Is the North American Plate subducting under the Caribbean plate?
There is also subduction on the Eastern border as oceanic crust of the South and North American Plates is being subducted beneath the Caribbean (Mann, 1999).
Where does the Caribbean plate lie to the North American Plate?
The approximately 80 million year old Caribbean Plate is roughly rectangular, and it slides eastward at about two centimeters/year relative to the North American Plate.
What type of plate boundary is the North American Plate with the Caribbean plate?
Transform North
The Transform North American/Caribbean Plate Boundary. [9] The North American plate is separated from the Caribbean plate by a left-lateral transform boundary that accommodates the westward migration of the North American plate (Figure 1).
Which plates are pushed under the Caribbean plate?
3.2. [13] Three plates subduct under the Caribbean plate (Figure 1): the North and South American plates (at the Lesser Antilles), the North American plate (at the Puerto Rico Trough) and the Cocos plate (at the Middle America Trench) [Molnar and Sykes, 1969].
Which plate is being pushed under the margin of the Caribbean plate?
The Cocos Plate
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 the Central America Volcanic Arc.
What plates surround the Caribbean plate?
Observations. The Caribbean plate is sandwiched between the North American and South American plates to the east and the Cocos, Nazca and North Andean plates to the west. Multiple complex plate boundaries contribute lots of earthquake and volcanic activity in the region.
What tectonic plates formed the Caribbean islands?
The Caribbean plate is being pushed eastward due to a thick section of the South American plate called a “cratonic keel.” This section of crust is three times thicker than its surroundings. Meanwhile, part of the South American plate is being pushed beneath the Caribbean plate, a process called subduction.
Is the Caribbean plate convergent or divergent or transform?
transform plate
In the Caribbean Sea, the U. S. Virgin Islands lie along a transform plate boundary where the small Caribbean Plate moves eastward past the oceanic part of the North American Plate.
Is the Caribbean plate convergent or divergent?
convergent plate
Near the eastern margin of the Caribbean plate there are recently active volcanoes in the lesser Antilles. These are associated with a convergent plate boundary and caused by subduction of the North American plate beneath the eastern edge of the Caribbean plate.
What plates formed the Caribbean islands?
Which plate is subducting beneath the South American Plate?
The Nazca Plate
The Nazca Plate, which underlies most of the southeastern Pacific, is being subducted beneath most of the west coast of South America at a rapid rate of 80 to 100 millimetres per year.
What type of plate boundary is formed by the southeastern Caribbean plate and South American Plate?
The eastern boundary is a subduction zone, the Lesser Antilles subduction zone, where oceanic crust of the South American Plate is being subducted under the Caribbean Plate.
What is the main tectonic process in the Caribbean?
Is the North American plate convergent or divergent?
convergent boundary
The North American Plate has a convergent boundary with the Juan de Fuca Plate. This plate is subducting beneath the North American Plate and can lead to tectonic activity in the area. The North American Plate also forms a transform boundary with the Pacific Plate.
How did the Caribbean islands formed?
The largest group of the Caribbean Islands were formed by volcanoes erupting from the ocean floor while many other islands broke off the North American continent millions of years ago. Several of the smaller islands are a result of coral buildup peeking through the ocean’s surface.
How was the Caribbean plate formed?
The Caribbean Plate began its eastward migration 80 million years ago (Ma) during 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.
Is the Caribbean Plate oceanic or continental?
oceanic
The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America.
What type of boundary occurs between the North American Plate and the African Plate?
Boundaries. The western edge of the African Plate is a divergent boundary with the North American Plate to the north and the South American Plate to the south which forms the central and southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Which plate boundary has a subduction zone?
convergent plate boundaries
Subduction zones are where the cold oceanic lithosphere sinks back into the mantle and is recycled. They are found at convergent plate boundaries, where the oceanic lithosphere of one plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of another plate.