Abstract
The Iberian Massif constitutes the largest expanse of pre-Permian rocks within the Iberian Peninsula (Fig. 1). Other exposures include the Sierra de la Demanda, Iberian Ranges, Basque Massifs, the axial zone of the Pyrenees, Catalonian Coastal Ranges, and several poorly known areas within the Alpine Betic Cordilleras (Fig. 1). The Iberian Massif represents the westernmost exposure of the European Hercynides, and constitutes the largest Hercynian domain to have escaped significant reworking during Alpine tectonothermal events. Only local Tertiary continental deposits within fault-bounded basins cover older sequences. Nearly all post-orogenic cover was removed following eastward regional tilting in the Holocene, which resulted in extensive erosion and entrenchment of west-flowing rivers into a pre-Premian peneplain. The Iberian Massif is bounded to the north, west, and southwest by the Cantabrian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Its eastern margin is covered by post-Hercynian and post-Alpine continental deposits, and the southeastern boundary is marked by the Guadalquivir Fault.
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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Dallmeyer, R.D., Garcia, E.M. (1990). Introduction to the Pre-Mesozoic Geology of Iberia. In: Dallmeyer, R.D., Garcia, E.M. (eds) Pre-Mesozoic Geology of Iberia. IGCP-Project 233. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83980-1_1
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