PANAMA LOCATION TECTONIC PLATES

The plate which Panama is on is a micro plate meaning its a small plate that exist between two actively spreading ridges that moves independently of its surrounding plates, it is located between the Cocos & Nazca Plates. “The geological development of Panama is a consequence of the relative motions of the North and South American continental plates and four oceanic plates over the past 150 million years, and is a part of the larger story of the tectonic development of the Caribbean basin and Central America”. The Panama-Costa Rica arc collided with northwestern South America around 10 million years of causing the cutting off of water circulation between the Pacific and Caribbean ocean. 


The Panama micro-plate is moving northward to the Caribbean Plate. Its ongoing collision with South America occurs at a rate of approximately 10-20 millimeters a year.














sources: 
https://caribbeantectonics.weebly.com/suprasubduction-zone-microplates.html 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281558200_Tectonic_development_of_Panama_Costa_Rica_and_the_Colombian_Andes_Constraints_from_Global_Positioning_System_geodetic_studies_and_gravity 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Plate 



Comments

  1. Ana GGSeptember 5, 2022 at 11:16 AM

    This was a very nice tectonic introduction. Can you also add the sources of information you used?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Final Hazards Report on Panama

Image
Panama has a variety of rain-forests, a desert, and beaches located on both coastlines, the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. It connects both North and South America. It is shaped almost like an S shape, with its Caribbean coastline being 800 miles  and the pacific one being 1,060 miles long, which lead to the that connect Panama to Costa Rica and the Colombian border. That being said Panama has natural hazards just like any other country, two of those being earthquakes and floods. Because of Panama's tectonic plates there are earthquakes that happen in Panama there are partly large earthquakes with strengths of more than 7.0, which cause damages within a radius of over 100 kilometers. Due to the special tectonic situation of the country, there are more earthquakes than average.  The Panamanian shelf break and inland adds a higher degree of tectonic complexity to the area. The Panama micro-plate is moving northward to the Caribbean Plate. Its ongoing collision with South America oc
Read more

Panama Coastal Erosion

Image
    Regional variations exist due to natural winds and ocean currents, which occur over time. But  other factors can also play an important role, such as uplift or subsidence of the ground, changes in water tables due to water extraction or other water management, and even due to the effects from local erosion. Panama's  sea levels have risen creating stress on the physical coastline, but also on coastal ecosystems.  "Saltwater intrusions can contaminate freshwater aquifers, many of which sustain municipal and agricultural water supplies and natural ecosystems. As global temperatures continue to warm, sea level will keep rising for a long time because there is a substantial lag to reaching an equilibrium".  Historical Sea Surface Temperatures  and  Historical Sea Level Anomalies  (satellite observations),   and  Future Sea Level Rise Projections  (model-based).  Projected Coastal Inundation due to Mean Sea Level Rise  and  Projected Coastal Inundation due to Mean Sea Leve
Read more