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Haiti and other parts of the Caribbean are the only areas along the eastern coast of the North and South American continents that are experiencing active plate tectonics. The island of Hispaniola, of which Haiti occupies the western third, is itself is an exhumed portion of the Caribbean Plate. A mostly oceanic plate, the Caribbean plate spans 1.2-million square miles and is dense in composition. Oceanic plates are formed by oceanic ridges or hot spots, and are almost always subdued by a subduction complex.
The Caribbean Plate has evolved into a semi-complex tectonic setting. It is surrounded predominantly by even denser oceanic plates that are either pushed under the Caribbean plate, or are sliding past it in what geologists call a strike-slip boundary. The tectonic Caribbean Plate extends from the eastern portion of the Caribbean island across Latin America to its western boundary, where the plate is subducting or, if you prefer, consuming the Cocos Plate. Because the Caribbean Plate is thicker and more buoyant than normal oceanic plates, it behaves as a continental plate – floating atop the thicker plates and melting them away.
The recent earthquakes in Haiti have wrought considerable damage and show just how fragile existence can be near tectonic plate boundaries. Haiti is located on the northern border of the plate, and the 7.0 earthquake is associated with the vector difference between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate. The scenario is analogous to boundaries in the southeastern United States where the Pacific and North American plates are moving past one another.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Plate
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Re: Haiti Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics
