| UTM-X | UTM-Y | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STOP 1: THE MIOCENE OF CAP DE BARBARIA | |||
| STOP 2: MIOCENE AND QUATERNARY OF CALA SAONA | |||
| STOP 3: S’ESTANY DES PEIX | |||
| STOP 4: PUNTA DE SA PEDRERA |
Recommended route.
The oldest materials of Formentera are from the Late Miocene period, specifically from 11 to 7 Ma.
During this period, great coral reefs grew around the pre-existing reliefs arising during the Alpine Orogeny. In Formentera, although these reliefs do not rise above the surface, the fossil reefs do so extensively. Cap de Barbaria is one of the best areas to observe them.
The cliffs of Cap de Barbaria include, in a large part, layers of coral colony structures that grew in successive generations during the life of the reef.
These reefs have become subaerially exposed due to a system of faults travelling ESE-WNW, causing the elevation of the Promontory of Cap de Barbaria above the flat part of the rest of the promontory.
As usual in these ecosystems, there is a great diversity of marine species, typically molluscs (bivalves and gastropods), as their shell tend to fossilize easily. However, at Cap de Barbaria these fossils almost always appear as internal moulds, a very common preservation of the coral beds in the Balearic Islands.
This is because the original calcium carbonate shell dissolves after the sediment has hardened, and the part that was inside the shell is preserved.
Other fossils found in the area are calcareous algae and sea urchins, together representing a shallow water environment that is laterally replaced by a set of coastal and continental deposits emerging in the north of the described sector.
