Caribbean–Americas plate boundary in Guatemala and southern Mexico as seen on Skylab IV orbital photography

Muehlberger, William R.; Ritchie, A.

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1975)3<232:cpbiga>2.0.co;2

Cited by 58 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…19,20), these putative hybrids, by representing a distinct historical event, could be treated as the equivalent of a sixth taxon in both Heterandria and Xiphophorus. The probability that the two five-taxon configurations with the sixth reticulate element Muehlberger and Ritchie, 1975).…”

Section: 'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vicariant Patterns and Historical Explanation in Biogeography

Rosen¹

1978

Systematic Zoology

690

536

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Section: 'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vicariant Patterns and Historical Explanation in Biogeography

Rosen¹

1978

Systematic Zoology

690

536

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“…The last large earthquake (Mw ~7.5) in Guatemala occurred in February 1976, ruptured 230 km of the Motagua fault with an average slip observed at the surface of 1.4 m (Plafker 1976), and locally activated the northwestern part of the Guatemala-city graben ( Figure 1). The trace of the Jocotan fault in Guatemala is cut by Pliocene or Pleistocene grabens, and evidences of activity on the Jocotan fault are conxsidered by Muehlberger and Ritchie (1975) anterior to this period.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Seismicity and Crustal Structure of the Polochic-Motagua Fault System Area (Guatemala)

Franco

Molina

Lyon‐Caen

et al. 2009

Seismological Research Letters

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Seismological Research Letters, vol. 80, n°6, pp. 977-984, 2009International audienceWe report results from a six-month seismological experiment in the area of the eastern Polochic-Motagua fault system (Guatemala) designed to both characterize the present seismicity and bring some constraints on the lithospheric structure. The seismic activity occurs in the upper 15 km of the crust, on the Polochic and the Motagua faults as well as in a NS-trending graben south of the Motagua fault and within the active folds north of the Polochic fault. From receiver function analysis the Moho discontinuity is found at about 35 km depth north of the Polochic fault and south of the Motagua fault, while the region in between is characterized by a 4-to-6-km thinner crust or by a 6–7% decrease of the Vp/Vs ratio

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“…We have placed the boundary between the southern Maya terrane and Chortis terrane along the Motagua fault in central Guatemala, one of three east-west-striking faults that probably form the boundary between the North America and Caribbean plates (Molnar and Sykes, 1969;Dengo, 1972;Malfait and Dinkelman, 1972;Muehlberger and Ritchie, 1975;Schwartz and others, 1979). As discussed in Part 2, the southern boundary of the Maya terrane was the site of latest Cretaceous arc collision, northward obduction of Early Cretaceous oceanic crust, and hundreds to thousands of kilometers of postcollisional sinistral displacement.…”

Section: Maya-chortis Boundarymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…1). In Central America, the plate boundary is widely interpreted as a sinistral fault zone consisting of the Motagua fault (site of a M s = 7.5 left-slip earthquake in 1976), the Polochic (sometimes called Cuilco-Chixoy-Polochic) fault, and the Jocotán-Chamelecón fault (Malfait and Dinkelman, 1972;Muehlberger and Ritchie, 1975;Bo win, 1976;Plafker, 1976;Burkart, 1978Burkart, , 1983Schwartz and others, 1979;Sykes and others, 1982). All three faults have strong topographic expression and the Motagua and Polochic faults are interpreted to be active, but rates of displacement are unknown and demonstrable Quaternary sinistral offsets are minimal (Plafker, 1976;Schwartz and others, 1979;Burkart and others, 1987).…”

Section: Caribbean-north America Plate Boundarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tectonostratigraphic Terranes and Tectonic Evolution of Mexico

Sedlock¹,

Ortega-Gutiérrez²,

Speed³

1993

Geological Society of America Special Papers

228

256

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Part 1 of this work (Sedlock, Ortega-Gutiérrez, and Speed) is a synthesis of geoscientific data pertaining to México and northern Central America using the framework of a new division of these regions into tectonostratigraphic terranes. First, we review the morphotectonic provinces and the modern plate tectonic framework of the region. Next, we present data for 17 terranes that, except for North America, are named after indigenous cultures. Terrane descriptions are based on published and unpublished geophysical and geologic data of all types, utilizing a much more extensive data base than that used in previous terrane divisions. Each terrane description includes, if possible, an interpretive geologic and tectonic history focusing on distinctive features; a description of constituent rock units, with extended descriptions of especially significant or controversial units; a schematic tectonostratigraphic column, which in many cases shows geographic variation in the form of a structure section; and a compilation of radiometric data, including dates, system used, errors, and sources. Finally, we discuss the rationale for distinguishing individual terranes and summarize data concerning the orientation, nature, and kinematic history of terrane boundaries. An extended reference list is included.Part 2 of this work (Sedlock, Speed, and Ortega-Gutiérrez) is a speculative model of the Late Precambrian to Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the terranes that comprise México and northern Central America. First, we discuss numerous formal premises on which the model is predicated, including Late Jurassic sinistral slip on the Mojave-Sonora Megashear and Late Cretaceous-Paleogene northward displacement of Baja California. Next, we review constraints imposed by plate motion models on the tectonic evolution of the region. Finally, we present a reconstruction of the tectonic evolution of the region that, while certainly not a unique solution, is an internally consistent solution that is testable in many respects.The following are a few of the salient features of the reconstruction. (1) Grenville basement in eastern and southern México is regarded to be far-traveled with respect to the southern termination of the Grenville belt in North America. (2) The late Paleozoic Ouachitan suture that marks the collision of North America and Gondwana does not and did not extend into central México. (3) The Permo-Triassic continental arc on the western margin of Pangea affected only the far eastern edge and far northwestern corner of México; most of what is now México was a complex assemblage of arcs, continental blocks, and basins in the oceanic region west and south of the Pangean continental arc. (4) Continental México grew most markedly toward its present form during the Late Triassic and Jurassic as terranes were episodically accreted to its southern and western flanks. (5) Mesozoic southward and westward continental growth was accompanied by a southward and westward shift of the locus of arc magmatism. (6) The technically active southern and ...

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Caribbean–Americas plate boundary in Guatemala and southern Mexico as seen on Skylab IV orbital photography

Cited by 58 publications

References 0 publications

Vicariant Patterns and Historical Explanation in Biogeography

Vicariant Patterns and Historical Explanation in Biogeography

Seismicity and Crustal Structure of the Polochic-Motagua Fault System Area (Guatemala)

Tectonostratigraphic Terranes and Tectonic Evolution of Mexico

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