A Miocene Gravity Slide Deposit from Eastern Timor

Abstract

AbstractA formation composed of unbedded scaly bentonitic clay containing abundant scattered exotic blocks, boulders, pebbles, and smaller fragments is described from eastern Timor. It is proposed to call this formation the Bobonaro Scaly Clay. This formation is compared closely with the Argille scagliosa of the northern Apennines. Its origin is ascribed to submarine sliding of an unstable clay mass from the area north of Timor under the influence of gravity, closely associated with the emplacement of large overthrust slices of strata that marked a climax of the mid-Tertiary orogeny in Timor. The discovery of this formation has helped to bring about a radical revision of the published views of the stratigraphy and structure of Timor.