Geology of the thermal area of Pompeya, Los Andes Department, Salta Province, Argentine Republic

Abstract

?Geology of the thermal area of Pompeya, Los Andes Department, Salta Province, Argentine Republic?. The stratigraphy of the area is composed of a leptometamorphic basement (Puncoviscana Formation) on which overlie eopaleozoic sedimentites assigned to the Meson Group and Acoite Formation. The latter is intruded by granitoid and migmatic rocks from the Oire Formation, of dubious silurian age, which have been transformed by cataclasis. The Cretaceous System is represented by continental sediments which are: assigned to the Pirgua Subgroup. This sequence is crowned by a series of units of clastic, chemical and volcanic origin whose events took place during the Quaternary System. The structural style is typically that of Puna sorroundings, with a series of block fractures of submeridian orientation, diagonally crossed by a continental fracture. As a result of the primary fracture, a tight fold is suggested. The formal name. Baños de Pompeña- includes a group of thermal wells spread over a zone 170 m long and 90 m wide. Their physical and chemical characteristics are described and an estimate of the minimum temperature of the reservoire in depth is made, based on the silica content and on the ionic ratio Na-K-Ca of the thermal waters; in short, it is an interesting area to be explored in order to verify its geothermic potential and its eventual utilization.