A Mesozoic and Tertiary sequence on a Hercynian (Devonian-Carboniferous) basement.
stratigraphic column:
A continuous series of sediments from the Permo-Triassic through the Tertiary, reaching a thickness of 15,000 metres, including evaporites, carbonates, clastics and volcanics.
sedimentary setting:
An extensional basin from the Triassic until the Upper Cretaceous.
geotectonic environment:
Formed during the stages of rifting and opening of the North Atlantic (Bay of Biscay: separation of the Iberian and European plates).
tectonism:
Deformation due to the collision of the Iberian and European plates from the Maastrichtian through the Oligocene.
orogenic phase:
The Pyrenean phase of the Alpine Orogeny (Eocene-Oligocene) deformed the sedimentary series, uplifted the sedimentary section and inverted the basin.
