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Geologica Carpathica, 2025, vol. 76, no. 6 in press
The tectonic evolution of the Transdanubian Range: Insights from Strázsa Hill (Zsámbék town), a key outcrop in the central Pannonian Basin
Abstract
The Strázsa Hill quarry is an exceptional outcrop in the central part of the Pannonian Basin. It exposes one of the major structures of the Transdanubian Range, the Vértessomló thrust. In this study, we investigated Strázsa Hill from a structural point of view, documenting its complex structural evolution through interpreted outcrop photographs and fault slip analysis. Our findings show that the exposed part of the Vértessomló thrust comprises an imbricate system of south-vergent thrust sheets composed of Middle and Upper Triassic rocks. Major thrusting occurred before the Middle Eocene, most probably during the mid-Cretaceous. Sedimentological and structural evidence at Strázsa Hill indicates that the thrusts underwent dextral-reverse reactivation during the Oligocene, resulting in the formation of a growth syncline in the footwall. The Vértessomló thrust and associated E–W striking structures were later overprinted by several NW–SE to N–S striking normal faults during the Middle to Late Miocene. Some of these faults were reactivated during neotectonic strike-slip faulting. Our observations provide an important basis for understanding the tectonic evolution of the northern part of the Transdanubian Range.
Keywords:
Eoalpine thrust, Hungarian Paleogene basin system, oblique reactivation, Miocene extension
Pages:
417 - 444
Published online:
9 December 2025