Permo-Triassic oblique extension in the Potrerillos-Uspallata area, western Argentina

The Permo-Triassic evolution of southwestern South America was characterized by the development of a great amount of volcanism under extensional conditions. Structural analyses of faults developed contemporaneously with this volcanism in the key area of Potrerillos-Uspallata suggest the existence of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of South American earth sciences 2008-11, Vol.26 (3), p.252-260
Main Authors: Giambiagi, Laura, Martinez, Amancay N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Andes
Choiyoi Group
Lithospheric anisotropy
Oblique extension
Permo-Triassic volcanism
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Summary:The Permo-Triassic evolution of southwestern South America was characterized by the development of a great amount of volcanism under extensional conditions. Structural analyses of faults developed contemporaneously with this volcanism in the key area of Potrerillos-Uspallata suggest the existence of an oblique extensional setting controlled by the presence of a pre-existing lithospheric anisotropy. A clear parallelism between the trace of an inferred Devonian suture zone, the Late Paleozoic San Rafael orogenic belt and the Permo-Triassic rifting suggests that Early and Late Paleozoic tectonic inheritance permitted the reactivation of a NNW-trending zone of lithospheric weakness. The reactivation of this pre-existing weak zone during Late Permian to Early Triassic times has resulted in the generation of a new complex fault system, which concentrated the oblique-slip normal displacement related to a NNE–SSW stretching (N23°E).
ISSN:0895-9811
1873-0647
DOI:10.1016/j.jsames.2008.08.008