Pseudokarst and Speleothems in the Chihuido Granite, Province of Mendoza, Argentina

Abstract

The core of the Chihuido Anticline is located precisely at Cerro Chihuido, Malargüe, southern Mendoza province, Argentina. This anticline represents the outcropping pre-Jurassic platform of the margin of the Neuquén Basin, which is composed of three volcano-sedimentary units separated by angular unconformities. The older unit corresponds to the volcano-sedimentary complex named as El Fortín, which concludes with the intrusion of a thick rhyolite-monzogranite dyke. The dyke, together with plutons corresponding to the Gondwana magmatism, is exposed on a paleosurface whose relief has been partly fossilized by much modern pyroclastic rocks. The thickness of the dyke varies from 0.2 km to almost 1 km. In this landscape, the dyke is the most remarkable topographic and geological characteristic, not only for its huge dimensions but also for its numerous weathering cavities that provide it with a quite peculiar aspect. Typical pseudokarst landforms are represented by tafoni cavities. The nature of pseudokarst is portrayed by selective erosion along joint planes and andesite composition blocks included in the dyke. In the wall of some cavities within the almost vertical dyke, opal speleothems have been formed from silica released by rock weathering. The speleothems were studied by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction. The study of these minor features of the granitic landscape, such as tafoni, and the associated speleothems, the description of their morphology, and the analysis of their composition are the main objectives of this chapter.