Neogene Stratigraphy and Paleontology 

of Southern Almeria Province, Spain: 

An Overview 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1454 

Prepared in cooperation with the E mpresa 

Nacional ADARO de Investigaciones Mineras, S.A., 

sponsored by the National Science Foundation, 

and conducted under the Agreement of Friendship 

and Cooperation between the Governments of 

Spain and the United States 
..... 
Neogene Stratigraphy and Paleontology 

of Southern Almeria Province, Spain: 

An Overview 

By WARREN 0. ADDICOTT, PARKE D. SNAVELY, JR., 

DAVID BUKRY, and RICHARD Z. POORE 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1454 

Prepared in cooperation with the 

Empresa Nacional ADARO de Investigaciones Mineras, S.A., 

sponsored by the National Science Foundation, 

and conducted under the Agreement of Friendship 

and Cooperation between the Governments 

of Spain and the United States 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1978 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

CECIL D. ANDRUS, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

H. William Menard, Director 

Library of Congress catalog-card Number 78-600127 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D. C. 20402 

Stock Number 024-001-03117-5 
CONTENTS 

Page 

Abstract ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 

Introduction________________________________________________________________ 1 

Field investigation and acknowledgment __ __ ____ __ __ _____ _____ __ _ _ ____ ______ 2 

Stratigraphy ______________________________________________________________ 4 

Plomo formation____________________________________________________________ 6 

Muertos conglomerate member__________________________________________ 6 

Unnamed conglomerate ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___ _ _____ _____ ________ ______ 7 

Age and correlation ____ _ _ _ _____ __ __ __ __ ______ __ _____ _____ __ __ __ __ ______ 9 

Nijar formation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11 

Age and correlation ---------------------------------------------------- 15 

Vicar formation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23 

Age and correlation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ 26 

Pliocene formations _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 29 

Cuevas Viejas formation------------------------------------------------ 31 

Loco formation _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ 33 

Entin as formation ______________________________________________________ 35 

Morales formation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ 38 

Age and correlation __ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 42 

Summary------------------------------------------------------------------ 44 

References cited _ _____ ____ __ __ ___ _ __ ______ ____ ________ _ _ __ ____ ____ __ ________ 46 

FIGURE 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

1. Index map of southern Almeria Province, Spain ______________ 3 

2. Generalized stratigraphic section, Campo de Dalias ____________ 4 

3. Generalized stratigraphic section, Campo de Nijar ____________ 5 

4. Index map showing Miocene and Pliocene fossil localities between 

Carboneras and Rambla del Plomo ________________________ 6 

5. Photograph showing Plomo reef complex exposed in sea cliff at 

Cerro de Higuera__________________________________________ 8 

6. Generalized section of Plomo reef complex at Cerro de Higuera____ 9 

7. Index map showing mollusk and microfossil localities in the Nijar 

formation __________________________________________ ------ 12 

8. Photograph showing Nijar formation exposed 1.5 km southeast of 

Nijar ---------------------------------------------------- 13 

9. Electron micrograph of micrite in the lower member of the Nijar 

formation __ __ _ _ __ __ ____ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ ___ _ _ _ _ _ 14 

10. Photograph showing contact between the gypsum bed and 

thin-bedded micrite in the lower member of the Nijar formation 15 

11. Generalized stratigraphic section of upper Nijar formation ____ 16 

12. Sketch in small quarry near Guardias Viejas showing 

deformation in sandstone and siltstone, Nijar formation ______ 17 

III 
IV 

FIGURE 

CONTENTS 

Page 

13. Index map showing Neogene mollusk and microfossil localities 

along the southwestern flanks of the Sierra Serrata__________ 18 

14. Index map showing mollusk and microfossil localities north of 

1\lmeria -------------------------------------------------- 19 

15. Stratigraphic sections of the Nijar formation near Cerro del 

1\lmendral------------------------------------------------ 21 

16. Photograph showing thick-bedded bioclastic limestone of the 

Vicar Formation------------------------------------------ 23 

17. Photograph showing contact of the Vicar Formation and 

Paleozoic(?) schist about 2 km northeast of Vicar ------------ 25 

18. Section of the basal part of Vicar Formation ------------------ 26 

19. Photograph ofClypeaster in bioclastic calcarenite______________ 28 

20. Diagrammatic section showing relations between Pliocene 

sedimentary units ---------------------------------------- 30 

21. Photograph showing massive sandstone of the Cuevas Viejas 

formation ------------------------------------------------ 31 

22. Index map showing mollusk and microfossil localities in the 

Cuevas Viejas formation ---------------------------------- 32 

23. Index map showing mollusk and foraminifer localities in the Loco 

formation ------------------------------------------------ 34 

24. Photograph showing contact between Loco and Entinas 

formations ________________________________________________ 36 

25. Photograph showing crossbedded calcarenite at the type area of 

the Entinas formation ------------------------------------ 37 

26. Index map showing mollusk localities in the Entinas formation __ 38 

27-30. Photographs showing: 

27. Morales formation overlying Vicar limestone northwest side 

of Sierra Serrata -------------------------------------- 39 

28. Oyster bed in the Morales formation, Rambla del Morales__ 40 

29. Fossiliferous pebbly sandstone in the Morales formation, 

Rambla del Morales____________________________________ 41 

30. Barnacles from the Morales formation -------------------- 42 
NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY AND 

PALEONTOLOGY OF SOUTHERN ALMERIA 

PROVINCE, SPAIN: AN OVERVIEW 

By WARREN 0. ADDICOTT, PARKE D. SNAVELY, JR., 

DAVID BuKRY, and RICHARD Z. PooRE 

ABSTRACT 

The Neogene sequence of the coastal part of Almeria Province, southeastern Spain, 

consists of carbonate and clastic rocks generally representative of deposition in the 

neritic zone. Rocks exposed in the Campo de Nijar and Campo de Dalias, broad lowlands bordered on the north by the Betic Cordilleras, are parts of the Almeria Basin, a 

post-orogenic basin oflate Neogene age. The late Miocene sequence is characterized by 

carbonate rocks that commonly contain lithic fragments from middle(?) Miocene volcanic rocks of the Cabo de Gata Volcanic Complex and from pre-Tertiary dolomite and 

schist of the Nevado-Filabride and Alpujarride Complexes. A late Miocene coral reef 

and associated forereeffacies crop out in a narrow belt along the seaward margin of the 

Sierra de Gata. A 20-m to 30-m bed of gypsum occurring in the late Miocene Nijar 

formation associated with foraminifers of the Globorotalia conomiozea Zone probably 

represents the Messinian salinity crisis. Late Miocene (late Tortonian and Messinian) 

basinal facies are represented by microfossil rich siltstones and turbidite sandstones of 

the Nijar formation. Basin margin facies of late Miocene age are represented by bioclastic limestone ofthe Vicar Formation. The base ofthe Pliocene sequence is marked 

by a regional unconformity. Generally the lowest part of the Pliocene consists of massive, very fine grained silty sandstone containing abundant Amusium cristatum and 

overlying bioclastic calcarenite., sandstone, or conglomerate nearshore facies. Locally, 

the megafossil-bearing sandstones and conglomerates directly overlie Miocene and 

older units. Informal formational names are utilized herein to facilitate discussion of 

Neogene units in the Campo de Nijar and Campo de Dalias areas. 

INTRODUCTION 

A late Miocene to late Pliocene carbonate and clastic sequence 

overlies Paleozoic(?) schistose rock, Triassic dolomite, and middle(?) 

Miocene volcanic rock in southern Almeria Province, southeastern 

Spain. The Almeria Basin, bordered on the north by the Sierra de 

Gador and Sierra de Alhamilla, is one of several postorogenic basins 

of late Neogene age that occur in the northeast-trending Betic Cordilleras of southern Spain. These basins define the Betic Straits (Fernex 

and others, 1967), a seaway that united the Mediterranean Sea with 

the Atlantic Ocean during much of the Neogene. 

1 
2 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

The stratigraphy and paleontology of the Neogene strata of the 

Almeria Basin, briefly described in this report, are based upon reconnaissance studies in the Campo de Dalias and the Campo de Nijar 

(fig. 1). This work was undertaken to complement concurrent marine 

geophysical profiling in the adjacent Golfo de Almeria and nearby 

parts ofthe continental shelfby a team of U.S. Geological Survey and 

Empresa Nacional ADARO geoscientists (Dillon and others, 1975; 

Lucena and Greene, 1975), primarily to provide a stratigraphic 

framework for interpretation and evaluation of offshore acoustical 

units. 

Formations constituting the predominately carbonate sequence of 

late Neogene age of southern Almeria Province were deposited under 

various depositional environments in areas that now flank the Golfo 

de Almeria in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea. A regional 

unconformity separates carbonate strata from the older basement 

rocks; another occurs between the deep-water late Miocene micrites 

and the shallow-water late Miocene to Pliocene bioclastic limestone, 

calcarenite, sandstone, and conglomerate. The Mediterranean evaporite sequence (gypsum) of latest Miocene, Messinian age occurs 

within the deep-water biogenic micrite that contains interbeds of turbidite sandstone. A previously unrecognized late Miocene coral reef 

complex that overlies volcanic rocks of Miocene age along the southeastern coast in the Sierra de Gata adds a new dimension to the 

geologic history of the area. 

FIELD INVESTIGATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

Geologic data briefly described in this report were collected during 

March and April 1974 and April 1976 as part of a U.S. Geological 

Survey-Empresa Nacional ADARO de Investigaciones Mineras, S. A. 

cooperative study of the coastal zone and con tin ental shelf of Almeria 

Province, southeastern Spain. This program was sponsored by the 

National Science Foundation and conducted under the Agreement of 

Friendship and Cooperation between the Governments of Spain and 

the United States. Field investigations by Snavely and Addicott were 

of a reconnaissance nature and did not involve detailed geologic mapping or systematic stratigraphic studies. Relatively detailed geologic 

observations and collections of mollusk and microfossil samples (Addicott and Snavely, 1976) were made in numerous well-exposed areas 

throughout the region, using the geologic mapping of earlier workers 

(Aldaya and Garcia Duenas, 1971; Fuster Casas and others, 1965, 

1967; Sanchez Cela, 1968; unpublished ADARO maps). The stratigraphic studies of Snavely and Addicott were greatly enhanced by 

subsequent field conferences and discussions with Gabriel Martin 

Zuniga and Manuel Ruiz Tagle as well as consultation with Enrico 

Perconig, all of ADARO. We are indebted to Perconig for his critical 
FIELD INVESTIGATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

M~diterranean Sea 

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS 

0 Cabo de Gata Volcanic Complex 

- Pre-Tertiary rocks 

--- Fault dashed where concealed 

3 

FIGURE I.- Index map of southern Almeria Province, Spain, showing general distribution of Neogene sedimentary rocks and older basement rocks. Geology generalized 

from Aldaya and Garcia Duenas (1971). 

review of an earlier manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge the petrographic studies of some of the carbonate rocks by Alan Niem, U.S. 

Geological Survey, and paleontologic determinations by our Survey 

colleagues, J. A. Barron, J. E. Hazel, and R. C. Margerum, and by J. 

Wyatt Durham, of the University of California, and J. W. Wells, of 

Cornell University. A. K. Armstrong and J. M. Robb, also of the U.S. 

Geological Survey, assisted in measuring stratigraphic sections and 

collecting samples. Dianne L. Lander helped with the preparation of 

illustrations. We also wish to acknowledge the friendly assistance 

and cooperation received from our Spanish friends and associates 

during this work. 

In this report several Neogene lithologic units of formation and 

member rank are given new informal stratigraphic names. The rank 

term of these binomial names is not capitalized in accordance with 

Article 1. 7 of the International Guide to Stratigraphic Classification 

(International Subcommission on Stratigraphic Classification, 1972) 

to reflect its informal usage as compared with formal stratigraphic 

names used herein. Comparison of our terminology with that in 

common use by Spanish geologists is shown in figures 2 and 3. Despite the reconnaissance nature of this study, new and significant 

data were collected that bear on the depositional history and paleoenvironment ofthe late Tertiary in southeastern Spain and the western 

Mediterranean. Detailed geologic mapping and systematic stratigraphic studies are needed before the relation between the tectonic 
4 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

and stratigraphic evolution can be more clearly defined. 

STRATIGRAPHY 

The late Tertiary sedimentary sequence in southern Almeria Province consists of a variety of carbonate and clastic rocks that were 

deposited in both deep- and shallow-water marine environments. The 

Miocene sequence is characterized by carbonates, whereas the 

Pliocene formations consist of both carbonate and terrigenous clastics. The carbonates include marl, biomicrite, bioclastic limestone, 

and biosparite. They commonly contain minor amounts of lithic 

fragments derived from the middle(?) Miocene volcanic rocks and 

from Triassic dolomite and Paleozoic(?) schist of the Nevado-Filabride 

and Alpujarride Complexes (Garcia Monzon, Kampschuur, and Verburg, 1975). A late Miocene coral-reef limestone and associated 

forereef facies crops out in a narrow belt along the southeast coast 

(Snavely and Addicott, 1974). Several regional unconformities occur 

within this late Neogene sequence; the most significant are at the 

Pleistocene 

Pliocene 

Upper 

Miocene 

lib-

&-

cocoThis report r.-:-c..,..,-:-:-:-:--:-:-:-:-, Marine Terrace deposits 

~.; ·_.; ;,:;,:~Unconformity 

·.f. ··_ .i:: .: Entinas formation 

.. .. ___..L .. 

:I' 

. :-.·. 'I. ·.- .-. 

:.r:~ · 

Calcarenite with scattered quartz 

pebbles; megacrossbedding; 

marly siltstone interbeds 

Loco formation Yellow spotted marly fina-grai_ned 

micaceous sandstone and siltstone 

lg~~~~ Unconformity J:. Nijar(?) formation (N) 

Siltstone with sandstone and 

:eonglomeratic interbeds 

Vicar Formatien 

Calcarenite and bioclastic lime-

&- · 0 . • • · • • · ~ · ; stone; conglomerate and pebbly 

o • • - • o. ' sandstone at base 

• _;__::·· ::~ Unconformity 

Unnamed conglomerate -

- : .·:: ::::: \ bedded limestone and dolomite ~: ':. ':. '!. ~ ~: conglomerate, marine 

: o. •• ·: •• ··: • Unconformity •o • ···o• o Plomo (7) formation 

Base not Muertos (?) conglomerate member 

exposed Massive dacite and andesite boulder 

.1.----->T._...j.....,_ conglomerate; marine in upper part 

Unconformity 

::: Triassic dolomite and Paleozoic schist 

Base not 

exposed 

Previous work 

Block 

Vicar 

Formation 

Margas 

amarillentas 

Not recognized 

Vicar 

Formation 

Rocas 

Volcanicas 

Complejo 

Alpujarride 

FIGURE 2.-Generalized stratigraphic surface sectio!1 in the Campo de Dalias and 

correlation of stratigraphic names used in this report with those of earlier workers. 

~, macrofossil sample , co planktonic foraminifer sample. 
STRATIGRAPHY 5 

base of the late Miocene Vicar Formation and at the base of the 

Pliocene sequence. A 20-m to 30-m-thick bed of coarsely crystalline 

selenite gypsum that occurs locally within the deep-water late 

Miocene Nijar formation probably represents the so-called Messinian 

salinity crisis (see Nesteroff and others, 1972; Kidd, 1976). Pliocene 

clastics include sandstone, conglomerate, siltstone, and calcarenite. 

The coarser grained units generally overlie very fine grained silty 

sandstones but locally rest unconformably on Miocene and older 

units. A sequence of Pleistocene marine terraces is locally developed 

in Pliocene terrane east of Almeria and in the western part of the 

Campo de Dalias (Ovejero and Zazo, 1971). 

Pleistocene ( 

Pliocene 

g_ 

c c 

6bThis report 

J}h:~:~:~).~ U ~;~innf~~~~~~nce deposits 

Mora·le-s-formation (M) 

Quartz-rich pebble conglom- erate and crossbedded sandstone 

Cuevas Viejas formation (C) 

Yellow spotted marly very fine 

grained sandstone and siltstone, :_. ~ :-:-:.:__ :-: sandstone interbeds - ·- - - Unnamed calcarenitic sandstone (U) - ·- - ·- (coastal exposures south of 

Carboneras) (2) M. 

(2) ~ 

U(3)R--

(4)& N (10)~ _.__. ~.--7"-r'-'-·r-·1 Unconformity 

· Nijar formation (N) 

Upper 

Miocene 

I 

<='-· 

I 

Upper member-turbidite 

sandstone and conglomerate in 

silty, marly sandstone and 

siltstone 

Lower member-massive to 

thick-bedded, light-gray marly 

siltstone, mudflow conglomerate, and massive and d issem i-

"" ,~ nated gypsum in lower part 

N 6b Vicar Formation (V) 

':!__. Calcarenite and bioclastic 

(3) ')[,. limestone; conglomerate and 

y__ sandstone near base 

(6) ~ ; ;, ·_.;;, .; ; ·;;,,;UnconformitY 

6b - ··:.<t;t>--·.·o· Ptomo formation (P) 

Coral reefs and associated calcarenit!Creef facies 

>---_..;_:..;..;,.;...:..jiU nconformity 

Muertos conglomerate member (M) 

(2) _ :~ {,fto:~~i: dacite and andes!te cobble o · o o . o · o · and boulder martne congloma . .c:, A . L> A . \ erate ! · A CG"' .c.· :A UnconfQrmity A· a· a A· Cabo de Gata Volcanic Complex 

)/'xxxxxxx x (CG) 

Base not 

exposed 

Subaerial extrusive and intrusive rocks, water-laid tuff and 

lahars 

Previous work 

Block 

Not 

recognized 

Margas 

con 

lepra 

Margas 

y 

Macinos 

or 

Lucainena 

Formation 

(Sorbas 

Basin) 

I-----

Vicar 

Formation 

Cabo de Gata 

Volcanic l Complex 

FIGURE 3.-Generalized stratigraphic surface section in the Campo de Nijar and correlation of stratigraphic names used in this report with those of earlier workers. ~. 

macrofossil sample; !D, planktonic foraminifer sample; 10, number of samples from a 

given stratigraphic level. 
6 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

PLOMO FORMATION 

The oldest Tertiary unit exposed in southern Almeria Province is a 

coral reef and associated forereef facies that crops out in places along 

the coast from Rambla del Plomo northward to a point 1.4 km north of 

Punta de los Muertos (fig. 4). This previously unrecognized reef complex (Snavely and Addicott, 1974) overlies the Cabo de Gata Volcanic 

Complex (Coello and Castanon, 1965; Paez Carrion and Sanchez 

Soria, 1965; Fuster Casas and others, 1965, 1967; Leon, 1967; Sanchez Cela, 1968) but is separated from the volcanic breccias, lahars, 

and water-laid lapilli tuff by a marine conglomerate composed of 

volcanic boulders here named the Muertos conglomerate member. 

Cerro Gordo 

X 

To Nijar 

--- Caballon 

"-311m 

N 

Cerro de 

Higuera"x-, 

~ " I 

· ..... ?.> : / 

'\_ ~~ ~.l/!_lf!f!!_O~X' M6469 

-. M6471. M6470 

M6486 

Punta del Ploma 

Punta Chumba 

Media Naranja 

MEDITERRANEAN 

SEA 

0 2 3 KILOMETERS 

FIGURE 4.-Index map showing Miocene and Pliocene fossil localities along the coast 

between Carboneras and Rambla del Plomo and along Canada de los Balcanes, to the 

west. M, USGS megafossil locaility; Mf, USGS microfossil locaility. 
PLOMO FORMATION 7 

MUERTOS CONGLOMERATE MEMBER 

A marine conglomerate composed largely of dacite and andesite 

boulders, here informally named the Muertos conglomerate member, 

it typically exposed at the north end of the beach 1.4 km north of 

Punta de los Muertos (fig. 4). In this area the conglomerate is about 

15 m thick. Boulders as much as 2 m in diameter occur in a calcarenitic matrix containing locally abundant pectinids, ostreids, and 

other bivalve mollusks (loc. M6467). The Muertos overlies a 100-mthick section of crudely bedded volcanic breccia and conglomerate of 

the Cabo de Gata Volcanic Complex that Fuster Casas, Ibarrola, and 

Martin (1967) determined to be of pyroxenitic andesitic composition. 

The Muertos is overlain by patch reefs and forereeftalus characteristic of the Plomo formation. The Muertos probably is equivalent to 

Sanchez Cela's (1968) Nivel A unit exposed near El Playazo, on the 

coast about 14 km to the southwest. 

In the Campo de Dalias, about 65 km to the west, more than 40 m of 

marine boulder conglomerate referable to the Muertos conglomerate 

member is exposed in a gently northward-dipping section at the 

southwest end of Lorna de la Ecarada almost 2 km southwest of Vicar 

(fig. 1 ). The indurated and thick-bedded conglomerate is composed of 

well-rounded dacite and andesite clasts in a calcarenitic matrix that 

contains local accumulations of mollusk shells and fine shell debris in 

the uppermost 5 m. These assemblages and barnacle and pectinid 

fossils, exposed at a sharp bend in the Vicar Road about 40 m below 

the summit, indicate that the uppermost 40 to 50 m of this unit is of 

marine origin. 

UNNAMED CONGLOMERATE 

Unconformably overlying the Muertos on the north side of Lorna de 

la Ecarada near the summit of the Vicar Road is a medium-bedded 

poorly consolidated conglomerate composed mainly of limestone and 

dolomite clasts. The imbrication of the flattened pebbles and cobbles 

of pre-Tertiary carbonates along the Vicar Road suggests northward-flowing currents during deposition. The occurrence of in situ 

oyster valves on some of the cobbles in this conglomerate indicates a 

shallow marine origin. This conglomerate is not known to occur 

elsewhere in the Campo de Dalias or in the Campo de Nijar area to 

the east. 

The Plomo formation is unconformably overlain in most places by 

the upper Miocene Vicar Formation, which locally overlaps the Plomo 

and rests on the volcanic rocks. At the north end of Punta de los 

Muertos, (fig. 4), however, it is overlain by massive calcarenites of 

Pliocene age. The Plomo is characterized by massive coral reefs composed mainly of an erect, branching species of Porites whose ''pipe 
8 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMER1A, SPAIN 

organ" growth form provides a rigid structural framework. According 

to J. W. Wells (written commun., Nov. 1977), this may be the branching species P. lobosepta Chevalier. Within the Porites framework are 

scattered heads of the scleractinian coral Tarbellastraea and lenses 

(as much as 3--4 m thick) of calcareous sandstone and marl that contain abundant shallow-water mollusks, notably Isognomon, Crassostrea, and Turritella. Red coralline algae and Halimeda plates are 

important constituents of the reef. A complex interfingering of calcareous sandstone and marl and reef-derived talus, about 45 m thick, 

probably represents a forereef facies where active erosion attacked 

the main reef. The reef cores and reef breccia are composed of calcitic 

dolomite and are characterized by highly developed moldic and intercrystalline porosity (Armstrong and others, 1977). Approximately 

2~30 m of the reef complex is well exposed in the sea cliffs at Cerro 

de Higuera just north of Rambla del Plomo (fig. 5); a generalized 

stratigraphic section in this area is shown as figure 6. Locally, bulFIGURE 5.-Plomo formation, a reef complex, exposed in sea cliff at Cerro de Higuera 

about 0.4 km north of Rambla del Plomo. Base of formation is at break in slope and 

marked by base of a 1-m-thick marine conglomerate (Cgl). Thin-bedded unit below 

Plomo consists of water-laid tuffaceous sandstone. 
PLOMO FORMATION 9 

bous projections of the reef extend several meters upward into overlying dolomitic limestone of the Vicar Formation. 

AGE AND CORRELATION 

Mollusks from the Muertos conglomerate member of the Plomo 

formation seem to be of late Miocene (Tortonian) age and are indicative of a very shallow water, fully marine environment. Collections 

from the southwest end of Lorna de la Ecarada near the village of 

Vicar (loc. M6032, M6669), Playa del Plomo (M6470), and Playa de 

los Muertos (M6467) contain pectinids (Chlamys cf. C. macrotis (Sowerby), C. fasciculata Millet, C. varia (Linne)), cardiids, venerids, gastropods (Turritella catedralis Brogniart var., T. subangulata (Braechi)), and scleractinian corals. Unspecified microfossils from exposures ofthis conglomerate (Nivel A) in the central part of the Cabo de 

Gata Range were determined by Saavedra (in Sanchez Cela, 1968) to 

be of middle or late Miocene, Helvetian-Tortonian, age. 

A 30-m-thick section of marine conglomerate south of Vicar that is 

referable to the ((unnamed conglomerate" of this report is overlain by 

some 60 m of limestone containing planktonic foraminifers referable 

to the upper part of the Tortonian Stage (Perconig, 1976). Scattered 

planktonics recorded by Perconig from the conglomerates are compatible with a late Miocene (Tortonian) age. 

Mollusks from the localities in the overlying reefal facies of the 

Plomo shown in figure 4 (USGS M6045 and M6469) are indicative of a 

late Miocene age and suggest correlation with faunas of the Torto5m 

0- 4m 

N 

Plomo fm. 8-12m 

Muertos cql. member 

Cabo de Gata 

Volcanic Complex 

SEA 

3-5m 

1m 

5m 

Coral reef limestone 

Calcareous Sandstone with clasts 

of coral 

Coral reef with hermatypic corals 

(Porites and Tarbellastraea) and 

mollusks (Turritella, Isognomon, 

Crassostrea, USGS lac M6469) 

Marl and calcareous sandstone, 

abundant mollusks (USGS lac. 

M6486) 

Dacite conglomerate (marine) 

scattered mollusks, corals, and 

bryozoans (USGS lac. M6470) 

Water-laid tuffaceous 

ferromagnesium-rich sandstone, 

marine (?) 

Water-laid pumiceous lapillituff, clasts of basalt and andesite, graded units of pumice 

FIGURE 6.-Generalized section of the reef complex in the Plomo formation. Cerro de 

Higuera. just north of Rambla del Plomo. 
10 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

nian Stage. Assignment to the Tortonian is indicated by the concurrent range of Chlamys fasciculata (1\iillet), Clausinella scalaris 

(Bronn), and Turritella vermicularis doublieri Matheron. Additionally, Turritella triplicata superneaplicata Sacco seems to be restricted to the Tortonian Stage. 

Specimens of the coral heads that occur within the Porites colonies 

were studied by John W. Wells, of Cornell University, who concluded: 

~~The coral specimens (M6469) from the Plomo formation all pertain 

to the same species, which I identify as Tarbellastraea eggenburgensis 

andalousianensis Chevalier (1961). According to Chevalier, this variety is characteristic of the late Miocene (Helvetian and Tortonian)." A 

pre-Pliocene age is further indicated by the fact that reef corals such 

as Porites and Tarbellastraea disappeared from the Mediterranean by 

the close of the Miocene (Vaughan and Wells, 1943). These hermatypic corals point to a tropical or subtropical marine climate during deposition of the Plomo and to an extremely shallow water depositional environment. The molluscan assemblages also suggest a very 

shallow water, inner sublittoral environment. 

Planktonic foraminifers from the Plomo limestones are extremely 

rare and poorly preserved. Perconig (1976, p. 175) indicates a late 

Miocene Tortonian and Andalusian age for macroinvertebratebearing limestone in the Sierra de Gata that he correlates with rocks 

that form the type section of the Vicar Formation in the Campo de 

Dalias. This correlation was based on microfauna! samples collected 

from strata intercalated in the reefal rocks in the lowest 25m of the 

Plomo formation near Rambla del Plomo (Enrico Perconig, written 

commun., March 1977). 

The Plomo formation overlies the Cabo de Gata Volcanic Complex 

to which earlier workers (Fuster Casas and others, 1965, 1967; Paez 

Carrion and Sanchez Soria, 1965; Sanchez Cela, 1968) have assigned 

an early to late Miocene age on the basis of unpublished microfauna! 

determinations by J. L. Saavedra. A K/Ar isotope age of 11.5 ± 0.4 

m.y. (G. B. Dalrymple, written commun., 1975) has been determined 

on hornblende from a thick flow or sill that crops out along the coast 

at Cortijo la Isleta about 17 km northeast of Cabo de Gata. According 

to the work of Fuster Casas, Aguilar, and Garcia (1965), this sample 

is from an andesitic series in the oldest ofthe three post-~~aglomerados 

viejos" episodes of volcanism in the Sierra de Gata. The radiometric 

age is substantially younger than their originally postulated early or 

middle Miocene age based on Saavedra's microfauna! determinations. 

If this isotope age is representative of the age of the Cabo de Gata 

Volcanic Complex, the Plomo can be no older than about 11.5 m.y. or 

latest middle Miocene (Serravallian) or earliest late Miocene (Tortonian), depending on the age of the middle Miocene-late Miocene 
NIJAR FORMATION 11 

boundary. Berggren and Van Couvering (1975) place this boundary 

at about 11 m.y.; Ryan, Cita, Dreyfus Rawson, Burckle, and Saito 

(1974) and Vass (1975) put the boundary at about 12 m.y. 

Presumably coeval reefal facies have been reported from Neogene 

basins north of the Sierra de Gata. Late Miocene reefal limestones 

aggregating as much as 60 m have been recognized along the northern margin of the Sorbas Basin (Garcia Monzon, Kampschuur, 

Vissers, Verburg, and Wolff 1975). The reefal limestones pass laterally into marls that are locally overlain by gypsum that seems to be of 

latest Miocene, Andalusian age (Perconig and Martinez in Garcia 

Monzon, Kampschuur, and Verburg, 1975). In the Vera Basin, about 

40 km north of the Plomo reef, Volk and Rondeel (1964) describe local 

coral and algal reefs in the Cantera Member of their upper Miocene 

Turre Formation. Perconig (1973) has noted an Andalusian reefal 

facies trend extending northeastward through these areas toward 

Murcia. Recently this trend, which extends some 600 km northeastward to the island of Mall orca, has been mapped by Esteban, Cal vet, 

Dabrio, Baron, Giner, Pomar, and Salas (1977). 

NIJAR FORMATION 

A moderately deep water sequence composed of biomicrites with 

interbedded turbidite sandstones unconformably overlies the Plomo 

formation and the Cabo de Gata Volcanic Complex in the eastern 

coastal region of Almeria Province and the Paleozoic schist and 

Triassic limestone along the south flank of the Sierra de Alhamilla. 

This sequence is informally named the Nijar formation for excellent 

exposures on the west side of a north-trending ridge 1.5 km southeast 

of the village of Nijar (figs. 7 and 8). A 20-m to 30-m-thick bed of 

coarsely crystalline selenite gypsum occurs locally in the Nijar. It is 

best exposed along the southern foothills of the Sierra de Alhamilla 

and locally along the northern flank of the western Sierra Serrata. 

The Nijar rests unconformably on pre-Tertiary rocks along the 

south side of Sierra de Alhamilla; it presumably unconformably overlies Miocene volcanic rocks on the flanks of Sierra Serrata and Sierra 

de Gata, although the basal contact of the Nijar has not been seen 

there. The contact between the Nijar and Triassic dolomite is well 

exposed in a roadcut along old Route 240, about 2 km south of Benahadux. Here a 3-m- to 5-m-thick bed of cobble and boulder conglomerate is present above the contact. Although the basal contact of 

the Nijar with the Cabo de Gata Volcanic complex was not found, 

lenses of mudflow volcanic breccia and conglomerate are interbedded 

in micrites in places along the northwestern side of the Sierra Serrata. These coarse clastic lenses contain shallow-water mollusks that 
12 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

N 

1 

X SS74-28, Mf3408, ASA 76-5 

Cantara 

A 412m 

~58 X M6460 

X 1\1!6459, Mf2856 

XM6043 

:~~13_8_4_9--~­ Los Cerrillos -· .. ~q"? 

'"".~~ .• "-.C(el' 

.. ....!J.~ar. --... ~. 

~0 .5 1 KIILOMETER 

FIGURE 7.-Index map showing mollusk and microfossil localities in the Nijar formation. M, USGS mollusk locality; Mf, USGS microfossillocaility; SS and ASA, field 

localities. 

were probably transported into the deeper water micrites by submarine mudflows. 

The Nijar formation can be broadly divided into two members, a 

lower member consisting of light-gray microfossil-rich thin-bedded to 

massive micrite with thin fine-grained sandstone interbeds and an 

upper member characterized by massive very fine grained calcareous 

sandstone with interbeds of graded conglomeratic sandstone near the 

base. 

The lower member contains abundant coccoliths (fig. 9) and 

foraminifers, and in places is rich in diatoms. Some molds of 

foraminifers are infilled with microspar calcite rhombs, celadonite, or 

dark opaque iron oxide and organic detritus. Small poorly developed 

nodules found in a few places in the micrite contain scattered silt-size 

monocrystalline quartz. 

In the southwest part of Sierra Serrata, there are scattered expo-
NIJAR FORMATION 18 

FIGURE 8.-Nijar formation exposed 1.5 km southeast of Nijar on west side of hill 392 

m. Prominent ribs are conglomeratic calcarenite turbidite sandstone. Flat-lying bedded bioclastic limestone caps top of ridge. 

sures of a massive bed of coarsely crystalline selenite gypsum as 

much as 20 m thick or mobilized products of this bed that forrn 

diapiric domes, sills, or dikes. The thin-bedded micrite and finegrained calcareous sandstone are commonly intensely folded where 

intruded by gypsum, as near Cerro Blanco in the southwestern part of 

Sierra Serrata (fig. 10). No apparent erosional break occurs at either 

the lower or upper contact of the gypsum bed; this suggests that 

mobilization of the gypsum occurred after deposition of the overlying 

beds. 

The upper member ofthe Nijar formation consists of more than 150 

m of massive yellowish-brown sandy siltstone and fine-grained 

sandstone with interbedded conglomeratic medium- to coarse-grained 

calcarenite beds 1- 15m thick (fig. 11). The sandstone beds are commonly graded and have sharp irregular basal contacts, which in 

places contain groove casts. Abundant large mollusks, mainly shallow-water pectinids and ostreids, are concentrated in the basal part of 

some turbidites, as are angular to subangular clasts of pre-Tertiary 

basement rocks and siltstone clasts (rip-ups). The member is exposed 

at hill 392 m, about 1.5 km southeast of Nijar (fig. 7), where it in-
14 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

FIGURE 9.-Electron micrograph of micrite in the lower member of the Nijar formation, 

X4,500; coccolith A, Coccolith us pelagic us (Wallich); B, Reticulofenestra sp. cf. R . 

pseudoumbilica (Gartner). 

eludes about 50 m of interbedded friable micaceous fine-grained gray 

sandstone and reddish-brown sandy siltstone in strata ranging in 

thickness from 0.5 to 2 m. The sandstone beds contain scattered 

rounded elongate clasts of red siltstone. No fossils were observed in 

this member, which may be of brackish-water or nonmarine origin, 

suggesting shoaling of the basin in late Nijar time. 

A 1.5-m-thick turbidite bed exposed in a cut on the east side of the 

Nijar-Carboneras Road about 1.5 km southeast of Nijar is composed 

of subrounded pebbles of quartz, schist, and dolomite in a matrix of 

fine-grained sand. About 10 percent of the bed .is made up of 

transported pectinid valves and large oysters. The turbidite overlies a 

light-yellowish-gray very fine grained sandstone. Channels in the 

underlying sandstone extend downward as much as 0.5 m below the 

base of the bed. Groove casts along the sides of some of these channels 

trend N. 30° E . to N. 40° E. Similar turbidites containing abundant 

broken shells of shallow-water mollusks occur stratigraphically 

higher in the upper member of the Nijar formation (fig. 11). 

An isolated, 3-m- to 4-m-thick exposure of diatomaceous siltstone 

and claystone interbedded with silty, fine- to very fine grained 

sandstone in the southwestern part of the Campo de Dalias probably 
NIJAR FORMATION 15 

FIGURE 10.-Contact between the gypsum bed and thin-bedded micrite in the lower 

member of the Nijar formation, Cerro Blanco in southwestern part of Sierra Seratta. 

Note deformed zone within the bedded sediments produced by intrusion of gypsum 

sills and dikes from the underlying main bed. 

represents the Nijar formation. This faulted, northward-dipping section, exposed in a small quarry about 0.5 km east of Guardias Viejas, 

includes a penecontemporaneously deformed zone intruded by a 

sandstone dike (fig. 12). A mixed foraminiferal assemblage from near 

the top of this section (Mf3405) is suggestive of downslope transport of 

shallow-water benthic species into deep water. This exposure is the 

only known occurrence of the Nijar formation in the southern part of 

the Campo de Dalias; the only Neogene units previously described 

from coastal exposures were of Pliocene age (Mendez Cecilia, 1971a, 

197lb; Fourniguet and LeCalvez, 1975; Perconig, 1976). 

AGE AND CORRELATION 

A mollusk assemblage from the lower member of the Nijar formation in the Sierra Serrata (fig. 13, USGS loc. M6030) includes fragments of pectinids indicative of a late Miocene age. Specimens of 

Chlamys scabrella forma sarmenticia (Goldfuss), a pectinid characteristic of the upper Miocene Sahelian Stage of Morocco (Roger, 1939), 

are in this small float collection. Mollusks are of common occurrence 

in the graded conglomeratic sandstones (fig. 11) of the upper member 
16 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

= 150m 

Nijar formation 

15m 

2m 

1m 

1m 

Mf3406 

M6043 

2m 

Mf 3407, Mf3849 

3m 

Sandy well-bedded bioclastic limestone 

with crossbedded calcareous sandstone 

at base 

Massive very fine grained silty 

sandstone 

Graded conglomeratic calcareous 

sandstone 

Reddish-brown micaceous silty fine grained 

sandstone and sandstone 1-2m thick; 

sandstone contains red clasts of siltstone 

Dark-gray sandstone containing pectinids 

Fine to very finegrained yel lowish-gray 

massive ca lcareous sandstone w ith 1-3 m 

interbeds of graded conglomeratic sandstone that contain oysters and pectinids 

Graded conglomeratic sandstone with clasts 

of metamorphic rocks, limestone, and vein 

quartz - groove casts at base, contains 

pectinids and oysters 

Sandy siltstone, graded concretionary bioclastic calcarenite with pebbles and granules 

of metamorphic rocks, siltstone, and limestone. 

Scattered pectinids, bryozoa, echinoid spines, 

and echinoderms 

FIGURE lL-Generalized stratigraphic section of upper Nijar formation on west side of 

hill 392 m, about L5 km southeast of Nijar. USGS fossil collections: megafossils, M 

prefix; microfossils, MF prefix_ 

of the Nijar formation in the type area. A late Miocene age is indicated by the cooccurrence of Pecten revolutus Michelotti, Macrochlamis 

tournali (de Serres), Chlamys elegans (Andrzeowski), C. scabrella 

forma sarmenticia (Goldfuss), and Flabellipecten solarium (Lamarck). 

None of these species is known to range into the Pliocene of the 

Mediterranean region. The -disarticulated and abraded or broken 

pelecypod valves are indicative of considerable post-mortem 

transport and support the moderately deep-water depositional environment inferred from sedimentological and microfauna! evidence. · 

Plankton,ic foraminifers indicative of Zone N17 of Blow (1969) and 

the Globorotalia dutertrei-G humerosa zone of Bizon and Bizon (1972) 

are found in a number of Nijar outcrops: (1) about 12 km southwest of 

Carboneras near the head of Canada de los Balcanes (fig. 4, M£2863); 

(2) from strata about 1 km south of Carboneras (fig. 4, M£2864); (3) 
NIJAR FORMATION 

Fine-grained calcareous 

sandstone 

Diatomaceous siltstone 

Dolomite conglomerate 

with shells Mf3404 

Oxidized zone 

Mf3403\ 

Diatomaceous siltstone 

and claystone 

Calcareous fine--grained 

sandstone 

sandstone 

17 

FIGURE 12.-Sketch in small quarry near Guardias Viejas showing penecontemporaneous deformation in fine-grained calcareous sandstone and diatomaceous 

siltstone assigned to the Nijar(?) formation. Small fault that trends N. 15 W. and dips 

65° SW. offsets strata about 0.3 m. Stratigraphic position of microfossil samples 

indicated by M£3403-3405. Height of quarry face approximately 3 m. 

Rambla del Tejar, about L5 km southeast of Nijar (fig. 7, M£2856, 

M£3407, M£3849); (4) exposures about 6 km north of Almeria (fig. 14, 

Mf2857); (5) near Cerro Blanco and Cerro Colorado in the southwestern part of the Sierra Serrata (fig. 13, Mf2870, M£384 7); (6) about 0.5 

km east of Guardias Viejas, Campo de Dalias (fig. 12, M£3403, 

M£3404, M£3405); (7) along Route 340 about 8 km north of Almeria 

(fig. 14, M£3848); (8) near Cuevas de los Juanorros about 7 km northnortheast of El Alquian (fig. 22, M£3850); and (9) on the south side of 

Cerro Almendral about 15 km northeast of Nijar (M£3366, M£3311). 

Several samples from both the lower and upper members of the 

Nijar formation are referable to the Globorotalia conomiozea Zone of 

D'Onofrio and others (1975), which represents the upper part of Zone 

N17 and approximates the Messinian Stage (D'Onofrio and others, 

1975; Ryan and others, 1974). A late Tortonian and Messinian age is 

thereby indicated for the Nijar formation. 

A locality in the lower member of the Nijar formation along the 

Nijar-Lucainena road about 1 km east of Nijar (see fig. 7, M£3408, SS 

74-28 [ =Mf4 723, not plotted on fig. 7]) yielded nannofossils that could 

be as old as the middle Miocene Discoaster exilis Zone. The associated 

planktonic foraminifer assemblage includes Neogloboquadrina acostaensis (Blow) and Globorotalia aff. G. mayeri Cushman and Ellisor, 

which suggest correlation with the lower part of Zone N16. We assign 

this locality to the upper Miocene Tortonian Stage. 

Siliceous microfossils from the lower member of the Nijar include 

abundant diatoms, some silicoflagellates, and scattered radiolarians. 
18 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

N 

i 

Cuesta Colorado 

A1A7m XM6461 

M64S7x' To ·. :..--::-: ~ Almeria o,. 

~: 

~\ ~. 

~ : 

~~ s: '!0\o. o,e j· ... ~r-- ... ~'!'· 

l 

"tx M6o3s 

./ 

Morales 

.A 57m // 

Cortijada 

de Ruescas 

Cortijo Ia 

Perdiz 

0 2 

Cerro x 

Pistolas 

3 KILOMETERS 

FIGURE 13.-Index map showing Neogene mollusk and microfossil localities along the 

southwestern flanks of the Sierra Serrata and in the vicinity of El Barranquete. M, 

USGS Megafossil locality; Mf, USGS microfossil locality. 

Diatoms from strata exposed about 1 km south of Carboneras (fig. 4, 

M£2862) that may be coeval with exposures of the upper member of 

the Nijar farther west are referable to North Pacific Diatom zone 11 

or 12 of Schrader (1973) according to John A. Barron, U.S. Geological 

Survey, who suggests that they are of late Miocene age. Schrader 

(1975) correlates these zones with Blow's Zones N17 and N18 and 

believes that the boundary between them is approximately equivalent to the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. A latest Miocene age assignment for this sample is corroborated by a foraminiferal assemblage 

referable to the Globorotalia conomiozea Zone obtained from a nearby 

locality (M£2864). Mollusks from this locality (M6676) are of late 

Miocene or early Pliocene age; they are most similar to Pliocene assemblages from the Cuevas Viejas formation. Localities in sea cliffs 

between here and a point 4 km south of Carboneras contain 

planktonic foraminifers of Pliocene age (loc. M£3417, M£3325, 

M£3326, M£3327). The occurrence of Globorotalia puncticulata (Deshayes) in two of these assemblages suggests reference to Zone N19. 
NIJAR FORMATION 19 

M6475X 

N 

de San Urbano 

0 2 KILOMETERS 

FIGURE 14.-Index map showing mollusk and microfossil localities north of Almeria. 

M. USGS megafossil locality; Mf, USGS microfossil locality. 

Nannofossil assemblages from the Nijar formation are characterized by redeposition; most of the samples contain rare to fairly 

common Cretaceous to Eocene coccoliths that have been recycled from 

older formations. Autochthonous calcareous nannofossil assemblages 
20 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

from the Nijar formation are poorly preserved and have low species 

diversity. Most of them lack zonal marker species and can be recognized only as of generalized middle or late Miocene to middle Pliocene 

age. Four of the nannofossil samples from the Nijar are of late 

Miocene age. Five samples have assemblages that range in age from 

middle to late Miocene or late Miocene to early Pliocene; this temporal overlap provides further support for a late Miocene age. The 

occurrence of the short-ranged species Amaurolithus primus (Bukry 

and Percival) in a sample from near the base of the Nijar formation on 

the south side of Sierra de Alhamilla (fig. 15, loc. G76--3 +20 m) is 

indicative of the Discoaster quinqueramus or Amaurolithus tricorniculatus Zone. Apparently correlative assemblages occur in the 

Nijar formatiqn about 7 km north of Almeria (field loc. SS7 4-62) and 

in the -upper part of the correlative Lucainena Formation about 75 m 

stratigraphically below the base of the prominent gypsum bed near el 

Rio de Aguas (field loc. 8876--12) in the nearby Sorbas Basin. 

A sequence of massive foraminiferal siltstone of the Nijar formation that underlies the gypsum bed and is in fault contact with preTertiary carbonates and schist (Garcia Monzon, Kampschuur, and 

Verburg, 1975) is exposed along the northeastern margin of Almeria 

Basin about 16 km northeast of Nijar. A 15-m-thick conglomerate 

and sandstone at the base of the Nijar in this area (fig. 15) contains 

macroinvertebrates of middle or late Miocene age (Macrochlamis 

solarium (Lamarck), Crassostrea sp., and Clypeaster cf. C. alticostatus 

Michelin). Planktonic foraminifers from 20 and 24 m above the base 

of this unit (loc. M£3366) are of latest Miocene, Messinian, age and 

are referable to the Globorotalia conomiozea zone. Nannofossils from 

this locality ( + 20 m level) are referable to the Discoaster quinqueramus or Amaurolithus tricorniculatus Zones, which are compatible with the foraminifer determination. Planktonic foraminifers (loc. 

M£3331) from a 90-m-thick section of the Nijar formation on the south 

side of Cerro del Almendral that is overlain by a 20-m-thick gypsum 

bed (fig. 15) are also of latest Miocene, Messinian, age. In this area 

the gypsum is conformably overlain by sandy siltstone that contains 

planktonic foraminifers (loc. M£3367) of probable early Pliocene, 

Zanclian, age (that is, Zone N18 or N19). Poorly preserved mollusks 

from massive very fine grained sandstone that occurs about 40 m 

above the gypsum in this area (loc. M6673) are of probable Pliocene 

age (fig. 15). Thirty meters of barren siltstone that conformably overlies the gypsum bed along Rambla de los Feos west of the NijarSorbas road is tentatively referred to the Nijar formation on the basis 

of lithologic similarity to the Nijar. 

According to de Porta, Martinell, and Civis (1977), the basal conglomeratic sandstone and overlying massive foraminiferal siltstone 
NIJAR FORMATION 

South side of Rambla de los Fees 

0.6 km west of Nijar-Sorbas Road (Icc. Mf 3367) 

Section G 76-4 

? eariy PI iocene 

South side of Cerro de Almendral 

between Nigar-Sobas Road 

and Canada Blanco (Icc. Mf 3331) 

Section G76 -2 

50 :+50m 

M6673 

mid . M iocene-mid. Pliocene 

Cuevas Viejas formation 

100 

a, + 120m 7 early Plioc ene 

" late Miocene or early 

Pliocene - - ----- ----- 0 

~ssive--bedd d gypsum 

late Miocene, Zone N 17· 

1\ '\1\ 

/\1\ 1\ 

? early Pliocene 

Cenozoic 

early P l iocene 

mid. Miocene-m id. Pliocene 

late Miocene-mid. Pliocene 

50 

N11ar for m at ion? 

!\~ r-;,. Massive-- b edded gypsum 

/\AI\ 

/1/1 

/\f\1\ 

& +90rn 

* ! +84m 

mid . MiocenA - mid. P li ocene 

lat e Miocene, Z one N 1 7 0 

21 

m id . M iocene - m id . Pliocene 

late Miocene, Zone N 17 

V ERTICAL SCALE IN METERS 

50 

0 

!' +75m 

late Miocene - mid . Pl iocene 

It> • 60m late M iocene, Z one N 17 ¥ 

m id. Miocene m id. Pl iocene 

Nijar formation 

: +45 rn late Miocen e , Zone N 17 

late Miocene - mid Pliocene 

a, +30m late Miocene, Zone N17 

.,. late Mior. ene - mid Pl i o cene 

EXPLANATION 

* - C alcareous nannofossi l locality 

-Plankton ic forminifer locality 

-t45m -Meters above base of section 

M6052 -MP.gafossil loca lity 

- Gypsum (bedded) 

o -Gypsum (i solated . lar ge crysta ls) 

West side of Nijar-

~ +- 5 m 

~& Om 

F a u lt 

Sorbas Road , 0 .2 km west of 

Fuente de los Arejas (Icc. Mf 3366) 

late Miocen e, Section G 76 -3 

ZoneN17 

late Miocene -

m id Pl i ocene 

20 

+24m lat e Miocene, Zone 17 

+20m late Mioc ene, Zone N 17 

Triassic dolo m ite late M iocene or early Pliocene 

Discoaster quinqueramus or 

Amaurolithus tricornatus zon e 

10 

0 Fault 

Paleozoic("?) schist 

FIGURE 15.-Stratigraphic sections of the Nijar formation near Cerro del Almendral, 

16 km northeast of the village of Nijar (measured by A.K. Armstrong, April 1976). 

correspond, respectively, to the Azagador and Abad Members of the 

Turre Formation of Volk and Rondeel (1964) described from the Vera 

Basin, a coastal embayment lying northeast of the Sierra de 

Alhamilla-Sierra Cabrera chain. These members have been mapped 

by Dronkert (1977) along the eastern margin of the nearby Sorbas 

Basin, an interior basin lying directly north of the Almeria Basin and 

separated from it by the Sierra de Alhamilla. 
22 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

A previously unreported occurrence of siltstone and sandstone of 

latest Miocene Messinian age in the western part of the Campo de 

Dalias near Guardias Viejas (fig. 23, locs. M£3403-3405) seems to 

represent a unique occurrence of the Nijar formation. The presence of 

Globoquadrina dehiscens (Chapman, Parr, and Collins), Globorotalia 

plesiotumida Blow and Banner, and G. conoidea Walters (s.l.) is 

indicative of Zone N17. Earlier micropaleontologic studies of this 

area (Fourniguet and LeCalvez, 1975; Perconig, 1976) found only 

Pliocene foraminifers. 

A pregypsum sequence of deep-water thin-bedded fissile siltstone 

with interbedded fine-grained sandstone is well exposed in the Sorbas 

Basin along the north flank of the Sierra de Alhamilla. Recently this 

unit was named the Lucainena Formation by Iaccarino, Morlotti, 

Papani, Pelosio, and Raffi (1975) for exposures of fine-grained turbidites exposed near Lucainena along the southeastern edge of the 

Tabernas quadrangle (Garcia Monzon, Kampschuur, Vissers, Verburg, and Wolff, 1975), about 30 km northeast of Almeria. These 

strata, commonly referred to as Margas, contain a few thin units of 

fossiliferous sandstone and limestone called Maciiios. The upper part 

of the Lucainena, or Margas, sequence probably correlates with that 

part of the Nijar formation exposed below the gypsum bed along the 

northwestern part of the Sierra Serrata and in a small area along the 

western flank of the Sierra de Alhamilla, about 13 km north of Almeria. The planktonic foraminifer Globorotalia conomiozea occurs in 

the upper part of the Lucainena Formation (laccarino and others, 

1975, p. 269). The first occurrence of this species approximates the 

lower boundary of the Messinian Stage (Van Couvering and others, 

1976). 

Where the Lucainena, or Margas, is exposed on the north side of the 

Sierra de Alhamilla, between Peiias N egras and El Rio de Aguas, 

about 7 km southeast of Sorbas (Garcia Monzon, Kampschuur, 

Vissers, Verburg, and Wolff, 1975) map units TBc-BC 11-12, TBc c 

12, and TBc m 12), strata approximately 50-60 m below the 30-m 

gypsum bed (TBc y 12) contains a coccolith assemblage indicative of 

the Discoaster quinqueramus Zone, Amaurolithus primus Subzone of 

late Miocene age. As in the Nijar formation, samples in the upper 

50-60 m of the Lucainena, or Margas, commonly contain reworked 

Cretaceous and Eocene coccoliths. Marker species of nannofossils are 

lacking throughout most of the section sampled in this area; a sample 

collected approximately 100 m above the base of the Lucainena, or 

Margas (where it unconformably overlies Triassic(?) dolomite along 

the Nijar-Sorbas road), contains a nannofossil assemblage indicative 

of a late middle Miocene age. Yet the base of the 900-m-thick 

Lucainena Formation where exposed about 12--15 km west of Peiias 
VICAR FORMATION 23 

Negras apparently is no older than late Miocene in that area on the 

basis of the occurrence of planktonic foraminifers referable to the 

Globorotalia acostaensis Zone of the Tortonian Stage (laccarino and 

others, 1975). Middle Miocene strata may be present in the subsurface in the Campo de Nijar and the Campo de Dalias, but are overlapped by the Nijar against the pre-Tertiary basement high of Sierra 

de Alhamilla and against a Miocene volcanic high along the Sierra 

Serrata. 

VICAR FORMATION 

Bioclastic limestones and calcarenites that make up the Vicar 

Formation probably have a wider areal distribution than any other 

unit in southern Almeria Province. These strata are well exposed in 

places along the southern flank of the Sierra de Gador, particularly 

along the ridges that bound the Rambla de Vicar that drains into the 

northeastern part of the Campo de Dalias (fig. 16), here taken to be 

the type area. These strata are largely covered by Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits in the broad areas of the Campo de Nijar and the 

Campo de Dalias. A regional unconformity separates the Vicar Formation from older rocks in the area, indicating that a major orogenic 

FIGURE 16.-Thick-bedded bioclastic limestone (l) of the Vicar Formation overlying 

massive reddish-brown-weathering schist (s) along the south flank of the Sierra de 

Gador, 1 km south of the village of Vicar. 
24 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

event preceded deposition of this transgressive shallow-water marine 

carbonate unit. The unconformity between the Vicar and Paleozoic(?) 

sheared phyllite and schist is well exposed in roadcuts about 1.3 km 

northeast ofthe village of Vicar, where a basal 2-m-thick laterite bed 

containing scattered cobbles and pebbles of quartz, schist, and dolomite overlies the older rocks (figs. 17 and 18). In areas where Vicar 

limestone unconformably overlies the Cabo de Gata Volcanic Complex, the contact is one of irregular relief. In outcrops along the west 

side of Cerro del Marchal, about 2.6 km northeast of the coastal village of San Jose, fossiliferous bioclastic limestone of the Vicar is deposited against a near-vertical Miocene seacliff of flows and breccias, 

and the Vicar contains numerous talus blocks derived from the volcanic rocks. Ancient sea caves and fissures cut in the Cabo de Gata 

Volcanic Complex are filled with Vicar limestone. 

Although detailed geologic mapping needed to document the preVicar tectonic history is not available, reconnaissance studies indicate that in places the Vicar Formation overlaps earlier faults. For 

example, along the south side of the Sierra de Gador, a major fault 

that juxtaposes pre-Tertiary rocks on the north against steeply 

north-dipping Miocene conglomerates on the south is overlapped by 

undisturbed Vicar limestone. 

In outcrops, the Vicar Formation commonly has a light-yellowishgray and massive- to thick-bedded appearance imparted by a veneer 

of caliche or calcareous cemented slope wash. In less weathered outcrops and in some quarries, the Vicar is thick to medium bedded and 

in places exhibits sweeping megacrossbedding. The bedding is emphasized by thin beds of coarser grained calcareous sandstone intercalated in the massive fine-grained calcarenites. In places, these 

coarser sandstone beds exhibit microcrossbedding. 

Near its basal contact with pre-Tertiary dolomites and schists, the 

Vicar contains beds of pebble and cobble conglomerate and cross bedded to massive gritty and pebbly sandstone. In places, lag boulders to 

0.5 min diameter occur at or near the contact. The gritty and pebbly 

sandstone contains borings of mollusks; some borings extend below 

the contact into the ancient soil zone developed on the schist (fig. 17). 

Where the Vicar overlies the Triassic dolomite, subangular boulders 

of dolomite to 0.3 min size and scattered clasts of volcanic rocks occur 

near the contact. 

The Vicar Formation is predominately a coarse-grained bioclastic 

limestone composed largely of fragments of red caleareoll.S algae, 

bryozoans, and less abundant echinoid spines and plates, foraminifers, and broken mollusk shells. A few fine sand-size quartz and schist 

grains are scattered through the limestone, which is loosely cemented 

by fine sparry calcite and has high porosity resulting both from a high 
VICAR FORMATION 25 

intraparticle porosity when deposited and from post-depositional vug 

or solution telogenetic porosity. In places, Vicar limestone contains 

rip-up clasts of carbonate mud (micrite), and micrite rims recrystallized pelecypod fragments and infills bored algal fragments. Veins of 

sparry or banded calcite fill fractures in the limestone. 

FIGURE 17.-Basal contact of the Vicar Formation and Paleozoic(?) schist about 2 km 

northeast of village of Vicar. Large borings in red laterite (l) near contact. 
26 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMER1A, SPAIN 

M6465 

.:)~--·sef 

·· ·· ··n ··O·/ ·· :-5:5·: ·:·.··o:·:±:5:L· .:±j:-: -:;r;:-:. :· ... )." ·. ·.·:.· .·.·n :::::r=:. .-. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 

5m+ 

Cavernous calcarenite, with scattered 

zones of pebbles in part crossbeddedunit cut by calcite veins 

. · .oo· :: .·o· .

0

o. -

0 o' .0o0. .o T 0·<>·0 · 0 · 0 · 0· ·0 

:: ::::~: :::-~::::. ·:. ·.-:.· .·. .~ -- --

·. ::.· (":'.. ·.·. ·.·.·. ·.·. · .. 

:·:·:-~··:· :·:·: :~ : 

. :-:-:-: -:0-:· :-: ·>:-: .... :- . .... 0 • •• 00· . 0 •• 

:: ·~· :: ::: :::~:: :: . 

Fossiliferous gritty and pebbly well -

sorted fine-grained sandstone; 

numerous large Clypeaster, oysters, 

redd ish clasts of laterite in sandstone; 

large lag boulders at base up to 0 .5 m 

in diameter with attached oyster 

8m shells 

Gritty pebbly sandstone; many borings 

of mollusks and crustaceans. Abun1 .3m dant orbitoidal foraminfers near base 

Q_3m Leached laterite with few quartz pebbles 

2m Red laterite with scattered clasts of 

schist, dolomite, quartz; thin beds of 

q uartzose sandstone 

Pa leozoic (?} varicolored sheared argillite 

and schi st 

FIGURE 18.--Section of the basal part of Vicar Formation overlying pre-Terti ary phyllite in roadcut 1.3 km northeast of Vicar. M prefi x, USGS megafossil collection. 

AGE AND CORRELATION 

Extensive collections of larger marine invertebrates from the Vicar 

Formation contain species indicative of a late Miocene age and, presumably, of correlation with the Tortonian and Messinian Stages. 

The Neogene sequence of southwestern Spain is better suited than 

the type Messinian Stage of Italy for stage/age correlation of the 

latest Miocene of the Mediterranean according to de Aguirre and 
VICAR FORMATION 27 

Perconig (1975), but the Andalusian seems to extend from about 9 to 

5 m.y. and is correlated with the middle part of the Tortonian Stage 

through the Messinian Stage (Berggren and Haq, 1976; Van Couvering and others, 1976). On the other hand, the boundaries of theMessinian Stage are well documented by micropaleontologic data and 

appear to correspond to a much shorter interval of time, 6.5 to about 5 

m.y., according to these authors. There are biostratigraphic data on 

shallow-water mollusks of the Andalusian Stage, unlike the Messinian Stage, but the information (Raffi, 1973) is as yet very limited. 

Mollusks from the Vicar Formation in the Campo de Nijar area that 

are restricted to the late Miocene of the Mediterranean region include 

Mesalia cochleata (Brocchi), Macrochlamis latissima forma nodosiformis (de Serres), and Chlamys malvinae (Dubois). Chlamys malvinae 

also occurs in southwestern Spain (Raffi, 1973) in strata assigned to 

the Andalusian Stage of Perconig (1966). 

The giant echinoid Clypeaster is abundant in the basal part of the 

Vicar Formation in the southern foothills of the Sierra de Gador (fig. 

19) and along the southeast margin of the Sierra de Gata; one broken 

specimen appears to have been about 200 mm in greatest diameter. 

These spectacular highly domed echinoids are characteristic of the 

late Miocene of Alicante and Murcia Provinces of southeastern Spain 

(Montenat and Roman, 1970). The occurrence of Clypeaster in the 

Cabo de Gata Range has been noted by Melendez, de Aguirre, and 

Bautisto (1964, 1966). Giant specimens of Spondylus crassicosta 

Lamarck, Macrochlamis latissima (Brocchi), Ostrea sp., and Isognomon are characteristic of exposures of the Vicar in the Campo de 

Nijar. These organisms are indicative of a very shallow, fully marine 

environment. 

Foraminifers from exposures of the Vicar Formation in the vicinity 

of its type area in the Campo de Dalias are referable to the Tortonian 

and Andalusian Stages (Perconig, 1976). The lowest 60 m of a 100-mthick measured section on the south side of Lorna de la Ecarada, 

about 1.5 km south of Vicar, is referred by Perconig (1976, fig. 18) to 

the Tortonian. At the base of the upper 40 m of section, the very 

shallow water Tortonian assemblages are replaced by neritic assemblages containing planktonic foraminifers referable to the Andalusian Stage (Perconig, 1976, p. 175). The occurrence of similar 

shallow-water assemblages of late Tortonian and Andalusian age in 

limestone of the Cabo de Gata Range near Rodaquilar, presumably 

referable to the Vicar Formation, is noted by Perconig (1976, p. 175). 

The lowermost few meters of the Vicar Formation in the type area 

(fig. 18) contains abundant specimens of the orbitoidal foraminifer 

Heterostegina complanata spiralis Papp and Keuper, according to 

Richard Margerum (written commun., Dec. 1975). This species has 
28 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

FIGURE 19.-Clypeaster in bioclastic calcarenite exposed in roadcut about 5 m above 

the base of the Vicar Formation 1.5 km northeast of Vicar. 

been found in the Miocene of northern Morocco (Choubert and others, 

1964). It is also reported from the Guadalquivir basin, southwestern 

Spain, together with oysters, pectinids, large Clypeaster, and planktonic foraminifers that are indicative of a late Tortonian age (Perconig, 1971). 

In summary, available micropaleontologic data indicate that the 

lower part of the Vicar Formation, as in its type area and along the 

seaward margin of the Cabo de Gata Range, is of early late Miocene 

(Tortonian) age. Many of our planktonic foraminiferal determinations from the deeper water Nijar formation, from both the lower and 

upper members, are referable to the Globorotalia conomiozea Zone of 

late Miocene (latest Tortonian and Messinian) age. Although we have 
PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 29 

no definite lower Tortonian (i.e., Zone N16) in the Nijar, microfossils 

from an exposure about 1 km east of Nijar (fig. 7; lacs. M£3408, 

SS7 4--28, ASA 76-5) are of possible middle Miocene age on the basis 

of both low-diversity assemblages of planktonic foraminifers and 

nannofossils. On this evidence, the Nijar formation may span all of 

late Miocene time and extend into the middle Miocene. 

It seems likely that the Vicar Formation represents, in large part, a 

post-orogenic basin-margin and shallow-water predominately 

carbonate facies of late Miocene (Tortonian and Messinian) age and 

that the Nijar represents the deep-water basin facies, also of late 

Miocene (at least latest Tortonian and Messinian) age. The relation 

between these two formations is very difficult to determine as they 

are in contact at very few places. The Vicar seems to be best developed on, or in close association with, late Miocene structural highs 

that correspond to the present-day Sierra de Gador and Cabo de Gata 

Ranges. In contrast, the deep-water Nijar formation and the correlative Lucainena Formation of the Sorbas Basin are closely associated 

with the modern Sierra de Alhamilla, suggesting that that range 

probably was not as prominent a topographic feature as the Sierra de 

Gador during the late Miocene. In a few areas, shallow-water calcarenite and bioclastic limestone of Vicar-like lithology overlie either 

the lower or upper member of the Nijar formation, as in the middle 

part of the Sierra Serrata (M£2863, fig. 4) and at the type section of 

the Nijar formation southeast of Nijar (M£2856, fig. 11). Planktonic 

foraminiferal assemblages from these localities are of latest Miocene 

(late Tortonian and Messinian) age. The age of the overlying 

shallow-water calcarenites and carbonates is not well known, but in 

the Nijar area, at least, mollusks from thick-bedded calcarenites (loc. 

M6460, fig. 11) are suggestive of late Miocene age. The age and 

stratigraphic position of shallow-water beds invite comparison with 

the Cantera Member of the Lucainena Formation of Iaccarino, 

Morlotti, Papani, Pelosio, and Raffi (1975) in the Sorbas Basin on the 

north flank of Sierra de Alhamilla. 

PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 

Pliocene marine strata were deposited in a shallow 

northeastward-trending coastal basin that was bordered on the north 

by the Sierra de Gador and Sierra de Alhamilla. The southern part of 

the Pliocene Almeria Basin may have been silled by the seaward 

extension of the southwest-trending Sierra de Gata volcanic ridge. 

The deepest part of the Pliocene basin is probably under the present 

inner continental shelf. The continuity of Pliocene strata between 

outcrops in the western part of the Campo de Nijar and the western 

part of the Campo de Dalias is interrupted by the Golfo de Almeria. 
30 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

Four informal formation names, the Cuevas Viejas, Loco, Entinas, 

and Morales, are applied to shallow-water Pliocene lithologic units 

that unconformably overlie Miocene and older strata in southern Almeria Province. These marine clastic sediments were deposited in 

different depositional environments within a single basin. They are 

therefore in part equivalent in age but of varied lithofacies. The most 

widespread Pliocene strata are massive yellowish-gray, very fine 

grained friable silty sandstone and siltstone, which in the western 

part of the Campo de Nijar are called the Cuevas Viejas formation 

and in the western part of the Campo de Dalias are named the Loco 

formation. Sandstone and conglomerate beds that intertongue with, 

but generally overlie, the Cuevas Viejas formation in the southwestern part of the Campo de Nijar are referred to as the Morales formation. A calcareous sandstone unit that overlies the Loco formation in 

the southeastern part of the Campo de Dalias is named the Entinas 

formation. The inferred facies relation between these four Pliocene 

units is shown in figure 20. 

Some 600 m of yellow silty sandstone and conglomerate with 

quartzitic clasts exposed along the west end of the Sierra de 

Alhamilla has been described as the Barranco de Granaderos Formation by laccarino, Morlotti, Papani, Pelosio, and Raffi (1975). In 

lithology these rocks correspond to our Cuevas Viejas and Morales 

formations. 

The paleogeology of the Pliocene units described in this report is 

inferred to represent a shallow shelf basin in which fine-grained 

marly sandstones (Cuevas Viejas and Loco formations) were deposWest 

Campo de Dalias Gulf of Almeria 

East 

Campo de Nijar 

·-·-·-·-·-·-·- ·-·-·- · -· - · - ·- · - ·-·-·-·-·-· - · -· 

FIGURE 20.-Diagrammatic section showing the inferred relations between the 

Pliocene sedimentary units in the Campo de Dalias and the Campo de Nijar. E, 

Entinas formation; L, Loco formation; C, Cuevas Viejas formation; M, Morales formation. 
PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 31 

ited and into which wedges of coarse bioclastic calcarenite (Entinas 

formation and an unnamed sandstone exposed near Carboneras) and 

conglomerate and sand (Morales formation) were transported. Rapid 

lateral facies changes in the coarse clastic units probably occur toward the deeper parts of the basin, which presumably lay offshore. On 

the continental shelf, marly fine-grained sands representing a deeper 

water environment probably are the dominant Pliocene lithology. 

CUEVAS VIEJAS FORMATION 

Pliocene strata that have the widest areal distribution in southern 

Almeria Province are a sequence of yellowish-gray very fine grained 

micaceous, calcareous sandstone and siltstone with a few interbeds of 

coarse-grained or gritty sandstone. The soft friable sandstone characteristically contains large articulated valves of the smooth pectinid 

Amusium cristatum (Bronn). Many of the coarser sandstone interbeds 

contain rich assemblages of mollusks and scattered echinoids. These 

strata form steep bluffs along major drainages east and northeast of 

Almeria (fig. 21). Numerous caves (cuevas) have been eroded into 

these massive sands, and dwellings, now abandoned, have been 

carved into these beds. These rocks are frequently described as marls 

(Ovejero and Zazo, 1971; Mendez Cecilia, 1971a, 1971b; Fourniguet 

and LeCalvez, 1975). Because of their general yellow and gray mottling, they have been informally referred to as ~~Margas con Lepra." 

FIGURE 21.-Massive very fine grained calcareous sandstone of the Cuevas Viejas 

formation about 3.5 km northeast of El Alquian near Cortijo de Andujar. Height of 

bluff is about 50 m . 
32 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERtA, SPAIN 

The Cuevas Viejas formation is best exposed in numerous small 

drainages in an area about midway between Almeria and the village 

of Nijar, in particular, in Rambla de la Sepultura about 4 km northnortheast ofEl Alquian (fig. 22). Many of the mollusks described here 

were collected from outcrops along the secondary road leading up this 

rambla from El Alquian to Cuevas de los Juanorros and from along 

the road to Las Cuevas de las Medinas about 4 km to the east (fig. 22). 

Very fossiliferous strata are well exposed just north of the highway 

between Almeria and Nijar (about 20 km east of Almeria) in the 

vicinity of Cuesta Colorada and Las Mazorgas (fig. 22). The southernmost exposure of the Cuevas Viejas is at Cortijos de la Moladera 2 

km from the coast in the northeastern part of the Golfo de Almeria. 

The contact of the Cuevas Viejas with older rocks is exposed at only 

a few places. It is well exposed about 7 km northeast of El Alquian 

near the head ofRambla de la Jaca (fig. 22), where Amusium-bearing 

N 

i 

El 

. Mf 3850 (N i jar fm.) . : X .. \._ Rambla de Ia ( 

~oquera de......, _ ( 

'Ia Jaca : 

M6481 X 

.. ) 

) 

v· 

0 

Las Cuevas de 

las Medinas 

2 KILOMETERS 

FIGURE 22.-Index map showing mollusk and microfossil localities in the Cuevas 

Viejas formation. M, USGS megafossil locality; Mf, USGS microfossil locality. 
PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 33 

sands onlap what appears to be a broad structural high formed by the 

lower part of the Nijar formation. The Cuevas Viejas overlaps the 

marly siltstone of the Nijar and rests on a thick (10-m) gypsum bed 

that forms the domelike structure. Large blocks of gypsum to several 

meters in diameter near the basal contact of the Cuevas Viejas may 

represent blocks eroded from this structural high prior to, or during, 

the deposition of the Cuevas Viejas. Vertical veins of gypsum 5 to 10 

em wide occur in the Cuevas Viejas at its contact with the gypsum 

bed. Correlative yellowish silty sandstone exposed at the west edge of 

Sierra de Alhamilla, some 10 km to the northwest, locally overlies 

late Miocene gypsum with apparent conformity but generally is in 

fault contact with Miocene strata (Iaccarino and others, 1975). 

The Cuevas Viejas formation appears to be coeval with the Cuevas 

[de Almanzora] Formation of Volk and Rondeel (1964, p. 314), a 

homologous sandy mudstone of presumed early or middle Pliocene 

age in the Vera Basin about 75 km northeast of Almeria. The Cuevas 

Formation of the Vera Basin is a fine-grained massive basal Pliocene 

unit that unconformably overlies older units along the basin margin 

and has a rich, but undescribed, megafauna. Their Cuevas Formation 

where exposed near Aguilas, about 25 km northeast of Vera, contains 

a rich macrofauna (Fernex and others, 1967, p. 243) very similar to 

that of the Cuevas Viejas formation of the Almeria basin. 

In the narrow synclinal area of Neogene strata that crop out 

between the Sierra de Gador and the Sierra de Alhamilla north of Almeria, the Pliocene is represented by a mollusk-bearing basal conglomerate that varies in thickness from 1.5 to about 50 m. The unconformable contact between this unit and the underlying gray fissile 

siltstone of the Nijar formation is well exposed on the east side of 

Route 340 near km 240 about 7 km north of Almeria (loc. M6677, fig. 

14). Here a 1.5-m-thick basal conglomerate containing very abundant 

fragments of pectinids and scattered giant oysters is overlain by massive yellowish-brown spotted silty sandstone of the Cuevas Viejas 

formation. The conglomerate consists of subrounded to rounded pebbles and cobbles of dolomite, schist, and quartzite; clasts of selenite 

gypsum, 2-10 em long, derived from the gypsum bed in the underlying Nijar formation are a principal constituent of the conglomerate. 

At Barranco del Polio, about 1.5 km to the south, a much thicker 

conglomerate unconformably overlaps 0.3-m- to 1-m-thick turbidite 

sandstone beds of the Nijar formation to rest on Triassic carbonates. 

The conglomerate is composed of cobbles and scattered boulders in a 

matrix of limey arkosic sand containing finely ground shell debris, 

commonly occurring barnacles, and broken Chlamys valves. 

LOCO FORMATION 

Massive yellowish- and greenish-silty sandstone and sandy 
34 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

siltstone that crop out in the southwest part of the Campo de Dalias 

near the village of Balerma seem to be homologous with the Cuevas 

Viejas formation. These strata are informally referred to as the Loco 

formation, as they are best exposed in quarries along Rambla del Loco 

about 1.5 km east of Balerma (fig. 23). This massive unit is increasingly sandy toward its top, a trend that is paralleled by an increase in 

both the abundance and diversity of the invertebrate megafauna. In 

the stratigraphically lower exposures (loc. M6048), there are only 

widely scattered bivalve mollusks (mostly the distinctive 

Pseudamussium clavatum (Poli) and Neopycnodonte navicularis 

(Brocchi)). Near the top of the formation, there is a very diverse 

megafauna ofpectinids, ostreids, and echinoids (locs. M6670, M6671). 

The green marls and overlying yellow sandy marls ofFourniguet and 

To Adra 

~ 

MEDITERRANEAN SEA 

Punta Culo de Perras 

0 2 3 KILOMETERS 

FIGURE 23.-Index map showing mollusk and foraminifer localities in the Loco formation in the southwest part of the Campo de Dalias. M, USGS megafossil locality; Mf, 

USGS microfossil locality. 
PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 35 

LeCalvez (1975, fig. 4) are both referable to the Loco. 

The contact of the Loco formation with underlying units is not 

exposed in the Campo de Dalias proper, but it seems to be represented 

by the base of an extremely attenuated, basin-margin section exposed 

at the westernmost edge of the Campo de Dalias about 3 km northeast 

of Adra. This thin sequence includes an Ostrea-bearing basal conglomerate that unconformably overlies Paleozoic rock and an overlying yellow-colored sandy marl that contains an abundance of benthic 

foraminifers of middle Pliocene age (Fourniguet and LeCalvez, 1975). 

In the western part of the Campo de Dalias, the Loco formation may 

be locally underlain by a northward-dipping upper Miocene unit of 

diatomaceous siltstone and silty sandstone with thin conglomeratic 

interbeds exposed about half a kilometer east of Guardias Viejas. 

Although the contact is not exposed, a depositional hiatus is suggested by the fact that the earliest part of the Pliocene is not known to 

be present in the western part of the Campo de Dalias. 

The contact between the Loco and the overlying Entinas formation 

is well exposed in small quarries carved into the late Pleistocene 

seacliff formed during the third, or Balerma, transgression described 

by Ovejero and Zazo (1971). These quarries, about 3 km northeast of 

Guardias Viejas, expose a 5-m-thick section of mottled gray and yellow massive very fine grained sandstone of the Loco formation, here 

conformably and gradationally overlain by about 14 m of fine-to 

medium-grained sandstone of the Entinas formation (fig. 24). 

The calcareous very fine grained sands of the Loco and Cuevas 

Viejas formations commonly contain finely disseminated muscovite 

and scattered heavy minerals. Petrographic study of a sample collected from the Loco indicates that quartz and feldspar are the most 

common clastic grains; muscovite and biotite are minor constituents. 

Heavy minerals recognized include green and brown hornblende and 

pyroxene; tourmaline is sparse. Fragments of microfossils and bryozoans are common, and the sand is partly cemented with calcite. A 

sample of the Cuevas Viejas formation collected near Las Mazorgas 

(fig. 22) has almost the same composition as samples from the Loco 

formation. In addition to abundant quartz and feldspar and common 

biotite and muscovite, the Cuevas Viejas contains a small percentage 

of iron minerals. 

ENTIN AS FORMATION 

A coarse-grained bioclastic sandstone that conformably overlies the 

Loco formation in the Campo de Dalias is here informally named the 

Entinas formation. The Entinas is very well exposed along a Pleistocene seacliff in an area about 2 km north-northwest of Punta Entinas (figs. 25, 26), which is taken to be the type area. Here about 14 
36 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

FIGURE 24.-Conformable contact between fine-grained marly sandstone of the Loco 

formation and the overlying cross bedded calcarenite of the Entinas formation, near 

Alcores de Guardias Viejas, Campo de Dalias. 

m of yellow calcarenitic sandstone is unconformably overlain by 

Pleistocene terrace deposits consisting of carbonate-cemented pebble 

conglomerate and gritty sandstone. Exposures of the Entinas formation continue eastward some 4 km to the vicinity of Cortijo de 

Villalobos. 

The Entinas formation is a light-yellowish-gray, porous, mediumto coarse-grained calcarenite that locally exhibits megacrossbedding. 

The formation is thick bedded but contains 0.3-m- to 1-m-thick interbeds of fine-grained silty bioclastic sandstone. The coarse-grained to 

gritty calcarenite contains scattered grains of schist, gneiss, and 

quartz in a matrix of finely comminuted shell debris. Molluscan fossils are common in the Entinas; the most abundant in the type area 

are the bivalves Mytilus and Ostrea. The contact with the underlying 

Loco formation is conformable and gradational; it is well exposed in 

quarries cut into the face of the Pleistocene seacliff about 5 km 

northwest of Punta Entinas. 
PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 37 

FIGURE 25.-Medium-bedded to large-scale crossbedded calcarenite at the type area of 

the Entinas formation , about 2 km north-northeast of Punta Entinas. 

Excellent easily accessible exposures of Entin as sandstone occur in 

cuts along the south side of Route 340 at the west end of Cuesta de los 

Alcaranes about 1 km east of Balanegra (fig. 23)). Here yellow pebbly 

arkosic bioclastic sandstone contains abundant Ostrea and scattered 

broken pectinids occurring in 0.1-m- to 0.2-m-thick beds. The yellow 

calcarenitic sandstones of this area apparently were first noted by 

Mendez Cecilia (1971a, 1971b), who considered them a unique occurrence of Astian facies in the Pliocene Almeria Basin. 

In thin section the dominant organic debris in the Entinas calcarenite consists of fragments of mollusk shells, echinoids, and red calcareous algae; benthic foraminifers are common. The bioclasts are 

rounded and broken fragments, and the absence of micrite suggests a 

high-energy, wave-agitated environment of deposition. The presence 

of large-scale sweeping crossbedding in these strata suggests that the 

Entinas was a shallow-water bank or deltaic deposit. The orientation 

of Mytilus in two beds exposed in the Pleistocene seacliffs northnorthwest of Punta Entinas suggests that the major current direction 

was to the south. The presence of grains and granules of metamorphic 

rock types, quartz, and muscovite indicate that terrigenous material 

derived from the Sierra de Gador also was transported southward into 

the Pliocene depositional basin. 
38 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

Entinas 

~ 78M 

xM6444 

Punta Entinas 

MEDITERRANEAN SEA 

Las Norias 

N 

i 

Los Alcores 

Cortijo e 

de Villalobos XM 6443 

0 

Punta Sabinar 

2 3 KILOMETERS 

FIGURE 26.-Index map showing mollusk localities from the Pliocene Entinas formation in the southwestern part of the Campo de Dalias. M, USMS megafossil locality. 

MORALES FORMATION 

In the western part of the Campo de Nijar, adjacent to the southwestern part of the Sierra Serrata, an interbedded sequence of 

coarse-grained sandstone and conglomerate unconformably overlies 

Miocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks. These very fossiliferous 

strata, well exposed in bluffs along Rambla de Morales from the village of El Barranquete to a point 2 km northwest (fig. 13), are here 

named the Morales formation. The Morales is well exposed along the 

banks of Rambla del Hornillo and its small tributaries east of El 
PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 39 

Barranquete for a distance of about 2 km to Cortijo los Cazadores. The 

easternmost outcrop of these strata recognized by Snavely and Addicott is along the northwest flank of the Sierra Serrata in a small 

ravine 0.5 km east of the village of Atochares. Here the Morales 

overlies the upper Miocene Vicar Formation with marked angular 

unconformity (fig. 27). 

FIGURE 27.-Morales formation overlying Vicar limestone with approximately a 90° 

unconformity, northwest side of Sierra Serrata, about 0.5 km east of the village of 

Atochares. Hammer (circled) is resting on contact. 

The Morales formation is a wedge of coarse-grained sandstone and 

pebble to cobble conglomerate that probably represents a highenergy, shallow-water inner shelf (infralittoral) and prograding deltaic environment. Morales strata generally overlie and interfinger 

with the fine-grained rocks of the Cuevas Viejas formation. The relation between the basin-margin conglomerate and sandstone of the 

Morales with the massive basinal siltstone and very fine sandstone of 

the Cuevas Viejas is generally homologous with that of the Pliocene 

Entinas. In an apparently correlative sequence exposed at the west 

edge of the Sierra de Alhamilla, yellowish silty sandstone at the base 

of a 600-m-thick Pliocene sequence is overlain by conglomerate containing abundant quartz clasts. These two units, included by Iaccarino, Morlotti, Papani, Pelosio, and Raffi (1975) in their Barranco 

de Granaderos Formation, can be correlated, respectively, with the 
40 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

Cuevas Viejas and Morales formations of the southwestern part of the 

Campo de Nijar. 

In the type area, 2 km northwest of El Barranquete, the Morales 

consists of cobble and pebble conglomerate composed of well-rounded 

quartz and less common volcanic rocks and interbedded well-sorted 

coarse-grained quartzose sandstone with thick (to 2 m) beds of giant 

oysters (fig. 28). The unit commonly exhibits sweeping megacrossbeds, and in places horizontal beds pass laterally into low-dipping 

foreset beds (fig. 29). Although the large mollusks (mostly ostreids 

with much less commonly occurring pectinids) have been concentrated into beds by bottom currents, there are many paired valves, 

and commonly large ostreids at the upper surface of these beds have 

attached barnacles that are in an upright, living position (fig. 30). 

The Morales formation, where exposed in Rambla del Hornillo and 

its tributaries, about 1.5 km east of El Barranquete (fig. 13), is 

characterized by sandy quartz-pebble conglomerate beds 0.2 m to 0.5 

m thick that locally contain abundant large ostreids. In this section 

are several yellowish, soft fine- to medium-grained sand interbeds 

ranging in thickness from 1 to 2 m. The sands contain an abundant 

FIGURE 28.-0yster bed interstratified in sandstone and conglomerate of the Morales 

formation in Rambla del Morales 2 km northwest ofEl Barranquete. Note numerous 

paired oyster valves. 
PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 41 

FIGURE 29.-Prograded richly fossiliferous pebbly sandstone in the Morales formation; 

Rambla del Morales about 1.5 km northwest ofEl Barranquete. Height of bluff about 

10 m. 

and more varied macrofauna than the conglomerates; included are 

pectinids, ostreids, barnacles, bryozoans, echinoids, and calcareous 

algae and locally a 0.5-m bed of Flabellipecten. Locally beds of pebbly, 

silty very fine grained sandstone contain molds and casts of aragonitic-shelled mollusks including Turritella (loc. M6057). 

Thin-section studies of sandstones from the Morales formation 

show them to be quartz-lithic pebble biomicrites or quartz-bearing 

biosparite. Well-rounded clasts are composed of quartzite, gneiss, 

polycrystalline and monocrystalline quartz, strained quartz, quartz 

mica schist, less common andesite, and rare muscovite flakes. This 

material is set in a carbonate matrix composed of micrite and broken 

shell material. Bioclasts consist of foraminifers, echinoid plates and 

spines, mollusk fragments, bryozoans, and red calcareous algae. The 

sandstone is cemented with sparry calcite or lithified carbonate mud 

or micrite and has a low porosity. 
42 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

FIGURE 30.-Barnacles in upright (living) position on upper surface of 2-m giant oyster 

and pectinid bed. Morales formation 2 km northwest of El Barranquete on the south 

side of Rambla del Morales. 

AGE AND CORRELATION 

Planktonic foraminifers from exposures of the Cuevas Viejas formation in the western part of the Campo de Nijar near El Alquian 

(fig. 22, lacs. M£2858 and M£2859) include Globigerinoides ruber 

(d'Orbigny), G. obliquus Bolli, G. trilobus (Reuss) s.l., Sphaeroidinellopsis subdehiscens (Blow), Globorotalia puncticulata (Deshayes), 

Globigerina apertura Cushman, and G. woodi Jenkins. These assemblages are referable to Blow's (1969) N19 Zone and to the Zanclian Stage of the Mediterranean Pliocene. In the western part of the 

Campo de Dalias, planktonic foraminifers indicative of Zanclian age 

have been reported by Fourniguet and LeCalvez (1975) from exposures of the Loco formation just north of the abandoned salt works 

(salinas) at Guardias Viejas. Species listed by them indicate placement in the upper part of Zone N19. Other samples from this area are 

referred to the biozone of Globorotalia puncticulata by Perconig (1976, 

p. 176) and therefore are referable to Zone N19. 

Planktonic foraminifers identified by Iaccarino, Mariotti, Papani, 

Pelosio, and Raffi (1975) from yellow silty sandstones in the lower 

part of their Barranco de Granaderos Formation several kilometers 

northeast of Almeria are of Tabianian age and are referred to the 

Globorotalia margaritae Zone. As Globorotalia puncticulata is re-
PLIOCENE FORMATIONS 43 

ported from many of the samples from the Barranco de Granaderos 

Formation, the G. margaritae Zone of these workers is correlative to 

Zone N19 (lower part). These strata are equivalent to the Cuevas 

Viejas formation of this report. They are locally overlain by poorly 

consolidated, very fossiliferous Pliocene sandstone and conglomerate 

that has been correlated by Iaccarino, Morlotti, Papani, Pelosio, and 

Raffi (1975) with the Pliocene II unit (Brebion and others, 1971) of the 

Elche region of the east coast of Spain. This shallow-water unit is 

exposed in cuts along Route 340 at the northern outskirts of Almeria 

near the Cardenas radio tower (fig. 14, locs. M64 77, M64 78). 

Scattered planktonic foraminifers in samples from flat-lying massive 

bryozoan-rich calcarenites that crop out in seacliffs along the beach 

road south of Carboneras are of Pliocene age. Samples Mf3325 and 

Mf3326 contain Globorotalia puncticulata and are referable to Zone 

N19, whereas sample Mf3417 contains Globorotalia margaritae Bolli 

and Bermudez and probably represents Zone N19 (fig. 4). Benthic 

foraminifers, ostracodes, bryozoans, echinoid spines, and mollusk 

fragments are very abundant constituents of these samples. 

Planktonic foraminifers suggesting a Zone N19 assignment occur 

near the top of a 75-m-thick Neogene section measured at the headland bounding Playa de los Muertos on the north (loc. Mf3324). 

Mollusks from exposures along the nearby Carboneras-Agua Amarga 

Road (loc. M6674) also are of Pliocene age. Pliocene sediments have 

not previously been reported from this coastal area. These Pliocene 

strata represent a calcarenitic facies that is lithologically very similar to that of the Entinas formation of the western part of the Campo 

de Dalias. 

Ostracodes from brown siltstone in the Cuevas Viejas formation on 

the east ·side of Rambla Morales southwest of El Barranquete (loc. 

M6039, fig. 13) include exceptionally abundant specimens of Cyprideis pannonica Mehes according to J. E. Hazel (written commun., 

Dec., 1976), who compares this assemblage with the chronozone of the 

~~brackish" Zone 2 of Sissingh (1976) of the central and eastern 

Mediterranean. According to Hazel, the dominance of Cyprideis 

signifies either low salinity, brackish-water conditions or hypersaline 

conditions. A low-diversity, possibly brackish-water molluscan assemblage occurs in strata immediately underlying this ostracode 

assemblage (loc. M6039). Included in the molluscan assemblage are 

abundant Cerithium vulgatum Bruguiere, Cerastoderma sp., Ruditapes sp., and tellinid. 

The pectinid fauna from the Cuevas Viejas, Loco, Entinas, and 

Morales formations contains 25 identified species. A Pliocene age is 

indicated by Amusium oblongum (Philippi), Flabellipecten alessi 

(Sacco), F. bosniasckii (deStefani and Panatelli), Chlamys pes-felis 
44 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERfA, SPAIN 

(Linne), and Flexopecten inaequicostalis (Lamarck). This fauna is 

very similar to the Pliocene pectinid fauna of the Elche region (Demarcq, in Brebion and others, 1971), which also has a lower marly or 

pelitic facies that is overlain by a coarser sandstone (Astian) facies. 

Pectinids from these Pliocene formations in the Almeria Basin 

clearly represent the classic Astian and Plaisancian facies of northern Italy as noted earlier by Gignoux and Fallot (1927) and, especially by Mendez Cecilia (1971a, 1971b). Seven of the twenty-five 

pectinids identified in this study are restricted to the fine-grained, 

marly rocks included in the Cuevas Viejas and Loco formations. 

These formations are referable to the Plaisancian facies and seem to 

represent offshore deposition in a low-energy, middle to outer neritic 

environment. The nearshore, coarse-grained to conglomeratic 

molassic rocks herein named Morales and Entinas formations are of 

an Astian facies. Eight species of pectinids are restricted to these two 

formations, which contain sedimentological and biological evidence of 

deposition in a very shallow water, basin-margin environment. Dense 

accumulations of giant Crassostrea in conglomeratic beds of the 

Morales formation in Rambla del Hornillo, about 1.5 km east of El 

Barranquete, and in Rambla del Morales, about 2 km northwest of El 

Barranquete (fig. 13), are suggestive of deposition in the intertidal 

zone or the uppermost reaches of the sublittoral zones. Mollusks from 

the bioclastic calcarenites of the Entinas formation of the Campo de 

Dalias are suggestive of very shallow water deposition but of a lower 

energy environment than the Morales. 

SUMMARY 

The Almeria Basin contains a sequence of mildly deformed marine 

sediments of Miocene and Pliocene age that were deposited mainly in 

the upper reaches of the neritic zone. The basin is one of several late 

Neogene marine basins along the Mediterranean Coast of southeastern Spain (Montenat and others, 1976) that follow the trend of the 

Betic Cordilleras and mark the seaway that connected this part of the 

western Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic during the late 

Neogene. The sequence of marine units has been pieced together from 

scattered exposures of generally flat-lying strata in the Campo de 

Nijar and the Campo de Dalias, broad coastal plains separated by the 

Golfo de Almeria. 

The marine Neogene sequence unconformably overlies pre-Tertiary schistose and carbonate rocks of the Alpujarride and Nevada Filabride Complexes along the northern margin of the basin. Along the 

southeastern margin of the basin, the Neogene sequence overlies volcanic units constituting the Cabo de Gata Volcanic Complex. A 
SUMMARY 45 

radiometric age of about 11.5 m.y. on samples from near the top of the 

volcanic sequence suggests that the overlying basinal sequence is no 

older than latest middle Miocene or early late Miocene age. This age is 

supported by paleontologic age determinations from the lowest parts 

of the marine section that are of late Miocene age as well as by the 

occurrence of late Miocene reefal facies in Neogene basins to the 

northeast. The oldest marine units in associated basins of the socalled Betic Straits also are of late Miocene age. 

Upper Miocene strata are dominantly carbonate in composition. 

The basal unit, however, is a marine conglomerate composed of dacite 

and andesite boulders in a calcarenite matrix containing scattered 

shallow-water mollusks. Local coral reefs formed principally of 

Porites overlie this conglomerate along the eastern seaward margin 

of the Cabo de Gata Range near Carboneras. The most widespread 

upper Miocene unit is the Vicar Formation, a basin margin facies of 

Tortonian and Messinian age. The basal part of this limestone unit 

consists of coarse-grained calcarenitic sandstone with mollusks, the 

giant echinoid Clypeaster, and orbitoidal foraminifers, all indicators 

of extremely shallow water deposition. Basinward the Vicar carbonates pass laterally into coeval marly fine-grained clastics of the 

Nijar formation. These basinal sediments consist of turbidite 

sandstones and foraminiferal and diatom-rich siltstones and silty 

very fine grained sandstone, all representing markedly deeper water 

environments. Gypsum locally exposed in the Nijar formation represents the salinity crisis of the Mediterranean of the latest part of the 

Miocene Epoch. Planktonic foraminiferal determinations of Messinian age (Globorotalia conomiozea Zone) are associated with the gypsum bed. The best exposure of the gypsum bed occurs along the southern foothills of the Sierra de Alhamilla. 

The base of the Pliocene Series is marked by a distinct unconformity in most areas. The Pliocene sequence consists of coarse-grained 

marginal facies and much finer grained basinal facies; carbonate 

rocks are much less common than during the late Miocene. Generally, 

the basal Pliocene consists of marly very fine-grained sandstones 

characterized by commonly occurring specimens of Amusium cristatum. This widespread basinal facies grades upward into very shallow water Mytilus-bearing calcarenites of the Entinas formation in 

the Campo de Dalias area. The silty very fine grained sandstones of 

the Cuevas Viejas formation form the dominant Pliocene lithology in 

the Campo de Nijar. Locally pebble conglomerate and coarse-grained 

sandstone occur at the base of the Pliocene at the western edge of the 

Sierra Serrata, and unnamed bryozoan-rich calcarenites unconformably overlie upper Miocene limestone at the eastern edge of the Cabo 

de Gata Range near Carboneras. Rich molluscan faunas that occur 
46 NEOGENE STRATIGRAPHY, PALEONTOLOGY, ALMERiA, SPAIN 

throughout the Pliocene sequence bear striking resemblances to the 

coarse-grained Astian facies and the fine-grained Plaisancian facies 

of northern Italy. Planktonic foraminifers from the Pliocene siltstones are early Pliocene (Zone N19). 

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