Southern Africa
What tectonic plate is Lesotho on?
Lesotho spans 2 tectonic plates: the Somali Plate (55%) and the African Plate (45%).
- Plates
- 2
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 0
- Holocene volcanoes
- 0
- Land area
- 30,028 km²
Plates under Lesotho
Share of Lesotho's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
A plate boundary runs through or along Lesotho: the Somali-African boundary (divergent, about 0.3 cm/yr).
Earthquakes in Lesotho
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Lesotho since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Volcanoes in Lesotho
Lesotho 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 Lesotho on?
Lesotho spans 2 tectonic plates: the Somali Plate (55%) and the African Plate (45%).
Is Lesotho on a plate boundary?
A plate boundary runs through or along Lesotho: the Somali-African boundary (divergent, about 0.3 cm/yr).
Does Lesotho get earthquakes?
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Lesotho since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Are there volcanoes in Lesotho?
Lesotho has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.