Sedimentological reconnaissance of the San Cayetano Formation: an accumulative continental margin in the Jurassic of western Cuba

Abstract

The lithology of the San Cayetano Formation is highly variable both laterally and vertically. The sediments exposed in the Sierra de los Organos were in most part deposited on a coastal alluvial plain by a river transporting the material a few hundred kilometers from the south. The sediments debouched to the sea formed an arcuate delta and some of it was redistributed by a longshore drift and turbidity currents. In the Sierra del Rosario a flysch is developed with localized occurrence of proximal turbidites. An accumulative continental margin developed due to the continuous subsidence. The complete ceasing of the clastic supply is reflected by a rapid transition from the San Cayetano Formation to the overlying carbonates.