Abstract
Due to the importance of understanding the structural styles of northern Guatemala and their relations to the occurrence of hydrocarbons, the preliminary tectonic-structural framework is herein presented, with emphasis on the Petén basin. This basin, the largest in the country, is important because the exploration for hydrocarbons has resulted in commercial discoveries.
Geologic, seismic, gravimetric and magnetometric data have resulted in the recognition of the principal structural elements that make up the tectonic environment of the zone. They have been used to prepare a theoretical model that explains the evolution of the Petén basin from the Late Jurassic to the Tertiary.
A series of extensional movements mark the beginning of the basin’s evolution, followed by salt related phenomena, compressive events, and wrench faulting. This sequence of tectonic events has induced groups of structural features that are regionally associated with the movement of the North American and Caribbean Plates, and with the opening of the Gulf of Mexico.
The structural style of the basin is principally due to the tectonic movements from the Cretaceous to the present.
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© 1995 Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources
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Franco A., J.C., López, L.F., Carballo H., M.A. (1995). Preliminary Tectonic Outline of Northern Guatemala. In: Miller, R.L., Escalante, G., Reinemund, J.A., Bergin, M.J. (eds) Energy and Mineral Potential of the Central American-Caribbean Region. Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources Earth Science Series, vol 16. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79476-6_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79476-6_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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