Geology of the ‘Coltre della Val Marecchia’ (Romagna-Marche Northern Apennines, Italy)

A detailed geological map at 1:50,000 scale of the Marecchia Valley and adjoining areas (Northern Apennines, NA, Italy) is presented here. The Marecchia Valley represents a geological ‘unicum’ for the NA and it has been the focus of scientific debate for a long time, due to the occurrence in the area of the ‘Coltre della Val Marecchia (CVM)’, a complex stack of allochthonous and semi-allochthonous units emplaced in a foredeep basin during the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. In order to clarify the geological evolution for this area, the lithostratigraphic relationships and the tectonic framework have been studied, allowing better understanding of the complex relationships between tectonics and sedimentation. The main result has been a new evolutionary framework for this sector of the orogen during the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene. Several new findings about the geological-structural setting and stratigraphy, result from the geological map presented here. These are overall supported by stratigraphic and tectonic evidence, which suggest time and modes of the CVM allochthonous emplacement within the Messinian-early Pliocene foredeep successions. Relationships between the allochthonous and autochthonous formations allowed recognition of two different bodies in the CVM, gravitationally emplaced following different trajectories and timing.