Rivera Plate
Encyclopedia
The Rivera Plate is a small tectonic plate (a microplate) located off the west coast of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, just south of the Baja California Peninsula
Baja California Peninsula
The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...

. It is bounded on the northwest by the East Pacific Rise
East Pacific Rise
The East Pacific Rise is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It separates the Pacific Plate to the west from the North American Plate, the Rivera Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Antarctic Plate...

, on the southwest by the Rivera Transform Fault
Rivera Transform Fault
The Rivera Transform Fault is a right lateral-moving transform fault which lies along the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Mexico just south of the mouth of the Gulf of California. It runs between two segments of the East Pacific Rise, forming the southwest boundary of the...

, on the southeast by a deformation zone, and on the northeast by the Middle America Trench
Middle America Trench
The Middle America Trench is a major subduction zone, an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America, stretching from central Mexico to Costa Rica...

 and another deformation zone.

The Rivera Plate is believed to have separated from the Cocos Plate
Cocos Plate
The Cocos Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it.-Geology:...

 located to its southeast about 5-10 million years ago. The subduction of the Rivera Plate under the North American Plate in the Mid-American Trench has been the cause of the strongest earthquakes in the history of Mexico, including the largest earthquake in Mexico during the 20th century which occurred on June 3, 1932 in the state of Jalisco. The quake had a magnitude of 8.2 with a magnitude 7.8 aftershock, both of which caused widespread casualties and damage.

On October 9, 1995, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred beneath the Jalisco region and caused significant loss of life and property.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred on January 24, 2003 near Colima
2003 Colima earthquake
The 2003 Colima earthquake occurred on 21 January, and registered a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was located on the Pacific coast, in the Mexican state of Colima...

in Mexico.http://baird.si.edu/minsci/tdpmap/viewer.htm
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