BELTRAN, CARLOS, Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research (FUNVISIS), Caracas, Venezuela

ABSTRACT: Preliminary Observations on Quaternary Reverse Faulting Along the Southern Front of the Northern Range of Trinidad

Several geomorphological evidences of Quaternary reverse faulting are observed along the southern front of the Northern Range in Trinidad between Port-of-Spain and Matura Point.

Such a mountain front is associated to a reverse fault system showing an imbricated pattern southward. In the north, the system is limited by a structural feature showing an important vertical component. Southward this system progressively changes to low angle faults. This geometry is corroborated by seismic profiling in the continent shelf.

The active faulting evidences consist in lateral drainage offsets, fault trenches, sag-ponds, triangular facets, and saddles. Some quaternary terraces show fault scarps and tilting.

We postulate that these reverse fault systems as Arima Fault instead of El Pilar fault as it is not actually connected to the San Sebastian-El Pilar right-lateral slip system, due to the southward prolongation of the southern limit of the Caribbean Plate through the fault system of Los Bajos-El Soldado.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90988©1993 AAPG/SVG International Congress and Exhibition, Caracas, Venezuela, March 14-17, 1993.