The Mulhacen and Alpujarride Complex in the eastern Sierra de los Filabres, SE Spain: Litho-stratigraphy

Abstract

The litho-stratigraphy of the Mulhacen and Alpujarride Complex, in the eastern Sierra de los Filabres, is described in detail. Well defined litho-stratigraphic units can be traced for tens of kilometres along strike, despite the complicated tectono-metamorphic history. The Mulhacen Complex comprises three thrust-sheet units, formed by crustal-scale underthrusting. The thrust-sheets are composed of a dark-coloured series of Paleozoic age, covered by light-coloured metasediments of Triassic age. The most extensively developed unit from the Mulhacen Complex is the Nevado-Lubrin unit. The clastic base of the Triassic series is covered by a sequence dominated by carbonates. These basal clastics probably represent shelf deposits in an open marine environment. The overlying carbonate sequence marks an abrupt transition to a lagoonal environment, with reef and littoral facies. This abrupt facies shift might have been caused by regional crustal extension. The Alpujarride Complex contains two tectonic units of light-coloured metasediments of Triassic age.