Somali plate

Geology

The Arabian plate diverges to the north forming the Gulf of Aden. The Indian plate, Australian plate, and Antarctic plate all diverge from the Somali plate forming the eastern Indian Ocean. The Somali-Indian boundary spreading ridge is known as the Carlsberg Ridge. The Somali-Australian boundary spreading ridge is known as the Central Indian Ridge. The Somali-Antarctic boundary spreading ridge is known as the Southwest Indian Ridge. The western boundary with the African plate is diverging to form the East African Rift, which stretches south from the triple junction in the Afar depression. The southern boundary with the Nubian–African plate is a diffuse plate boundary with the Lwandle plate. The Seychelles and the Mascarene Plateau are located northeast of the Madagascar.

A kinematic model of the Nubian-Somali plates based on DORIS and GPS reports an opening rate of the East African Rift of 4.7–6.7 mm/yr. A more recent synthesis from 2015 states that the most comprehensive geodetic study indicates a "slow clockwise rotation" of the Somali plate relative to the African-Nubian plate and indicates an opening rate that increases northward to about 6 mm/yr in the Afar depression.