The January 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake occurred in the boundary region
separating the Caribbean plate and the North America plate. This plate boundary
is dominated by left-lateral strike slip motion and compression, and
accommodates about 20 mm/y slip, with the Caribbean plate moving eastward with
respect to the North America plate.
Haiti occupies the western part of the island of Hispaniola, one of the
Greater Antilles islands, situated between Puerto Rico and Cuba. At the
longitude of the January 12 earthquake, motion between the Caribbean and North
American plates is partitioned between two major east-west trending, strike-slip
fault systems -- the Septentrional fault system in northern Haiti and the
Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system in southern Haiti.
The location and focal mechanism of the earthquake are consistent with the
event having occurred as left-lateral strike slip faulting on the
Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system. This fault system accommodates about 7
mm/y, nearly half the overall motion between the Caribbean plate and North
America plate.
15 km (10 miles) SW of
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
140 km (90 miles) E
of
Les Cayes, Haiti
145 km (90 miles) WNW of
Barahona, Dominican
Republic
1140 km (710 miles) SE of
Miami, Florida
