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The Caribbean Plate And Its Evolution, Origin And The Active Physical Process Within Tectonic Environments

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THE CARIBBEAN PLATE Evolution and Origin Ronald Gobin B00673944 Erth 4350 Professor: Nicholas Culshaw December 6th 2016 Introduction The following report will introduce the topic of the Caribbean plate and its evolution, origin and the active physical process within tectonic environments. The Pacific model will be discussed in this paper, and assumes the formation of the Caribbean plate at the Galapagos hotspot in the Pacific Ocean during the Middle Cretaceous. Regional Setting The Caribbean plate is a lithospheric plate consisting mainly of an unusually thick, oceanic plateau situated between two major continental regions, such as North and South America. The Caribbean plate is roughly 3000 km from east to west, and 800 Km from North to South and 2.64 million Km^2 area (James, Lorente, & Pindell, 2009). There are four marine areas present such as the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan basin, and the Cayman trough, which are within the surrounding of the Caribbean plate and its islands. The Cocos Plate, North American Plate, Nazca Plate and the South American Plate surround the Caribbean plate (Figure-1) (HARGRAVES, 1984). Boundaries of Caribbean Plate are from Guatemala along trend of the Cayman Trough, through the greater Antillean islands Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, south through the volcanic arc of the Lesser Antilles that bound the Caribbean plate to the east, along the northern South American continental margin, and the west coast of

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