Chile Triple Junction
Encyclopedia
The Chile Triple Junction (or Chile Margin Triple Junction) is a geologic triple junction
located on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean
off Taitao
and Tres Montes Peninsula
on the southern coast of Chile
. Here three tectonic plates meet: the South American Plate
, the Nazca Plate
, and the Antarctic Plate
. This triple junction is unusual in that it consists of a mid-oceanic ridge, the Chile Rise
, being subducted under the South American Plate at the Peru-Chile Trench
.
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...
located on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
off Taitao
Taitao Peninsula
The Taitao Peninsula is a westward projection of the mainland of Chile, with which it is connected by the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui, over which the natives and early missionaries were accustomed to carry their boats between the Moraleda Channel and Gulf of Penas...
and Tres Montes Peninsula
Tres Montes Peninsula
The Tres Montes Peninsula is a southwestward projection of Taitao Peninsula which in turn connects to the mainland of Chile by the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui. The peninsula is situated in Aisén Region close to the Chile Triple Junction of the Nazca, Antarctic and South American Plate....
on the southern coast of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Here three tectonic plates meet: 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 Nazca Plate
Nazca Plate
]The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction along the Peru-Chile Trench of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate is largely responsible for the...
, 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...
. This triple junction is unusual in that it consists of a mid-oceanic ridge, the Chile Rise
Chile Rise
The Chile Rise or Chile Ridge is an oceanic ridge, a tectonic divergent plate boundary between the Nazca and Antarctic Plates. Its eastern end is the Chile Triple Junction where the Chile Rise is being subducted below the South American Plate in the Peru-Chile Trench...
, being subducted under the South American Plate at the Peru-Chile Trench
Peru-Chile Trench
The Peru-Chile Trench, also known as the Atacama Trench, is an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 160 kilometres off the coast of Peru and Chile...
.