Estratos de Pupunahue

Estratos de Pupunahue Stratigraphic range: Eocene–Miocene
Underlies	Santo Domingo Formation
Overlies	Bahía Mansa Metamorphic Complex
Lithology
Primary	Conglomerate, Sandstone, mudstone
Other	Coal, volcanic ash
Location
Region	Los Ríos Region Los Lagos Region
Country	Chile
Type section
Named for	Pupunahue
Named by	Henning Illies

Estratos de Pupunahue is the name given to the sedimentary strata of Oligocene-Miocene age that crop out in Pupunahue and Mulpún near Valdivia, Chile. Outside this locality Estratos de Pupunahue extends below surface over a larger area. The thickness of the strata vary from a few meters to 530 meters. The strata were initially described by Henning Illies.^[1] The strata are made up of conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone (Chilean Spanish: fangolita). The clast of the conglomerates are made up of metamorphic rock and the disposition of the conglomerates varies from clast-supported to matrix-supported. The sandstone and mudstone contains layers of lignite coal that do exceed 30 cm in thickness.^[1]

The strata are made up of conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone (Chilean Spanish: fangolita). Coal layers found in the Estratos de Pupunahue have been exploited in Catamutún mine.^[1]

References

1. Elgueta, Sara; Le Roux, Jacobus; Duhart, Paul; McDonough, Michael; Urqueta, Esteban. Estratigrafía y sedimentología de la cuencas terciarias de la Región de Los Lagos (39-41°30’S (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería. p. 15. ISSN 0020-3939.