small with an area of approximately . Seafloor spreading along the Easter microplate's borders have some of the highest global rates, ranging from /yr.

The Easter plate is a tectonic microplate located to the west of Easter Island off the west coast of South America in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, bordering the Nazca plate to the east and the Pacific plate to the west. It was discovered from looking at earthquake distributions that were offset from the previously perceived Nazca-Pacific Divergent boundary. This young plate is 5.25 million years old and is considered a microplate because it is small with an area of approximately . Seafloor spreading along the Easter microplate's borders have some of the highest global rates, ranging from /yr. Mantle basal drag accounts for 20% of the forces applied to the Easter microplate. Mantle basal drag force is calculated using the equation: \vec{F}_D = D\vec{V} , where \vec{F}_D is the mantle drag force per unit area, D is the proportionality constant, and \vec{V} is absolute velocity of microplate using a fixed hotspot as the reference frame. The value for \vec{F}_D represents a quantification of the total resisting force that the ductile asthenosphere applies to the brittle lithosphere floating on top. The other 80% of the resisting forces come from the rotation of the Easter microplate. As the microplate is rotating, normal resistances are applied to the microplate at the north and south ends where there are no rifts to help microplate adjustment. Both tension and compression contribute to the resistance, but compressional forces along the ends of the rifts have more of an impact. These compressional forces are what create the elevated regions that surround the "Pito Deep".

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