https://www.earthmagazine.org/tags/south-america/ Recent content in South America on EARTH Magazine Hugo en-US American Geosciences Institute. All rights reserved. Mon, 01 Jun 2015 09:36:47 -0400 https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/monkeys-new-world-earlier-thought/ Mon, 01 Jun 2015 09:36:47 -0400 https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/monkeys-new-world-earlier-thought/ <figure class="earth-figure"> <img src="https://www.americangeosciences.org/static/earth/monkeys-new-world-earlier-thought/Monkeys_Ron_Blakey.jpg" alt="A strong resemblance between a newly discovered Peruvian primate and African species supports the theory of dispersal from Africa to South America. Credit: Ron Blakey." loading="eager" decoding="async"> <figcaption>A strong resemblance between a newly discovered Peruvian primate and African species supports the theory of dispersal from Africa to South America. Credit: Ron Blakey.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Monkeys originated in Africa, but how and when they first appeared in Central and South America has long been something of a mystery. Now, a new set of fossilized teeth places monkeys in South America about 10 million years earlier than previously thought.</p> https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/slab-tear-explains-perplexing-colombian-earthquake-activity/ Fri, 08 Nov 2013 10:08:56 -0500 https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/slab-tear-explains-perplexing-colombian-earthquake-activity/ <figure class="earth-figure"> <img src="https://www.americangeosciences.org/static/earth/slab-tear-explains-perplexing-colombian-earthquake-activity/CaldasTear_Cantner2.jpg" alt="Four plates converge at the northwest corner of Colombia, leading to a complicated pattern of earthquake activity. Kathleen Cantner, AGI" loading="eager" decoding="async"> <figcaption>Four plates converge at the northwest corner of Colombia, leading to a complicated pattern of earthquake activity. Kathleen Cantner, AGI</figcaption> </figure> <p>Colombia sits atop a restless intersection of tectonic plates: The Caribbean Plate is subducting along the country&rsquo;s northern coast while the oceanic Nazca Plate subducts along its western edge. In between, the narrow but buoyant Isthmus of Panama continues to crash into South America like a battering ram. The complex pattern of earthquake activity produced by these disparate forces has long confounded scientists hoping to decipher the plate structure beneath Colombia. In a new study, researchers have identified a feature called the Caldas Tear that may explain many long-standing riddles of Colombia&rsquo;s geology.</p>