The basal tectonic melange of the Cabo Ortegal Complex : a key unit in the suture of Pangea

Recent field work and mapping in the lower units of the Cabo Ortegal Complex provided new data about the tectonic mélange that appears in the lowest structural position: the Somozas Mélange. This mélange unit with average thickness of 1800 m is restricted to the eastern part of the complex, and is located at the advancing front of the allochthonous complexes of NW Iberia. Three rock units are involved in the mélange: 1) an ophiolitic mélange consisting of igneous rocks mixed with serpentinites; 2) a metasedimentary unit with phyllites and phyllonites, with scarce conglomerates, marbles and quartzites; 3) high-T metamorphic rocks with varied types of amphibolites and orthogneisses.