Mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sedimentation on a tectonically active margin: Example from the Pliocene of Baja California Sur, Mexico

Abstract

Bioclast-rich, coarse-grained deposits in the Pliocene Loreto basin provide a record of mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sedimentation at the steep hanging-wall margin of this small, fault-controlled basin. Sedimentary facies consist of sand- to gravel-sized carbonate debris mixed with volcaniclastic sand and gravel in a proximal to distal facies tract that includes matrix-rich and matrix-poor shelly conglomerate, impure calcirudite and calcarenite, mixed-composition turbidites, and bioturbated calcarenitic sandstone. Carbonate material was produced by mollusks and other benthic organisms on a narrow, high-energy shelf and mixed with volcaniclastic sand and gravel in cross-shelf channels. These mixtures were transported down a steep subaqueous slope by debris flows, grain flows, and turbidity currents, forming foresets and bottomsets of marine Gilbert-type deltas. This style of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sedimentation has not been documented in detail elsewhere but should be locally abundant in the stratigraphic record of fault-bounded basins, particularly those with cool or nutrient-rich waters that support relatively few binding and framework-building faunas. Recognition of similar facies in other settings can provide useful insights into ancient conditions of carbonate production, oceanography, climate, and tectonics.