Sedimentary Geology, 83 (1993) 1-14 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam Continental depositional systems of the Quaternary of the Po Plain (northern Italy) Gian Gabriele Ori Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universita' di Bologna, Vuz Zamboni 67, 40127 Bologna, Italy (Received February 22, 1992; revised version accepted August 25, 1992) ABSTRAcr Ori, G.G., 1993. Continental depositional systems of the Quaternary of the Po Plain (northern Italy). Sediment. Geo!., 83: 1-14. The Po Plain is a molasse foredeep bounded by two mountain chains: Apennines and Alps. Apenninic thrusting is still active, whereas the Alpine one ended by Early Pliocene times. The continental deposits form a veneer at the surface and form the topset of a prograding complex. The Po River divides the plain into two sectors with different sedimentary facies and body geometries. To the south, the alluvial fan and plain deposits are small, embedded in clays, and show elongate shapes. To the north, sedimentary bodies are laterally extensive, tabular and with minor amounts of fine-grained sediments. This difference could be due to: (a) different climatic conditions during Quaternary ice ages on the two sides of the basin; (b) different structural settings in the two sectors of the basin, that produce a higher subsidence rate to the south; (c) different lithologies in the source areas (i.e. Alps and Apennines). Introduction The Po Basin is a peri-sutural basin (Bally and Snelson, 1980) formed by the growth of the Apenninic chain. It is the latest, but not the last, foredeep of a continuum of fast-subsid- ing basins. The oldest foredeeps now crop out on the mountain chain (Sestini, 1970) as al- lochthonous units; other, younger ones, lie in the borderland and are autochthonous. Furthermore, some of the marginal deposits of the present Po Basin have been uplifted and form a rim to the ba.sin. The Po Basin is part of a complex larger basin that includes the Adriatic Sea. It is surrounded by two mountain chains with basinward direction of thrusting (Apennines against Alps and Dinar- Correspondence to: G.G. Ori, Dipartimento di Scienze Geo- logiche, Universita' di Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, 40127 Bologna, Italy. ides, Fig. 1). The Po River supplies most detritus that enters into the Adriatic Sea. Other detrital routes are: (a) major deltas (e.g. Adige and Tagliamento) north of the Po River and flowing _ Mountain chain • • MajOr delta Minor delta or fan delta ,/' Sea floor isobath (1OO&1OOOm) 'l. Area of study 300 Km Fig. 1. Structural and physiographic setting of the Po-Adriatic Basin. 0037-0738/93/$06.00 <l:l 1993 - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved