Active tectonics in the Sierra Nevada (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain): Insights from

geomorphic indexes and drainage pattern analysis

Jos Vicente Prez-Pea
a,
, Antonio Azor
a
, Jos Miguel Azan
a,b
, Edward A. Keller
c
a
Departamento de Geodinmica, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
b
Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientcas (UGR-CSIC), Spain
c
Department of Geological Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 25 September 2009
Received in revised form 20 February 2010
Accepted 27 February 2010
Available online 8 March 2010
Keywords:
Tectonic geomorphology
Mountain fronts
Drainage pattern
Geomorphic indexes
Active folding and faulting
DEM
The Sierra Nevada of the central Betic Cordillera is a 3000 m-high mountain range surrounded by Neogene
Quaternary sedimentary basins, having been uplifted since Late Miocene times. The southern and western
mountain fronts of the Sierra Nevada are fault-bounded, while the northern one is an unconformity between
the NeogeneQuaternary sediments of the GuadixBaza basin and the metamorphic rocks of the Nevado
Filabride complex. We have carried out a geomorphic study by examining drainage patterns and
characteristics of mountain fronts in order to reveal areal variations and styles of rock uplift. Mountain
front sinuosity (S
mf
), areaaltitude relations (hypsometric curves), and valley oor entrenchment differ
signicantly between the northern, western, and southern mountain fronts. The lack of important faults
along the northern Sierra Nevada mountain front, together with the elevated topographic position of the
GuadixBaza basin (average altitude is around 1100 m), points to similar uplift of both geomorphic units
(sierra and basin) in a single large-scale crustal block. The asymmetry factors show systematic asymmetries
at both sides of the Lanjarn River, probably due to the presence of an active NNESSW oriented antiform in
the western Sierra Nevada. Finally, river proles indicate maximal river entrenchment in the western part of
the Sierra Nevada, probably related to the uplift of the footwall of the PadulNigelas fault-system.
Therefore, our geomorphic analysis suggests that the western part of the Sierra Nevada is tectonically active
by means of a combination of normal faults along the mountain front and NNESSW oriented active folds,
which, in turn, likely have a gravitational origin related to the exhumation of the footwall of the normal
fault-system.
2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Active tectonics is one of the fastest growing disciplines in Earth
Sciences due to the recent development of new geochronological and
geodetic tools which facilitate the acquisition of accurate rates (uplift
rates, incision rates, erosion rates, slip rates on faults, etc.) at variable
(10
3
10
6
years) time-scales (e.g., Schumm et al., 2000; Burbank and
Anderson, 2001; Keller and Pinter, 2002; Bull, 2007, 2009a,b).
Furthermore, this discipline is becoming important because the
results of regional studies on active tectonics are important for
evaluating natural hazards, as well as for land use planning and
management in populated areas (e.g., Cloetingh and Cornu, 2005).
Apart from its social and economic interest, studies of active tectonics
follow a multi-disciplinary approach, integrating data from structural
geology, geomorphology, stratigraphy, geochronology, seismology,
and geodesy.
In mountain ranges, recent and active tectonics can be viewed as
the main factor contributing to rock uplift, their present-day
topography being the result of the competition between tectonic
and erosional processes (e.g., England and Molnar, 1990; Bishop,
2007). In the same way, topography, drainage pattern analysis, and
geomorphic features can be used to evaluate recent and present-day
tectonic activity (e.g., Keller et al., 2000; Azor et al., 2002; Molin et al.,
2004; Bull, 2007; Prez-Pea et al., 2009a).
The drainage pattern in tectonically active regions is very sensitive
to active processes such as folding and faulting. These processes can
be responsible for accelerated river incision, asymmetries of the
catchments, and river diversions, among other effects (e.g., Cox, 1994;
Jackson et al., 1998; Clark et al., 2004; Salvany, 2004; Schoenbohm
et al., 2004). River incision in such regions is related to tectonic uplift,
although other processes such as stream piracy, base-level lowering,
and climatic episodes are also responsible for differential and
accelerated river incision (e.g., Hancock and Anderson, 2002; Starkel,
2003; Azan et al., 2005). Numerical dating of geomorphic surfaces
and/or recent deposits is always necessary in order to obtain rates for
the tectonic (folding, faulting, etc.) and geomorphic (river incision,
Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J.V. Prez-Pea).
0169-555X/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.02.020
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Geomorphology
j our nal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ geomor ph
etc.) processes (e.g., Hetzel et al., 2002; Watchman and Twidale, 2002;
Prez-Pea et al., 2009b).
This paper aims to evaluate the Quaternary tectonic activity in the
Sierra Nevada mountain range (SE Spain) by drawing on geomorphic
indexes and drainage pattern analysis. The area of study is located in
the central part of the Betic Cordillera which represents, together with
the Rif in Northern Morocco, the westernmost fragment of the Alpine
circumMediterranean orogenic belt. The geomorphic data obtained
suggest that tectonic activity in this mountain range is concentrated
along the western mountain front where normal fault scarps are well
developed, although transverse active folding is also deduced and
compatible with some of the tectonic models proposed recently
(Martnez-Martnez et al., 2002, 2006).
2. Geologic and tectonic setting
The BeticRif arc-shaped mountain belt (Fig. 1) constitutes the
western termination of the peri-Mediterranean Alpine orogen, being
related on a broad scale to the collision between Africa and Iberia (de
Mets et al., 1994; Morales et al., 1999; Galindo-Zaldvar et al., 1999,
2003). Despite the general NS compressional setting, the kinematic
picture of this orogenic belt is rather complicated because of the
presence of a micro-plate (Alborn Domain) which seems to have
displaced westward, colliding in Early Miocene times with the
margins of southern Iberia and northern Africa (Balany and Garca-
Dueas, 1988). Thus, the BeticRif cordillera is made up of two
external zones (the South Iberian margin in Spain and the Maghrebian
margin in northern Morocco) with one internal zone in-between (the
Alborn domain). The early compressional tectono-metamorphic
evolution of the Alborn Domain is obscured by pervasive extensional
tectonics which occurred since EarlyMiddle Miocene times (e.g.
Galindo-Zaldvar et al., 1989; Platt and Vissers, 1989; Garca-Dueas
et al., 1992; Lonergan and Platt, 1995; Martnez-Martnez et al., 1997;
Orozco et al., 2004). This extensional tectonics is responsible for
ductile shear zones and low- and high-angle normal faults, as well as
for the initial development of NeogeneQuaternary sedimentary
basins. The largest of these sedimentary basins is the Alborn Sea
(Watts et al., 1993; Comas et al., 1999) which was formed over the
metamorphic rocks of the internal zone, separating the Rif in Northern
Morocco from the Betics in Southern Spain (Fig. 1). The extensional
tectonics seem to have occurred coevally with NS oriented
compressional structures also active since the Late Miocene and
responsible for large-scale EW oriented folds (Martnez-Martnez
et al., 2002). These folds are responsible for the most outstanding
topographic features in the internal zone of the Betic Cordillera: the
antiforms coincide with the main ranges, which, thus, can be said to
be antiformal ridges, and the synforms coincide with Neogene
Quaternary sedimentary basins (Fig. 1).
The Sierra Nevada mountain range (Fig. 2) has been considered as
an orogenic dome or core-complex structure (Davis, 1980; Davis et al.,
2004), having been exhumed since the Late Miocene in an extensional
tectonic regime involving, in a rst stage, both low-angle normal
faulting and vertical ductile thinning (Galindo-Zaldvar et al., 1989;
Martnez-Martnez et al., 2004). The PlioceneQuaternary tectonic
evolution is responsible for the formation of a large-scale open
antiformal ridge coincident with the whole extent of the Sierra
Nevada and coeval normal faulting (Fig. 2). Galindo-Zaldvar et al.
(2003) considered the antiformal ridge related to a blind-thrust
buried under the northern EW oriented mountain front of the Sierra
Nevada, while the normal faults would be coeval and related to
extension sub-perpendicular to the NNWSSE axis of maximum
shortening (AfricaIberia present-day vector of convergence). Mart-
nez-Martnez et al. (2004) proposed that the present-day topography
of the Sierra Nevada is due to the interference of two orthogonal sets
of MiocenePliocene, large-scale open folds trending roughly EW
and NNESSW. They suggested that the NNESSW folds were
Fig. 1. Geological sketch of the Betic Cordillera (modied from Ruano, 2003). GB Granada basin; GBB GuadixBaza basin; SN Sierra Nevada. The inset shows the BeticRif
Cordillera and the Alborn Sea.
75 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
generated by a rolling-hinge mechanism, while the EW folds were
formed by shortening perpendicular to the direction of extension.
The western border of the Sierra Nevada is bounded by NWSE
striking normal faults (Fig. 2) which limit the sediments of the
NeogeneQuaternary Granada sedimentary basin. These faults
clearly indicate an activity in the Quaternary including the Holocene,
as can be deduced from seismicity and deformed Holocene alluvial
fans (Calvache et al., 1997; Alfaro et al., 2001; Viseras et al., 2003).
Some authors have proposed slip rates of 0.60.8 mm yr
1
for these
faults in the Quaternary (Sanz de Galdeano, 1996; Keller et al., 1996).
El Hamdouni et al. (2008) studied some geomorphic indexes in this
part of the Sierra Nevada, proposing a moderate-high tectonic
activity for these faults in the Quaternary. Reinhardt et al. (2007)
studied the response to a rapid base-level fall in the Torrente River
(basin number 31, Fig. 3), which is limited in its mouth by these
faults. These authors dated Quaternary sediments using radiometric
methods and proposed that 50 m of base-level fall must have
occurred in the last 21 ka.
The northern and southern borders of the Sierra Nevada present
very different characteristics. The southern border is bounded by a
WSWENE sub-vertical dextral strike-slip fault zone which has been
active since the Miocene (Sanz de Galdeano, 1985; Martnez-Martnez
et al., 2006). On the contrary, the northern border of the Sierra Nevada
corresponds with the northern limb of an EW fold, with the
NeogeneQuaternary sediments of the GuadixBaza basin uncon-
formably overlaying the metamorphic rocks of the Sierra Nevada
(Fig. 2).
The aforementioned Granada and GuadixBaza basins are two of
the largest NeogeneQuaternary basins in the central part of the Betic
Cordillera. These two basins have quite similar sedimentary records,
with marine Tortonian sediments unconformably overlaid by conti-
nental PlioceneQuaternary sediments (Soria et al., 1998). During the
Quaternary, these two basins changed from an internal drainage,
attested to by the lacustrine sediments that constitute the uppermost
part of the sedimentary sequence, to an external drainage to the
Atlantic Ocean via the Guadalquivir River (the biggest river in south
Spain, Fig. 1). Despite these similarities, the Quaternary geomorphic
evolution and the present-day topography of the GuadixBaza and
Granada basins are quite different, probably being linked to the recent
tectonics of the Sierra Nevada.
The GuadixBaza basin's present-day topography consists of a
high plateau with a mean altitude of 1000 m, intensively dissected by
the river network (Prez-Pea et al., 2009b). Its Late Quaternary
evolution is mostly dominated by erosional processes following its
capture by the Guadalquivir River (Azan et al., 2005). In contrast,
the Late Quaternary evolution of the Granada basin is dominated by
active normal faulting along its northeastern border, where the
maximum relief is concentrated. The remainder of the basin has a
mean altitude of 700 m, being scarcely incised by the uvial network
(Prez-Pea et al., 2009c).
The present-day seismicity in the Sierra Nevada and surrounding
areas ts well with the tectonic structures. Earthquake epicentres are
concentrated along the western and southern borders, the core of the
range being aseismic (Martnez-Martnez et al., 2006). The Granada
basin, located to the west of the Sierra Nevada (Figs. 1 and 2), presents
the highest seismic activity in all of the Iberian Peninsula, with a great
number of earthquakes of low to moderate magnitude (M
b
5.5; de
Miguel et al., 1989). Focal mechanisms indicate a present-day stress-
state dominated by radial extension or by an NESW oriented
extensional axis (Galindo-Zaldvar et al., 1999; Muoz et al., 2002).
3. Drainage pattern analysis
Uplift of the Sierra Nevada started in Early Tortonian times
(Johnson, 1997; Braga et al., 2003), but its present-day drainage
pattern started to develop in the Pleistocene, i.e., streams draining
the Sierra Nevada incised into Pleistocene deposits of the Neogene
basins surrounding the range. Nevertheless, some palaeorivers
Fig. 2. Digital elevation model (DEM) with the Sierra Nevada and the main tectonic structures. Slightly modied from Martnez-Martnez et al. (2006). AF Alhambra Formation,
ZF Zubia Formation (see text for further explanation).
76 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
coincide with modern rivers, as deduced from the distribution of
Pliocene to lower Pleistocene fan deposits in the Granada basin
(Alhambra Formation and Zubia Formation, Fig. 2) and the Alpujarra
Corridor (Fig. 2).
The drainage network has been extracted from a Digital Elevation
Model (DEM) with a 10-m resolution following the methodology
described by Tarboton (1997). This methodology takes into account
the accumulation of upwards curved grid cells (Peuker and Douglas,
Fig. 3. Shaded relief map with the drainage network extracted for the Sierra Nevada. Numbers indicate the selected basins (see Table 2 for river names). Five main drainage systems
are indicated: Genil (basins 27, 28, and 29), Guadalfeo (basins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 30, and 31), Adra (basins 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11), Andarax (basins 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18), and Guadiana
Menor (basins 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26). Five transversal proles and one longitudinal prole (following the main divide between the northern and southern slopes) are
presented. The proles were made using a 10-m DEM (vertical exaggeration6.5 for the longitudinal prole and3.3 for the transversal proles).
77 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
Fig. 4. Schematic map showing the main geomorphic indexes calculated in this work. AF values are represented with an arrowindicating the asymmetry sense and colour indicating the class (see text for further explanation). Black stars show
the locations of the V
f
measurements (300 m upstream from the mountain front). Bold green lines mark the eastern, central, and western Sierra Nevada sectors differentiated for the hypsometric curve study. Segments for S
mf
calculation are
indicated (W western front segments, S southern front segments, N northern front segments), and the values are shown in Table 1. Basins have been labeled with a number (see Table 1 for river names).
7
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1975; Band, 1986), being adaptive to spatial variability in drainage
density. This drainage network was cleaned and validated in order to
avoid DEM-associated errors, and channels were ordered following
Strahler (1952).
We have divided the Sierra Nevada in three sectors (west,
middle, and east), according to the main drainage systems. The
western sector comprises the Genil and Guadalfeo drainage systems
with their corresponding tributaries (Fig. 3). The Guadalfeo drains
to the Mediterranean Sea, while the Genil River (Fig. 1) is the main
tributary of the Guadalquivir River, which, in turn, drains to the
Atlantic Ocean. The middle sector contains the Adra drainage
system on the southern slope of the Sierra Nevada, which drains
towards the Mediterranean Sea and some tributaries of the
GuadianaMenor River (tributary of Guadalquivir River, Fig. 1) in
the northern slope, which drains to the Atlantic Ocean (Fig. 3). The
eastern sector includes the Andarax drainage system which drains
towards the Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 3).
The main divide in the Sierra Nevada is mostly straight or gently
curved, with the highest elevations located in its western part
(Fig. 3). Some bends of the crest-line are clearly related to headward
erosion of streams draining the southern limb of the Sierra Nevada
which may capture the highest sectors of the catchments draining
the northern limb (Fig. 3). The streams draining the northern limb
are generally shorter than those draining the southern limb, due to
the higher local base-level. The orientations of the main streams are
generally perpendicular to the crest-line in the middle sector of the
range and present a radial pattern in the western termination. The
drainage pattern in the easternmost sector of the Sierra Nevada
presents some peculiar anomalies. There are some channels that
ow almost parallel to the divide, coinciding with the traces of
minor EW oriented folds.
4. Geomorphic indexes
We have analyzed three geomorphic indexes: mountain front
sinuosity (S
mf
), valley oor width-to-height ratio (V
f
), and asymmetry
factor (AF), together with topographic river proles and hypsometric
curves for the main catchments of the Sierra Nevada.
4.1. Mountain front sinuosity (S
mf
)
Mountain front sinuosity (S
mf
) was dened by Bull (1977) as:
S
mf
=
L
mf
L
s
1
where L
mf
is the length of the mountain front along the foot of the
mountain, i.e., the topographic break in the slope, and L
s
is the length
of the mountain front measured along a straight line. This index has
been used to evaluate the relative tectonic activity along mountain
fronts (Bull and McFadden, 1977; Keller and Pinter, 2002; Silva et al.,
2003; Bull, 2007). In active mountain fronts, uplift will prevail over
erosional processes, yielding straight fronts with low values of S
mf
.
Along less active fronts, erosional processes will generate irregular or
sinuous fronts with high values of S
mf
. Some studies have proposed
that the values of the S
mf
index lower than 1.4 are indicative of
tectonically active fronts (Keller, 1986; Silva et al., 2003).
This index has been previously applied to some of the fault-
bounded mountain fronts of the western Sierra Nevada, yielding low
values (Martn-Rojas et al., 2001; El Hamdouni et al., 2008). In this
work, we have calculated the S
mf
index for the western, northern, and
Table 1
S
mf
values for the different mountain front segments (see location in Fig. 4). Mean
values for each main front are also indicated.
Front Segment S
mf
Mean S
mf
West Wa 1.39 1.16
Wb 1.01
Wc 1.01
Wd 1.03
We 1.28
Wf 1.29
South Sa 1.09 1.24
Sb 1.12
Sc 1.15
Sd 1.21
Se 1.35
Sf 1.43
Sg 1.34
North Na 2.46 1.93
Nb 3.49
Nc 1.31
Nd 1.23
Table 2
Values of V
f
(valley oor width-to-height ratio) and AF (asymmetry factor) for the main
rivers of the Sierra Nevada.
Basin River name V
fw
E
ld
E
rd
E
sc
V
f
AF
1 Lanjarn R. 44 1157 710 539 0.112 3.872
2 Chico R. (W) 71 800 653 553 0.409 16.665
3 Poqueira R. 19 937 864 604 0.064 13.701
4 Trevelez R. 15 1195 807 633 0.041 22.110
5 Cadiar R. 78 1284 1261 1012 0.299 23.851
6 Mecina R. 18 1271 1053 862 0.060 20.716
7 Valor R. 55 877 865 780 0.604 21.697
8 Nechite R. 40 1028 980 803 0.199 11.566
9 Laroles R. 74 1006 828 731 0.398 2.850
10 Picena R. 66 884 935 706 0.324 15.189
11 Alcolea R. 98 1114 1052 797 0.343 3.350
12 Andarax R. 54 1316 1333 959 0.148 3.777
13 Chico R. (E) 30 894 945 660 0.116 4.927
14 Rmb. de Tices 73 834 822 635 0.378 2.083
15 Rmb. de Santillana 78 948 996 778 0.402 18.100
16 Abrucena R. 175 919 1054 834 1.148 8.854
17 Nacimiento R. 92 1101 1217 1008 0.609 0.408
18 Hueneja R. 144 1366 1405 1194 0.752 2.982
19 Rmb. De los Castaos 61 1540 1486 1313 0.305 1.140
20 Chico creek 108 1392 1360 1273 1.049 14.399
21 Rmb. de Benejar 45 1464 1364 1279 0.333 21.957
22 Bco. del Gallego 91 1378 1395 1272 0.795 0.847
23 Bco. del Barrio 52 1447 1485 1373 0.559 9.828
24 Bco. del Pueblo 37 1522 1500 1344 0.222 6.449
25 Bco. de Alcazar 33 1546 1381 1294 0.195 10.975
26 Bco. de Alhor 20 1395 1417 1330 0.263 24.541
27 Genil R. 185 970 933 766 0.997 10.040
28 Monachil R. 23 1098 1206 948 0.113 3.599
29 Dilar R. 26 1223 1237 957 0.095 11.816
30 Durcal R. 28 1132 1103 809 0.091 11.049
31 Torrente R. 19 1373 1277 974 0.054 8.327
Fig. 5. Plot of V
f
values for the main rivers of the Sierra Nevada. River names and
locations are shown in Fig. 4 and Table 2.
79 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
southern mountain fronts of the Sierra Nevada (Fig. 4, Table 1) which
corresponds to different tectonic environments. Lateral variations in
the S
mf
values occur because the selected mountain fronts are quite
long (4080 km). To detect such possible lateral variations, we have
calculated the S
mf
index for mountain front segments of about 10 km.
The mean values of the S
mf
index are lowin the western (1.16) and
southern (1.24) mountain fronts (Fig. 4, Table 1), suggesting that they
are tectonically active. On the contrary, the mean S
mf
value obtained
for the northern mountain front is relatively high (1.93), thus
conrming a relatively low tectonic activity, consistent with other
geomorphic and tectonic features. With respect to lateral variations of
S
mf
, only the southern mountain front shows slight systematic
variations. Individual values of S
mf
for 10 km-long segments along
this mountain front decrease slightly westward (Table 1). This is
consistent with a higher level of tectonic activity of the southern
mountain front westward, as suggested by some authors (e.g.,
Martnez-Martnez et al., 2006).
4.2. Valley oor width-to-height ratio (V
f
)
Valley oor width-to-height ratio (V
f
) (Bull and McFadden, 1977)
is a geomorphic index conceived to discriminate between V-shaped
and U-shaped at-oored valleys. This index is dened as:
V
f
=
2V
fw
E
ld
+ E
rd
2E
sc
2
where V
fw
is the width of the valley oor, E
ld
and E
rd
are elevations of
the left and right valley divides, respectively, and E
sc
is the elevation of
the valley oor.
Deep V-shaped valleys (V
f
b1) are associated with linear, active
downcutting streams characteristic of areas subjected to active uplift,
while at-oored valleys (V
f
N1) indicate an attainment of the base-
level of erosion mainly in response to relative tectonic quiescence (e.g.
Keller and Pinter, 2002, Bull, 2007, 2009a,b). This index has been
applied to several mountain fronts located in the eastern and central
Betic Cordillera (Silva et al., 2003; Pedrera et al., 2009).
The V
f
index was calculated for all the main channels, 300 m
upstream from the mountain front (Fig. 4). For narrow river-valleys
(valley-widthb50 m), the DEM is insufcient to accurately measure
valley widths. Therefore, V
f
was determined by measuring widths
directly from aerial photographs. V
f
values are higher in the northern
mountain front (Table 2), with the lower values concentrated along
the western mountain front (Fig. 5). A special case in the western
front is the Genil River (basin number 27). The catchment for this
river was drawn only until the conuence with Aguas Blancas River
(that does not drain the Sierra Nevada range; Fig. 3). For this reason
the values of V
f
are not calculated in a mountain front, but in this river
conuence. This fact can explain that this river presents the highest V
f
value of the eastern front, where low values are concentrated.
4.3. Asymmetry factor (AF)
The asymmetry factor (AF) of catchments was used to detect
possible tectonic tilting at the scale of the whole range. The AF is
dened as (Hare and Gardner, 1985; Keller and Pinter, 2002):
AF =
A
R
A
T
100 3
where A
R
is the area of the basin to the right (facing downstream) of
the trunk stream, and A
T
is the total area of the drainage basin. Values
of AF above or below 50 indicate that the basin is asymmetric.
In order to avoid possible confusions between the catchments
located in the northern and southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, we
expressed AF as the absolute value minus 50, with an arrowindicating
the asymmetry direction in Fig. 4.
AF = j50
A
R
100
A
T
j: 4
We have divided AF absolute values in four classes: AFb5
(symmetric basins), AF=510 (gently asymmetric basins), AF=10
15 (moderately asymmetric basins), and AFN15 (strongly asymmetric
basins). AF values in the western part of the Sierra Nevada present a
pattern with contrary asymmetries at both sides of the Lanjarn River
(1), thus coinciding with the fold hinge of one of the NNESSW
oriented antiforms (Table 1, Fig. 4). In the eastern part of the Sierra
Nevada, there is no dened pattern in AF values, with the majority of
the basins being symmetric (AFb5).
4.4. Hypsometric curves
The hypsometric curve of a catchment represents the distribution
of area and altitude within it (Strahler, 1952). In this study, the curves
have been depicted by plotting the relative area (01) above each
relative height (01). Auseful attribute of these curves is that drainage
basins of different sizes can be compared, since area and elevation are
plotted as functions of total area and total elevation (Keller and Pinter,
2002; Walcott and Summereld, 2008; Prez-Pea et al., 2009c). The
shape of this curve is related to the degree of dissection of the basin,
i.e., its erosional stage. Convex hypsometric curves characterize
relatively young weakly eroded regions, S-shaped curves character-
ize moderately eroded regions, and concave curves characterize
relatively old highly eroded regions. The area belowthe hypsometric
curve is known as the hypsometric integral (HI), varying from 0 to 1,
with values close to 0 in highly eroded regions and values close to 1 in
weakly eroded regions. The shape of the hypsometric curves (and the
HI values) also provides valuable information about the tectonic,
climatic, and lithological factors controlling catchment landscape (e.g.,
Moglen and Bras, 1995; Willgoose and Hancock, 1998; Huang and
Niemann, 2006).
We calculated hypsometric curves for all of the basins draining the
Sierra Nevada with the aid of an ArcGIS extension (Prez-Pea et al.,
2009d). The hypsometric curves showdifferences betweenthecurves of
the northern and southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The curves from
the northernslope (northwards to the LanjarnRiver (1)) present more
concave shapes than the ones from the southern slope (Fig. 6). There is
not a clear variationinthe shape of the curves fromeast to west ineither
the northern or southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
4.5. Longitudinal river proles
Longitudinal river proles can be interpreted as resulting from the
balance between rates of erosion and uplift (Schumm et al., 2000;
Hovius, 2000; Keller and Pinter, 2002; Menndez et al., 2008; Bull
2009b). Hovius (2000) dened three types of prole morphologies
according to uplift rates and monthly rainfall (as a proxy of
denudation rate). Concave proles represent long-term equilibrium
between uplift and erosion rates. Concaveconvex proles with
erosion steps in the middle reaches indicate long-term predominance
of erosional processes. Convex proles are characteristic of areas
where uplift (active tectonics) is dominant.
Valuable information can also be obtained from ridge-line
proles (Menndez et al., 2008). These proles are drawn by
projecting rivers onto a theoretical pre-incision surface that is
obtained by interpolating the altitudes from present-day lateral
divides of the basins (Menndez et al., 2008; Fig. 7). One advantage of
ridge-line proles is that they have lengths equivalent to the river
longitudinal prole. However, the estimated pre-incision surface
cannot be considered to be the precise pre-incision surface
80 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
(Brocklehurst and Whipple, 2002). Nevertheless, these proles can
generate a view of the structure of the relief for each basin, allowing
relative comparisons of bulk erosion between the different basins.
Longitudinal and ridge-line river proles have been extracted for
the main rivers draining the Sierra Nevada (Fig. 8). The rivers of the
northern slope of the Sierra present mainly concave proles, while the
Fig. 6. Hypsometric curves for the eastern, central, and western sectors of the Sierra Nevada. Curves have been calculated using a 10-m DEM and CalHypso ArcGIS module (Prez-
Pea et al., 2009d). Curves from the northern slope of the Sierra Nevada are in blue, while curves from the southern slope are in red.
81 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
rivers of the southern slope have linear and convex proles (Fig. 8). In
the western sector, some river proles show erosion steps [the
Poqueira (3), Trevlez (4), and Cdiar (5) rivers], while others present
clearly convex proles [the Lanjarn River (1)] or slightly concave
proles [the Drcal (30), Monachil (28), and Dlar (29) rivers] (Fig. 8).
Ridge-line proles showthe greatest height differences in the western
sector of the Sierra Nevada (Fig. 8). On the contrary, the smallest
height differences are found in rivers on the northern slope (Fig. 8).
5. Discussion
The geomorphic indexes calculated in this work suggest that the
Sierra Nevada is tectonically active, with the more recent uplift
concentrated along its western mountain front, where S
mf
and V
f
present the lowest values (Figs. 4 and 5). This is corroborated by
surface geology, since the western mountain front coincides with
prominent normal fault scarps and has associated Late Pleistocene
Holocene alluvial fans (Calvache et al., 1997). Furthermore, these
alluvial fans showtectonic controls on their sedimentary patterns and
geometries, having width-length ratios N1 and absence of incised
channels (Calvache et al., 1997; Viseras et al., 2003). These normal
faults present high Quaternary slip rates (Sanz de Galdeano 1976,
1996; Keller et al., 1996). The distribution of present-day seismicity
also points to active faulting along the western mountain front of the
Sierra Nevada (Morales et al., 1997; Muoz et al., 2002; Martnez-
Martnez et al., 2006).
The southern mountain front of the Sierra Nevada is characterized
by low values of S
mf
and V
f
(Figs. 4 and 5), with S
mf
values increasing
eastward. Despite the lack of Quaternary absolute ages, the landscape
of this mountain front seems to be older than the one of the western
mountain front. In this regard, the absence of Quaternary alluvial fans
along this southern mountain front must be stressed, with the
present-day drainage network well hierarchized and entrenched into
the Neogene sediments of the Alpujarran Corridor (Fig. 3). This fact
could be indicative of a gradual response to late NeogeneQuaternary
uplift of this sector as a whole. Furthermore, the southern mountain
front runs parallel to one of the main drainage systems in the region,
namely the Guadalfeo River, whose Quaternary incision and mountain
front retreat might be responsible, at least partially, for the lowvalues
of S
mf
and V
f
. Moreover, fault scarps are not as prominent as in the
western mountain front. However, the presence of sub-vertical strike-
slip faults along some segments of this mountain front (Sanz de
Galdeano and Rodrguez-Fernndez, 1985) is indicative of a recent
tectonic activity. In this respect, Martnez-Martnez et al. (2006)
proposed that the southern Sierra Nevada border is an active transfer
fault composed of strike-slip fault segments, which join two normal
fault-bounded mountain fronts: western Sierra de Gdor and western
Sierra Nevada. Interestingly, the eastern higher S
mf
values might be
related to this tectonic scenario, representing the inactive part of this
southern mountain front eastward of the Sierra de Gdor active
mountain front. Nevertheless, the differences in the S
mf
values could
be not big enough to completely support this idea.
The northern mountain front corresponds to the northern limb of
the EW antiformal ridge of the Sierra Nevada, with the Neogene
Quaternary sedimentary inll of the GuadixBaza basin lying
unconformably over the metamorphic rocks of the Sierra Nevada
This front has the highest S
mf
and V
f
values, suggesting low rates of
tectonic activity, and thus pointing to an inactive fold limb during the
Quaternary. Furthermore, no appreciable present-day seismicity is
observed along this mountain front, which suggests tectonic inactiv-
ity. Nevertheless, the high topography of the GuadixBaza basin
suggests a substantial uplift in recent times (Prez-Pea et al., 2009b).
One possible scenario for this northern mountain front is one with the
GuadixBaza basin and the Sierra Nevada range being uplifted
together as a single block in Quaternary times (see below).
Geomorphic indicators indicative of active tectonics, including
hypsometric curves, longitudinal river/ridge-line proles, and drain-
age patterns, have subtle EW and NS variations. NS variations are
mainly due to the fact that the local base-level is 1100 m in the
northern mountain front of the Sierra Nevada and 600 m in the
Fig. 7. Schematic illustration showing the methodology used to obtain the projected ridge-line proles. Slightly modied from Menndez et al. (2008). The ridge-line surface is
obtained by interpolating the altitudes from the two lateral divides of the basin.
82 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
southern front, i.e., southern slope streams have more erosional
power than northern ones. Therefore, southern slope streams are
longer and more entrenched than northern ones (Figs. 3 and 4). These
differences in base-level altitudes could be the response to a
differential tectonic uplift of the northern mountain front with
respect to the southern one. No systematic EW variation in the
hypsometric curves is found in the Sierra Nevada (Fig. 6). On the
contrary, river entrenchment as deduced from the comparison of
longitudinal and ridge-line river proles increases westward (Fig. 8).
This fact might result from recent uplift of the western Sierra Nevada.
The main rivers of the western and central sectors of the Sierra
Nevada have a radial pattern around the highest peaks (Figs. 3 and 4).
This simple pattern changes in the easternmost sector where some
streams are not perpendicular to the main EWdivide, but, rather, are
oblique or even parallel to it (Rivers 13, 14, and 15; Figs. 3 and 4).
These streams with anomalous directions are probably related to
complex piracy processes that occurred during the Pliocene and
Quaternary evolution of the Andarax drainage system (Prez-Pea
et al., 2009d). However, EW oriented active folding might have also
contributed to this complicated drainage pattern (Fig. 2).
The asymmetry factor of the main catchments draining the Sierra
Nevada has also been calculated in order to detect active, large-scale
surface tilting. Most catchments show no asymmetry, except in the
southwestern sector of the range where opposite and systematic
asymmetries have been found at both sides of the Lanjarn River (1 in
Fig. 4). In this sector NNESSW-striking faults (parallel to the Lanjarn
River) are absent. Therefore, catchment asymmetry in the southwest-
ern sector of the Sierra Nevada is probably due to active folding. From
this point of view, an antiform striking parallel to the Lanjarn River
(NNESSW) accords well with the basin asymmetry data obtained
(Fig. 2).
Quaternary uplift rates in the Sierra Nevada are very scarce and do
not provide enough data to propose systematic transverse (NS) and
along-strike (EW) variations. In the eastern sector, Garca et al.
(2003) obtained river incision rates between 0.3 and 0.8 mm yr
1
for
the last 303245 ka, which can be reasonably assumed to correspond
to tectonic uplift. Actually, these uplift rates (0.30.8 mm yr
1
) are
only slightly higher than long-term uplift rates calculated for the
whole period (810 Ma) of relief formation in the Sierra Nevada (0.3
0.4 mm yr
1
; Sanz de Galdeano and Lpez-Garrido, 1999; Braga et al.,
2003; Sanz de Galdeano and Alfaro, 2004). Therefore, the eastern
sector of the Sierra Nevada seems to have not undergone accelerated
tectonic uplift in the Quaternary. In the western Sierra Nevada,
Reinhardt et al. (2007) have reported incision rates of 5 mm yr
1
,
which they relate to a base-level fall of 50 m in the last 12 ka. The
cause of the base-level fall is probably active faulting along the
western mountain front of the Sierra Nevada, since sea-level falls did
not occur over this period of time. Assuming that these very high
erosion rates are due to tectonic uplift in the hanging wall of the
normal faults bounding the western Sierra Nevada, the low values of
S
mf
and V
f
obtained here are readily explained in terms of the high-
rate of recent faulting along this mountain front.
Development of a tectonic model for the Quaternary tectonic
evolution of the Sierra Nevada is not an easy task, since extension and
compression seem to have acted coevally. Most authors propose a
Quaternary stress eld characterized by NWSE compression with a
concomitant extension axis oriented NESW (de Mets et al., 1994;
Galindo-Zaldvar et al. 1999, 2003). Thus, extensional and compres-
sional structures with different orientations would have formed at the
same time. In the case of the Sierra Nevada, the EW oriented, large-
scale antiform coincident with the whole range is thought to be a
result of the NNWSSE compression that occurred since the Pliocene,
while the NWSE oriented, normal faults bounding the western
mountain front are associated with SW-directed extensional tectonics
(e.g., Galindo-Zaldvar et al., 2003). This scenario is roughly consistent
with the main conclusions derived from our study, i.e., the highest
tectonic activity in the Sierra Nevada is concentrated along its western
mountain front and consists in normal faulting with donwthrowing of
the SW block (Granada basin) and uplift of the range. Nevertheless,
the presence of NNESSW oriented active folding in the western
termination of the Sierra Nevada, as deduced from the study of
catchment asymmetries, and the northern mountain front being
inactive introduce some complexity to the tectonic scenario invoked.
In this respect, the tectonic model proposed by Galindo-Zaldvar et al.
(2003) considered the EW oriented, large-scale antiformal ridge to
be active and related to a blind-thrust buried under the northern
mountain front of the Sierra Nevada. Thus, this model envisaged the
northern mountain front as tectonically active, which is not the case
according to the geomorphic indexes calculated. Our data suggest that
this northern limb of the EW oriented antiformal ridge is inactive
and, therefore, the sediments of the GuadixBaza basin are not
separated from the Sierra Nevada metamorphic rocks by any active
structure during the Quaternary. Nevertheless, the high average
altitude and highly entrenched landscape of this basin indicate that it
has been uplifted during the Quaternary (Prez-Pea et al., 2009b),
forming a single block with the Sierra Nevada. Thus, the northern
mountain front of the Sierra Nevada seems to be an inherited inactive
feature.
At the same time, Galindo-Zaldvar et al. (2003) proposed that SW-
directed extension is coeval with the NNWSSE oriented compres-
sion, but their model does not explain the existence of NNESSW
oriented active folding. These active folds might be completely
different in origin from the EW oriented ones, as proposed by
Martnez-Martnez et al. (2006). These authors considered the
existence of a generation of NNESSW oriented folds with an isostatic
origin related to the unroong produced by the normal faults of the
western Sierra Nevada mountain front.
The tectonic model proposed by Martnez-Martnez et al. (2006)
explains better the distribution of geomorphic indexes and the
topography of the Sierra Nevada and the surrounding Neogene
Quaternary sedimentary basins. The very different topography and
landscape of the Granada and GuadixBaza basins is probably due to
the different tectonic locations of the two basins: the Granada basin is
located in the hanging wall of the SW-directed extensional system
bounding the western the Sierra Nevada and, thus, is subjected to
greater Quaternary subsidence. The GuadixBaza basin, on the other
hand, is located in the footwall of the above-mentioned extensional
system, being part, together with the whole Sierra Nevada, of a single
block suffering tectonic uplift during the Quaternary.
6. Conclusions
The geomorphic indexes calculated in this work indicate that the
Sierra Nevada is tectonically active in the Quaternary. Mountain front
sinuosity (S
mf
) and river incision (V
f
) points to active western and
southern mountain fronts, and a northern inactive mountain front.
These western and southern mountain fronts correspond with active
NWSE normal faults and EWtransfer strike-slip faults, respectively.
On the contrary, the northern front corresponds with an inactive limb
of an EW antiformal ridge.
The asymmetry indexes calculated for the main catchments
suggest the presence of active NNESSWoriented folds in the western
part of the Sierra Nevada. These folds seem to be generated by
isostatic adjustment related to the unroong produced by the normal
faults of the western Sierra Nevada mountain front (Martnez-
Martnez et al., 2002).
The hypsometric curves and the longitudinal and ridge-line river
proles suggest a higher tectonic activity in the western part of the
Sierra Nevada. Hypsometric curves also suggest, as well as S
mf
and V
f
,
an inactive northern mountain front.
All the geomorphic indicators used in this work t with the
tectonic model proposed by Martnez-Martnez et al. (2006) for the
83 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
84 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
Fig. 8. Longitudinal and ridge-line proles for the main rivers of the Sierra Nevada.
85 J.V. Prez-Pea et al. / Geomorphology 119 (2010) 7487
Sierra Nevada, with active western and southern fronts corresponding
to normal and transfer strike-slip faults, respectively. This tectonic
model also explains the topographic differences between the two
neighboring NeogeneQuaternary basins (Granada and the Guadix
Baza basins). The Granada basin is located in the hanging wall of the
SW-directed extensional system bounding the western the Sierra
Nevada and, thus, is subjected to Quaternary subsidence. On the
contrary, the GuadixBaza basin is located in the footwall of the same
system, being part, together with the whole Sierra Nevada, of a single
block suffering tectonic uplift during the Quaternary.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the grants CGL2008-03249 and
TOPO-IBERIA CONSOLIDER-INGENIO CSD2006-00041 of the Minis-
terio de Ciencia e Innovacin, as well the project MMA 083/2007 of
the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. We are
thankful to Dr. Martnez-Martnez for his comments and suggestions
on an early draft of this manuscript. We also thank Dr. Willian B. Bull
and an anonymous referee for their constructive review comments.
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