Geology of Jamaica

The basement consists of Cretaceous island arc and back-arc basin sequences that formed above a subduction zone.

The cover is of mainly Eocene to Miocene shallow water limestones, that have been uplifted due to the presence of a restraining bend along the major strike-slip faults that bound the southern edge of the Gonâve Microplate to the north of the island.

[1] During the Late Miocene, the northeastern margin of the Caribbean Plate began to collide with the Bahamas Platform.

[2] These fault zones now form part of the southern boundary of the Gonâve Microplate.

The major right-stepping offset between the fault zones formed a restraining bend and led to transpression and uplift that is still active today and is the reason that the island of Jamaica is now well above sea level.