Caribbean large igneous province

This divergence, which continued until at least 66 Ma, first resulted in a "proto-Caribbean spreading ridge" between these plates flanked by a perpendicular transform zone on its Pacific side.

Fragments of this voyage is preserved in accreted seamounts along the Central American coast and the Cocos and Carnegie Ridges.

CLIP volcanism originates from the plume-like source distinct from a MORB (mid-ocean ridge basalt) mantle.

[8] The Farallon Plate's eastward movement forced the northern half of the CLIP into the ocean basin that had opened between North and South America starting in the Jurassic.

However, the mechanisms causing the NE movement of the CLIP remains unclear, especially considering the subduction in the Costa Rica-Panama arc initiated during the Campanian (83–72 Ma).

Renewed volcanism about 75 Ma has been attributed to either the Galápagos hotspot, thinning of the lithosphere coupled with associated melting and upwelling of plume-head material, or both.

[5] Seismic and geochemical analyses, on the other hand, suggest the CLIP consists of several oceanic plateaus and palaeo-hotspot tracks formed 139-83 Ma some of which have been overprinted by later magmatism.