The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km, about 62 km off the south coast of Chiriquí Province on the Pacific Coast of Panama, slightly before 7.00 am local time (slightly before midday GMT) on Thursday 20 October 2022. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, though it was felt across much of Panama and Costa Rica.
The approximate location of the 20 October 2022 Pananma Earthquake. USGS.
Panama lies on a tectonic microplate known as the Panama Plate or Panama Block, which has broken away from the North American Plate within the last 20 million years, and is now caught between the Caribbean, Cocos, Nazca and South American Plates. The southern margin of this is both a convergent and a transform margin, as the Nazca Plate moves past the Panama plate in a westerly direction, but is also being partially subducted beneath Panama. This is not a smooth process; the two plates continually stick together, then break apart once the pressure builds up sufficiently, causing Earthquakes in the process.
The tectonic plates underlying Central America and the surrounding areas. Wikimedia Commons. See also...
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