Caribbean large igneous province

The Caribbean large igneous province consists of a major flood basalt, which created this large igneous province. It is the source of the current large eastern Pacific oceanic plateau, of which the Caribbean-Colombian oceanic plateau is the tectonized remnant. The deeper levels of the plateau have been exposed on its margins at the North and South American plates. The volcanism took place between 139 and 69 million years ago, with the majority of activity appearing to lie between 95 and 88 Ma. The plateau volume has been estimated as on the order of 4 x 106 km³. It has been linked to the Galápagos hotspot.[1][2]

References

  1. Sur l'âge des trapps basaltiques (On the ages of flood basalt events); Vincent E. Courtillot & Paul R. Renne; Comptes Rendus Geoscience; Vol: 335 Issue: 1, January, 2003; pp: 113-140
  2. Kaj Hoernle, Folkmar Hauff and Paul van den Bogaard, 70 m.y. history (139–69 Ma) for the Caribbean large igneous province, Geology; August 2004; v. 32; no. 8; p. 697-700 Abstract