The Early Miocene residual flysch basin at the front of the Central Western Carpathians and its palaeogeographic implications (Magura Nappe, Poland)

In the Polish sector of the Magura Nappe, along the front of the Pieniny Klippen Belt, strongly tectonized calcareous flysch up to 1000 m thick is exposed. Previously these deposits, composed of thin- to thick-bedded flysch, with a packet of Łącko-type marls, have been included into several Paleocene/Eocene formations, e.g., the Szczawnica Formation. This formation contains a poor assemblage of agglutinated foraminifera and a relatively rich assemblage of calcareous nannoplankton, with abundant reworked species. The youngest species give evidence of the NN2 Zone (Lower Miocene). Additionally, in three profiles (Szlachtowa, Knurów and Waksmund) of the Kremna Fm., Early Miocene foraminifera have been recognized. This research documented that during the Burdigalian, at the front of Central Western Carpathians, there still existed a residual marine basin probably up to 100 km wide. These deposits also contain thick packages of exotic carbonate conglomerates derived from the SE, previously regarded as the Jarmuta Formation.