Cayman Islands Earthquake (2010)

The Cayman Islands are located near the southern border of the North American tectonic plate , on the Caribbean Plate . The North American Plate moves westward relative to the neighboring Caribbean Plate at speeds of 0.24 to 0.43 inches per year. Since 1990, four earthquakes of magnitude six or more have occurred in the Cayman Islands. Scientists have calculated that the repetition period of destructive earthquakes of magnitude from 7.2 to 7.5 here is from 180 to 500 years ^[2] .

The Cayman Islands are the outlets of an underwater ridge associated with the Cayman Ridge. The Cayman Ridge was formed during geological time due to the interaction of tectonic plates of North America and the Caribbean. This underwater ridge extends from the Sierra Maestra ridge in Cuba to the Gulf of Honduras and the near Belize . The Cayman Ridge forms the northern outskirts of the Cayman Trench , whose width is about 250 kilometers and a depth of 5000 meters. The position of the Cayman Islands near the Oriente transform fault and the rise of the Cayman ridge shows that these three islands are separate fault blocks that were raised due to the interaction of tectonic plates of North America / Caribbean ^[3] .

A geological study of these islands showed that the Caymans have a granodiorite base, followed by a cap of basalt . The uppermost geological layer of the Caymans consists mainly of carbonates , which were formed by living organisms (corals, algae and shells) and were laid during sea level changes over the past 30 million years. The deposition of these carbonates and the formation of calcareous rocks over time occurs according to one general scheme on all three Cayman Islands. The central part of each of the Caymans is formed by significant Tertiary limestones and dolostones of the Bluff group, which were formed about 30 million years ago in the Oligocene - Miocene period. This limestone and doloston core is dissonantly surrounded by weakly lithified limestones of the iron ore suite, which were deposited at different periods during the Pleistocene . Due to the porous nature of the limestones that are present in the Cayman Islands, and also due to the lack of significant relief, there are no rivers or streams in the Cayman Islands ^[3] .

The earthquake was felt in the settlements of the Cayman Islands: , Georgetown , , as well as in Jamaica - in Kingston , and Montego Bay ^[4] .

There were no reports of casualties and damage resulting from the earthquake ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]} .

• James F. Dolan, Paul Mann. Active Strike-slip and Collisional Tectonics of the Northern Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone . - Geological Society of America, 1998-01-01. - 194 p. - ISBN 9780813723266 .