Geotechnical study in Ribera del Fresno

In Ribera del Fresno, a substrate of slates and schists predominates, providing ground with good stability and bearing capacity suitable in most cases, particularly for moderate-load buildings. Clays and hard marls are also found, though in smaller proportions, together with gravels, compact sands and igneous formations, which diversify the ground response to structural loads, but generally allow the use of shallow direct foundations except in specific areas where less consolidated materials outcrop or where there is the presence of water-bearing bodies.

The seismic risk in the locality is very low, with only four events recorded over thirty years and a maximum magnitude below M3. The absence of karst rules out risks associated with collapses due to subsurface dissolution, and the non-clayey nature of the main substrate rules out expansivity problems. Therefore, the main constraints for foundation design will be related to the correct local identification of areas with possible shallow aquifers and the homogeneity of the slaty or schistous substrate.