Tectonosedimentary Evolution of the Cheb Basin (NW Bohemia,Czech Republic) between Late Oligocene and Pliocene: A Preliminary Note

A working model of tectono-sedimentary evolution is proposed for the Cheb Basin, a polyhistory sedimentary basin formed between the late Oligocene and Pliocene by reactivation of basement fracture systems in the northwestern part of the Bohemian Massif. The basin is located at the intersection of the Ohe (Eger) Graben structural domain, characterized by dominance of NE-striking graben systems in present-day geology, and the NW-striking Cheb-Domalice Graben, a major strike-slip – dominated structure in Western Bohemia. The first significant depositional episode in the Cheb Basin coincides with the deposition of late Oligocene-Miocene clastics in the whole extensional system of the Ohe Graben, controlled by E-W – trending depocenters. The main structural feature of the Cheb Basin region at that time was a palaeohigh caused by a NW- trending accommodation zone separating minor E-W – trending depocentres. The second, late Pliocene, episode of sedimentation occurred under a very different kinematic regime than the Oligo-Miocene rift basin evolution. During this time, the present-day structure of the Cheb Basin and the Cheb-Domalice Graben formed as a consequence of sinistral displacement on the Mariánské Lázn Fault Zone. Reactivation of this strike-slip fault zone led to the formation of a horsetail splay of oblique-extensional faults at the northern termination of the Mariánské Lázn Fault Zone, which contained the present-day Cheb Basin.