Tectonic Reconstruction of the Northern Andean Blocks: Oblique Convergence and Rotations Derived from the Kinematics of the Piedras–Girardot Area, Colombia
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Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 221–250 www.elsevier.com/locate/tecto Tectonic reconstruction of the northern Andean blocks: Oblique convergence and rotations derived from the kinematics of the Piedras–Girardot area, Colombia Camilo Montesa,T, Robert D. Hatcher Jr.b, Pedro A. Restrepo-Pacec aCarbones del Cerrejo´n, plc, Carrera 54 72-80, Barranquilla, Colombia b306 Geology Building, The University of Tennessee, 37996-1410 Knoxville, TN, USA cEcopetrol, Cll 37 #8-43, Bogota´, D.C., Colombia Received 15 November 2002; received in revised form 15 August 2003; accepted 23 December 2004 Available online 17 February 2005 Abstract A detailed kinematic study in the Piedras–Girardot area reveals that approximately 32 km of ENE–WSW oblique convergence is accommodated within a northeast-trending transpressional shear zone with a shear strain of 0.8 and a convergence factor of 2. Early Campanian deformation is marked by the incipient propagation of northeast-trending faults that uplifted gentle domes where the accumulation of sandy units did not take place. Maastrichtian unroofing of a metamorphic terrane to the west is documented by a conglomerate that was deformed shortly after deposition developing a conspicuous intragranular fabric of microscopic veins that accommodates less than 5% extension. This extensional fabric, distortion of fossil molds, and a moderate cleavage accommodating less than 5% contraction, developed concurrently, but before large-scale faulting and folding. Paleogene folding and southwestward thrust sheet propagation are recorded by syntectonic strata. Neogene deformation took place only in the western flank of this foldbelt. The amount, direction, and timing of deformation documented here contradict current tectonic models for the Cordillera Oriental and demand a new tectonic framework to approach the study of the structure of the northern Andes. Thus, an alternative model was constructed by defining three continental blocks: the Maracaibo, Cordillera Central, and Cordillera Oriental blocks. Oblique deformation imposed by the relative eastward and northeastward motion of the Caribbean Plate was modeled as rigid-body rotation and translation for rigid blocks (derived from published paleomagnetic and kinematic data), and as internal distortion and dilation for weak blocks (derived from the Piedras– Girardot area). This model explains not only coeval dextral and sinistral transpression and transtension, but also large clockwise rotation documented by paleomagnetic studies in the Caribbean–northern Andean region. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Northern Andes; Kinematics; Deformation; Transpression; Palinspastic reconstruction T Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (C. Montes). 0040-1951/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2004.12.024 222 C. Montes et al. / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 221–250 1. Introduction Detailed geologic mapping and collection of fabric and stratigraphic data in the field constitute the core of Most agree that the latest Mesozoic and Cenozoic this study. Field studies concentrated on collecting evolution of the northern Andes was dominated by the structural data and mapping lithologic contacts and relative northeastward, and then eastward advance of stratigraphic units at 1:25,000 scale to map changes in the buoyant Caribbean plate with respect to stable thickness and stratigraphic pinchouts. Mesoscopic South America (Case et al., 1971; Malfait and fabric elements such as cleavage, veins, systematic Dinkelman, 1972; Pindell and Dewey, 1982; Burke joints, folds, fault surfaces, and slickenlines were et al., 1984; McCourt et al., 1984; Laubscher, 1987; measured in the field, also recording lithology, surface Ave´ Lallemant, 1997; Villamil and Pindell, 1998; morphology, and a visual estimate of spacing. James, 2000). The relative eastward advance of this Shattered pebbles in conglomerate and deformed buoyant plate favored the development of transcurrent ammonite molds in black shale were employed to plate boundaries to its north (Rosencrantz et al., 1988) obtain the orientation of strain axes and their geo- and south (Kafka and Weidner, 1981; Pennington, metric relationship to more widespread fabric ele- 1981). Unlike the sharp northern boundary, however, ments such as cleavage and veins. With the exception the southern Caribbean plate boundary is a collection of the Ibague´ and Cambao faults, and the Guaduas of continental fragments that resisted the advance of and Gualanday synclines, the nomenclature of faults the buoyant Caribbean Plate, and led to the progres- and folds for the Piedras–Girardot area presented here sive dextral transpressional distortion, further dis- is new. membering, rigid-body translation, and clockwise rotation of the continental fragments that make up the northwestern Andes. 2. Regional setting This paper documents the structural style and timing of deformation in the Piedras–Girardot area, Regional kinematic reconstructions indicate that a small portion of the northern Andes that is the Caribbean Plate is in many respects an abnormal characterized by dextral transpression (Montes, oceanic plate that apparently resists subduction due to 2001; Montes et al., 2003). The kinematics and timing its origin as a thick and buoyant oceanic plateau in the of deformation derived from the observations made in Pacific Plate (Malfait and Dinkelman, 1972; Pindell this foldbelt directly contradict current tectonic and Barrett, 1990; Montgomery et al., 1994; Kerr et models for this part of the northern Andes. Con- al., 1998). Seismic refraction, reflection, and gravity sequently, a new regional tectonic model, that satisfies studies (Edgar et al., 1971; Zeil, 1979; Bowland and kinematic compatibility criteria, was developed to Rosencrantz, 1988; Westbrook, 1990) reveal that the explain some of the puzzling problems of this margin, Caribbean oceanic crust is abnormally thick (12 to 15 such as the relationship between the regional sinistral km) and 1–2 km shallower than predicted by its and dextral strike-slip faults. This speculative model minimum age (Early Cretaceous). This abnormally integrates previous kinematic, paleomagnetic, and thick, shallow plate also shows signs of internal paleogeographic observations and hypotheses from deformation that may have resulted from its relative the southern Caribbean plate margin in northern eastward insertion through a bottleneck (Fig. 1) Venezuela and the Me´rida Andes with the tectonics between the Los Muertos and the southern Caribbean of the Cordilleras Oriental and Central in Colombia, deformed belts (Burke et al., 1978). two traditionally unconnected topics in the geologic The relative eastward drift of the buoyant Car- literature. The Piedras–Girardot area afforded an ibbean Plate with respect to the American plates (Case excellent opportunity to establish an anchor point to et al., 1971; Ladd, 1976) necessarily imposes large study the interaction between the Caribbean Plate and strike-slip components along the southern and north- the northern Andes because this is the only place ern Caribbean plate margins. The Cayman trough where the Cordilleras Central and Oriental overlap, its (Fig. 1), along the sharp northern Caribbean plate moderate size, adequate exposure, and availability of boundary contains evidence for more than 1100 km of oil industry subsurface data. sinistral motion since Eocene times (Rosencrantz et C. Montes et al. / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 221–250 223 ° NNorthorth AAmericanmerican 2200 N B MD PPlatelate CT LLMDB A te A ChB Pla ean ibb SCDB ar FFBB C 1100°N MMBB PPAA OD SM Mérida Andes CocosCocos PlatePlate CC W W ° ° CO 0 8 80 SSouthouth A Americanmerican PlatePlate N NNazcaazca PPlatelate es 0° d n A W W ° ° 550000 kkmm 0 70 7 Fig. 1. General tectonic map of the Caribbean region; black indicates elevations higher than 500 m above sea level. AA: Antilles arc; CC: Cordillera Central; CO: Cordillera Oriental; CT: Cayman trough; ChB: Chortis block; FB: Falco´n basin; LMDB: Los Muertos deformed belt; MB: Maracaibo basin; OD: Orinoco delta; PA: Panama´ arc; SCDB: Southern Caribbean deformed belt; SM: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (modified from: Burke et al., 1978, 1984). al., 1988). Similarly, the eastern segment of the stable South America, which is oblique to the general southern Caribbean plate margin along northern northeast structural grain of the northern Andes (Fig. Venezuela contains paleontologic evidence (Diaz de 2), and indicates that strike-slip is significant and must Gamero, 1996) that documents more than 1000 km of be accounted for in regional reconstructions. This east–west, dextral strike-slip motions, in agreement paper documents this direction of tectonic transport, with younging metamorphism to the east (Pindell, discusses the implications of these findings, and 1993). In contrast with these sharp strike-slip boun- frames the results in a new regional tectonic model daries, the southwestern segment of the southern that satisfies kinematic compatibility criteria. Caribbean plate boundary in Colombia is character- ized by a broad and diffuse zone of oblique deformation (Kafka and Weidner, 1981; Pennington, 3. Piedras–Girardot area 1981; Audemard, 2001) with the Cordillera Oriental forming its eastern border (Mann et al., 1990). Dextral The rugged hills of the Piedras–Girardot area strike-slip is indeed recorded along faults in the interrupt the otherwise flat and wide Magdalena Cordillera Central, and Me´rida Andes (Campbell,