Tectónica reciente en la ciudad de Alicante (Cordillera Bética oriental)

Laburpena

The study area, where the city of Alicante is located, has been subjected to NNW-SSE compression during the last 8 million of years. This regional stress field produces the folding and faulting of the basement and the Upper Miocene to Quaternary sedimentary cover. In addition to the E-W folds resulting from the regional stress field, other nearly N-S folds have been also developed. These anomalous folds probably are the result of the Pliocene sedimentary cover adaptation to the heterogeneous basement of the study area. Among the most important faults are the Crevillente Fault (FC: Alicante city segment) and Los Luceros Fault (FL). The fore, with an average strike N55E, produces a left-lateral displacement of the Upper Miocene calcarenites. The Los Luceros Fault Zone, with an average strike N110E, embraces several normal faults sinking Pliocene rocks of succesive southerly hanging walls more than 70 m in overall. Also several short normal faults of variable direction are found.