Magallanes Basin

The Magallanes Basin or Austral Basin is a major sedimentary basin in southern Patagonia. The basin covers a surface of about 170,000 to 200,000 square kilometres (66,000 to 77,000 sq mi) and has a NNW-SSE oriented shape. The basin is bounded to the west by the Andes mountains and is separated from the Malvinas Basin to the east by the Río Chico-Dungeness High. The basin evolved from being an extensional back-arc basin in the Mesozoic to being a compressional foreland basin in the Cenozoic. Rocks within the basin are Jurassic in age and include the Cerro Toro Formation. Three ages of the SALMA classification are defined in the basin; the Early Miocene Santacrucian from the Santa Cruz Formation and Friasian from the Río Frías Formation and the Pleistocene Ensenadan from the La Ensenada Formation.

The Magallanes Basin contains most of Chile's coal reserves dwarfing those found in the Arauco Basin or around Valdivia (e.g. Catamutún, Mulpún). Its coals are lignitic to sub-bituminous.

Stratigraphy

Aysén Basin

The northwesternmost reaches of the basin form a sub-basin known as Aysén Basin or Río Mayo Embayment. From top to bottom the fill the basin is:

Río Frías Formation (Friasian)
Río Baguales Formation (Deseadan)
Late Cretaceous volcanic rock
Divisadero Group (Aptian to Albian)
Coihaique Group (Late Jurassic to Aptian)
- Apeleg Formation
- Katterfeld Formation
- Toqui Formation (Tithonian)
Ibáñez Formation

Northwestern basin

In the Argentinian parts of the basin, the following formations have been registered from north to south:

Santa Cruz Formation (Santacrucian)
Cerro Boleadoras Formation (Santacrucian)
Río Jeinemeni Formation (Colhuehuapian)
Monte León Formation (Deseadan to Colhuehuapian)
San Julián Formation (Late Eocene to Early Miocene)
Campo Bola Formation
Asunción Formation
Cardiel Formation (Maastrichtian)
Mata Amarilla Formation (Albian to Santonian)
Piedra Clavada Formation (Albian)
Kachaike Formation (Aptian to Cenomanian)
Río Tarde Formation
Apeleg Formation
Cerro Toro Formation (Turonian)
Divisadero Group (Aptian to Albian)
Río Belgrano Formation (Barremian to Aptian)
Springhill Formation (Valanginian to Hauterivian)
El Tranquilo Group (Late Triassic)
- Laguna Colorada Formation (Norian)

South-central basin

La Ensenada Formation (Ensenadan)
Cordillera Chica Formation
Pinturas Formation (Santacrucian)
Santa Cruz Formation (Santacrucian)
Centinela Formation (Middle Eocene)
Río Leona Formation
Río Guillero Formation
Man Aike Formation (Middle Eocene)
Río Turbio Formation (Early to Late Eocene)
Calafate Formation
Cerro Dorotea Formation
Chorrillo Formation (Maastrichtian)
La Irene Formation (Maastrichtian)
Monte Chico Formation (Maastrichtian)
Cerro Fortaleza Formation (Cenomanian)
Anita Formation
Cerro Cazador Formation (Campanian to Maastrichtian)
Alta Vista Formation (Early to Middle Campanian)
Lago Sofía Formation
Cerro Toro Formation (Turonian to Santonian)
Río Mayer Formation (early Hauterivian to early Albian)
Zapata Formation (Berriasian to Hauterivian)
Springhill Formation (Berriasian to Barremian)
Tobífera Formation (Late Jurassic)

Tierra del Fuego

Irigoyen Formation
Punta Basílica Formation
Castillo Formation
Loreto Formation (Priabonian - Divisaderan to Tinguirirican)
Cabo Peña Formation
Tchat Chii Formation
Cerro Colorado Formation
Leticia Formation (Bartonian)
Punta Torcida Formation
Arroyo Candelaria Formation
Río Claro Formation
Policarpo Formation
Bahía Thetis Formation
Cabeza de León Formation
Arroyo Alfa Formation
Yahgan Formation
Beauvoir Formation (Albian)
Nueva Argentina Formation
Lemaire Formation
Pampa Rincón Formation (Barremian to Aptian)
Chon Aike Formation (Middle Jurassic to Berriasian)

Notes

References

Bibliography

Cretaceous

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Neogene

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