Caldera Basin

Caldera Basin (Spanish: Cuenca de Caldera) is a sedimentary basin located in the coast of northern Chile west of Copiapó. The basin has a fill of marine sediments of Late Cenozoic age. With a north-south extension of 43 kilometres (27 mi) and an east-west width of 20 kilometres (12 mi) the basin occupies an area between the coast and the Chilean Coast Range and between the port of Caldera and the mouth of Copiapó River. The sedimentary fill rests on metamorphic rocks of Paleozoic age and on plutonic rocks of Mesozoic age.[1]

Caldera Basin
Cuenca de Caldera
Map showing the location of Caldera Basin
Map showing the location of Caldera Basin
Coordinates27°11′50″S 70°45′30″W
EtymologyCaldera
RegionAtacama Region
Country Chile
State(s)Copiapó
CitiesCaldera
Characteristics
On/OffshoreOnshore
BoundariesPacific Ocean, Chilean Coast Range
Hydrology
River(s)Copiapó
Geology
PlateSouth American
OrogenyAndean
AgeEarly Miocene-recent
StratigraphyStratigraphy

Stratigraphy
The following units make up the sedimentary fill[1]
NameAgeLithologiesDepositional environment
Caldera BedsPleistocene
Bahía Inglesa FormationQuebrada BlancaLate MioceneConglomerate, sandstone, biocalciruditeShoreface, outer shelf, tsunami
Rocas NegrasCalcirudite, biocalciareniteShoreface
Mina FosforitaSandstone, siltstone, shaleUppermost continental slope, shoreface
ChorrillosClast-supported conglomerateSubmarine canyon debris flow fill, formed possibly by a tsunami
La HigeraShale with gypsum veins, sandstone, siltstone, diatomaceous clayOuter shelf or uppermost continental slope
Cerro BallenaSilty sandstoneSupratidal flat
Punta TotoralBiocalcarenite, biocalcirudite, matrix-supported conglomerateRapid sea-level oscillations
Puerto ViejoSandstone, siltstone, claystone, shale, microcoquinaShoreface, marine transgression
El PimientoBiocalcarenite, quartzareniteShoreface
Angostura FormationEarly to Mid-MioceneMatrix-supported conglomerateHigh-energy river mouth

References
  1. Le Roux, Jacobus; Achurra, Luciano; Henríquez, Álvaro; Carreño, Catalina; Rivera, Huber; Suárez, Mario E.; Ishman, Scott E.; Pyenson, Nicholas D.; Gutstein, Carolina S. (2016). "Oroclinal bending of the Juan Fernández Ridge suggested by geohistory analysis of the Bahía Inglesa Formation, north-central Chile" (PDF). Sedimentary Geology. 333: 32–49. Bibcode:2016SedG..333...32L. doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.12.003.

Further reading
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