| The North American plate is both oceanic and continental an contains Canada, the United States, the countries of Central America, Greenland and the far eastern regions of Russia. Its eastern boundary is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a spreading center which causes a northwest movement causing an interaction with the Pacific, Juan de Fuca and Cocos plates along its western margin.
The mountain chains of western North America from the Cascade Mountains to the Rocky Mountains and the coastal ranges of Alaska, are produced by the collision of the North America Plate and the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates.
See plate tectonics. |
