Detailed geological mapping and structural analysis of the Blankuskopf- and
Wildberggroup in the Rätikon area (Vorarlberg/Austria) was carried out in the
framework of a Diploma-thesis at the University of Freiburg.
The full stratigraphy of the Northen Calcareous Alps (NCA) can be found
in the area, starting with the skythian Bundsandstein and continuing up to the
upper Cretaceous Kreideschiefer, as well as lithologies from the south-Penninic
Arosazone.
The structural style of the mapping area is characterized by many folds and
thrusts and shows two mean features:
1) From the lower to the higher tectonic unit and from NW to SE there is a
change in transport direction from NW via N to NE. This change is linked to a
clockwise rotation of each unit with respect to its underlying unit.
2) Within each unit there is a change in transport direction from NW in its western
part to N in its eastern part. This is especially pronounced in the well-conserved
unit of the Blankuskopfgroup.
The structures are the result of horizontal shortening as well as dextral shearing.
The latter is represented by the fl exing of fold-axes and clockwise rotation
