Mid-Cayman Rise

[1] The Mid-Cayman Rise developed during the Eocene when the northern part of the Caribbean Plate collided with the Bahamas Platform, forcing the southern boundary to propagate southwards.

This boundary initially formed as two strike-slip faults with a large left-stepping offset between them, generating a pull-apart basin.

Continuing movement on the boundary and extension within the pull-apart led to the formation of an area of oceanic crust containing a north-south trending spreading center that remains active to the present day.

During the Late Miocene, the leading edge of the Caribbean Plate began to collide with the Bahamas Platform.

The NASA Astrobiology Program is interested in studying this area as it is an extreme environment that simulates conditions on other planets where life could be found.