Abstract
ABSTRACTThis paper presents a geological map and cross-section of the Falcón Basin based both on published and unpublished work and on new data collected in the northern and southern basin margins. The geological map covers an area of 4600 km2 at 1:100,000 scale. The cross-section is oriented NNW-SSE, traversing perpendicular to the main structures. In general, the structure of the study area results from the inversion of a graben (Oligocene-early Miocene back-arc basin), that started in the middle Miocene due to the convergence between the Caribbean and South American plates. The map, the cross-section and the observations made in the field have been used to generate a tectonostratigraphic reconstruction of the Falcón Basin. The Oligocene-early Miocene sedimentary succession mapped and described is relevant to the hydrocarbon exploration in the Caribbean and in the Gulf of Venezuela, where new hydrocarbon resources have recently been discovered (i.e. Perla gas field).
Highlights
The Falcón Basin extends over most of Falcón State, the northern states of Lara and the Yaracuy and eastern part of Zulia in northwestern Venezuela (Figure 1), covering about 26,000 km2
Another important contribution concerning the stratigraphy of the Falcón Basin is that published by Wheeler (1963), which was built on the exploration campaigns carried out by geologists from Creole Petroleum Corporation over 10 years
The interpretation of the geological map presented permitted a pre-folding reconstruction of the Falcón Basin which allowed us to trace its geological history
Summary
The Falcón Basin extends over most of Falcón State, the northern states of Lara and the Yaracuy and eastern part of Zulia in northwestern Venezuela (Figure 1), covering about 26,000 km. The geological map of the Falcón Basin presented aims to contribute to the understanding of the sedimentary and structural evolution of the basin, which experienced a main phase of subsidence in the Aquitanian-Burdigalian (23–16 Ma) followed by an episode of tectonic inversion in the Langhian-Messinian (16–5 Ma) associated with oblique convergence of the Caribbean and South American plates This contribution is the result of 4 years field work in the Falcón Basin, with new data collected on the northern and southern basin margins, and the revision of previously unpublished and published works. Information for further insights into the different factors controlling the evolution of the southern Caribbean basins during Cenozoic times
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