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Palaeogene evolution of deformation in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula

1984; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 121; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0016756800029940

1469-5081

Joan Guimerà,

Geological and Geochemical Analysis

Abstract During the Palaeogene Alpine compression three units were differentiated in the studied area (south of the Ebro Basin): the Catalan Coastal Range, dominated by NE–SW major basement faults with a sinistral movement; The Iberian Range, where the important basement faults have a NW–SE direction and a reverse movement (often with a dextral component); the Linking Zone, between these two ranges, where an E–W dominant structural direction is marked by an array of folds and thrusts (with a northward vergence) in the Mesozoic cover. From the analysis of both these major structures and the small-scale structures, it can be deduced that the compression in the studied area has evolved from a NW–SE direction (lower-middle Eocene) to a N–S direction and to a NE–SW one (uppermost Oligocene). The major structures are due to the N–S compression. Later, the stress-field progressively changed to a distensive regime. We suggest a relation between the compressive phases and the displacement direction of the Iberian Plate with reference to the European Plate.