Cañasgordas Fault

The Cañasgordas Fault is an oblique thrust fault in the department of Antioquia in northwestern Colombia. The fault has a total length of and runs along an average northwest to southeast strike of 316 ± 4 in the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes.

Etymology

The fault is named after the town of Cañasgordas.

Description

The Cañasgordas Fault is located to the northwest of the city of Medellín. The fault traverses most of the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes between the towns of Dabeiba and Giraldo in the department of Antioquia. The Cañasgordas Fault probably joins the Mutatá Fault. The fault displaces Cretaceous sedimentary and volcanic rocks, Tertiary sedimentary rocks, and Quaternary mud flows. The fault forms strong linear features on satellite images and aerial photographs and controls the course of the Río Sucio, which has a prominent, linear V-shaped valley. Fault scarps are formed on Quaternary mud flows. The slip rate is estimated at per year deduced from offset of mud flows and the fault was probably active in the Late Pleistocene.

Maps

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