{"id":184,"date":"2021-11-16T09:08:42","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T08:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/?page_id=184"},"modified":"2025-09-17T20:05:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T18:05:36","slug":"histoire-geologique-de-la-caraibe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/patrimoine-naturel\/origine-et-evolution\/histoire-geologique-de-la-caraibe\/","title":{"rendered":"GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE CARIBBEAN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A formation made possible by volcanism<\/h4>\n\n\n
\n
\"d'apr\u00e8s<\/a>
Volcanic arc (red); Limestone arc (orange) Germa A. Thesis Volcano-tectonic evolution of the island of Martinique: new geochronological and geomorphological constraints, 2008)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The insular region of the Caribbean is characterized by a geological history linked to volcanoes and tectonic plates. First of all, 56 millions of years ago, various volcanoes in the area emerged from the depths of the oceans by accumulation of products erupting, creating volcanic islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years (several millions of years), the sea level has varied, that has created the coral.
When the water level rises as the volcano emerges or a part of its relief creates a shallow bedrock (not more than 30 meters deep), coral forms and hosts marine biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how the limestone arc (external arc) was formed that has not known anymore any volcanic activity for several millions of years. It was covered by limestone sediments thus
creating islands predominantly calcareous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The volcanic arc (common internal arc), for its part, is younger, has recent volcanic activity with about twenty active volcanoes (terrestrial and undersea).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, these two arcs, located near the Caribbean plate, form the insular part of the Caribbean zone. In addition, there are the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles (Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica,
Puerto Rico) located further North on the North American plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, even if they are separated (Greater and Lesser Antilles) by the Anegada passage, they
together form the Caribbean biodiversity hotspot. These are territories with rich, varied and
threatened landscapes and species. Overall, there are wet and green territories but also semi-
arid and dry islands. It\u2019s in the end this disparate set, which allows such biodiversity, that binds
them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distribution into plates<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In the Caribbean region, there are two types of plates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continental plate: Caribbean Plate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oceanic plates: North American Plate, South American Plate, Nazca Plate, Coco Plate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oceanic plates, heavier than the Caribbean (continental) plate, slide beneath it by about 2 cm every year. This phenomenon, widely observed on other plates around the globe, creates a subduction zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our case, the Caribbean plate is moving eastward and overriding the oceanic (North American) plate. This sliding, which causes explosive volcanoes, also causes the earthquakes we know today.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Map of the tectonic plates of the Caribbean region and their directions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The planet has 4 tectonic plates and 46 much smaller plates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The Caribbean plate, bedrock of the vast majority of the Caribbean islands, is divided by the North-American plate and the Gon\u00e2ve microplate. This latter, located between the north of America and the south of Cuba, extends itself and cuts Haiti at the level of its capital. This explains why Haiti and in particular its capital are victims of strong seismicity.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Thus, we can say to resume that the Caribbean islands are with a few exceptions, issued from
emerged volcanoes covered on various levels with calcareous sediments (coral layer out the
water).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, being governed by their belonging to the limestone arc or the volcanic arc, the
Caribbean islands can be divided into three categories.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1. Islands with recent and dominant volcanism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the islands located in the volcanic arc. From Saba in the North to Grenada in the
South via Dominica, Saint-Vincent and Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe with the highest peak in
the Lesser Antilles, Soufriere, culminating at 1467 m in altitude. These are islands with young
and active volcanism. They are lush and rich in biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given their relief, they are witness to the foehn effect. This phenomenon occurs when the cloud
masses located at sea level, pushed by the wind, undergo an orographic ascent (by colliding
with the relief, they rise in altitude). During this ascent, the cloud masses cool and condense,
generating orographic rains on the opposite sides. These are the sides so-called \u201cwindward\u201d of
these islands which then have a high rainfall. Thus, the islands of the volcanic arc are much
wetter and greener than the islands of the limestone arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Mixed islands with double dominance: volcanic and limestone<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guadeloupe (volcanic Basse-Terre and limestone Grande-Terre) and the Greater Antilles are
mixed territories. There is a very heterogeneous and interesting biodiversity due to this
particular geological fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guadeloupe, interesting archetype of the double dominance shows us the difference in
landscape that these two geological formations. Basse-Terre has a lush vegetation especially
at altitude and mostly evergreen (remaining green all year) while Grande-Terre has a mostly
stunted vegetation developing through sea winds and the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The island of Cuba, known for its endemic wealth, is made up of plains and low plateaus of
limestone rocks, slightly raised, limestone table crossed by volcanic rises, mountain
complexes, pit (- 7239 m), coral islets\u2026this diversity of soil and thus of habitats and landscapes
explains its specific wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
View of the island of Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
View of the island of Grande-Terre (Guadeloupe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Limestone islands<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The islands from Saint-Martin to La Grande Terre (in Guadeloupe) come from the
predominantly limestone arc with ancient and passed volcanism. These are territories with coral
basis whose reefs have the same name, they are one of the wealth of the marine world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

The exceptions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Caribbean, rich in its past and its volcanic present, also has two exceptions that are
Barbados and the Bahamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, sedimentary island Barbados was formed by an accretionary prism. This rare
phenomenon (the second in the world is Taiwan) is caused by an accumulation of sediments
which emerge from the bottom of the ocean by underwater reliefs or currents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, the Bahamas archipelago is the emerged part of a limestone plate called \u201cthe Bahamas
platform\u201d. This archipelago of 700 atolls and cays is so neither in seismic zone nor in volcanic
zone. Its highest point is only at 63 meters above the sea. The islands are actually the high
points of this wide plateau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Trinidad island was (for one part) formerly attached to the South American continent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

To conclude, we can say that the geology of the Caribbean is important to be known in order
to understand the functioning of this biodiversity hot point. It is definitely observed that with
their formation the islands are bounded, particularly through the arcs that characterize them.
These islands are interdependent although separated by water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area has about 11,000 species of plants whose 72% of them are endemic. In the marine
environment, there are 25 kinds of coral, 117 sponges, 663 mollusks, 1,400 fish,76 sharks. And
this area has about 10,000 square kilometers of reefs, 22,000 square kilometers of mangroves
and up to 33,000 square kilometers of sea grasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

La r\u00e9gion insulaire de la Cara\u00efbe se caract\u00e9rise par une histoire g\u00e9ologique li\u00e9e aux volcans et aux plaques tectoniques. Tout d’abord, il y a environ 56 millions d’ann\u00e9es divers volcans de la zone ont \u00e9merg\u00e9 des profondeurs des oc\u00e9ans par accumulation de produits \u00e9mit d’\u00e9ruption en \u00e9ruption, cr\u00e9ant des \u00eeles volcaniques.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1420,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"class_list":["post-184","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1969,"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/184\/revisions\/1969"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}