Fluvial and aeolian dynamics of the Santa María River in the Cafayate depression (Salta Province, NW Argentina)

Abstract

A geomorphological cartography of the Cafayate depression (NW Argentina) at a scale of 1:20,000 is presented. The Main Map was made with satellite images from 2009 to 2016 and aerial photographs from various dates. The area was classified into three categories of geomorphological dynamics according the type of fluvio-aeolian interaction. Anastomosing channels and crevasse splays are dominant in the southern section of the Santa María River, while meandering channels develop in the northern section. Extensive dune fields interacting with fluvial deposits have developed in the central sector of the depression. The Main Map also reflects the main human features and can be used as a tool for preparing hazard maps. ARTICLE HISTORY

Geomorphological dynamics and human interactions in a semiarid valley in Northwestern Argentina: The Cafayate depression (Salta Province)

“…The GIS was performed using QGIS v.3.12.2, and image improvement and drawings were made with Freehand 11 and Fieldwork has been performed in different stages since 2003 to record detailed landscape changes and obtain the evolutionary data needed for this study. The paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Upper Holocene and the aeolian ages were published by Peña-Monné et al (2015), while the detailed geomorphological map was performed by Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone (2018).…”

“…Most of the fluvial accumulations in the Cafayate area are Holocene. At a regional level (Tafí and Santa María valleys), several Holocene units were established using geoarcheological data, radiometric datings, and interbedded tephra layers as chronological references (Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone, 2016;Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone, 2018;, 2020. The alluvial fans of the Cafayate sector belong to the H1 and H2 stages dated to ca.…”

“…13000-4200 BP (Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene) and after ca. 4200 BP (Upper Holocene), respectively (Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone, 2016;Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone, 2018). Besides, large aeolian accumulations from the recent Holocene (Los Médanos 1 and 2) are located on the fluvial floor toward its margins (Rivelli, 2008;Peña-Monné et al, 2015Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone, 2018).…”

“…4200 BP (Upper Holocene), respectively (Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone, 2016;Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone, 2018). Besides, large aeolian accumulations from the recent Holocene (Los Médanos 1 and 2) are located on the fluvial floor toward its margins (Rivelli, 2008;Peña-Monné et al, 2015Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone, 2018). Moreover, there are some remains of lacustrine Quaternary accumulations from the Upper Pleistocene-Holocene in the northern area, as described by Trauth et al (2003), Schellenberger (2008), andHermanns et al (2011), among others.…”

Chronological and geomorphological approach to the Holocene tephras from Tafí and Santa María valleys, NW Argentina

“…In addition to the geomorphological analysis of Strecker (1987) performed in Santa María valley, some studies have focused on large Holocene landslides and a paleolake formation related to them (Hermanns et al, 2006, 2011). Recent geomorphological research was performed by Sampietro Vattuone and Neder (2011), Peña-Monné et al (2015, 2016), Peña-Monné and Sampietro-Vattuone (2016a, 2018a, 2018b), and Sampietro-Vattuone et al (2017, 2018a). These studies focused on the Quaternary and present fluvial dynamics, the Holocene eolian activity, and the regional geomorphological evolution.…”