Early Pleistocene River-Fed Paleocoast in Western Umbria (Central Italy): Facies Analysis and Coastal Models

Abstract

Pliocene (?)—early Pleistocene shallow marine deposits, varying from gravel to sand to clay, characterize the southernmost sector of the Valdichiana Basin, between Orte and Città della Pieve, across Tuscany, Umbria and Latium (Central Italy). Facies associations, referring to the evolution of a river-fed coast, with a sensible facies heteropy, and a sub-environment articulation, both across and alongshore, have been recently described. Although the main part of the territory responds to a wave-dominated coastal model, a clear fluvial sediment origin and the presence of localized river mouths have also been documented. Nearshore is mainly represented by interbedded sand and gravel beachface to upper shoreface deposits, in which both a mouth bar organization and a lateral distribution of gravel beaches are recognizable. Sediment origins largely depend ondebris flow processes, related to small alluvial fans/fan deltas. In constrained areas, debris flow and current continental deposits occur, referring to coalescent alluvial fans, organized as a smoothly seaward-dipping piedmont band, drained by shallow braided channels. This roughly organized fluvial system feeds a coastal area, with a fandeltabuild-up. The as-described fan delta and beach systems are characterized by a smooth seaward morphology, according to models resembling, on a coast-transverse profile, the shelf-type fan delta. Although the proposed models differ from each other’s, with respect tothe shelf-type one, this is mainly on a lateral facies distribution.

Keywords

• facies analysis
• coastal environment
• shelf-type fan delta
• early Pleistocene
• western Umbria