Fundación Caribe Sur

One of the more complicated tectonic boundaries on Earth, the Caribbean has much to teach us. The recent Mw7.2 and Mw7.5 earthquakes in Venezuela mark the activity of this region. The USGS just released a new informational map on the Seismotectonics of the Caribbean, a region characterized by an extensive diversity of tectonic regimes along its perimeter, involving five major plates. Each tectonic boundary is associated with a distinctive pattern of earthquakes, volcanoes, and surface expression. Inclined zones of deep earthquakes, ocean trenches, and volcanic arcs indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere. Narrow bands of crustal seismicity reflect transform fault tectonics. Oblique continental collision produces broad, diffuse zones of crustal earthquakes across mountainous regions. Pull-apart basin tectonics are reflected in patterns of extensional earthquakes and low-lying basins lying between generally parallel adjacent faults. Which of these tectonic settings is acting at a given point in the Caribbean region depends on the direction of relative plate motion across the boundary and the tectonic nature of the interacting plates. geonarrative.usgs.gov/earthq… 📸: Screenshot of front page of our story map.