Indo-Australian Plate

The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and the surrounding ocean and extends north-west to include the Indian subcontinent and the adjacent waters. It was formed by the fusion of the Indian and the Australian plates approximately 43 million years ago.^[1] The fusion happened when the mid-ocean ridge in the Indian Ocean, which separated the two plates, ceased spreading.^[2] Contemporary models suggest at present there is a deformation zone between the Indian and Australian plates with both earthquake and global satellite navigation system data indicating that India and Australia are not moving on the same vectors northward.^[3][4] These observations are consistent with earlier evidence that the Indian Plate and Australian Plate have been acting as separate plates for at least the last 3 million years.^[5] In due course, some expect a localized boundary to reform between the Indian and Australian plates.^[6]