Mascarene Basin

The Mascarene Basin is an oceanic basin in the

western Indian Ocean. It was formed as the tectonic
plate of the Indian subcontinent pulled away from the
Madagascar Plate about 66–90  Mya, following the
breaking up of the Gondwana supercontinent.[1][2]

The Mascarene Basin is bounded on the west by the

island of Madagascar, i.e. the Precambrian
Madagascar Massif. It is separated from the Western
and Eastern Somali Basins to the north and northeast
by the island arc from the northern tip of
Madagascar, the Farquhar Islands, the Amirante
Islands and Amirante Plateau, the Seychelles Plateau
and the Mascarene Plateau. To the southwest and
south it is separated from the Madagascar Basin by a
continuation of the island arc through Mauritius
Island and Reunion Island, the Mauritius Fracture
Zone, a fracture zone trending approximately NE-
SW, located east of Mauritius Island, and the
northwestern edge of the Madagascar Ridge.[3][4]

The approximate center of the basin is 15°S 56°E.[5]

Creation of the Mascarene Basin following the break-
See also up of Gondwanaland

Geology of Madagascar

Notes and references

1. Kusky, Timothy M.; Toraman, , Erkan; Raharimahefa, Tsilavo (2007). "The Great Rift Valley of
Madagascar: An extension of the Africa–Somali diffusive plate boundary?". Gondwana
Research. 11 (4): 577–579. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2006.11.009 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.gr.200
6.11.009).
2. Schlich, R. (1982). "The Indian Ocean: aseismic ridges, spreading centers, and oceanic
basins". In Nairn, Alan E. M.; Stehli, Francis G. (eds.). The Ocean Basins and Margins
(Volume 6, The Indian Ocean). Boston, Massachusetts: Springer. pp. 51–147. ISBN 978-1-
4615-8040-9.
3. Schlich 1982, pp. 115–116
4. Bhattacharya, G. C.; Yatheesh, V. (2015). "PlateTectonic Evolution of the Deep Ocean
Basins Adjoining the Western Continental Margin of India: A Proposed Model for the Early
Opening Scenario". In Mukherjee, Soumyajit (ed.). Petroleum Geosciences: Indian Contexts.
Springer. pp. 1–62. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-03119-4_1 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-31
9-03119-4_1). ISBN 978-3-319-03119-4.
5. Gazetteer of Undersea Features: Names Approved by the United States Board on
Geographic Names (https://books.google.com/books?id=O38_AAAAMAAJ) (third ed.).
 Washington, D.C.: Defense Mapping Agency. 1981. p. II-98.

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