Relationship between plate tectonics and geothermal heat flows in Sucre Central, Venezuela

Abstract

The geothermic zone of Sucre Central, which extends from Cariaco to El Pilar, lies in a strongly tectonized area, in which the El Pilar fault is an important feature. These faults of supracontinental character form one of the southern boundaries of the Caribbean Plate. As a result of this tectonic setting, the northern part of the country (and specially Sucre Central) shows much evidence of geothermal activity, abnormal heat flows, constant seismic activity, and a continuous rejuvenation of the local structures. The presence in Sucre Central of Tertiary dacites, which affect strongly tectonized metamorphic sequences, and which are situated in a zone with enrichment of Pb and Zn, indicates the presence of deep-seated heat chambers which are associated with the deep plate tectonics of northern South America.