Western Asia

What tectonic plate is Lebanon on?

Lebanon spans 2 tectonic plates: the African Plate (62%) and the Arabian Plate (39%).

Plates
2
M6.5+ quakes since 1900
0
Holocene volcanoes
0
Land area
10,011 km²
Map of Lebanon with the tectonic plate boundaries around it Open on interactive map

Plates under Lebanon

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

  1. African Plate 62%
  2. Arabian Plate 39%

Plate boundaries

3 plate boundaries run through or along Lebanon: the Arabian-African boundary (divergent, about 1.4 cm/yr), the Anatolian-Arabian boundary (convergent, about 1.6 cm/yr) and the Anatolian-African boundary (convergent, about 1.4 cm/yr).

How convergent, divergent and transform boundaries work

Earthquakes in Lebanon

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

See today's earthquakes on the live map

Volcanoes in Lebanon

Lebanon 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 Lebanon on?

Lebanon spans 2 tectonic plates: the African Plate (62%) and the Arabian Plate (39%).

Is Lebanon on a plate boundary?

3 plate boundaries run through or along Lebanon: the Arabian-African boundary (divergent, about 1.4 cm/yr), the Anatolian-Arabian boundary (convergent, about 1.6 cm/yr) and the Anatolian-African boundary (convergent, about 1.4 cm/yr).

Does Lebanon get earthquakes?

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

Are there volcanoes in Lebanon?

Lebanon 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