If the subduction fault is locked, a likely possibility, as much strain as was released by the 1932 earthquakes could reaccumulate in as little as 80 years at the average Rivera-North America convergence rate of 3 million years. It could accumulate sooner if the convergence rate has increased significantly. These instruments use a constellation of orbiting satellites to make extremely precise, millimeter-level measurements of site locations. Neotectonic features in the Jalisco block and Rivera plate region. Solid circles represent GPS sites occupied in 1995.
Red regions indicate volcanic centers active in the last few thousand years.
The green-shaded area onshore is Lake Chapala. Solid white lines show active plate boundaries and dashed white lines show inactive plate boundaries. The white dots and crosses show magnetic anomaly crossings being used by S. Traylen and C. DeMets to model the post-10 Ma kinematic evolution of the Rivera plate. The Jalisco region is an attractive setting for a GPS experiment. It offers a rare opportunity to observe how a continent deforms above two subducting slabs.