| Malvinas Basin | |
| Other Name: | Cuenca de Malvinas |
| Named For: | Islas Malvinas |
| Pushpin Map: | Argentina |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Coordinates: | -51.5°N -93°W |
| Location: | Argentine Shelf, Southern Atlantic |
| Region: | Patagonia |
| Country: | |
| State: | Santa Cruz Province Falkland Islands |
| Onoffshore: | Offshore |
| Boundaries: | Río Chico-Dungeness High (W) Scotia-South American plate boundary (S) |
| Partof: | Circum-Atlantic basins |
| Seas: | Southern Atlantic Ocean |
| Area: | ~180000km2 |
| Basin Type: | Rift basin |
| Orogeny: | Break-up of Pangea |
| Age: | Early Jurassic-Holocene |
| Stratigraphy: | Stratigraphy |
| Fields: | non-commercial |
The Malvinas Basin (Spanish; Castilian: Cuenca de Malvinas) is a major sedimentary basin in the Argentine Shelf offshore southern Patagonia. The basin borders to the west with the Río Chico-Dungeness High that separates it from the Magallanes Basin.[1] The southern boundary is formed by the Scotia plate boundary.[2] Contrary to the neighbouring North Falkland and Magallanes Basins, the Malvinas Basin is not known to have commercial hydrocarbon reserves.[3]
The Malvinas Basin started to form with the break-up of Pangea since the Early Jurassic.
Though poorly understood due to the lack of well data, several formations were identified in the basin on the basis of 2D seismic, of which some also crop out in onshore Patagonia and the Austral Basin:[4]
| Age | Formation | Lithologies |
|---|---|---|
| undefined | Claystones and sandstones | |
| Arenas Glauconíticas & Magallaniano Formations | Sandstones and claystones | |
| Margas Verdes & Arroyo Alfa Formations | Claystones and sandstones | |
| Springhill & Pampa Rincón Formations | Claystones and sandstones | |
| Late Jurassic | ||
| Volcanics and claystones | ||
| Hiatus | ||
| Quartzites and shales | ||