HONDURAS GEOLOGY

 including nearby Chortis Block countries and regions

by  Rob Rogers

1) Technical updates/maps from USGS 

2) Earthquake epicenter was on the Swan Island transform fault boundary between North America and Caribbean plates.  The plate boundary is a zone of active faulting extending south from the Swan Island fault to the Nueva Esperanza fault located along the southern margin of the Aguan valley including numerous onshore and offshore faults (Rogers and Mann, 2007).  

3) Expect aftershocks for next several weeks along the Swan Island transform and the faults to the south. One has already occurred on the Nueva Esperanza fault (USGS info on aftershock)

4) The Swan Island fault is the very steep southern boundary of the 5000+ meter deep Cayman Trough.  Landslides can happen along this undersea escarpment. Aftershocks can trigger landslides.  Landslides can trigger tsunamis.  Coastal communities should keep watch on Caribbean Sea for next several weeks.  

5) NUEVOS FOLLETOS Y CARTELES DE PROTEGE A TU FAMILIA DE.......http://www.redciencia.cu/cdorigen/arca/protegefam.html  (from Manuel Iturralde-Vinent).

-Dr. Rob Rogers 5/29/2009

New publications:

Rodriguez, M., DeMets, C, Rogers, R. D., Tenorio, C., and Hernandez, D., submitted, Extension of northern Central America in response to the curved Motagua-Polochic fault zone: A GPS and modeling study, Geophysical Journal International.

R. Rogers, P. Mann, P. Emmet, and M. Venable, 2007, Colon fold-thrust belt of Honduras: Evidence for late Cretaceous collision between the continental Chortis block in P. Mann (ed) GSA Special Paper 428: Geologic and Tectonic Development of the Caribbean Plate in Northern Central America, Geological Society of America Special Paper 428, p. 129-150. (preview PDF only)

R. Rogers and P. Mann, 2007, Transtensional deformation of the western Caribbean-North America plate boundary zone in P. Mann (ed) Geologic and Tectonic Development of the Caribbean Plate in Northern Central America, Geological Society of America Special Paper 428, p. 37-64. PDF only)

R. Rogers, P. Mann, and P. Emmet, 2007, Tectonic terranes of the Chortis block based on integration of regional aeromagnetic and geologic data in P. Mann (ed) Geologic and Tectonic Development of the Caribbean Plate in Northern Central America, Geological Society of America Special Paper 428, p. 65-88. (preview

R. Rogers, P. Mann, R. Scott, and L. Patino, 2007, Cretaceous intra-arc rifting, sedimentation, and basin inversion in east-central Honduras in P. Mann  (ed) GSA Special Paper 428: Geologic and Tectonic Development of the Caribbean Plate in Northern Central America, Geological Society of America Special Paper 428, p. 89-128. PDF only)

Jordan B., Sigurdsson H., Carey S., Rogers, R., and Ehrenborg J., 2006, Geochemical correlation of Caribbean Sea tephra layers with ignimbrites, in Central America .in Neogene-Quaternary Continental Margin Volcanism: A Perspective from Mexico edited by Claus Siebe, José Luis Macías, and Gerardo J. Aguirre-Díaz, Geologic Society of America Special Paper 402, p. 175-208. (link to Ben Jordan publication's page)

C. Demets, G. Mattioli, P. Jansma, R. Rogers, C. Tenorios, and H. Turner, 2007, Present motion and deformation of the Caribbean plate: Constraints from new GPS geodetic measurements from Honduras and Nicaragua, in P. Mann (ed) GSA Special Paper 428: Geologic and Tectonic Development of the Caribbean Plate in Northern Central America, p. 21-37. (Chuck Demets' page)

B. Jordan, H. Sigurdsson, S. Carey, S. Lundin, R. Rogers, B. Singer, and M. Barquero-Molina, 2007, Petrogenesis of Central American Tertiary ignimbrites and associated Caribbean Sea tephra in P. Mann  (ed) GSA Special Paper 428: Geologic and Tectonic Development of the Caribbean Plate in Northern Central America, p. 151-179.  (link to Ben Jordan publication's page)

Jordan B., Sigurdsson H., Carey S., Rogers, R., and Ehrenborg J., 2007, Geochemical variation along and across the Central American Miocene paleoarc in Honduras and Nicaragua, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 71, p. 3581–3591.  (link to Ben Jordan publication's page)

Mann, P., Rogers, R., and Gahagan, L., 2006, Chapter 8, Overview of Plate tectonic history and its unsolved tectonic problem, in J. Buncdschud (ed) Central America : Geology, Resources, and Natural Hazards, Balkema Publishers, The Netherlands. p. 205 – 241

Rogers, R. D., 2003, Jurassic-Recent tectonic and stratigraphic history of the Chortis block of Honduras and Nicaragua (northern Central America), The University of Texas at Austin, Ph. D. dissertation, 289 p.

Rogers, R.D., H. Karason and R. van der Hilst, 2002, Epeirogenic uplift above a detached slab in northern Central America, Geology, v.30, no. 11, p1031-1034 - pdf

Tomography along Middle American Trench

Honduras Geology provides a forum for presentation and dialogue of the science of geology in Honduras. This page provides:

• new and unpublished documents, reports and observations concerning the geology of Honduras,

• announcements of research and publication information for on-going activities in the science,

• a resource to those interested in the geology of Honduras to include a bibliography of publications, sources of information, maps, active researchers, and government and industry activities,

• a dialogue into some of the outstanding and unresolved issues of geology in Honduras.