Tectonics

Most of Mexico sits atop the North American Plate, but is also impacted by the Cocos Plate, and Pacific Plate (the three LARGEST tectonic plates). Mexico also touches the much smaller Caribbean Plate, the Pacific Plate, The Rivera Plate, and the Orozco Plate. This means that Mexico is one of the most seismically active countries in the world facing many earthquakes and volcanic activity.

"Mexico sits in the world's MOST seismically and volcanically active zone, known as the Ring of Fire."



The Baja California Peninsula is on the gigantic Pacific Plate which is part of the famous SAF (San Andreas Fault) system. 



Mexico also has a "belt" of volcanoes that cross the country from West to East (see below). This is known as the Volcanic Axis, in which altitudes range from a few hundred to several thousand meters. 



The aftermath of previous volcanic activity is found in craters, mud volcanoes, and numerous hot springs scattered throughout the Volcanic Axis, where a lot of tourism is seen today. 


Sources:

https://geo-mexico.com/?p=6277

https://geo-mexico.com/?p=6242

https://www.sciencealert.com/mexico-7-1-earthquake-2017-tectonic-plates-science


Comments

  1. Ana GGSeptember 5, 2022 at 1:26 PM

    This was a good tectonic setting reflection. Looking forward to what you'll discover in the upcoming weeks! (it seems you'll have plenty of geological activity)

    ReplyDelete

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