GALAPAGOS RIFT AT 86-DEGREES-W .2. VOLCANISM, STRUCTURE, AND EVOLUTION OF THE RIFT VALLEY

This paper presents part of the data obtained during a multidisciplinary study of the Galapagos Rift in the western Panama Basin. It is based on photographic traverses made by the Angus towed camera system, observations made from the DSRV Alvin, and bathymetric maps constructed by the US Navy using a multi-narrow-beam sonar system. The area studied is a 9-km section of the rift valley at 86oW on the crest of a long and uncomplicated segment of the Galapgaos Rift. In contrast to the terraced rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Galapagos rift valley consists of a single trough, a few hunderd meters deep, between faulted walls leading to low crestal ranges.-Authors