Tectonic framework of the Northern Ligurian Apennine, Italy

A structural sketch of the northern Ligurian Apennine is proposed. This area is characterized by the superposition of the Antola unit over a stack of tectonic units belonging to the Internal Liguride domain, ie part of the western Tethys oceanic basin. These units, referred to as the Portello, Vermallo, Due Ponti and Gottero units, are characterized by stratigraphic sequences made up of turbiditic and mass gravity deposits of Late Cretaceous-Palaeocene age. The deformation history of the tectonic units outcropping in the northern Ligurian Apennine includes at least three phases of pre-Oligocene folding developed during the closure of the western Tethys and the related continental collision.