Western Africa

What tectonic plate is Burkina Faso on?

Burkina Faso sits entirely on the African Plate.

Plates
1
M6.5+ quakes since 1900
0
Holocene volcanoes
0
Land area
273,684 km²
Map of Burkina Faso with the tectonic plate boundaries around it Open on interactive map

Plates under Burkina Faso

Share of Burkina Faso's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).

  1. African Plate 100%

Plate boundaries

No plate boundary crosses Burkina Faso itself, so it sits in the stable interior of the African Plate.

How convergent, divergent and transform boundaries work

Earthquakes in Burkina Faso

The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Burkina Faso since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.

See today's earthquakes on the live map

Volcanoes in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso 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 Burkina Faso on?

Burkina Faso sits entirely on the African Plate.

Is Burkina Faso on a plate boundary?

No plate boundary crosses Burkina Faso itself, so it sits in the stable interior of the African Plate.

Does Burkina Faso get earthquakes?

The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Burkina Faso since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.

Are there volcanoes in Burkina Faso?

Burkina Faso has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.

Other countries on the African Plate