- Rivera Plate
The Rivera Plate is a small
tectonic plate (a microplate) located off the west coast ofMexico , just south of theBaja California Peninsula . It is bounded on the northwest by theEast Pacific Rise , on the southwest by theRivera Transform Fault , on the southeast by a deformation zone, and on the northeast by theMiddle America Trench and another deformation zone.The Rivera Plate is believed to have separated from the
Cocos Plate 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 in Mexico.
ee also
*
Rivera Triple Junction
*Cocos Plate
*Juan de Fuca Plate
*Farallon Plate References
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=JwLwYmhVORQC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=Rivera+Transform+fault&source=web&ots=UY1Ip3NocH&sig=xYd0yhH3dJzhBj6ZfS33EnSP37c&hl=en]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993GeoRL..20.2391P]
* [http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/demets.html]
* [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V72-400X0YP-7&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=2ffdda540f6988cba08121ca3f235fc6]
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