Tectonic Origin & History of the Chortis Block

Bathymetric and topographic map of the northwestern Caribbean showing the Laramide orogenic grain of Mexico and its inferred extension onto the Chortis block of Honduras. The late Cretaceous-early Cenozoic Laramide grain of Mexico is locally obscured by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of Neogene age. We propose that the Chortis block can be restored to its early Cenozoic position within the Laramide belt of Mexico by about 600 km of translation between points 1 and 2 and about 30 degrees of rotation (dashed pattern indicates restored Chortis block). Oroclinal trends in Honduras suggest considerable shear along the Guayape fault zone (GFZ) and do not allow precise realignment of these curved trends with straighter trends in southern Mexico.