Resumen de The Jiloca karst polje-tectonic graben (Iberian Range, NE Spain)
Mateo Gutiérrez Elorza, Francisco Gutiérrez Santolalla, Francisco Javier Gracia Prieto
The Jiloca depression, one of the largest morpho-structural units of the Iberian Range and traditionally considered as a neotectonic graben, is interpreted as a karst polje developed within an active halfgraben. This polje, 705 km2 in area, constitutes one of the largest documented poljes. Several evidences—(1) a sequence of eight-stepped levels of corrosion surfaces, (2) the reduced thickness of the basin fill, (3) fault-controlled mountain fronts with topographic scarps much higher than the structural throws—demonstrate that great part of the topographic relief of the depression has been generated by corrosional lowering rather than by tectonic subsidence. The height difference between the highest corrosion surface and the polje bottom indicate that the depression has been deepened around 300 m by corrosion processes. The initiation of the karst polje was determined by the creation of the Jiloca halfgraben by normal faults, which deformed a Pliocene regional erosion surface. The development of the polje has been controlled largely by the asymmetric structure and the slight neotectonic activity of the graben. Changes in the position of the polje bottom inferred from the slopes of the different corrosion surfaces (polje paleotopography) may have been controlled by neotectonic movements.
