STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF SOUTHERN TUSCANY, ITALY

Abstract

The main structural features of Southern Tuscany are the result of post-collisional extensional tectonics which have affected the inner part of the Northern Apennines since the Early-Middle Miocene. Geological analyses have shown that several deformational events are related to the development of extensional tectonics. Geophysical studies suggest that a kinematically active mid-crustal shear zone is located at the present rheological boundary between the upper part of the crust, mainly characterized by brittle deformation, and the lower part, mainly characterized by ductile deformation. The coexistence of extension with the compression tectonics, which affected the outer zone of the Northern Apennines, is explained as a result of the post-collisional evolution.