Caribbean
What tectonic plate is the Bahamas on?
The Bahamas sits entirely on the North American Plate.
- Plates
- 1
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 0
- Holocene volcanoes
- 0
- Land area
- 12,668 km²
Plates under the Bahamas
Share of the Bahamas's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
A plate boundary runs through or along the Bahamas: the Caribbean-North American boundary (transform, about 1.7 cm/yr).
- Caribbean and North American: transform, 1.7 cm/yr
Earthquakes in the Bahamas
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off the Bahamas since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Volcanoes in the Bahamas
The Bahamas has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.
Frequently asked questions
What tectonic plate is the Bahamas on?
The Bahamas sits entirely on the North American Plate.
Is the Bahamas on a plate boundary?
A plate boundary runs through or along the Bahamas: the Caribbean-North American boundary (transform, about 1.7 cm/yr).
Does the Bahamas get earthquakes?
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off the Bahamas since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Are there volcanoes in the Bahamas?
The Bahamas has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.