Marine Places
Fiji Plateau
The Fiji Plateau is the thickest part of the Fiji Plate. The islands of Fiji were originally part of a continuous volcanic island arc alongside Vanuatu and the Solomons. They were moved east when the Pacific Plate changed its direction of motion, triggering the creation of new ocean crust in the North Fiji Basin. The Hunter Ridge to the south marks the transform fracture that allowed this eastward motion, while the Vityaz Trench to the north marks the subduction zone that created the islands, though the trench is now inactive. Over time a substantial platform of limestone accumulated around the original volcanic islands, as they were uplifted, faulted, and folded by the opening of the young, buoyant North Fiji Basin. Growth of the platform continues today, thanks to the coral reefs that fringe Fiji’s hundreds of islands.
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- Area 30,900 square miles (80,000 square km)
- Average Depth Less than 820 ft (250 m)
