Memoria Geologica 6075-II Puerto Plata
Memoria Geologica 6075-II Puerto Plata
Memoria Geologica 6075-II Puerto Plata
DE LA REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA
PUERTO PLATA
(6075-II)
GEOMORFOLOGÍA
- Prof. Andrés Pérez Estaún (Instituto Ciencias de la Tierra Jaume Almera del Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona, España)
Se pone en conocimiento del lector que, en la Dirección General de Minería, existe una
documentación complementaria de esta Hoja y Memoria, constituida por:
- Mapa de muestras,
The Puerto Plata map area (Sheet 6075-II) lies in the centre-north of the Northern Cordillera.
It is a coastal region that becomes mountainous once one moves away from the Atlantic
shore.
The Camú Fault, a left-lateral shear several kilometres long, crosses the southern part of the
area in a N100-110°E direction and separates two di stinct domains: the Puerto Plata block to
the north, and the very active and unstable mountainous zone of the Northern Cordillera to
the south.
In the Puerto Plata block the Cretaceous basement of is a “complex mélange” with sigmoid
ribbons and lenses of serpentinized peridotite, gabbro, leucogabbro and basic volcanites.
The overlying and globally monoclinal Tertiary formations are separated from this complex by
a bed of pluri-metre size blocks with a serpentinite matrix that is partly separated from its
substratum. At the base, the San Marcos Formation corresponds to an olistostrome with a
clayey matrix and varied-size debris of crystalline and metamorphic basement, Cretaceous
volcanics and Imbert Formation volcanosediments. Like the Imbert Formation, the
olistostrome is considered to be Early Eocene in age. It is covered by clayey-silty turbidite of
the Luperon Formation whose planktonic microfauna indicate a Late Eocene – Oligocene
age. After a period of emergence and erosion during the Early-Middle Miocene, as reflected
by the La Jaiba sandstone and conglomerate, marine sedimentation resumed in the Late
Miocene – Pliocene with the deposition of the Villa Riva Formation marl and limestone. Near
the coastal zone, the Quaternary is characterised by the La Isabela reef formation, whereas
inland it is fluviatile alluvium and slope deposits that are mainly represented.
In the mountainous area to the south of the fault, the Cretaceous Pedro Garcia volcanic
substratum has not been identified in the area, and the Tertiary succession begins with silty-
pelitic turbidite of the Toca Formation dated as Late Eocene – Oligocene. The instability of
the sedimentary environment is reflected by the presence of many thick debris flow-type
polygenic breccia and conglomerate intercalations within the formation. As in the northern
block, a sandy-conglomeratic interval (Las Jaiba Unit) characterizes the base of the Miocene
and marks the contact with the Late Miocene – Pliocene marl-limestone of the Villa Riva
Formation. The entire area is cut by a network of Riedel faults, between the still active Camú
and Septentrional faults.
Amber workings remain very anecdotal, and the subsurface is not favourable for the
presence of mineral resources. Highly populated and economically turned towards tourism,
the Puerto Plata area must intensify efforts to protect its environment and minimize the
effects of the natural risks.
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INDICE
1 INTRODUCCIÓN ................................................................................................... 1
2 ESTRATIGRAFÍA Y PETROGRAFÍA.................................................................. 14