THE CARIBBEAN REGION 0 FtofWiM* t-. ® uimlr '"K'NiVfthJ*! WMfdpki, « fi,i t v (li.iJüU -.Sir.1uU.lf. g/i«jfr/'-y« Mimi Jut/- iN SALVADOR Sii|)*onal« The Geology of North America Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 The Geology of North America Volume H The Caribbean Region Edited by Gabriel Dengo Centro de Estudios Geológicos de América Central Apartado 468 Guatemala City, Guatemala J. E. Case U.S. Geological Survey 345 Middlefield Road Menlo Park, California 94025 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Acknowledgment Publication of this volume, one of the synthesis volumes of The Decade of North American Geology Project series, has been made possible by members and friends of The Geological Society of America, corporations, and government agencies through contributions to the Decade of North American Geology fund of the Geological Society of America Foundation. Following is a list of individuals, corporations, and government agencies giving and/or pledging more than $50,000 in support of the DNAG Project: Amoco Production Company Pennzoil Exploration and ARCO Exploration Company Production Company Chevron Corporation Phillips Petroleum Company Cities Service Oil and Gas Company Shell Oil Company Diamond Shamrock Exploration Caswell Silver Corporation Standard Oil Production Company Exxon Production Research Company Oryx Energy Company (formerly Getty Oil Company Sun Exploration and Production Gulf Oil Exploration and Production Company) Company Superior Oil Company Paul V. Hoovler Tenneco Oil Company Kennecott Minerals Company Texaco, Inc. Kerr McGee Corporation Union Oil Company of California Marathon Oil Company Union Pacific Corporation and Maxus Energy Corporation its operating companies: McMoRan Oil and Gas Company Union Pacific Resources Company Mobil Oil Corporation Union Pacific Railroad Company Occidental Petroleum Corporation Upland Industries Corporation U.S. Department of Energy ® 1990 by The Geological Society of America, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data All rights reserved. The Caribbean region / edited by Gabriel Dengo, J. E. Case, p. cm. — (The Geology of North America; v. H) All materials subject to this copyright and included Includes bibliographical references and index. in this volume may be photocopied for the noncommercial ISBN 0-8137-5212-4 purpose of scientific or educational advancement. 1. Geology—Caribbean Area. I. Dengo, Gabriel. II. Case, James E., 1933- . III. Series. Copyright is not claimed on any material prepared QE71.G48 1986 vol. H by government employees within the scope of their [QE220] employment. 557 s—dc20 [557.29] 90-40295 Published by The Geological Society of America, Inc. CIP 3300 Penrose Place, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, Colorado 80301 Printed in U.S.A. Front cover: Part of the "Geological Map of Part of Guatemala and El Salvador" surveyed in 1865-1866 by Auguste Dollfus and Eugene de Montserrat. This is the oldest geological map of part of Central America and one of the first geological maps produced in the Western Hemisphere. 10 98765432 ii Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Contents Preface vii Foreword ix INTRODUCTION 1. History of geological investigation in the Caribbean region 1 Grenville Draper and Gabriel Dengo 2. Caribbaean crustal provinces; Seismic and gravity evidence 15 J. E. Case, William D. MacDonald, and Paul J. Fox 3. Northern Central America; The Maya and Chortis blocks 37 Thomas W. Donnelly, Gregory S. Home, Richard C. Finch, and Ernesto López-Ramos REGIONAL GEOLOGY 4. Geology and tectonic evolution of the northern Caribbean margin 77 John F. Lewis and Grenville Draper, with contributions by C. Bourdon, C. Bowin, P. Mattson, F. Maurrasse, F. Nagle, and G. Pardo 5. Geology of the Lesser Antilles 141 R. C. Maury, G. K. Westbrook, P. E. Baker, Ph. Bouysse, and D. Westercamp 6. The Caribbean mountain system, northern South America; A summary 167 Alirio Bellizzia and Gabriel Dengo 7. Geology of the northern Andes; An overview 177 J. E. Case, Reginald Shagam, and Robert F. Giegengack 8. The geology of southern Central America and western Colombia 201 Gregorio Escalante iii Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 iv Contents 9. Caribbean marine geology; Ridges and basins of the plate interior 231 Troy L. Holcombe, John W. Ladd, Graham Westbrook, N. Terence Edgar, and Christopher L. Bowland 10. Caribbean marine geology; Active margins of the plate boundary 261 John W. Ladd, Troy L. Holcombe, Graham K. Westbrook, and N. Terence Edgar REGIONAL GEOPHYSICS AND GEOCHEMISTRY 11. Seismicity, large earthquakes, and the margin of the Caribbean Plate 291 William R. McCann and Wayne D. Pennington 12. Review of Caribbean neotectonics 307 Paul Mann, Carlos Schubert, and Kevin Burke 13. History and tectonic setting of Caribbean magmatism 339 Thomas W. Donnelly, Dirk Beets, Michael J. Can, Trevor Jackson, Gerard Klaver, John Lewis, Rene Maury, Hans Schellenkens, Alan L. Smith, Geoffrey Wadge, and Denis Westercamp 14. Volcanism 375 Michael J. Carr and Richard E. Stoiber 15. Survey of Caribbean paleomagnetism 393 William D. MacDonald GEOLOGICAL EVOLUTION AND RESOURCES 16. Geological evolution of the Caribbean region; A plate- tectonic perspective 405 James L. Pindell and Stephen F. Barrett 17. Tectonic evolution of the Caribbean region; Alternative hypothesis 433 Anthony E. L. Morris, Irfan Taner, Howard A. Meyerhoff, and Arthur A. Meyerhoff (Supplemental references on microfiche in pocket inside back cover) 18. Metallogenic evolution of the Caribbean region 459 Stephen E. Kesler, Enrique Levy, and Cecilia Martin F. 19. Energy resources of the Caribbean region 483 Anthony E. L. Morris, Arthur A. Meyerhoff, Irfan Taner, Rafael Bueno-Salazar, and Gordon A. Young Index 511 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Contents v Plates (in accompanying slipcase) Plate 1. Bathymetry, drainage patterns, and surficial sediments of the Caribbean region T. L. Holcombe Plate 2. Crustal cross sections in the Caribbean region J. E. Case Plate 3. Crustal structure of the Caribbean region J. E. Case and W. D. MacDonald Plates 4, 5A, and 5B. Stratigraphic correlation for the circum-Caribbean region F. J-M. R. Maurrasse Plate 6. Magnetic anomaly map of the Caribbean S. A. Hall and G. K. Westbrook Plate 7. Gravity anomaly map of the Caribbean G. K. Westbrook Plates 8 and 9. Representative Caribbean seismic sections, I and II T. L. Holcombe Plate 10. Seismicity map of the Caribbean region W. D. Pennington, D. C. Chow, and W. R. McCann Plate 11. Neotectonic map of the Caribbean region P. Mann, C. Schubert, and K. Burke Plate 12. Caribbean plate tectonic history J. L. Pindell and S. F. Barrett Plate 13. Mineral deposits of the Caribbean region C. Martin F. and M. A. Soares Plate 14. Tables to accompany "Energy resources of the Caribbean region" A.E.L. Morris, A. A. Meyerhoff, R. Bueno-Salazar, I. Taner, and G. A. Young Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Preface The Geology of North America series has been prepared to mark the Centennial of The Geological Society of America. It represents the cooperative efforts of more than 1,000 individuals from academia, state and federal agencies of many countries, and industry to prepare syntheses that are as current and authoritative as possible about the geology of the North American continent and adjacent oceanic regions. This series is part of the Decade of North American Geology (DNAG) Project, which also includes eight wall maps at a scale of 1:5,000,000 that summarize the geology, tectonics, magnetic and gravity anomaly patterns, regional stress fields, thermal aspects, seismicity, and neotectonics of North America and its surroundings. Together, the synthesis volumes and maps are the first coordinated effort to integrate all available knowledge about the geology and geophysics of a crustal plate on a regional scale. The products of the DNAG Project present the state of knowledge of the geology and geophysics of North America in the 1980s, and they point the way toward work to be done in the decades ahead. This book has been a major international effort involving authors and organizations from 13 countries. In addition to the contributions from organizations and individuals acknowledged at the front of this book, major support has been provided to one of the editors (Case) by the U.S. Geological Survey. A. R. Palmer General Editor for the volumes published by The Geological Society of America J. O. Wheeler General Editor for the volumes published by the Geological Survey of Canada vii Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733266/9780813754567_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Foreword It is a pleasure to present to the geological community this volume, Geology of the Caribbean region, for the Decade of North American Geology (DNAG). The volume is truly international in scope, with respect to both geography (Plate 1) and contributions from scientists of many nations. Dozens of dedicated geologists and geophysicists devoted months and years in preparing the 19 chapters and 14 plates that make up the volume. Government agencies, academic institutions, and industry organizations have provided outstanding support for the effort. Diligent reviewers spent much time with the manuscripts and maps, and found the task to be difficult because so many of the initial manuscripts exceeded space limitations.