The Arabian Plate is a minor tectonic plate in the northern and eastern hemispheres. It is one of three continental plates (the African, Arabian, and Indian Plates) that have been moving northward in recent geological history and colliding with the Eurasian Plate. This is resulting in a mingling of plate pieces and mountain ranges extending in the west from the Pyrenees, crossing southern Europe and to Iran forming the Alborz and Zagros Mountains, to the Himalayas and ranges of southeast Asia.