Natural Hazards of the Caribbean
Due to its extensive and interesting tectonic environment, the Caribbean region is rife with natural hazards. From earthquakes and tsunamis to volcanoes and landslides, the potential for disaster in this region is remarkable. Read more... |
Accretionary Wedges
The Caribbean region has a plethora of convergent plate boundaries, some of which have resulted in a significant presence of accretionary wedges. As one plate subducts beneath another, some of the overlying material is scrapped off the subducting plate, and is juxtaposed against the material of the overlying plate (Saffer et al., 2006). It is in this manner that the accumulation of ocean floor materials such as pelagic sediments, pillowed basalts, and ophiolites occurs (Barber et al., 1989). Read more...
The Caribbean region has a plethora of convergent plate boundaries, some of which have resulted in a significant presence of accretionary wedges. As one plate subducts beneath another, some of the overlying material is scrapped off the subducting plate, and is juxtaposed against the material of the overlying plate (Saffer et al., 2006). It is in this manner that the accumulation of ocean floor materials such as pelagic sediments, pillowed basalts, and ophiolites occurs (Barber et al., 1989). Read more...
Resources in the Caribbean
Within the Caribbean, some of the most important deposits of bauxite and lateritic nickel, as well as significant deposits of gold and silver, copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, and chromium, are hosted in the Greater Antilles (Nelson, 2011). As North and South America rifted apart, metal deposits began to accumulate in the rift basins, which were later exposed, as a result of subduction on the eastern edge of the Caribbean Plate. Massive sulphide deposits formed in fore-arc basins as well as back-arc basins due to volcanic activity, also giving rise to porphyry copper and precious metal deposits in the more mature island arc (Nelson, 2011). Read more...
Within the Caribbean, some of the most important deposits of bauxite and lateritic nickel, as well as significant deposits of gold and silver, copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, and chromium, are hosted in the Greater Antilles (Nelson, 2011). As North and South America rifted apart, metal deposits began to accumulate in the rift basins, which were later exposed, as a result of subduction on the eastern edge of the Caribbean Plate. Massive sulphide deposits formed in fore-arc basins as well as back-arc basins due to volcanic activity, also giving rise to porphyry copper and precious metal deposits in the more mature island arc (Nelson, 2011). Read more...
Special Feature
The tectonics of the Caribbean region feature a plethora of interesting and unique properties. This area of the Earth is the site of the discovery of black smokers and hydrothermal vents, a rare rift-rift-rift triple junction, thought-provoking hotspots, the longest and fastest subduction zone in the world, the largest earthquake ever recorded and a famous plate motion that had massive global implications. Read more... |