The 2007 Martinique earthquake took place on November 29 2007 at 15:00:19 local time in the Windward Islands region, underneath the Martinique Passage. It was a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that occurred 18 km (11 mi) west northwest from Basse-Pointe, Martinique. In the surrounding region, the South American Plate is subducting beneath the Caribbean Plate. This earthquake occurred within the South America Plate and was in response to stresses generated by the slow distortion of the plate.