Studying carbonate breccias enhances our understanding of various geological processes. Fieldwork in the vicinity of the Sakhray Massif in the Western Caucasus (western edge of the Caucasus Mountains) allowed us to discover a peculiar layer of carbonate breccia in the monotonous succession of Lower Triassic platy limestones. The lithological peculiarities of this breccia and the hosting rocks were examined in the field, as well as in polished slabs and thin sections. The results show that the breccia consists of a chaotic mass of chiefly angular clasts of entirely different limestones with abundant fossil debris and a micritic matrix similar to the hosting rocks but bearing siliciclastic debris. The age of the carbonate breccia is the same as that of the hosting rocks, i.e., it is late Induan–early Olenekian (Early Triassic), but the clasts are attributed to upper Changhsingian (Upper Permian) limestones (also reefal). It is proposed that these clasts were created by erosion in a subaerial environment, after which they were transported from a land mass to a deep sea. Apparently, extraordinary geological events (e.g., severe storms, earthquakes, or tsunamis) triggered submarine debris flows on a steep slope. From a practical point of view, the reported discovery extends the vision of the geological heritage of this part of the Western Caucasus.
Рубан et al. (Mon,) studied this question.