Comparison of different opinions concerning
the Caribbean Plate tectonic reconstruction
for some selected time frames
Complete references are listed below.
| Jurassic | Cretaceous | Early Tertiary Paleocene/Eocene | Late Tertiary Oligocene to Present |
Early/Middle Jurassic
 Iturralde 2000 175 Ma | Marton & Buffler Early Jurassic | Pindell 1994 175 Ma |
Ross & Scotese1988 180 Ma | |
Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous
 Giunta et al. 1999 Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous |  Kerr et al. 1999 Late Jurassic, 145 Ma | Marton & Buffler 1994 Early Cretaceous, 140 Ma |
Pindell 1994 Early Cretaceous, 130 Ma | Ross & Scotese 1988 Late Jurassic, 143.8 Ma |
Late Cretaceous
 Giunta et al. 1999 Middle-Late Cretaceous |  Iturralde 2000 Late Cretaceous, 76 Ma |  Kerr et al. 1999 Late Cretaceous, 80 Ma |
 Malfait & Dinkelman 1972 Late Cretaceous | Pindell 1994 Late Cretaceous, 76 Ma | Ross & Scotese 1988 Late Cretaceous, 84 Ma |
Early Tertiary
Paleocene/Eocene
 Giunta et al. 1999 Late Cretaceous-Paleocene |  Iturralde 2000 Paleocene, 59 Ma |  Kerr et al. 1999 Paleocene, 60 Ma |
 Malfait & Dinkelman 1972 Paleocene | Pindell 1994 Paleocene, 59 Ma | Ross & Scotese 1988 Paleocene, 59.2 Ma |
Late Tertiary
Oligocene to Present
 Giunta et al. 1999 Oligocene to Present |  Iturralde & Gahagan 2000 Early Oligocene, 35 Ma |  Malfait & Dinkelman 1972 Early Oligocene |
Pindell 1994 Early Oligocene, 35 Ma | Ross & Scotese 1988 Early Oligocene, 35.9 Ma |
References
Giunta, G., Beccaluva, L., Coltorti, M., and Siena, F., presented at the 15 Caribbean Geological Conference in Kingston Jamaica, July 1998, and to be included in the volume edited by T. Jackson. (Reconstructions are modified after this article.)
Iturralde-Vinent, M., 1998, Synopsis of the Geological Constitution of Cuba, Acta Geologica Hispanica (IGCP 433), vol. 33(1-4):9-56.
Iturralde-Vinent, M.A. and Gahagan, L.M., in press, 15th Caribbean Geological Conference in Kingston Jamaica, July 1998, T. Jackson (editor).
Kerr, A.C., Iturralde Vinent, M.A., Saunders, A.D., Babbs, T.L., and Tarney, J., 1999, A new plate tectonic model of the Caribbean: Implications from a geochemical reconnaissance of Cuban Mesozoic volcanic rocks, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 111(11): 1581-1599.
Malfait, B. T. and Dinkelman, M. G., 1972, Circum-Caribbean Tectonic and Igneous Activity and the Evolution of the Caribbean Plate, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 83 (2), p. 251-271.
Mann, P., 1999, Caribbean sedimentary basins: Classification and tectonic setting from Jurassic to Present, in Mann, P., editor, Caribbean Basins, Sedimentary Basins of the World Series, Series Editor: K. Hsu, Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, vol. 4, p. 3-31.
Marton, G., and Buffler, R.T., 1994, Jurassic reconstruction of the Gulf of Mexico Basin, International Geology Review, 36:545-586.
Meschede, M., and Frisch, W., 1998, A plate-tectonic model for the Mesozoic and Early Cenozoic history of the Caribbean plate, Tectonophysics, 296(3-4): 269-291.
Pindell, J.L., 1994, Evolution of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, in S.K. Donovan and T.A. Jackson (eds.), Caribbean Geology: An Introduction, 13-39, University of the West Indies Publisher's Association, Kingston, Jamaica. QE 220 C34 1994
Ross, M.I., and Scotese, C.R., 1988, A hierarchical tectonic model of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region, Tectonophysics, 155:139-168.
Last revised: November 9 2000
Please send comments to: Manuel Iturralde