Western Asia
What tectonic plate is Saudi Arabia on?
Saudi Arabia sits entirely on the Arabian Plate.
- Plates
- 1
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 0
- Holocene volcanoes
- 7
- Land area
- 1.93 million km²
Plates under Saudi Arabia
Share of Saudi Arabia's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
2 plate boundaries run through or along Saudi Arabia: the Arabian-Eurasian boundary (convergent, about 3.5 cm/yr) and the Arabian-African boundary (divergent, about 1.4 cm/yr).
The fastest of these is the Arabian-Eurasian boundary, where the plates move about 3.5 cm/yr relative to each other. That is faster than fingernails grow.
Earthquakes in Saudi Arabia
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Saudi Arabia since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Volcanoes in Saudi Arabia
The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 7 volcanoes active in the last 12,000 years in Saudi Arabia.
- Yar, Jabal Volcanic field · 305 m Last eruption 1810
- Rahat, Harrat Volcanic field · 1,744 m Last eruption 1256
- Lunayyir, Harrat Volcanic field · 1,370 m Last eruption 1000
- Khaybar, Harrat Volcanic field · 2,093 m Last eruption 650
- Ithnayn, Harrat Volcanic field · 1,625 m Last eruption Unknown
- Kishb, Harrat Volcanic field · 1,475 m Last eruption Unknown
- Birk, Harrat al Volcanic field · 587 m Last eruption Unknown
Frequently asked questions
What tectonic plate is Saudi Arabia on?
Saudi Arabia sits entirely on the Arabian Plate.
Is Saudi Arabia on a plate boundary?
2 plate boundaries run through or along Saudi Arabia: the Arabian-Eurasian boundary (convergent, about 3.5 cm/yr) and the Arabian-African boundary (divergent, about 1.4 cm/yr).
Does Saudi Arabia get earthquakes?
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Saudi Arabia since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Are there volcanoes in Saudi Arabia?
The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 7 volcanoes active in the last 12,000 years in Saudi Arabia.