Eastern Africa
What tectonic plate is Zimbabwe on?
Zimbabwe spans 2 tectonic plates: the African Plate (99%) and the Somali Plate (1.4%).
- Plates
- 2
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 0
- Holocene volcanoes
- 0
- Land area
- 390,184 km²
Plates under Zimbabwe
Share of Zimbabwe's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
A plate boundary runs through or along Zimbabwe: the Somali-African boundary (divergent, about 0.3 cm/yr).
Earthquakes in Zimbabwe
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Zimbabwe since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Volcanoes in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe on?
Zimbabwe spans 2 tectonic plates: the African Plate (99%) and the Somali Plate (1.4%).
Is Zimbabwe on a plate boundary?
A plate boundary runs through or along Zimbabwe: the Somali-African boundary (divergent, about 0.3 cm/yr).
Does Zimbabwe get earthquakes?
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Zimbabwe since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Are there volcanoes in Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.