The Suárez Fault () is a sinistral

oblique Oblique may refer to: * an alternative name for the character usually called a slash (punctuation) ( / ) *Oblique angle, in geometry * Oblique triangle, in geometry * Oblique lattice, in geometry * Oblique leaf base, a characteristic shape of the ...

thrust fault A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. I ...

in the department of Santander in northeastern

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. The fault has a total length of and runs along an average north-northeast to south-southwest

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

of 021.1 ± 8 in the

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team that currently competes in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. History Inaugural playing squad (1992) Honours *Premiers (2): 2002, 2013 *Runners-up (6): 199 ...

of the Colombian

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

from Barbosa in the south to

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander Department, Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and is the ninth most populous city i ...

in the north, where it connects with the regional Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault.

Etymology

The fault is named after the

Suárez River The Suárez River, originally Saravita, is a river in the Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The river originates in Lake Fúquene on the border of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca and Boyacá Department, B ...

.Paris et al., 2000, p.34

Description

The Suárez Fault runs from Barbosa in the south,Mapa Geológico Santander, 1999 where it displaces the Simití Formation,Plancha 170, 2009 and joins the Bucaramanga Fault a few kilometers to the north of the city of

. The Suárez Fault cuts

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

( Girón Formation),Plancha 135, 2009 and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

s (Simití, Rosablanca and

Paja Formation The Paja Formation (, K1p, Kip, Kimp, b3b6p) is an Early Cretaceous formation (geology), geologic formation of central Colombia. The formation extends across the northern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the Colombian emeralds#Western belt, W ...

s),Plancha 151, 2009 and

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

deposits and

mud flow A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/se ...

s that form the "Bucaramanga Terrace".Plancha 120, 2010 The trace of the fault is well defined, controls linear drainages such as the

for several kilometers, has sag ponds, and locally dams alluvium. The fault vertically offsets

debris flow Debris flows are geological phenomena in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented Rock (geology), rock flow down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form thick, muddy deposits on valley floors. ...

s in the area of Girón and La Fuente and displaces a Tertiary erosion surface. The slip rate is estimated at per year on the basis of displaced Quaternary deposits.

References

Bibliography

Maps

* * * * * *

Etymology

Description

See also

References

Bibliography

Maps

Further reading