Salta Basin

Salta Basin or Salta Rift Basin is a sedimentary basin located in the Argentine Northwest. The basin started to accumulate sediments in the Early Cretaceous (Neocomian) and at present it has sedimentary deposits reaching thicknesses of 5,000 metres (16,000 ft). The basin contains seven sub-basins: Tres Cruces, Lomas de Olmedo, Metán, Alemanía, Salfity, El Rey, Sey and Brealito. The basin environment has variously been described as a "foreland rift" and an "intra-continental rift". The basin developed under conditions of extensional tectonics and rift-associated volcanism.

Salta Basin
Cuenca Salta
Location of the basin in Argentina
Coordinates23°40′S 66°07′W
EtymologySalta Province
RegionArgentine Northwest
Country Argentina
 Bolivia
 Chile
State(s)Salta, Jujuy, Tucumán
Potosí
Antofagasta
CitiesSalta
Characteristics
On/OffshoreOnshore
BoundariesAndes
Part ofAndean foreland basins
Geology
Basin typeForeland-on-rift basin or
intracontinental rift basin
PlateSouth American
OrogenyAndean
AgeNeocomian-Neogene
StratigraphyStratigraphy
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