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37-751: Roughly 3.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles) in area, the Caribbean plate borders the North American plate , the South American plate , the Nazca plate and the Cocos plate . These borders are regions of intense seismic activity, including frequent earthquakes , occasional tsunamis , and volcanic eruptions. The northern boundary with the North American plate

74-643: A subduction zone and beginning the creation of the Great Caribbean Arch. This arch was formed around 120-115 Ma but must have been intersected by the Caribbean spreading ridge until 66 Ma. Hence, the Farallon Plate fed the spreading zone and later became the Caribbean Plate . CLIP formed as a large igneous province and now forms a thickened zone of oceanic crust between the North American and South American plates. In some places

111-471: A mantle convective current is propelling the plate. Caribbean large igneous province The Caribbean large igneous province (CLIP) consists of a major flood basalt , which created this large igneous province (LIP). It is the source of the current large eastern Pacific oceanic plateau , of which the Caribbean-Colombian oceanic plateau is the tectonized remnant. The deeper levels of

148-505: A time by oceanic crust. The Pacific Ocean floor subducted under this oceanic crust between the continents. The CLIP drifted into the same area, but as it was less dense and thicker than the surrounding oceanic crust, it did not subduct, but rather overrode the ocean floor, continuing to move eastward relative to North America and South America. With the formation of the Isthmus of Panama 3 million years ago, it ultimately lost its connection to

185-627: Is a tectonic plate containing most of North America , Cuba , the Bahamas , extreme northeastern Asia , and parts of Iceland and the Azores . With an area of 76 million km (29 million sq mi), it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific plate (which borders the plate to the west). It extends eastward to the seismically active Mid-Atlantic Ridge at

222-923: Is a transform or strike-slip boundary that runs from the border area of Belize , Guatemala ( Motagua Fault ), and Honduras in Central America, eastward through the Cayman trough along the Swan Islands Transform Fault before joining the southern boundary of the Gonâve microplate . East of the Mid-Cayman Rise this continues as the Walton fault zone and the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone into eastern Hispaniola . From there it continues into Puerto Rico , and

259-520: Is composed of irregularly thickened (up to 20 km (12 mi)) oceanic crust of the Caribbean Plate and the deformed associated magmatic terranes obducted onto the Pacific coasts of northern South America, Central America, and the Antilles. One of the least deformed parts is Gorgona Island off Colombia's Pacific coast. The CLIP was created during three phases of eruptions dating between

296-714: The Aptian and the Maastrichtian : a first phase 124–112 Ma; the main magma production phase 94–83 Ma; and an 80–72 Ma phase. The youngest igneous rocks , in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, are from 63 Ma. That the CLIP originated in the Pacific is obvious because fragments of oceanic crust accreted to the margins of the Caribbean, for example on Hispaniola and Puerto Rico , contain fauna of Pacific provenance. The Farallon Plate's eastward movement forced

333-606: The Azores triple junction plate boundary where it meets the Eurasian plate and Nubian plate . and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust . The interior of the main continental landmass includes an extensive granitic core called a craton . Along most of the edges of this craton are fragments of crustal material called terranes , which are accreted to

370-759: The Central America Volcanic Arc . The usual theory of the origin of the Caribbean plate was confronted by a contrasting theory in 2002. The mainstream theory holds that it is the Caribbean large igneous province (CLIP) which formed in the Pacific Ocean tens of millions of years ago, perhaps originating at the Galápagos hotspot . As the Atlantic Ocean widened, North America and South America were pushed westward, separated for

407-775: The Dumisseau Formation in Haiti, dating both locations back to the original LIP formation 94 Ma. CLIP volcanism originates from the plume -like source distinct from a MORB (mid-ocean ridge basalt) mantle . The long duration of CLIP volcanism can be explained by the interaction between a plume and the Greater Antilles subduction zone. The margins of the CLIP have been uplifted and are exposed above sea level, which makes it unique among oceanic plateaus. It stretches 2,500 km (1,600 mi) east to west and 1,300 km (810 mi) north to south. The CLIP

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444-801: The Fifteen-Twenty fracture zone around 16°N. On the northerly boundary is a continuation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge called the Gakkel Ridge . The rest of the boundary in the far northwestern part of the plate extends into Siberia . This boundary continues from the end of the Gakkel Ridge as the Laptev Sea Rift , on to a transitional deformation zone in the Chersky Range , then the Ulakhan Fault between it and

481-531: The Gonâve microplate , and the parallel Puerto Rico Trench running north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and bounding the Puerto Rico–Virgin Islands microplate , are also a part of the boundary. The rest of the southerly margin which extends east to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and marks the boundary between the North American plate and the South American plate is vague but located near

518-540: The Leeward Antilles ) and Colombia . This boundary is in part the result of transform faulting , along with thrust faulting and some subduction. The rich Venezuelan petroleum fields possibly result from this complex plate interaction. The Caribbean plate is moving eastward about 22 millimetres (0.87 in) per year in relation to the South American plate. In Venezuela, much of the movement between

555-788: The Miocene period and are still geologically active, creating earthquakes and volcanoes. The Yellowstone hotspot is most notable for the Yellowstone Caldera and the many calderas that lie in the Snake River Plain , while the Anahim hotspot is most notable for the Anahim Volcanic Belt in the Nazko Cone area. For the most part, the North American plate moves in roughly a southwest direction away from

592-588: The North American and South American Plates began to create oceanic crust off Colombia's Pacific coast by the end of the Jurassic (150 Ma). This divergence, which continued until at least 66 Ma, first resulted in a " proto-Caribbean spreading ridge " between these plates flanked by a perpendicular transform zone on its Pacific side. By 135–130 Ma, the subduction of the Farallon Plate had begun along this transform zone , effectively modifying it into

629-991: The Okhotsk microplate , and finally the Aleutian Trench to the end of the Queen Charlotte Fault system (see also: Aleutian Arc ). The westerly boundary is the Queen Charlotte Fault running offshore along the coast of Alaska and the Cascadia subduction zone to the north, the San Andreas Fault through California , the East Pacific Rise in the Gulf of California , and the Middle America Trench to

666-595: The Virgin Islands . Part of the Puerto Rico Trench , the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean (roughly 8,400 metres or 27,600 feet), lies along this border. The Puerto Rico Trench is at a complex transition from the subduction boundary to the south and the transform boundary to the west. The eastern boundary is a subduction zone, the Lesser Antilles subduction zone , where oceanic crust of

703-671: The 76 Ma and 55 Ma event are related to lithospheric thinning in the Central Caribbean. Ar/ Ar dating have determined that the main magmatism occurred 95 to 83 million years ago (Ma) while a second pulse occurred 81-69 Ma. Around 86 Ma the arrival of a large plume initiated the Galápagos hotspot which resulted in volcanism over large parts of the Caribbean Plate and north-west South America. Renewed volcanism about 75 Ma has been attributed to either

740-489: The Caribbean plate and the South American plate occurs along the faults of Boconó , El Pilar , and San Sebastián . The western portion of the plate is occupied by Central America. The Cocos plate in the Pacific Ocean is subducted beneath the Caribbean plate, just off the western coast of Central America. This subduction forms the volcanoes of Guatemala , El Salvador , Nicaragua , and Costa Rica , also known as

777-842: The Caribbean plate. What would eventually become present-day Central America, part of the western plate boundary, was still isolated in the Pacific. 58.5 to 56.5 Ma , during the Late Paleocene , a local sea-level low-stand assisted by the continental uplift of the western margin of South America, resulted in a fully operative land bridge over which several groups of mammals apparently took part in an interchange. For example, specimens have been assigned to xenarthra , didelphidae , and phorusrhacidae from Eocene North America and Europe (although these have been criticized ), and Peradectes from Paleocene South America. The Great American Interchange in which land and freshwater fauna migrated between North America and South America via

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814-709: The Farallon plate. The boundary along the Gulf of California is complex. The gulf is underlain by the Gulf of California Rift Zone , a series of rift basins and transform fault segments from the northern end of the East Pacific Rise in the mouth of the gulf to the San Andreas Fault system in the vicinity of the Salton Trough rift/ Brawley seismic zone . It is generally accepted that a piece of

851-436: The Galápagos hotspot, thinning of the lithosphere coupled with associated melting and upwelling of plume-head material, or both. Seismic and geochemical analyses, on the other hand, suggest the CLIP consists of several oceanic plateaus and palaeo- hotspot tracks formed 139-83 Ma some of which have been overprinted by later magmatism. If these first volcanic activities were generated by the Galápagos hotspot, it would make it

888-664: The Late Cretaceous. This migration eventually resulted in a volcanic arc stretching from northwestern South America to the Yucatán Peninsula , today represented by the Aves Islands and the Lesser and Greater Antilles . This arc was the subject of constant tectonism and sea-level fluctuation, but lasted until the mid-Eocene and intermittently formed a land bridge along the eastern and northern boundaries of

925-476: The Mid-Atlantic Ridge at a rate of about 2.3 centimeters (~1 inch) per year. At the same time, the Pacific plate is moving to the northwest at a speed of between 7 and 11 centimeters (~3-4 inches) per year. The motion of the plate cannot be driven by subduction as no part of the North American plate is being subducted, except for a small section comprising part of the Puerto Rico Trench ; thus other mechanisms continue to be investigated. One study in 2007 suggests that

962-448: The North American plate was broken off and transported north as the East Pacific Rise propagated northward, creating the Gulf of California. However, it is as yet unclear whether the oceanic crust between the rise and the mainland coast of Mexico is actually a new plate beginning to converge with the North American plate, consistent with the standard model of rift zone spreading centers generally. A few hotspots are thought to exist below

999-528: The North American plate. The most notable hotspots are the Yellowstone (Wyoming), Jemez Lineament (New Mexico), and Anahim (British Columbia) hotspots. These are thought to be caused by a narrow stream of hot mantle convecting up from the Earth's core–mantle boundary called a mantle plume , although some geologists think that upper mantle convection is a more likely cause. The Yellowstone and Anahim hotspots are thought to have first arrived during

1036-489: The Pacific. The more recent theory asserts that the Caribbean plate came into being from an Atlantic hotspot which no longer exists. This theory points to evidence of the absolute motion of the Caribbean plate which indicates that it moves westward, not east, and that its apparent eastward motion is only relative to the motions of the North American plate and the South American plate . The Caribbean plate began its eastward migration 80  million years ago (Ma) during

1073-606: The South American plate is being subducted under the Caribbean plate. Subduction forms the volcanic islands of the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc from the Virgin Islands in the north to the islands off the coast of Venezuela in the south. This boundary contains seventeen active volcanoes, most notably Soufriere Hills on Montserrat ; Mount Pelée on Martinique ; La Grande Soufrière on Guadeloupe ; Soufrière Saint Vincent on Saint Vincent ; and

1110-732: The craton by tectonic actions over a long span of time. Much of North America west of the Rocky Mountains is composed of such terranes. The southern boundary with the Cocos plate to the west and the Caribbean plate to the east is a transform fault , represented by the Swan Islands Transform Fault under the Caribbean Sea and the Motagua Fault through Guatemala . The parallel Septentrional and Enriquillo–Plantain Garden faults running through Hispaniola and bounding

1147-645: The northern half of the CLIP into the ocean basin that had opened between North and South America starting in the Jurassic. However, the mechanisms causing the NE movement of the CLIP remains unclear, especially considering the subduction in the Costa Rica-Panama arc initiated during the Campanian (83–72 Ma). The Galápagos hotspot is probably responsible for the main plume-related magmatic event 90 Ma, whilst

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1184-483: The oceanic crust is 2–3 times as thick as normal oceanic crust (15–20 km (9.3–12.4 mi) vs 7 km (4.3 mi). Its composition is similar to that of the Ontong Java Plateau . Geochemical and geochronological evidences clearly indicate that the Galápagos hotspot initiated the formation of the CLIP 95-90 Ma in the eastern Pacific. From there it move north-east with the Farallon Plate between

1221-424: The plateau have been exposed on its margins at the North American and South American plates. The volcanism took place between 139 and 69 million years ago ( Ma ), with the majority of activity appearing to lie between 95 and 88 Ma. The plateau volume has been estimated as on the order of 4 million km (0.96 million cu mi). It has been linked to the Galápagos hotspot . Divergence between

1258-499: The south. On its western edge, the Farallon plate has been subducting under the North American plate since the Jurassic period. The Farallon plate has almost completely subducted beneath the western portion of the North American plate, leaving that part of the North American plate in contact with the Pacific plate as the San Andreas Fault. The Juan de Fuca , Explorer , Gorda , Rivera , Cocos and Nazca plates are remnants of

1295-420: The submarine volcano Kick 'em Jenny which lies about 10 km north of Grenada . Large historical earthquakes in 1839 and 1843 in this region are possibly megathrust earthquakes. Along the geologically complex southern boundary, the Caribbean plate interacts with the South American plate forming Barbados , Trinidad and Tobago (all on the Caribbean plate), and islands off the coast of Venezuela (including

1332-634: The two American plates until it collided with a volcanic arc , the Greater Antilles 60 million years later. Fragments of this voyage is preserved in accreted seamounts along the Central American coast and the Cocos and Carnegie Ridges . Isotopic profiles of Galápagos rocks can be matched with those from CLIP rocks. 92–63 Ma Ar/ Ar ages have been reported for the Curaçao Lava Formation and 94–83 ma for

1369-589: The uplifted western margin of the Caribbean plate ( Central America ) was a later event, which peaked dramatically around 2.6 million years ( Ma ) ago during the Piacenzian age.       Gómez Tapias, Jorge; Montes Ramírez, Nohora E.; Almanza Meléndez, María F.; Alcárcel Gutiérrez, Fernando A.; Madrid Montoya, César A.; Diederix, Hans (2015). Geological Map of Colombia . Servicio Geológico Colombiano . pp. 1–212 . Retrieved 2019-10-29 . North American plate The North American plate

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