Five Major Earthquakes Since the Late Classic Maya Period on the Motagua Fault in Guatemala

Author

• Tina M. Niemi
• Christoph Grützner
• Omar Flores Beltetón
• Luis Alberto Romero
• Francisco Gomez
• Jeremy Maurer, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
• Trenton McEnaney
• Robyn Daniels
• Aleigha Dollens
• Hannes Ebell
• Carlos Pérez Arias
• Alison H. Graettinger
• Jonathan Obrist-Farner, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

In 1976, the Motagua Fault along the North American-Caribbean plate boundary ruptured in a devastating M 7.5 earthquake. Despite its considerable scientific importance and its potential for catastrophic societal impact, very little is known about the seismic history of this major fault. Here, we show direct on-fault paleo seismic evidence for five ground-rupturing earthquakes on the Motagua Fault in the last 1,300 years that led to cultural and architectural adaptations. Radiocarbon ages of fault scarp-derived colluvial wedges, along with damage and repair at Maya and Colonial sites, provide constraints for three earthquakes during the 8^th–13^th centuries and two during the 18^th-20^th centuries, separated by a six-century interval of seismic quiescence. The research presented here provides new insight into the seismic character of the Motagua Fault and illustrates that earthquake recurrence on the fault is variable, allowing for improved estimation of current and future seismic risk in Guatemala.

Recommended Citation

T. M. Niemi and C. Grützner and O. Flores Beltetón and L. Alberto Romero and F. Gomez and J. Maurer and T. McEnaney and R. Daniels and A. Dollens and H. Ebell and C. Pérez Arias and A. H. Graettinger and J. Obrist-Farner, "Five Major Earthquakes Since the Late Classic Maya Period on the Motagua Fault in Guatemala," Communications Earth and Environment, vol. 7, no. 1, article no. 277, Nature Research, Dec 2026.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03271-y

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Publication Status

Open Access

Comments

U.S. Geological Survey, Grant OISE-2153715

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

2662-4435

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 The Authors, All rights reserved.

Creative Commons Licensing

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publication Date

01 Dec 2026