Delfin Basin
Encyclopedia
The Delfin Basin is a pair of interconnected submarine depressions located on the seabed of the northern Gulf of California
. The northernmost of these is called the Upper Delfin Basin while the southernmost is called the Lower Delfin Basin. Both of these features are areas of subsidence caused by extensional forces imparted by a spreading center associated with the East Pacific Rise
. The two basins are linked by a short transform fault
which was the apparent source of an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 on November 26, 1997.
The Delfin Basin is linked to the Guaymas Basin
located about 325 km to the south by a series of four transform faults called the Guaymas Transform Fault System. It is also linked to the north with the Consag Basin
by way of a poorly defined deformation zone.
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
. The northernmost of these is called the Upper Delfin Basin while the southernmost is called the Lower Delfin Basin. Both of these features are areas of subsidence caused by extensional forces imparted by a spreading center associated with the East Pacific Rise
East Pacific Rise
The East Pacific Rise is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It separates the Pacific Plate to the west from the North American Plate, the Rivera Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Antarctic Plate...
. The two basins are linked by a short transform fault
Transform fault
A transform fault or transform boundary, also known as conservative plate boundary since these faults neither create nor destroy lithosphere, is a type of fault whose relative motion is predominantly horizontal in either sinistral or dextral direction. Furthermore, transform faults end abruptly...
which was the apparent source of an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 on November 26, 1997.
The Delfin Basin is linked to the Guaymas Basin
Guaymas Basin
The Guaymas Basin is a submarine depression located on the seabed in the central area of the Gulf of California. It is the largest such basin in the Gulf. The basin results from the activity of one of the several spreading centers in the Gulf. The basin is linked to the Carmen Fault to the...
located about 325 km to the south by a series of four transform faults called the Guaymas Transform Fault System. It is also linked to the north with the Consag Basin
Consag Basin
The Consag Basin is a submarine depression in the far northern part of the Gulf of California associated with the East Pacific Rise. It lies south of the Wagner Basin with which it is closely linked. The depression is a result of subsidence caused by the extensional forces probably imparted by the...
by way of a poorly defined deformation zone.