Growth and dissection of a fold and thrust belt: the geological record of the High Agri Valley, Italy

Abstract

We present a 130 km2 wide geological map for the NE side of the fault-bounded High Agri Valley Southern Italy, that formed in the Quaternary in response to extensional tectonics dissecting the folds and thrusts of the Lucanian Apennine. To prepare the map, at 1:25,000 scale, we integrated information obtained through field surveys and the review of pre-existing geological data. Our work describes a number of significant map-scale structures, which can be related to well-constrained tectonic episodes. The new geological map provides important constraints that can be used to distinguish ancient structures from those that were active during the Quaternary, allowing a more detailed reconstruction of the processes that operate during the development of a post-orogenic trough. We expect that the new map will be used for different types of geological investigations, including studies of inversion tectonics, active tectonics, geosite mapping, 3D modelling of geological structures.