The Miocene deposits of the Cirò Basin in the evolution of the peri-Ionian region, eastern Calabria

The Cirò Basin is located in the north-eastern partion of Calabria, between the Ionian Sea and the Sila slopes. In this area, basin successions of the Neogene and Quaternary age overlap the Paleozoic metamorphic basement of the Sila Unit. In particular, there are units consisting of continental clastic facies and coastal facies that are the basis of the Tortonian-Messinian transgression. An accurate geological-structural survey, combined with sedimentological and stratigraphic analysis, has allowed to define the limits of the Cirò Basin and the stratigraphic relationships between the various outcropping Miocene deposits. Five distinct litofacies have been recognized, each of which contains both lateral and vertical variations.The main tectonic structures control the architecture and evolution of main Neogene basins of the Calabrian terranes. From the Neogene to the Quaternary, the history of orogenic building was mainly controlled by the activity of NW-SE oriented faults and shear zones characterised by left-trascurrent kinematics. Deformation is well evidenced in the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the wedge-top basins as well as in the retro-arc domain.