Caribbean-South American Plate Interactions, Venezuela Book

Representing about 20 years of field work by students and faculty from Rice University, this report describes the work done in originating and refining a plate tectonic model for the origin and development of the Caribbean-South American plate boundary. It includes reports on the tectonic controls on basin development in proto-Caribbean margins, and overview of the boundary zone, and an overview of radiometric ages in three allochthonous belts found in northern Venezuela. Topics on allochthonous belts include igneous and metaigneous rocks, the exhumation history of two high-pressure belts, geothermal evidence for possible trench provenance, and evidence of a possible Jurassic rift zone. Topics on (par)autochthonous belts include interpretations of subbasins and thrust belts. Annotation © 2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR