Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 1, No. I, pp. 109-120, 1988 0895-9811/88 $3.00+0.

00
Printed in Great Britain Pergamon Journals Lid

Structure along the eastern margin of the Central

Cordillera, Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia
K. BUTLER* and S. SCHAMEL
Earth Sciences and Resources Institute, University ofseuth Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208 USA
(Received for publication August 1987)

Abstract---The eastern margin of the Central Cordillera in the Colombian Andes is bounded by a narrow,
east-verging, middle Tertiary foreland fold and thrust belt. Serialized balanced cross-sections reveal that
structures within this belt are characterized by en echelon basement-cored domes carried eastward on low-
angle to moderately steeply dipping basement-rooted thrust faults. Foreland folding and thrusting
migrated eastward through time, but ended by latest Oligocene and crustal deformation shifted eastward
to the Eastern Cordillera and the Garz6n Massif during the early Miocene through Pliocene. The style and
configuration of the foreland structures along the eastern margin of the Central Cordillera appear to be
controlled by a polygonal array of pre-existing mechanical anisetropies in the pre-Cretaceous basement. In
the northern portion of the Chusma fault system, N/S-trending, moderately dipping, basement-rooted
thrusts flatten upward into detachment surfaces within a thick Upper Cretaceous shale unit, carry broad
basement-cored ramp anticlines on their hanging walls, and splay upward into the pre-Miocene
sedimentary cover forming trailing imbricate fans. To the south, the same basement faults exhibit a
different style as they steepen, jog sharply to a northeast trend, and cut directly up through the
sedimentary cover without forming associated imbricate thrusts. This retro-arc thrust belt differs from
other cordilleran deformed belts, such as the Canadian Rockies and Foothills, in that basement directly
influenced deformation of the sedimentary cover. The interplay of Oligocene crustal shortening with pre-
existing basement weaknesses created a transitional terrane that developed features of both thin-skinned
thrust belts and thick-skinned Laramide-style crustal uplii~s.
Resumen--El margen oriental de la Cordillera Central en los Andes colombianos esta limitado por una
angosta faja plegada y corrida, Terciaria media, y con vergencia hacia el este. Secciones balanceadas
seriadas indican que las estructuras dentro de este cinturSn est6n caracterizadas por domos nucleados por
basamento (basement-core domes) en echelon que han sido trasladados hacia el este por corrimientes de
bajo a moderado angulo originados en el basamento. E1 plegamiento del antepais y el corrimiento migr6
hacia el este a travds del tiempo, pero finaliz6 en el Oligoceno tardio. Durante el Mioceno temprano al
Plioceno, la deformacibn cortical se desplaz6 al este a la Cordillera Oriental y al Macizo del Garz6n. El
estilo y la conflguraci6n de las estructuras de antepais a lo largo del margen oriental de la Cordillera
Central aparentan estar controlados por tm ordenamiento poligonal de anisotropias mec~nicas preexis-
tentes en el basamento pre-cret~cico. En la porci6n norte del sistema de falla Chtmma, corrimientos de
orentaci6n N-S de inclinaciSn moderada originados en el basamento, se horizontalizan hacia arriba en
superficies de despegue dentro de una potente unidad lutitica del CretAcico Superior, transportan amplios
anticlinales de tampa nucleados pot basamento en los bloques levantados, y se despliegan hacia arriba en
una cobertura sedimentaria pre-miocena formando "abanicos imbricados" (trailing imbricate fans). Hacia
el sur, las mismas fallas de basamento exhiben un estilo diferente ya que tienden a verticalizarse, se
deflectan bruscamente a una alineaciSn noreste, y cortan directamente hacia arriba a tray,s de la
cobertura sedimentaria sin formar corrimientos imbricados asociados. Esta faja de eorrimientos de retro-
arco difiere de otras fajas cordilleranas deformadas, tales como la de las Rocallosas Canadienses, en donde
el basamento influenci6 directamente la deformacibn de la cubierta sedimentaria. La interrelacibn de
acortamiento cortical Oligoceno con zonas de debilidad del basamento pre-existentes, crearon un terreno
transicional que desarroll6 caracteristieas tanto de fajas de corrimiento de "piel delgada" (thin-skinned),
como de levantamientoscorticales de "piel gruesa" (thick-skinned) de tipo Laramide.

INTRODUCTION Reverse faults carrying basement-cored anticlines

ALONG THE U p p e r M a g d a l e n a V a l l e y of C o l o m b i a , a
r e t r o - a r c fold a n d t h r u s t b e l t f o r m s t h e e a s t e r n m a r -
g i n of t h e C e n t r a l C o r d i l l e r a (Fig. 1). E a s t - v e r g i n g ,
b a s e m e n t - c o r e d r a m p a n t i c l i n e s a r e localized w i t h i n
two e n e c h e l o n s e g m e n t s of t h e t h r u s t belt. T h e nor-
t h e r n s e g m e n t , t h e G i r a r d o t f a u l t s y s t e m , is c h a r a c -
terized by m o d e r a t e l y steeply dipping reverse faults.
T h e m a j o r i t y of t h e f a u l t s a r e b l i n d a n d a r e e x p r e s s e d
at the s u r f a c e by t i g h t , d o u b l y p l u n g i n g folds.
W i t h i n t h e s o u t h e r n s e g m e n t , t h e C h u s m a f a u l t sys-
t e m , b o t h folds a n d f a u l t s a r e e x p o s e d a t t h e surface.
*Present address: Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production,
P. O. Box 9909, Bakersfield, CA 93389 USA.
109
f l a t t e n u p w a r d i n t o t h e s e d i m e n t a r y c o v e r to f o r m
imbricate fans and narrow ramp anticlines. The
focus of t h i s p a p e r is t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e re-
verse faults within the pre-Cretaceous basement and
t h e t h r u s t s d e f o r m i n g t h e C r e t a c e o u s - T e r t i a r y cover.
T h e s e s t r u c t u r e s f o r m t h e b a s i s for t h e i m p o r t a n t oil
fields i n t h e U p p e r M a g d a l e n a V a l l e y .
REGIONAL SETTING OF THE CHUSMA
FAULT SYSTEM
I n C o l o m b i a , t h e A n d e s m o u n t a i n b e l t ( F i g . 2)
branches into three distinct parts: (i)the Western
Cordillera, a Cretaceous-Paleocene ophiolite-bearing
llO K. BUTLER and S. SCHAMEL

N E I V A A N D GIRARDOT BASINS,
UPPER M A G D A L E N A VALLEY, C O L O M B I A

75w 74W
5 N . - ~ - ~ . ~ - - ,SN

1 Miocene-Recent Strata

Q Cretaceous-Oligocene Strata
r'74 W
4N 4N
pre-Cretaceous basement .~

Girardot fault
system

3N
3N
Chusma
fault system

7SW 70W

CARIBBEAN SEA

2N

75W

76W
__/ 1N
°i E~o,,~R '°

l-
0
KILOMETERS
,,
IO0
I I
20O
I
i
75W
PERU1
.........
70W
.........

Fig. 1. Locationmapofthe UpperMagdalenaValley,Colombia(adaptedafterCedielet al., 1976).

accretionary prism overprinted by an Eocene-Oligo- of Neogene molasse was deposited discordantly

cene volcanic arc; (ii)the Central Cordillera, a per-
sistent crustal uplift since the latest Cretaceous and
the site of a Neogene volcanic arc; and (iii) the Eas-
tern Cordillera, a broad crustal uplift bounded by
outward-facing thrust belts elevated and deformed
during Miocene-Pliocene time.
The Chusma fault system, which developed during
the late Eocene-Oligocene, is situated between the
Central Cordillera and the Eastern Cordillera. It is
partially buried by Miocene and younger molassic
sediments filling the intermontane Neiva Basin (Fig.
1). The Neiva Basin is one of several structural de-
pressions forming the Magdalena Valley, a Neogene
foredeep trough (Van Houten, 1976). Clastic sedi-
ments derived first from the elevated Central Cor-
dillera, and later from both the east and the west,
were trapped in this narrow intermontane trough by
the rise of the Eastern Cordillera. Up to 3000 meters
across the partially eroded Chusma fault system.
A steep, east-dipping reverse fault, the Garz6n-
Suaza fault, forms the present eastern margin of the
Neiva Basin. East of this fault is a broad Paleozoic
crystalline basement uplift (Garz6n Massif, Fig. 3)
that forms the southernmost portion of the triangle-
shaped Eastern Cordillera (see Fig. 2).
STRATIGRAPHY
Pre-Cretaceous basement complex
The pre-Cretaceous rocks exposed adjacent to the
Neiva Basin are Paleozoic crystalline rocks locally
overlain by a complex succession of red beds, vol-
canics, and volcanoclasticsof Triassic-Jurassic age
the Saldafia Formation (Cediel et al., 1981). The
 Structure of the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia 111
SOiW 701W
,,<'

1ON-
_ k /

\
/
c.,
"-14-. ~GUAYANA 8HIELD

ASZ ATRATO EUTUNE ZONE

BF BOCONO FAULT
CF CUIZA FAULT
CF8 CHUBMA FAULT SYSTEM
CT CERREJON THRUST
CbT CAMBOA THRUET
-0
CET COLOMBIA-ECUADOR TRENCH
DRF8 DELOREE-ROMERAL FAULT 8YETEM
/ EF
GF8
ECUADORiAN FORELAND
GIRARDOT FAULT 8YETEM
' //"
GBT GARZON-EUAZA THRUST
~o~/ MAT MIDDLE AMERICA TRENCH
OF OCA FAULT
PCT PERU-CHILE TRENCH
PFE FALEBTINA FAULT EYETEM
PFZ PANAMA FRACTURE ZONE
PSA PERU 8UBANDEAN BELT
8CMF SOUTH CARIBBEAN MARGINAL FAULT
SMF SANTA MARTA FAULT
8T 8ALINAS THRUST
5C 701W

KILOMETERS

Fig.2. Tectonicmap ofthe NorthernAndes: Ecuador,Colombia,and Venezuela(fromIrving,1975;Lonsdale,1978;Kelloggand

Bonini, 1982).

Paleozoic contains large granite and granodioritic
plutons, orthogneiss, and low- to medium-grade
metasediments and metavolcanics (Pedreira and
Rosenman, 1973; Geyer, 1979). Precambrian base-
ment rocks of the Guiana Shield are considered to
extend no further west than the central axis of the
Garz6n Massif(Irving, 1975).
Cretaceous-Paleogene succession
The pre-Miocene sedimentary succession forms an
eastward and northward thinning wedge of generally
clastic sediments of mid-Cretaceous to early Oligo-
cene age. The thickness of this sediment wedge
varies from about 6000 meters along the edge of the
Central Cordillera to 2500 meters adjacent to the
Garz6n Massif. The succession is made up of two
distinct sediment packages: a pre-orogenic Albian-
Aptian through Paleocene marine to nonmarine
sequence, and an upper Eocene-lower Oligocene syn-
orogenic molasse.
The pre-orogenic sequence constitutes a single
transgressive-regressive megacycle, beginning with
a basal sand and conglomerate unit -- the Caballos
Formation (Fig. 4). This sandstone unit thins south-
ward, in the direction of transgression, varying from
over 200 meters of arkosic conglomerates and sands
in the northern Neiva Basin (Fig. 3) to about 90
meters of quartz arenite and conglomerate southwest
of Hobo (Dixon, 1953; Beltr~n and Gallo, 1979).
Caballos sands grade upward into thick transgres-
sive marine shale and limestone of the Villeta For-
mation (Fig. 4). The shale is very organic-rich and
contains intervals of chert and phosphorite, indi-
cating deposition in a restricted basin subject to
periods of upwelling. In the southern Upper Magda-
lena Valley, the formation varies in thickness
between 700 and 1100 meters (Dixon, 1953; BQrgl,
1961).
During the Campanian, a major marine regression
occurred in the northern Andes. In the Upper Mag-
dalena Valley, this regression was expressed in
112 K. }]UTI,ER and S. SCHAMEI,
deposition of a 150-200 meter thick, fine-grained,
marine quartz arenite - - the Monserrate Formation
According to Waddell (1982), the C a m p a n i a n -
Maastrichtian Monserrate sands were deposited in a
northward prograding, tidal-dominated coastal en-
vironment. Localized beach deposits accumulated
adjacent to the Central Cordillera, which may have
been slowly rising during the Maastrichtian (Irving,
1975; Waddell, 1982). Monserrate sands grade up-
ward into paralic to nonmarine red beds of the
Guaduala Group. This Maastrichtian-Paleocene
unit, which ends the first sequence megacycle, forms
an eastward-thinning wedge v a r y i n g from 1200
meters thick along the Central Cordillera to 400
meters in the eastern Neiva Basin.
A late Paleocene-early Eocene hiatus separates
the two sequences. Except in the extreme west,
coarse fluvial clastics of the Gualanday Group (Fig.
4) rest paraconformably on the Guaduala red beds.
This second, synorogenic, sequence contains massive
chert pebble conglomerates, trough crossbedded
sands, and red beds of late Eocene-early Oligocene
age (Anderson, 1972; Van Houten, 1969; Van Houten
and Travis, 1968). The Gualanday Group is thickest
(3000 m) on the west, beneath the Chusma fault, and
B50E
[ ~ L. MIOCENE-RECENT
O 10 20
~ U.EOCENE-L.OLIGOCENE Kilometers
U. CRETACEOUS (Maastrichtlan) -
PALEOCENE
L. CRETACEOUS (Albtan-Aptlan
to Maastrlchtlan )
PRE-CRETACEOUS (BASEMENT)
ROCKS (Paleozolc and Triassic-
Jurassic)
Fig. 3. Generalized geologic map of the Neiva Basin (adapted after
Dixon, 1953; Torres et al., 1959; Raasvelt et al., 1957). Shaded
areas indicate detailed geologic maps presented: 1) San Francisco
area; 2) Palermo area; and 3) San Antonio syncline.
it thins rapidly to the east where it is only l l 0 0
meters thick adjacent to the GarzSn Massif. The
sequence was deposited in a complex depositionat
setting of coalescing alluvial fans and braided flood-
plains developed on the eastern flank of the then
actively rising Central Cordillera.
Neogene succession
A thick succession of nonmarine, molassic sedi-
ments was laid down in the Neiva Basin following
the main phase of deformation in the Chusma fault
system. These Neogene s e d i m e n t s (Fig. 4) are
grouped in three units: (i) the Barzalosa Formation,
lowermost Miocene or ?uppermost Oligocene; (ii) the
Honda Formation, middle to upper Miocene; and
(ill) the Mesa Group, P l i o c e n e to Q u a t e r n a r y
(Beltr~n and Gallo, 1979). The Barzalosa Formation
consists of 50 to 300 meters of fluvial red mudstone.
The Honda Formation is a coarse clastic sequence of
up to 2500 meters of arkosic conglomerate, sands,
and volcanoclastics deposited in coalescing alluvial
fans and braided river systems (Van H o u t e n and
Travis, 1968). The Mesa Group fills the young axial
trough of the Neiva Basin with as much as 1000
meters of molassic sediments. The volcanoclastics
common in the Mesa Group were derived from the
late Miocene-Pliocene andesitic volcanoes distri-
buted along the axis of the C e n t r a l C o r d i l l e r a .
Quaternary alluvial fans cover older Neogene sedi-
ments along both flanks of the Neiva Basin, however,
locally young deformation and deep down-cutting by
the Magdalena River have combined to expose
portions of the succession.
BASEMENT-COVER RELATIONS
The Chusma fault defines the boundary between
crystalline rocks of the Central Cordillera and the
Chusma fault system (Fig. 3). Paleozoic basement
rocks are carried on the Chusma thrust over strata as
young as early Oligocene. To the east, a series of
associated west-dipping thrusts and]or reverse faults
drive basement-cored ramp anticlines eastward, dis-
rupting the cover succession. Several of the asym-
metric anticlines are breached, exposing the pre-
Cretaceous Saldafia Formation (Fig. 3).
The structure of the Chusma fault system and the
effect of younger structures associated with the uplift
of the Eastern Cordillera can be seen by examining
in detail three sub-areas shown in Fig. 3.
San Francisco area
The San Francisco area (Fig. 5) is characterized by
a broad, eastward-verging anticline b e n e a t h the
town of San Francisco, paralleled by several west-
dipping thrusts. The San Francisco anticline brings
the Villeta and M o n s e r r a t e F o r m a t i o n s to the
surface. Along the crest and the west limb of the
anticline, the San F r a n c i s c o t h r u s t c a r r i e s the
 Structure of the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia 113

uppermost Villeta Formation over the Monserrate
sands, the Guaduala mudstones, and, locally, the
basal Gualanday Group -- a m i n i m u m vertical throw
of 800 meters. The ridge-forming Monserrate sands
are repeated twice by the San Francisco thrust and a
small footwall splay (Fig. 5). At the Rio Bache water-
gap on the axis of the San Francisco anticline, the
Bache thrust carries Villeta shales onto the upper
Monserrate Formation with a m i n i m u m vertical
throw of 200 meters. The Bache thrust appears to die
out northward into the relatively incompetent Gua-
duala mudstones, but it could merge with the foot-
wall splay of the San Francisco thrust just west of
San Francisco. A branch off of the Bache thrust,
having very minor throw, extends N N E along the
axial trace of the San Francisco anticline. The east
limb of the anticline is buried disconformably be-
neath a thin veneer of post-thrusting Honda Forma-
tion.
Palermo area
In the Palermo area (Fig. 6), the San Francisco
and Bache thrusts are separated by several addi-
tional thrusts, such as the Palermo thrust, that
repeat the Monserrate-Gualanday stratigraphic in-
terval. These thrusts can be mapped northward
where they merge with the San Francisco thrust just
south of the San Francisco area (Fig. 5). East of the
Bache thrust, in the southwest quadrant of Fig. 6, a
bedding-plane thrust is mapped partially enveloping
the Upar High, an asymmetric, basement-cored
anticline. This folded thrust is just one of several in
the area that appear to predate folding of the two
large ramp anticlines, the Upar High and the Hato
Viejo High. The imbricate thrusts in the Palermo
area have detached in black shales near the top of the
Villeta Formation.
The observed decrease in fault displacement from
the Chusma fault eastward is characteristic of a
trailing imbricate fan (Boyer and Elliot, 1982). The
throw on the San Francisco thrust is as great as 1000
meters, and the aggregate throw on the various
Palermo thrust splays is at least 800 meters. In
contrast, the vertical throw on the Bache thrust is
only about 200 meters. East of the Bache thrust, the
faults ramp upward from a decollement surface with-
in the Villeta shales to follow secondary glide hori-
zons in siltstonesof the Monserrate Formation.

STRATIGRAPHIC COLUMN OF THE NEIVA BASIN

Localized adjacent to the Cen.t~l Cor-

•" Terracesand ] I dillera and the Gar~n M~_~J'f. Vosc.anlcs q
"~ alluvial fans dominant along Central Cordillera.
@, a_
k non-marine volcaniclastic sequence.
Mesa Group ~-:..'..:.::..:.:.:-.'~.'
,.'.~ Thicknose up to 1000 metort TQm
.'.'.':.7.'.-:g'::
A non-marine molauic sequence of
Th
i Honda Forma tl on "~.'.~,"~.'.'.'s:~' arkole, volcanielastirs, and lRharanit~
up to 3000 meters thick.
cJ
@ 0 ~-~;.~~'.:Y.,:':~ A non-marine mudrock unit up to 300
Barzalosa ~.-'-:~".
meters thick. Confined to azial trough of Tb
the Neiva Basin.

m no deposition Major angular unco~on~'ty due to do-

formation during mid- to late Ollgeceno.
@
.~ Gualanday '~'~-~ A non-marino sequence of molasee com- Td
posed of chert ~nglomeratse, 1100 to Tp
3000 meters thick. Tc
~ no deposition ~ o n r disconformity in the Neiva Basin
• Paleocene-upperEoceno.
A paralic to non-marine sequence of red Tgt
~" Guaduala Group beck, 400 to 1200 metoca t-hick; M..a.
trichtian...Paleocene in age. Tgs

Monserrato ~ _ A marine q u ~ n i t e ranging from

,o=.,o°
150 to 200 meters thick; Campanian- K4
M..-trichtian ta age.
800 to 1100 meters of • black marine
cJ

o
cO
i° .~

~
.
Villeto
Formation

Caballos
shale with diKontinuoue carbonates;
Alhian-Aptian-Campanian in age.
A pm-allc to tran~meive marine
quartearenite-congtomerato, 80 to 200
ILl

Kb
ce
maters thick; Albino-Aptian in age.

Saldaba- 2000 meters of carbonates and con-

Payande tinental elastics, slightly metamor-
Formations pho~d. Overlain by at the most 2000
meters of andos/to and bmmlt flows.

~ . . ] m s e d of a wide rang e of inter-

ba"ystalline msdfato and acidic plutom~ low to high
asel~ent
f[mda metamorphic reeks; Cambrian-
Ordovician and Carboniferous in age.

Fig. 4. Stratigraphic column for the N e i v a Basin region (adapted after Dixon, 1953;
Beltrdn and Gallo, 1979). The codes for the stratigraphic units given in Figs. 5, 6,
and 7 are shown in the right-hand column.

SAPS I/i--H
I 14 ~ , BUTLER and S. SCHAMEL

Saldafia volcanics are exposed in the cores of the

Hato Viejo and Upar anticlines, which rise beneath
the imbricate thrust stack. The Hato Viejo anticline
is a broad elongate dome bounded on the west by a
steep normal fault, on the north by a NE-dipping
thrust splay, and on the east by onlapping, discon-
formable Neogene strata. The Upar High is a west-
vergent anticline uplifted on the counter-regional
Upar reverse fault (Fig. 6). The Upar fault has a
minimum vertical throw of 800 meters. The Upar
anticline plunges steeply northward beneath the
gently folded Bache thrust.
Field evidence in the Palermo area points to two
phases of deformation which post-date deposition of
the early Oligocene Gualanday Group rocks and pre-
date deposition of the Honda Formation:
1) Imbricate thrusting of the pre-Mioeene sedimen-
tary cover on detachment horizons in the Villeta
shale and the Guaduala mudstones giving rise to a
trailing imbricate fan. The thrust splays probably
link genetically with the Chusma fault in that the
San Francisco thrust merges with that structure
to the southwest.
| i
2) Detachment, folding, and uplift of the basement in
0 H;; i
KILOMETERS
2 3
the footwall of the Chusma reverse fault to form
r = the Upar and Hato Viejo ramp anticlines, thereby
Fig. 5. Geologic map of the San Franciscu area. Codes for
tblding the overlying imbricate f a n
stratigraphic units are given ira Fig. 4

D •

Fig. 6. Geologic map of the Palermo area. Codes for stratigraphic units are given in Fig. 4.
 Structure of the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia
San Antonio syncline
The San Antonio syncline (Fig. 7) lies along the
eastern margin of the Neiva Basin adjacent to the
GarzSn Massif. Both limbs of the structure are
bounded by steep reverse faults that converge up-
ward toward the axis of the syncline. The syncline
exposes the entire pre-Miocene sedimentary succes-
sion, including the upper Gualanday strata.
Along the west limb of the syncline, a short seg-
ment of the Ceibas reverse fault is exposed beneath
the onlapping Miocene to Recent alluvium. The fault
carries basement rocks up against east-facing sub-
vertical Monserrate beds. The GarzSn Massif is
thrust up over the steep to overturned east flank of
the syncline on the east-dipping GarzSn-Suaza re-
verse fault. On the hanging wall block of the GarzSn-
Sauza fault, a thin erosional remnant of Caballos
0 q 2 J ~ $
glLOM~T£tS
I el~tt$ 3
Fig. 7. Geologic map of the San Antonio syncline.
stratigraphic units are given in Fig. 4.
115
sands rests directly on Paleozoic crystalline base-
ment.
Development of the San Antonio syncline occurred
in two phases following deposition of the lower Oligo-
cene upper Gualanday strata:
1) Eastward directed thrusting on the Ceibas fault,
resulting in local upturning of s t r a t a in the
footwall of the fault - - the west limb of the syn-
cline. This thrusting pre-dates deposition of the
Honda Formation and may be just slightly youn-
ger than movement on the faults in the San
Francisco and Palermo areas.
2) Westward directed uplift of the GarzSn Massif on
the GarzSn-Suaza reverse fault, overturning stra-
ta in the footwall - - the east limb of the syncline.
Movement on the GarzSn-Suaza fault occurred
after deposition of the Honda Formation and pos-
sibly during deposition of the Mesa Group.
REGIONAL STRUCTURAL
INTERPRETATION
The important basement-rooted structures in the
Chusma fault system are shown in Fig. 8. The
shaded regions in Fig. 8 delineate those areas in
which basement faults splay upward into imbricate
thrusts in the overlying sedimentary section. The
regional structure is further illustrated by three
serialized cross-sections (Fig. 9}; see Figs. 3 and 8 for
the location of the sections. The map and cross-
sections were compiled from detailed geologic maps
(Figs. 5, 6, and 7) prepared for this study, published
and p r o p r i e t a r y r e g i o n a l geologic maps, and
proprietary seismic and well data provided by the
Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production Company.
The cross-sections (Fig. 9) have been line balanced
(Dahlstrom, 1969) using the base of the Caballos
Formation and the top of the Monserrate Formation
as reference horizons. The relatively uniform 1000-
1200 meter thickness of the Upper Cretaceous se-
quence between the reference horizons has been
honored in constructing the sections.
Section A-A '(San Francisco to San Antonio)
Section A-A' (Fig. 8) extends across the Neiva
Basin from the Central Cordillera to the GarzSn
Massif, crossing the San Francisco anticline (Fig. 5)
and the San Antonio syncline (Fig. 7). In the line of
the section, the pre-Cretaceous basement is disrupted
by four west-dipping reverse faults, each having
progressively diminished throw toward the east. The
throws estimated from the cross-section for the
basement faults are a minimum of 16 km on the
Chusma fault, 7 km on the Dina fault, 2.5 km on the
Palogrande fault, and about 1 km on the Ceibas fault.
'~
The faults, which are m o d e r a t e l y steep in
basement, flatten upward into detachment surfaces
within the Villeta shale and splay outward through
Codes for the pre-Miocene sedimentary cover succession to
form trailing imbricate fan thrust systems. At least
I Ifi K, BUTLEI'¢,and S. SCHAMEL

one large ramp anticline developed as a result of the
faulting - - the San Francisco anticline carried on the
Dina thrust. This anticline folds t h r u s t splays
formed in front of the Chusma fault, thus indicating
t h a t m o v e m e n t on the C h u s m a i m b r i c a t e fan
preceded thrusting on the Dina fault.
The younger (Miocene-Pliocene) Garz6n-Suaza
fault carries Paleozoic crystalline rocks westward
onto the flanks of the San Antonio syncline. The
approximately 1.5 km of throw on the Garz6n-Suaza
fault was responsible for the steep upturning, indeed
local overturning, of the east limb of the syncline.
Minor episodic m o v e m e n t on the P a l o g r a n d e
thrust continued into the latest Miocene. The fault is
known from subsurface and surface data to cut up-
section into the Pliocene Mesa Group; however, the
other west-dipping faults apparently do not disrupt
the basal Miocene unconformity.
The minimum crustal shortening between the
Chusma and the Garz6n-Suaza faults is about 12 kin,
or 19%
Section B-B '(Palermo to Rivera)
Profile B-B' crosses the Magdalena Valley j u s t
south of Neiva, passing close to the towns of Palermo
(Fig. 6) and Rivera. Although the Ceibas thrust dies
out north of this profile, the other faults continue
southward with little change except for s l i g h t l y
diminished throws on the Dina and P a l o g r a n d e

/
/
/-. /
/

/'

KM
%
o 4o

A,
C

I I I
o 2'0 £
KILOMETERS

Fig. 8. Basement structure map of the Chusma fault system and Neiva Basin. The shaded areas indicate regions of known imbricate
thrust fans in the pre- Miocene sedimentary cover rocks. The inset map shows basement structures along the entire Upper Magdalena
Valley. Legend: Cbt, Ceiba~ fault; Ct, Chusrna fault; Dt, Dina fault; Gst, Garzdn-Suaza fault; Hvh, Hate Viejo High; Pt, Palogrande
fault; Sas, San Antonio syncline;Sfa, San Francisco anticline;Uh, Upar High; Ut, Upar fault; Vt, Villavieja fault.
 Structure of the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia
faults, about 5 km and 1.5 km, respectively. The San
Francisco ramp anticline carried on the Dina thrust
has widened southward so that in the vicinity of
Palermo it is very broad and flat. It reaches a
culmination just south of profile B-B' in the Hato
Viejo High (Fig. 6), a broad, basement-cored dome.
The imbricate fan thrust system in the pre-Miocene
sedimentary cover succession that roots into the
Chusma fault is folded above the slightly younger
San Francisco anticline. Early Miocene strata rest
with sharp angular discordance on the west-dipping
thrusts of the Chusma fault system.
Along the east margin of the Neiva Basin, the
steeply eastward dipping Garz6n-Suaza fault has
carried Paleozoic crystalline rocks 3 to 4 km upward
onto overturned strata of the Honda Formation.
Quaternary alluvial fans along the west margin of
the Garz6n Massif are not disturbed by the Garz6n-
Suaza fault.
The m i n i m u m amount of crustal shortening
between the Chusma and the Garz6n-Suaza faults, as
determined for Section B-B', is l l km, or approxi-
mately 18%.
S e c t i o n C-C ' ( T e r u e l to Campoalegre )
Section C-C', which crosses the southern portion of
the Neiva Basin near the small towns of Teruel and
Campoalegre, differs considerably from the previous
two sections (Fig. 9). Both the Chusma and the Dina
faults are steeper here than to the north and have
greatly diminished displacements, about l0 km and 4
km, respectively. The Palogrande thrust dies out
southward, possibly not even reaching profile C-C'.
A major change in the style of s t r u c t u r e s
associated with the Dina fault occurs south of a large
westward jog in the trace of the fault on the south
flank of the Hate Viejo High (Fig. 8). South of the
jog, the steeper Dina reverse fault cuts up through a
large asymmetric, east-verging anticline. Appar-
ently absent is the paired ramp anticline-frontal syn-
cline that is carried on the shallower dipping seg-
ment of the Dina fault to the north (Fig. 9). The
frontal imbricate fan in the pre-Miocene strata that
is associated with the Dina fault to the north is
absent south of the Hate Viejo High.
The broad basement-cored dome between the Dina
and the Chusma faults is displaced by a SE-dipping
reverse fault, the Upar fault {Fig. 8). This fault cuts
the shallow thrust splays frontal to the Chusma fault
and probably is contemporaneous with the Dina
fault, having developed as a steep backthrust at the
time of basement doming on the Dina fault. The
Upar fault has limited lateral extent, just about 20
km along the west side of the Upar uplift (Fig. 3}.
The Upar reverse fault is paired with a west-dipping
normal fault that has formed between the Dina fault
and the crest of the Upar uplift {Fig. 8). The throw on
the normal fault is about 1000 meters.
The Garz6n-Suaza fault near Campoalegre carries
basement rocks of the Garz6n Massif up onto steeply
117
dipping to overturned Miocene and Pliocene strata on
the eastern margin of the Neiva Basin. In this pro-
file, the geologic constraints are not sufficient to
estimate the throw on the fault.
The m i n i m u m crustal shortening between the
Chusma and Garz6n-Suaza faults in Section C-C' is
11.5 kin,or approximately 17.5%.
DISCUSSION
The Chusma fault system exhibits two contrasting
structural styles: (i) a northern, N/S-trending seg-
ment characterized by relatively shallow basement-
rooted trailing imbricate fans within the pre-Miocene
sedimentary cover strata, and (ii) a southern,
NE/SW-trending segment characterized by steeper
reverse faults that merely cut up through the pre-
Miocene strata without forming an imbricate fan
thrust system. The polygonal array of en e c h e l o n
basement-rooted faults exhibiting these contrasting
styles is depicted in Fig. 8; the areal extent of known
imbricate thrust fans is shown in the shaded pattern.
The presence or absence of frontal imbricate thrust
fans appears to be related to the dip of the associated
basement-rooted fault. The moderately dipping, N/S-
trending fault segments splay upward into imbricate
fans; the steeper, NE-trending fault segments do not.
Controls on the attitude of the fault segments within
the rather regular polygonal array exhibited in the
Neiva Basin area (Fig. 8} are not clear as yet. Fault
attitudes and trends may be controlled by mechani-
cal anisotropies, such as pre-existing faults or region-
ally consistant structural fabrics, within the pre-
Cretaceous basement. On the other hand, such a
fault array could arise from right-lateral strike-slip
motion within a broad, NE-trending transcurrent
fault system.
The Chusma fault is observed to c a r r y pre-
Mesozoic crystalline basement rocks on its hanging
wall. Our cross-sections (Fig. 9) show the Dina, the
Palogrande, and the Ceibas faults also cutting deep
into the pre-Mesozoic basement. We propose that all
of these thrusts ultimately rooted into the mid-
crustal brittle-ductile transition zone (McKenzie and
Jackson, 1983) which, at the time of thrusting in the
late Eocene-Oligocene, might have been as deep as 10
to 15 km. Pre-existing mechanical weaknesses with-
in the relatively rigid upper crust conceivably con-
trolled the geometry of the individual basement
thrust sheets.
The late Eocene-Oligocene foreland fold and
thrust belt along the eastern margin of the Central
Cordillera is in some respects similar to other
foreland deformed belts in the Andes. A comparable
transition in structural style occurs in the Argentine
Andes where the thin-skinned Eastern Cordillera
and sub-Andean t h r u s t belts gradually change
southward into a thick-skinned belt of Laramide-
style crustal uplifts in the Sierra Pampean ranges
(Jordan et al., 1983).
1 18
i
L, MIOCENE-RECENT
CHUEMA UPAR
N . EOCENE-L.OLIGOCENE
L. CRETACEOUS(Moutrlchtlan)-
PALEOCENE
J L. CRETACEOUS
(Aptllm.-Alblln to Muutrlchtlen)
TRIA881C-JURA881C
(vok:anIGs and meliSedlments)
B PALEOZOIC(cryetliUlne basement) ..... ~,
Fig. 9. Generalized balanced cross-sections from the eastern margin of the Central Cordillera to the Garzdn Massif. The locations of
these profiles are indicated on Fig. 3. The profiles have no vertical exaggeration.
The southern end of the Argentine sub-Andean
belt (Fig. 10A) is an eastward verging imbricate
thrust belt that includes shallowly dipping base-
ment-rooted thrust faults only along its westernmost
limits. Beneath the thrust belt itself, the basement is
undeformed. However, along strike to the south (Fig.
10B), the eastern margin of the Eastern Cordillera is
bounded by a high-angle r e v e r s e fault and the
shallow imbricate thrust belt has died out. The
Santa B~rbara system to the east consists of base-
ment-cored uplifts having both east and west ver-
gence. The changes in style along the E a s t e r n
Cordillera shown in Fig. 10A-B are analogous to the
style change observed along the Dina fault in the
Upper Magdalena Valley of Colombia. Jordan et al.
(1983) attributed the contrasts in structural style
along the Argentine foreland in part to mechanical
variations in the character of the basement rocks. At
the latitude of the sub-Andean belt, the Precambrian
basement is relatively weak foliated metamorphic
rocks, whereas near the Santa B~rbara system the
K BtYI'I.ER and S. SCHAMEL
F;gu~e5 F~urO 7
F !
GARZON-SUAZA
Flgwe 6
CHUEMA I I GARZON-EUAZA
GARZON-EUAZA
THRUST THRUET
~o ,~ 21o
KILOMETERS
basement is a more rigid homogeneous nonfoliated
igneous and metamorphic complex.
The Wind River uplift (Fig. 10C) in Wyoming is
representative of the Laramide crustal uplifts of the
Rocky Mountains. The uplift is a broad, asymmetric
basement arch (Berg, 1962} displaced on a deep-
seated, moderately dipping reverse fault (Smithson et
al., 1979). An imbricate fan thrust system is not
developed in front of the Wind River thrust within
the thick sedimentary succession of the Green River
Basin. The Eastern Cordillera and Garz6n Massif in
Colombia (Fig. 10D-E) have a style similar to the
Wind River uplift, except that the Colombian crustal
uplifts are bounded on both flanks by oppositely dip-
ping high-angle reverse faults.
Within the Chusma fault system, the interplay of
late Eocene-Oligocene crustal shortening with appar-
ent pre-existing basement weaknesses has resulted
in a deformed belt having features of both thin-
skinned thrust belts and thick-skinned, Laramide-
style crustal uplifts.
 ,q
EASTERN SANTA B A R B A R A
EASTERN
CORDILLERA SUB-ANDEAN BELT CORDILLERA SYSTEM
1 ~" ~r ~t ~ ~,
_ __ 1 1 8.|.
S . I ~ s'L

. ~ . , . .1 0 , . ~ , ' ~
~t -1 0 E~-I
~ ~.~-~.'.~..,
2 0
~~ ; ~ : - ~ , . -~o
km. kin.
km. km.

iDAHO-WYOMING O
OVERTHRUST BELT GREEN RIVER B A S I N WIND R I V E R U P L I F T

¢D

-20 . . . . ,'--"- - . . . . . . . . . . . ,~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k~ nv l .

knl.

CENTRAL CORDILLERA MIDDLE MAGDALENA EASTERN CORDILLERA GUETAME MASSIF LLANOS

.... * ~ e . ~ . . . *. J . . . . . R A R I N

km.

CENTRAL CORDILLERA NEIVA GARZON MASSIF LLANOS

v. He•e,d• t m H • ~ oyso ~ RAAIN ~ RARIM

] TinTLARYSEDIILINTS

] ¢RETAGEOUaINEOIILINT8
E
] TmASEC,-~ADD~ lUEE~VlNT8
km.
] FALIOZO~ ~IE~MINTS
I I I
O 20 40
pALIOZOIC;IA lIEUalEN"nr Kilometers

] pguEC,An,mgtvtm gllAOEO,
aNlr

Fig. 10. Comparison between the Central Cordillera and GarzGn Massif of the Colombian Andes and comparable deformed belts. A) Eastern Cordillera and sub-Andean belt, 24°S, Argentine Andes.
Located at the southern end of the Eastern Cordillera and sub-Andean belt in northern Argentina and southern Bolivia (adapted after Mingramm et al., 1979; Jordan et al., 1983). B) Southern part of
the Eastern Cordillera and the Santa B~rbara system, 25°S, Argentine Andes (adapted after Mingramm et al., 1979; Jordan et al., 1983). C) Wind River uplift, Wyoming (adapted after Smithson et al.,
1979). D) Central Cordillera and Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes, 5°N (adapted from data of Campbell and BOrgl, 1965; Julivert, 1970; Cediel et al., 1976). E) Central Cordillera and Garz6n k-d
Massif of the Colombian Andes, 3°N (adapted from the data of Dixon, 1953; Raasveltetal., 1957; Tortes etal., 1959; Cediel etal., 1976). tD
120 K. BUTLER a n d S. SCHAMEL
Acknowledgements--Funding for this research was provided by
Houston Oil Colombiana and Tenneco Oil Exploration and Pro-
duction Company. The Earth Sciences and Resources Institute of
the University of South Carolina (William H. Kanes, Director)
provided additional support. We wish to thank Terry Wilson and
Reginald Shagam for their careful reading of an earlier version of
this paper; Richard Allmendinger, Clark Burchfiel, Robert
Hatcher, Teresa Jordan, and Michael Waddell also contributed
valuble suggestions. Ann Gillon assisted in preparation of the
illustrations.
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