Twelve-fold multichannel seismic data reveal two types of seismic stratigraphy in the Colombia Basin: basin-floor-type and fan-type. Basin-floor-type stratigraphy occurs in areas with thin sediment cover in the central basin and parts of the lower Nicaragua Rise; whereas the fan-type stratigraphy with thick sediment cover occupies the western and eastern regions of the Colombia Basin. The reflection zone above acoustic basement in the basin-floor-type province and in each region of the fan-type province is divided into four seismic intervals separated by three laterally persistent reflectors of unknown ages.

The acoustic basement shoals toward the Costa Rica coast and dips down toward the Panama and Colombia margins. The Panama and Colombia margins at the southern boundary of the Colombia Basin consist of a convergence zone where basin sediments have been underthrust and deformed into active-margin-type structures. Structural detail of the deformed belt indicates that the directions of convergence at the northern Panama and Colombia coasts have been different from those of the present day relative motions between the Nazca, South American, and Caribbean plates.