Kinematics of a diffuse North America–Pacific–Bering plate boundary in Alaska and western Canada

Inconsistencies between regional seismicity and block tectonic models, the recent recognition of the Bering plate, and the availability of global positioning system data motivated a large-scale kinematic analysis of Alaska and western Canada. We provide a synoptic view of the neotectonics of the region through kinematic modeling of the long-term strain rate and velocity field constrained by geologic and geophysical observations. Our results provide evidence that a wide zone of diffuse deformation defines the boundaries between the North America, Pacific, and Bering plates, and that the relative motion between these plates may be the source for much of the modern deformation.