M5.8 - GUATEMALA

Tectonic Summary

The Guatemala earthquake of September 19, 2011, occurred as the result of normal faulting at shallow depth in the northwest corner of the Caribbean plate, in the Central American subduction zone. A preliminary determination of the earthquake’s focal-mechanism implies that the shock occurred as the result of faulting on a north-trending normal fault. The broad scale tectonics of the Central American subduction zone are controlled by the north-northeastward subduction of the Cocos plate beneath the Caribbean plate. The overriding Caribbean plate is characterized by east-west extensional stresses and experiences both strike-slip and normal-faulting earthquakes.

Earthquake Information for Central America