Chixoy-Polochic Fault: Difference between revisions
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The Chixoy-Polochic fault separates the largely crystalline rocks of the [[Sierra de Chuacús]] and [[Sierra de las Minas]] to the south from the sedimentary rocks of the [[Sierra de los Cuchumatanes]] and the [[Sierra de Chamá]] to the north. The chixoy-Polochic fault was particularly active during the [[Laramide orogeny]] which occurred during the early [[Tertiary]].<ref>{{cite book |
The Chixoy-Polochic fault separates the largely crystalline rocks of the [[Sierra de Chuacús]] and [[Sierra de las Minas]] to the south from the sedimentary rocks of the [[Sierra de los Cuchumatanes]] and the [[Sierra de Chamá]] to the north. The chixoy-Polochic fault was particularly active during the [[Laramide orogeny]] which occurred during the early [[Tertiary]].<ref>{{cite book |
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|last=Lovell |first=William George |title=Conquest and Survival in Colonial Guatemala: A Historical Geography of the Cuchumatán Highlands, 1500-1821 |year=2005 |publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]] |location=Montreal/Kingston |isbn=978-0773527416 |pages=19}}</ref> While recent |
|last=Lovell |first=William George |title=Conquest and Survival in Colonial Guatemala: A Historical Geography of the Cuchumatán Highlands, 1500-1821 |year=2005 |publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]] |location=Montreal/Kingston |isbn=978-0773527416 |pages=19}}</ref> While recent seismic activity is more prominent in the Motagua fault, some studies suggest the Chixoy-Polochic Fault is still capable of producing major earthquakes, like the [[1816 Guatemala earthquake]] with an estimated magnitude of 7.5 - 7.8 [[Moment magnitude scale|M<sub>w</sub>]].<ref>{{cite journal | last= White | first =Randall A. | title =The Guatemala earthquake of 1816 on the Chixoy-Polochic fault | journal =Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America | volume =75 | issue =2 | pages =455–473 | publisher =Seismological Society of America | location = | date = | url=http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/75/2/455 | accessdate =2009-05-28 }}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:Plate tectonics]] |
[[Category:Plate tectonics]] |
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[[Category:Earthquakes in Guatemala| ]] |
[[Category:Earthquakes in Guatemala| ]] |
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[[Category:Geographic areas of seismological interest |
[[Category:Geographic areas of seismological interest]] |
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Revision as of 14:20, 29 May 2009
The Chixoy-Polochic Fault, also known as Cuilco-Chixoy-Polochic Fault, is a major fault zone in Guatemala and southwestern Mexico. It runs in a light arc from the east coast of Guatemala to Chiapas, following the deep valleys of the Polochic River, Chixoy River and Cuilco River.
The Chixoy-Polochic Fault runs largely parallel to the Motagua Fault situated to its south. Both fault zones are onshore extensions of the Bartlett Deep, or Cayman Trench of the Caribbean Sea, which marks the tectonic boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate.
The Chixoy-Polochic fault separates the largely crystalline rocks of the Sierra de Chuacús and Sierra de las Minas to the south from the sedimentary rocks of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes and the Sierra de Chamá to the north. The chixoy-Polochic fault was particularly active during the Laramide orogeny which occurred during the early Tertiary.[1] While recent seismic activity is more prominent in the Motagua fault, some studies suggest the Chixoy-Polochic Fault is still capable of producing major earthquakes, like the 1816 Guatemala earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.5 - 7.8 Mw.[2]
References
- ^ Lovell, William George (2005). Conquest and Survival in Colonial Guatemala: A Historical Geography of the Cuchumatán Highlands, 1500-1821. Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0773527416.
- ^ White, Randall A. "The Guatemala earthquake of 1816 on the Chixoy-Polochic fault". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 75 (2). Seismological Society of America: 455–473. Retrieved 2009-05-28.