A morphotectonic study of the Central System, Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The Central System (CS) or Spanish Central System forms part of two of the five morphotectonic mesoblocks that make up the Intermediate macroblock (number 6) of the Iberian plate. The combination of geological, geophysical and geomorphological data, used in accordance with the Rantsman methodology (1979), served as the basis for obtaining a regional analysis. The cartography obtained shows territorial units (4 macroblocks, 4 mesoblocks, 35 blocks, 85 microblocks and 162 nanoblocks), morphotectonic alignments (quantity/order: 3/2, 4/3, 5/23, 6/48, 7/93 and 8/164) and morphotectonic knots (quantity/order: 1/2, 5/3, 35/4, 85/5, 162/6, 324/7, 816/8). The number of delimited morphostructures increases from the central part towards the east. At the block level, one may distinguish a transverse differentiation of the territorial units and alignments, which is interpreted as an expression of the region’s lithospheric heterogeneity. There is a close relationship between the morphostructures and seismicity, indicating that greater activity occurs in the blocks of the eastern and northeastern sectors.