University of Nevada Reno Faulting and Tectonics in the Foreland Basin
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University of Nevada Reno J Faulting and Tectonics in the Foreland Basin Fold/Thrust Belt of the San Juan Province, Argentina, and a Comparison to the Yakima Fold/Thrust Belt of the Northwestern United States A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geology by Robert A. Whitney January, 1991 1 MINES library T he s is The dissertation of Robert A. Whitney is approved: 275S University of Nevada Reno January, 1991 ABSTRACT The San Juan Province of west-central Argentina lies in a region of crustal shortening, the result of sub horizontal subduction in the Peru-Chile trench to the west. This crustal shortening is manifest as a north-south trending fold/thrust belt affecting the western edge of the South American craton and the adjacent continental slope. Shortening is accomplished on flattening thrusts, with decollement at moderate depths, controlled by bedrock lithology. Seismicity occurs in the subducted slab as Benioff zone seismicity and in the upper portions of the continental crust. A major strike-slip fault separates the foreland basin/craton shortening from the Andes uplift. The crustal shortening episode began about 9 Ma, but Quaternary activity is limited to the western edge of the craton and the eastern edge of the Paleozoic continental shelf. Historically, large earthquakes in the fold/thrust belt have not produced primary surface rupture, but secondary rupture on bending moment faults has occurred, both normal and reverse in mechanism. This phenomena indicates small secondary displacements can be indicative of very large events. The pattern of bending moment fault hypocenters complicates efforts to determine the geometry of the causative fault and to choose the correct focal plane solution iii The Yakima fold/thrust belt of the northwestern U.S. is an area undergoing north-south crustal shortening similar to that in South America, although less active by about an order of magnitude. Comparison between the two regions indicates fault geometry and structure resulting from the crustal shortening are similar. Seismic risk analyses in the Columbia Plateau region have underestimated earthquake hazard by using incorrect models for the faulting and failing to consider the possibility of large magnitude events that do not have primary surface rupture. i iv CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ii FIGURES vi PLATES viii INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose and Scope 1 Climate and Vegetation 5 Study Methods 7 Previous Work 7 Acknowledgements 8 REGIONAL GEOLOGIC SETTING 11 Physiographic Description 11 Plate Geometries and Movement 12 GEOLOGIC HISTORY 22 Introduction 22 Frontal Cordillera 22 Precordillera 25 Western Precordillera 26 Eastern Precordillera 28 Western Pampean Ranges 29 STRUCTURE WITHIN THE MORPHOSTRUCTURAL PROVINCES 31 Frontal Andes-Western Precordillera Boundary 31 Western Precordillera 48 North of the San Juan River 48 Sierra del Tigre 49 Sierra de la Invernada 50 Sierra del Talacasto 51 Sierras la Cantera 52 Sierras de Dehesa 52 South of the San Juan River 53 Sierra Tontal 53 Cordon de Espiracito 54 Sierra Alta de Zonda 54 Eastern Precordillera 60 North of the San Juan River 61 Sierra de Villicum 61 Lomas de las Tapias 63 South of the San Juan River-Sierra Chica de Zonda 64 V CONTENTS (cont) Page Western Pampean Ranges 72 Sierra Pie de Palo 72 Sierra de Valle Fertil 90 Other Precambrian Outcrops 91 Bermejo Valley 92 Interprovincial Border Characteristics 94 Western-Eastern Precordillera Boundary Zone 94 Eastern Precordillera-Pampean Boundary Zone 95 GEOTECTONIC SYNTHESIS 98 NOTES ON THRUST FAULTING 104 Bending Moment Faulting 104 Aftershock Determination of Fault Geometry 114 COMPARISON TO THE YAKIMA FOLD/THRUST BELT 117 Introduction 117 Geologic Background 117 Models of Fold/Thrust Geometry 120 Age of Deformation 124 Seismic Risk in the Pasco Basin 127 Observations 130 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 132 REFERENCES 136 APPENDIX A 146 vi FIGURES Figure Page 1. Southern South America showing location of the San Juan Province and the study area. 2 2. Location map of the Yakima fold/thrust belt showing the Pasco basin. 4 3. Two cross-sections showing inferred geometries of descending Nazca plate and continental South American plate in central Peru and northern Chile. 14 4. Cross-section of earthquake hypocenters for South America between about latitudes 28 and 30 degrees south. 15 5. Peru-Chile subduction zone. 17 6. Globally reconstructed positions of the Nazca plate indicated by the Nazca and Juan Fernandez ridges, relative to South America. 19 7. Plate configuration 50-60 Ma for the western United States. 21 8. Generalized geologic map of the study region showing morphostructural provinces. 23 9. Stereographic aerial photographs of the El Tigre fault in the west-central study area. 33 10. Stereographic aerial photographs of the El Tigre fault in the west-central study area. 34 11. Stereographic aerial photographs of the El Tigre fault in the west-central study area. 35 12. Reconnaissance map of the El Tigre fault from geologic interpretation aerial photos of Figures 9, 10 and 11. 36 13. Low-sun angle photograph of the scarp of the El Tigre fault in the location of trench 2. 37 14. Stereographic aerial photographs of the falla del Tigre about 14 miles (22 km) north of the San Juan river. 38 vii FIGURES (cont.) 15. Block diagram, plan of vectors and parameters used to describe plate motions at a subduction zone. 45 16. Generalized structural map of sequence of folding- faulting-folding found in the Sierra Alta de Zonda. 56 17. Photograph of the south end of Sierra Alta de Zonda. 57 18. Block diagram of possible planar rotation of bedrock in plunging anticlines. 58 19. Photograph of normal fault graben formation in the north wall of the spillway of the Dique de Ullun. 65 20. Generalized structural map of region of the Dique de Ullun. 66 21. Thrusting just south of the south abutment of the Dique de Ullun. 68 22. Trench in colluvium on the main thrust surface for Sierra Chica de Zonda. 70 23. Photograph of stacked thrust sheets forming the north end of the Sierra Chica de Zonda. 71 24. Generalized structural map of the Sierra Pie de Palo. 74 25. Preliminary map of surface rupture from 1977 earthquake from photogeologic interpretation of Figure 27 photos. 75 26. Stereographic aerial photographs of the Niquizanga fault zone of southeastern Sierra Pie de Palo. 76 27. Photograph of the northeast flank of Sierra Pie de Palo showing the overthrusting of the east limb of the anticline by Tertiary and Quaternary valley sediments. 77 viii FIGURES (cont.) Figure Page 28. Photograph of displacement from the 1977 earthquake on an abandoned road across the Niquizanga fault zone. 79 29. Photograph of trench 10 across a graben of the Niquizanga fault zone. 80 30. Photograph of Trench 11 excavation of the scarp of the Pajarito fault zone. 84 31. Stereographic aerial photographs of the Pajarito fault zone. 85 32. Photograph of road on graben wall in Sierra Pie de Palo. 87 33. Photograph of horizontal Quaternary alluvium overlying vertical Quaternary alluvium in Campo de Matagusanos. 96 34. Generalized structural cross-section A-A'. 102 35. Diagram of fold axis parallel-bending moment graben formation. 105 36. Diagram of fold axis perpendicular-bending moment graben formation. 107 37. Diagram of opposite dip-bending moment thrust formation. 109 38. Diagram of same dip-bending moment thrust formation. 110 39. Diagram of flexural slip-bending moment faulting. 113 40. Stratigraphic column for the Saddle Mountains. 119 41. Proposed models for the Wind River thrust fault. 121 42. Photograph of the Pomona flow in the south limb of the Saddle Mountains anticline. 123 PLATES Plate 1. Quaternary fault map of a portion of the San Juan Province, Argentina. In Pocket 1 INTRODUCTION Purpose and Scope The San Juan Province of Argentina (Fig. 1) is an area with very active tectonism, whose major geomorphic expression is compressional horst-and-graben mountain ranges. These ranges and intervening valleys form the foreland basin fold/thrust belt known as the Precordillera and the fold/thrust ranges on the western edge of the South American craton known as the Pampean ranges. This study was undertaken to better delineate the structural geometry within the province and to delineate active faulting within the province for the purposes of seismic risk. This will aid to better understand geologic structure and potential earthquake size and mechanism in compressional tectonic regimes in this and other parts of the world. Other areas of compressional tectonics which may be similar in deformational style to the San Juan Province include the Yakima fold/thrust belt in the Columbia Plateau, the El Asnam, Algeria, area, and the folding and associated seismic activity in the Great Valley-Coastal Range boundary zone in California, as in the Coalinga area. I While deformational style of these areas may be similar, causative tectonics are not considered. In addition, it is believed that the geologic structure in older fold/thurst belts, such as the Laramide overthrust belt and Figure 1. Southern South America showing location of the San Juan Province and the study area. 3 the fold/thrust belt of the foreland basin of the Appalachian orogeny, may be better understood by comparison to the presently forming structures in the San Juan Province. As an example of this type of comparison, the structure and tectonics of the Yakima fold/thrust belt of the northwestern United States (Fig. 2) is discussed and compared to those in the San Juan Province. The fieldwork for the Argentine portion of this study was accomplished in the Precordillera and Pampean Ranges and along the eastern border of the Andes Cordillera in the southern and eastern portions of the San Juan Province (Fig. 1, Pi.