The United States Geological Survey recorded
a Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 10 km off the west coast of the Peninsula de Nicoya in Guanacaste Province on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, slightly after 12.30 pm local time (slightly after 6.30 pm GMT) on Sunday 8 December 2019.
There are no reports of
any damage or casualties associated with this event, but it was felt
across much of western Costa Rica.
The approximate location of the 8 December 2019 Costa Rica Earthquake. USGS.
Costa Rica lies on the southern margin of the Caribbean Plate; to the south of the country the Cocos Plate, which underlies part of the eastern Pacific Ocean) is being subducted under the Middle American Trench, passing under Central America as it sinks into the Earth's interior. This is not a smooth process, and the plates often stick together until the pressure builds up enough to force them to shift suddenly, causing Earthquakes. As the Cocos Plate sinks deeper if is partially melted by the friction and the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises up through the overlying Caribbean Plate, fuelling the volcanoes of Central America.
Diagram showing the passage of the Cocos Plate beneath Costa Rica (not to scale). Carleton College.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
See also...
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