Caribbean plate tectonics. Block artwork showing the formation of the arc of volcanic islands of the Lesser Antilles along a tectonic plate boundary (
Caribbean plate tectonics. Block artwork showing the formation of the arc of volcanic islands of the Lesser Antilles along a tectonic plate boundary (brown, arrowed line) in the Caribbean. At lower left is the Lesser Antilles subduction zone, a convergent plate boundary. Here, the oceanic crust of the South American Plate (right) is being pushed under (red arrow) the Caribbean Plate (left). The melting of the oceanic crust produces magma that rises to the surface through vents, forming volcanic islands such as Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, Montserrat and Trinidad and Tobago. The Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba are at upper centre.
Size: 3232px × 2721px
Photo credit: © CLAUS LUNAU/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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