Petrology and structure of La Chilca Shear Zone, Catamarca

Abstract

Field, petrological and structural studies allowed to define and and to characterize a ductile shear zone on the metamorphic basement of the northwestern Sierras Pampeanas. La Chilca Shear Zone has a NNW trend for about 24 km and a width of 1-4 km in the southern border of the Sierra de Aconquija and northern part of the Sierra de Ambato. It is composed by mylonites, protomylonites and blastomylonites that are the product of the ductile deformation that affected the metamorphic basement originally composed by migmatites and gneisses. The metamorphic conditions during the deformation reached greenschist facies to amphibolite facies, with temperatures around 350 to 500 ºC. The dominant mylonitic foliation C is generally trending N 330°/42° ENE. On this plane there is a stretching mineral lineation of N68°/42°. Reverse displacements toward the southwest (N 248°) were determined for this shear zone. Internal local features of direct displacements suggest some complexities in the deformation kinematics.