Western Asia
What tectonic plate is Syria on?
Syria spans 2 tectonic plates: the Arabian Plate (96%) and the African Plate (3.4%), plus slivers of the Anatolian Plate.
- Plates
- 3
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 0
- Holocene volcanoes
- 1
- Land area
- 185,974 km²
Plates under Syria
Share of Syria's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
5 plate boundaries run through or along Syria: the Arabian-Eurasian boundary (convergent, about 3.5 cm/yr), the Arabian-African boundary (divergent, about 1.4 cm/yr), the Anatolian-Arabian boundary (convergent, about 1.6 cm/yr), the Anatolian-Eurasian boundary (transform, about 2.4 cm/yr) and the Anatolian-African boundary (convergent, about 1.4 cm/yr).
- Arabian and Eurasian: convergent, 3.5 cm/yr
- Arabian and African: divergent, 1.4 cm/yr
- Anatolian and Arabian: convergent, 1.6 cm/yr
- Anatolian and Eurasian: transform, 2.4 cm/yr
- Anatolian and African: convergent, 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 Syria
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Syria since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Volcanoes in Syria
The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 1 volcano active in the last 12,000 years in Syria.
- Ash Shaam, Harrat Volcanic field · 1,100 m Last eruption 2670 BCE
Frequently asked questions
What tectonic plate is Syria on?
Syria spans 2 tectonic plates: the Arabian Plate (96%) and the African Plate (3.4%), plus slivers of the Anatolian Plate.
Is Syria on a plate boundary?
5 plate boundaries run through or along Syria: the Arabian-Eurasian boundary (convergent, about 3.5 cm/yr), the Arabian-African boundary (divergent, about 1.4 cm/yr), the Anatolian-Arabian boundary (convergent, about 1.6 cm/yr), the Anatolian-Eurasian boundary (transform, about 2.4 cm/yr) and the Anatolian-African boundary (convergent, about 1.4 cm/yr).
Does Syria get earthquakes?
The USGS catalog has no earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or more centered in or just off Syria since 1900. Smaller quakes still happen, and distant large ones can be felt.
Are there volcanoes in Syria?
The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 1 volcano active in the last 12,000 years in Syria.