Geochronology and stratigraphy of the Roque Nublo Cycle, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

Abstract

The Roque Nublo Cycle, of Pliocene age, is the second main cycle of subaerial volcanic activity in Gran Canaria. During this cycle a stratovolcano at least 2500 m high developed in the central part of the island; its volcanic products covered an area of about 540 km2. The detailed stratigraphy of the Roque Nublo Cycle, together with a magnetostratigraphic study and six new K–Ar dates, which complement 22 previously published ones, have led to the reconstruction of the volcanic history of this cycle in which six main stages have been distinguished. The revised chronology of the Roque Nublo Cycle implies an overlap in age with the earliest rocks of the third cycle of subaerial activity in Gran Canaria. No volcanic hiatus occurred between the second and third cycles, as was previously thought to be the case.