Explorer plate

Upon breaking apart 4 million years ago, the Juan De Fuca plate continued moving northeast at 26 mm/year (1 in/year) while the Explorer plate's velocity changed, stalling or moving slowly north up to 20 mm/year.

[5] The Sovanco fracture zone originated as a spreading center offset more than 7 million years ago which shows southward movement from the influence of the Explorer ridge and results in uneven spreading eastward unto the Explorer plate.

[5] The subducted portion of the plate extends downward to more than 300 km (186 mi) depth, and laterally as far as mainland Canada.

[11] The Explorer plate is the most seismically active area of Canada, but is anomalous as a subduction zone since most of the seismic activity occurs around the plate's perimeter rather than at the subduction interface.

[8] Events are generally centered around the southern and north-western areas where the borders of the plate are in contact with other plates; however, the newer ocean crust created at Explorer ridge and Juan de Fuca ridge reduces the rigidity of the region and contributes to the low magnitude of events in the region.

Bathymetric profile of Explorer Ridge region
Bathymetric profile of the Explorer plate region