ABSTRACT
The Central American convergent margin is a classic representative of the “Pacific Margin” in the nomenclature of Gutenberg and Richter [1] and early plate tectonics. It extends from the Gulf of Tehuantepec to Panama (Fig. 9.1). The dominant morphological feature is the Middle America trench (MAT) that was named by Heacock and Worzel [2], and runs from the Riviera fracture zone offshore Mexico to the Cocos ridge offshore south Costa Rica. Earthquakes clearly define a WadatiBenioff zone of landward dipping seismicity or a subduction zone where Cocos plate and the older Farallón plate subducts beneath the Caribbean plate. Hypotheses regarding the MAT contributed to the evolution of concepts in the geosciences over the past 75 years.
