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This paper presents a detailed geological map at the 1:20,000 scale of the Tocomar basin in the Central Puna (north-western Argentina), which extends over an area of about 80 km2 and displays the spatial distribution of the Quaternary deposits and the structures that cover the Ordovician basement and the Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic units. The new dataset includes litho-facies descriptions, stratigraphic and structural data and new 234U/230Th ages for travertine rocks. The new reconstructed stratigraphic framework, along with the structural analysis, has revealed the complex evolution of a small extensional basin including a period of prolonged volcanic activity with different eruptive centres and styles. The geological map improves the knowledge of the geology of the Tocomar basin and the local interplay between orogen-parallel thrusts and orogen-oblique fault systems. This contribution represents a fundamental support for in depth research and also for encouraging geothermal exploration and exploitation in the Puna Plateau region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The western slope of Cerro Domuyo in northern Patagonia is characterized by thermal springs with boiling waters, Quaternary silicic domes, and pyroclastic deposits that suggest the existence of a geothermal reservoir. According to geochemical studies, the reservoir may have a temperature of 220 °C and one of the largest advective heat fluxes reported for a continental volcanic center. In this paper, we propose a more refined conceptual model for the Domuyo geothermal area, based on a geological survey supported by U Pb, U Th, and Ar Ar geochronology and by magnetotelluric and gravity surveys. Our study indicates that the Domuyo Volcanic Complex (DVC) is a Middle Pleistocene dome complex overlying middle Miocene to Pliocene volcanic sequences, which in turn cover: 1) the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Neuquén marine sedimentary succession, 2) silicic ignimbrites dated at ~186.7 Ma, and 3) the Paleozoic metamorphic basement intruded by ~288 Ma granite bodies. The volcanic cycle in the DVC is distinctly bimodal, characterized by the emplacement of massive silicic domes and less voluminous olivine basalts on its southern slope. A major collapse of the central dome at ~600 ka produced a voluminous (19.4 km3 and 133 km2) block-and-ash flow, and associated pyroclastic flows, that filled a valley to the southwest at distances up to ~30 km from Cerro Domuyo summit. This was followed by a period of intense effusive activity that formed the Cerro Guitarra, Cerro Las Pampas, Cerro Domo, and Cerro Covunco silicic domes. The last two domes are the youngest and largest edifices, dated at 0.50 Ma (Ar Ar age) and 0.25 Ma (U Th age). Pre-Cenozoic successions were affected by N-S reverse and thrust faults that were later displaced by an ENE-WSW-trending transtensional belt. The basement rocks at the northern termination of the Cordillera del Viento anticlinorium were also displaced towards the east-northeast by this belt, which is observed NNW of Cerro Domuyo. The DVC was emplaced within this zone of crustal weakness. The integration of geologic observations with magnetotelluric and gravity data, allowed us to develop an updated conceptual model of the geothermal system. The geothermal reservoir is inferred at a depth of less than 2 km within pre-Pliocene fractured rocks, bounded by ~WSW-ENE trending faults and sealed by the pyroclastic deposits and rhyolitic lavas of the DVC. The location of most thermal springs is not directly controlled by faults. Instead, flows emerge at the contact between the fractured and faulted basement and the caprock. • The Domuyo Volcanic Complex (DVC) is a silicic dome complex formed in the Pleistocene. • The central dome collapsed at ~600 ka producing a voluminous (19.4 km3) pyroclastic deposit. • The youngest domes were emplaced at ~500 ka and 250 ka. • The DVC was emplaced within a ENE-WSW trending transtensional zone of crustal weakness. • The geothermal reservoir is hosted in pre-Pliocene rocks sealed by the DVC pyroclastics and lavas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]