Paleoacantilados formados por actividad tectónica extensional finimiocena en la costa de Alicante (Cordillera Bética oriental)

Abstract

The Sierra Helada seacliff has been eroded in Mesozoic carbonate rocks belonging to the external zone of the eastern Betic Chain (SE Spain). In the origin of this coast several normal faults with dip-slip greater than a hundred meters have played an important role. Though some previous studies propose that the present cliff morphology was originated by the recent activity of such faults, the geomorphological features and the tectonic analysis of fractures occurring in Sierra Helada, as well as the detailed study of seismic reflection profiles carried out in the adjacent continental shelf, point out that these normal faults were active mainly during the late Miocene. Thus, tectonic processes have not modified since then the Sierra Helada relief. Some of the seacliff segments have only undergone very little erosive withdrawal and may be considered as prequaternary relict paleocliffs.