Oberhelvetikum
Representation and status
- Color CMYK
- N/A
- Color RGB
- R: 236 G: 234 B: 232
- Rank
- tectonic domain
- Validity
- Unit is in Use
- Status
- valid
Nomenclature
- Deutsch
- Oberhelvetikum
- Français
- Helvétique supérieur
- Italiano
- Elvetico superiore
- English
- Upper Helvetic
- Historical Variants
-
Hochhelvetikum (Allemann & Blaser 1951), helvetische Hauptschubmasse (Frey 1965), Helvetic Nappes [s.s.] (von Däniken & Frehner 2017), Upper Helvetic (Gouffon et al. 2024)
Palaenography and tectonic
- Paleogeography
- European continental plate
- Tectonic unit (resp. main category)
- Kind of protolith
-
- tectonic
References
- Definition
-
(2024) :
Tectonic Map of Switzerland 1:500000, Explanatory notes. Federal Office of Topography swisstopo, Wabern
p.38: The Upper Helvetic subdomain includes the classic “Helvetic nappes” and the overlying units of South Helvetic to Ultrahelvetic paleogeographic origin.
In western Switzerland, this subdomain includes the Wildhorn Nappe Complex, which is correlated with the Mont Chétif Nappe south of the Rhône Valley (Steck et al. 1999) and with the Roselette Nappe southwest of the Mont Blanc Massif. The Pillon and the Bulle mélange zones complete the Upper Helvetic subdomain west of the Thunersee.
In central and eastern Switzerland, the Helvetic nappes consist of two pairs of overlapping nappes, respectively the Drusberg Nappe above the Axen Nappe and the Säntis Nappe above the Glarus Nappe Complex. The two lower nappes consist mainly of Jurassic sediments, which are in places capped by Cretaceous–Paleogene sediments. Moreover, the base of the Glarus Nappe Complex consists of a thick series of Permian and Triassic rocks. The two upper nappes consist exclusively of Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments. The Tavetsch and Gotthard nappes, mainly consisting of crystalline basement, are considered to be the substratum of the “Helvetic nappes”. The sedimentary units behind the Gotthard Nappe are also part of the Upper Helvetic subdomain (Camosci and Scopi nappes, Piora-Peiden Slice Complex). Thin slivers of South Helvetic to Ultrahelvetic sediments or mélanges overlie the Drusberg and Säntis nappes (Habkern Mélange Zone, Iberg and Wildhaus mélanges, Internal Einsiedeln Slices, Fläscherberg and Liebenstein nappes).