Malpelo Plate
Malpelo Plate | |
---|---|
Type | Micro |
Coordinates | 03°14′N 81°14′W / 3.233°N 81.233°WCoordinates: 03°14′N 81°14′W / 3.233°N 81.233°W |
Movement1 | East |
Features | Bordering: Coiba Plate (north) North Andes Plate (east) Nazca Plate (south) Cocos Plate (west) Basins: |
1Relative to the African Plate |
The Malpelo Plate is a small tectonic plate (microplate) located off the coasts west of Ecuador and Colombia. It is the 57th plate to be identified. It is named after Malpelo Island, the only emerged part of the plate. It is bounded on the west by the Cocos Plate, on the south by the Nazca Plate, on the east by the North Andes Plate, and on the north by the Coiba Plate, separated by the (CTF). This microplate was previously assumed to be part of the Nazca Plate. The Malpelo Plate borders three major faults of Pacific Colombia, the north to south striking Bahía Solano Fault in the north and the Naya-Micay and Remolino-El Charco Faults in the south.
Description[]
The Malpelo Plate was identified by a non-closure of the Nazca-Cocos-Pacific plate motion circuit, reported by and lead-researcher et al. of Rice University in a paper published in August 2017.[1] The existence of the plate has been hypothesised before.[2] The formation of the oceanic crust of the plate has been estimated to be since the Middle Miocene (14.7 Ma).[3]
The researchers used a Columbia University database of multibeam sonar soundings west of Ecuador and Colombia to identify a diffuse plate boundary that runs from the Panama Transform Fault (PTF) eastward to where the boundary intersects a deep oceanic trench just offshore of the South American coast, north of the Galapagos Islands.[1]
Gallery[]
Former plate boundaries in the Pacific, offshore western South America
Seismic activity map of Colombia
Map of Malpelo Island, namesake of the plate
Malpelo Island, the only emerged section of the plate
References[]
Bibliography[]
- Correlación de eventos sísmicos con la temperatura ambiental, en el área metropolitana de Bucaramanga, 1–167. Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Accessed 2017-09-01. . 2013.
- Plate tectonic evolution of the Cocos-Nazca spreading center. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results 170. 1–10. Accessed 2017-09-01. , and . 2000.
- The Malpelo Plate Hypothesis and implications for nonclosure of the Cocos-Nazca-Pacific plate motion circuit. Geophysical Research Letters 44. 1–6. Accessed 2017-09-01. ; ; , and . 2017.
Further reading[]
- Marine Geology 36. 65–83. , and . 1980. Submarine geology of Malpelo Ridge, Panama Basin.
- Structure of the Malpelo Ridge (Colombia) from seismic and gravity modelling. 27. 289–300. Accessed 2017-09-01. ; , and . 2006.
- Foraminíferos bentónicos recientes en las aguas profundas de la Cuenca de Panamá: ecología y su posible relación con las corrientes de fondo. 42. 31–55. Accessed 2017-09-01. , and . 2013.
- Seismic structure of Cocos and Malpelo Volcanic Ridges and implications for hot spot-ridge interaction. Journal of Geophysical Research 108. 1–21. Accessed 2017-09-01. ; ; , and . 2003.
External links[]
- Tectonic plates
- Geology of Colombia
- Geology of Ecuador
- Geology of the Pacific Ocean
- Geography of Chocó Department
- Geography of Valle del Cauca Department
- Geography of Nariño Department
- Geography of Esmeraldas Province
- Geography of Manabí Province