Mulato-Getudo Fault

Mulato-Getudo Fault
Mulato-Getudo Fault
Mulato-Jetudo Fault, Falla de Mulato-Jetudo
Etymology	Mulatos & Jetudo Rivers
Coordinates	05°20′35″N 74°51′23″W / 5.34306°N 74.85639°W
Country	Colombia
Region	Andean
State	Antioquia, Caldas, Tolima
Cities	Mariquita
Characteristics
Range	Central Ranges, Andes
Part of	Andean oblique faults
Length	187.3 km (116.4 mi)
Strike	016.7 ± 9
Dip	West
Dip angle	High to medium
Displacement	<0.2 mm (0.0079 in)/yr
Tectonics
Plate	North Andean
Status	Inactive
Type	Oblique thrust fault
Movement	Reverse sinistral
Age	Quaternary
Orogeny	Andean

The Mulato-Getudo or Mulato-Jetudo Fault (Spanish: Falla de Mulato-Jetudo) is a sinistral oblique thrust fault in the departments of Tolima, Caldas and Antioquia in central Colombia. The fault has a total length of 187.3 kilometres (116.4 mi) and runs along an average north-northeast to south-southwest strike of 016.7 ± 9 in the Middle Magdalena Valley and along the western foothills of the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes.

Etymology[edit]

The fault is named after the Mulatos and Jetudo Rivers, left tributaries of the Magdalena River.^[1]

Description[edit]

The Mulato-Getudo Fault, in some parts called Jetudo Fault,^[2] extends along the eastern foothills of the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes, where it marks the abrupt break in slope of the east-tilted Tertiary erosion surface of the Cordillera and the flat alluvial plains of the Magdalena River in the Middle Magdalena Valley. The fault forms a regional-scale degraded fault escarpment with an outstanding break in slope. It offsets Pliocene to Quaternary deposits and an extensive tilted erosional surface of probable Miocene to Pliocene age (pre-Mesa Formation, older than 1.5 Ma). The northern half of the fault is characterised by aligned drainages and broad valleys.^[1] The fault possibly underlies the Honda Group south of the La Miel River.^[3]