Puerto Rico (trench)

Puerto Rico is an oceanic trench located on the border of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The formation of the trough is associated with a complex transition between the subduction zone from the south along the island arc of the Lesser Antilles and the transform fault zone (plate boundary) extending eastward between Cuba and Haiti through the Cayman Trench to the coast of Central America. Studies have confirmed the possibility of significant tsunamis as a result of earthquakes in this area.

The island of Puerto Rico is located directly to the south of the trough. The length of the trough is 1754 km, the width is about 97 km, the greatest depth is 8742 m, which is the maximum depth of the Atlantic Ocean. Measurements taken in 1955 from the American vessel "Vima" showed the depth of the trough 8385 m[3]

Geological structure

Perspective view of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The Lesser Antilles are on the bottom left, and Florida is on the top right. The purple color of the bottom in the center of the image shows the location of the Puerto Rico trough

The Puerto Rico trough runs along the border of two plates that move horizontally relative to each other with a small subduction component. The Caribbean plate is moving east, and the North American plate is moving west. The North American plate is being crushed by the Caribbean Plate in the southeastern part of the Caribbean Sea. Volcanic activity is observed along the island arc southeast of Puerto Rico to the coast of South America.

Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic do not have active volcanoes on their territory, but are at risk of earthquakes and tsunamis.

Depth 8742 m

Length 1754 km

Width 97 km