Stratigraphy and geological structure of the Magura Nappe in the south-western part of the Gorce Mountains, Outer Carpathians, Poland

Abstract

The south-western part of the Gorce Mts (Outer Carpathians) is composed of flysch deposits of the Krynica and Bystrica subunits of the Magura Nappe. The Krynica Subunit includes the Late Cretaceous–Paleocene Ropianka Fm, the Early Eocene Beloveža Fm, the Early Eocene–Oligocene Magura Fm and the Oligocene–Early Miocene Malcov Fm, while the Bystrica Subunit includes the Middle Eocene–?Oligocene Magura Fm, represented mainly by the thick-bedded Magura Sandstone. Thin- and medium-bedded sandstone-shale turbidites predominate in the other formations. The lithostratigraphic units are dated on the basis of foraminifers. The studied deposits accumulated in the southern part of the Magura Basin. Their detrital material was derived from a ridge, bounding the basin in the south. In the study area, the Krynica Subunit overthrusts the Bystrica Subunit. The studied deposits are folded, thrust and cut by numerous faults. The Turbacz Thrust Sheet and the newly identified Kudłoń Thrust Sheet were distinguished in the Krynica Subunit. Faults of different lengths and throws are transverse or oblique. Some of them form complex dislocation zones with lengths of up to several km. In general, the high-resolution digital elevation model DEM contributed significantly to progress in the geological and geomorphological research.