Talk:Caribbean Plate

Panama Canal
Was Panama Chanel build on fault itself? If not why? Luka Jačov 17:53, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
 * The canal does not follow a particular fault, which is not to say that there are no faults around - there almost certainly are. The canal simply follows the lowest set of saddles in the ridge (mountain range) that marks the axis of Panama. As for "why not" - as stated, it follows the low areas, not faults.    Hope this helps - Geologyguy 18:01, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Map Inset Outdated
The map inset shows the South American Plate subducting beneath the Caribbean Plate, an older view that was not very certain even at the time the map was created, and which contradicts the current text of the article. The boundary between the North and South American Plates has now been determined to lie south of the old hypothesized boundary, with the North American Plate subducting into the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. The map should be amended, replaced or removed. Tmangray (talk) 00:32, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Boundary types section. Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago.
Under the "Boundary types" area it reads Barbados, Trinidad, and Tobago are all included on the Caribbean plate? Does anyone have a source to back this up. I recall reading that they're on the South American plate?

Here's another a diagram I've found (from.


 * http://api.ning.com/files/xvXRz*aoX9CgTe7fwnvlFUZb46-vDvR5HTeFxE*xYsUvDN1lBmT-bxIh--Cwg65EZqO-lV9rXiJ41wvet0rPr1AvHqJVuc9k/BolivarproposalFig.10.jpg?width=721

According to the key:
 * Caribbean-South American plate boundary is yellow,
 * Caribbean plate is blue,
 * South American-continental plate is green.

Barbados sits east of the accretionary prism shown in spotted green.
 * http://docs.google.com/viewer?pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi8xCTwKvMNsuKEUirf356rp6R9lqsddX_1AZOLCRAP9nDpHgc2BzG2CuwLTVU54meC3kp0PKwpOaooVSimvbQE_WFbTK0sIA7XC1RSsp7ftUcMvyFoEjY8gLka4Q0aYg29Flad&q=cache%3AunIzs9s3pIEJ%3Awww.clays.org%2Fjournal%2Farchive%2Fvolume%252034%2F34-4-465.pdf&docid=e3be1eff18b709ab9a02918816374635&a=bi&pagenumber=2&w=138

You may notice it states the South American plate has a tare north of Trinidad. Also on that map you can see the Atlantic plate sub-ducting below Trinidad. Barbados is to the east of Trinidad.

CaribDigita (talk) 12:03, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Boundary types section. Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago.
Under the "Boundary types" area it reads Barbados, Trinidad, and Tobago are all included on the Caribbean plate? Does anyone have a source to back this up. I recall reading that they're on the South American plate?

Here's another a diagram I've found (from.


 * http://api.ning.com/files/xvXRz*aoX9CgTe7fwnvlFUZb46-vDvR5HTeFxE*xYsUvDN1lBmT-bxIh--Cwg65EZqO-lV9rXiJ41wvet0rPr1AvHqJVuc9k/BolivarproposalFig.10.jpg?width=721

According to the key:
 * Caribbean-South American plate boundary is yellow,
 * Caribbean plate is blue,
 * South American-continental plate is green.

Barbados sits east of the accretionary prism shown in spotted green.
 * See pg. 2

You may notice it states the South American plate has a tare north of Trinidad. Also on that map you can see the Atlantic plate sub-ducting below Trinidad. Barbados is to the east of Trinidad.

CaribDigita (talk) 12:09, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Theories of origin
The origin of the Caribbean Plate is indeed a matter of debate, but the article currently puts neither case well. The 'Pacific Origin' theory has been around longest, as far as I know, being proposed by Edgar et al in 1971. The main proponent for the theory these days is Jim Pindell e.g. a page from his website, but also see Kennan & Pindell 2009. This model is also supported by Paul Mann's group - e.g.. The alternative 'in situ origin' has been suggested by Keith James, amongst others e.g. Meschede & Frisch. Both models come in a number of flavours and there's even a third 'Pirate' model from Keppie. Producing a section of this article that discusses the origin of the Caribbean Plate, while keeping a balanced view, is not a trivial exercise. At some point I will try to produce such a section, if no-one beats me to it, but it will likely take a while. Mikenorton (talk) 10:42, 22 December 2014 (UTC)