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Caribbean

Numerous tectonic plates meet in the Caribbean, some of which are converging and actively subducting. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other island, Central and South American countries sit atop this geologically complex system of interacting plates,  and all are affected by subduction directly or indirectly.

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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Seafloor Map

To help understand the origin of the unusual bathymetry, gravity, and vertical tectonics of the plate boundary and to provide constraints for hazard assessment, the morphology of the entire 770-km-long trench from the Dominican Republic in the west to Anguilla in the east was mapped with multibeam echosounder during three cruises in 2002 and 2003. Parts of the Puerto Rico Trench were previously...
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Seafloor Map

To help understand the origin of the unusual bathymetry, gravity, and vertical tectonics of the plate boundary and to provide constraints for hazard assessment, the morphology of the entire 770-km-long trench from the Dominican Republic in the west to Anguilla in the east was mapped with multibeam echosounder during three cruises in 2002 and 2003. Parts of the Puerto Rico Trench were previously...
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located at an active plate boundary between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate. Plate movements have caused large magnitude earthquakes and devastating tsunamis. The USGS has an ongoing program to identify and map the faults in this region using various geophysical and geological methods in order to estimate the location...
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located at an active plate boundary between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate. Plate movements have caused large magnitude earthquakes and devastating tsunamis. The USGS has an ongoing program to identify and map the faults in this region using various geophysical and geological methods in order to estimate the location...
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Landslide Monitoring Stations

Click on the map to view monitoring site locations. Click on the marker for a link to each site.
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Landslide Monitoring Stations

Click on the map to view monitoring site locations. Click on the marker for a link to each site.
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Tsunami Source Standardization for Hazards Mitigation in the United States

The goal of this Powell Center Working Group is to produce a collection of vetted and standardized earthquake and landslide tsunami sources that can be used to produce the meaningful hazard assessment products required for effective tsunami hazard mitigation and risk reduction. The need for a set of realistic and consistent tsunami sources was identified as a high priority at a 2016 workshop betwe
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Tsunami Source Standardization for Hazards Mitigation in the United States

The goal of this Powell Center Working Group is to produce a collection of vetted and standardized earthquake and landslide tsunami sources that can be used to produce the meaningful hazard assessment products required for effective tsunami hazard mitigation and risk reduction. The need for a set of realistic and consistent tsunami sources was identified as a high priority at a 2016 workshop betwe
Learn More