IGCP Project short title: Caribbean Plate Tectonics Duration and ...

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areas, considerable research remains to be done in order to reach an agreement concerning
the origin and evolution of the region. This way must be headed toward gathering new
necessary hard data, but no less concern must be paid to the improvement of the conceptual
basis of our interpretations. It is unfortunate that in many cases, we have been unable to
agree even in the way we interpret the same set of data.
17 SYMPOSIUM ON THE GEOLOGY OF LATIN AMERICA (17TH LAK)
Institute for Geology and Paleontology, University of Stuttgart, October 11 to 13,
2000. Convener: Hartmut Seyfried
A symposium on the Geology of Latin American countries, which dedicated several
sessions to the geology and plate tectonics of the Caribbean area, was held at the Institute for
Geology and Paleontology of the University of Stuttgart, Germany, from October 11 and 13
of year 2000. The symposium was attended by nearly 300 scientists from countries in South
America, Central America, North America, Europe and also from Cuba. Presentations were
made on the geology, paleontology, plate tectonics, seismicity and other geohazards,
hydrogeology, and environmental issues concerning Mexico, Central America, Bahamas,
Greater Antilles and South America. Among them were 12 oral and 13 posters dealing with
different aspects of the geology, paleontology and plate tectonics of the Caribbean. A round
table took place to discuss important issues concerning the origin and evolution of the
Caribbean Plate. A visit was organized to the Paleontological Museum in Stuttgart, which
has an elegantly designed exhibit of unique fossils showing excellent preservation with a
highest quality of preparation.
This meeting, characterized by a high level of organization and strict attachment to
the schedule, was a great opportunity to share opinions and to discuss hot issues of the
Caribbean geology in general, and Central American and Greater Antilles geology in
particular. Also it was a great possibility to meet with South and Central American
geologists who, for different reasons, usually do not attend the Caribbean Geological
Conferences (CGC) celebrated within the Caribbean area. It is the hope that in the future this
situation will change for good, and more geologists from the countries surrounding the
Caribbean Sea will attend the forthcoming meetings of the IGCP Project 433 and the CGC.
This conference highlighted once again the very different interpretations that still
exist regarding fundamental issues concerning the origin and evolution of the Caribbean
area. Let us comment briefly on some of these issues:
The Galapagos hotspot and the original position of the Caribbean Plate. Thereare
two fundamental positions regarding the role of the Galapagos hotspot in the geology of the
Caribbean. One holds that the Galapagos hotspot has nothing to do with the Protocaribbean
crust or the Caribbean Plate (M. Meschede, J. Pindell), because it was always positioned
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