Eastern Africa

What tectonic plate is Somaliland on?

Somaliland sits entirely on the Somali Plate.

Plates
1
M6.5+ quakes since 1900
0
Holocene volcanoes
0
Land area
168,492 km²
Map of Somaliland with the tectonic plate boundaries around it Open on interactive map

Plates under Somaliland

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

  1. Somali Plate 100%

Plate boundaries

3 plate boundaries run through or along Somaliland: the Arabian-African boundary (divergent, about 1.4 cm/yr), the Somali-Arabian boundary (divergent, about 2.4 cm/yr) and the Somali-African boundary (divergent, about 0.3 cm/yr).

How convergent, divergent and transform boundaries work

Earthquakes in Somaliland

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

See today's earthquakes on the live map

Volcanoes in Somaliland

Somaliland 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 Somaliland on?

Somaliland sits entirely on the Somali Plate.

Is Somaliland on a plate boundary?

3 plate boundaries run through or along Somaliland: the Arabian-African boundary (divergent, about 1.4 cm/yr), the Somali-Arabian boundary (divergent, about 2.4 cm/yr) and the Somali-African boundary (divergent, about 0.3 cm/yr).

Does Somaliland get earthquakes?

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

Are there volcanoes in Somaliland?

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

Other countries on the Somali Plate