Tectonic beheading of fluvial valleys in the Maestrat grabens (eastern Spain): Insights into slip rates of Pleistocene extensional faults

Abstract Interaction between faulting and landscape evolution in regions of active tectonics allows us to use subtle geomorphological markers for estimating fault slip rates. Geomorphic features of two valleys connected with the bottom of the Alcala de Xivert graben, at the Maestrat graben system (eastern Spain), suggest that they correspond to the lowest segments of ancient valleys whose original heads were located at the axis of the neighbouring Irta range. They were beheaded owing to displacement of the Torreblanca and Irta faults during a period of active extensional faulting in Middle Pleistocene times. These faults produced a negative inversion of the relief, sinking a narrow graben (…

A new approach to analyzing groundwater trough its manifestations in the landscapes and toponymy: "Subtle" Hydrogeology

espanol“Hidrogeologia sutil” se refiere al conjunto de manifestaciones y procesos del agua subterranea de acuiferos minusculos en un area particular que, en muchos casos, involucra dimensiones humanas y sociales. Son caracteristicas aparentemente insignificantes, pero encierran antiguos secretos de la relacion agua subterranea y paisaje. El agua subterranea, en formaciones multicapa de baja permeabilidad con poco espesor saturado, apenas tiene valor comercial. Sin embargo, es un recurso valioso para las sociedades rurales tradicionales, y ha dado lugar a una amplia gama de manifestaciones ecologicas, culturales, patrimoniales y toponimicas. Estas manifestaciones se estudian en la cuenca alt…

Manifiesto: geología para una nueva cultura de la tierra