Offset across the Polochic fault of Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

Research Article| June 01, 1978 Offset across the Polochic fault of Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico Burke Burkart Burke Burkart 1Department of Geology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Burke Burkart 1Department of Geology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1978) 6 (6): 328–332. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1978)6<328:OATPFO>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Burke Burkart; Offset across the Polochic fault of Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. Geology 1978;; 6 (6): 328–332. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1978)6<328:OATPFO>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Polochic fault is seen on LANDSAT imagery to continue its westward path from northwestern Guatemala across the Chiapas massif to the Pacific coastal plain. The fault has had 132 ± 5 km of left-lateral displacement that is recorded in the offset of Cenozoic fold and thrust belt structure and stratigraphy. The trace of the Polochic fault has been folded into what approximates a sinusoidal curve of about 130-km wave length and 7-km amplitude by an essentially east-west compressive stress. The curious similarity in displacement and fold wavelength results in a premovement reconstruction that reveals not only a match across the fault in geology, but an almost perfect fit of one block against the others. Some segments of the fault across which recorded slip took place are probably locked and not active. Strain has shifted to other shears in western Guatemala and Chiapas and to the Motagua fault. Parts of the Polochic and the newer shears may be alternating with the Motagua as the Caribbean-North American plate boundary. With the 132 km of slip removed, segments of the now fragmented Cenozoic fold belt can be brought into coincidence in a clear-cut arcuate trend that is convex southwest. The major fault displacement is believed to have occurred within the interval from middle Miocene to middle Pliocene time. Eastern Guatemala has undergone a counterclockwise rotation of about 25° that reoriented the fault trace and all other structural fabric from due east to the present east-northeast azimuth. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.