La Negra Formation

La Negra Formation
Stratigraphic range: Jurassic
View of La Portada, an arch made of bright Miocene sediments resting on darker rocks of La Negra Formation
TypeGeological formation
UnderliesCaleta Coloso Formation
OverliesCerro de Cuevitas Beds
Pan de Azúcar Formation
Posada de los Hidalgo
Thickness~7,000 m (23,000 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryVolcaniclastic rocks, andesite, basaltic andesite, basalt
OtherDacite, hyaloclastite breccia, conglomerate, limestone, marl, peperite, grey breccia
Location
RegionAntofagasta Region
CountryChile
Type section
Named forQuebrada La Negra
Named byFloreal García (1967)
Thickness at type section3,000 m (9,800 ft)

La Negra Formation (Spanish: Formación La Negra) is a geologic formation of Jurassic age, composed chiefly of volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, located in the Coast Range of northern Chile. The formation originated in marine and continental (terrestrial) conditions, and bears evidence of submarine volcanism as well as large explosive eruptions. The volcanism of La Negra Formation is thought to have lasted for about five million years.[1]

The formation has a thickness of about 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) with the type section being a 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) thick exposure in Quebrada La Negra next to Antofagasta.[2] La Negra Formation deposited diachronously along a series of intra-arc basins[3] and overlies conformably the formations of Pan de Azúcar and Posada de los Hidalgo.[3] The formation is intruded by plutons of varied composition including gabbro and granite.[4]

  1. ^ Goguitchaichvili, Avto; Alva-Valdivia, Luis M.; Urrutia-Fucugauchi, Jaime (2003). "Paleomagnetism and Rock Magnetism of the Jurassic La Negra Formation, Northern Chile: Implications for Tectonics and Volcanic Stratigraphy". International Geology Review. 45 (6): 563–573. Bibcode:2003IGRv...45..563G. doi:10.2747/0020-6814.45.6.563. S2CID 129653059.
  2. ^ Tassara, Andrés; Roperch, Pierrick; Sepulveda, Patricio (1999). Magnetic properties of La Negra Formation (Chilean Coastal Cordillera): Comparative analysis between zones with and without copper mineralization (PDF). Fourth ISAG. Goettingen, Germany.
  3. ^ a b Suárez, Manuel; Naranjo, José A.; Puig, Álvaro (1985). "Estratigrafía de la Cordillera de la Costa, al sur de Taltal, Chile: Etapas iniciales de la evolución andina". Revista Geológica de Chile (in Spanish). 24: 19–28. doi:10.5027/andgeoV12n1-a02 (inactive 2024-09-19). Retrieved 16 August 2016.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2024 (link)
  4. ^ Vivallo, Waldo; Henríquez, Fernando (1998). "Génesis común de los yacimientos estratoligados y vetiformes de cobre del Jurásico Medio a Superior en la Cordillera de la Costa, Región de Antofagasta, Chile". Revista Geológica de Chile (in Spanish). 25 (2). doi:10.4067/S0716-02081998000200006.