115W
120 W
125 W
W
130
W
135
W
140
5W
14
0W
15
5W
15
0W
16
5W
16
55
W
5 W 70 W
1
W
17
60
W
E-
65
0
18
W
5E
70
17
W
0E
75
17
W
5E
80
16
W
85N
E 30 E 35 E 40 E 45 E 150 E 155 E 160 E
1
1
1
1
85
E
E
E
110 115 120 125
90W
E
E
95E 100 105
95W
85E 90E
100 W
80E
105 W
75E
110W
70E
50
W
W
45
W
40
W
35
W
30
W
25
20
W
15
W
W
10
5W
W
0
10E
5E
15E
20E
25E
30E
35E
40E 45E
50E
55E
60E
65E
ARCTIC OCEAN
ARCTIC OCEAN
85N
80N
80N
75N
75N
Greenland
EURASIA
PLATE
70N
65N
ela
Ir
nd
Aust
France
ria
Hu n
&
Portugal
OKINAWA
PLATE
E
E
E
NEW
HEBRIDES
PLATE
E
NIUAFO`OU
PLATE
CONWAY
REEF
PLATE
237 mm/yr
TONGA
PLATE
a ra
gua
Nic
me
27 mm/yr
ina
NUBIA
PLATE
Democratic
Republic
of the Congo
Gabon
an
g
U
da
Kenya
30 mm/yr
Brazil
SOUTH
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
ALTIPLANO
PLATE
79 mm/yr
F
5N
0
SOMALIA
PLATE
United
Republic
of Tanzania
5S
35 mm/yr
Bolivia
Pa
rag
u
Angola
Zambia
Zimbabwe
SOUTH
AMERICA
PLATE
ay
10S
bi
m
a
oz
M
15S
e
qu
Namibia
20S
44 mm/yr
Botswana
25S
35 mm/yr
F
JUAN
FERNANDEZ
PLATE
88 mm/yr
m
Ethiopia
Central
African Republic
n
oo
er
151 mm/yr
151 mm/yr
F
South
Africa
Uruguay
Argentina
30S
35S
15 mm/yr
59 mm/yr
F
Ze
Ne
w
F
20 mm/yr
55S
F
78 mm/yr
14 mm/yr
45S
50S
15 mm/yr
&
55S
F
E
SCOTIA
PLATE
60S
F
94 mm/yr
SANDWICH
PLATE
60S
SOUTHERN OCEAN
SOUTHERN OCEAN
ANTARCTICA
PLATE
65S
65S
70S
E
TRANSFORM
DIVERGENCE
CONVERGENCE
PLATE BOUNDARY
70S
Converging
75S
75S
80S
Diverging
Transform
80S
Antarctica
Seafloor Age (millions of years)
85S
20
W
15
W 10W
5W
0
5E
10E
15E
20E
25E
30E
35E
40E 45E
50E
55E
60E
65E
28
0
W
26
0
25
24
0
W
22
0
30
20
0
W
18
0
35
16
0
W
14
0
40
12
0
W
10
0
45
80
W
50
60
W
55
40
W
60
W
65
W
70
W
75
W
80
W
85
90W
95W
100 W
105 W
115W
120 W
W
W
125 W
130
135
W
5W
0W
140
17
0W
-W
5W
14
17
15
0E
5W
The oldest seafloor in the world is found in the Mediterranean Sea. The next oldest seafloor ages are found in the northeastern
Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific, far from any spreading ridges. The northeastern Pacific also has a long convergent boundary,
where some of the oldest seafloor is now being subducted back into the interior of the Earth. In areas where spreading rates are
slow, seafloor age changes quickly as you move away from the spreading ridge. Conversely, in areas where spreading rates are
fast, seafloor age changes more slowly as you move away from the spreading ridge.
18
15
The crust ages as it moves away from the spreading ridges, and eventually gets pushed back into the Earth in a subduction zone.
Because oceanic crust subducts more easily than continental crust, all of the seafloor eventually is recycled by subduction while
very little continental crust is consumed in subduction. The result is that the oldest oceanic crust is still much younger than the
oldest continental crust.
5E
0W
This map builds on the Tectonic Plates map by adding seafloor age data. Note that the youngest seafloor ages are found at the
mid-ocean spreading ridges, where new rock is constantly coming up from under the crust to heal the rifts formed as tectonic plates
move away from one another. Most new crust forms at these mid-ocean spreading ridges.
17
16
1
1
1
1
1
95E 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 14
1
0 E 45 E 50 E 55 E 60 E 65 E 70 E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
5W
80E 85E 90E
16
70E 75E
110W
85S
20
50S
75 mm/yr
E
&
al
an
40 mm/yr
40S
d
72 mm/yr
F
F
KERMADEC
PLATE
E
AUSTRALIA
PLATE
45S
French
Guiana
Ghana
Ca
Ecuador
EASTER
PLATE
SOUTH
PA CI F I C
OCEAN
Australia
40S
Lib
eri
a
Cote
d’Ivoire
10N
Somalia
Nigeria
F
123 mm/yr
35S
Venezuela
NORTH
ANDES
PLATE
NAZCA
PLATE
F
20S
FUTUNA
PLATE
E
INDIAN
OCEAN
Sudan
F
BALMORAL
REEF PLATE
15N
Chad
r
E
SOLOMON
SEA PLATE
20N
Yemen
Senegal
70 mm/yr
70 mm/yr
30S
Saudi Arabia
Niger
Peru
25S
25N
Mauritania
Sierra
Leone
Colombia
50 mm/yr
F
WOODLARK
PLATE
106 mm/yr
TIMOR
PLATE
F F
GALAPAGOS
PLATE
NORTH
BISMARCK SOUTH
PLATE BISMARCK
Papua
PLATE
New
Guinea
BANDA SEA
PLATE
10S
MAOKE
PLATE
ARABIA
PLATE
Egypt
an
asca
5S
BIRD’S
HEAD
PLATE
30N
dag
MOLUCCA
SEA PLATE
Indonesia
an
Su
r
CAROLINE
PLATE
PANAMA
PLATE
Guyana
ay
Libya
18 mm/yr
Chile
M
al
is t
F
5N
si a
Algeria
Burkina
Faso
COCOS
PLATE
PACIFIC
PLATE
an
Guinea
10N
SUNDA
PLATE
35N
Pak
is t
E
F
86 mm/yr
0
CARIBBEAN
PLATE
61 mm/yr
Cambodia
Sri
Lanka
Iran
Mali
Thailand
BURMA
PLATE
Iraq
9 mm/yr
gh
27 mm/yr
63 mm/yr
E
Philippines
23 mm/yr
25 mm/yr
MARIANA
PLATE
PHILIPPINE
SEA PLATE
Morocco
Af
Ma
94 mm/yr
E
Laos
INDIA
PLATE
Mexico
RIVERA
PLATE
40N
Turkmenistan
ANATOLIA
PLATE Turkey
0
E
Taiwan
Myanmar
(Burma)
&
Spain
Tunisia
48 mm/yr
India
Uzbe
kista
n
Syria
F
F
YANGTZE
PLATE
Bulgaria
y
AEGEAN
SEA PLATE
NORTH
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Pakistan
Nepa
l
45N
We
s
Sah tern
ara
China
45 mm/yr
Romania
ia
Japan
&
35N
NORTH
PA CI F I C
OCEAN
Kazakhstan
gary
Croatia
United States
92 mm/yr
Ukraine
rb
Se
E
North
Korea
8
50N
Ita
l
South
Korea
15S
Czech
Republic
39 mm/yr
40N
15N
Germany
23 mm/yr
Kyrgyzstan
20N
Poland
ia
Slovak
45N
25N
55N
Belarus
United
Kingdom
Belg
ium
JUAN DE
FUCA PLATE
73 mm/yr
Lithua
nia
Om
an
Mongolia
60N
Russia
Estonia
18 mm/yr
F
78 mm/yr
65N
Latvia
E
Kazakhstan
E
AMUR
PLATE
E
50N
58 mm/yr
Finland
E
E
OKHOTSK
PLATE
47 mm/yr
Sweden
No
rw
ay
NORTH
AMERICA
PLATE
Canada
55N
F
Russia
60N
30N
EURASIA
PLATE
Iceland
E
70N
Plate Boundary Referenced from Bird, Peter (2003) An updated digital model of
plate boundaries. (Orogen boundaries omitted.)
SEAFLOOR AGE
Plate Convergence Vectors Referenced from United States Geological Survey: Convergence
data are shown by arrows describing direction and speed, relative to
the plate across the boundary.
Plate Divergence Vectors Referenced from Digital Tectonic Activity Map: Divergence data are
shown by double arrows describing direction and speed.
Seafloor Age Referenced from Muller, R.D., M. Sdrolias, C. Gaina, and W.R.
Roest 2008. Age, spreading rates and spreading symmetry of the
world’s ocean crust, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9, Q04006,
doi:10.1029/2007GC001743.
Projection: Robinson (World)
Produced by
California Institute of Technology
Tectonics Observatory
April 2009