Eastern Africa
What tectonic plate is Malawi on?
Malawi spans 2 tectonic plates: the African Plate (60%) and the Somali Plate (40%).
- Plates
- 2
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 0
- Holocene volcanoes
- 0
- Land area
- 119,795 km²
Plates under Malawi
Share of Malawi's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
A plate boundary runs through or along Malawi: the Somali-African boundary (divergent, about 0.3 cm/yr).
Earthquakes in Malawi
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Malawi since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Volcanoes in Malawi
Malawi 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 Malawi on?
Malawi spans 2 tectonic plates: the African Plate (60%) and the Somali Plate (40%).
Is Malawi on a plate boundary?
A plate boundary runs through or along Malawi: the Somali-African boundary (divergent, about 0.3 cm/yr).
Does Malawi get earthquakes?
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Malawi since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Are there volcanoes in Malawi?
Malawi has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.