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BETWEEN Cu"BA 1UCROPL.ATE AND BARTLET DEEPW.ATER TREllCH
D. Ao Lilienberg
The Caribbean region is a apecific morphoatructural,
e;eotecton.ic and geo'dyn=ic unit of <Jur planet - a n i n
t e r e o n t i n e n t a 1 r e g i o n. The .A1m rican
!.:editerr.;¡nean region is the wegtern fra.g:nent of the o.ncient
1\leg"-Tetr...is belt and is specified with great complexity of .'----._
dcvelop ment a:nd with high mobility, Tlms, the Caribbean
rogion beca.me a particular m o d· e .. l· a r e a • for dif
ferent theoretical elO<borations again¡¡t the fundamental
background of the theory of the Earth'a tectono- and morpho
genesis. At this place in fact, the "theoretical discuaaion
of the century" - the fight bet-.veen the idei!.s of fixism and
~~·r mobilism waa carriod out.
The conc~pt¡¡ cf fixis:n, governing the first half o:f our
century, were f cunded on the pri::::arity of the v e r t i -
e a 1 o .o v e m e n t .s du......J.r~ tr..e tectonogenetic develop
;:.ent a.nc the formation o:f the oro-geoeynclinal syatems. The
ge;;eral t rend of tt.is C·C''.Ie lopment ia considered as oceanizat-
:!.en of tl:e fo=er cont~nental cruat, The representatives of
the ~xtre r:::e p oint of view had interpreted the Caribbean. re-
éion as • tJ?ical recent geosyncline (the Cuban archipelQSO
included ) , There are othor concepts, ~d namely on the oon-
ti:::.enté..l expanaion towiU'ds the ocea.ne through the í'ormation
of ial O<nd ares too.
In result of Hesg' worka (1938, I953) e.nd JJe Plshon
et al., (1966) the C&ribbean r egi on waa conaidered froro the 1 neo-mobiliatic point of >iew end t he leading role of the
h o r 1 z o n t a 1 m o v e m e n t s of large crustal 1
blooks - the li thoepheric plate e , was advEmced. Thus far,
mul tiple vereions of neo-mobiliatic modela are ava ilable,
which qui t e often contradict e ach other rather based on
reasoning, but nevertheless ensbling to interpret the baaic
r~gularitiea of tectono- and mo rpho-geneaia of t he Caribbean
region from a new point of view ~1d in a more profound mode.
Subaequently, the plate-tectonica concept be c~ne the leQding
one in thia area.
The recent mo rphostructure of the Cari bbean region is or h e t e r o g e n i o ne. t ure, :tnheriting from and integrat-
ing the de ve lopment of different geotectonic and geodynarnic
sta.gee. The g e o m o r p h o 1 o g i e e. 1 s t a g e
atarted in the Middle Mesozoic epoch (Geraeimov, 1964; !9?0)
thnt initiated the fundarre ntal r e arr~~eruent of the eartb
atructursl con:figuratio.n, when the continental· expansion wa.e
replaced by the revera., procesa - ocean spree.d.ing. 'l'he open
ing of . the Atlantic, the decor:p c sition of Pr.n,gea-P, the de
tachruent of North Arnerica from Gondwana, and later of South
America fr om Africa, the forr:ation of the intercontinental
Tethis ccean, and the foJ.lcwing eepa:r::aticn of ita weetern
( Caribbean) part (Hein, I979) h!i.d started through this epoch.
During the Late Meeozoic !illd the Early Cenozoic the westwa:rd
drift of the North and South A~rican eontinenti occurred,
205
/
iltth~tr 1d th the interaction between these li thoepheric
L•\•• nnd their atep-wise displ e. .:ement that reaul ted in
~'IIIIIC'IIt tüion of the intercontinente.l region b.~tween them,
11e O(>lll~,l~:x Llrift of megablocka nnd rllicroplatoa one to the
lh•r• G<'<apression, extenuion, horizontal disple.Gement, up-
t tUl\g ond Gubsidence of tlle individual c:rUstal uni ts.
'l'lu·, ·u¡_;Lout the procesa of dynamic interacU.on between the
li!Hil')llHteo, a diein tegre.tion of their edge pro·te and inter
,l~tl n r<'r;ion occu.rr~d, that reaul ted in the complication of
bflil' bluck morphostructu.re snd therefore, provi <.h:d grounda
""' l~<>m<' IJCient5..st s to outline addi tione.l microplate aystem.
J;uu, northward the deepwate¡· Ca;ymsn trench, the Cubc.n micro
In te cr Legsblock was shsped (Uahakov et sl., 1979). Now,
tdl:f micropl ates a.nd l!le,gublocks are tl·aced addi ;_i onally 'ñi. Uún
ltr C"ribbel'.n plG.te a.nd the n orthern periproery o1 the Soutb
•·"' rtcnr, aupel'Jllate.
-J.• Gcner&l ,1:cr phosb:uctural Dl:ffe:n:mtie.tion
:U:l:. c,,¡·ib!Je0lLJntercontinental plute has cent:ml morpho
lt"t\ctm·al and geodyruJ..T..ic oi t u e. ticn viit1Jin the region. Ita
"ep¡,: bC>undaries are cle e.rl y ehap e d on the land nnd eea f'loor
. .,.lief ty the geological structure, the geophyoical fielda are
•¡ · er:~ied l\i.th high seismic activity. The continental platea
¡f ¡;urth and Soutb .America, drifting westward vd.th rotation
:om¡>()nent, compresa and push away the Caribbee.n plate east
rard. The computationa on the momentlli~ of the relative in_
,tantaneous kinematic.s of the lithospheric platea ehow that
fjt dr1!ta eastwurd vl.ith a rate of I,4 - 2,I cm/ye ar with
rtterence to the South .American ple.te (Jordan, I975;Molna:r,
Uku, 1')69; Uehakov et al ., I979). In addí t ion , t.hia alid-
1nc of pl11tes is not of e. simp ly linear nature. It has e.
~o.re comple.x charact(;r. Beiv..g eubject to. bilateral comprea
•&on, the Ca.ribbean plat~ drifta simu1 taneoualy nórtlma.rd,
toward11 the North A~Wricen plato with a r at e o.f O,J ·- 0,4
om/1eQr and comes clos er t o the South American plate vdth a
&'ah o! 0,2 cm/year. It followa t he r efore, that the plato
ll!OVoll to the ocean crust of the Western .Atlantic eaatward
and 1 ts northorn and sc·uthern boundaries should have an
untlorttu:uating component ( Uahe.kov et al., 1979 ) • The main
¡eo<lyn~e.mic ·aystem of the sublatitudina.l boundariea ia com
pufled by wren,ch-fa ul t deformatione. The northern contact to
the Nortb .American plate along the deepwater Ceymen trench
1G a 1oft-lateral wTench-fault with an amplitude of several
to11a up to 500 - I 000 km and more ( after '>~rious authors )
Qnd the correaponding bound ary to South America along the
t'~o~ult zone, Oca-el-:Pila.r is a right-l atoral fa·..üt with dia
pluce ment of aleo aeveral tena to 400 - 500 km and more
(~o~fter many authore).
Being clearly outlined by botb relief and tectonics as
integral morphoatruotural fonnation , the Caribbean plate is
ot' complex differentiated morphoatructure. Substt<ntia.lly. the
Col omb1tm, Venezuelia.n and Grenadian deepwate:r depressions
( •uboceanic cruat include.d) e.nd the uplif'tB sep.arating them,
1. e. Nicarr.gua, Beata and .Avoa (aubcontineñtel cruat also
207
d.Ucluded) repre sent outlj_ned lll'>rph ost:cuctu:ro.l blocks, li.Jni t
ed by morpholinean:.en-ts und abrupt esc~arp;ne::rts of the sub
¡¡¡¡,¡l·ine relief of the order of 2 km. ltl tl10ugh the oute.r boun
dtl.riea of the platc be oxprensed with a/'flre belt" of er.rth
lj\\Ulcc<:fl, ita inn("r pa.rt is of peor fJd. >J:ni.c ••ctivity, at cer
toin locationa even inactive.
2'!lL.-9!¿Qj?_1:§!.qJo: .. J2.?o~!L.t!:tlllQh sep a.r v .. tii¡g tho Curibbe !'Jl plete
fn>m the North .American one ( 'l'h e Cube.n micropl ate iucluded)
htw oxteneion of I 500 -· I 600 km at width of IOO - I 500
\un Pnd depth of 5 .. 7 km. 'I'ht'? thich:tH:sa of tbe suboce s .. \'l.iO
c:nwt wii;lún its limito is smü.l . - of 5- IO km. (at (;}'e ce..et··
o1·n purt of the Burtlet troneh on1y i t attains I7 kn) a.nd at
Cel'tain loc a ti one it is juet 3 - 5 km (Eovin, I 968). 'rhls ia
u ;young (Pliocene-Qua terns.:;:y) d~v~lvping morphostructure.
CL'!,;pens atory m-.ecneoliü.¡¡;teó. deposits s..re not to be found in
1 t~:~ 1:1iddle ps.rt. -They appenr westward a11d eo.stwa:rd v.-ith the
tnc.rouso of tl-e th:l.0kn.c us to the poriphory.
The e·v. t ure zon e of the pla.te jur1ction ia e-peoifJ~u \71th
t1efor:nati ons on t;he isostat:lc equilibrium of the earth'a
cruet, In t be e :;o.Bt ·~rn pru·t (B t'.l"tlet tr~nch) the negative
t<JH'n-alies of the gravi ty force :reach t<t certcin lo·cationa
\lp to -230 mGal whereas the bcur.ding uplifte of the trench
L"ve positivo enomnlieG with-tn the 11ica rszua uplift (J 8 -
m&ick) up to +IOO rnGal ro1d in Sierra.-I.:aeotra mounta.in eystem
11\• the t-mbrr:e. rine Cayrmn :ridge - up to +100 mGal ( Ush~ov
lt tl• , I 979) •
of t:r...e recent geodynamic a e ti vi ty is the
/
llf.WCJ.:cd heat flow. Wl.thin the Cayr·,_sn tre!Jch, i t ia lil i milar to
the .~.<d jucellt parte of the Atlant.ic, end >.üteina up to 2,3-I0-6
? oal/ cm._/ &~e in the C(mtral p a.rto 1 ow~r:tng towRrds the peri-
ph· ~. y, while within the Cayroa:-1 subme¡rine r:tdg e it is of
l,.J - I,4.I0-6 caJ./cm2 / r¡c c (ErL~ks~ n et 21 ., 1972).
Ae e m o r p h o s t r u e t u r a 1 t y p e the
Cay¡;,t1n trench ia of complex crigin and cGm1ot be conaidered
q 11 classi c a l deep wo.t er trench simply. or &le n typical
l'ittogenic structure. Its r,pcc.Lfics in a generalized fo.rm
ltn be re Juced to two vers ~.o ns1
a) the trench repre s enta a nor::.al g raben, llm:i. te d by
f¡ttp normal feul ts a.nd abn:pt eL<Carpments (up to ) -- 5 km)
Haded inwo.rd. The eeiamofocal plR:,e 3 fo r t h:Ls v<:>rsion must
d•o have dips towa rds the axirctl p :a:rt, wh.:.ch :l.s not the real
•••o. The vertical movements are of l ·! ading i n:po rtance in
t~• ~raben f ormation.
b) the trench :-epresenta intl.'rplate srres.dir~ 81.\tu:r.e
.. Wlder the 1 ~- :!ding role o f the horizontal movem~ntP.
D&tterent geologics.l, geomorphologi ce} , e c;~ rnG.'S""'Plüc •c:nd
o•ht:r data :=ather unl f orr:tl y p"rovide e vi d ·~nce on · ·.!e ·::1.1&.
-lltty of a 1 e f t ~ w a r d w = e n e h - f a u
~~- the northern trensform faul t. A sub-·.-."T~· J:•::h f aul t 0!!!-
pOQnt can be traced, baeed c•n t l; t :leforr1<:tion diatributicn
ot thc ioocJtatic equilibrium ¡md e:; ett5.s::lic ~vidence but
lftdtntly the sub-wrer.ch f au.l t cor::p one nt va.l u e is a r:::all er
tllu tlle value of the left~lateral w::-ench-fault und rmkes
U aore complex. In additi on, the s,:reatest denaity o'! .etrong
-A he\11•"'• •" """l'h<>tl' c ton ics 209
j
earthquake source a with depth of 70 - 80 (possibly IOO - 1 20
km) is ¡·elated to the northern faul t and is pa:rtially traced
along the southern.
The. deepwuter Cayr:mn tr<!21ch and it.a eastern part - the
Bartlet tr·ench, are decor::po2e d into series of differentl;r
\lplifted o.n d orientated trerwverse abd dius onal blocks,
olenrly shaped into the relief in the form of a sequence of f
extended narrow grabens , monoclines and iaometri c horate,
aulmarine pluten.u..-.::, uplifts, step ··7.'ise formutiona, having
•• n rule, sharp contrast boundari es of llneainent type a."l.d
ab1·upt eecarpments. S orne' .of these fnulto u¡·e s eismically
active.
'[h_q_f:d1J.~llJ1i..0:C..IJ_l;.l!·~ :la outline d v;i thin the marginal
pfu·t of the Northern Americo.n superplate and representa a
·~·1 Angular morphostructu:r:al megablock, limi ted southward by
t.he ueepwater Cayman trench Emd west~ and east-ward by tbe
lal"é:I'!St morphol ineament s. It .is c o;nposed in :norphoatructural
a¡rpect by th.rce macroblocks . Th e epreading Yucatan deepwater ·!>. jepreasion wae_ set up during th .~ I,ate Cretaceous epocb. The
G~ban megablock reprePents part of the isl and are of the
Greater Antilles, forQed du.ring the Cretaceous epoch and
110\led through the procese of spreadi:r..g of the Yucatan depres-
•l en north-e astward. The C&ymétn Sierra l>hJ.e stra morpho atruc
•ural macroblock corresp onda te a youn.ger island are, which
••• fCl"Tlled ini tially as a compressi ve morphostructure and
t1 the end of the Palaeogene (Late Eocene) it was cut by the
9-.,man trench, ita northern part bei:r..g also moved north-east-
Jtt
'IV~d. 'l'he continued ap:c·eading of th<~ Yucn+.an depresaion
t>ccurred wUh tO'tal arr:pl.itudo of up to -:.oo - 350 km (Sheir.,
fleetev. 1978), thus predetern.rl.n:í.ng the recent o·J.tl•:.>c:'k of
tbe Cuba isltmd G.nd itl3 shelf ar·ea (Lilie.nberg, 1980).
taoteru p a1·t ( the Ba.rtJ. ··~ t tren eh) and the 1.mderthn1ating of
"he northern msrgin \mJer the soutl1e•·>:> edge of the Cuban !;
,jji••oropls.te rer,ul ted in tranav('Jree cc.Lpress:J.on in th11 con-
; •••1·gence ::;one and in n1:!l:·vpt uplift of the e.sym.T,etric, thruat-
1 j..nocline !~O.!:_l2I~.i<..k't! ... ~te;~_o:f_j)_~e~:;:r~J&t!;?~~ v,·:tth helgh·t of
\11 to 2 Y.::rn (I,Uienberg, 1980; I98J). The contact zo:r:e or the
lat1 tudin,U rnor-ph,ostxuctv:re a botwe,~n Sierra Maestra and tbr .
. Jart1 et trenci:J :ia expreBS<~d wl tb she.rp .~.ontrast in the r~<;tnt
r•l1ef, with gensrnl height difference of the order cf 7- IO
lillt and ver1at1.::n of th-! 1-.eight grad:tent up to JOO ... 400 m
, .il•r km. In the proc•,;f.!s cf S.ierra !t;;,,stra upl~.fti~:;;(- bli{lue, i ,. '
'',truJOverse-diHgonsl faul t:ing cf the ·:otmta.il1 "Y' -·~ ,, .• c•c-
lUid t:ranaverse morphüfJtructure !.'. In c/1d'. t ton, the ee11i' .: tion
ar the trnnrnr,,rse-diagonal f!loryhootructtn· .. ,1 b:i.uclm is of
"tra.nsgreesional" nattn::11 and ie trr:ced l'oth in Si<'lrra Maestra
and within the limitn of the adja.cent parta of th('l Bartlet
trenoh and the Cuto-~Gm.c~<.nayobo depresaion. The geodyn&mi.Q
IWlotion or the main morphoBtruct-.ual zonea1 :in principle
.211
uccurs with i n o r e a a e d e 0 n t r a a t (Lilienberg,
I:l~lO); most uplifted is the Central Sierra Maestra (2 lan)
wllich is accompa.uied wi th the d"epest subaidence of' the
('riente trench (6,5 - 7 km). The G1·a.n Piédra lowmountain
mnl'lilif (I km) ia c.:.mjugsted v>?..th the lesa deep Baconao dep
r(.'s::Jion (5 - 5,5 km) end the plo.in of Santyngo de Cuba with
lll~ CibQney subwarine plateau, separ&.ting these depressions.
'J.'he format±on of the Sierra Maestra mowltain systom oc
nrered in several stagea, that is directly reflected in i te
utructural featuree. The general "m o r p h o e t r u e t u
r a 1 p a r u d o x 11 of S:l..erra Maestra ahould be related to
this (Lilienberg, I98J). Dm·ing the Palseogene it developed
in the el tu:'ltion of tr!Ulsverse compreaaion and formation of
nnppa sheets end thrusts of aouth-eastward orientation e.nd
the actual Ba:rtlet trench zone was the genc r otion area. The
c oncentration and the interlayering of the frontal parte o:f
the nappe sheets t ook place along the nortbern alope e.nd had
to be reflected in the corresponding asymmetry of the moun
tll.in system. NeYer thele ss, the recent morphoatructure is of
r~Yerse asym:met¡·y - ub:rupt and short eouthern alope, gentle
Rnd long north-.,rn one. This r e a:crane;ement of the mo:rphostrue
tl:!·es ia related to the neotectonic (Pliocene-Quaternar:r
r.1a inly) &~tsge and the apreadlng of the Bartlet trench, reeuJ.
ting in reverse rnonoclinal mountain uplifting a.nd formation
of you::-,g ~newly s.haped fatl.l ts of northern dip. part of whiob
i' seiamically active.
J.notber morphoetrilctural e.nomaly :ia tbe 1 a o k o -r
e o i n e i d e n e e between the orogrephie axis ( the main
w~tershed being attríbuted to i t) and the nxia· ot the mex-
1mtun neotectonic uplift. Simlar lack of coir.::idence ia
typieal for many yotu~ mountain systems - the .t.ndes, the
Himalayas, the Alps, the Caucasus (Lilienb~¡:og , 1978). Uo
nntisfactory interpretation ca.'1 b<:l found in the theory o!
nxism, while they became rather cor:rprel:er.sive from the
plate tectonics point of view. 'I·r.e maxiu:tllJ heights of Sierra
r.:uestra relief are to be' found at the Lateral rather than 10.t
the Uain {watershed) ridge, which is about 0 ,5 k;m lcwer. In
uddi tion, tho:: Lateral ridge is not such a co;~pact orogre.phic
f'ormation as the l.:ain, and is decol'!posed into sep r:;.rate m.,.s
r;ifs1 but nevel'theless, the rr.s.jor heights z1·e to be traced
l1ere (Pico TUl·cino - I974 m, Pico Cuba - 1872 1'1, Pico !.:arti
- !722 e, etc.). The difl'ennces in the uplifting between
lhe t:ain and the Lat~rr.l ridger relcte with the fr.:ct that
they belon;;; to different ne.ppe :::crphostJXcturea, sepe.rated
~a lo:r:.gitudinal fe.ult zone, whict is a s:¡::ecific ¿1: odynemic
11Xis of tl:.e uplift. This faul t zone is separúting tl10 two
~&in 1 o n g i t u ~ i n a l ~ o r p h o s t r u e t u r e s
of Sierra ~aeatra.
Typicel is t}-_e fact that tf:e v:r;.terú.ed linc o i' the l :e.in
rid¿Se is no t of smooth ccntour , proper f or t !-:!e nature of the
1 ongterr.1 developed ri ver be. sine. It l:.s.s a typicf..J. orthogon;,.l
otructure, reflectin¡:: in alr:lCst original forro the initit.l
e.mall-bloch decor::position. Such preservaticn of the origin&l
tectonic fo1-ms in the axial parte: o:f the órogenee represente
quite • r~.<:;;:c case in georJo:::r!lolc-gy and p'!•ovidea evidence~ on
tho con,¡¡ idorably young.:: ;;.· age of the relief. In s:1áition, the
¡¡y¡;;t om ¡¡nd orientSltion of thé trans <· cca~-uJ.ag o:-, a). linea.rnents
li <.: rtb-:- ...nd gouth-vt(ü'd í'rom the lQn.:;i tuciinal faul t zo.:::.e aig
r:.:ific;:;.r.tly differa, which in<1icates a :'.eteral oc·xponont of
·· i :;;pl¡¡¡c.~roent.
O x~e c f tho n:ain specifi.::a of the neotectonic ;otaogc o:f
~ii<~:rn1. 1!aestra developroer,t is tl::'!! a'-lperpoeition of t r a n a
v e r & e - d 1 a g o n a 1 m o r p h o a t r u e t u r e s
on th<:~ lor.gi tuó.inal morphoat ::"'.lchu·e of the ¡¡:,mntain system,
scpa::.·¡¡ted by l in e :;,.r;,enta of vt.rioua ol:dera. L¡u·ge difforeutly
t:plifted block¡¡ rep1·eoent cl~arl;y exp::.·eased t<l'bitrary morpho
otrc:cturer;;, differing 0;¡ th~il· orogr¡¡phic atructure, the
,.y¡¡tem of Yari o;:, f: decompoeit.iun, ri v er valleye w:~d ridges
~, r:1 entll"' i ~ .. , \.o wlü.ch the ge;:~rúl -:;:::-eucl of t h e relief dis
~-c~ ~ r~ent ia wubjected.
Withln the limit¡¡ of the ~ierra l.~!itestra r..ountün ay~tem,
five mlrln tr .-x.sveree morphostructurúl b).ocks cr<11 be identi
fi edl
l<) l<Jwlll..nd v.ostern Sierr2 t: ~,, , stra (J(:O - 500 m) wi th pre
corn.ir.IU'lce of tho longitudir.ll..l t:ublatitude di ¡¡::. e~:berment;
b) Centrhl Sil!rra h:ae¡¡tra, :;wat uplifted during the recent
e.poch (I JOO - 2 {!00 m) w1 th prodo:ninar,c e of north-weatern
11 w:l ¡;ub::eridional di¡¡momborr;,ont; e) L'lid-ele'V'Q ted eaatern
chr.r¡¡ !iQe¡¡tr¡¡. (800 - I IOO m) nth predominance of the no:rth
or.¡;¡tern and submeridiond dismemberment; d) tr~,sve r¡¡o typ:lcal
l:y ¡¡uper:po¡¡ed zone of San.tio.go-Boniato, cocpo¡¡ed or the mo:ao•
clinal plateau of Del Boni.ato (400 - 600 m) and the Santiago
de Cuba depreasion-graben~ frlillled by layered uplifts (IOO -
1;20 m) and ridge fore-mountains (.200 - )00 m} t e) the low-
1 and ¡¡¡¡ nsi:f o:f Gran Piedra ( 800 - I 200 m) wi th predonúnro1ce
of northwest-southea100tern disrnemberrnent. The adjacent la.rge
depression-graben of Cauto ia to be traced northward the
Sierra :!.~aeatra lllld the tra.naverae depreseion-g¡·abena of
Guantanomo and Central - eastward. ,
The individ~al morphostructural blocks ~e not only dif
ferently uplifted but they are displaced in horizontsl dir
ection one to the other. For example, the transverso block
of Mota along the linesment 15 step-1·."1se \lplifted v;eatward
v."i th rega¡·d to the Purgatorio block by 200 - 300 m and the
rJain wato¡·ehed is orthogonally displaced northward at almoat
5 k n •• Hong the lliasio lineament, the Centrcl Sierra Uaeotra
is uplifted at 0,3 leo and displaced at 2-3 k:t r.orthward.
Further, the block of Turcino-Azul is uplifted up to 0,5 km,
a.nd the n~in watershed ie dieplr.ced northwurd at J-5 kra.
Further eustwa.rd the Alto de Camito block ili displr,ced at
5 km a¿;ain northward, Thue v."i thin the Central Sierra t:uestra,
the tr¡;.;ueverse mo~hoetructurel blocks are with !:"fi.T..i1num up
lift and the rcain wutershed ie meximu:n displaced by escurp--o
mente en echelon northward. Within the Eestern Sierra L:~.<.eotra
the t;eneral morphostructur:;¡_l-geodynlift!Íc sih:o.tion doeo not
vuy, but a step-v;ise depl'e¡¡u;;ion of n:orphostructural blocka
into pericline& t11kcs pla.ce, and their horizontal displace~
ment ( up to I, 5 - J km) occurs both north- and soutb-w11.rd •.
21:;
l!.• Rcce n t G eody~:,;.cd.o ::; of !.!or¡; hoot ructill'es
The rece:nt ge ody:nRJ'.ics of the Ea¡;tern Cubt< w<d ita inter
re~. «tion "''ith the morpho.:;tluctu.r-.1 dif:'e : ollt iatio:n was
¡¡tudicd b;¡ the ScYict-Ct~b ¡,;.: e:::pedi'!.icl'l D. Liliecberg (pri:n
;;J.p:..l in ve otigator), E. F'i:;ko , V. !..'u_r.a tov, .J. Ernandes Sa.n
twlll., M. Markes 'r'abl on, A. Yf; D':ll' ·~C :.::or&.le a t.i.nd o thera. Por
tho purpo¡¡e, two c a t egorie<> ,¡ f iustnur.ental datu were usedt
.,) repeated levelli:n,g of I r; t n:r:d 2nd order with a meaou:re
ment inhrval of I5 - 20 years (1953/65 - 1970 /75) and b)
,;eh;:n.ic obser·.-a ti om• - the d,;.t :;, fo r I9 68 - 1978 a o well as
lli HG l'O<!c~ ia;rJ.c material& frD ;.J. tJ-.e r:.iddle of the I6 century.
Fu¡· t :r,e evalu~tion e::' ~ :1e geodetic d;.t a representativity
g il en.gineering-geor:wrphologicr.l study wae carried out on the
ut¡;bility e: ~ ;-~ [; e odetic poL<t s using a opecial methodic¡¡
:':.u :l~ ,.·, .·:g , Setu."l¡¡¡k¡¡,;.·~t., I9 69), a f ter whic.h na:ny levelling
;,,., .¡ , ,¡ were elL.·.inatéd f r0m the ge c· dyn a;¡ú. c ano.ly¡¡is. 'l'he
x w.te vRl u e¡¡ of the 1·.::co:nt ve ~"tical mv'/ementa wer·e cb tained.
l. ' l1fclrtunately, they c¡¡.n be u aed in relr,tive valuea only,
~<ilJce they do nc t z:efcr to the J. ·.n1¿;··v~ri0d r~ a reogre.phic
n.euuurer~~nt¡¡¡, permittiJ16 to e Y&:::.u .. -:;e t i.leiJ.' ";...bliS ú lute zero".
~ ·Le ro¡;ul ta :frvm -::he me[.e.c·e ¡,1ent¡¡ were publ :'..;Jh~d for 1ndi-
7 idu6Ü p:;:oblo::li in varlous isO>C~es (Liliente:cg, 1980; I98I;
I 96J¡ 111-"' nberg, Pu&l.:l.l-.1, Dir.s, Vene reo , 1975 ; I97E:¡ Lilien
te r g, Yin:;cv, 1lur w.tov et w.l., 1 97 7; IS20; Lilienterg, Blanko,
'>n u/..'1 <~ e¡¡ et al., I98I; Lilienterg, L:arkeli, Tii.blon, E.rnMdea
SfUltil.l<a et al., 1982, 196)).
Althou~L the repell.ted levelling line¡¡¡ be situated ¡¡¡uf-
fi ciently uri.;i trary &.nd o.l:-~o~Jt of n o c:::ossing t1D.'C. l.l<:)h the
Sierra J,!aeatra mountain eyatern, they provide for the general
representativity on the nature and trenda in the recent
Gtlow verti cal move:r.ente in the rr:gion.
The analyais of the cumplex profiles of the :cecent ¡;eo
.:lynrunica (Fig. I) showa that the i n t e n e i t y of the
slow ( cente11ary) vertical rr:.)Ve menta ia the rri aximUL'l f or Cuba
in thc l.nterpl ate interaction ::: one, the ruqll i t ude of their
r¡¡¡tea attaina up to I2 - I5 :run/year. Thls trend ÜL~erits the
epecific!J of the Pliocene·-Quo.ternury stage, featured also
wi th m;u..innun intensi ty of movement and h.i.gh r~obili ty.
FrorJ d i r e e t i o n a 1 point of view, the auboidence
ia predominant in the recent geodyn~~ce. It should be con
eidered that the levelling linea are predominr..ntly traced
wi t1:ún the depressions, adjacent to Sierra ?.:aes tr& and the
ra t e v¡¡,luen a:re calculated wí th reference to the Iiil::ero poínt
wbich püo!Jibly is a subject to a slow UJ·li f t. In view of the
ge neral trend of the deprea Eion-g:raben decline , there c&n be
found sume trenda of increase in tbe mo·;e;aent rat e cf wee t
~!n9tw;.rd dL·ecticn. Wi thin the transverse zo:r.e unly, li ¡~_ited
by the :regional morpholj.ne¡¡_,nenta of Cont ra 1:uea t re aJld El
Chriato 13-.conao relative ( ¡¡,nd most probably abso ~ute) upli.fts
~re to be traced.
J.n important regulari ty waa obeerved and na:nely the
op atial diatribution of the alow ve·rtic•l movements be ir.¿;
cloaely re1~tted te the morphoetructural relief differentiat
ion and reflecting mainly the b 1 o e k a t r u e t u r _
217.
e
E,::.
• t • · j
llrr~l ,._,.._.,,corluraf p(4 t¡- ~ u
/lo Bf <"'O~>r>C"t*tl"'<lf' lu¡~IA~d l.. .l ii-t>tlurfl.
·· ·----t.,_
Jl(• rsl·rrrt"'l:tel/1'7¡.¡ f • pl'•f!"J a l:J~nul (o
J t
G- t'IL [,,., . ,..,onc rt', -,.._ ~ ;,!co1 S ae.LnL~¿"~
~ig.I COffiplex profile of recent ceodinamics of some region5 o! ~astern Cuba
t n g of the ea:rth crcw1t. 'Ihe junctior. zones of the indiv
idual ¡¡¡orphost],"Uctuxal bl.ocks are sp ecified by a brupt drope
in th'~ movement ratea and by high gradiente of their value
variation, which ia typical for the active and activized
faul te a:nd linearreuta. Related to this, the veloci ty curve
t a of atep-wilile configl.'Xation. As ohown by the geodetic
meaeuxementa of Cuba, the, ¡·ecent defo:rmationa of folding
nat uxe are not typical fo,r the interplate interaction zone.
'Ihe uni que lino of the rep,ated levelling c:cosses the
\•estern Sierra l.lueetra in ita most per:tclinal part. It ex
ilibitra slow aubsidence with reference to the Nikero point
with arate of -I r:=¡jyl!}rll' 0 1. e. it reflecta some imereion
of the recent movements fo-..· the laot decades as compared to
the contenary trend ( after geological and g eomorphologicol
e7idence) •
.An increase of subsid~llCe ia typicol for the Sabanilya
graben-wonoclinal plain ( compared to )J1k~ro) of weat-e¡,at-
7i ard direetion. Thie p lain is adjacent to the Weotern Sierra
1:e.ostra f r om north to we s t and the increaae is of atep-wi s e
o c curnmce, :t·efl ecting th<! large tranoverse bloc ka ofl the
layered !likero plain (O + I mm/year), the ho.rst-Jwnoclin&.l.
uplifta of Cumpechuella (-) + -4 rmn/yeur) und of l;ianzanilyo
(-6 + -7 mn/year). The aize of the roorphootructurel ateps
.. tt!Uns up to 25 - )0 km, "nd the b .:. unda.riea between thero
10ro of oharp contraat, accompr.nied with high-gradie::1t zonca
(0,3 - 0,5 mro/yea.r/bn) of transl,"t>é>ionlll. n:orpholinewnents.
Based on thi.a, the local blook upli:fts are outlined with
21!)
a relative rate of 0,5 - I mtn/year.
'rhe Cauto depreJ:>sion-grab~n adjacent to the Central
~;ierra ;,:aestra from the northern side, continuos this trend
of utep-wise increaee of the tmbsidence e¡,¡¡¡tward (Fig. 2).
;l'he ¡·ecent vertical movementa ¡•eflect the complex block
<iifferentiation of tlria yolmg (Late - !.:iddle Pleistoceno)
ploin. ·nu·ee transverae morphostructural eteps are distin-
0ulohed therel Yura (-4 + -5 mm/year ), Baya'no (~ + -IO
r'!n/ yeB.r) nnd Central Cauto (-I2 + -I5 r::r:-./year), v:i th referen-
ce to Nikero, which corresponde to the t:i:&nsverse blocka
of the Central Sierra Muestra.--The movement bradient along
tJ:e aepnratlng ;Jorpholinea:nents ia of 0,5 - I mrr./year/krn.
Euoe d on this, series of local uplifts of reletive height
dlf!'e rence of O ,3 - I mm/ year are outli n ed. A typical feat-
,_,re is thet the ::J uin ri ver v&.lleys ¡¡.re bound to act ive rnorpho-
l ineamento.
The levelli!1g along the sm.:.t:r.ern foot of Sierra Maestra,
which \',fiS devel c·p ed uB orc¡:;enic !:c0:1Jhostructure, ccnjugated
v:i th tl:e spreadlng Bru:tlet trench. hus shov.n thut during
the last decude the recent vertical t::c;·erpents were slowly
intensivo there and lesa contrest as co:::pli'.red to the north-
ern foot of the mountain. 'I·he relativo rat e v-ariation rar..gea
between -I + +0 , 5 h-:J.:/yeg,r but nevertheless reflecta the main
transverso blocks of the :not.:ntain s:,-ate:n.
1'he tra11sverae superposed subsidence zone of Santya,go
Boniato is 0 bpecific interest. The unique 1 a r g e i n
v e r a i o n of movement wi th lOO km of width corresponda
N N ....
to thiG ln thJ~ ..l~;:scent seodylJa:xtcs. Comp¿U"Cd to tht.~ general
1"a~..::1~;¿~l'C.il:Yld of 2\Jbnidi!':nce, abrl..4ptly ccntra:Jt uplift ls flxed
th,~ re wi th rt• fere1:ce to the a.dj acent blocks. 1'he movement
... -;::t.t ... ~ \~(;.-I~iaticn. alor;,g tl1e: 'bt.:t:JJ.dil:t; linenr:.1~nt8 oí" Cont:c·a
',:aed.;:.~ ~:21d ;.:¡ Clu'íuto Bnco:nao Httnins up to 5 - 7 r:.m/year
et :; dL;tn;¡ce of 5 ·- 10 JG.1 only, whi<~:J. p:rovider_¡ thc highe3t
r;_r~-~~.1.:-.e:rt.s of the ve:ctical woVcrrhc:·nta - ~~.1p to I rmn/year/t..m
(:";~~:J.tf~:.:tf3, hox·sts -~~10ll0Clinal :eldges, horst lJlateaUXt bu.y
.1~,1't10·~.•ns, etc .• ¡rhe yuu.:n.g feults s<~pe.ratitl.g th~':::;n often poas·ecs
Lhe ¡;eomorphological d.gnatu:ces of w:oi;J.v.~ moti.on, 'leform tho
d.V<"l' l:~ds, are 8.Cco::;p;.mied by m:.Jbile lanr1slidcs nnd collnp
,.,.~~-?t e.~;G karst forms.
The Grn:-1 Piedra ~.:cr::oclinGl-ti:rust mountein rrmsrdf, siic-
1l.nr to }3\.e:c.r·p :.:c.estra, is P.J.so of slo-,7 activity durin.g the
1: s: ,;.;:.;:acle. Co::·pArcd to the curroundil"'; plaina it .is cm1ject
1 .. ' slcw ·,:pliftin,¡_; up to I - 2 :·,":v'yeo:J.' vib.icil is clearly dif-
l ~l·entiat·~·d e.long the tre..nevccce'"diaf_;one.l morpholinemn~nts
ll't¿;. 3) o
'l!.e depression-grabens of G'.!L--'1t2n<or.-:c rmd Central located
~ ~:w~C.rd are fenh1red with Bt.ep-wise dep:ceJ,tdcn-blocka aleo
pf ·:p t·o -IO + ;..I~ rrmv'year prov.Ldine bacY..grounda for the
t·cc.;:.rrer.ce of loc:;;l horot. rmd greben m:o.:rphoetructurea and
)u¡·¡;e rwr¡:holineax:;ents of gradiente up to I- I,5 rnm/year/km.
J..s seen ir. t.hese data, the geodynwnica of the ¡•ec~nt
C A R I B ;:., ,. "
i'1g.3 Map of intensity a.nd si¡;ns o~ rQc~nr. movenwntn in. th~ ree;ion Santiago C\e Cuha. I - iéOlir:es of velocities o! rtocent movements in mm/year,2• linea of repeated level measurements; .&reaa of upli!ta1 ;- r¡¡odere.te,4- weak . .Arcas of siilkine;:5
vertical moveme nta of Eustern Gubt> ( after geodetic measure
m::-;¡ t:s ) wns very B.Gtive, complexly differentin.ted e.nd sharply
· contraot. In additi on, it should be considered that tbe re
ce nt r.;!Yements G.re of non-linear 'out rHther of quasi-periodic
i:Gtur·e. Therefore, tn me..ny ceses th~ given n<té vo1u~s may
1·enect the auperposed Ghort-period fl u ctuation nnd not the
centena:ry trend.
Slow ( cent.:;nary) Hnd r Hp'id ( oeirm ic) ~ovemt:nt s closely
r::•lat e to eech other nnd represent the both sides of the
1~: ~:\.fi ed procesa o.f the rt;cent tectonogcnes:1.a .
;:;Gotcrn Cuba is the mc at ·.f3~1EI!!.~ct .l.,.Y~_J?..Ql~i of t he zone
of intertJlate lnt,~J.'Hction. Durine the b.ietorical epoch, se
\'~nü hru:.,1re:J.s of cnrtllquakes have b~en recorded here, in
c l~,; <i ing ur • .r1y etrcmg nnd d~structive ones (Boi tel , Y11mbu1
I::76 ; Cbu.i, I979; 1980; Li1ienberg, et al.,.I98I; 1983).
Spl'd :fic aJ.ly unft,ril'ourable i~> the morphostructural tmd geo
d)•na;~.ic ai tunt lon of SantyE1go de Cuba ci ty, "the er.stern
Ct·pi te.l" of the eount.ry, with popu1ntion of severnl ht:.r.dred
thot:s E.nda, which is loca ted in certain "a.rtil~r'y fork" bet
wee:l three dirt:ctly •:.djacent focal zonee .
?. eg ardle es to the insufficient accuracy in the epicentral
e.nd hypoce.ntral ee.rthc¡uuke determin¡¡,tion f:rom the central
seio:::ic station of "Rio Carpintero" the infltl'1.lmental data
for ti::e period of I968-I978 (Chui, I979; !980) enable the
separetion of sorne general a p a t i a l 1 n t e r a e t
1 o n s between seis:nodynamics and mcrphoatructure e. For
the 1s.et I5 years the main se1smogenic zone of Eaetern Cuba
224
o ....
' waa ·the sublatitudillal zo:ne of conjugatlon between Sierra
Maestra ¡;¡our::.ta.in sySitem and the deepwater .Bartlet trench1
directly c01mected w;i th the tra,."lsform f;~.ul t of the thrust
t;nH! ··<"i·;:::. elements of left-late:;.·a.l Y..Tench-faul t. Th:t·oughout
th~ se y e ~U' B, severQJ. hu:ndred of e a:rthqu~<.kes ha ve be en re
c o¡·ded hcre wi th K ~7-I4, the epicentrea of which are locat
od u.t the aubmEU'ine slope of t h e Bartlet t r ench directly at
the foot of Sie¡·ra Maestra (Fig. 4). Foci of depth of 25 - 50 1
50 - 70 km are domins.n t .._nd ln oome ce.sea ttp to IOO - I20 km.
J:hus the ¡;eiGJÚC data a,f;r~e .,.;ell with the datQ on the recent .. vartic«l novementa. This cc":;:: relation ia confirme d by geo-
phyaical data. The otudy of th" ;¡¡ateriala from the electro-
magnetic f:L t; ld va:rintion has s1~o\'íll that t ov;urds the northern
trunsfo:rm outm·o at the b orde:r of internct.ion between the
Cuban &"l C the Cari bbo.w1 platee, a large linear field anormU.y
ie attriUuted, which uaua1ly provides evidence on t~ ac-
cu:mtlation of deform>~.tion energy m~.d of'ten p:receeds earth-
qtH<-}:es (Lilienbc rg, et al., I98)) •
. Rega:rdleaa that the entire Cuban part o.f the trm~.eform
suture has eeiaJr,ogenorating p ot .'!!nt.ial, the concontra.tion of
the eit·thqua~e epicentros ie clearly located Qt dotex~ned
poir:te, v.-here a ayatematic eeismic energy release occu:rs.
These locatione are situ¡¡.ted at the croas-zonea o:f the trllll¡;-
form suture IO'.lld the tr(<nsverse-diagonal morpho11neaments and
faul ts, contraatly aeparating the main rnorphostructura1
blocks of Sierra V.aeetra a.nd Gran Piedra masaif, 1. e. the
.so celled m o r p h o e t r u e t u r a l n o d e a,
IUld rúproaenting w.-,s•.k<illi.ng of the e ,u··th c:rus:ri; ¡Jlaying import¡¡.nt
ge odyn-.:nic rolG in the recent e,, ¡_· tb. t~chmogenl!leia.
Tr.~ moet wea"tw!ird morpho ctr;.;ctu.cal S<liamogen1.c node ilil
••·~ tuatod at the eubm;u·lno contirnwt:l.on of tha ILcorpllolinerune:ttt
atructura, sep a.lí>t.ing Wer; ~·~r:n Rnd c c,_ntr&-1 Sierra l>:ec stra.
The ~arthquak~ ept centr<!l.'l of K ~ ~>·IJ !ll' <'~ grou:p c d ~t tbe ab-
rupt eubni;1 :rire. elope of the t:t·(, ·,:eh wi thl.n d~ptha of 500
6 eco rn. The FUon e¡;,rthqwake of I97G 'll'i th M- 5, 75 h~ad oc-
cu.rr od t h ere.
The second 1,1o:re u<'isrnl cal.ly u-::ti VI: node is si tuated at
~he underthruat conti·•n<ation of the t:canoverse morpholinea-
ment ¡:¡ystem aep"_rating Centyal ¡md E'-¡;¡;n:ern Sierra Mae¡¡tra.
The earthqu.ake <o.picentrea of K~9-II u~ E;rouped at the eub
m¡;¡rine slope vdthin deptha of I - 5 :::r:. Poci of depths o.f
25 - 50, rarely of 70 km, ar~ predominant.
The th1rd aeiamo&cti ve tnorphoatruct ux Gl nodo wi thin the
oe._me :;:;one of the traneform auturl3 is to be tr;; .. ::ed at the
oubmarine continuation of thc a;:¡;.;tem -t:hrou.sh the trrmsve:rse
rnorpho linet;,:nente a~p arliting E~stern S1 ~.::z:'r>a Ha e t~Íl':? ":•· · n
Snntyago de Cuba d'.lpress:! on-graben. ~·t.o e¡¡.rthc,ue\ 2 t.;• .. ' 'mt-
res of K~9··I) a.nd focal dépths o l' ::5 - 50 :km :; onc~n!.:-, : 11
along the subme.rin.e <ll ~·l'~ of dep th ranging betwe~:: I - .,. km.
Large morphostructural l'leiemoacti'Ve JS.Odlils are vclao loeated
at the diamembe rmer.t z~.ne contin'lation &.loJJg tbe e aste m
part of Santyago de C>.lb:i de:preasion··grabcn 4Uld along the
subm~ne continuation of Gr~ Piedra mountain maasif. The7
aoem to join into a single fO'ri'erfUJ. aeiümor..ctin atrip oo:r-
2'l1
1·osp llnd.ix:,g to the cr oos·- oection of the tr!in nform suture Wtd
the triilcs ve r ae- s J.:.pc rp oaed morphoatructm·W: zono of S»ntysgo
Boniato and Jiroctly t hreat i'. lÚI:g Dt<.:lt yago de Cuba ci ty from
~; outh. In tl·J. s aL·ip, t h c l'".'ix.:t r;n ;-a lin ~ ar rawnaly of the
electre-;::.;;_g¡:e tic fi•!ld .is to be ret::. arded.
A c o:;;¡JJ. ex o ~ i smo ac-Live rwde is aitw. ted s outhward from
the Gu¡¡.::::t l.alOmo bay. It correGp onda to t ho region of youug
ulOrplw at n:ctur!Ü l' >'; &rran¿ement o o:f the eae t cnl e dge of the
de c:¡n\'ater E ~,rtl et tron cl1 whe ¡·e it r; croe n-sect i. c·n:lng wi th
t r¡;.n sve.:r ue·-diegonal morpholin.:; a;nents of north·· v;estward and
no:r t h- e ar:; twar d orientnt J. Gn occu rs toge ther wi th the complex
r01o :z.ai.c of the cubmB ril;e 1·elief. 'I h c de ep eot e arthquake foci
~are c or.cc!: t n : ted here (up to 50 - 70, so:;letiraes up to roo
}.:m) wi th K ~9-I2.
The s ec c>nd 5, !1 s i ze s ei amoge!Je:cating zone of Eastern
Cub¡¡ en lR.nd is the tranB V·~rse sup e rpo sed morphoatructure
of Sl.illty~o-Boniato. ':!:he uhort-per.!. od inveroi cn of the re
c ent Ye rUcol Loovenento of up to IOO k;n wid:th .ia typicRl
for it ncw, whl c:r p r ovides evi c (;nce on thc earth cruots.l
atrain ~o< cc t;:~~ü at ion of pü s 8i:;le eurthquake generation ( M
.. 6).
Two :::;c;,ry1::c 3tructural nod ;~ a are outlined thero (Fig. 4)
fe• tt~ed ~~t h surface f oci (from I - 5 to I5 - 25 km) of
s :-Hül en e rge t ic cl&s 8 K~ 7-IO. Both of them are attributed
to the cros s - aection of the morpbolineamenta neparating two
highly rncbile morphostructural olocka, outlining young lilld
contn.at relief res.rro.ngement - del Boniato :plate¡,;u ¡;¡,nd the
226
conjugation zone, betwe~n the pla t<::C"n! and t'he depression
(.;l'aben of Sautyago de Cuba 1md the north··We;3tern end.in,g of
Gran Piedra massif. They tl:rreoten dir,;ctly SO<ntyago de Cuba
el ty froo north and north-ear;t. 'l'he tr:.:.:..'lsverse fau.l tin.g of
'.;J:·an Piedra maasif occu:rs tn these sectora with the format
lGn of the aeismogrRYitational morphoat:ructures ru1d the
r~:éismodeformation of the river beds. In many c¡¡ses the earth
quske epice11t:rea are of linear concentra tion, fixing the
Gpreading fault zone hoth in longitude and depth.
At the northern foot of Sierra Maestra a corr:plex morpho
structural node is to be fou:nd at the fore-deep of Contra
. :.:;aestra-Jigua·r'.i, where yotmg faul ting occu:rs wi th north
.vestern and north-eastern directiou. 'fhere the foci wi th
?;~IO-I2 ¡¡¡,re pr·edominant at depth of I5 - 50 km. I·t; mHy be
uu_,;¿:;ested that the coristruction of the large Carlos !.~anuel
de Gesped!'ls reservoir we.a the source of series of (techno
genic) earthquakes' excitation, the activation of which waa
noticed after the construction of th,~ reaervoir (Lilienberg,
1980) • The region of young small block rearrar1p,;ernent of the
Bayamo relief i.s alsc of se1s;noactive occtU'Tence together
wi th some crooc--sections of morphol t:neaments vd thln the C~.>.uto
depression-graben where high gradiente of vertieal move
ments were recorded by the repeated levolling.
The rapid { aeismic) movementa are cléRrly differentiated
not only epatislly, their quaai-periodic v a r 1 a t 1 o n
1 n t 1 m e 1e also to b-e obaerved. CertRin increfi.Ge and
decrea•c of the aeia~ic activity can be extracted froa the
229
8o1•~ostQti~tic~l n aterialQ ~or the pc~ioda of I60-I40,
100-80, 50-40, J0-25, I2 - IO a:nd lees yoars (Lilienberg,
I980). Baoed on the dat:.~ .~·rom th~ Pi o t ~ ,c~:plntero aeiamic
w ·:;~<ti on, ao:::1o <lli•?:i. ucemer: t i!l t ime o-t ': l1e seis::-d.c e e ti vi ty
Clill be ob;erve d sü org tho trs r.oform suture. During the por
iod of 1968-!974 the ll !~rthquG.kes l:ad c oncentrate d predomi
nnntly to tho ealilt, aout:•v.•trd from Gua:ntanomo and S~mtye.go
Ull Cuba, dm·ing I975 the •¡di v). ty move a we s tward at the .
bo¡•dcr of ~ u~<t ern Sierra J.:~eetl·.a Wld in I976 they attain
the edge weatern pl!lrt at '~he uorder of Weatern and Eaatern
Sie rra L! t•e;¡tu., t hroughou\ !977-!978 they shift ~ain oaat
wa.r·:l, to tho south fr om Santyago de C<:ba, wh.ich to a cortain
n:tont r e veala thc lL·:chani;¡m of the g eodynamica in the con
jugation Z ' 'X'' l -:.etweeu the Cubll..ll &nd the Curibbe ll..ll pl10.tea.
P : .. ··'''l the d¡¡ta, pre10ented here, i t can b e seen that all
·i Y!J"'lil o'f thc re c<!l nt tecto:uic movements are e 1 o e e l y
r e l a t e d to a concrete morphoatructural differeut1at-
1on P.S well a .s to each c1ther. The ter:ci tory in at c~dy is
u.nique by it~o~ r~orphotectonic ~.rd ge od:¡ rle.JDÍC tiituation and
·can be uaed 11.11 e. model ¡•eg i on for obt .¡¡.in.ir>..g v.U u able scien
t1fic info:rmation. For thc roll.aon, the Ac~tdemy of Scier.ces
ir, Cuba together with the Geodetic Survey Office had eatab
li&hed tht~re a complex geodyng.rnic test f :ield {Santya.go de
Cuba) of mul tipu.l1loae designa ti en and for earthquake prc
d1ct1on mainly.
HTERATURE
Gerr.simov I.P. Georuorfologicheskii etap v razvitii Zerr:li.
Izv. Ali SSSR, seria geogr., I964, li:6. r;erasir:.ov I.P. Tri gla.vnih tzikla v istorii geomorfologi
cheskogo etapa v razvitii Zerr:l.L -Geomorfologia,I970,N:I.
Gilienbe~·g D • .A. Sovren:er.na;ya geodinamika i morfostruktur:n.aya
diferentziatzi&~ Kubinskogo a;ch:l.pel¡¡gn. -V kn. e Sovren:en
nie dvizhenla zemnoi kori (metodi, teoriA:, prognoz), M:., N >mka., 1980 •
Lilienberg D • .A. Sov:remennuya gecd.inru:Jika gornoi nister::i
Sierr&-hí¡;¡estra. -V kn. 1 Koc:ple:rnie geodinamic11esk'i,e poligonl. M., Hsuka, 1983.
Lilienberg D • .A., Bl ~<nko Sekundo P., Venere o L!orales A. i dr.
Hovie daruúe o vzuimosviazi sovre::.ennih vertikalrúh
dvizhenii, seiemichnosti i morfoatrukturnoi diferentzi
fitzii Vontocbnoi KubL Dokl. Aií SSSR, I98I,t.2571
H>I.
Lil:ienberg D • .A ., Diaa Dilii.a H., Venere o i.!orales A .. Pervie
,:;;;.mlie o sovremennih tektonocheskih dvizherúah Pinardel
Rio. -Dokl. A?I GSSR, I977, T. 234, Ht4. Lilienberg D.A., 1:arkes Tablon 1: • .E,, B::-:-1andea SIUltana H.R..
;rcpro¡3i izuchen.i.a sov:renennói gecdinumiki Kubi, -V kn.
Sovremerm1e dvizhenia zem:.'1oi kori (teziei dokladoY YIII
Vsenoiuznogo soveshtan.1.a). K_ishinevJ Shtiintz.a, I982.
lilienberg D.A., ¡,;uratov V .IJ., l:'inko E.A. i dr. Geomo;d'olo
gicheokie •·u>pekti eov:t•em.ennih tektonicheski.h dvizilenii
oblusti Kauto i smezbúh rayonov Kubi. -V kn.J Sovremen
nie dvi.zherúa zer::.noi kori. Kiev1 lü•ukov¡¡ dunka, !980.
r:s;1akov S.A. i dr. Narushenia izostazii litosferi Karibs}:ogo
re¿;ion11. i geodinacicl:e sldi ~¡¡J_iz ih prirodi. -V kn. t
Tektonika i geodinamika Karibskogo regio.na. M., Nauka, I979.
Eún V .s. Obshtie voprosi tektoniki i te1.-ton1cheakoi istorii
Uekaik.no-Karibakogo regiona. -V kn.c Tektonika i geo
dinwaika J{¡¡.ribskogo regiona. M., Nauka, !979.
23!
,.
Boytcl Ja2bu.Carta de siswicidad histerica de CUba.
Santiago de Cuba,I976 Bowin c.o. Geopbysi~al study o! the Caym8 n trough.
J.Geop~~s.Res.,I968·
Chuy T. Regimen sis:;;ico d.e: la ree;ion ., ~:rorientel <le cub.a.-In: Investigaciones sismo.logie;as en Cuba 1 NI,Ha
bana,I980 Eril::son ..;..Y .et 8 1. Heot flow a.nd continuous · seismic
profiles in the Ca~n trough and Xucat~n basin.Bull.Geol.Soc .• Aroero, !972, v .83,N5
Hess i{.H. ,J.lo.:xwell J.c. Caribbean research project.Bull.Geol.Soc .Amer., I953, v .64,NI/6
Jordan T.R. The present•daY motion of the Car.tbbean plate .-J .Geophya.Res., I975;v .80,N32
Lilienberg D. Algunos prt;blernas. de .la formr.cion del reli.eve del 8 rchipielago Cubano.-Ser.espelioh>gica,J..C
de Cube,I973,N48 ·•
Lilienberg D. ,Diaz Diaz J. ,Pssc-,¡al z.:arino K. ,Contribu-
tion al e _; ·.,,_¡dio de los movimi e ntos ¡·ecientes de Cu
ba.-Ser.geografica,AC de Cuba,:!976,NI6
J,il j '" '-ters D. ,r.:o.rques Tablo:-. ;.:.,Remandes Santana J. 3
otras.Poly¡;;cno geod.inamico complejo Santi0 go de Cu
ba.-In: J!ovimientos recientes de CUba,I98.?,NI Molnar P. ,Sykec: J. Tc' -:tcnics of tJw C.s:::-j 'bt~:-an and !ü<!
dle American ree;ion frorn foc ,<l ¡r,¡,,ch;o,r.i.sra 8 nd seis
¡rj ty .-I'l~ ll.Gt-ol.Soc. Amer., 1969, v .§O Sheyin V. ,Klc· nchov K • et al. Tec tonica regional de CU
ba y s·u plate.form~e ;:,,ü·in.-Res.I Jorn.Cient.-tecnica,
Hnbana,I974,t.I
1l.c y ·tft¡. '•; ..
..
