ABSTRACT: Geological Setting and Geodynamical Evolution of the Central Apennines (Italy)

G. P. Cavinato, D. Cosentino, R. Funiciello, M. Parotto, F. Salvini, M. Tozzi

In the peninsula of Italy, new and revised data allow recognition of geodynamic units: (1) a deformed intraorogenic foreland (Apulia) made up of several blocks with differing sense and amounts of rotation since the Late Cretaceous; (2) a thrust belt (Apennines) that developed from the late Miocene to at least the middle Pliocene; (3) a deformed foredeep (Bradanic trough) that is widely overthrusted by the Apennine chain; and (4) a hinterland (Tyrrehenian basin) that is now undergoing extension and includes large volcanic centers.

Within this framework we have recognized large-scale, spectacular thrust faults and several new features including backthrusts and important strike-slip zones that lead to new interpretations of the tectonics of the Central Apennines. The new data, acquired during the last 10 yr of field mapping and structural analysis, indicate a complexity of geometry and kinematics not previously recognized. The tectonics of this region cannot be explained in terms of simple extensions and compressional phases. We have included the new data on those styles as well as the backthrusts and strike-slip faults into our new model. The recognition of strike-slip components suggests that it will be more difficult to balance cross sections through the region.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91003©1990 AAPG Annual Convention, San Francisco, California, June 3-6, 1990