Caribbean
What tectonic plate is Barbados on?
Barbados sits entirely on the Caribbean Plate.
- Plates
- 1
- M6.5+ quakes since 1900
- 2
- Holocene volcanoes
- 0
- Land area
- 389 km²
Plates under Barbados
Share of Barbados's land area on each plate (PB2002 model, Natural Earth outlines).
Plate boundaries
A plate boundary runs through or along Barbados: the Caribbean-South American boundary (convergent, about 1.9 cm/yr).
- Caribbean and South American: convergent, 1.9 cm/yr
Earthquakes in Barbados
Large earthquakes are uncommon in Barbados. Since 1900 the USGS has recorded 2 of magnitude 6.5 or more in or just off the country.
| Earthquake | Magnitude | Year | Depth | Plate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 171 km NNE of Greenland, Barbadostsunami | M6.5 | 2014 | 15 km | Caribbean |
| 128 km NE of Bathsheba, Barbadostsunami | M6.5 | 2015 | 20 km | Caribbean |
Volcanoes in Barbados
Barbados has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.
Frequently asked questions
What tectonic plate is Barbados on?
Barbados sits entirely on the Caribbean Plate.
Is Barbados on a plate boundary?
A plate boundary runs through or along Barbados: the Caribbean-South American boundary (convergent, about 1.9 cm/yr).
Does Barbados get earthquakes?
Large earthquakes are uncommon in Barbados. Since 1900 the USGS has recorded 2 of magnitude 6.5 or more in or just off the country. The largest was the M6.5 171 km NNE of Greenland, Barbados in 2014.
Are there volcanoes in Barbados?
Barbados has no volcanoes that have erupted in the last 12,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.