The collision of high-standing bathymetric features leads to tectonic and magmatic
responses in the upper plate of convergent margins. The forearc sedimentary record of
these responses may provide solid constraints on the mode and timing of plateau collision
events. In particular, carbonate deposits are a useful tracker of forearc uplift as well as
cessation of arc volcanic activity, which are typical markers of plateaus colliding with
convergent margins. In Costa Rican examples, kilometric forearc uplift was documented by
short‐lived (≤ 3 Myr) occurrences of shallow‐water carbonate deposits in an overall deepwater
volcaniclastic sedimentary record. These shallow-water deposits formed after short
episodes of subaerial forearc exposure and contain material reworked from underlying
sedimentary and basement rocks. Depending on substratum relief and rates of vertical
motions, carbonate sedimentation occurred in settings ranging from few to 900 km in areal
extent. Carbonate environments were dominated by bioclastic sedimentation, punctuated
by the growth of rudist reefs during the Campanian and sponge-coral reefs during the
Paleocene. The development of spatial gaps in island arc volcanism is suggested by the
transition from arc‐derived turbidites to pelagic carbonate, the latter being interbedded with
scarce fallout ash sourced from distant volcanic centers located outboard of the collision
zone. Eventually, end of the plateau collision events was marked by the subsidence of the
whole forearc to deep‐water environments. Basin subsidence is accompanied or followed
by renewed volcanic arc activity and related arc‐derived sedimentation, which may occur up
to several million years after plateau collision.