Southern Europe
What tectonic plate is Greece on?
Greece spans 2 tectonic plates: the Eurasian Plate (62%) and the Aegean Sea Plate (38%).
- Plates
- 2
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 37
- Holocene volcanoes
- 5
- Land area
- 130,167 km²
Plates under Greece
Share of Greece's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
6 plate boundaries run through or along Greece: the Eurasian-African boundary (convergent, about 0.6 cm/yr), the Aegean Sea-Anatolian boundary (divergent, about 1.5 cm/yr), the Aegean Sea-Eurasian boundary (divergent, about 3.0 cm/yr), the Anatolian-Eurasian boundary (transform, about 2.4 cm/yr), the Aegean Sea-African boundary (convergent, about 3.8 cm/yr) and the Anatolian-African boundary (convergent, about 1.4 cm/yr).
- Eurasian and African: convergent, 0.6 cm/yr
- Aegean Sea and Anatolian: divergent, 1.5 cm/yr
- Aegean Sea and Eurasian: divergent, 3.0 cm/yr
- Anatolian and Eurasian: transform, 2.4 cm/yr
- Aegean Sea and African: convergent, 3.8 cm/yr
- Anatolian and African: convergent, 1.4 cm/yr
The fastest of these is the Aegean Sea-African boundary, where the plates move about 3.8 cm/yr relative to each other. That is faster than fingernails grow.
Earthquakes in Greece
Greece has frequent large earthquakes: 37 of magnitude 6.5 or more struck in or just off the country since 1900 (rank 22 of 213).
| Earthquake | Magnitude | Year | Depth | Plate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Greece | M7.9 | 1903 | 80 km | Aegean Sea |
| 19 km SSE of Amorgós, Greece | M7.7 | 1956 | 20 km | Aegean Sea |
| 4 km WNW of Koróni, Greece | M7.3 | 1947 | 15 km | Aegean Sea |
| 15 km NNW of Karpathos, Greece | M7.3 | 1948 | 15 km | Aegean Sea |
| 61 km W of Eresós, Greece | M7.2 | 1981 | 10 km | Aegean Sea |
| 26 km SW of Lixoúri, Greece | M7.0 | 1983 | 14 km | Eurasian |
Volcanoes in Greece
The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 5 volcanoes active in the last 12,000 years in Greece.
Frequently asked questions
What tectonic plate is Greece on?
Greece spans 2 tectonic plates: the Eurasian Plate (62%) and the Aegean Sea Plate (38%).
Is Greece on a plate boundary?
6 plate boundaries run through or along Greece: the Eurasian-African boundary (convergent, about 0.6 cm/yr), the Aegean Sea-Anatolian boundary (divergent, about 1.5 cm/yr), the Aegean Sea-Eurasian boundary (divergent, about 3.0 cm/yr), the Anatolian-Eurasian boundary (transform, about 2.4 cm/yr), the Aegean Sea-African boundary (convergent, about 3.8 cm/yr) and the Anatolian-African boundary (convergent, about 1.4 cm/yr).
Does Greece get earthquakes?
Greece has frequent large earthquakes: 37 of magnitude 6.5 or more struck in or just off the country since 1900 (rank 22 of 213). The largest was the M7.9 Southern Greece in 1903.
Are there volcanoes in Greece?
The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 5 volcanoes active in the last 12,000 years in Greece.