Motagua Fault

Motagua fault

The Motagua Fault (also, Motagua Fault Zone) is a major, active left lateral-moving transform fault which cuts across Guatemala, continuing offshore along the southern Pacific coast of Mexico, returning onshore along the southernmost tip of Oaxaca, then continuing offshore until it merges with the Middle America Trench near Acapulco. It forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. It is considered the onshore continuation of the Cayman Trench which runs under the Caribbean Sea.

The Motagua Fault is regarded by some geologists as part of a system of faults designated the "Motagua-Polochic system" rather than as a discrete single boundary. The Polochic fault (also referred to as the Chixoy-Polochic Fault) lies north and parallel to the Motagua Fault and shares some of the motion between the North American and Caribbean Plates.

The Motagua Fault has been responsible for several major earthquakes in Guatemala's history, including the 7.5 M_w Guatemala 1976 earthquake.^[1]

References

↑ USGS Historic Earthquakes

External links

Tectonic plates of Central America (Pacific Plate–North American Plate–Caribbean Plate Convergence Zone)

Large	Cocos Plate Nazca Plate

Small	Rivera Plate

Faults and rift zones	Atl Fault Atoyac Fault Ballenas Fault Carmen Fault Cerro Prieto Fault Chapala Tula Fault Zone Donaji Fault Guaymas Fault Gulf of California Rift Zone Farallon Fault Imperial Fault Zone Oaxaca Fault Pedro Miguel Fault Pescadero Fault Rivera Transform Fault Polochic Fault - Motagua Fault San Lorenzo Fault Tamayo Fault

Trenches and troughs	Alarcon Basin Carmen Basin Consag Basin Delfin Basin Guaymas Basin Middle America Trench(Acapulco/Guatemala) San Pedro Martir Basin Tehuantepec Ridge Wagner Basin

Other	Rivera Triple Junction List of faults in Costa Rica List of seismic faults in Mexico

Significant seismically active faults of North America

North America
(crosses national borders)

Alaska-Aleutian megathrust (US-RU)
Basin and Range Province (US-MX)
Cascadia subduction zone (US-CA)
Clarendon-Linden fault system (US-CA)
Denali Fault (US-CA)
Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province (CA-US)
Puget Sound faults (US-CA)
Rio Grande rift (US-MX)
San Andreas Fault (US-MX)
Southern Great Lakes Seismic Zone (US-CA)
Tintina Fault (US-CA)

Canada

United States

Washington and Oregon	Brothers Fault Zone Olympic-Wallowa Lineament Puget Sound (Seattle Fault, Tacoma Fault) Walker Lane

California	Calaveras Fault Garlock Fault Hayward Fault Zone Mendocino Fracture Zone Newport–Inglewood Fault Puente Hills Fault Rose Canyon Fault San Jacinto Fault Zone (Elsinore Fault Zone)

Great Basin	Independence Valley fault system Moab Fault Teton Fault Wasatch Fault

Great Plains	Central Oklahoma Fault Zone Humboldt Fault Long Point–Eureka Heights fault system Nemaha Fault Zone Wilzetta Fault

Midwest	Marianna Fault New Madrid Seismic Zone Sandwich Fault Zone Wabash Valley Seismic Zone

Appalachian Mountains and Atlantic Coast	Aiken-Augusta Fault Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone Middleton Place-Summerville Seismic Zone (Woodstock Fault) Northern Appalachians Seismic Zone Ramapo Fault Virginia Seismic Zone

Caribbean & Mexico

Cayman Trough
Chixoy-Polochic Fault
Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone (Cuba)
Gulf of California Rift Zone
Lesser Antilles subduction zone
Middle America Trench (Central America)
Motagua Fault (Central America)
Pedro Miguel Fault
Puerto Rico Trench

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