Late Neogene-Recent uplift of the Cabo de Gata volcanic province, Almeria, SE Spain

Cabo de Gata is a Miocene volcanic province in the Betic Cordillera in southeastern Spain. The distribution of coastal deposits in the successive marine sedimentary units overlying the last volcanic episode (about 7.5 Ma old) has been used to reconstruct the post-volcanic palaeogeographic evolution of the region during the Late Neogene. The current elevation of well-dated shoreline marker rocks has been used to estimate uplift amount and rates. Since the late Tortonian, a N45degreesE-aligned (the strike of the Carboneras fault system) topographic relief was emergent in the Cabo de Gata region. The extension and height of this island increased throughout the late Neogene. Smaller, independent islands were emergent and finally became connected to the main island during the Messinian. The Carboneras and Agua Amarga Pliocene sub-basins were the last two marine basins prior to the final emergence of the region. Since the last volcanic eruption (ca. 7.5 Ma), maximum uplift of sedimentary rocks in Cabo de Gata has taken place on the western margin of the N45degreesE-aligned palacorelief. The altitude of the shoreline marker rocks in the successive sedimentary units decreases eastwards to the present-day coast and northwards of the Rambla del Plomo. Uplift rates since deposition remain nearly constant for the successive Messinian rocks and decrease slightly for the lower Pliocene outcrops. Most of the uplift took place before the Pliocene while the main island enlarged. Uplift amounts and rates since deposition of the upper Neogene sedimentary units in the Cabo de Gata area are similar to the ones estimated for laterally equivalent units in the eastern Betic basins (approximately 50 m/Ma). Despite its volcanic nature and the occurrence of the Carboneras fault system, the Cabo de Gata probably became elevated as a consequence of regional uplift in connection with the rest of the Betic Cordillera. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.