Galve Sub-basin Research Articles

Paleoecology and paleoenvironment of the Early Cretaceous theropod-dominated ichnoassemblage of the Los Corrales del Pelejón tracksite, Teruel Province, Spain

The earliest Cretaceous (mid-late Berriasian) tracksite Los Corrales del Pelejón is an important dinosaur trackway site in Teruel Province in Spain. The ichnoassemblage occurs in the Galve Formation (Galve sub-basin, Maestrazgo Basin) and comprises around 40 tracks assigned to theropods and ornithopods. In this paper, we undertake a paleoenvironmental analysis of the succession, which includes the overbank deposits of a fluvial environment, and discuss the implications of these findings for trackway preservation and orientation. The track-bearing unit is composed of fine- to very fine-grained, thinly bedded sandstone layers with wave ripples and traces of the Mermia ichnofacies, which were deposited as splay deposits within an ephemeral overbank pond. Two different theropod ichnotaxa (Megalosauripus cf. transjuranicus and Grallatoridae indet.) of three different size classes occur as small-, medium-, and large-sized tracks. The ornithopod tracks are classified as cf. Iguanodontipus isp. Five theropod trackways (M. cf. transjuranicus) show a bimodal orientation pattern with a similar orientation to NE-SW wave ripple crests, suggesting that these animals were walking parallel to the shoreline of the ephemeral overbank pond. Three of them walked in a similar subparallel orientation, but there is no evidence suggesting gregarious behavior as they have slightly different orientations and/or speed values. The Los Corrales del Pelejón site is an example of environmental influence on dinosaur behavior.

Decapod crustaceans from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain, with an account of new occurrences in Barremian-Aptian strata of the Maestrazgo Basin

Decapod crustaceans are rare in Early Cretaceous invertebrate assemblages from the Iberian Peninsula; however, current knowledge does allow differences in taxonomic composition between different basins and subbasins to be recognised. In order to understand the distribution of Barremian–Aptian decapod crustaceans of Iberia better, seven new localities in the Galve subbasin (Maestrazgo Basin, north-east Spain) have been sampled. Seven taxa are here described, including the anomurans Cretacocalcinus fortis sp. nov. and Viapagurus gen. nov. (type species: Pagurus avellanedai Vía, 1951), one indeterminate axiidean, the astacidean Hoploparia sp., plus the brachyurans Ariecornibus sp., Pithonoton lluismariaorum Ossó, van Bakel, Ferratges-Kwekel and Moreno-Bedmar, 2018 and Palaeodromites pimientai sp. nov. Assemblages are characterised by low abundance, being found in formations that represent depositional settings ranging from shallow-marine platforms to deeper marine bottoms. Some taxa, such as V. avellanedai and P. lluismariaorum, are also known from other subbasins of the Maestrazgo Basin but, in general, most appear endemic, suggesting that regional changes in facies distribution may potentially have affected differences in taxonomic composition.

New ornithopod tracks from the Lower Cretaceous El Castellar Formation (Spain): Implications for track preservation and evolution of ornithopod footprints

Dinosaur tracks have been identified in several Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous sedimentary units across the Maestrazgo Basin in eastern Iberia, which are preserved in a variety of transitional and continental paleoenvironments. Here, we described the lower Barremian San Benón tracksite with the first occurrence of clear dinosaur tracks in the El Castellar Formation within the Galve subbasin. This palustrine-lacustrine formation has yielded a rich osteological record although dinosaur tracks are notably scarce. The new footprints represent an uncommon case of dinosaur track preservation since the site has yielded several non contemporary tracks (part of different ichnoassemblages) preserved as carbonate casts at the base of a limestone bed forming a composite ichnofabric. The tracksite shows a complex history of sedimentation, track production and preservation linked to the lake level variations. The ornithopod tracks are identified to belong to the ornithopod ichnogenus Caririchnium , concretely to the ichnospecies C. magnificum. The studied tracks represent the oldest occurrence of this ichnotaxa in the Maestrazgo Basin and are coherent with other coeval (or almost coeval) occurrences in the Iberian Peninsula. The presence of C. magnificum in the El Castellar Formation fills a gap between the oldest (Tithonian-early Valanginian?) and younger (Barremian) occurrences of ornithopod tracks within the Maestrazgo Basin, being one of the most complete successions of ornithopod tracks in Europe. Interestingly, the underlaying formations have ichnoassemblages with Dinehichnus -like and Iguanodontipus -like tracks, whereas Caririchnium is mainly found in El Castellar Formation and other Barremian units. These changes in the ichnoassemblages reflect the ornithopod faunal changes shown by osteological data in the Iberian Peninsula recording a Late Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous stage dominated by basal iguanodontians followed by an Early Cretaceous stage with abundance of more derived and large-sized iguanodontians. • First occurrence of clear dinosaur tracks in the lacustrine El Castellar Fm in the Galve subbasin. • Uncommon case of dinosaur footprint preservation as casts in carbonates. • Complex history of sedimentation and track production linked to the lake level. • First occurrence of Caririchnium magnificum in the Maestrazgo Basin (Iberian Peninsula). • Ornithopod faunal changes during the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous.

Kimmeridgian–Berriasian stratigraphy and sedimentary evolution of the central Iberian Rift System (NE Spain)

Sequence-stratigraphic, biostratigraphic and strontium-isotopic data have made it possible to update what is known of the stratigraphy and sedimentary evolution of the Kimmeridgian–Berriasian synrift successions recorded in four subbasins (Aguilón, Oliete, Morella, Galve) of the central Iberian Rift System (NE Spain). The studied successions are arranged in three unconformity-bounded synrift sequences. Synrift sequence 1A (Kimmeridgian–mid-early Tithonian) includes four transgressive-regressive sequences deposited on low-angle carbonate ramps, characterized by shallow-water grain-supported facies and coeval open-marine rhythmic successions of marls and lime mudstones (overall thickness ranging from 120 to 250 m). Ammonite biostratigraphy, combined with the last occurrence of Alveosepta jaccardi (Schrodt) and strontium-isotopic data constrains the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian boundary towards the uppermost part of synrift sequence 1A. Synrift sequence 1B (mid-early Tithonian to mid-Berriasian) consists of coastal to shallow-marine carbonate to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic successions, with a continuous record in the depocentral areas of the Morella and Galve subbasins (up to 365 m in thickness). Anchispirocyclina lusitanica (Egger) is common in the lower and middle part of the sequence, whereas charophytes of the lower Berriasian Globator maillardii maillardii Zone are recorded in its upper part. Strontium-isotopic data and ostracods whose first occurrence is Berriasian, indicate that the Tithonian-Berriasian boundary is located towards the mid-upper part of the synrift sequence 1B. Synrift sequence 1C (mid-Berriasian–mid-early Valanginian) is locally recorded in the Galve subbasin and consists of siliciclastic continental successions (up to 100 m in thickness). The available biostratigraphic data (charophytes, ostracods, sporomorphs) indicate that this sequence was deposited upwards from early Berriasian Globator maillardii incrassatus Zone. The presence of the lower Valanginian successions at the upper part of synrift sequence 1C in certain subsiding areas of the Galve subbasin cannot be ruled out. The sequence-stratigraphic and biostratigraphic data reported here indicate that the Galve and Morella subbasins started to develop during the Kimmeridgian. Successive stages of tectonic activity affected these subbasins during the mid-early Tithonian, the mid-Berriasian, and around the Berriasian-Valanginian transition. The stratigraphy and tectono-sedimentary evolution of the central Iberian Rift System indicate that the Berriasian successions are linked to the “Jurassic cycle”.

Cyclic carbonate–siliciclastic sedimentation in a shallow marine to coastal environment (latest Kimmeridgian–early Tithonian, Galve sub-basin, Spain)

The sedimentological analysis of the uppermost Kimmeridgian to lower Tithonian Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Galve sub-basin, NE Spain) has allowed characterizing different carbonate, mixed and siliciclastic facies deposited in coastal to shallow marine areas. Its age calibration has been specified on the basis of new biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic data. Four successive sequences (30–80 m thick) characterized by the relative dominance of carbonate and siliciclastic facies reflect a sedimentary change from reciprocal to mixed carbonate–siliciclastic sedimentation. Sequences 1 and 2 are reciprocal sedimentation cycles from carbonate-dominated (muddy coastal plain-carbonate lagoon) to siliciclastic coasts (muddy coastal plain-wave dominated delta). Sequence S3 is also reciprocal, from a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic coastal plain-lagoon at the lower part to a wave-dominated delta on top. A mixed carbonate–siliciclastic coastal plain-lagoon characterizes the entire sequence 4. Climate and tectonics controlled carbonate deposition and siliciclastic supply. Reciprocal sedimentation in sequences 1–3 was controlled by orbitally-driven climate changes (from arid to humid conditions) on the age range of long-term eccentricity cycles. A greater imprint of extensional synsedimentary tectonics at the upper part of sequence 3 and during sequence 4 is thought to be the main factor producing the gradual opening of the sub-basin to the wave influence and a more continuous siliciclastic supply, then controlling the change from reciprocal to mixed sedimentation and obliterating the possible imprint of orbitally-induced climatic changes.

Bivalves and oncoids as palaeoenvironmental indicators at Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous dinosaur sites from Spain

Bivalves from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous stratigraphic section at Las Zabacheras (Galve Sub-basin Teruel, northern Spain), are reviewed from both systematic and palaeoautoecological perspectives. For this study the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, well known for important dinosaur occurrences, was sampled from the boundary with the underlying Higueruelas Formation (Late Jurassic), to the first levels of the overlying El Castellar Formation (Early Cretaceous). The bivalve taxa have Late Jurassic affinity, pointing to a possible Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary towards the top of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation. We have sampled oncoids, whose nuclei are bivalves, through the section to study environment change in this lithostratigraphical formation. Geochemical trace elements and δ13C and δ18O stable isotope analysis of the oncoids enable us to determine the conditions in which the microbialites were formed and provide further palaeoenvironmental data from the deposits containing the bivalves. Bivalve taxa change from the lower part of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, where Ceratomya excentrica and Unicardium cf. subregulare are characteristic of marine conditions, becoming more continental towards the top of the formation with the presence of Unionoidean bivalves, and in the “Wealden” facies of the El Castellar Formation, where Teruella gautieri, has been found. Bivalves and oncoids allow us to recognize continental conditions where the first dinosaur of Spain, the sauropod Aragosaurus ischiatus was found, in an open water system, where there was limited evaporation, and with enough energy to produce well oxygenated water.

Stratigraphy and evolution of the Galve sub-basin (Spain) in the middle Tithonian–early Barremian: Implications for the setting and age of some dinosaur fossil sites

A review of the stratigraphy of the Galve sub-basin (western Maestrazgo Basin, eastern Spain) around the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition is presented here, based on new data acquired after extensive geological mapping and logging complemented with facies analysis, new biostratigraphic data and a revision of the published information available. The results obtained are relevant for a more detailed understanding of the tecto-sedimentary evolution of the studied basin during the transition between two stages of rift evolution (i.e., syn-rift sequences 1 and 2). In addition, new information on the age and setting of numerous dinosaur fossil- and track-sites found across the Galve sub-basin and in the northern part of the nearby Penyagolosa sub-basin is provided here. Two new lithostratigraphic units are defined and characterized, the Aguilar del Alfambra and the Galve formations. The previous stratigraphic framework considered only two lithostratigraphic units (the Villar del Arzobispo and El Castellar formations) bounded by a single regional unconformity, and this resulted in significant misinterpretations. The whitish limestones, red lutites and cross-bedded sandstones of the Aguilar del Alfambra Formation were deposited in transitional environments, ranging from coastal lutitic plains to restricted lagoons. Of particular interest are the laminated micritic-peloidal limestones with abundant fenestral porosity (supratidal ponds to intertidal flats), which preserve common dinosaur footprints. This unit is bounded by widespread unconformities and is of very variable thickness (0–450 m), controlled by extensional tectonics operating at the climax of syn-rift sequence 1 during the latest Tithonian–middle Berriasian. The overlying Galve Formation is of variable thickness (from 0 to 100 m) and is also bounded by regional unconformities described in detail here. It consists of red lutites with cross-bedded and tabular-burrowed sandstones representing channel and overflow deposits in an alluvial floodplain. The sauropod dinosaur Aragosaurus ischiaticus found in this unit has a controversial age assignment. The age of the Galve Formation is poorly constrained from late Berriasian to Hauterivian, but new biostratigraphic data presented here, combined with the correlation with the nearby Penyagolosa and Salzedella sub-basins, suggest a possible equivalence to the upper Berriasian–lower Valanginian sequence deposited during the initial stage of syn-rift sequence 2.

Depositional biofacies model for post-OAE1a Aptian carbonate platforms of the western Maestrat Basin (Iberian Chain, Spain)

Two well exposed platform successions of late Early Aptian age developed in the central part of the Galve sub-basin of the Maestrat Basin: the highstand ‘Camarillas–El Morrón’ platform, and the succeeding ‘Las Mingachas’ small lowstand platform, built out downslope in the former basin. Both platforms had a flat-topped non-rimmed depositional profile, showing similar platform-top to slope biofacies, which are described here in both qualitative and quantitative terms. The proximal platform top succession is characterized by a Toucasia-dominated rudist association. The margins of the two platforms consist of massive limestone characterized by a Polyconites-dominated association, in which clusters of Polyconites hadriani in life position are joined by both branching and domal corals, as well as the oyster-like Chondrodonta and nerineid gastropods. In Las Mingachas platform, where the massive rudist- and coral-rich platform limestones pass laterally into the slightly more marly and recessive clinoforms of the upper slope facies, Polyconites is especially abundant. Basinwards these slope deposits pass into basinal marls with orbitolinids and ammonoids. The distribution of the two distinct rudist associations recognized here is attributed to the different environmental tolerances of the rudists with respect to such factors as current regime and rate of sedimentation. The prevalence of polyconitids, in place of caprinids, in these late Early Aptian platform margin facies makes a striking contrast with older, earliest Aptian platforms.

Sedimentary heterogeneity and petrophysical characterization of Barremian tsunami and barrier island/inlet deposits: The Aliaga outcrop as a reservoir analogue (Galve sub-basin, eastern Spain)

The present study examined two sandstone deposits in the Aliaga outcrop as a reservoir analogue over a distance of 200-m-long and attempted to establish a correlation between sand facies and the petrophysical properties of the sandstones in order to investigate the reservoir heterogeneity. The Aliaga reservoir analogue represents the upper part of Camarillas Fm., deposited during the Barremian synrift phase of the Galve sub-basin (Iberian Basin, Spain). It is characterized by a transitional sedimentary interval from sandy-dominant deposits to carbonate-dominant deposits, which were deposited under the same palaeoenvironmental conditions (in relation to systems of back-barrier sedimentation).The description of the Aliaga outcrop provided here consists of lithological descriptions of two sandstone deposits: a tsunami and a barrier island/inlet, at both mesoscopic (decimetres to tens of metres) and microscopic scales (millimetres to centimetres). Both deposits recognized at the basin scale were described in terms of sand grain size, sand sorting and cementation; further cores were drilled along outcrop to collect samples for porosity and permeability measurements.Both sandstone reservoirs are the result of different sedimentary processes that determined facies characteristics, as the different petrophysical properties observed in these deposits. Consequently, the sedimentary process controls the heterogeneity of the sandstones facies and thus, the sand heterogeneity controls the distribution of the petrophysical properties. The classification of sand facies in terms of sand sorting seems to be more appropriate for describing sand heterogeneity; accordingly, petrophysical parameters in both deposits were also influenced by sand sorting.The sand facies and petrophysics heterogeneity of the described deposits can be hierarchically ordered. First-order heterogeneity is related to the basin scale, second-order heterogeneity is related to genesis and the conditions of sediment deposition, and third-order heterogeneity is related to synsedimentary faults and/or post-sedimentation events.

Cool episode and platform demise in the Early Aptian: New insights on the links between climate and carbonate production

The Early Aptian encountered several crises in neritic and pelagic carbonate production, major perturbations in the carbon cycle, and an oceanic anoxic event (OAE1a). Yet the causal links between these perturbations and climate changes remain poorly understood, partly because temperature records spanning the Early Aptian interval are still scant. We present new δ18O data from well-preserved bivalves from a carbonate platform of the Galve subbasin (Spain) that document a major cooling event postdating most of OAE1a. Our data show that cooling postdates the global platform demise and cannot have triggered this event that occurred during the warmest interval. The warmest temperatures coincide with the time equivalent of OAE1a and with platform biotic assemblages dominated by microbialites at Aliaga as well as on other Tethyan platforms. Coral-dominated assemblages then replace microbialites during the subsequent cooling. Nannoconids are absent during most of the time equivalent of the OAE1a, probably related to the well-known crisis affecting this group. Yet they present a transient recovery in the upper part of this interval with an increase in both size and abundance during the cool interval portion that postdates OAE1a. An evolution toward cooler and drier climatic conditions may have induced the regional change from microbial to coral assemblages as well as nannoconids size and abundance increase by limiting continent-derived input of nutrients.

Palaeobotanical remains associated with dinosaur fossils from the Camarillas Formation (Barremian) of Galve (Teruel, Spain)

A well-preserved macroflora and rich palynological assemblages corresponding to the Camarillas Formation (early-middle Barremian) in the San Cristóbal and Galve Mine sites from the Galve sub-basin in northeastern Spain are presented here. These remains represent the first fossil plant evidence from these deposits. Within plant macroremains, the cheirolepidiacean Pseudofrenelopsis aff. varians (Fontaine) Watson has been found. The palynological assemblage yielded well-preserved spores and pollen grains, mainly dominated by the genus Classopollis. Spores are also abundantly represented by schizaeacean spores (Cicatricosisporites and Plicatella). This spore assemblage supports an early-middle Barremian age for these localities. It is noteworthy that small basal angiosperm pollen grains of the genera Crassipollis and Retimonocolpites, together with other indeterminate grains, have been reported here. This flora constitutes the primary food producer for dinosaur at that time, and thus the information of the flora is important for the understanding of the ecological background for the dinosaur evolution during the Early Cretaceous.

Early kaolinization of detrital Weald facies in the Galve Sub-basin (Central Iberian Chain, north-east Spain) and its relationship to palaeoclimate

A set of samples from the Camarillas Formation (Barremian, Weald facies) in the Galve Sub-basin (Central Iberian Chain, north-east Spain) was studied to determine the origin of the abundant kaolinitic clays and their relationship to the sedimentary environment, palaeoclimate and diagenetic processes. The samples were examined by X-ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopy, with special emphasis on clay-mineral characterization. The analysed materials are a mixture of detrital (quartz, micas, and K-feldspars) and authigenic phases (kaolinite, Fe-oxides, gibbsite, dickite, and calcite). Therefore, the mineralogy of the rocks reflects the source area, the sedimentary conditions, and the diagenetic evolution. The most abundant authigenic phases are kaolinites. The combination of XRD and electron microscopy shows that the kaolinites are well crystallized and have as high a degree of ordering as those formed by weathering in palaeosols; this clay formed the rock matrix, intergrowths with muscovite, and vermicular booklets that replaced detrital silicates as a consequence of intense dissolution processes. The diagenetic processes have recrystallized kaolinites in the sandstones, producing larger crystallinity indices and dickite. In contrast, kaolinites from the claystones and siltstones probably reflect formation by weathering. The kaolinitization process described, associated with the crystallization of gibbsite and iron oxides, is in agreement with the relatively warm and humid conditions described for the Iberian Range basin in the early Barremian.

High-frequency, moderate to high-amplitude sea-level oscillations during the late Early Aptian: Insights into the Mid-Aptian event (Galve sub-basin, Spain)

This paper presents a field-based stratigraphic architecture research from the Aptian of Spain in which high-frequency (7cycles/Ma), moderate to high-amplitude (8–127m) sea-level oscillations are evidenced by the repeated incision of palaeovalleys in a carbonate platform developed during the late Early Aptian in a rift setting. Global eustacy, tectonic uplift and mantle dynamic topography are considered as potential mechanisms to explain the observed relative sea-level record. Glacioeustacy is interpreted as the most reliable mechanism to drive the observed sea-level oscillations, however, other mechanisms as oscillations of the groundwater capacity of sedimentary basins and sudden flooding of major a basin as the south Atlantic rift are also considered. A major cooling event is proposed to occur during the late Early Aptian as a response to a large-scale episode of ignimbritic volcanism, increased burial of organic carbon during the Aptian OAE-1a, and a significant demise of carbonate platforms. This cooling event is interpreted as the origin for glacioeustatic sea-level oscillations during the Mid-Aptian.

Changing physiography of rift basins as a control on the evolution of mixed siliciclastic–carbonate back-barrier systems (Barremian Iberian Basin, Spain)

A detailed analysis of both sedimentary facies and stratigraphic architecture of a mixed-siliciclastic carbonate depositional system in the synrift Cretaceous Galve sub-basin (eastern Spain), is carried out. Two different stages in the sedimentary evolution are recognised from the stratigraphic architecture of the back-barrier system: (1) extensive back-barrier mud flats with tidal creeks, and minor washover fans interbedded with the lagoonal carbonates and influenced by local synsedimentary tectonics (thickness variations, rotated blocks and angular unconformities), and (2) a back-barrier with flat-lying architecture and characterised by washover fan deposits interbedded with lagoonal carbonates, well-developed ebb- and flood-tidal delta deposits and a complete absent of back-barrier tidal mud flats and associated creeks. Evidence suggests that synsedimentary extensional tectonics modified the basin configuration, and tectonically-induced physiographic changes controlled the distribution and areal extension of barrier-island sub-environments (open marine, barrier, and lagoon) and their resultant stratigraphic architecture. Physiographic changes in basin configuration ultimately modulated the effect of tides, which produced changes in depositional sub-environments determining the stacking pattern of depositional systems.

Sequence stratigraphy and carbon isotope stratigraphy of an Aptian mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platform to basin transition (Galve sub-basin, NE Spain)

Abstract A 380 m thick Aptian platform to basin transition has been studied along a 16 km long transect of excellent and continuous outcrops in NE Spain. The series has been dated using biostratigraphy (foraminifera and ammonites) and carbon-isotope stratigraphy, and has been subdivided at four scales of depositional sequences. The Aptian marine succession is subdivided into two-large scale sequences separated by a middle Aptian sub-aerial exposure surface. A characteristic trend of the floral-faunal fossil assemblages is present, which evolves from orbitolinid-ooid dominated ramps in Sequence I-1, to a coral-stromatoporoid-microbialite dominated platform in Sequence I-2, to a rudist-dominated platform top in Sequence II-1, and finally to a second episode of orbitolinid-ooid dominated ramp system in Sequence II-2. There was an influx of siliciclastic sediments at the base and at the top of this succession. The detailed carbon-isotope curve measured along the Miravete section and covering almost the complete Aptian succession, is compared with published Aptian curves recorded in both basinal and carbonate platform settings along the northern and southern NeoTethys margins. It shows that the Galve sub-basin curve represents all the major isotope excursions of the lower and upper Aptian, in a dominantly shallow-water succession.

Lacustrine system evolution during early rifting: El Castellar Formation (Galve sub-basin, Central Iberian Chain)

A detailed sedimentological study of the first synrift deposits recorded in the Galve sub-basin of NE Spain during the Early Cretaceous aided in the reconstruction of climatic and tectonic influences. The El Castellar Formation is composed of siliciclastics and carbonates (unit 1), claystones, gypsum, and carbonates (unit 2), and marls and limestones (unit 3). Unit 1 facies formed in alluvial and palustrine plains, a local alluvial fan, and low-energy shallow lake subenvironments. Low-energy lacustrine facies characterised unit 2. In contrast, palustrine, low- and high-energy lake facies were identified for unit 3. The spatial and temporal distribution of lithofacies representing the several environments were used to propose a general lacustrine system evolution from isolated ponds and marshes, to low-energy shallow lakes, and finally to an extensive, high-energy lake. Lake evolution is related to changes in the subsidence pattern, from local- to basin-scale subsidence, which was ultimately related to the transition from the initial rift to rift climax stage. Shallowing-upwards lacustrine successions have been interpreted as climatically forced and linked to sediment and water supply. Both tectonics and climate determined the change from an overfilled to a balanced-fill lake-basin through time.

Extensional fault control on the sedimentation patterns in a continental rift basin: El Castellar Formation, Galve sub-basin, Spain

In the Galve sub-basin, the sedimentary record of the Upper Hauterivian–Lower Barremian El Castellar Formation is divided into two stages by a marlstone interval with gypsum. Stage 1 shows a great variety of subenvironments and facies (alluvial, palustrine and lacustrine) whereas in stage 2 an extensive, shallow carbonate lake developed. Sedimentation was controlled by a system of south-dipping, ENE–WSW listric normal faults, laterally bounded by NNW–SSE steeper transfer faults. Faults controlled sedimentation from a basin scale (basin margins and main characteristics and evolution of sediments) to a regional and a local scale (thickness and facies distribution of the synrift series as well as the location and evolution of lakes and minor alluvial fans). The changes between stages 1 and 2 are related to the passing from an independent movement of faults to the movement of all the extensional faults as a whole, at a sole detachment level. The interval with gypsum was caused by underground water flow changes associated with the interrelation and connection of the faults in the transition period. These changes have been correlated with the transition from the rift initial stage to the rift climax stage, which took place in the Hauterivian–Barremian transition.