Caldera Basin
Caldera Basin | |
---|---|
Cuenca de Caldera | |
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Coordinates | 27°11′50″S 70°45′30″W / 27.19722°S 70.75833°WCoordinates: 27°11′50″S 70°45′30″W / 27.19722°S 70.75833°W |
Etymology | Caldera |
Region | Atacama Region |
Country | ![]() |
State(s) | Copiapó |
Cities | Caldera |
Characteristics | |
On/Offshore | Onshore |
Boundaries | Pacific Ocean, Chilean Coast Range |
Hydrology | |
River(s) | Copiapó |
Geology | |
Plate | South American |
Orogeny | Andean |
Age | Early Miocene-recent |
Stratigraphy | Stratigraphy |
Caldera Basin (Spanish: Cuenca de Caldera) is a sedimentary basin located in the coast of northern Chile west of Copiapó. The basin has a fill of marine sediments of Late Cenozoic age. With a north-south extension of 43 kilometres (27 mi) and an east-west width of 20 kilometres (12 mi) the basin occupies an area between the coast and the Chilean Coast Range and between the port of Caldera and the mouth of Copiapó River. The sedimentary fill rests on metamorphic rocks of Paleozoic age and on plutonic rocks of Mesozoic age.[1]
Stratigraphy[]
Name | Age | Lithologies | Depositional environment | |
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Caldera Beds | Pleistocene | |||
Bahía Inglesa Formation | Quebrada Blanca | Late Miocene | Conglomerate, sandstone, biocalcirudite | , outer shelf, tsunami |
Rocas Negras | Calcirudite, biocalciarenite | Shoreface | ||
Mina Fosforita | Sandstone, siltstone, shale | Uppermost continental slope, shoreface | ||
Chorrillos | Clast-supported conglomerate | Submarine canyon debris flow fill, formed possibly by a tsunami | ||
La Higera | Shale with gypsum veins, sandstone, siltstone, diatomaceous clay | Outer shelf or uppermost continental slope | ||
Cerro Ballena | Silty sandstone | Supratidal flat | ||
Punta Totoral | Biocalcarenite, biocalcirudite, matrix-supported conglomerate | Rapid sea-level oscillations | ||
Puerto Viejo | Sandstone, siltstone, claystone, shale, microcoquina | Shoreface, marine transgression | ||
El Pimiento | Biocalcarenite, quartzarenite | Shoreface | ||
Early to Mid-Miocene | Matrix-supported conglomerate | High-energy river mouth |
References[]
- ^ a b Le Roux, Jacobus; Achurra, Luciano; Henríquez, Álvaro; Carreño, Catalina; Rivera, Huber; Suárez, Mario E.; Ishman, Scott E.; Pyenson, Nicholas D.; Gutstein, Carolina S. (2016). "Oroclinal bending of the Juan Fernández Ridge suggested by geohistory analysis of the Bahía Inglesa Formation, north-central Chile" (PDF). Sedimentary Geology. 333: 32–49. Bibcode:2016SedG..333...32L. doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.12.003.
Further reading[]
- Manganese nodules in the Miocene Bahía Inglesa Formation, north-central Chile: Petrography, geochemistry, genesis and palaeoceanographic significance. Sedimentary Geology 217. 128–139. Accessed 2017-08-15. ; ; ; ; ; , and . 2009.
- Nódulos de Mn de la Formación Bahía Inglesa: geoquímica, génesis e implicancias paleoambientales, 1–10. X Congreso Geológico Chileno. Accessed 2017-08-15. ; ; , and . 2003.
- Primer registro de cráneos asignados a Palaeospheniscus (Aves, Spheniscidae) procedentes de la Formación Bahía Inglesa (Mioceno Medio-Tardío), Chile. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 78. 489–495. Accessed 2017-08-15. , and . 2005.
- La ornitofauna de la Formación Bahía Inglesa, Caldera, Chile (MSc. thesis), 1–165. Universidad Austral de Chile. Accessed 2017-08-15. . 2008.
- Sobre la presencia de Paraptenodytes y Palaeospheniscus (Aves: Sphenisciformes) en la Formación Bahía Inglesa, Chile. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 80. 255–259. Accessed 2017-08-15. . 2007.
- Spheniscus megaramphus Stucchi et al. 2003 (Aves: Sphenisciformes) en la Formación Bahía Inglesa, Chile. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica del Perú 102. 101–107. Accessed 2017-08-15. . 2007.
- Lithostratigraphy, depositional environments and tectonic setting of the Bahía Inglesa Formation west of Copiapó, north-central Chile, 821–824. XIV Congreso Geológico Chileno. Accessed 2017-08-15. ; ; ; , and . 2015.
- Nuevo registro de familias de peces óseos en Formación Bahía Inglesa, 1–4. XIV Congreso Geológico Chileno. Accessed 2017-08-15. ; ; ; ; ; , and . 2015.
- Late Neogene Elasmobranch fauna from the Coquimbo Formation, Chile. 18. 261–272. Accessed 2017-08-15. ; ; ; ; ; , and . 2015.
- Línea de base paleontológica proyecto Puerto Santa Fe, 1–29. Comuna de Caldera Región de Atacama. Accessed 2017-08-15. . 2011.
- Mamíferos marinos fósiles (excepto Cetacea) de Formación Bahía Inglesa: Registro, implicancias paleoambientales y perspectivas de estudio. . .. 770–772. Accessed 2017-08-15. , and . s.a.
Categories:
- Forearc basins
- Geology of Atacama Region
- Sedimentary basins of Chile