New Hebrides Plate

The New Hebrides Plate is a minor tectonic plate located in the Pacific Ocean near the island nation of Vanuatu. The plate is bounded on the southwest by the Indo-Australian Plate which is subducting below it. The New Hebrides Subduction Zone is extremely active, producing over 20 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher in just the past 25 years. The latest quake occurred on April 9, with a magnitude of 7.3. The quake occurred 35 km (21.7 miles) deep, with the epicenter located about 70 km (45 miles) southwest of the island of Tanna in Vanuatu.

References

• Calmant, S., B. Pelletier, P. Lebellegard, M. Bevis, F. W. Taylor, and D. A. Phillips (2003), New insights on the tectonics along the New Hebrides subduction zone based on GPS results, J. Geophys. Res., 108(B6), 2319, doi:10.1029/2001JB000644.