Abstract

South Sulawesi, situated at the junction of three major plates and with an almost complete Tertiary sequence, is an ideal location in which to study syntectonic sedimentation. Redeposited carbonate facies of the lower/middle Eocene to middle Miocene Tonasa Limestone Formation in the Barru area prove to be reliable indicators of tectonic activity. South of the Barru area contemporaneous carbonate sediments formed on a relatively stable shallow-water platform, known as the Tonasa Carbonate Platform. Redeposited carbonate facies and interbedded marls from the Barru area are described and interpreted in this study. The immaturity and provenance of clasts indicate that the redeposited facies were derived from the faulted northern margin of the Tonasa Carbonate Platform. A relay ramp between at least two major NW-SE trending faults is the inferred configuration of this margin. Three main phases of faulting are indicated by the redeposited facies: late Eocene to early Oligocene, middle Oligocene and early to middle Miocene. This is consistent with other outcrop and seismic data from the region and with the inferred plate tectonic situation during the Tertiary.