Maya Block

The Maya Block, also known as the Maya Terrane, Yucatan Block, or Yucatan–Chiapas Block, is a physiographic or geomorphic region and tectonic or crustal block in the southernmost portion of the North American Plate.

Extent

The Block is commonly delimited by the continental margin in the Gulf of Mexico to the north, in the Caribbean Sea to the east, and in the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and further, by the Motagua–Polochic Faults to the south-southeast, and by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the west. The Motagua–Polochic Faults divide the Maya Block from the Chortis Block, while the Isthmus of Tehuantepec divides it from the Oaxaquia Block (i.e., the Juarez, Cuicateco, or Oaxaquia Block, Terrane, or microcontinent).

The Block's precise subaerial limits are not widely agreed upon, in contrast to its relatively exact submarine borders. Furthermore, it has been recently suggested that the Block's western extreme may rather extend past the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, along the Gulf of Mexico, and into Louisiana.

Geography

Physical

Mountains

A broad arching fold belt of 'morphologically distinct mountain ranges separated by deep fault-controlled canyons and occasional broad alluvial valleys' extends along the south-southeasterly limit of the Block. The most prominent of said mountain ranges are the Northern Chiapas Mountains and the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in Mexico, the Cuchumatanes, Chama, Santa Cruz, and Lacandon Ranges in Guatemala, and the Maya Mountains in Belize.

Karstlands

The 'most extensive karstlands of the North American continent' extend northwards from the Block's southern extreme. The Block's most prominent karstic landform is the Yucatán Platform to its north. Relatively less prominent karstic formations occur in the Block's southern portion, including an unnamed formation in northwestern Peten to northeastern Belize, the Belize Barrier Reef, the Lacandon Range, the Cuchumatanes Range, and various formations to the north and south of the Maya Mountains.