Erosion and stabilisation sequences in relation to base level changes in the El Cautivo badlands, SE Spain

Abstract The complex multiple-age badlands at El Cautivo are cut in upper Miocene marls of the uplifted and dissected Tabernas Basin, Almeria, in semi-arid SE Spain. Previous work identified six episodes of erosion and subsequent stabilisation, with ages ranging from the late Pleistocene to the present day. This paper uses newly-acquired digital elevation models, orthorectified aerial photographs, and field survey data to illustrate the development sequence of a series of gullies which drain into the Rambla de Tabernas. Changing drainage directions and phases of incision and stabilisation are related to the filling and subsequent dissection of the Tabernas lower lake sediments, differential…