 The Juan de Fuca Plate (including the Gorda Plate) is moving east-northeast, subducting under the North America Plate at a much slower rate of 2.5–3 cm per year.Due to the ridge being segmented into three distinct parts, each section has its own spreading rate, caused by the slab-pull and ridge-push of the surrounding tectonic plates.The northern segment is the narrowest, with portions as narrow as 3 km across, and has the fastest spreading rate of 2.9 cm per year (half-rate).