The first study on tectonics in Catalonia: the structure of the Prelittoral Chain (NE Iberian Peninsula) by Domingo Palet y Barba

Despite the entrenched ideas of the Catalan geological community, at the start of the
XX century, Palet (1872-1953) undertook a pioneering study on the tectonics of the Prelittoral Chain. The present paper provides 1) a description of Catalan geology of the time, 2) an outline of Palet’s life, and 3) an account of Palet’s research based on his fieldbooks and publications. With the aid of French textbooks, Palet gained new insights into thrust tectonics and its role in the structure of mountain chains, attributing the trusts of the Prelittoral Chain to the collapse of the Vallès graben in accordance with the prevalent ideas of the time. He published some preliminary notes (1908 to 1911), and
until 1915 worked on an extended paper, which he did not complete owing to the inability of the academicians to understand his data and interpretations. The acceptance of Palet’s interpretation of the structure of the Prelittoral Chain had to await the presentation of his ideas to prestigeous European tectonists during a field excursion at the International Geological Congress in 1926, which led to the publication of Palet’s cross-sections.