North Andes plate explained

The North Andes plate or North Andes block is a small tectonic plate (microplate) located in the northern Andes. It is squeezed between the faster moving South American plate and the Nazca plate to the southwest. Due to the subduction of the Coiba and Malpelo plates, this area is very prone to volcanic and seismic activity, with many historical earthquakes.

Boundaries

The North Andes plate is bound by (clockwise from north):

1. Caribbean plate
2. South American plate
3. Malpelo plate – considered a part of the Nazca plate before 2017^[1]
4. Coiba plate – considered a part of the Nazca plate before 2016^[2]
5. Panama plate

Terranes

The Colombian part of the North Andes plate is subdivided into several terranes:^[3]

Basins !! Complexes !! Ranges !! Departments !! Comments !! Notes

align=center rowspan=2	CHT	Chibcha			• Catatumbo • Cesar-Ranchería • Eastern Cordillera • VMM • VSM	Ariarí, Garzón, Floresta, Quetame, Santander<	--Complexes-->	Central, Eastern, Perijá, SNSM, San Lucas, La Macarena<	--Ranges-->	Antioquia, Arauca, Bogotá, Bolívar, Boyacá, Caquetá, Casanare, Cesar, Cundinamarca, Huila, Magdalena, Meta, Putumayo, Norte de Santander, Santander, Tolima<	--Departments-->	Largest terrane, named after Chibcha<	--Comments-->	align=center rowspan=2	[4] [5] [6]
Neoproterozoic
TA				none	Anacona<	--Complexes-->			Tiny terrane<	--Comments-->	align=center rowspan=2
Carboniferous
TT	Tahamí		<	-- -->	• Amagá • Cocinetas • VIM	Antioquia<	--Complexes-->	Central, Macuira, SNSM<	--Ranges-->		Most extensive terrane<	--Comments-->	align=center rowspan=2
Triassic
align=center	TAR	Arquía			none	Arquía			Thinly banded terrane	align=center	[7] [8] [9]
align=center	TQ	Quebradagrande			none	Quebradagrande			Thinly banded terrane	align=center	[10] [11] [12] [13]
align=center	TC	Caribe			• Cauca-Patía • Chocó • Sinú-San Jacinto • Tumaco • Urabá	Santa Cecilia-La Equis				align=center
align=center	TLG		• La Guajira		Etpana, Macuira				align=center

Tectonics

Subduction of the Coiba plate underneath the North Andes plate causes frequent earthquakes in the Bucaramanga Nest, the most seismically active area in the world. The Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault stretches along the plate for more than 600 kilometers from north to south. The plate boundary with the South American plate is most tectonically active along a more than 900 kilometer long megaregional fault system; the Eastern Frontal Fault System.

This fault system, extending into Ecuador and Venezuela all along the northern Andes, separates the terranes from the North Andes plate from:^[3]

References

Bibliography

Maps

Further reading

• Bird . Peter . An updated digital model of plate boundaries . Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems . 4 . 3 . 2003 . 1027 . 1525-2027 . 10.1029/2001GC000252 . 2003GGG.....4.1027B .

Notes and References

1. Zhang et al., 2017
2. Chiarabba et al., 2016, p.22
3. Gómez Tapias et al., 2015, p.209
4. Manosalva Sánchez et al., 2017, p.84
5. Mantilla Figueroa et al., 2015, p.42
6. Toro Toro et al., 2014, p.22
7. Plancha 364
8. Plancha 365
9. Plancha 387
10. Plancha 410
11. Plancha 411
12. Plancha 429
13. Plancha 430
14. Bonilla et al., 2016, p.19
15. Arango Mejía et al., 2012, p.25