Morphotectonic study of Hispaniola

Abstract

Geomorphological analysis; aerial photographs; and geomorphologic, geological, geophysical, topographical, and field studies show that the morphology of Hispaniola can be linked to lateral variations in the geometry and tectonism of the Caribbean-North American Plate Boundary Zone. Three main categories of the relief were established: territorial units (1 megablock, 2 macroblocks, 14 mesoblocks, 209 blocks, 401 microblocks, and 527 nanoblocks), morphostructural alignments (4 first-, 1 second-, 12 third-, and 30 fourth-rank), and 16 knots between morphostructural alignments (second-to fourth-rank). The main seismic activity is concentrated on the first-and second-rank lineaments, and some important epicenters are located in the vicinity of the lineament intersections. The origin of the earthquakes in the vicinity of such knots can be explained by the forcing/pushing of macroblocks northeastward. The existence of earthquakes along the main lineaments may be explained by tension or compression in a restraining bend zone. From the current study, it appears that earthquake occurrence in Hispaniola is related with the stress concentrations in the vicinity of morphotectonic zones. A seismotectonic interpretation of Hispaniola is shown where three zones exist, each of them with a different active level and dimensions.