Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 66, núm. 2, 2014, p. 291-304 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2014v66n2a6

Neotectónica de la provincia de San Juan, centro-oeste de Argentina

Laura P. Perucca^1,*, Nicolás Vargas²

¹ CONICET. Gabinete de Neotectónica y Geomorfología. Instituto de Geología. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales Universidad Nacional de San Juan.
² Departamento de Geología, Instituto de Geología. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales Universidad Nacional de San Juan. CHISÑANCO SRL. San Juan.

^* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

San Juan province in central-western Argentina shows evidence of active faulting affecting Quaternary sediments. The structural discontinuities along the Frontal Cordillera, Precordillera and Sierras Pampeanas foothills determine the different superficial characteristics of the Quaternary deformations, which in turn produce different paleoseismic scenarios. Most the Quaternary deformations and seismogenic structures currently known in Argentina are located within a seismic belt including the Precordillera and the Western Pampean Ranges (27º ‒ 33º south latitude). This area also constitutes a setting with complex interactions between thin-skinned and thick-skinned structural styles. The most destructive earthquakes of the last 120 years (M 7.5, October 1894; M 7.0, January 1944; 6.8, June 1952; and M 7.4, November 1977) were located in this region.

This paper presents an overview of the state of knowledge on the neotectonics of the San Juan province, with the results from recent studies on faults with Quaternary tectonic activity in the region.

Keywords: neotectonics, earthquake, fault, magnitude, intensity.