Neogene Basin Evolution in the Las Penas Basin, Salagasta Region, Mendoza, Argentina

Abstract

A succession of clastic strata in the Salagasta region, northwest of Mendoza, Argentina, was deposited in the Miocene Las Penas basin. These strata represent sediments from the Andean foreland basin unroofed by migration of the fold and thrust belt. The coarsening upward sequence and sedimentary structures indicate a fluvial depositional environment and evolution from a distal to proximal retroarc foreland basin. The purpose of this study was to determine the timing of uplift in the Andes at this latitude by examining three detrital zircon samples from the Salagasta section.