Transverse intra-arc rifting - Palaeogene Wagwater belt, Jamaica

Rifts in Jamaica are investigated and are interpreted as 'transverse intra-arc' rifts based on their apparent relationship to the strike of the enclosing palaeo-arc. The transverse intra-arc rifts are theorized to be common features of small arc-fringed plates that react to collision by strike-slip motion toward an open oceanic face. Intra-arc rifts are of significant tectonic interest, and the present intra-arc rift was formed during an abrupt transition from convergent to strike-slip tectonics.