Recommended route.
The coastal zone of the north of the Serres de Llevant is formed almost entirely by a powerful series of the Lower Cretaceous (145.100 Ma), making this the best point in Mallorca to study its stratigraphy.
The strata of this sector are between approximately 135 and 125 Ma old, representing very deep seabeds.
One of its most visible characteristics is the alternation of hard levels formed by limestones and soft layers consisting of marls. The origin of the limestones is mainly biological, in the form of accumulations of countless microfossils with calcareous shells.
On the eastern flank of Cala Torta (point A) we can observe a characteristic geological structure of this type of deposits: a slump.
A slump occurs when an episode of instability (an earthquake, for example) causes the displacement of a large mass of unconsolidated sediment. The result is a local deformation of the strata, producing undulating and chaotic forms, which stand out from the perfectly-ordered surrounding strata.
Appearance of the large folds of the slump in the Cretaceous of Cala Torta. Note the contrast between the chaotic appearance of the centre of the mass and the ordered stratification of its left-hand part.
Detail of the Cala Torta slump, showing the deformation of the strata.
In the western side (point B) there are some remains of Pleistocene fossil beaches (2,5 Ma-10000 years old) formed by conglomerates of rocky stones in a calcarenitic matrix (hardened beach sands), with some remains of marine and terrestrial molluscs. All these materials are partially covered in the beach by a large current dune system.
Detail of the existing Pleistocene beach on the western side of Cala Torta (point B).
