South American Plate: Meaning and Definition of

South' Amer'ican Plate'

Pronunciation: [key]
— Geol. Geol.
  1. a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising the continent of South America and several ocean basins and bounded on the north by the Caribbean Plate, on the east by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on the west by a submarine trench that borders the western coast of the continent, and on the south by the Antarctic Plate.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.