The rotation of Spain: Palaeomagnetic evidence from the eastern Pyrenees

Abstract

The results of a palaeomagnetic investigation on igneous and sedimentary Permo-Triassic rocks from the Spanish Pyrenees are presented and some conclusions are drawn. During demagnetization with a.c. magnetic fields and after correction for the dip, 41 andesitic samples revealed a characteristic magnetization with an average declination (D) of 169.5° and an inclination (I) of −3° for the Lower Permian. The more tentative results of 17 pelitic samples are given as three site means with D = 163°, I = −3.5° and D = 152.5°; I = −33° for the Permian undifferentiated and D = 340.5°, I = +24° for the Lower Triassic.

The virtual pole position for the Lower Permian andesites is at 48.5°N 163°W. This virtual pole position, deviating from already known data for the Permian of stable Europe, can be best explained by a post-Permian counter-clockwise rotation of Spain in the order of 30°.