 The seven major plates are the Pacific , North American , Eurasian , African , Antarctic , Indo @-@ Australian , and South American . Other notable plates include the Arabian Plate , the Caribbean Plate , the Nazca Plate off the west coast of South America and the Scotia Plate in the southern Atlantic Ocean . The Australian Plate fused with the Indian Plate between 50 and 55 mya . The fastest @-@ moving plates are the oceanic plates , with the Cocos Plate advancing at a rate of 75 mm / year and the Pacific Plate moving 52 – 69 mm / year . At the other extreme , the slowest @-@ moving plate is the Eurasian Plate , progressing at a typical rate of about 21 mm / year . 
