Late-Cenozoic pull-apart basins, Boconó fault zone, Venezuelan Andes

Several areas along the Boconó fault zone are characterized by elongate, almond-shaped basins containing thick alluvial sequences, mainly of Quaternary age, and bounded by faults with normal Quaternary displacements. These areas are separated by segments characterized by narrow fault traces and right-lateral displacements. The fault-bounded basins are interpreted as pull-apart basins that originated at releasing bends along the fault zone. The size of the La González pull-apart basin suggests that Pliocene (?)-Quaternary right-lateral slip on the Boconó fault zone was of the order of 7–9 km.