Neat stratigraphic and dynamic relationships between pyroclastic flow and ash-cloud surge deposits in the Cabo de Gata–Níjar Geopark, Almería, Spain

Abstract

The southern end of Genoveses Bay (Cala de Genoveses) in Almería (SE Spain) hosts one of the most spectacular examples in Europe of combined (from base to the top), ignimbrite, surge, and pumice-ash fall deposits, forming a world-class outcrop of pyroclastic rocks. At a regional scale, the volcanism that led to the formation of these rocks has to be understood in terms of the late Alpine tectonic evolution of the western Mediterranean.