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The
Motagua Fault (also,
Motagua Fault Zone) is a major, active left lateral-moving
transform faultA transform fault or transform boundary, also known as conservative plate boundary, is a fault which runs along the boundary of a tectonic plate. The relative motion of such plates is horizontal in either sinistral or dextral direction. Typically, some vertical motion may also exist, but the...
which cuts across
GuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population...
. It forms part of the tectonic boundary between the
North American PlateThe North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and parts of Siberia and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust. The interior of the...
and the
Caribbean PlateThe Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America....
. It is considered the onshore continuation of the Cayman Trench which runs under the
Caribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the American landmass, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest...
.
The Motagua Fault has been responsible for several major
earthquakes in GuatemalaEarthquakes are relatively frequent occurrences in Guatemala. The country lies in a major fault zone, known as the Motagua and Chixoy-Polochic fault complex, which cuts across Guatemala and forms the tectonic boundary between the Caribbean plate and the North American plate...
's history, including the one which occurred on February 4, 1976.
External links
See also
- Guatemala 1976 earthquake
- Earthquakes in Guatemala
Earthquakes are relatively frequent occurrences in Guatemala. The country lies in a major fault zone, known as the Motagua and Chixoy-Polochic fault complex, which cuts across Guatemala and forms the tectonic boundary between the Caribbean plate and the North American plate...