The northern Barbados accretionary prism is the leading edge of the Caribbean plate that is being underthrust by the Atlantic Ocean floor at rates estimated at ~3 cm/yr in a westerly to northwesterly direction (Fig. F1) (DeMets et al., 1990; Dixon et al., 1998). The Lesser Antilles to the west defines the volcanic arc, whereas the island of Barbados east of the arc is an outcrop of the forearc accretionary prism. Frontal structures south of the Tiburon Rise include long wavelength folds, widely spaced ramping thrust faults, and extensive reflections from the décollement (Westbrook and Smith, 1983; Bangs and Westbrook, 1991). North of the Tiburon Rise, trench sediment thickness is much thinner and prism thrusts are more closely spaced (Biju-Duval et al., 1982; Westbrook et al., 1984). North of the Tiburon Rise, the Barbados accretionary prism reaches at least 10 km thick and 120 km wide, in addition to a 50-km-wide forearc basin to the west (Bangs et al., 1990; Westbrook et al., 1988). Thus, the accretionary prism forms a wide, low-taper wedge.