• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.19-34
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• 2013

The Ipcheon Subbasin is an isolated Miocene basin in SE Korea, which has the geometry of an asymmetric graben elongated in the NE-SW direction. It is in contact with basement rocks by faults and separated from adjacent Waup and Eoil basins by the basement. The strata of the basin fills have an overall homoclinal structure, dipping toward NW or WNW. The basin fills consist of Early Miocene sediments rich in dacitic volcanic and volcaniclastic deposits and Middle Miocene non-volcanic and nonmarine conglomerates intercalated with sand layers, which are distributed in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the basin, respectively. Kinematic analysis of syndepositional conjugate faults in the basin fills indicates WNW-ESE extension of the basin. These features are very similar to those of the adjacent Waup and Eoil basins, indicating that the basin extension was governed by the NE-trending northwestern border faults and that the basin experienced a propagating rifting from NE to SW. Basaltic materials, which occur abundantly in the Eoil Basin, are totally absent in the Ipcheon Subbasin. The observations of the dacitic tuff and tuffaceous mudstone in the subbasin, on slabs and under microscope, suggest that they have lithologies very similar to those of the Yondongri Tuff in the Waup Basin. The Middle Miocene non-volcanic sediments of the Waup and Eoil basins and the Ipcheon Subbasin are distributed consistently in the southwestern part of each basin. It is thus concluded that the extension of the Ipcheon Subbasin began at about 22 Ma together with the Waup Basin and was lulled during the main extension period of the Eoil Basin between 20-18 Ma. At about 17 Ma, the subbasin was re-extended due to the activation of the Yeonil Tectonic Line associated with the propagating rifting toward SW. This event is interpreted to have provided new sedimentation space for the Middle Miocene sediments in the southwestern parts of the Waup and Eoil basins and the Ipcheon Subbasin as well.