T}•;CTONI(iS, VOIJ. 9, NO. 5, PA(iF.

S 1037-1059, {)('TOBI'JR 19L)0

STRUCTURE AND TECTONICS OF THE YUCATAN

BASIN, CARIBBEAN SEA, AS DETERMINED FROM
SEISMIC REFLECTION STUDIES

Eric Rosencrantz

Universityof TexasInstitutefor Geophysics,

Austin,Texas

Abstract.The YucatanBasinpreserves a recordof theLate
Cretaceousto PaleogeneCaribbean-NorthAmericanconver-
genthistorythatis largelyunaffectedby Neogenestrike-slip
tectonicsof the currentplateboundary.An examinationof
seismicbasementwithinthe YucatanBasin,basedupon
availableseismicreflectiondataincludingextensivemulti-
channeldata,showsthatthebasementcomprises nine
domainsdistinguished on the basisof internalreflection
characterandsurfacetopography.Thesedomainsencompass
threedistinctcrustaltypesor blocks. The first underliesthe
westernflank of the basinandrepresents the offshorecontinu-
ationof the adjacentYucatanplatform. The secondincludes
the topographically heterogeneous domainsof the eastern
two-thirdsof the basin,andis dominatedby a subsided
volcanicriseor arc (Caymanrise) restinguponprobable
oceaniccrustof pre-Tertiaryage. The easternedgeof the rise
andadjacentbasinsdipsnortheastbeneaththe Cubanmargin
alonga sedimentfilled trench.The thirdtypeof crust
occupiesa rectangulardeepwithin the westernthird of the
basin. Available evidence indicates that this crust is oceanic
in character,and represents
a large,maturepull-apartbasinset
within a wide paleo-transformzonebetweenthe western
platformandeasternoceanicbasin. This zonedefinesthe
northwesternportionof the Caribbean-NorthAmerican
convergentplate boundary. Paleoceneto Middle Eocene
transformmotionwasleft-lateralalongnorth-southto NNE-
SSW trends,with a displacement of about350 km. A long
Middle Eocene transcurrent fault of about 50 km left-lateral
displacement
cutsthebasindiagonallyfrom SW to NE and
Copyright1990
by the AmericanGeophysicalUnion.
Papernumber90TC00475.
0278-7407/90!90TC-00475$10.00
continues onland in Cuba as La Trocha fault. This
reconstruction is consistent
with knownEoceneregional
tectonics,but the timingof regionaleventsraisesquestions
aboutpresentinterpretations of plategeometryin the
northwestern Caribbean.
INTRODUCTION
The YucatanBasinoccupiesa significantpositionwith
respectto northernCaribbeanplateboundariesbecauseit lies
adjacentto the Late Cretaceous to Middle Eoceneconvergent
boundarytransecting Cuba,HispaniolaandPuertoRico,but
outsidethe younger,present-daytransformplateboundary
extendingfrom Hondurasto PuertoRico (Figure 1). Because
thisyoungerboundaryhasdissected andoverprintedmuchof
the older convergentboundary,the basinshouldcontaina
recordof the convergent historyof the Caribbeanplatethatis
unaffectedby later events,andso shouldprovideinsightasto
the natureand timing of the transitionfrom convergentto
transformplatemotion.
Unfortunately,the geologyof thebasinhasbeensparsely
sampledandtherecordof geologicalandtectoniceventsis
unclear,especiallyasto the composition
andageof the crust.
Seismicrefractionprofilesandregionalgravityinterpretations
suggestthatcrustbeneaththedeepnorth-central andwestern
partsof thebasinis oceanic,butthatthecrustthickens
southwardto more than20 km beneaththe Caymanridge
[Ewinget al., 1960;Dillon et al., 1972;Dillon andVedder,
1973;Bowin, 1968; 1976]. Rocksdredgedfrom the southern
wall of the Caymanridgeincludevolcanicsandmetavolcanics
aswell asgranodiorites with K/Ar coolingagesof 59 to 69
Ma (Maastrichtianto Paleocene),which suggeststhat this
thickercrustrepresents a buriedLate Cretaceous islandarc
restingon Late Cretaceous or oldercrust[PerfitandHeezen,
1978]. Inferredoceancrustbeneaththe deepwesternpartof
the basinappearsyounger,however,Late Paleoceneto Middle
1038 Rosencrantz'
Structure
andTectonics
of theYucatanBasin

Plate BoundaryZone

Gulf
of .•
• Eocene-Present
Plate
Boundary
ß
f Mexico
/•,C u.•b
a,'
I•
d
%'
-•';•'o•.•.•'•
His•'•n
io•-I,
Atlantic
Ocean
,

'%•ol•ombian;;•
Ven•sUienlan
; )•t
85 ø 80 ø
OL
GULF OF MEXICO

CUBA
GOLFO DE
BA TABANO

I. de Cozumel
11sle
ofPines

Pickle Bank

I Misteriosa
Bank
Banco Chinchorro
Grand
Cayman
I
o

cAYMAN
TROUGH
Cayman Ridge

Rosario Bank
N

Lighthouse
Reef YUCATAN BASIN
Turneffe
I. I 0 100 250

DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS
Glover
ReefJ
85 ø

Fig.1. Tectonic
sketch
mapofthenorthern
Caribbean
(upper
panel),
andsimplified
bathymetric
mapof
theYucatan
Basin(lowerpanel).Thelocation
of thebathymetric
mapisshown
bytherectangle
outlinedonthetectonicmap. Isobathsarein kilometers.

Eoceneon the basisof heatflow [Epp et al., 1970;Ericksonet withmetamorphic textures

al., 1972] and depthto basementmeasurements [Rosencrantz
et al., 1989]. In contrast,samplesdredgedand drilled along
the western flank of the basin include metasediments
lithologicallysimilarto Paleozoicrocksfoundat depthacross
the Yucatanplatform[Dillon et al., 1972;Dillon andVedder,
1973; Deal, 1983; R. P. Rao, personalcommunication,1988],
similarto thoseidentifiedasLate
Cretaceous in agein centralandwesternCuba[Baie,1970;
Pyleet al., 1973;Vedderet al., 1973;Hattenet al., 1988].
Seismicreflectionsurveysof thewesternflankandadjacent
deepbasinby DillonandVedder[1973]andUchupi[1973]
leadbothto interpretthismarginasrepresenting anold
passiverift margin.
Rosencrantz:StructureandTectonicsof the YucatanBasin 1039

This paperexaminesavailableseismicreflectiondatafrom with datacollectedusingairgunandsparkersources.The

the YucatanBasinto determinebasintectonicsas revealedby
the distribution of basement seismic character and structure.
The approachusedherediffersfrom previouswork [e.g.,
Dillon et al., 1972;Dillon andVedder,1973;Uchupi,1973;
Tinkle, 1981] in that it examinesthe whole of the basinrather
thanjust its westernpart, andincorporates andcorrelatesall
availableseismicdata,includingthe largevolumeof unpub-
lishedUniversityof TexasInstitutefor Geophysics(UTIG)
multichannelseismic(MCS) data. This largersetof infor-
mationshowsa basinunderlainby crustof complicated
internalstructure,composedof oceaniccrustof two different
originspluscontinentalcrusts,distributedacrosstwo plates.
SEISMIC REFLECTION DATA
Seismicreflectionprofilesusedin thissynthesisinclude
both singleandmultichanneldata. The multichannelseismic
(MCS) datawere acquiredby UTIG duringfive separate
acquisitionprogramsbetween1975 and 1980. Thesedata
were collectedusinglarge-volume,low-pressureairgunsor
explosivesources,shotto 24 or 48 channelstreamersof 2 to
4.5 km length,and were digitallyprocessed at UTIG with
standardtechniques.Theseprofilesare previously
unpublished, exceptfor onepresentedby Tinkle [1981] and
anotherincludedin Rosencrantz et al. [ 1989]. The single
channelseismic(SCS) datawereacquiredbetween1961 and
1973 on thirteenseparatecruisesby a numberof institutions,
majorityof thesealsoremainunpublished, exceptfor several
presented by Dillon et al. [ 1972],Vedder[ 1972],Uchupi
[1973] andDillon andVedder [1973]. Table 1 listsdata
sourceandtype. Figure2 showsprofile locations.
Althoughthe amountof availableseismicreflection
materialappearsextensive,thesedataarein fact limitedin
severalrespects.The overallcoverageof thebasinis sparsein
view of themorphological andstructuralcomplexityof the
region.Matchingreflectorsequences betweenprofilesof
differentvintagesis oftendifficultowingto differences of
scaleandresolution.Olderprofilesarecommonlynotwell
navigated.Variationsof sourcesignature producesignificant
differencesin reflection character,and differencesin source
strengthresultin varyingdegreesof bottompenetration.
Becausethemultichannel seismiclinesshowthedeepest
penetrationandhavethemostconsistent sourcesignatures,
descriptionsare basedprimarilyon the the MCS lines,
supplemented by singlechanneldata.
BASEMENT STRUCTURE
Basementis definedastheseismicunitbelowthedeepest
continuousseismichorizon, defined as the basementhorizon.
Thishorizonis almostalwaysmarkedby a distinct,high
amplitudereflectionor groupof reflections.It occupies
the
samepositionrelativeto overlyingsedimentsasthe Late
CretaceousB" horizonin theVenezuelanBasin[Edgaret al.,

TABLE 1. Seismic Reflection Data

Project Year Agency Ship-Cruise SoundSource

MULTICHANNEL
YB 1975 UTIG R,/VIda Green-IG 1506 Airgun, 1500-3000in3,350-450psi
GT2 1977 UTIG R/V Ida Green-IG2401 Airgun,3000 in3,350-450 psi
CT1 1978 UTIG R,/VIda Green-IG2901, 04 Airgun,6000 in3, 350-450 psi
CAR 1979 UTIG R,/VFred H. Moore-FMO 107 Maxipulse©, 5/8 lbs
CT2 1980 UTIG R,/VFred H. Moore-FM0501, 02 Airgun, 6000 in3,450-500 psi

SINGLE CHANNEL

Verna 17 1961 LDGO R/VVema-V1704 Airgun?

Conrad9 1964 LDGO R,/VConrad-C0902 Airgun,20 in3,2000psi
Conrad10 1966 LDGO R/V Conrad-ClO03,12 Airgun,20 in3,2000psi
Verna24 1967 LDGO R/V Verna-V2402 Airgun ?
Conrad12 1968 LDGO R/V Conrad-C1201 Airgun,20 in3
SanPablo 1968 USCGS USSSanPablo-SP939003 Sparker?
Trident1 1969 URI R,/VTrident-TR067 Airgun,10 in3
Verna26 1969 LDGO R/V Verna-V2608 Airgun ?
IDOEa 1971 USGS UnitedGeoI Sparker,220 kJ
Chain100b 1971 WHOI R/V Chain-CHlOO12 Sparker,
90 kJ
LosAlaminos
c ? TAMU R/V LosAlaminos Airgun
Wilkes73 1973 NAVOCEANO USNSWilkes-WI933008 Airgun

Projects:YB, YucatanBasinsurvey;GT2, Gulf(of Mexico) Tectonics-Phase

2; CT1, CaribbeanTectonics-Phase1; CT2,
Caribbean Tectonics-Phase
2; CAR, Caribbean
phaseof IPOD sitesurveying.Agencies:UTIG, Universityof TexasInstitute
for Geophysics;
LDGO, Lamont-Doherty GeologicalObservatory;WHOI, WoodsHole Oceanographic Institute;USCGS,
UnitedStatesCoastandGeodeticSurvey;URI, Universityof RhodeIsland;USGS,UnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey;TAMU,
TexasA&M University;NAVOcEANO, (UnitedStates)NavalOceanographic Office. Published
sources:
aVedder[1972];
Dillon andVedder[1973]; bUchupi[1973];CTinkle[1981].
1040 Rosencrantz:Structureand Tectonicsof the YucatanBasin

bJ

m
w

o •

z
0

o •oø,
Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin
1973], but is apparentlynot equivalentin ageor origin
becausethe Yucatanbasinhorizonrecordseventsyounger
than thoseassociatedwith the B" reflector (seebelow).
The basementunit showsfour distinguishing
characteristics:(1) largescale(> 1 km), basin-widerelief of
the basementhorizon,mappedin Figure3; (2) largescale
basementstructure,consistingpredominantlyof reflectorand
topographicoffset,interpretedasrepresenting faults,mapped
in Figure4; (3) distinctivesmallscaletopographyand/or
distributionsof reflectionsat the basementhorizon;and (4)
distinctive distributions of reflections internal to basement.
The dominant characteristic of basement is its surface
topography,
whichcontrolsthe overallmorphologyof the
basin. Differences of small scale basement seismic structure
correlatewith largescalebasementrelief, indicatingthat
basement relief reflects variation in crustal structure. On the
basisof thesedifferences,the basementunderlyingthe basin
can be divided into 9 crustal domains. These are outlined in
Figure 5, and are describedbelow.
Domain A: The Yucatan Borderland
The Yucatan borderland underlies the western flank of the
YucatanBasin,from Cubato Honduras(Figure5). Basement
includesthreelineartopographicelementsextendingthe
lengthof thedomain:a troughalignedalongthedomainaxis,
an outertopographic
highparallelto andeastof thetrough,
andan outerescarpmentwhichslopeseastwardfrom the outer
ridges(seeFigures3 and4).
The centraltrough,knownastheDangriatroughin Belize
[Rao andRamanathan,1988], lies between35 and65 km east
of the Yucatancoastline.It is composedof a seriesof con-
nected,elongatedeepsdistributed en echelon,with right-
handedsense,on a NNE-SSW trend. Individualdeepsrange
in lengthfrom 40 to 80 km, in width from 15 to 30 km, and
havemaximumdepthsof between3.5 and4.5 km. They
commonlyshowasymmetrical crosssections,wherein
western,east-dipping basement slopeshaveshallowerdips
thaneastern,west-dippingslopes.Basinaxesandeastern
slopesarecharacterized
by westvergent(down-dropped to the
west)normalandreverseoffsetstrendingsubparallelto basin
length(Figure 6).
The topographic higheastof thecentraltroughcontainstwo
linesof discontinuous, steep-sided,linearridgeswhichtrend
NNE-SSW. Theseridgesrangein lengthfrom 20 to 60 km,
andhavean averagewidth of about12 km (Figures3 and4).
North of ChinchorroBank (aboutlatitude 19øN) the ridges
reachminimumdepthsof about1 km, but southof this
latitudetheyapproachthesurfaceandemergeat Chinchorro
Bank, Turneffe Island,and Glover Reef. To the souththe
ridgelinesare separatedby about40 km, but convergeto
about20 km in the north. Individualridgesalongeachline
showa slight,dextralen echelonplacement.
The easternside of the borderlandis definedby a major
escarpment with an averagerelief of about3.5 km. Maximum
crestto baserelief is over 5 km. The escarpment extends
essentiallyunbrokenfrom Cubasouthward to latitude18øN,
whereit is offset 15 km to the east. Southwardpastthe offset
it againcontinuesunbrokenalongthe eastsideof GloverReef
(Figure3). North of the offset,the escarpment slopesto the
eastwith an averagedip of about10ø. Southof the offsetthis
1041
slopeexceeds18ø. A line extendingWNW from the offsetto
the northernedgeof BancoChinchorromarksa boundary
betweenshallowsouthernridgetopsanddeepernorthern
ones,andmay tracethe line of a cross-margin fault.
Basementbeneaththe centraltroughcontainsnumerous
internalreflectionsthat lie subparallelto the basement
horizon. Thesehavea discontinuous hummockyappearance,
andincludelocalhigh angleoffsets.The basementhorizon
consistsof a distinctbut discontinuous reflectorof hummocky
appearance describinga surfaceof low relief (<250 m). The
unit is apparentlycontinuouswith units(androcks)
underlyingthe Yucatanplatformto the west. To the east,
reflectionscannotbe tracedbeyondthe easternedgeof the
centraltrough(Figure 6, kilometers70 to 72). Whetherthis is
dueto basementunit truncation,or is simplyan artifactof
sourceenergyscatteringby theroughbasementof the outer
ridge, cannotbe determinedfrom the seismicdata.
Domain B: Southwest Horst and Graben
The southwesthorstand grabendomainis locatedat the
southwestend of the Yucatan basin, between the Yucatan
borderlandandthe westernCaymanridge (Figure5). It is
boundedby the Yucatanborderlandescarpment to the west
andby theNE-SW trending,west-facingescarpment
truncatingthe westernendof the Caymanridgeto the east.
Basementis pervasivelybrokenby a seriesof NNE-SSW
trendinghorstsandgrabens.The geometryof the basement
surfacesuggests thatblockshavetilted androtated,although
the blocksareinternallyfeatureless, andtheirtopscommonly
indistinctwhereburiedbeneaththick sediments(Figure7).
Fault spacingperpendicular to trendaveragesabout10 km,
andrelief of fault scarpsrangesfrom a few hundredmetersto
over 2 km. The averagedepthof basementis about5 km.
Domain C: WesternDeep Basin
The westerndeepbasindomaincoversa rectangulararea,
140 to 170 km wide and 330 km long, orientedNNE-SSW,
adjacentto andeastof the Yucatanborderland(Figure5).
The domainis borderedon all sidesby basementscarpsor
offsets(Figure4). Basementis relativelyfiat, with depths
rangingfrom 5 to 7 km, with an averageof about6 km
(Figure 3). The basementhorizonconsistsof nested,high
amplitudediffractionhyperboladescribinga surfaceof
moderate(200 to 500 m) relief. The basementcomplex
containsno persistentinternalreflectors,exceptat depthon
profilesshotwith high energysources[Rosencrantz et al.,
1989] (Figure 8).
The westerndeepis separatedfrom the Caymanrise (see
below)to the eastby severalNNE-SSW trendingbasement
scarpsandlineaments,interpretedto representfault lines
(Figure 8, kilometers180 to 200). Both the northernand
southernboundaries arecharacterizedby WNW-ESE trending
basementscarpswhichmay includefaults(Figure9, kilo-
meters20 to 30). The westernedgeof thedomainliesalong
thebaseof the Yucatanborderlandescarpment.Adjacentto
the escarpmentbetweenlatitudes19ø and20ø N, a small
wedge-shaped areacontainsa NE-SW trendingtroughof 7
km depthandan adjacentparallelridgeof about4.5 km depth
(Figure 3). The basementhorizonwithin the areais
1042 Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin
Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin 1043

i i i i i

•00 2• 85 ø
DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

80ø84/'/4/!//4
8
t:'
L47.P
O

CAUTO
DEPRESSION

20 o

BANCO
CHINCHORRO
ORIENTE

TROUGH TRANSFORM
FAULT

cAYMAN
YUCATAN BASIN

BASEMENT STRUCTURE

ß SEAMCUNT
BASEMENT
RIDGE
2000
• BASEMENT
CONTOUR
GLOVER
REEF BASEMENT
SCARP
(TICS
SHOW FACING DIRECTION) • THRUST
FAULT
DANGRIA TROUGH 85 ø

Fig. 4. Basementstructureof the YucatanBasin(contoursin meters).

characterizedby a discontinuous reflectorof moderaterelief irregularsurfacecharacterizedby commonnestedhyperbolas,

(250-750 m). Internal reflectorsare discontinuous,hum- as shownin Figure 10 (kilometers60 to 105). Basement
mocky,anddip relativeto, andaretruncatedby, thebasement topographic offsetssuggestthatthedomainis cutby several
horizon. NE-SW trendingfaults(Figure4), but thebasementcomplex
showsno obviousstructuralbreakwith deepercrustto the
Domain D: Northwesten• Rise northeast and southwest.

The northwestern riseliesto thenorthof thewesterndeep

Domain F: Eastenz Basin
basin,southof Cubaandwestof theIsle of Pines(Figure5).
Basementrisesnorthwardacrossa seriesof topographic steps
The easternbasindomainoccupiesthe northeastern comer
to a minimumdepthof 4 km, thendropsacrossa north-facing
of the YucatanBasin,betweenthe Caymanrise (seebelow)
scarpjust southof theCubanmarginto a depthof over5 km
andsteepescarpments of the Cubanmargin(Figure6).
(Figure3). Basementrelief is probablygeneratedby faulting
Basementdepthsrangefrom 5 to to slightlyover 6 km, but
of unknownstrike. The basementcomplexcontainsno dis-
reach6.5 to 7 km alonga north-southtrendinglineardeep
tinctinternalreflections.The basementhorizonis definedby
locatedsouthof the Isle of Pines(seeFigure3). Basement
a strongreflection,smoothalongthe lower,southernpart of
westof thislineamentis flat with a slightsouthwardslope,
the rise(seeFigure 9, kilometers30 to 45, andFigure 10, kilo-
whereasbasementto theeastshowssomerelief,increasing
meters15 to 60), but characterizedby high amplitudediffrac-
eastward(Figure4). The basementhorizonconsistsof a
tion hyperbolaacrossthehigher,northernpartsof thedomain
strongdiscontinuous reflectorwith low to moderaterelief,
(Figure 9).
with minorfault disruptions anddiffractionhyperbola(see
Domain E: Central Seamounts Figure 11). The basementcomplexshowsuncommon
indistinct and discontinuous internal reflectors.

This small domainis locatedcentralto the YucatanBasin,

betweenthe westerndeepbasinandeasternbasin(seebelow)
(Figure5). It containsisolated,irregularbasementhighsand
deepsof morethan2 km maximumrelief (Figure3). Base-
mentwithin the areais internallyfeatureless,
but hasan
Domain G: Cayman Rise
The Caymanrisedomainoccupiesthe triangulararea
betweenthe deepsof the westernandnorthernYucatanBasin
1044 Rosencrantz:StructureandTectonicsof the YucatanBasin

, i i i i

8øø I

CAUTO
DEPRESSION

20,• o.

-' 2000

BANCO
CHINCHORRO
GRAND CAYMAN
I ORIENTE
TRANSFORM
FAULT

TROUGH
TURNEFFE I.
cAYMAN YUCATAN BASIN

BASEMENT DOMAINS

0 100 250

DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

DANGRIA TROUGH GLOVER

REEF
I i
85ø

Fig. 5. The distributionof crustaldomainswithin theYucatanBasin,identifiedasA throughI. Seethe

text for descriptions.The heavylineslocatethe MCS profilesshownin Figures6 through13.

andthe Caymanridge(Figure5). The domainis faultswithin the zoneof grabenslocallydisruptanddisplace

characterized
by a broadtopographic riseacrossthesouthern
partof thebasin.The linearcrestof theriseliesat depthsof
greaterthan2.6 to 2.8 km,andcontains severalindividual
peaksor seamounts whichriseto lessthan2 km. A carbonate
pinnacleknownasPickleBankcapstheeasternmost of these
peaks(Figure3). To thewesttherisetakesonthecharacter
the deepestof the seismicfaciesunits. At longitude82.5øW,
this zoneintersectsa linear,fault boundedtopographicdeep
whichcutsacrossthe risewith a north-southtrendat depths
exceeding5 km (Figure 3). The structureis similar in size
and orientationto the onecuttingthe easternbasinto the
north.

of anirregularplateaulyingat a meandepthof about3.5 km The Caymanriseis separatedfrom domainsto the westand

(Figure 10).
The basementhorizonis characterized
by a strongdiscon-
tinuousreflectorof hummockyappearance, with uncommon,
subdueddiffractionhyperbola,exceptalongthecrestof the
rise,wherethe basementreflectionbecomesdiffuseand
mergeswith overlyingsediments (Figure12,kilometers 58 to
88). The surfaceshowsmoderatesmallscalerelief of
apparent constructionalorigin.Uncommon reflectors
internal
to the basementunit rangein appearance from chaoticto
discontinuous parallel.Basement offsetsareuncommon and
do not directlydisruptoverlyingsediments.
Basementsouth of the rise crest, between the crestand the
Caymanridge,is cut by a seriesof ENE-WSW trendinghorsts
and grabens.Theseextendfrom longitude79øW westto
83øW in a zoneabout50 km wide (Figure4). Individual
grabensrangein width from 10 to 20 km, andhavea
maximumrelief of up to 2 km (Figures10 and 12). Basement
northby a seriesof northwestfacingslopesandescarpments
thatdefinea topographiclineamentextendingfrom the
westernend of the Caymanridge northeastto centralCuba
(Figure4). This lineamentis mostextremeat the westernend
of the rise (andwesternend of the adjacentCaymanridge)
whereit consistsof a singleescarpmentup to 2.5 km high.
Adjacentto the westerndeepbasinthe lineamentis definedby
a seriesof scarpsandlinearvalleysalongthebaseof a rugged
NW dippingslope. Southof the centralseamount domain,
basementalongandto the southof the lineamentshows
evidenceof blockfaulting,with overlyingsedimentsboth
offsetand deformed(Figure 11, kilometers122 to 132).
Farther northeastward,the lineament follows a ENE-WSW
trending,northfacingscarpseparatingthe risefrom the
easternbasin(Figure 11, kilometer95). Along thenortheast-
ern part of the rise,however,the lineamentis expressedonly
as a zoneof anomalouslyroughbasement(Figure 12, kilome-
Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin 1045

m I GULF OF • _ I
-• • • I MEXICO .•J•_ '••..•.. I

• -

< CT1-40 •'

• 3- •- -

• IWSW ENE -"••• -

•o 3 •
WDB'
,
z
O 4
o
•TER RISE

5 . ESCRPMENT ' •

o
/
•10

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 •130

DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

Fig. 6. Multichannelseismicreflectionprofile(UTIG profileCT1-40) acrossthe Yucatanborderland.

Seethe insetmapandFigure5 for profilelocation.The upperpanelshowsthe uninterpreted profile,
processed with standardtechniques,includingautomaticgainingof tracesduringprofileplotting. The
middlepanelcontainsan interpretativeline tracingof the profileshowingfeaturesdiscussed in the text.
The basementhorizonis designated B, the waterbottomWB. The WesternDeep Basinis identifiedas
WDB. Major seismicunit horizonswithinthesediments are drawnwith light lines. The vertical
exaggeration of thisandtheupperpanelis about8:1 at thewaterbottom. The bottompaneldisplaysa
simpleline drawingof a profiledepthsectiondrawnwithoutverticalexaggeration.

ters 173 to 180), andthe rise slopestowardthe easternbasin
withoutapparentstructuralbreak.
Domain H: Cayman Ridge
The Caymanridge,locatedbetweenthe Caymanriseand
the Caymantrough(Figure5), is a ENE-WSW trendingcrest
definedby the 2000 m basement(andbathymetric)contour
(Figure3). The geometryandreflectioncharacterof the
basementsurfacesuggests thatbasementblocksare faulted
andtilted, althoughbasementunderlyingtheridgeshows
either chaotic internal reflectors or no internal reflectors.
Individualblocksdefiningthe crestof theridgelie parallelto
the ridgetrend,exceptat the easternendwhereindividual
blocksshowa slightdextralen echelondistributionrelativeto
the ridge trend(Figure4). The westernextensionof the Sierra
Maestramountainrangein southernCubais not topographi-
cally continuouswith the ridgebut lies to the southof the
easternridge crest(Figure4). To the westthe ridge is
truncatedby the 2.5 km high, NE-SW trendingscarpthat
definesthe easternboundaryof the southwestern horstand
grabendomain.
Domain I: Camagiiey Trench
The easternedgeof the Caymanriseintersectsanddips
beneaththe southwestern Cubanmarginalonga NE dipping
thrustzone (Figure 13). The basementhorizondescribesa
trench,designatedthe CamagQeytrench,whichextendsfrom
latitude 20 ø N in a curve south and east toward the Cauto
Depression(Figures3,4). Basementdepthswithin the trench
reacha maximumof about6.5 km alongthe axis. The
deepestof the sedimentarydepositsfilling the trenchdisplay
west-vergentthrustsandfolds (Figure 13).
DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION
Distribution, Composition,and Age of Basement
The reflectioncharacterof the basementunit, includingthe
relief of the basementhorizon,plusthe geometryof faults
cuttingthe basementunit, indicatethat the YucatanBasin
includesthreedistinctandseparateblocksof crust. The first
block includesthe Yucatanborderlanddomain,plusthe south-
westhorstand grabensdomain. The secondincludesthe
 GULF OF
MEXICO
0
SL

LU

CD

Z
0
0

SL-
N'W SE
SOUTHWEST HORST AND GRABEN

GLOVER
REEF
SLUMPED
BANK
AND
uJ

k
• FOLDED
• SEDIMENTS
• SLUMPED
AND
•.,j• /•, •.•-- FOLDEDSEDIMENTS
t '-.¾.L_.• .•.•%
n-
l--
>-

•:4-
I
0

•5-
1:3

o
i.ij6-

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
!l I 111•..1 IIIt I I ILI l.fJl 11 Ii III I•11 iI 11 i i i •1 i i ii i Ii i •1 i i i i 11 i i•1 11 i ill i i•1 iii 1111 till!
DISTANCE IN KILLERS

Fig.7. Multichannel
seismic
reflection
profile(UTIGprofileCT1-35)across
thesouthwest
horstand
graben
domain.
Diagram
elements
arethesame
asinFigure
6. SeetheinsetmapandFigure
5 for
profile location.
Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin 104 7

GULF
OF
MEXICO

3
4
olO20
,
,-OlD
,, , • •,0 ,,00 ,10 ,f0 ,,•0 ,10 ,•0 ,•0 ,•0 ,•0 ,•0 •70 •I 0 •0 •0

• 5

.....
•.•m•••5:½•
' ß .....

10-
11-

3h, • YUCATAN
BORDERLAND CAYMAN
RISE ' I

-.I 6 Wb -

o,
,,,
•' 8 B •__•____...
__.._•
•• 9 ZONE • •1 [-'0-
FAULI
ZONE

o, ,½ •,o •? "I:' ¾ •? •o •,? •,o ,,oo -,1o ,fo ,•o -,I0 ,7o ,7o ,f,o ,7o ,•,o •7o •I o •fo •o •If
DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

Fig. 8. Multichannelseismicreflectionprofile (UTIG profile CAR-72) acrossthe westerndeepbasin

domain.
Thereflection
suspected
asrepresenting
theMohorovi[i•.
Discontinuity
islabeled
M?;other
diagramelementsare the sameasin Figure6. Seethe insetmap andFigure5 for profile location.

westerndeepbasindomain. The thirdblockcomprisesthe compositionof basementrocksdredgedanddrilledalongthe

remainingdomainsunderlyingthe easternbasin,the Cayman
rise, Caymanridge, Camagfieytrenchandcentralseamcunts
domains,plusthe northwesternrise. Theseare described
below.
The Yucatanborderlandblock. Seismicprofilesacrossthe
Yucatanmargin(Figure6) indicatethatthe stratigraphyof the
Yucatanplatform [Bateson,1972; BatesonandHall, 1977;
Lopez-Ramos,1975;Weidie et al., 1979;Viniegra-O., 1981]
extends offshore beneath the borderland. The Basil Jones #1
well, locatedon theBelizecoastlineandon theeasternedge
of the CorozalBasin(seeFigure2 for location),includes
about 100 m of Tertiary limestones,1900 metersof Mesozoic
shallowwater carbonates andevaporites,a thin Jurassicred
bed,andabout100 m of Paleozoicshalerestingon schist
[Lopez-Ramos,1975]. Rao andRamanathan[1988] show
thatthe offshorestratigraphicsectionmeasuredat the
Turneffe #1 well section correlates with well sections in the
Corozal Basin.
The Turneffesection,locatedon theouterridgesof thebor-
derland,demonstratesthatthe platformsectionextendsacross
the centraltroughbeneaththesouthernouterridges,andthe
outerridgeof the borderlandshowthatcrystallinerockslying
at depthbeneaththe platformextendto the borderland
escarpment.The GloversReef #1 well penetratesPaleozoic
shalesimilarto that of the Maya Mountains[Dillon and
Vedder, 1973]. Baie [ 1970], Dillon et al. [ 1972], Dillon and
Vedder [ 1973] and Vedder et al. [ 1973] all observethat
alteredbasicextrusives,deformedmetamorphosed (low
grade)shale,siltstoneandquartzite,metamorphosed (green-
schistfacies)phyllites,andfoliatedmarblesdredgedfrom the
outerescarpmentat depthsbetween4200 and2700 m are
equivalentto YucatanPaleozoicrocks. Pyle et al. [1973], on
the otherhand,suggestthat these,on the basisof their
metamorphiccharacter,correlateto theMiddle JurassicSan
CayetanoFormationof westernCuba.
The lack of dredgedcarbonateandevaporitesamples
probablyreflectsthe smallnumbersof rockscollected,but
couldalsomeanthattheselithologieseitherwerenot
depositedon, or havesincebeenerodedfrom, the outer
margin. A schistpebbleconglomeratewith a Late Eocene-
Early Miocenematrix dredgedfrom the northernescarpment
[Vedder et al., 1973] hintsthat the northernouterridgesmay
1048 Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin

I GULFOF •_. I

OL• o 4,13
i 50
I 6•0 70
I 80
I e•o 100
I 110
i 120
I 130
i 140
I I

SOUTH CUBA
BASIN • '•' NORTH

--WB

o
RIFTED CRUST
ß SMOOTH BASEMENT
RIFT
8-
•BOUNDARY
ZONE
OCEANIC CRUST

SL

210 310 40
I 50
I 610 70
I 80
I 910 100
I 110
I 120
I 130
I 140
i I
DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

Fig. 9. Multichannelseismicreflectionprofile (UTIG profileCT2-1) acrossthenorthwestern

rise
domain.Diagramelementsarethesameasin Figure6. SeetheinsetmapandFigure5 for profile
location.

haveincludedcrystallinebasementexposedduringthe Miocene. This wouldsuggestthatlithologiesaboveand

Eocene.
The ageof thebasement horizonacrosstheborderland is
not knownfor certain,but is likely to be Eocene. The
synclinalcrosssectionof the layeredbasementandonlapping
of overlyingsediments(Figure6) impliesthatthehorizon
marks a tectonic event. The distinct difference in reflection
characters of sediments above and the basement unit below
the horizonimply a distinctchangein lithologyacrossthe
horizon. The Late Eoceneandyoungerschistpebblecon-
glomeratenotedaboveis consistent with an Eoceneor older
tectonicagefor the horizon. The Turneffe#1 andSpanish
Lookout#1 wellspenetrateMiddle Eoceneandyoungerreef
carbonates,lagoonalcarbonatemudsandterrigenous
sediments(Belize Formation),which restunconformablyon
Paleogene-Late Cretaceous deepwaterclastics(Toledo
Formation)in the Turneffe well andmassivebiomicrites
(CampurFormation)in the SpanishLookoutwell [Raoand
Ramanathan, 1988;R. P. Rao, personalcommunication, 1988].
The hiatusbetweenthe Belize formationandunderlyingunits
becomesmorepronounced southward,extendinginto the
belowthe basementhorizonrespectivelyrepresenttheBelize
andToledo-Campurformations.However,Rao and
Ramanathan[ 1988] alsoshow (in crosssection)that both the
Belize andunderlyingCamputFormationsthin or pinchoutto
the westat the coastlinealongnorth-southfaultswhichdefine
thewesternedgeof theDangriatrough.As the Campur
formationalsorestswith distinctunconformity uponLate
Cretaceous dolomitesandevaporitesof the Cobanformation,
thebasementhorizonmightalsobe reasonably interpreted
as
a Late Cretaceoussurfacebetweenthe Belize-Campurand
Coban units.
East-westfree air gravityprofilesacrossthe southwest
horst
andgrabendomainshowthatunderlyingcrustthinseastward,
from about 20 km beneath Glovers Reef Bank to about 8 km
beneaththe westernendof the Caymantrough[Dillon and
Vedder, 1973]. The composition of the crustis not known
directly,but thethinningandblockfaultingsuggestthatit
may be stretchedcontinentalcrust.
Theeasternblock. Crustunderlyingthe areaeastof the
westerndeepbasin,includingthe easternbasin,centralsea-
 Rosencrantz:Structureand Tectonicsof the Yucatan Basin 1049

GULF
OF
MEXICO
'C.L/SA'•J
•
150 200 250
,,oo i i I , I I , , I i • , , I I

0' • GRAND
CAYMAN
• 1- GT2-52.AMA,CA

• 5 •

oj NNW NW SSE
I-
21 CAYMAN
RIDGE
"• F

(•i' •'RISE
.--CENTRAL
SEAMOUNTS'*'-
' CAYMAN
RISE' .
-- 3

SL

0 50 100 150 200 250

I i I I I I i i • I I I I I I I ! i I I I I I I I I I I

DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

Fig. 10. Multichannel

seismicreflection
profile(UTIGprofileGT2-52)across
thecentral
Yucatan
Basin.Diagramelements arethesameasin Figure6. SeetheinsetmapandFigure5 forprofile
location.

mounts,Caymanrise,CaymanridgeandCamagiiey trench ridge. Theyfurtherarguethattheunderlying

6.5 km s-•
domains,is likely contiguous
andof common
origin.No velocitylayerconsists
of Cretaceous
amphibolitesandLate
obvious structural break is observed between the central sea- Cretaceous
to Paleoceneplutonics,volcanicsandvolcanoclas-
mountsandtheeasternbasin,norbetweentheCaymanrise tics.
andCamagiieytrench.TheBouguergravityfield [Bowin, TheCaymanridgeundoubtedly includesCaymanrisecrust,
1976]andfree air gravityprofilemodels[Bowin,1968]both upliftedin response to platemotionalongtheOrientetrans-
indicatethatcrustbeneaththeriseis laterallycontinuous
with form faultto thesouth.The two structures intersect,and
thatbeneaththe easterndeepbasin.The Caymanriseinter- apparentlyhavea commonlithology[PerfitandHeezen,
sectsandtopographically mergeswiththeCaymanridgewest 1978]. A single,shallowseismicrefraction profilenearGrand
of longitude83ø W. The reflectiveandsmallscale CaymanIslandshowscrustalvelocities broadlysimilarto
topographiccharactersof the basementhorizonwithin the thoseof theriseto thenorth[Ewinget al., 1960]. Seismic
easternbasinaresimilarto thoseof theCaymanrise,andthe reflectionprofilesacross theridgeshowthatit isseparated
basementcomplexesof bothdomainsshowuncommon fromtheriseby a lineof ENE-WSWfaultsalongitsnorth
internalseismiclayering. side,particularly alongtheeastern halfof theridge.Crustal
The irregulartopography of basement, thepresenceof sea- blockswithintheridgeareapparently tilted(Figures10and
mountsalonga lineartopographic crest,andlikelypresence 12). TheMiddleEoceneopening of theCaymanTrough
of volcanoclasticdepositson the risecrest[PerfitandHeezen, [Rosencrantz et al., 1988]impliesthattheridgehadformedat
1978]all implythattheCaymanrisehasa volcanicorigin. leastby Eocenetime. The earliestrecordof crustalmovement
Seismicrefractionprofilesshowthatthecrustalthickness of alongtheridgeis oneof subsidence, however,in thatthe
theriseis at least14km [Ewinget al., 1960],andgravity distribution
of datedcarbonate
rocksdredged
fromtheridge
modelingsuggests thatit exceeds18 km, thinningto thenorth showthewesternridgesubsiding by Miocenetime.
[Bowin,1968]. Thebasement horizoncorresponds tothetop Oligoceneandoldercarbonates haveshallow waterorigins,
of a 2.6 km thick 4.8 km s-• seismic refraction interval whereas youngercarbonates includebothdeepandshallow
[Ewing,et al., 1960](Figure12). PerfitandHeezen[1978] watervarieties[PerfitandHeezen,1978].
arguethatthis seismicunit representsvolcanics,clasticsand Crustbeneath theeasterndeepbasinis probablyoceanic,
metasediments, pluscarbonates,of Paleoceneto Eoceneage, butmaynotbetypicaloceanic crust.A singlerefraction
assampled at thewesternendof thesouthwall of theCayman profilesouthof theIsleof Pines(Figure2) showsan 8 km
1050 Rosencrantz:Structureand Tectonicsof the YucatanBasin

MEXICO ,,•
iiiiiiii Iiiiiii I iiiiiiiii ii
.o
øß
,.•
- lOO
._t_.l

GRAND
CAYMA
07-

Z8-
0

,,4

_- EASTERN BASIN
LU5-

n'
I--
>.6-
i
07-
_ -
Z 8-
O

u• 9 TRANS
BASIN
FAULT

..i
VlO:

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
!,•,•,•,•l,,t,,•, •tl,,,,,,,, •1,,,,,,,,,1,,,,, , •,1•,•,,,•,,1• • ,,,,,•,1,,, ...... ! .... ,,,,,! ......... !
DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

Fig. 11. Multichannelseismicreflectionprofile (UTIG profile CT2-4) acrosstheeasterndeepbasin

domain. Otherdiagramelementsarethesameasin Figure6. Seethe insetmapandFigure3 for profile
location.

thick crustwith an oceanicvelocitystructure[Ewing et al., GravityAnomalyMap of NorthAmerica,1988](Figure14).

1960]. Oceaniccrustis consistent with the regionalgravity Theseobservations suggestthatthe easterncrustis both
signature
[Bowin,1968;1976]}butthebasement
doesnot thickerand/orlessdensethanthatof the westerndeepbasin.
showthe roughtopographyandnestedhyperbolascharac- A possibleexplanationfor thisapparentanomalyis that
teristicof oceaniccrust,asevidentwithinthe westerndeep easternbasincrustincludesan upperlayer of volcanicsresting
basin. The basementblock faultingseenin the easternbasin on the oceanicbasement.This would explainthe semi-
is alsoatypical. Mean depthsto basement(with theloading continuous character of the basement horizon across both the
effectsof sedimentsremoved)are lessthanthoseof the appar- rise and basin, as well as small scale similarities of basement
entlyyoungerwesterndeepbasin,about5100 m versusabout relief betweenthe easternpartof the riseandadjacentbasin.
5300 m. This differenceis alsoreflectedin the regionalfree The layer neednot showa distinctinternalreflection
air gravityanomalyfield, whichshowsa smallmeannegative signature.The westwarddeepening of theeasternbasinmay
valueof 15 milligalsoverthe easternbasin,in contrastto the reflecta westwardthinningof thislayer. _

meanpositivevalueof about15 to 20 milligalsoverthe The irregularrelief of the centralseamountdomainsuggests

deeperwesterndeepbasin[Bowin, 1976;Committeefor the thatthe topographyhasa volcanicorigin. Theseseamounts
Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin 1051

GULF
OF
MEXICO
'C,
•U8
• ß
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 • 220
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I •D

:2 CT1-30
1-2

:Z•4 '
O•

NN•
i::: 2- CAYMAN RISE , • EASTERN BASIN

i_4-
w•5-
u•6 -0
•:7-

o lO 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230
i i I I I I I I I I ,l I I I I I I I I I I I I l
DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

Fig. 12. Multichannel

seismic
reflection
profile(U'I'IGprofileCT1-30)across theeasternYucatan
Basin.Measured crustal
seismic
refraction
velocities [Ewinget al., 1960]areshownat kilometer
40.
Otherdiagram elements
arethesameasin Figure6. SeetheinsetmapandFigure3 forprofilelocation.

alignwith the lineamentdefiningtheeasternwall of the VinentandMorales,1988]. On theotherhand,if a major

westerndeepbasin,andmayreflect"leakage"alongfaults convergence
zonelay betweenthe Zaza rocksandthe Yucatan
duringtheopeningof thewesterndeepbasin. Basin,asimpliedby theCamagiley
trench,thenthemaximum
The nature of crust beneath the northwestern rise is crustalageof the easternYucatanBasinis unconstrained.
unknown,asis its relationship to theadjacenteasternbasin. Westerndeepbasincrust. A varietyof evidenceshowsthat
The crosssectionalpatternof basementfaultson the south thewesterndeepbasinis underlainby oceaniccrust.The
slopeof the rise (Figure9) suggeststhatthiscrustis riftedand Bouguergravityfield over the basinis oceanicin character
thinned, but the strikesof thesefaults cannotbe determined [Bowin,1976]. Modelsof freeair gravityprofilesacrossthe
with presentdata. This basementmay be a riftedwestern basinindicatethatcrustunderlying thedeepbasinhasoceanic
extensionof thecontinental(?) crystallinecrustunderlyingthe thickness(6 to 8 km) anddensity[Bowin, 1968;Dillon et al.,
Isle of Pines[SominandMillan 1977;Millan, 1981],which 1972]. Seismicreflectionprofilesshotwithhighenergy
would imply that the Isle of Pinesandrelatedrocksof south- explosive sources showa persistent reflectorat depthsconsis-
westernCubahavea CaribbeanoriginratherthantheNorth tentwith oceanicMoho (Figure8). Depthsof basement
Americanoriginproposed by Pardo[ 1975]andGealey acrossthe deepbasinsareoceanic[Rosencrantz et al., 1989]
[1980]. andthenestedhyperbolic reflectionpatterns of thetopof
The age of oldestcrustwithin the easterndomainsis a basement in thewesterndeepbasinaretypicalof oceancrust
matterof conjecture.The minimumageis Late Cretaceous, reflectorpatterns(Figure8). Basinheatflow measurements
astonalitesandgranodiorites intrudingtheCaymanriseand [Eppet al., 1970;Ericksonet al., 1972]aretypicaloceanic
ridgeyieldLateCretaceous andPaleocene K/Ar coolingages values.The basincontainsmagneticlineations, althoughthe
[PerfitandHeezen,1978]. If thecrustis contiguous withthat NE-SW trendingpatternof anomaliesasmappedby Hall and
of the Zaza terranein Cuba, thenit would be at leastof Yeung [ 1980] andYeung [ 1981] is inconsistent
with
Aptian-Albianage [Pardo,1975;C.W. Hatten,O.E. Schooler, underlyingbasementtopographyandstructureandshowsa
N. GiedtandA.A. Meyerhoff,Geologyof centralCuba, poormatchwith knownmarinemagneticsreversals
easternLas Villas andwesternCamagileyprovince,Cuba, sequences.
unpublished report,1958,hereinafterreferredto asHattenet The deepbasinis distinctin thatit is rectangular
in shape
al., 1958], andpossiblyasold asLate Jurassic[Iturralde- andin thatthebasement horizonis deeperthanthatof sur-
1052 Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin

0 10 20 30 40 50 60
GULF
OF '/x/•/-7
MEXICO

.oO\•
'O0•,•'••
..
' 100
,......... ,......... ,.........,........., ......,,,,......... ,..... ,,,, ......

"'t
h-
CAYMAN
RISE ., TRENCH
I'--
>.-

•: 5-
6

• 6-

GRABENS
'- ACCRETIONA
PRiSM•••
Z
O
u.I 7-

o3 SL

¾1

,oi i i :,o,I I
i I I I i i I i i I i I I I I i i i i I i I i I I I I i I j?i i I I I I I • ,so
i i I I I I I I ,figi I i i I i i i ?, I i i i i I i I I I i i i I i i ??,i i i :oo
I i i i i I i i i i i i i

DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS

Fig. 13. Multichannelseismicreflectionprofile (UTIG profileCT2-10) acrossthe easternCaymanrise

andCamagiieyTrenchdomains.Diagramelementsarethesameasin Figure6. Seethe insetmapand
Figure 5 for profile location.

roundingcrust. The easternandwesternboundariesof the depthto basementmeasurements

indicatethatthebasin
basinare definedby faults,asevidentbothfrom basement formed between42 and 60 Ma 0VliddleEoceneto Late
offsetalongtheboundaries andthe abruptincreases of crustal Paleocene)[Rosencrantzet al., 1989], as determinedfrom the
thickness bothto thewestandeast.Freeair andBouguer smallbasincoolingcurvesof Boernetand Sclater[ 1989]. If
gravitymodelsacrossthewesternboundaryshowthatthe the basinsimplyrepresents a portionof a largerpieceof
pronounced gravitylow alongthe baseof the borderland typicaloceancrust,thenits heatflow andbasement depth
escarpment marksan abruptwestwardthickeningof crust yield an oldercalculatedageof between55 and75 Ma
from about7 to 23 km [Dillon et al., 1972;Bowin, 1976; (Paleoceneto Maastrichtian),baseduponthe crustalcooling
Alvarado-Omana, 1986]. Modelingof a similarbutless curvesof Parsonsand Sclater [ 1977].
pronounced low alongthe easternboundaryshowsan increase
of crustalthicknessto 12 to 18 km beneaththeCaymanrise BasementStructure: Faults, Thrusts,and Sutures
andridge[Dillon et al., 1972;Dillon andVedder,1973].
Gravitymodelingalsosuggests thatcrustthickenssouthward The majoroffsets,lineaments
andfaultscuttingthebase-
towardthe southwestrift domain[Dillon andVedder, 1973]. ment unit and horizon of the Yucatan Basin constitute three
The rectangular shape,faultedboundaries anddeepoceanic majortectonicstructures.Theseare(1) theburiedCamagiiey
basement of thewesterndeepbasinsuggest thatit formedasa trenchlocatedon the easternboundaryof thebasin,(2) a
smallrift basinwithinoldersurrounding crust.Heatflow and broad,structurallycomplexpaleo-transformfault zone
Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin
Gulf of Mexico
TRANSFORM
LOW
o TRENCH
o
Gaym
an
Fig. 14. Simplifiedgravityanomaly mapof theYucatanBasin,adaptedfromtheGravityAnomalyMap
of NorthAmerica[ 1988]. Notethatthegravityanomalyfieldeverywhere reflectsbasementtopography
(Figure3), exceptfor thegravitylowalongthebaseof theborderland
thebroadgravityhighoverthewesterndeepbasin.
between the Yucatan borderlandand easterncrustalblocks,
and(3) a longtranscurrent
faultthatextendsdiagonallySW-
NE across the eastern block.
The Camagiieytrench. In crosssectionthe Camagiiey
trench shows all the characteristics of a trench associated with
a subduction
zone(Figure13). Basementclearlydips
northeast
beneaththe Cubanmargin. To thenorththetrench
hasbeeneithertruncatedby, or truncatedandoffsetalong,La
Trocha fault zone. To the south,it curvessoutheasttoward
theCubanmarginandCautodepression. Whetherit continues
southeastbeneaththemargincannotbe determined.Thereis
no directevidenceon the ageor originof thetrench,andthe
tectonicsof Cubaare not knownwell enoughto fully
constraina modeof origin (seebelow).
The transformzone. The patternsof basementtopography
andstructurewithin andadjacentto the Yucatanborderland
andwesterndeepbasinindicatethatthisareaincludesa
broad,north-southtrendingpaleo-transformzone,or suture,
between the Yucatan borderland and eastern crustal blocks.
The zone extends from the southwestern comer of the basin
northwardto andincludingthePinarfault of westernCuba,
where it intersects the Cuban thrust belt. This transform
definesthenorthwestern
segmentof theLate Cretaceous-
Paleogene("Laramide")suturealongthe Caribbean-North
Americanplateboundary(Figure 1).
The basementtopographyof the Yucatanborderlandouter
ridgeandescarpment,asseenin crosssection(Figure6) is
1053
CU BA
LOWI
CAYMAN RIDGE HIGH
Trodg
h
-50 0 +50
mgals
escarpment (transformlow)and
similarin shape,sizeandinternalstructureto thepresent-day
Caymanridge and escarpmentborderingthe Caymantrough,
andis interpretedasbeingof similarorigin. As the baseof
the southernflank of the Caymanridgedefinesthe location
and trend of the Oriente transformfault, so the baseof the
borderlandscarpdefinesthe locationandtrendof the paleo-
transformfault. This is supportedby free air andBouguer
gravitymodelsof the pronounced, lineargravitylow alongthe
baseof the slope,whichshowan abruptwestwardthickening
of crust(7 to 23 km) acrossthe escarpment[Dillon et al.,
1973; Bowin, 1976, Alvarado-Omana, 1986] Seismic
profilesacrossthe baseof the escarpment showlittle evidence
for the presenceof this fault, but this is expectedin view of
the roughness anddip of the basementhorizon.
North of latitude19.5ø N, the westernfault systemincludes
two major,subparallelstrandswhichmergenorthwardasthe
Pinar Fault. Between latitudes 19.5ø and 20 ø N, these two
strandsbracketa smallpull-apartor rift basin. To the south,
between latitudes 18ø and 19.5 ø N, the fault zone in all
likelihoodincludesthe faultedandacousticallylayeredcrust
within the westerndeepbasinadjacentto the escarpment,
whichmight representan exoticsliverof oldercrustemplaced
within the transform zone.
The fault zonedefiningthe easternboundaryof the western
deepbasinis not aswell definedtopographically, andshows
no distinctgravitysignature.The presenceof multiplefault
strandsare likely, but not obvious.The zoneextendsnorth-
1054
wardintotheroughtopography of thecentralseamounts
domain,whichmay representvolcanics"leaked"alongthe
fault zoneduringtheearlystagesof its development.To the
south,the easternboundaryappearsconfinedto a narrowzone
alongthebaseof thelow, lineartopographic riseflankingthe
basin(seeFigure3), beyondwhichit disappears withinthe
blockfaultingthe southwesthorstandgrabendomain.
The ageof faulting,crustalrifting andbasement
deformationis Paleogene.As notedabove,theprobableage
of westerndeepbasincrustis LatePaleocene to Middle
Eocene[Rosencrantzet al., 1989]. Late Cretaceousto
Oligoceneradiometricagesof basement metamorphic rocks
dredgedfrom theYucatanborderlandescarpment represent
minimumages[Pyleet al., 1973;Vedderet al., 1973],
probablyresetby anEocenethermalevent[Vedderet al.,
1973]. Wells drilledin westernCubapenetrate
seriesof
platformsequence
duplexes
emplacedduringLatePaleocene
to EarlyEocene
time,anddatedmelange
rocksin centraland
western Cuban indicate that the arc rocks of the Zaza terrane
thrustover,anddeformed,underlyingsediments
between
EarlyandMiddleEocenetime[Piotrowska, 1978;
Pszczolkowski,1978;MossakovskiyandAlbear, 1978;
Pszczolkowskiand Flores, 1986].
Transbasinfault. Thelongtopographic lineament
defined
by theseriesof valleys,northfacingescarpments,
and
structural discontinuities that extends SW to NE across the
Yucatanbasinmarksthe locationof a largetranscurrent fault.
To thenortheast thisfaultmergeswith andcontinues asLa
Trochafault of centralCuba. To the west,the fault cannotbe
reliablytracedbeyondthepointwhereit truncates the
Caymanridge.
The orientationsof secondary(or splay)faultsadjacentto
themainfault(seethescarpsat 20øN, 82øW, Figures4 and
15), andoffsetof La Trochafault [Pardo,1975]bothindicate
thatthesenseof displacement is left-lateral.The amountof
offsetis small,probablylessthan50 km,assuggested
by the
probableoffsetof La Trochafaultandtheapparent
offsetof
the north-south
trendinggraben-likestructurelocatedat
longitude82.5øW.
The ageof thetransbasin faultrelativeto transform
faulting
to thewestis not clear. Displacement alongLa Trochafault is
commonly thoughtto haveoccurred duringtheMiddle
Eocene[Pardo,1975]. Thereis evidencefor northeast
directedthrustingeastof thefaultduringtheMiddleEocene
[PszczolkowskiandFlores,1986]. This is youngerthanthe
ages(Paleocene, EarlyEocene)attributed to faultingand
thrustingin westernCuba,andwouldimplythatthe
transbasin-LaTrochafaultis younger.If so,thisfaultwould
supporttheargument of Malfait andDinkiernan[1972]that
theCaribbeanplate,duringits transitionfromnorthwardto
east-westmovement,was attachedto the North American
platethrougha processof "handing-off"
piecesof Caribbean
lithosphere.
Ontheotherhand,theapparent smalloffset
acrossthefault wouldsuggestthatthisprocess
waslimited
and of short duration.
Otherstructures.The originof theline of grabensbetween
theCaymanridgeandtheCaymanrisecrestis unknown.
They offsetbasement andlowestoverlyingsediments, so
postdatetherise,butareapparently truncated by theCayman
ridge. Their development
may reflecttectonicmovement
duringtheearlystagesof Caymantroughdevelopment.
Rosencrantz:Structureand Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin
The north-southtrendingtopographiclineamentswhichcut
the easternbasinandCaymanriseat longitude82.5øW
probablyrepresent a narrowgrabenof pre-MiddleEocene
age. Whetherit formedin responseto transbasin
faultingor
to another earlier event is unknown.
The basementfault blockscharacterizing
the southwest
horstandgrabendomainmayhavedevelopedduringCayman
troughopening.However,theblockfaultscouldalsoreflect
local crustal extension related to movement on the transbasin
fault,or representa widezoneof north-southtrending
strike
slipfaultingrelatedto transformdisplacements.
Sediments thatfill theYucatanbasinarelargely
undisturbed, indicatingthatthebasinhasundergone little
deformationsinceits formation.Exceptionsincludethe
foldingof deepsediments alongthe Camagiieytrench,the
faultingof deepsedimentsalongthe line of grabenssouthof
the Caymanrise,bothnotedabove,andminorfaultingand
tilting of sedimentsalongthe southernedgeof the basin,
adjacentto the Caymantrough. Seismicreflectionprofiles
acrossthe easternmost Caymanridgeshowsmallgraben-like
structures within sedimentscappingtheridge. Much of the
Caymanridgehasbeendisplacedverticallyduringthe
Neogene[e.g.,PerfitandHeezen,1978],althoughthisis not
discernable on seismicprofiles.To thewest,faultingand
slumpingof sediments andtiltingof reefs[Stoddart,1962]
alongthe southernYucatanborderlandindicatethatthispart
of the marginis tectonicallyunstableat present[Dillon and
Vedder,1973]. Elsewhere,sediments overlyingthe
transcurrentfault southof the centralseamounts (Figure 10,
kilometers105 and 130) exhibitevidenceof tilting and
faulting;theseprobablyreflectlocalandlimitedreactivation
of the transbasin fault.
Regional Iml)lications
Preservedbasementstructures of thepresent-dayYucatan
Basin(Figure 15) providea snapshotof Eocenetectonic
conditions in the northwestern Caribbean. Plate motions
inferred from fault and rift orientations are consistent with
knownstructureof the Cubanthrustbelts[e.g.,Pardo,1975].
The timing of rift basinopening[Rosencrantz,et al., 1989]
correlateswith thatof Cubanthrusting[e.g.,Pszczolkowski
andFlores, 1986], andthe amountof openingof the rift
basin(s),about350 km, providesa minimumestimateof the
amountof Eocenethrustingin Cuba.
This 350 km represents onlythefinal phaseof thetotal
northward movement of the Yucatan-Cuban blocks relative to
theBahamasplatform. Reconstructing thebasinby closing
therifts (Figure16) placestheZazaterraneadjacentto the
Yucatanplatform. Becausethehistoryof the easternYucatan
platformrecordsno (or insignificant)volcanics[e.g.,Lopez-
Ramos, 1975], the Zaza terranemusthave moved from a
locationfurthersouth.AssumingthattheSantaCruzophio-
lite in Guatemala[Rosenfeld,1980]represents
a fragmentof
the western continuationof the Zaza terrane, then the total
minimumdisplacement of theterranesincethe emplacement
of the SantaCruz ophiolitein Campaniantime hasbeenabout
1100 km.
Both the locationandstructureof the pre-Eoceneplate
boundarybetweenthe basinandYucatanplatformareun-
knownat present,asis the questionof why the boundary
Rosencrantz:
Structure
andTectonics
of theYucatanBasin 1055

rrrrrr

rrrrrrr

0 z -- -- w_
• • z• z zz•

r r

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r r r

r r r r r

r r r r

3N3003-3Hd •

r r r r r r r

r r r r r r r r

r r r r r r r r

r r r r r

r r r r r r r

r r r r r r r

r r r r r r r

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H-

>- i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

i i
i iI i i i i i i i
1056 Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin

111

BANCO
CHINCHORRO CAUTO
DEPRESSION

TURNEFFE I.

I !i• PLATFORM
• THRUST z ZAZA
O TERRANE
O

ß***• """"'
TRANS-BASIN
TRACE •LU
FAULT i.?'•OCEANIC
CRUST
EOCENE

ß
RECONSTRUCTION • BASEMENT
SHOW(TICS I "•
SCARP
FACING
DIRECTION)
:'" OCEANIC
RISE
0 1co 250

DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS
O SEAMCUNT
• EOCENE RIFT

Fig. 16. Eoceneplatereconstruction

of the YucatanBasin.

developedpull-apartor rift structuresduringthe Late Caymantroughspreadingrepresents a maturephaseof pull-

Paleoceneor Early Eocene. One possibleansweris that asthe
leadingedgeof the northwardmovingYucatanbasin-Cuban
lithosphericblock "felt" the approaching Bahamasplatform,it
wasnudgedeastwardso asto rotatethe blocksin a clockwise
sense.This would reorientand "open"the strike-slip
boundaryalongthe westernedgeof theblock. As new faults
developedto accommodate the new motion,the fault zone
wouldwiden and existingfaultswouldextendso asto initiate
"leaky" volcanism. This would be consistent with the
volcanicsproposedfor the northeastern comerof the western
deepbasin.
The apparentlack of a time gapbetweenthe Middle Eocene
cessationof Caribbean-North Americanconvergence, as
recordedby Cubanthrusting[e.g.,Pardo,1975;
Pszczolkowskiand Flores, 1986] and the Middle Eocene
openingof the Caymantrough[Rosencrantz et a1.,1988]raises
the possibilitythateast-weststrike-slipdisplacement between
the CaribbeanandNorthAmericanplatesbeganbeforeor
duringCuban-Bahamas thrusting,ratherthanafter. East-west
displacement musthavestartedprior to the Middle Eoceneif
apartrifting. If so, thenthe Yucatanbasin-Cubanblockwas
detached
fromtheCaribbean platebeforetheblockhadfully
convergedon theBahamasplatform. The relative
displacements recordedby the basintransformsandrifts
representthe displacementsof thatblockrelativeto the North
Americanplate,not thoseof the Caribbeanplate(as
representedby the NicaraguaRise,ColombianBasinand
VenezuelanBasin)relativeto theNorthAmericanplate.
Additionalquestions aboutthe Cretaceous platebbeanlitho-
sphere.On theotherhand,theapparentsmalloffsetacross
thefault wouldsuggest thatthisprocesswaslimitedandof
short duration.
Otherstructures.The originof the line of grabensbetween
the Caymanridgeandthe Caymanrisecrestis unknown.
They offsetbasement andlowestoverlyingsediments, so
postdatetherise,butareapparently truncated by theCayman
ridge. Theirdevelopment mayreflecttectonicmovement
duringtheearlystages of Caymantroughdevelopment.
The north-southtrendingtopographic lineaments whichcut
theeasternbasinandCaymanriseat longitude82.5øW
Rosencrantz: Structure and Tectonics of the Yucatan Basin
probablyrepresenta narrowgrabenof pre-MiddleEocene
age. Whetherit formedin response
to transbasin
faultingor
to another earlier event is unknown.
The basementfault blockscharacterizing
the southwest
horstandgrabendomainmay havedevelopedduringCayman
troughopening. However,the blockfaultscouldalsoreflect
local crustal extension related to movement on the transbasin
fault, or representa wide zoneof north-south trendingstrike
slip faultingrelatedto transformdisplacements.
Sedimentsthatfill the Yucatanbasinare largely
undisturbed, indicatingthatthebasinhasundergonelittle
deformationsinceits formation. Exceptionsincludethe
foldingof deepsedimentsalongthe Camagfieytrench,the
faultingof deepsedimentsalongthe line of grabenssouthof
the Caymanrise,bothnotedabove,andminorfaultingand
tilting of sedimentsalongthe southernedgeof thebasin,
adjacentto the gencezoneis theupliftedandexposed
Trinidad thrustfault in south-centralCuba [Hattenet al.,
1958; Hatten et al., 1988]. The right-lateraloffsetof the zone
acrossLa Trochafault is apparentanddueto crustaluplift
westof La Trochafault. To thesoutheast the convergence
zone lies buriedbeneaththe youngersedimentsandvolcanics
of the Cautodepression and SierraMaestra.
SUMMARY
The distributionof basementtypesandthepatternof
faultingshownby YucatanBasinseismicreflectionprofiles
indicate that the basin includes crusts of three different
compositions andorigins:
1. Crustunderlyingthe westernedgeof thebasin(Yucatan
borderlanddomain)represents the eastern,offshorecontinua-
tion of the adjacentYucatanplatformsection.Basement
rocksprobablyincludeCretaceous carbonates andevaporites,
JurassicredbedsandPaleozoiccrystallinerockssimilarto
thosesampledon theplatform. Sediments filling thetroughs
andbasinsof theborderlandlikely representfacies
equivalents of platformcarbonates of middleandlateTertiary
age. Basementbeneaththe southwestern comerof the basin
(southwestern horstandgrabendomain)may include
stretchedplatformcrust.
2. Topographically heterogeneouscrustunderlyingthe
easterntwo-thirdsof thebasin(easternbasin,Caymanrise,
Caymanridge, and CamagiieyTrenchdomains)includesa
thicksequence of volcanicsandplutonicsin theform of the
Caymanrise. With the exceptionof the Caymanridge,the
basementtopographypredatesbasinformation.Volcanicsare
Late Cretaceousto Eocene?in age,andreston oldercrust,of
unknownage,of probableoceanicorigin. The easternedgeof
thebasinis thrustbeneaththe Cubanmargin;its structural
relationshipwith the Cubanplatformelsewhereis not known.
3. The rectangular basementdeepunderlyingthewestern
thirdof thebasinis a pull-apartbasinformedwithin the trans-
formboundaryseparating theYucatanplatformandeastern
basin. Availableevidencedemonstrates thatthedeepis
oceanic,andprobablyformedduringtheLate Paleoceneto
Middle Eocene.
The Yucatanplatformis separatedfrom oceaniccrust
beneaththetheeasternYucatanbasinby a paleo-transform
boundary,whichdefinesthenorthwestern portionof the
1057
Caribbean-North Americanconvergent plateboundary.This
zoneincludesa largepull-apartbasin,flooredwith oceanic
crust. The orientations of this basin and related fault trends
showthatdisplacement
acrossthe transformwasleft-lateral,
with the eastern Yucatan basin and attached Cuban section
movingN to NNE relativeto a fixedYucatanplatform.The
amountof offset,asestimatedfromthelengthof thepull-
apartbasin,is about350 kin, notincludingdisplacement ac-
commodated by crustalstretchingandthinning.The best
estimateof ageof displacement is Late Paleoceneto Middle
Eocene.
The easternedgeof the Yucatanbasinhasbeenthrust
beneaththe Cubanmarginalonga now-buriedtrench,called
the Camagiieytrench. This structuremay haveformedasan
Eocenebackthrust behindthe Cubanarc,or it may representa
remnantof the Cretaceoussubductionsystemassociated with
the Cuban arc (Zaza terrane). The trench is truncatedat its
northendby a long, left-lateralfault which extendsSW-NE
diagonallyacrossthebasinandcontinuesonlandin central
Cuba as La Trocha fault.
The basementtopography of theYucatanbasingivesa
pictureof theEocenetectonics of thebasinandpermitsa
reasonable reconstruction
of basement structureduringLate
Paleoceneor Early Eocenetime,but yieldslittle information
as to the pre-Eocenetectonicsof the westernCaribbean.
However,the closetimingbetweenthe finishof Yucatan
basin-Cubannorthward motionandthestartof Cayman
trougheast-weststrike-slipmotionsuggests
thatthetwo
eventsmay haveoverlapped.
Acknowledgments. JamesPindell,RobertSpeed,
ChristopherBowland,andJ. G. Vedder all commented
extensivelyonversionsof thispaper.Theirinsights,
corrections
andrecommendations definitelyhelpedimprove
thispaper,andI appreciatethetimeandefforttheyputinto
theirreviews.Thisworkwassupported by NationalScience
Foundation grantOCE 8308139andby theUniversityof
Texas.Universityof TexasInstitutefor Geophysics
contribution number 804.
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