The Tehuantepec subduction zone was identified as a seismic gap by several authors. The presence of three large earthquakes at the turn of the twentieth century, in temporal and spatial proximity, poses questions on the extent of the seismic gap and on the type of tectonic deformation in this region. On 19 April 1902, a large earthquake occurred in Guatemala. The macroseismic data and recent relocations suggest that it is not a subduction event but an intraplate earthquake within the subducted Cocos plate. The recent relocations and the macroseismic data of the 23 September 1902 earthquake, which is frequently interpreted as an interplate subduction event, show that it is an intermediate-depth earthquake located inland in central Mexico. The 14 January 1903 earthquake, located in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, may be interpreted as an intraplate event, similar to the 8 September 2017 earthquake (M_w 8.2) or a subduction earthquake. Thus, there is no clear evidence of large subduction earthquakes (M_w > 7) in Tehuantepec at least in the last 250 years. Geodetic data suggest that the subduction zone is highly coupled and, therefore, a considerable amount of plate motion has not been released. The length of the presumed seismic gap is equivalent to a M_w ~ 8.5 earthquake. In contrast, the September 1902 (M_w 7.8), 1903 (M_w 7.4), 1931 (M_w 7.8), 1999 (M_w 7.5) and the great 8 September 2017 events (M_w 8.2) are all down-dip tensional earthquakes in the slab, reflecting a complex state of stress in the downgoing Cocos plate. These frequent and large tensional earthquakes may reflect a large-scale deformation of the slab that locked at the plate interface is under tensional stress under its own gravitational weight. As a result, seismic hazard in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec stems from both subduction and intraplate earthquakes.

几位作者将特万特佩克俯冲带确定为地震带。在二十世纪初，在时间和空间上都存在三场大地震，这对该区域的地震缝隙范围和构造变形类型提出了质疑。1902年4月19日，危地马拉发生了一场大地震。宏观地震数据和最近的重新定位表明，这不是俯冲事件，而是俯冲的Cocos板块内的板内地震。1902年9月23日地震的最新搬迁和宏观地震数据经常被解释为板间俯冲事件，表明这是位于墨西哥中部内陆的中深度地震。1903年1月14日发生在Tehuantepec海湾的地震可解释为板内事件，中号_W¯¯ 8.2）或俯冲地震。因此， 至少在过去的250年中，没有明确的证据表明特万特佩克发生了大的俯冲地震（M _w > 7）。大地测量数据表明俯冲带高度耦合，因此尚未释放大量的板块运动。的假定地震间隙的长度是相当于一个中号_瓦特 〜8.5地震。相比之下，1902年9月（M _w 7.8），1903（M _w 7.4），1931（M _w 7.8），1999（M _w 7.5）和2017年9月8日的重大事件（M _w8.2）都是平板中的下倾拉伸地震，反映了下沉的Cocos板中应力的复杂状态。这些频繁和大的拉伸地震可能反映了锁定在板界面上的板的大规模变形，该板在其自身重力的作用下处于拉应力下。结果，特瓦特佩克地峡的地震灾害既来自俯冲地震，也来自板内地震。