Huincul Fault

Not to be confused with Huincul Formation.
Map of Vaca Muerta Formation in Neuquén Basin. The formations extent mimics that of the basin. Colors indicate hydrocarbon maturity as measured by vitrinite reflectance. Huincul basement high is shown in grey.

The Huincul Fault or Huincul Fault Zone (Spanish: Falla de Huincul, Zona de falla Huincul) is an east-to-west-oriented, continental-scale fault that extends from the Neuquén Basin eastwards into the Argentine Shelf.[1] To the west, it has been proposed to extend across the Andes to the Chilean Coast Range.[2]

In the Neuquén Basin, the fault exhibits a slightly curved path, being convex to the north.[3] It is a major geological discontinuity and it truncates the north-to-south-oriented Pampean orogen, among other structures. Because of this, it has been proposed to represent the northern geological limit of Patagonia.[1]

  1. ^ a b Ramos, V.A.; Riccardi, A.C.; Rolleri, E.O. (2004). "Límites naturales del norte de la Patagonia". Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina (in Spanish). 59 (4).
  2. ^ Mosqueira, Alfonso; Silvestro, José; Ramos, Víctor A.; Alarcón, Martín; Zubiri, Martín (2011). "La estructura de la dorsal de Huincul". Relatorio del XVIII Congreso Geológico Argentino, Neuquén, 2011 (in Spanish). pp. 385–397.
  3. ^ Kostadinoff, José; Gregori, Daniel A.; Raniolo, Daniel A. (2005). "Configuración geofísica-geológica del sector norte de la provincia de Río Negro" (PDF). Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina (in Spanish). 60 (2): 368–376. Retrieved May 14, 2017.