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Home , Famatinian orogeny, Pampean orogeny, Sierras Pampeanas

Early evolution of the Proto-Andean margin of

C. W. Rapela Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 1 No. 644, 1900 La Plata, R. J. Pankhurst British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge CB30ET, United Kingdom C. Casquet Departamento de Petrología y Geoquímica, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain E. Baldo J. Saavedra CSIC, Instituto de Agrobiología y Recursos Naturales, 37071 Salamanca, Spain C. Galindo Departamento de Petrología y Geoquímica, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION From a detailed study of a 500 km transect in the , central-west Argen- The evolution of the margin pro- tina, two pre-Silurian tectono-magmatic episodes are recognized and defined, each culminating posed here is based on new geochemical, isotopic, in micro-continental collisions against the proto-Andean margin of Gondwana. The Pampean petrological, and sedimentological data from a started in Early time with short-lived , indicated by ca. 535 Ma 500 km traverse across the Eastern Sierras Pam- calc-alkaline granitoids. Following Pampean collision, burial to granulite facies condi- peanas and Precordillera (Fig. 1). Pre-Silurian tions (ca. 9 kbar) generated widespread migmatites and ca. 520 Ma highly peraluminous gran- metamorphic and magmatic history is inferred ites in the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. After brief quiescence, a second major episode, the from (1) dating by conventional U-Pb on abraded , started with subduction ca. 490 Ma, forming a wide continental arc and zircons, U-Pb SHRIMP analyses, and whole-rock ensialic backarc basin. This heralded the approach of to Gondwana, during which Rb-Sr and K-Ar, (2) thermo-barometry based on the Precordillera terrane separated from the southern Appalachian region, finally colliding with microprobe mineral analyses, and (3) Nd and Sr Gondwana in Silurian– time. isotopes, and major and trace element geochem- istry of the magmatic suites. Detailed data and interpretation have been presented for the Sierras de Córdoba (Rapela et al., 1998) and Sierras de La Rioja (Pankhurst et al., 1998).

THE GONDWANAMARGIN Geological and paleontological evidence indicating that the Argentine Precordillera is a Laurentian terrane has revolutionized ideas about the proto-Andean margin of South America (Dalziel, 1997, and references therein). The exotic origin of the Precordillera is now widely accepted, although the timing of and the associated geotectonic models remain contro- versial (e.g., Dalla Salda et al., 1992; Astini et al., 1995; Dalziel, 1997; Benedetto, 1998). Evolution of the Gondwana margin immediately prior to accretion is also poorly constrained. provinces at 27°–33°S may be divided into those related to Early to Middle Cambrian accretion (the Pampean mobile belt), and those associated with subduction (the Famatinian mobile belt) and later collision of an exotic terrane (the Precordillera terrane). Our data lead to a more restricted definition of Pam- pean and Famatinian events and their duration than the less restricted use of some authors. The Pampean mobile belt includes the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas and Eastern Cordillera (Fig. 1). It is mostly composed of medium to low pressure (P) and temperature (T), high-grade metamorphic rocks and anatectic , partially remobi- lized and intruded by Ordovician– granitoids. The Famatinian mobile belt, encom- passing the Puna and the Famatina System, con- sists of low to high grade, low P-T metamorphic Figure 1. Early Paleozoic geological provinces in southern , disclosed by back-thrusting rocks, backarc and ophiolites, and above Miocene “flat-slab” subduction. Principal sierras in this segment are: Q: Quilmes; C: widespread Ordovician magmatic arc rocks. The Capillitas; A: Ancasti; F: Famatina; V: Velasco; U: Umango; M: Maz; S: Sañogasta; N: Norte de Córdoba; Co: Córdoba; L: San Luis; R: Llanos de la Rioja; VF: Valle Fértil; P: Pie de Palo; PC: Precordillera terrane (Precordilleran terrane of Precordillera. Astini et al., 1995) is essentially equivalent to the

Geology; August 1998; v. 26; no. 8; p. 707–710; 3 figures. 707 terrane of Ramos et al. (1996), and con- basement occurs both east and west of the Pre- were accreted to Laurentia and Gondwana in sists of metamorphic basement partly covered by cordillera (see below). early Paleozoic collisions; recently reviewed Cambrian–Ordovician carbonate rocks. In the The Late Proterozoic–Silurian evolution of the geological evidence along the conjugate margins Precordillera, the latter contain typical Lauren- Gondwana foreland is compared to that of the indicates a latest to Early Cambrian tian faunas (see Benedetto, 1998) and subsequent Precordillera terrane in Figure 2. age for the -drift transition (Dalziel, 1997). siliciclastic units that extend into the upper Paleo- The of western Argen- zoic; a Grenville age for their unexposed base- Supercontinent Break-up: Opening of the tina is seen as the South American proximal ment has been inferred from xenoliths in Puncoviscan and Southern Iapetus Oceans counterpart of deep-marine passive margin Miocene volcanic rocks (1102 ± 6 Ma, U-Pb Break-up of the latest Precambrian Pannotia sequences. Inferred sequential opening of the zircon, Kay et al., 1996). Exposed Grenville-age supercontinent produced continental that Puncoviscan and Southern Iapetus oceans (the

Figure 2. Sequence of Paleozoic orogenic events in proto-Andean margin of South America. Tectono-magmatic evolution and geochronological control for Gondwana are from Pankhurst et al. (1998) and Rapela et al. (1998); time scale of Gradstein and Ogg (1996). Sedimentary sequences, faunas, and tectonic phases in Precordillera are simplified from Astini et al. (1995), Benedetto, (1998), and Keller et al. (1998); plate tectonic stages of Precordillera terrane are after Keller et al. (1998). Acronyms as in Figure 1.

708 GEOLOGY, August 1998 result of a spreading-center shift?) left “dead” oceanic between a detached continental block, the Pampean terrane, and the Gondwana margin (Figs. 2a and 3).

Pampean Orogeny: Early Cambrian Subduction and Terrane Collision The proto-Andean margin of Gondwana changed from passive to active in Early Cam- brian time, leading to closure of the Puncoviscan ocean (Fig. 2b). The youngest trace fossils in the Puncoviscana Formation are Tommotian (Durand, 1996), ca. 530–534 Ma. These date the last passive margin deposits, succeeded by a thick accretionary prism. A subduction-related belt of metaluminous calc-alkaline granitoids (G1a) and dacite-rhyolite was emplaced along the eastern part of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas (Lira et al., 1996; Rapela et al., 1998); in the Sierras de Córdoba, this is dated as 530 ± 4 Ma Figure 3. Early Cambrian reconstruction of southwestern Gond- by U-Pb on abraded zircons from three plutonic wana. Eastern Laurentia and South America were initially amal- units (Rapela et al., 1998). Intrusion was fol- gamated by Grenvillian orogens (Pannotia supercontinent, Dalziel, 1997), with latest Precambrian to Early Cambrian break- lowed by crustal thickening and burial to gran- up. The Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian distribu- ulite facies conditions (P = 8.6 ± 0.8 kbar, tion in South America is modified from Durand (1996). : T = 810 ± 50 °C). A clockwise P-T-time path is AAC, Arequipa-Antofalla; AMC, Amazonia; RAC, Río Apa; RPC, inferred, producing regional migmatites during Río de la Plata. peak thermal conditions of P = 5.7 ± 0.4 kbar, T = 820 ± 25 °C; dated as 522 ± 8 Ma by a U-Pb SHRIMP age on monazite. Immediately follow- 492 ± 6 Ma and lasted until ca. 450 Ma (U-Pb similarly overlies Grenville-age metamorphic ing this, strongly peraluminous, cordierite- and zircon and Rb-Sr whole rock, Rapela et al., 1998; rocks (Dalla Salda et al., 1992; Kay et al. 1996). sillimanite-bearing granites and associated Pankhurst et al., 1998). The granitoids intruded The Grenvillian age of Western Sierras Pam- cordierites were generated by low-P anatexis of the westernmost passive margin sequences over- peanas orthogneisses considered part of the Pre- metasediments (P = 3.9 ± 0.6 kbar, T = 684 ± lying the Pampean basement; they exhibit iden- cordillera terrane basement is established by 60 °C); an 18 point Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron tical Sm-Nd crustal residence ages to those of Rb-Sr whole-rock isochrons of 1030 ± 30 Ma, gave 523 ± 4 Ma, Sri = 0.7136, mean square of the Cambrian plutonic rocks of the Sierras de Sri = 0.70258 ± 0.00028 (Sierra de Umango, weighted deviates (MSWD) = 2.0; and U-Pb on Córdoba (1550–1750 Ma), significantly older Varela et al., 1996) and 1021 ± 12 Ma, Sri = abraded zircons gave 523 ± 2 Ma. This orogeny than those of the Precordillera terrane (Pankhurst 0.7045 ± 0.0003 (Sierra de Pie de Palo, is interpreted as due to Early to Middle Cam- et al., 1998). The Famatinian magmatic arc was Pankhurst and Rapela, 1998). brian collision between the semiautochthonous clearly continental, not an island arc. The Grenvillian rocks of the Sierra de Pie de Pampean terrane and Gondwana (Rapela et al., A wide backarc basin filled by Tremadocian– Palo were intruded by Ordovician high-K quartz 1998). Middle Cambrian deformation of the Llanvirnian shallow-marine volcaniclastic and/or monzonite and (481 ± 6 Ma, Puncoviscana Formation north of 27°S volcanic rocks opened between the inner and main SHRIMP U-Pb zircon, Pankhurst and Rapela, (Aceñolaza et al., 1990; Bahlburg and Hervé, arcs (Fig. 2d). It was floored by in 1998), which we tentatively associate with vol- 1997) is ascribed to the . the southern Puna (Bahlburg and Hervé, 1997), canism represented by K-bentonites interbedded SHRIMP ages of 600–1400 Ma for inherited and opened progressively southward, reaching the with the Arenig–Llanvirn carbonate units of the zircon from both high-grade metapelites and Sierras de San Luis at 33° S (Sims et al., 1998). Precordillera (Huff et al., 1995). This peraluminous granites suggest provenance from The basin closed during the Late Ordovician was coeval with extensional collapse of the Pre- Middle to Late Proterozoic sources. Ocloyic tectonic phase, producing westward cordillera carbonate shelf, indicated by Arenigian thrusting and mylonite belts in the high-grade mass-flow turbiditic deposits and giant olistoliths, Ordovician Subduction on the Gondwana Pampean basement of the Sierras de Córdoba and culminating with eruption of Caradocian Margin vs. Break-up of Eastern Laurentia (D3 deformation). Pegmatites associated with the mid-ocean ridge basalts and ultramafic rocks After Pampean terrane accretion, the proto- dextral shear zones of this stage yield K-Ar ages of (Fig. 2; Astini et al., 1995). This can be seen as the Pacific margin became passive at this latitude 435–447 Ma (Rapela et al., 1998). North of 27°S, start of the drift stage of the Precordillera terrane, until Early Ordovician time: There was no oro- the Eastern Cordillera rode over the eastern edge following its separation from eastern Laurentia. genic activity and little granitoid emplacement in of the Puna and the Arequipa-Antofalla , Ashgillian closure of the Gondwana margin the Sierras Pampeanas between 515 and 490 Ma. together with obducted ophiolites (Balhburg and backarc basin and Ocloyic tectonism (Fig. 2e; The Famatinian magmatic arc was initiated in Hervé, 1997, and references therein). Bahlburg and Hervé, 1997) may have been earliest Ordovician time and affected all geo- Evolution of the Gondwana foreland at this related to accelerated convergence during and logical provinces in southwestern Gondwana. An time sharply contrasts with that of the obviously following the Precordilleran rift-drift transition on inner arc of sparse high-Al trondhjemites was exotic Precordillera (Fig. 2). The Precordillera the opposite margin of the southern Iapetus emplaced at 496 ± 2 Ma in the Pampean foreland has a typical passive margin, Early Cambrian– Ocean; the Ocloyic phase may not be causally of the Sierras de Córdoba; a new cordilleran arc Arenigian, carbonate shelf sequence, which related to accretion of the Precordillera terrane, as of calcic granitoids was initiated to the west at resembles that of the southern Appalachians and often supposed.

GEOLOGY, August 1998 709 Docking of the Precordillera Terrane ACKNOWLEDGMENTS margin of South America: Geological Society Timing of the collision of the Precordillera This work was carried out as part of contract [London] Special Publication (in press). CI1-CT92-0088 from the Commission of the European Lira, R., Millone, H. A., Kirschbaum, A. M., and terrane with Gondwana is still unresolved. Communities and was also supported by grant PIP Moreno, R. S., 1996, Calc-alkaline arc granitoid Despite many other differences, most recent geo- 4148, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas activity in the Sierra Norte-Ambargasta Ranges, dynamic models have considered that this y Técnicas, Argentina. central Argentina: Journal of South American occurred during the Middle Ordovician Fama- Earth Sciences, v. 10, p. 157–177. tinian orogeny (Dalla Salda et al., 1992; Astini REFERENCES CITED Pankhurst, R. J., and Rapela, C. W., 1998, The proto- Aceñolaza, F. G., Miller, H., and Toselli, A. J., eds., Andean margin of Gondwana: An introduction, et al., 1995; Dalziel, 1997; Ramos et al., 1996). 1990, El Ciclo Pampeano en el Noroeste Argen- in Pankhurst, R. J., and Rapela, C. W., eds., The However, there is increasing evidence for later tino: Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argen- Proto-Andean margin of South America: Geo- accretion, during Silurian or Early Devonian time tina, 227 p., Serie Correlación Geológica no. 4. logical Society [London] Special Publication (in (Fig. 2f): (1) There is no evidence for Late Cam- Astini, R. A., 1996, Las fases diastróficas del Paleo- press). zoico Medio de la Precordillera del oeste argen- Pankhurst, R. J., Rapela, C. W., Saavedra, J., Baldo, E., brian subduction on the Gondwana margin, tino—evidencias estratigráficas: XIII Congreso Dahlquist, J., Pascua, I., and Fanning, C. 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R., tina: Implications for the Palaeozoic tectonic evo- Cingolani, C., and Davis, D. W., 1995, Middle lution of the western Gondwana margin, in collisions. The first was the Early to Middle Cam- Ordovician K-bentonites discovered in the Pre- Pankhurst, R. J., and Rapela, C. W., eds., The brian (530–520 Ma) collision of the Pampean cordillera of Argentina: Geochemical and paleo- Proto-Andean margin of South America: terrane against the newly formed passive margin geographic implications, in Cooper, J. D., Droser, Geological Society [London] Special Publication of Gondwana. Subduction restarted at ca. 490 Ma M. L., and Finney, S. C., eds., Ordovician (in press). odyssey: Short papers for the Seventh Inter- Varela, R., López de Luchi, M., Cingolani, C., and (Tremadocian?), forming a wide continental arc national Symposium on the Ordovician System: Dalla Salda, L., 1996, Geocronología de gneises and an ensialic backarc basin floored by ocean Pacific Section, Society for Sedimentary Geol- y granitoides de la Sierra de Umango, La Rioja: crust. The Precordillera terrane rifted from eastern ogy Book 77, p. 343–349. Implicancias tectónicas: XIII Congreso Geo- Laurentia in Early Caradocian time, during Kay, S. M., Orrell, S., and Abruzzi, J. M., 1996, Zircon lógico Argentino y III Congreso de Exploración closure of the southern Iapetus Ocean. Accretion and whole-rock Nd-Pb isotopic evidence for a de Hidrocarburos, Buenos Aires, Actas III, Grenville age and Laurentian origin for the base- p. 519–528. of this terrane to Gondwana was complex and ment of the Precordillera in Argentina: Journal of protracted, starting with closure of the Famatinian Geology, v. 104, p. 637–648. Manuscript received February 12, 1998 backarc basin during the Late Ordovician Keller, M., Buggisch, W., and Lehnert, O., 1998, The Revised manuscript received May 5, 1998 (440–450 Ma) and concluding with collision in stratigraphic record of the Argentine Precordillera Manuscript accepted May 18, 1998 and its plate-tectonic background, in Pankhurst, Middle Silurian to Early Devonian time (430– R. J., and Rapela, C. W., eds., The Proto-Andean 390 Ma), together with intrusion of large pera- luminous Devonian batholiths.

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