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Rivera Plate
The Rivera plate is a small tectonic plate (a microplate) located off the west coast of Mexico, just south of the Baja California peninsula. It is bounded on the northwest by the East Pacific Rise, on the southwest by the Rivera Transform Fault, on the southeast by a deformation zone, and on the northeast by the Middle America Trench and another deformation zone. The Rivera plate is believed to have separated from the Cocos plate located to its southeast about 5–10 million years ago. Seismicity and tomography images show that the Rivera plate dips at 40° beneath the forearc region and then dips ~70° beneath the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The subduction of the Rivera plate under the North American plate, in the Mid-American Trench, has been the cause of the strongest earthquakes in the history of Mexico, including the largest earthquake in Mexico during the 20th century which occurred on June 3, 1932 in the state of Jalisco. The quake had a magnitude of 8.2 with a mag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Tectonic Plates
This is a list of tectonic plates on Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. Plate tectonics, Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth's crust and uppermost mantle (geology), mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere. The plates are around thick and consist of two principal types of material: oceanic crust (also called ''Sima (geology), sima'' from silicon and magnesium) and continental crust (''sial'' from silicon and aluminium). The composition of the two types of crust differs markedly, with mafic basaltic rocks dominating oceanic crust, while continental crust consists principally of lower-density felsic granite, granitic rocks. Current plates Geologists generally agree that the following tectonic plates currently exist on Earth#Surface, Earth's surface with roughly definable boundaries. Tectonic plates are sometimes subdivided into three fairly arbitrary categories: ''major'' (or ''primary'') ''plates'', ''minor'' (or ''secondary'') ''plates'', and ''microplates'' (or ''tertiary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks have snow all year long, and during clear weather, they are visible to a large percentage of those who live on the many high plateaus from which these volcanoes rise. History The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt spans across central-southern Mexico from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico between 18°30'N and 21°30'N, resting on the southern edge of the North American plate. This approximately 1000 kilometer long, 90–230 km broad structure is an east–west, active, continental volcanic arc; encompassing an area of approximately 160,000 km2. Over several million years, the subduction of the Rivera Plate, Rivera and Cocos Plate, Cocos Tectonic plate, plates beneath the North American plate along the northern end of the Middle America Trench formed the Trans-Me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geology Of Central America
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology. It is integrated with Earth system science and planetary science. Geology describes the structure of the Earth on and beneath its surface and the processes that have shaped that structure. Geologists study the mineralogical composition of rocks in order to get insight into their history of formation. Geology determines the relative ages of rocks found at a given location; geochemistry (a branch of geology) determines their absolute ages. By combining various petrological, crystallographic, and paleontological tools, geologists are able to chronicle the geological history of the Earth as a whole. One aspect is to demonstrate the age of the Earth. Geology provides evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geology Of Mexico
The geography of Mexico describes the geographic features of Mexico, a country in the Americas. Mexico is located at about 23° N and 102° W in the southern portion of North America. From its farthest land points, Mexico is a little over in length. Mexico is bounded to the north by the United States (specifically, from west to east, by California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico, and to the southeast by Belize, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea. The northernmost constituent of Latin America, it is the most populous List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexico is the world's 13th largest country, three times the size of Texas. Almost all of Mexico is on the North American Plate, with small parts of the Baja California Peninsula in the northwest on the Pacific Plate, Pacific and Cocos Plates. Some geographers include the portion east of the Isth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tectonic Plates
Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed during the first decades of the 20th century. Plate tectonics came to be accepted by geoscientists after seafloor spreading was validated in the mid-to-late 1960s. The processes that result in plates and shape Earth's crust are called ''tectonics''. Tectonic plates also occur in other planets and moons. Earth's lithosphere, the rigid outer shell of the planet including the crust and upper mantle, is fractured into seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates or "platelets". Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of plate boundary (or fault): , , or . The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 10 cm annually. Faults tend to be geologically active, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colima
Colima, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima, is among the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima is a small state of western Mexico on the central Pacific coast, and includes the four oceanic Revillagigedo Islands. Mainland Colima shares borders with the states of Jalisco and Michoacán. In addition to the capital city of Colima, the main cities are Manzanillo, Villa de Alvarez and Tecomán. Colima is the fourth smallest state in Mexico and has the smallest population, but has one of Mexico's highest standards of living and the lowest unemployment. It is also the state with the highest murder rate per capita and one of the highest crime rates, due to its ports being a contested area for cartels. Geography The state covers a territory of 5,455 km2 and is the fourth smallest federal entity after Tlaxcala, Morelos and the Federal District of Mexico City, containing on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003 Colima Earthquake
An earthquake struck the Pacific Coast of Mexico on 21 January 2003 with a moment magnitude of 7.5. It had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe''). The epicenter was located on the Pacific coast near the Mexican state of Colima. The earthquake killed 29 people, injured 1,073 others and damaged over 43,300 homes across five states, with minor damage also occurring in Mexico City. The earthquake was felt as far away as the states of Texas and Louisiana. Tectonic setting This shallow earthquake occurred in a seismically active zone near the coast of central Mexico. The earthquake occurred near the juncture of three tectonic plates: the North American plate to the northeast, the Rivera plate to the northwest, and the Cocos plate to the south. Both the Rivera plate and the Cocos plate are being subsumed beneath the North American plate. The slower subducting Rivera plate is moving northwest at about 2 cm per year relative to the North American plate and the faster Cocos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1995 Colima–Jalisco Earthquake
The 1995 Colima–Jalisco earthquake occurred on October 9 at 15:35 UTC with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe''). The shock occurred off the coast of Jalisco, Mexico, where a tsunami was triggered that affected a stretch of the coast. The earthquake could be felt in Mexico City and in high-rise buildings in Dallas and Houston. In Mexico, the Cihuatlan-Manzanillo was the most severely affected area. At least 49 people died and 100 were injured. Tectonic setting This earthquake occurred in the area where the Rivera plate subducts beneath the North American plate. It was the result of the relative movements between the North American plate, the Rivera plate, and the Cocos plate. Damage Although the tsunami affected a 200 km stretch of coast, severe damage was confined to areas with shallow shoreline topography. Most of the flooding occurred in the Tenacatita Bay area. Landslides blocked roads between Guadalajara and Manzanillo. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1932 Jalisco Earthquakes
The 1932 Jalisco earthquakes began on June 3 at 10:36 UTC with a megathrust event that registered 8.1 on the moment magnitude scale. With a maximum perceived intensity of X (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli intensity scale, at least 400 deaths were caused in Mexico and neighboring Guatemala. It was the first of a series of seismic events that affected parts of western Mexico during the month of June 1932, all reaching magnitude 7 or greater. The Mexican subduction zone, the Middle America Trench, is seismically active and has generated both destructive and non-destructive tsunamis. Each earthquake in the series caused significant damage, injuries, and deaths, and in each case tsunamis of various heights were generated, with the June 22 catastrophic tsunami in Cuyutlán and San Blas being described as one of the most destructive events in the region based on all available historical records. Tectonic setting This part of Mexico lies on a complex convergent boundary where the Rivera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle America Trench
The Middle America Trench is a major subduction zone, an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America, stretching from central Mexico to Costa Rica. The trench is 1,700 miles (2,750 km) long and is 21,880 feet (6,669 m) at its deepest point. The trench is the boundary between the Rivera, Cocos, and Nazca plates on one side and the North American and Caribbean plates on the other. It is the 18th-deepest trench in the world. Many large earthquakes have occurred in the area of the Middle America Trench. Division The Middle America Trench can be divided into a northern and a southern section. The division, however, is not the same in its seaward side and its landward side. In the seaward side, the northern section, called the Acapulco Trench, runs from Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
