Abstract
The core of the Chihuido Anticline is located precisely at Cerro Chihuido, Malargüe, southern Mendoza province, Argentina. This anticline represents the outcropping pre-Jurassic platform of the margin of the Neuquén Basin, which is composed of three volcano-sedimentary units separated by angular unconformities. The older unit corresponds to the volcano-sedimentary complex named as El Fortín, which concludes with the intrusion of a thick rhyolite-monzogranite dyke. The dyke, together with plutons corresponding to the Gondwana magmatism, is exposed on a paleosurface whose relief has been partly fossilized by much modern pyroclastic rocks. The thickness of the dyke varies from 0.2 km to almost 1 km. In this landscape, the dyke is the most remarkable topographic and geological characteristic, not only for its huge dimensions but also for its numerous weathering cavities that provide it with a quite peculiar aspect. Typical pseudokarst landforms are represented by tafoni cavities. The nature of pseudokarst is portrayed by selective erosion along joint planes and andesite composition blocks included in the dyke. In the wall of some cavities within the almost vertical dyke, opal speleothems have been formed from silica released by rock weathering. The speleothems were studied by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction. The study of these minor features of the granitic landscape, such as tafoni, and the associated speleothems, the description of their morphology, and the analysis of their composition are the main objectives of this chapter.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Backlund H (1923) Der magmatische anteil der Cordillera von süd Mendoza. Meddeladen fran Abo Akademis Geologisk-Mineralogiska Institut 3:1–298, Abo
Cioccale MA, Pasquini AI, Depetris PJ (2008) Hallazgo de espeleotemas silíceas en rocas graníticas del batolito de Achala, Sierras Pampeanas de Córdoba. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 63(3):417–420
Dessanti RN (1973) Descripción geológica de la hoja 29b, Bardas Blancas (Provincia de Mendoza). Servicio Nacional Minero Geológico, Boletín 139:1–70, Buenos Aires
Fernández Verdía MA (2000) Estudio de la génesis de espeleotemas en granitoides en climas áridos (Salt River, Kellerberrin, Western Australia). Unpublished graduation thesis, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain, 81 pp
Finlayson BL (1985) The formation of caves in granite. In: Sweeting MM, Paterson K (eds) New directions in karst. Geobooks, Norwich
Galán C (1988) Cavernas y formas de superficie en rocas precámbricas del Grupo Roraima (Guayana Venezolana). Bol SVE 23:1–12
Galán C (1991) Disolución y génesis del Karst en rocas carbonáticas y rocas silíceas: un estudio comparado. Munibe (CiencNat), SCAranzadi 43:43–72
Gerth E (1928) La estructura geológica de la Cordillera Argentina entre el Río Grande y el Río Diamante. Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Actas 10(2):125–172, Córdoba
Groeber P (1947) Observaciones geológicas a lo largo del Meridiano 70. Hojas Barda Blanca y Los Molles. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 2(4):409–433
Llambías EJ, Sato AM, Basei MAS (2005) El basamento pre-jurásico medio en el anticlinal Chihuido Malargüe: evolución magmática y tectónica. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 60(3):567–578
Martini J (1984) Rate of quartz dissolution and weathering of quartzite. Bull S Afr Speleol Assoc 25:7–10
Rolleri EO, Criado Roque P (1970) Geología de la provincia de Mendoza. IV Jornadas Geológicas Argentinas (Mendoza), Actas 2:1–60, Buenos Aires
Sanjurjo J (2000) Estudio comparado de la génesis de espeleotemas sílíceos en granitoides en climas semiáridos y templado-húmedos. Unpublished graduation thesis, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain, 72 pp
Sanjurjo J, Fernández Mosquera D, Vidal Romaní JR (2006) Procesos de disolución en ambientes seudocársticos graníticos. Actas de la IX Reunión Nacional de Geomorfología, Santiago de Compostela, pp 773–784, ISBN 84-9750-641-3
Twidale CR, Vidal Romaní JR (2005) Landforms and geology of granite terrains. Balkema, London, 351 pp
Urbani F (1986) Una revisión sobre las cavidades y demás formas relacionadas desarrolladas en las rocas cuarcíferas precámbricas del Grupo Roraima, Venezuela. Interciencia 11(6):298–300
Vidal Romaní JR (1984) Microformas graníticas tipo Tafoni (Cachola) y Gnamma (Pia). Un micromodelado sin relación con el clima o la estacionalidad. Caderno Laboratorio Xeolóxico de Laxe 7:273–277
Vidal Romaní JR, Twidale CR (1998) Formas y paisajes graníticos. La Coruña. Universidad da Coruña, 411 pp
Vidal Romaní JR, Vaqueiro Rodríguez M (2007) Types of granite cavities and associated speleothems: genesis and evolution. Nat Conserv 63:41–46
Vidal Romaní JR, Vilaplana JM (1983) Datos preliminares para el estudio de espeleotemas en cavidades graníticas. Cadernos Laboratorio Xeolóxico de Laxe 7:305–324
Webb JA, Finlayson BL (1984) Allophane and opal speleothems from granite caves in south-east Queensland. Aust J Earth Sci 31:341–349
Webb JA, Finlayson BL (1987) Incorporation of Al, Mg, and water in opal-A: evidence from speleothems. Am Mineral 72:1204–1210
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Aguilera, E.Y., Carretero, S., Rabassa, J. (2014). Pseudokarst and Speleothems in the Chihuido Granite, Province of Mendoza, Argentina. In: Rabassa, J., Ollier, C. (eds) Gondwana Landscapes in southern South America. Springer Earth System Sciences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7702-6_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7702-6_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7701-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7702-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)