Cimitarra Fault

Oblique thrust fault in Colombia
07°20′12″N 73°55′23″W / 7.33667°N 73.92306°W / 7.33667; -73.92306Country ColombiaRegionAndeanStateAntioquia, Bolívar, SantanderCitiesCantagallo, Puerto WilchesCharacteristicsRangeCentral Ranges, AndesPart ofAndean oblique faultsLength136.5 km (84.8 mi)Strike323 ± 3DipunknownDip angleunknownDisplacement0.1–1 mm (0.0039–0.0394 in)/yrTectonicsPlateNorth AndeanStatusInactiveTypeOblique thrust faultMovementSinistral reverseAgeQuaternaryOrogenyAndean

The Cimitarra Fault (Spanish: Falla de Cimitarra) is a sinistral oblique thrust fault in the departments of Antioquia, Bolívar and Santander in central Colombia. The fault has a total length of 136.5 kilometres (84.8 mi) and runs along an average northeast to southwest strike of 323 ± 3 in the Middle Magdalena Valley and Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes.

Etymology

The fault is named after the Cimitarra River, Antioquia, a left tributary of the Magdalena River.[1]

Description

The Cimitarra Fault splays from the Palestina Fault in a northeasterly direction on the eastern border of the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes,[1] passes north of Barrancabermeja,[2] and possibly connects to the Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault in the northeast.[3] The fault displaces Jurassic to Cretaceous volcanic rocks, Mesozoic igneous rocks, a Tertiary erosion surface in the Central Ranges, and late Quaternary sediments. Portions of the fault are pre-Pliocene in age, since it is locally covered by undeformed Pliocene sediments. Farther northeast, the fault is overlain by young alluvial deposits of the Middle Magdalena Valley.[1]

The fault is marked by well preserved fault scarps, long straight traces, displaced drainages, and it forms aligned river courses. The slip rate is calculated at 0.1 to 1 millimetre (0.0039 to 0.0394 in) per year.[4]

See also

  • flagColombia portal
  • Earth sciences portal
  • iconGeology portal

References

  1. ^ a b c Paris et al., 2000a, p.30
  2. ^ Paris et al., 2000b
  3. ^ Plancha 5-06, 2015
  4. ^ Paris et al., 2000a, p.31

Bibliography

  • Paris, Gabriel; Michael N. Machette; Richard L. Dart, and Kathleen M. Haller. 2000a. Map and Database of Quaternary Faults and Folds in Colombia and its Offshore Regions, 1–66. USGS. Accessed 2017-09-18.

Maps

  • Gómez, J.; N.E. Montes; Á. Nivia, and H. Diederix. 2015. Plancha 5-06 del Atlas Geológico de Colombia – 1:500,000, 1. Servicio Geológico Colombiano. Accessed 2017-06-06.
  • Paris, Gabriel; Michael N. Machette; Richard L. Dart, and Kathleen M. Haller. 2000b. Map of Quaternary Faults and Folds of Colombia and Its Offshore Regions, 1. USGS. Accessed 2017-09-18.

Further reading

  • Page, W.D. 1986. Seismic geology and seismicity of Northwestern Colombia, 1–200. San Francisco, California, Woodward-Clyde Consultants Report for ISA and Integral Ltda., Medellín.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Tectonic plates
Terranes
Terrane-bounding
fault systems
Intraterrane
faults
Chibcha
Tahamí
Caribe
La Guajira
  • Cuisa
Other terranes
  • Meta
  • Dagua-Calima
  • Guáitara
  • Morronegro-Las Mercedes
Major
earthquakes
Orogenies
Other topics
Sources
     Paris, Gabriel; Machette, Michael N.; Dart, Richard L.; Haller, Kathleen M. (2000). Map and Database of Quaternary Faults and Folds in Colombia and its Offshore Regions (PDF). USGS. pp. 1–66. Retrieved 2017-06-20.

      Gómez Tapias, Jorge; Montes Ramírez, Nohora E.; Almanza Meléndez, María F.; Alcárcel Gutiérrez, Fernando A.; Madrid Montoya, César A.; Diederix, Hans (2015). Geological Map of Colombia. Servicio Geológico Colombiano. pp. 1–212. Retrieved 2019-10-29.

      Various authors (2014). Enciclopedia de desastres naturales históricos de Colombia (PDF). Universidad del Quindío. pp. 1–21. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
Category • Images