Abstract

MAGAZ GARCIA, Antonio Rafael; HERNANDEZ SANTANA, José Ramón; DIAZ DIAZ, Jorge Luis  and  HERNANDEZ GUERRERO, Idania. Formation and consolidation of northern central morphostructures from the Cuban archipelago and its recent geodynamics. Invest. Geog [online]. 2006, n.61, pp.7-23. ISSN 2448-7279.

The northern region of Cuba's central territory constitutes an accretionary prism that ranges from the Cenomanian Cretaceous to the Early Upper Eocene, constituted by the imbrication of the Bahamas continental edge, fragments of ancient oceanic crust and remains of the Cretaceous volcanic arc. The morphostructural formation and consolidation of present - day relief results from two main phases of geotectonic development: Laramic tangential compression, involving large horizontal displacements, and the neotectonic reordering of the alpine structure and paleorelief, largely through oscillatory vertical movements during the early Upper Eocene. In the relief, this gave rise to stepped horst in vertical overthrust mantles and tectonic wedges, a block-folded shelf, monoclinal stepped blocks, and others. The recent tectonic movements of the morphostructures according to reiterated leveling, indicate a structure arranged in blocks and display a differentiated nature, characterized by steady gradients among morphostructures in general, although steep in occasions, along the Remedios-Holguín and Minas-Camagüey geodesic lines, with extreme values of + 3.5 mm/year (Esmeralda-Jaronú low plain block) and -10.0 mm/year (San Miguel de Baga graben).

Keywords : Morphostructures; recent tectonic movements; Central Cuba.

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