The Iberia-Eurasia plate boundary east of the Pyrenees

In this work we provide a reappraisal of the mid-Cretaceous extensional basins located to the east of the Pyrenean mountain ranges, from the easternmost portion of Iberia to the Brianconnais Domain of the Western Alps fold-and-thrust belt. These features are reviewed and compared with those of the Bay of Biscay-Pyrenean rift, with the aim of defining geometry, kinematics, timing and lateral extent of the eastern termination of the Mesozoic Iberia-Eurasia plate boundary. Timing and direction of extension, as well as the style of structural segmentation in the Bay of Biscay - Pyrenean rift, are similar to those of basins exposed to the east of the Pyrenean mountain ranges. In both areas, the divergent movement between Iberia and Eurasia caused NNE-SSW oriented extension recorded in WNW-ESE elongated Late Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous basins, segmented by NNE-SSW trending transfer zones.