The lithosphere (Earth´s crust + uppermost mantle) is divided into 7 mayor
and several smaller tectonic plates. They are composed in different quantities
by continental (felsic) and oceanic (mafic) crust.
The South American plate is limited to the East by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from the African plate
and to the West by the Andean Belt from the oceanic Nazca plate.
It is composed of a continental portion
(
South America)
and an oceanic portion (South Atlantic).