Quaternary activity associated with the Santa Catalina fault between the eastern piedemont and plain of the Comechingones mountain range.

Abstract

The neotectonic deformations associated with the uplift front of the Comechingones mountain range are concentrated in its western foothills, although analogous deformations associated with reverse motion faults located in the eastern foothills and on its border with the surrounding plain, such as the so-called Las Lagunas and Las Rosas, have also been detected. The objective of this contribution is to present neotectonic evidence confirming the quaternary activity of the Santa Catalina fault. Oblique aerial photos, description of natural profiles, a digital elevation models analysis, and the use of gravimetric and drilling information for water extraction among others, were the applied methods. The results obtained indicate that the Santa Catalina fault is a non-emergent reverse motion fault, responsible for the morphology generated by the Santa Catalina-Golf and Espinillos blocks, and for the modifications in the local drainage network. The deformations detected, folds and flexures among others, allow us to interpret that the Santa Catalina fault has had activity during the Quaternary and that it could represent the easternmost neotectonic deformations of the geological province “Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba and San Luis” to this latitude of 33º South.