Melanesia
What tectonic plate is New Caledonia on?
New Caledonia sits entirely on the Australian Plate.
- Plates
- 1
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 82
- Holocene volcanoes
- 0
- Land area
- 18,667 km²
Plates under New Caledonia
Share of New Caledonia's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
A plate boundary runs through or along New Caledonia: the New Hebrides-Australian boundary (convergent, about 11.4 cm/yr).
- New Hebrides and Australian: convergent, 11.4 cm/yr
The fastest of these is the New Hebrides-Australian boundary, where the plates move about 11.4 cm/yr relative to each other. That is faster than fingernails grow.
Earthquakes in New Caledonia
New Caledonia is one of the most earthquake-prone countries on Earth. The USGS catalog lists 82 earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or more in or just off New Caledonia since 1900, which ranks it 17 of 213 countries.
| Earthquake | Magnitude | Year | Depth | Plate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast of the Loyalty Islands | M7.9 | 1901 | – | New Hebrides |
| 249 km E of Vao, New Caledonia | M7.7 | 1995 | 20 km | Australian |
| southeast of the Loyalty Islandstsunami | M7.7 | 2021 | 10 km | New Hebrides |
| southeast of the Loyalty Islandstsunami | M7.7 | 2023 | 18 km | Australian |
| 274 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | M7.6 | 1928 | 10 km | New Hebrides |
| southeast of the Loyalty Islands | M7.5 | 1998 | 101 km | New Hebrides |
Volcanoes in New Caledonia
New Caledonia 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 New Caledonia on?
New Caledonia sits entirely on the Australian Plate.
Is New Caledonia on a plate boundary?
A plate boundary runs through or along New Caledonia: the New Hebrides-Australian boundary (convergent, about 11.4 cm/yr).
Does New Caledonia get earthquakes?
New Caledonia is one of the most earthquake-prone countries on Earth. The USGS catalog lists 82 earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or more in or just off New Caledonia since 1900, which ranks it 17 of 213 countries. The largest was the M7.9 Southeast of the Loyalty Islands in 1901.
Are there volcanoes in New Caledonia?
New Caledonia has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.