The Obarenes Mountains: squeezed diapirs associated with tectonic inversion in the southern margin of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin

Authors

  • Teresa Román-Berdiel Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Sergio Mirumbrales Ayllón Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Antonio M. Casas Sainz Universidad de Zaragoza

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55407/rsge.99970

Keywords:

Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Obarenes Mountains, thin-skin tectonics, Sierra de Cantabria-Montes Obarenes Frontal Thrust, squeezed diapirs

Abstract

The Sierra de Cantabria and the Obarenes Mountains are the southern limit of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin, whose tectonic inversion occurred as a consequence of the Alpine compression during the Paleogene/Neogene. This study presents a structural analysis in which the main structures of the Obarenes Mountains are mapped in detail, with special emphasis on the geometry and evolution of the Sierra de Cantabria-Montes Obarenes Frontal overthrust. To this end, geological mapping was carried out at a 1:25,000 scale and structural data were collected to define the structures present and to construct four geological cross-sections. The area is characterised by a system of folds and thrusts with a local E-W direction and southwards vergence. This belt formed by Mesozoic materials is detached from the basement, implying a case of thin-skinned tectonics in which the Upper Triassic (Keuper facies) is the main detachment level. From the geometrical point of view, the thrust front shows features resulting both from the inversion of previous extensional structures and from the squeezing of Mesozoic diapirs aligned with the basin margin. Paleostresses inferred from pitted cobbles, indicate a NNW-SSE dominant compression, thus suggesting a slight strike-slip component for the main thrust.

References

Ábalos, B., 2016. Geologic map of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and a new tectonic interpretation of the Basque Arc. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 105(8): 2327-2354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-016-1291-6

Ábalos, B., Llanos, H., 1998. Structure of the "Sierra de Cantabria" (Southern Pyrenean Frontal Thrust, Basque Country, Spain): a new perspective from section balancing. C. R. de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris, série II, 319: 475-481.

Aguilar, M.J., del Pozo, R., Riba, O., 1971. Algunas precisiones sobre la sedimentación y paleoecología del Cretácico Inferior en la zona de Utrillas-Villarroya de los Pinares (Teruel). Estudios Geológicos, 27: 497-512.

Allmendinger, R.W., Cardozo, N.C., Fisher, D., 2013. Structural Geology Algorithms: Vectors & Tensors. Cambridge, England, Cambridge University Press, 289 pp.

Angelier, J., Mechler, P., 1977. Sur une méthode graphique de recherche des contraintes principales également utilisables en tectonique et en séismologie: la méthode des dièdres droits. Bulletin de la Société géologique de France, 7(6): 1309-1318. https://doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.S7-XIX.6.1309

Arche, A., López-Gómez, J., 1996. Origin of the Permian-Triassic Iberian basin, central-eastern Spain. Tectonophysics, 266(1-4): 443-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-1951(96)00202-8

Arostegui, J., Irabien, M.J., Sangüesa, J., Zuluaga, M.C., 2000. La formación de Utrillas en el borde sur de la Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica: aspectos estratigráficos, mineralógicos y genéticos. Estudios Geológicos, 56(5-6): 251-267. https://doi.org/10.3989/egeol.00565-6142

Astibia, H., Aranburu, A., Suberbiola, X.P., Murelaga, X., Sesé, C., Cuesta, M.A., Moyà-Solà, S. Baceta, J.I., Badiola A., Köhler, M., 2000. Un nouveau site à vertébrés continentaux de l'éocène supérieur de Zambrana (Bassin de Miranda-Treviņo, Alava, Pays Basque). Geobios, 33(2): 233-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-6995(00)80021-2

Barnolas, A., Pujalte, V., 2004. La Cordillera Pirenaica. Geología de España, 233-241.

Brinkmann, R., Logters, H., 1968. Diapirs in Western Pyrenees and Foreland, Spain, in: Diapirism and Diapirs, AAPG Special Volume A153, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Cardozo, N., Allmendinger, R.W., 2013. Spherical projections with OSXStereonet. Computers & Geosciences, 51: 193-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2012.07.021

Carola, E., Muñoz, J.A., Roca, E., 2015. The transition from thick-skinned to thin-skinned tectonics in the Basque-Cantabrian Pyrenees: the Burgalesa Platform and surroundings. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 104(8): 2215-2239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-015-1177-z

Casas, A., 2019. El Pirineo en el marco de la Tectónica de Placas. Enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Tierra, 27(3): 301-313.

Casas-Sainz, A., 1992. El frente norte de las Sierras de Cameros: estructuras cabalgantes y campo de esfuerzos. Zubía, 4: 11-220.

Casas Sainz, A.M., 1993. Oblique tectonic inversion and basement thrusting in the Cameros Massif (Northern Spain). Geodinamica Acta, 6(3): 202-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/09853111.1993.11105248

Castiella, J., Solé, J., Valle de Lersundi, J., 1978. Mapa Geológico de Navarra (escala1:200.000), Servicio Geológico de la Diputación Foral de Navarra.

Cuevas, J., Aranguren, A., Badillo, J.M., Tubía, J.M., 1999. Estudio estructural del sector central del Arco Vasco (Cuenca Vasco-Cantabrica). Boletín Geológico y Minero, 110(1): 3-18.

De Vicente, G., 2018. El registro geológico de las deformaciones alpinas en Iberia: partición de la deformación o fases tectónicas. Revista de la Sociedad Geológica de España 31 (2): 13-22.

De Vicente, G., Vegas, R., Muñoz-Martín, A., Van Wees, J.D., Casas-Sáinz, A., Sopeña, A., Sánchez-Moya, Y., Arche, A., López-Gómez, J., Olaiz, A., Fernández-Lozano, J., 2009. Oblique strain partitioning and transpression on an inverted rift: The Castilian Branch of the Iberian Chain. Tectonophysics, 470(3-4): 224-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2008.11.003

Fernández-Viejo, G., Gallastegui, J., Pulgar, J.A., Gallart, J., 2011. The MARCONI reflection seismic data: A view into the eastern part of the Bay of Biscay. Tectonophysics, 508(1-4): 34-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2010.06.020

Floquet, M., Martín-Chivelet, J., 2019. Late Cretaceous Post-Rift to Convergence in Iberia. North Iberian Continental Margin: The Basque-Cantabrian Basin and the Castilian Ramp. En: The Geology of Iberia: A Geodynamic Approach (Quesada C., Oliviera J.T.). SPRINGER. Cham, Switzerland, 314. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11295-0_7

Frankovic, A., Eguiluz, L., Martínez-Torres, L.M., 2016. Geodynamic evolution of the Salinas de Añana diapir in the Basque-Cantabrian basin, western Pyrenees. Journal of Structural Geology, 83: 13-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2015.12.001

García-Lasanta, C., Oliva-Urcia, B., Casas-Sainz, A.M., Román-Berdiel, T., Soto, R., Calvín, P., Moussaid, B., El Houardi, H., Kullberg, J.C., Villalaín, J.J., 2018. Inversion tectonics and magnetic fabrics in Mesozoic basins of the Western Tethys: A review. Tectonophysics, 745: 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2018.08.005

García-Senz, J., Rosales, I., Robador, A., Pedrera, A., 2019. The Basque-Cantabrian Rift Basin. En: The Geology of Iberia: A Geodynamic Approach, Volume 3: The Alpine Cycle (Quesada C., Oliviera J.T., Eds.). Springer Nature Switzerland, 171-182.

Heredia Carballo, N., Martín-González, F., Suárez-Rodríguez, A., 2019. Basque-Cantabrian Pyrenees. The Variscan Heritage. En: The Geology of Iberia: A Geodynamic Approach, Volume 3: The Alpine Cycle (Quesada C., Olivera J.T. Eds.). Springer Nature Switzerland, 34-36.

Hernáiz-Huerta, P.P.H., Serrano, A., Malagón, J., Cañas, C.R., 1993. Evolución estructural del margen SO de la cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica. Geogaceta, (15): 143-146.

Lanaja, J.M., 1987. Contribución de la exploración petrolífera al conocimiento de la geología de España. IGME.

Liesa, C.L., Simón, J.L., Casas, A.M., 2018. La tectónica de inversión en una región intraplaca: La Cordillera Ibérica. Revista de la Sociedad Geológica de España, 31 (2): 23-50.

Liesa, C.L., Simón, J.L., 2009. Evolution of intraplate stress fields under multiple remote compressions: The case of the Iberian Chain (NE Spain). Tectonophysics, 474(1-2): 144-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2009.02.002

Marrett, R., Allmendinger, R.W., 1990. Kinematic analysis of fault-slip data. Journal of structural geology, 12(8): 973-986. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8141(90)90093-E

Martín-Chivelet, J., López-Gómez, J., Aguado, R., Arias, C., Arribas, J., Arribas, M.E., Vilas, L., 2019. The late jurassic-early cretaceous rifting. The Geology of Iberia: A Geodynamic Approach, 3. The Alpine Cycle: 169-249. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11295-0_5

Martínez Torres, L.M., 1993. Corte Balanceado de la Sierra Cantabria (Cabalgamiento de la Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica sobre la Cuenca del Ebro). Geogaceta, 14: 113-115.

Martínez Torres, L.M., 1984. Geología de la Sierra de Cantabria entre Palomares y Toloño. Azterlanak, 4: 68.

Martinez Torres, L.M., Eguiluz Alarcón, L., Ramón Lluch, R., Llanos Acebo, H., 1984. Geometría del Pirineo Occidental y Arco Vasco. I Congreso Español de Geología, 3: 207-217.

Muñoz-Jiménez, A., 1991. Análisis tectosedimentario del Terciario del sector occidental de la Cuenca del Ebro (Comunidad de La Rioja) (Doctoral dissertation, Universidad de Zaragoza).

Muñoz‐Jiménez, A., Casas‐Sainz, A.M., 1997. The Rioja Trough (N Spain): tectosedimentary evolution of a symmetric foreland basin. Basin Research, 9(1): 65-85. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2117.1997.00031.x

Muñoz, J.A., 2019. Alpine Orogeny: Deformation and Structure in the Northern Iberian Margin (Pyrenees s.l.). The Basque-Cantabrian Pyrenees. En: The Geology of Iberia: A Geodynamic Approach (Quesada C., Oliviera J.T.). SPRINGER. Cham, Switzerland, 467-470. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11295-0_9

Olivé Davó, A., Ramírez Merino, J.I., Gabaldón, V., 1985. Mapa geológico de España a escala 1:200.000, hoja Bermeo-Bilbao. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España.

Olivé Davó, A., Ramírez Merino, J.I., Riba Arderiu, O., 1978. Mapa Geológico de España 1:50.000, hoja nº 137 (Miranda de Ebro). IGME, Madrid.

Pedrera, A., García‐Senz, J., Ayala, C., Ruiz‐Constán, A., Rodríguez‐Fernández, L.R., Robador, A., González Menéndez, L., 2017. Reconstruction of the exhumed mantle across the North Iberian Margin by crustal‐scale 3‐D gravity inversion and geological cross section. Tectonics, 36(12): 3155-3177. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017TC004716

Pinto, V., Casas, A., Rivero, L., Torné, M., 2005. 3D gravity modeling of the Triassic salt diapirs of the Cubeta Alavesa (northern Spain). Tectonophysics, 405(1-4): 65-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2005.05.010

Portero, J.M, Ramírez del Pozo, J., 1977. Mapa Geológico de España 1:50000, hoja nº 169 (Casalarreina) y memoria. IGME, Madrid, 45.

Quintana, L., Pulgar, J.A., Alonso, J.L., 2015. Displacement transfer from borders to interior of a plate: A crustal transect of Iberia. Tectonophysics, 663: 378-398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.08.046

Ramírez del Pozo, J., 1973. Síntesis geológica de la provincia de Alava. Onra Cultural, Caja de Ahorros Municipal de la Ciudad de Vitoria; Institución Sancho el Sabio.

Ramos, A., García-Senz, J., Pedrera, A., Ayala, C., Rubio, F., Peropadre, C., Mediato, J.F., 2022. Salt control on the kinematic evolution of the Southern Basque-Cantabrian Basin and its underground storage systems (Northern Spain). Tectonophysics, 822, 229178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2021.229178

Rat, P., 1988. The Basque-Cantabrian basin between the Iberian and European plates: some facts but still many problems. Revista de la Sociedad Geologica de España, 1: 327-348.

Riba, O., 1956. La Cuenca Terciaria de Miranda-Treviño. CIEPSA (Inédito)

Robles, S., Aranburu, A., Apraiz, A., 2014. La Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica: génesis y evolución tectonosedimentaria. Enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Tierra, 22(2): 99-99.

Roca, E., Muñoz, J.A., Ferrer, O., Ellouz, N., 2011. The role of the Bay of Biscay Mesozoic extensional structure in the configuration of the Pyrenean orogen: Constraints from the MARCONI deep seismic reflection survey. Tectonics, 30(2). https://doi.org/10.1029/2010TC002735

Roca, E., Ferrer, O., Rowan, M.G., Muñoz, J.A., Butillé, M., Giles, K.A., de Matteis, M., 2021. Salt tectonics and controls on halokinetic-sequence development of an exposed deepwater diapir: The Bakio Diapir, Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Pyrenees. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 123: 104770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2020.104770

Santolaria, P., Vendeville, B.C., Graveleau, F., Soto, R., Casas-Sainz, A., 2015. Double evaporitic décollements: Influence of pinch-out overlapping in experimental thrust wedges. Journal of Structural Geology, 76: 35-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2015.04.002

Santolaria, P., Casas-Sainz, A.M., Soto, R., Casas, A., 2017. Gravity modelling to assess salt tectonics in the western end of the South Pyrenean Central Unit. Journal of the Geological Society, 174(2): 269-288. https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2016-027

Saura, E., Ardèvol i Oró, L., Teixell, A., Vergés, J., 2016. Rising and falling diapirs, shifting depocenters, and flap overturning in the Cretaceous Sopeira and Sant Gervàs subbasins (Ribagorça Basin, southern Pyrenees). Tectonics, 35(3): 638-662. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015TC004001

Serrano, A., Hernaiz, P.P., Malagón, J., Rodríguez Cañas, C., 1993. Tectónica distensiva y halocinesis en el margen SO de la cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica. Geogaceta, 15: 131-134.

Simón, J.L., 2019. Evolución de paleoesfuerzos registrada en la cuenca cenozoica de Montalbán (Teruel, Cordillera Ibérica) (No. ART-2019-122040).

Vissers, R.L.M., Meijer, P.T., 2012. Iberian plate kinematics and Alpine collision in the Pyrenees. Earth-Science Reviews, 114(1-2): 61-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.05.001

Published

2023-12-20

How to Cite

Román-Berdiel, T., Mirumbrales Ayllón, S., & Casas Sainz, A. M. (2023). The Obarenes Mountains: squeezed diapirs associated with tectonic inversion in the southern margin of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. Journal of the Geological Society of Spain, 36(2), 30–45. https://doi.org/10.55407/rsge.99970

Issue

Section

Artículos

Most read articles by the same author(s)