Estratos de Pupunahue

Estratos de Pupunahue is the name given to the sedimentary strata of Oligocene-Miocene age that crop out in Pupunahue and Mulpún near Valdivia, Chile. Outside this locality Estratos de Pupunahue extends below the surface over a larger area. The thickness of the strata varies from a few meters to 530 meters. The strata were initially described by Henning Illies.[1] The strata are made up of conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone (Chilean Spanish: fangolita). The clast of the conglomerates are made up of metamorphic rock and the disposition of the conglomerates varies from clast-supported to matrix-supported. The sandstone and mudstone contain layers of lignite coal that exceed 30 cm in thickness.[1]

Estratos de Pupunahue
Stratigraphic range: Eocene–Miocene
UnderliesSanto Domingo Formation
OverliesBahía Mansa Metamorphic Complex
Thicknessup to 530 m (1,740 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryConglomerate, sandstone, mudstone
OtherCoal, volcanic ash
Location
RegionLos Ríos Region
Los Lagos Region
CountryChile
Type section
Named forPupunahue
Named byHenning Illies

Coal layers found in the Estratos de Pupunahue have been exploited in the mines of Catamutún,[1] Pupunahue and Mulpún ("Mulpun Beds").[2][3]

The strata are very similar to the Cheuquemó Formation found further north, with the sole difference that the fossil assemblage in both seems to indicate different ages. While Cheuquemó Formation is possibly about 14 million years old (Miocene), Estratos de Pupunahue are 35–25 million years old.[4]

See also

References
  1. Elgueta, Sara; Le Roux, Jacobus; Duhart, Paul; McDonough, Michael; Urqueta, Esteban (2000). Estratigrafía y sedimentología de la cuencas terciarias de la Región de Los Lagos (39-41°30’S (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería. p. 15. ISSN 0020-3939.
  2. Villablanca, D.; Alfaro, G.; Quinzio, L.A. (2003). Sedimentología de la cuenca carbonífera Neógena de Pupunahue-Mulpún, X Región de Los Lagos, Chile (PDF). 10° Congreso Geológico Chileno (in Spanish). Concepción: Departamento de Geociencias, Universidad de Concepción.
  3. Alfaro, G.; Gantz, E. (1997). "La Nueva Mina de Carbón Mulpún, Valdivia, Chile" (PDF). Actas. XVIII Congreso Geológico Chileno (in Spanish). II. Antofagasta: Universidad Católica del Norte. pp. 832–836.
  4. Alfaro, G.; Gantz, E.; Magna, O. (1990). "El yacimiento de carbón Catamutún (La Unión)". Actas. Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Concepción. pp. 11–28.
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