Las Lajas Hill Fold (Pliegue Cerro Las Lajas)

The Cerro Alto Las Lajas Fold is a geosite located approximately 46 kilometers south of the city of Chile Chico. It is made up of rocks that, when subjected to stresses greater than their own resistance, begin to deform—bending, flowing, and/or fracturing. This geopatrimonial feature provides a very representative example of ductile deformation caused by a likely compressive stress, which folded originally horizontal layers into an inverted U-shape (∩).