Cinemática, dinámica y modelo estructural de la Falla Las Mercedes entre las veredas La Primavera – La Quinta en el municipio de Lourdes, Norte de Santander.

Abstract

In the area of Lourdes, Norte de Santander, in the area between La Primavera and La Quinta, there are Cretaceous sedimentary rocks belonging to the geological formations Colón Mito Juan, La Luna, Cogollo and Aguardiente. The presence of the Mercedes fault brings these Cretaceous units into contact with the Bucarasíca orthogneiss, which corresponds to Paleozoic metamorphic rocks. The study area covers approximately 7 km², where geological mapping was carried out at a scale of 1:10,000. In this area, 46 structural data measurements were recorded in stratification planes and 336 diaclases. With this information, 2 tectonic blocks were defined, whose data were analyzed and processed using programs such as Wintensor 5.9.2, Stereonet v.11 and Faultkin 8.3. To conclude, two tectonic events associated with the Las Mercedes Fault were identified. The oldest of these events would have led to the exhumation of the Bucarasíca Ortoneis. Subsequently, sinistral strike-slip stresses would have been generated, to finally present compressive stresses that originated folds in the area.