The
African Plate is a major
tectonic plate straddling the
equator as well as the
prime meridian. It includes much of the
continent of
Africa, as well as oceanic crust which lies between the continent and various surrounding ocean ridges. Between and , the
Somali Plate began
rifting from the African Plate along the
East African Rift. Since the continent of Africa consists of crust from both the African and the Somali plates, some literature refers to the African Plate as the
Nubian Plate to distinguish it from the continent as a whole.