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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Valencian coast (Western Mediterranean): Neotectonics and geomorphology

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Abstract An analysis of terrestrial and marine data has shown the coastal fringe of the emerged continent to be naturally divided into five distinct morphosedimentary sectors, whereas three clearly different large domains are visible in the submarine shelf. This geographic coastal space corresponds to an area of wide tectonic activity where the internal and external units of Betic Ranges meet, showing a morphological expression of the substratum structure. On the contrary, the continental shelf located to the North, in the Gulf of Valencia, is subsiding and has important accumulations of sediments as a consequence of the influence of units linked to the Iberic orogeny. The detailed analysis of the tectonic and geomorphic elements illustrated a correlation between the morphosedimentary sectors of the emerged coastal area and the corresponding ones in the inner and middle continental shelf. This reveals that the littoral is affected by a general increase in structural and morphological complexity from North to South.