Cayman Ridge

Cayman Ridge
Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trough.
Highest point
Coordinates	86°30′N 17°30′W 77°45′N 20°00′W
Geography
Cayman Ridge Location of Cayman Ridge in Caribbean Sea
Location	Caribbean Sea Cuba Cayman Islands Honduras
Parent range	Sierra Maestra  Cayman Islands  Misteriosa Bank  Rosario Bank
Geology
Mountain type	Seamount
Volcanic arc/belt	Cayman Trough

The Cayman Ridge is an undersea mountain range on the northern margin of the Cayman Trough in the Caribbean Sea. It extends from the Sierra Maestra in the east to the Misteriosa Bank and Rosario Bank in the west, a distance of about 1,500 km (930 mi). The Cayman Ridge also includes the Cayman Islands.

The ridge formed as an island arc when the Cayman Trough was the site of a subduction zone during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs. As the dynamics of the area changed, the subduction zone became a transform fault zone with a pull-apart basin during which time volcanism had dwindled along the entire length of the arc. The Cayman Ridge is now an inactive volcanic zone.