The Geology of Habana, Cuba, and Vicinity

THE GEOLOGY OF HABANA, CUBA, AND VICINITY ROBERT H. PALMER Habana, Cuba ABSTRACT Habana is located on the western end of an anticlinorium that extends from Habana to Matanzas, a distance of approximately 1oo kilometers. The structure is complicated by minor folds and east of Habana Bay by intrusions. The column consists of Upper Cretaceous, Eocene, Oligocene with two members, undifferentiated Upper Tertiary, and Pleistocene or Recent. The Cretaceous is exposed in a belt o10kilometers wide along the axis of the anticlinorium, and is flanked by the Tertiary on the north, west, and south sides. The low-dipping Tertiary lying unconformably on the steeply dipping Cretaceous evidences extensive post-Cretaceous-pre-Upper Eocene folding and erosion. Since Eocene time the principal events have been elevations and submergences with one minor period of folding. Habana Bay is a drowned valley in the Cretaceous connected with the ocean by a channel through faulted Tertiary limestone. The first knowledge of the geology of Habana was recorded by Humboldt' who visited Cuba in 1803 and again in i805. His obser- vations are general but valuable. He recognized the continuity of an extensive formation in various parts of the island which later writers have denominated "CavernousLimestone," "Porous Lime- stone" and "Yumuri Limestone." To this widespread series Hum- boldt gave the name "Giiines Limestone" from its occurrence north of Gtiines in Habana Province. Arguing solely from lithologic simi- larity, Humboldt believed this formation to be Jurassic and not Tertiary in age as it now has been found to be. He also recordedthe presenceof serpentineat Guanabacoa. One of the most illuminatingexpositions of the geology of Habana and environs was written by D. Pedro Salterain." Salterain correctly observed the recently consolidatedbeach material which he termed "arrecifes"(reef rocks). He divided this from the underlying beds which he considerd post-Pliocene. He recorded the Gtiines lime- ' A. von Humboldt, Ensayo Politico sobreCuba (Madrid, 1836), p. 52. 2 P. Salterain, Boletin Comision Mapa Geologica de Espana (i880), Vol. VII, pp. I61-225. 123 124 ROBERT H. PALMER stone in Habana and assigned it to the Miocene. He also recognized the Upper Eocene in various localities. It is a matter of interest to note that Salterain made the mistake that has been duplicated by nearly all subsequent workers in correlating the Upper Eocene west of the bay of Habana with the Oligocene on the east side. Salterain's most valuable contribution was his very strong belief in the presence of the Cretaceous in Habana, though he stated that his belief was not based on paleontological data. Abundant evidence substantiat- ing this belief is now known. He also made the valuable observa- tion that asphalt occurs with the Cretaceous and associated igneous rocks. Hill3 noted what he termed the "older limestone" in Habana which he stated was Eocene, Miocene, or Pliocene in age. He also called attention to the anticlinal structure of the Habana area. In his explanation of the present topography of Habana, the same author described two principal stages of erosion. His theory of the origin of the harbors of Cuba will be discussed in connection with the geological history. Several other writers on the general geology of Cuba have in- cidentally mentioned the area under discussion, but have added but little to its understanding. DeGolyer described and named two horizons in the Cretaceous near Habana.4 Vaughan5 described the terraces in and around Habana and also explained the formation of Habana Harbor. Rutten's discussion of the formations in and around Habana will be considered under the description of the stratigraphy.6 TOPOGRAPHY AND DRAINAGE The topography of Habana and vicinity is one of low relief. A ridge, with an elevation of some 200 feet, enters the area from the 3 R. T. Hill, "Notes on the Geology of the Island of Cuba," Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard, Vol. XVI (1895), pp. 243-88. 4 E. DeGolyer, "Geology of Cuban Petroleum Deposits," Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petr. Geol., Vol. II (1918), pp. 133-71- s C. W. Hayes, T. W. Vaughan, and A. C. Spencer, Informe sobre un reconocimiento geologicode Cuba, Secretaria de Agricultura, Comercio y Trabajo, Direccion de Montes y Minas, Segunda edicion (Habana, 1925). 6 L. Rutten, "Cuba, the Antilles and the Southern Moluccas," Proc. Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappente Amsterdam,Vol. XXV (1922), Nos. 7 and 8, pp. 263-74. THE GEOLOGY OF HABANA, CUBA, AND VICINITY 125 east, parallels the coast, and ends abruptly in a high cliff at Morro at the entrance to Habana Harbor. The same structure reappears about 4 kilometerswest of the harbor in a hill on which the Univer- sity of Habana and Castillode Principe are located. At this point the structuremakes a sharp turn to the south and continuesthrough the suburbs of Ceiba and Puentes Grandes in a wide arc to Mari- GEOLOGY-TABLE I Thick- Period Epoch Formation ness Remarks (Feet) Quater- Recent or Reef rocks ? Flat lying, large coral heads and coral nary d6bris Pleistocene Along beach Plio-Mio- ? Leached, coralline limestone cene National Hotel Mio-Oligo- Giiines 200 Hard, white limestone at surface, weath- cene ers to red soil Vedado Upper Cojimar 40 Soft, white to pale-buff marl. Oligocene Cojimar Gorge Upper Principe 70 Soft, white, chalky marl above, brown, Eocene muddy shale below Castillo de Principe and Tejar Consuelo ? Eocene or ? Brown shales and sandstones. Upper Capdevila on Machado Highway Cretaceous Upper Cre- Habana 7,000 Big boulder-Dirty shales kilometer taceous south of San Francisco de Paula Chalk. Jacomino Cone sandstone. Santa Rosa quarry Lime gravels. Quinta Canario anao, a distance of about 7 kilometers. On the seaward slope of this ridge the newer suburbs of Habana (Ceiba and Vedado) and the little towns Quemadoand Marianao are situated. At Marianao the structure turns southwestward and passes out of the area. In the area between Morro and the university only a low rise marks the location of the structure that to both the east and the west forms a comparatively high ridge. It is on this low, interruptedpart of the ridge, that Habana properis situated. South of Habana are several KEY DIZ P\e&roce~~e or Recent LIZ O~;~-roc.~~ (Gu~ne~,~Lwne~,kone) 3 EIiZOIi~ocene~(CO&mQr V\cw~) L~ Eocene (Pyir~c~pe) W Cve~oceot~ (~c1bcInQ) 47~' 1r~ru~\ve ~ Fic. i 128 ROBERT H. PALMER low, elongated, east-west hills on which are located several suburbs of the capital, the principal ones being Jesus del Monte, Vibora, and Cerro. Reference to the accompanying map shows that Habana and its suburbs are distributed in the form of a horseshoe with Habana at the toe on the north. The intervening area is low and swampy in places and is largely open pasture land. Several narrow terraces occur in the area under discussion. These range from below sea level to an elevation of about 200 feet. UPPER CRETACEOUS HABANA FORMATION The oldest formation exposed in Habana is Upper Cretaceous in age. It is a series of shales, marls, chalks, loosely consolidated gravels, conglomerates, and calcareous sandstone. This series was tenta- tively though correctly ascribed to the Cretaceous by Salterain.7 Ruttens described the same series and named it the "Older Habana- formation" and placed it in the Eocene, Oligocene, and possibly "older Miocene," because of the occurrence of Nummulinae, Ortho- phragminae, and Lepidocyclinae. Examination of the area has pro- duced abundant evidence favoring the view expressed by Salterain, which is also the view held and further discussed by the author. DeGolyer9 states "at Luyano in the vicinity of Havana .... as well as at other places, a series of white marls, shales, limestones and grits outcrop" and he gave them the name "Luyano Marls." The Cretaceous outcrop at Luyano includes three of the four members: lime gravels, cone sandstone, and dirty shales. This formation is of wide extent and is well developed in all the provinces of Cuba. The exposure in Habana is but the western end of a long belt 6 to 7 miles in width, that extends with but one inter- ruption from Habana to the city of Matanzas. The greatest devel- opment of the Upper Cretaceous known in Cuba is from the city of Habana southward where it attains a thickness of perhaps 7,000 feet. It is therefore named the "Habana formation." In the western half of the area under discussion the lower measures of the Habana formation are a thick series of light gray and brown, limy shales and marls. Wells within this terrane indicate that the 7 Op. cit., p. 50. 8 Op. cit., p. 267. 9 Op. cit., p. 141. THE GEOLOGY OF HABANA, CUBA, AND VICINITY 129 unweatheredshales are blue in color and contain much pyrite and organic material. Thus far they are known to contain but few fossils. These shales lie directly under a thick series of interbedded sandstones and shales that in private reports have been termed "El Cano shales" from their occurrencenear the town of that name. In the El Cano member thus far few fossils have been found. From about the middle of the area and extending eastward to Matanzas the lower shales and the overlying hard sandstone change lithologically, assuming a more marine aspect, and break up into four fairly well recognizedmembers. The lowest of these is a loosely consolidated gravel which is followed successively by a calcareous sandstone, a chalk, and is capped by a deposit that alternates between a limestone and a calcareous shale. In many outcrops the four membersoccur in the ordergiven, although along the strike the first three membersintergrade in some places, the gravels becoming finer grained and passing into a sandstone and locally into marl or chalk.

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