| Abstract: | Subsidence of the Bahama Escarpment, determined from deep-diving submersible and dredge samples, is used to constrain the nature of crust underlying the Bahamas. Horizontal disposition of the Hauterivian/Barremian (125 Ma) age boundary along the Bahama Escarpment is inconsistent with an underlying oceanic crust (either normal or thickened) here, and suggests that thinned continental crust underlies the Bahamas. Subsidence curves are then fit based on a stretched lithosphere model to a stratigraphic section (2000–4000 m) off Cat Island. This analysis indicates crustal thinning by a factor (β) of 2.0–2.5, resulting in present crustal thicknesses of 10–12 km. We propose that rifting beneath the Bahamas occurred from middle (175–180 Ma) to late (160 Ma) Jurassic time. The pre-extension Bahamas fit between North and South America and Africa in Early Jurassic time, eliminating overlap of the present Bahamas onto Africa in reconstructions of the North Atlantic. |
