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Geologic structure of the Taltal Area, Northern Chile, in relation to the earthquake of December 28, 1966

Arabasz, Walter J. (1968) Geologic structure of the Taltal Area, Northern Chile, in relation to the earthquake of December 28, 1966. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 58 (3). pp. 835-842. ISSN 0037-1106. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20140801-154752747

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Abstract

The Taltal area, which lies within the coastal cordillera of northern Chile, is dominated by a group of major active faults that cut a eugeosynclinal section of predominantly Jurassic andesites overlying Paleozoic metamorphic and plutonic rocks and intruded by Late Mesozoic plutons. The Atacama fault, a suggested regional strike-slip fracture parallel to the coastline, has been obliquely cut and left-laterally offset 10 km by the Taltal fault, which passes through the town of Taltal. Three distinctive features were found to be consistently offset 10 km by the Taltal fault: the easternmost strand of the Atacama fault, an intrusive contact, and a unique volcanic unit. Former continuity of the Atacama fault through the Taltal region is proposed, and subsequent disruption by the Taltal fault appears to have caused major structural readjustments in the still-active Atacama fault zone. The tentative offshore epicenter and aftershock distribution of the December 28 earthquake are not directly correlative with faults that have been mapped in the nearby on-shore areas; this lack of correlation is not surprising in view of the suggested depths of hypocenters in the lower crust or upper mantle.


Item Type:Article
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http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/58/3/835.abstractPublisherArticle
Additional Information:Copyright © 1968, by the Seismological Society of America. Manuscript received September 27, 1967. This investigation was undertaken as the initial phase of a doctoral study at the California Institute of Technology under the supervision of C.R. Allen, whose G. K. Gilbert Award in Seismic Geology together with National Science Foundation Grant GA931 supported this preliminary work. The field work would have been impossible without the support and gracious cooperation of the Instituto de Investigaciones Geológicas de Chile through the auspices of Drs. Carlos Ruiz and José Corvalán. The writer is also grateful to Francisco Ortiz and Aldo Moraga for a general field introduction to the regional geology of parts of northern Chile.
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
G. K. Gilbert Award in Seismic GeologyUNSPECIFIED
NSFGA931
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Caltech Division of Geological Sciences1459
Issue or Number:3
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20140801-154752747
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20140801-154752747
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:47848
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: George Porter
Deposited On:04 Aug 2014 14:57
Last Modified:03 Oct 2019 06:57

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