Geomorphologic evidence of the active Baza Fault (Betic Cordillera, South Spain)

The present work investigates a mountain front within the Plio-Quaternary deposits belonging to the sedimentary fill of the Guadix-Baza Basin (Betic Cordillera, Southern Spain). This 30 km-long front, developed in soft sediments and within a context of high erosion, is generated by the recent activity of the Baza Normal Fault. The mountain front is the natural limit between the western and eastern sectors, corresponding to the two sub-basins of Guadix and Baza. The two main glacis described in previous works in the area of the Baza Fault – the Old Glacis in the Guadix Sub-basin and the Recent Glacis in the Baza Sub-basin – are interpreted here as a single one, displaced by the fault. Using this Glacis as a marker we deduced that its age and the transition of the basin from endorheic to exorheic must be much older than previous estimations. The Baza Fault may be considered as one of the most active faults of the central part of the Betic Cordillera, according to the results of the general quantitative analysis of the mountain front relief using the Smf/Vf ratio and the SL index.