Malvinas Basin

Malvinas Basin
Cuenca de Malvinas
Coordinates51°30′S 63°30′W / 51.500°S 63.500°W / -51.500; -63.500
EtymologyIslas Malvinas
LocationArgentine Shelf, Southern Atlantic
RegionPatagonia
Country Argentina
 United Kingdom
State(s)Santa Cruz Province
Falkland Islands
Characteristics
On/OffshoreOffshore
BoundariesRío Chico-Dungeness High (W)
Scotia-South American plate boundary (S)
Part ofCircum-Atlantic basins
Area~180,000 km2 (69,000 sq mi)
Hydrology
Sea(s)Southern Atlantic Ocean
Geology
Basin typeRift basin
OrogenyBreak-up of Pangea
AgeEarly Jurassic-Holocene
StratigraphyStratigraphy
Field(s)non-commercial

The Malvinas Basin (Spanish: 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. The southern boundary is formed by the Scotia plate boundary. Contrary to the neighbouring North Falkland and Magallanes Basins, the Malvinas Basin is not known to have commercial hydrocarbon reserves.