Tectono-stratigraphic architecture of the Ionian piedmont between the Arso Stream and Nicà River catchments (Calabria, Southern Italy)

Along the northern Ionian margin of Calabria, three Neogene basins comprise wedge-top depozones containing syntectonic deposits which cover the frontal part of the fold-thrust belt. One of the best exposed onshore allochthonous siliciclastic successions is represented by the Cariati Nappe, cropping out in the Ciro Basin. Field geological mapping and aerial interpretations were used to characterize the stratigraphy and tectonics of the area between the Arso Stream and Nica River catchments (about 170 km(2)), including a Paleozoic metamorphic basement complex unconformably overlain by Upper Oligocene to Quaternary siliciclastic deposits and minor carbonates. This paper presents a 1: 25,000 scale map of the Ionian study area, providing lithological and structural data towards reconstructing its tectono-sedimentary evolution.