Northern Africa

What tectonic plate is Morocco on?

Morocco spans 2 tectonic plates: the African Plate (95%) and the Eurasian Plate (5.3%).

Plates
2
M6.5+ quakes since 1900
1
Holocene volcanoes
0
Land area
582,388 km²
Map of Morocco with the tectonic plate boundaries around it Open on interactive map

Plates under Morocco

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

  1. African Plate 95%
  2. Eurasian Plate 5.3%

Plate boundaries

A plate boundary runs through or along Morocco: the Eurasian-African boundary (convergent, about 0.6 cm/yr).

How convergent, divergent and transform boundaries work

Earthquakes in Morocco

Large earthquakes are uncommon in Morocco. Since 1900 the USGS has recorded 1 of magnitude 6.5 or more in or just off the country.

EarthquakeMagnitudeYearDepthPlate
Al Haouz, Morocco M6.8 2023 19 km African

See today's earthquakes on the live map

Volcanoes in Morocco

Morocco 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 Morocco on?

Morocco spans 2 tectonic plates: the African Plate (95%) and the Eurasian Plate (5.3%).

Is Morocco on a plate boundary?

A plate boundary runs through or along Morocco: the Eurasian-African boundary (convergent, about 0.6 cm/yr).

Does Morocco get earthquakes?

Large earthquakes are uncommon in Morocco. Since 1900 the USGS has recorded 1 of magnitude 6.5 or more in or just off the country. The largest was the M6.8 Al Haouz, Morocco in 2023.

Are there volcanoes in Morocco?

Morocco 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