Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 171-188, 1991 0895-9811/91 $3.00 + 0.

00
Printed in Great Britain © 1991 Pergamon Press plc
& Earth Sciences & Resources Institute

Paleozoic evolution of active margin basins

in the southern Central Andes
(northwestern Argentina and northern Chile)
H. BAHLBURG* a n d C. BREITKREUZ
Institut ffir Geologie und Paliiontologie, Technische Universitiit, 1000 Berlin 10,
Federal Republic of Germany
(Received September 1990; Accepted May 1991 )
Abstract--The geodynamic evolution of the Paleozoic continental margin of Gondwana in the region of the
southern Central Andes is characterized by the westward progression of orogenic basin formation through
time. The Ordovician basin in the northwest Argentinian Cordillera Oriental and Puna originated as an
Early Ordovician back-arc basin. The contemporaneous magmatic arc of an east-dipping subduction zone
was presumably located in northern Chile. In the back-arc basin, a ca. 3500 meter, fining-up volcaniclastic
apron connected to the arc formed during the Arenigian. Increased subsidence in the late Arenigian
allowed for the accommodation of large volumes of volcaniclastic turbidites during the Middle Ordovician.
Subsidence and sedimentation were caused by the onset of collision between the para-autochthonous
Arequlpa MasslfTerrane (AMT) and the South American margin at the Arenigian-Llanvirniantransition.
This led to eastward thrusting of the arc complex over its back-arc basin and, consequently, to its trans-
formation into a marine foreland basin. As a result of thrusting in the west, a flexural bulge formed in the
east, leading to uplift and emergence of the Cordillera Oriental shelf during the Guandaeol Event at the
Arenigian-Llanvirniantransition. The basin fill was folded during the terminal collision of the AMT
during the Ocl6yic Orogeny (Ashgillian). The folded strata were intruded post-tectonically by the
presumably Silurian granitoids of the ~Faja Eruptiva de la Puna Oriental." The orogeny led to the
formation of the positive area of the Arco Punefio.
West of the Areo Punefio, a further marine basin developed during the Early Devonian, the eastern
shelf of which occupied the area of the Cordillera Occidental, Depresi6n Preandina, and Preeordillera. The
corresponding deep marine turbidite basin was located in the region of the Cordillera de la Costa. Depo-
sition continued until the basin fill was folded in the early Late Carboniferous Toco Orogeny. The basin
originated as an extensional structure at the continental margin of Gondwana. Independent lines of evi-
dence imply that basin evolution was not connected to subduction. Thus, the basin could not have been in a
fore-arc position as previously postulated.
Above the folded Devonian-Early Carboniferous strata, a continental volcanic arc developed from the
Late Carboniferous to the Middle Triassic. It represents the link between the Choiyoi Province in central
Chile and Argentina, and the Mitu Group rift in southern Peru. The volcanic arc succession is characterized
by the prevalence of silicic lavas and tufts and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks. During the latest Car-
boniferous, a thick ostracod-bearing lacustrine unit formed in an extended lake in the area of the Depresi6n
Preandina. This lake basin originated in an intra-arc tensional setting. During the Early Permian, marine
limestones were deposited on a marine platform west and east of the volcanic arc, connected to the dep-
ositional area of the Copacabana Formation in southern Peru.
Resumen--see p. 188.

INTRODUCTION 1988; R a m o s et al., 1986). R e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e s e g -

THE AREA OF THE SOUTHERN CENTRAL ANDES h a s
f o r m e d p a r t of t h e S o u t h A m e r i c a n G o n d w a n a
m a r g i n s i n c e a t l e a s t t h e l a t e P r e c a m b r i a n (Scotese,
1986). I n a n a l o g y to g e o d y n a m i c m o d e l s o f t h e
Mesozoic-Cenozoic active Andean margin, continuous
s u b d u c t i o n s i n c e a t l e a s t t h e O r d o v i c i a n h a s also b e e n
a s s u m e d for t h e P a l e o z o i c C e n t r a l A n d e s (e.g., C o i r a
et al., 1982; F r u t o s , 1985}. H o w e v e r , t h e w e a l t h of
n e w s t u d i e s of P a l e o z o i c r o c k s i n d i c a t e s a m o r e com-
p l e x g e o d y n a m i c e v o l u t i o n (e.g., D a l m a y r a c et al.,
1980; H e r v ~ et al., 1981, 1987; A l l m e n d i n g e r et al.,
1983; D a l z i e l a n d F o r s y t h e , 1985; Bell, 1987a; R a m o s ,
m e n t e d d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e P a l e o z o i c m a r g i n o f
G o n d w a n a i n t h i s r e g i o n h a s f u r t h e r l i m i t e d t h e geo-
g r a p h i c a l a p p l i c a b i l i t y of e a r l i e r g e o d y n a m i c m o d e l s .
I n t h i s p a p e r we d i s c u s s t h e g e o d y n a m i c e v o l u t i o n o f
t h e s o u t h e r n C e n t r a l A n d e s b e t w e e n 21°S a n d 27°S
from Late Cambrian time into the Triassic. We pre-
s e n t t h e rock r e c o r d (Figs. 1 a n d 2) a n d d i s c u s s t h e
b e a r i n g of n e w d a t a a n d t h e r e s u l t s of o u r s t u d i e s i n
northern Chile and northwestern Argentina on cur-
rent interpretations.
EARLY PALEOZOIC RECORD

Cambrian
*Present address: Dept. of Geosciences, 221 Deike Bldg.,
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 The oldest non-metamorphic sedimentary rocks
USA (telephone [1 ] (814) 865-7042; telefax [1 ] (814) 865-3191 ). a r e r e p r e s e n t e d b y t h e ca. 3000 m e t e r t h i c k s u c c e s -
171
172 H. B A H L B U R G and C. BREITKREUZ

s's.
I BOLIVIA Tarija
\ ®

...~. ~ • /'~__.'~.._.~
.J...._. ~~',

' ~ • ,...,.. ~ ' < ~

v/. v . . . . / , \ ~ _ _ \ - ~
•/ ~ • " • ,<-\ N \-)
,. ~ "/R'~ • " '~lS.A.Cobres x,',

e" " ~ . N ~ _ ' ~ - '~uju,

• :" •~ .~\,\\! e

• ~ . \ x

i" de ta Sierra ' k \ ~x~'~'~

I
I 0 50 100 k m
I , i ,
I
CorditLde ta Costa Precordittera. CordiLLera
and Vatte Depres. Pmandina Puna/AttipLano Oriental
Long tud nat Cord. Occidental

°o.O'" Latest Carboniferous- ? Early Permian take

G Late Carboniferous-Triassic intrusions
@ Ordovician- Silurian intrusions
Cambrian intrusions
EarLy Permian marine Limestones, cLastic and volcanic rocks
Late Carboniferous-Mid-TriassicterrestrialvoLcanosedimentarysuccessions {PeineGroup)
Late Devonian- EarLy Carboniferous turbidites and voLcanics
Devonian-EarLy Carboniferous shaLLow marine and terrestrial cLastic rocks
Ordovician turbidites and volcanic rocks (~"ophiolites')
Ordovician shallow marine clastic rocks
Proterozoic- Early Cambrian metaturbidites ( Puncoviscana Formation)
metamorphic rocks (undifferentiated)

Fig. 1. Map of Paleozoic and Lower Triassic rocks exposed in the southern Central Andes of northern Chile and northwestern
Argentina. Numbers indicate outcrop areas referred to in the text: 1, Cafiani; 2, Santa Rosa de Tastil; 3, Cord6n de Lila; 4, Aguada
de la Perdiz ("Volcanosedimentary Successions," VS), 5, Sierra de Argomedo; 6, Salar del Rincbn; 7, Sierra de Almeida; 8, Chinches;
9, Quebrada Arcas; 10, F.I Toco; 11, Salar de Navidad; 12, Cerro 1584 and Cerro Palestina; 13, Paposo; 14, Collahuasi.
 Paleozoic evolution of active margin basins in the southern Central Andes 173

Chile I Argentina
i - -
C . . . . . ICordi[terQ Occidento[
o r d , t t e r o ae to L o s m ~ .. Cordittem
. . . . . . . . . I uepres,on Preondino Puno
vaue Longnuo,nat I P r e c ° r d i t t e m Chil.ena Orientat

I
+ * i:.v'.o . v . . ~ .v' + + :v.'.o.v :o
+ + I'o' V'O V.a' .+ O.V .o.

+ + .v.o.v.o.V..+ ~ v~ .ov.
+ u + .° v P e i n e :,° +o+1 • o .v. o
" "° Gro,, ''~ .~J'o.v'.°
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I+ ~'+1 I'V.'.o'.v kv;+v+J; v o v
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I+- +, I ~ ' ov+~*l. • V.o
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, . , J v ' o / V, V
• ÷,, ÷io.o i '1 i i" i "/

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• v..Arizaro v • "I
+ + ~ = _ =% v_.o__ ~ . . _ - .. :.v...v..v:. ".v:I
I I ~--"'-'-J "V. ' o . " ' ,' ..v. o .~ o." • .o ; o- "o ' I
F-'--" o-..oN~ Medo . . ;¢
..o.
o, o
O,Oscuro :o.O;i
o. I
.~?,~--.-..!v..;~. v ........ . . . . . . .

. .. .. .. , ,
r0 /.', -. . , - . •
.~ - - - Z ~ ) ~ / ( ~ S , e r I ~ de, T l g r e ~
+' - - ~ ' " - ' ~T" "" " "" ° : ° " "°"' o' -°'o."
.0-£/' ..... : . . o~....o-.. ~,....o-
H~',/,'T i Las T~rtolas " ' - .o ." . . . . "
~:.-:.V'.V' "V " ' . ' " " - : - . ' - : ' . ' - - '.
• . . • . . _ . _ , , .

/" E[ Toco" . ' . T ~ " ". - - . ' - ' Z o r r o s ' " '" '
• T . - • • . -., • . , BP Betlavisto Ptuton
"'T.'.~.'.'.~.'.-" ; - ' . ~. .. - ' -.- ' - '. _.. .
CG Cobres Group
.-_.-- -- _._: .--_..
.-.L: i-: • .-:-..:-: Comptejo Igneo-Sedimen-
ClSL t a r i o det C o r d 6 n de Lira
-5~ eor~td.'..'; :.:
-: ..-_._- ~..-. -. F o j o E r u p t i v o . de [o
FE Puna Oriental
' ."T--
. . .---. ~ .- ' -. ~. : -_ . -_- ~
----h--.__~"L i p e 6 n " ~ - . PTC Puno Turbidite Comptex
---.. --.. , .

• .-~ ' ~ - . . L T------T SVG Sonta Victoria Group

'--" 7 - - : . -- =-.-- ' --'..~
:_;:-7 .'_--' - '-:--_( ~ - ~ .
'Ltondovery ' • .---: " ." - - : ",z, ~--' Votcanosedimentory
(~--: • "®. • "--"
beds'
" "T
VS Successions
Tuc~coro ~ ~ I~:_e. ' M e c o y i t o .L_.~?'

~ O C L O Y I C OROGENY'v'~
T . " :rii-,-'"~".: ptutonic rocks
-' " "T "" " :.L;" " "" -' T ~. "." G u o n d o c o [ Event
r "-~ '~'Tv''---"T .'.. • P,U " • "... "... ~vvvv~ v o { c c m i c rocks
r v : v .T..V'-
'Amomed0 bed ' I" LI -VS' " : " -" . . . . ~: oo~ o.. ~ continentat
clostic rocks

~ ~ turbidites
? Ir~yico Event
~:: Me~6n .:-.-'.-. corbonotes

shores
? Tasti[- Co~ani
.~-,-,-,-,-,-~-~ PA M P E A N O R O G E N Y , ' v ~ ~-~ congtomerotes
"~ ' " ".'"''.'- '.'.i"..'.,,.' 'V " '.'." ". ". ' . . ' , 3 ' ' "i"
J-~ quortz sondstones
'" " " " " "9' " " ""~ ' ' ~ " " ' ' ' " "' " ' " " ' ' f l Y '
"
• ' " " - • • . ",%,.'. . ' ." ' ?! ." • .' . ." ." P u n c o v i s c a n a " ' " ' . - sondstones
". • " ' A r e q u i p a MClssif. - . .'." ' - . ~.. ".. i . . . . . i ~'.' "L ,
bosement

Fig. 2. T i m e - s t r a t i g r a p h i c d i a g r a m of t h e rock u n i t s exposed in t h e n o r t h w e s t A r g e n t i n i a n Cordillera O r i e n t a l a n d P u n a , a n d in

t h e n o r t h C h i l e a n Cordillera Occidental, D e p r e s i 6 n P r e a n d i n a , Precordillera, Valle L o n g i t u d i n a l , a n d C o r d i l l e r a de la C o s t a . * -
Refer to D a t u m etal. (1986).
174 H. BAHLBURG and C. BREITKREUZ
sion of quartz sandstones and shales of the MesSn
Group that are exposed in the north Argentinian
Cordillera Oriental (Figs. 1 and 2; Turner, 1960;
Kumpa and Sanchez, 1988). An angular uncon-
formity separates the Mesbn Group from the under-
lying metaturbidites of the Puncoviscana Formation,
which were folded in the Pampean Orogeny (Early to
Middle Cambrian, Fig. 2), and it rests with erosional
contact on the Middle Cambrian Cafiani and Santa
Rosa de Tastil plutons (Figs. 1 and 2; Acefiolaza et al.,
1988).
Ordovician
The shallow marine sandstones and shales of the
Santa Victoria Group, containing abundant trilobites
and graptolites, were deposited above an erosional
unconformity (Irfiyica Event: Turner and Mendez,
1979; see Fig. 2) in the Cordillera Oriental from latest
Cambrian to early Llanvirnian time (Fig. 2; Har-
rington and Leanza, 1957; Turner, 1960; Moya, 1988).
At the eastern margin of the westwardly adjacent
Puna highland, transgression started in the early
Tremadocian with the deposition of thick quartz
sandstone successions that grade into turbidites con-
taining intercalations of pebbly mudstones (Schwab,
1973; Cobres Group: Acefiolaza and Baldis, 1987). In
the eastern Puna, sedimentation is inferred to have
ended during the Arenigian (Schwab, 1973; Acefio-
laza and Baldis, 1987) but may possibly have
continued into the Late Ordovician (Bahlburg et al.,
1990).
In the western Puna and in the Cordillera Occi-
dental, the stratigraphic record sets in during the
middle Arenigian with ca. 3500 meter thick "volcano-
sedimentary successions" (VS, Fig. 2; middle-late
Arenigian), which encompass the north Chilean
Aguada de la Perdiz Formation and its southward
continuations in Argentina (Fig. 1), as well as the
lower part of the Coquena Formation (Garcia et al.,
1962; Schwab, 1973; Breitkreuz, 1986; Acefiolaza and
Baldis, 1987; Koukharsky et al., 1988; Bahlburg et
al., 1990). In their lower part, the VS consist of
vesicular basic lavas, hydroclastic rocks, and volcani-
clastic debris flow deposits, which are overlain in the
upper part by siliceous ash tufts and volcaniclastic
turbidites (Fig. 3). Geochemical data characterize the
lavas as products of a volcanic arc (Koukharsky et al.,
1988; Breitkreuz et al., 1989; Bahlburg, 1990). Ordo-
vician volcanic rocks younger than Arenigian are not
recorded. The vesicular lavas together with inter-
calated stromatolites (Coira and Barber, 1987) docu-
m e n t a very shallow marine environment in the
lower part of the VS, whereas the turbidites that
dominate in the upper part indicate a marked deepen-
ing of the depositional site of the VS. The VS repre-
sent deposits of a volcaniclastic apron (White and
Busby-Spera, 1987; Bahlberg, 1991). During the
latest Arenigian, the VS graded into the volcani-
clastic Puna Turbidite Complex (PTC, ca. 3500 m;
Fig. 2), which consists of the Lower and Upper
Turbidite Systems (LTS and UTS, respectively). The
P T C encompasses the upper part of the Coquena
Formation as well as the Calalaste Group. Deposi-
tion of the P T C presumably ended during the
Llandeilian-Caradocian transition (Ramos, 1972;
Schwab, 1973; Acefiolaza and Baldis, 1987; Bahlburg
et al., 1990). The turbiditesof the P T C were deposited
by axial, north-directed paleocurrents; however, no
regional proximal-distal trend (Macdonald, 1986)
could be observed. The P T C is almost exclusively
composed of erosional debris of the westward lying
volcanic arc line source (Figs. 3 and 7) -- the volcanic
activity of which was extinct after the Arenigian.
Toward the west, in the Chilean Depresi6n Pre-
andina, an early Paleozoic (probably Ordovician)
magmatic and sedimentary complex is exposed (Com-
plejo Igneo-Sedimentario del Cord6n de Lila, CISL,
Niemeyer, 1989; Niemeyer et al., 1985; Datum et al.,
1986; Breitkreuz et al., 1989; Figs. 1 and 2). It is
estimated to be 3000 meters thick and consists of
hemipelagic fine-grained clastic sediments, turbi-
dites,and cherts into which are intercalated vesicular
basaltic pillow lavas, hydroclastic rocks, and associ-
ated hypabyssal stocks, as well as various inter-
mediate and siliceous tufts and flows. The sedimen-
tary portion of the CISL was formed in a quiet water
environment into which sporadic southeast-directed
turbidity currents transported varying amounts of
volcanogenic detritus (Niemeyer, 1989; Niemeyer et
al., 1985). This environment underwent episodes of
bimodal volcanism. The basaltic-andesitic and sili-
ceous flows are the product of submarine volcanism,
as evidenced by pillows, chilled margins, and hydro-
clastic fragmentation in a water depth of less than
500 meters (Niemeyer et al., 1985; Breitkreuz et al.,
1989). Similar to the VS in the Puna, the siliceous
tufts can be regarded as deposits of volcaniclastic
mass flows.
Breitkreuz (1985, 1986) described an Early
Ordovician, approximately 1200 meter thick fine- to
coarse-grained clastic sedimentary succession that
includes rare lavas and is exposed in the northern
Sierra de Argomedo in Chile (Argomedo Beds; Figs. 1
and 2). However, Jesinkey et al. (1987) suggest a
Devonian/Carboniferous formation of the Argomedo
Beds on the basis of lithologiccorrelations, in spite of
the occurrence of Early Ordovician Cruzianas in the
sedimentary rocks (Seilacher, in Breitkreuz, 1986).
The clasticsediments of the Argomedo Beds are fairly
rich in volcanogenic detritus. The frequent silifica-
tion of the fine-grained clasticsediments and the rare
lava intercalations imply that the depositional site
was influenced by contemporary volcanic activity.
Sedimentologic features point to a shallow marine
deposition of the rocks (Breitkreuz, 1985). A cor-
relation of the Argomedo beds and the CISL with the
Ordovician formations of northwestern Argentina
seems to be arbitrary, as the two Chilean formations
are poorly defined stratigraphically (Bahlburg et al.,
1988a).
The strata in the Cordillera Oriental, Puna, and
Depresi6n Preandina were folded during the Late
Ordovician (Ashgillian) Ocl6yic Orogeny without pro-
 Paleozoic evolution of active margin basins in the southern Central Andes
minent fold inclinations (Turner and Mendez, 1979;
Monaldi and Boso, 1987; Mon and Hongn, 1987;
Bahlburg, 1990). The strata in the southern Puna,
however, were strongly deformed into uniformly
west-verging folds (Allmendinger et al., 1983; Mon
and Hongn, 1987). In the northern Puna, locally
developed east and west vergences are the product of
post-Paleozoic tectonics (Schwab 1973; Mon and
Hongn, 1987). Presumably during the Silurian, the
folded Ordovician rocks in the eastern Puna were
intruded post-tectonically by the granitoids of the
Faja Eruptiva de la Puna Oriental (FE; Figs. 1 and 2;
Mendez et aI., 1973; Salfity et al. 1975; Bahlburg,
1990). In contrast to the descriptions of, for example,
Coira (1973) and Coira et al. (1982), volcanic rocks
were not observed in the FE north of 24°S (Bahlburg,
1990). At the same time, the Tucficaro and Pingo
Pingo plutons intruded in the CordSn de Lila area
(Figs. 1 and 2; Mpodozis et al., 1983; Damm et al.,
1986). After the OclSyic Orogeny, the Puna became a
positive area (Arco Punefio: Padula et al., 1967; Figs.
2 and 7).
Silurian
Silurian beds are exposed in the western Puna in
the Salar del Rinc6n area and in the Cordillera
Oriental (Figs. 1 and 2). The shallow marine sand-
stones and shales in the Salar del Rinc6n area
(Llandoverian: Isaacson et al., 1976; "Llandoverian
beds," Figs. 1 and 2) overlie folded Ordovician strata
with an angular unconformity and represent the
western reaches of a short-lived transgression of the
Arco Punefio that originated in the Bolivian and
Argentinian Cordillera Oriental (Isaacson et al.,
1976). In the Cordillera Oriental, the glacio-marine
sedimentary rocks of the Mecoyita and Zapla Forma-
tions (late Ashgillian-?Wenlockian; Turner, 1960;
Mendez et al., 1979; Monaldi and Boso, 1987; Fig. 2)
were also deposited above folded Ordovician strata.
The Mecoyita Formation grades into the fine-grained,
shallow marine clastic rocks of the Lipe6n Formation
(Wenlockian-Ludlovian, Mendez et al. 1979; Malanca
and Monaldi, 1987).
LATE PALEOZOIC RECORD
D e v o n i a n - E a r l y Carboniferous
The only evidence of transgression in the Cor-
dillera Oriental area during the late Paleozoic is re-
presented by the Early Devonian Baritfi Formation,
consisting of alternating shallow marine siltstones
and shales rich in muscovite (Mendez et al., 1979).
Contemporaneously, the sea transgressed the west-
ern reaches of the Arco Puneflo (Figs. 1 and 2). A ca.
100 meter thick succession of fine-grained quartz
sandstones and shales is exposed at the Salar del
RincSn (Salar del Rinc6n Formation, Early Devonian,
Acefiolaza et al., 1972; Donato and Vergani, 1985;
Figs. 1 and 2).
175
Farther west in the Cordillera Occidental and the
DepresiSn Preandina, marine sedimentation began
during the Early Devonian and lasted until the Early
Carboniferous. In the Sierra de Almeida and the Cor-
dSn de Lila, 2700 meters of fossiliferous (e.g., brachio-
pods, conularids), well sorted quartz-rich sandstones
and shales representing deposits of a shallow shelf
are exposed ("Zorras beds," Figs. 1 and 2; Davidson et
al., 1981a; Cecioni, 1982; Niemeyer et al., 1985;
Isaacson et al., 1985; Breitkreuz, 1986). Deposition of
the series can be divided into three phases:
• During a transgressive period in the Early Devo-
nian, about 100 meters of fine-grained clastic
rocks were deposited above a basal conglomerate,
overlying the Ordovician Tucficaro Pluton as
exposed in the CordSn de Lila area (Cecioni, 1982;
Mpodozis et al., 1983; Niemeyer et al., 1985).
• Probably still in the Early Devonian, a thick
series of tidally influenced medium- to coarse-
grained, commonly crossbedded sandstones and
conglomerates accumulated under stable envi-
ronmental conditions.
• From the ?late Early Devonian to the Early Car-
boniferous, deposition took place in nearshore-
shoreface areas strongly influenced by storm ac-
tion as evidenced by tempestites (Isaacson et al.,
1985; Niemeyer et al., 1985; Breitkreuz, 1986;
Urzfm, 1986, 1989; Bahlburg et al., 1988b).
Detritus was derived from the Arco Punefio by
west- to northwest-directed paleocurrents and was
well reworked on the shelf (Fig. 3; Bahlburg et al.,
1987). The regressive transition to red-coloured, pre-
sumably continental sandstones and conglomerates is
exposed in some outcrops. They are in turn overlain
with erosional unconformity by continental volcano-
sedimentary successions of Late Carboniferous-Trias-
sic age (see below; Davidson et al., 1981b, Breitkreuz,
1986).
To the south, at approximately 27°S, the Chin-
ches Formation represents a ca. 2500 meter thick
coarsening-up cyclical lake fill (Mercado 1982; Bell,
1985). In the Precordillera to the north (ca. 21°45'S),
a clastic series of limnic-brackish facies of potentially
Devonian-Carboniferous age is exposed (Quebrada
Arcas beds: Breitkreuz 1986; Figs. 1 and 2).
In the Valle Longitudinal of northern Chile and
in the Cordillera de la Costa, sedimentation in the
deeper part of this basin is represented by thick
turbidite formations (Zeil, 1964; Mercado, 1979;
Ulriksen, 1979). Only an approximate stratigraphic
classification of these formations, the bases of which
are not exposed, is possible due to the scarcity of
index fossils.
• E1Toco Formation (Figs. 1 and 2): Late Devonian
(plant remains: Wetzel, 1927; Maksaev and Mar-
inovic, 1980; Breitkreuz and Bahlburg, 1985).
• Sierra del Tigre Formation (Salar de Navidad
area, Fig. 1): ?Devonian (Ferraris and Di Biase,
1978), Carboniferous (brachiopods and pelyce-
pods: Niemeyer et al., 1985).
176 H. BAHLBURGand C. BREITKREUZ

Qp
Qm
l_s Q

• ° , A.

Lt

Fig. 3. QFL, QmFLt and QpLvLsdiagrams (Dickinson, 1985)showing framework modes of the Ordovician "Volcanosedimentary
Successions" (stars, n=21), and Lower and Upper Turhidite System (LTS, dots, n=17; UTS, triangles, n=9) of the Puna Turbidite
Complex (Figs. 1,2), and the Devonian-early Late Carboniferous shelf and basinal clastic rocks of northern Chile ("Zorras beds,"
diamonds, n= 14; El Toco,Sierra del Tigre, and Las Tortolas Formations, squares, n=55; Figs. 1,2). Data from Bahlburg (1987a,
1990) and Bahlburg et al. (1987).

Las TSrtolas Formation at Chafiaral (Figs. 1 and
2): Lower Carboniferous (conodonts: Bahlburg,
1987a; brachiopods: Bell, 1987a).
Post-tectonic intrusions took place at 318 Ma in
the E1 Toco Formation north of E1 Toco (Bellavista
pluton; Maksaev and Marinovic, 1980} and from 291
Ma onward in the Las TSrtolas Formation between
Chafiaral and Taltal (e.g., Albayay pluton; Figs. 1
and 2; Berg et al., 1983; Berg and Baumann, 1985;
Brooks et al. 1986). The Sierra del Tigre Formation
grades into the Early Permian, marine Cerros de
Cuevitas Formation (Niemeyer et aI., 1985). Tholeii-
tic and alkaline (ultra)basic within-plate lavas are
intercalated in the lower parts of the Las TSrtolas
Formation (Bell, 1982; Breitkreuz et al., 1989).
The minimum thickness of the turbidite units is
2300 meters in the E1 Toco Formation, 2000 meters in
the Sierra del Tigre Formation, and 3600 meters in
the Las TSrtolas Formation (Fig. 4; Niemeyer et al.,
1985; Bahlburg et al., 1987). The El Toco Formation
is chiefly composed of gravel and coarse to medium
sand deposits of high density turbidity currents,
whereas the Sierra del Tigre and Las TSrtolas For-
mations commonly consist of fine-sand deposits of low
density turbidity currents. The successions within
the given formations do not show marked cyclicities
typical of prograding or retrograding deep-sea fans
(e.g., Mutti, 1985). The depositional facies remained
relatively constant through time in the different
formations - - i.e., the different depositional sites.
The observed cyclicity (Fig. 5} demonstrates an alter-
nation of depositional facies between proximal depo-
sitional lobe (El Toco) and distal depositional lobe to
basin plain environments (Sierra del Tigre and Las
TSrtolas Formations). The deposits are characterized
by a marked proximal-distal trend (Macdonald, 1986)
from the E1 Toco Formation in the north to the Las
T6rtolas Formation in the south. Paleocurrents were
axial and directed southward, only s u b o r d i n a t e l y
northward (Bell, 1982; Bahlburg et al., 1987). The
quartz-rich detritus (Fig. 3) was derived from the
Arco Punefio and was fed laterally and from the north
into the basin, bypassing the shelf ("Zorras beds,"
Figs. 1 and 2; Bahlburg, 1987a). These data indicate
that the turbidite systems grew by aggradation, not
by fan progradation (Macdonald, 1986).
The age of the post-tectonic plutons intruding the
folded turbidite units decreases in a southward direc-
tion (e.g., the Bellavista and Albayay plutons, Figs. 1
and 2). This may imply that the folding of the units
and the closure of the basin progressed s o u t h w a r d
during the Early to early Late Carboniferous. As no
further Early Carboniferous folding event is known
from this region, we suggest calling this event the
"Toco Orogeny" (Fig. 2), which is characterized by
NW/SE- to N/S-striking, west-verging folds, with sub-
ordinate NE/SW-striking, southeast-verging folds in
the E1 Toco Formation. Chevron and isoclinal folds
are common (Fig. 4; Miller, 1970; B r e i t k r e u z and
Bahlburg, 1985). Associated with the l a t t e r a r e
E/NE-dipping dismembered formations (Raymond,
1984), the thickness of which ranges from a few
meters to a few hundred meters (Harrington, 1961;
Chafiaral M61ange: Bell, 1982, 1987b; B r e i t k r e u z ,
1986; Bahlburg, 1987a).
In the Salar de Navidad area and in the Valle
Longitudinal at Cerro P a l e s t i n a and C e r r o 1584
("1584," Figs. 1 and 2), the continuous transition from
the deep marine turbidites to shallow marine, Early
Permian clastic rocks and brachiopod-bearing lime-
stones is exposed (Niemeyer et aI., 1985; Breitkreuz,
1986). No evidence of continental rocks or subaerial
 obl
O

(9
o

E o
W Ouebrada
Punta Infieles de las Animas
(9
I I A' B
A

o"

m
m I km
t i
(9

o
~--~ sedimentary Palaeozoic with limestone intercalation
(9
dismembered formation

Guamango- pluton (U-Jurassic) (9

>
(9

Fig, 4. Cross section through the Las T6rtolas Formation south of Cha~aral (ca. 26~25'S, see Fig. i; Bahlburg et at., 1988b).

..q
178
m
3,11
t0-
Las T&tolas Formation
32
28.
2/,.
E the area have been published, ranging from 305 Ma
Eo20
ul
Q.. .
t6.
12
8¸
t (Davidson et al., 1985; Gardeweg, 1988; Breitkreuz
0. ~ m
2 6 10 lt, 18 22 26
pelite
Fig. 5. Shale us sandstone thickness diagram (Kimura, 1966}
outlining the alternation of coarsening-up and fining-up cyclesin
a representative section in the Las T6rtolas Formation south of
Chafiaral.
erosion was observed. In the afore-mentioned out-
crops, the intensity of folding decreases upward from
the turbidites to the limestones. The angular uncon-
formity described by Davidson et al. (1981a) from
Cerro 1584, is not observable in this or related out-
crops (Niemeyer et al., 1985; Breitkreuz, 1986). Thus,
the deformation caused by the Toco Orogeny is in-
ferred to have taken place under submarine and syn-
depositional conditions - - i.e., with no emergence of
deformed strata. It led only to a shallowing of the
marine depositional site. Evidence of syn-deposi-
tional deformation of the turbidite units is repre-
sented by olistostromes, slumpings, and widespread
plastic deformation of greywacke beds (Breitkreuz
and Bahlburg, 1985; Bahlburg 1987a).
Late Carboniferous to Middle Triassic
Late Carboniferous to Middle Triassic volcano-
sedimentary successions and associated intrusions
crop out extensively in the north Chilean Precor-
dillera and Cordillera Occidental (Figs. 1 and 2;
Ramirez and Gardeweg, 1982; Marinovic and Lahsen,
1984; Vergara and Thomas, 1984; Naranjo and Puig,
1985; Bogdanic, 1990). Furthermore, several coeval
intrusions are recorded in the Cordillera de la Costa
(e.g., the Bellavista and Albayay plutons, Figs. 1 and
2). Associated volcanic successions in the coastal
area seem to be scarce and poorly defined stratigra-
phically (Cerro Alibaud S a l a r de N a v i d a d area:
Breitkreuz, 1986; Paposo area: Scheuber and And-
riessen, 1990; Fig. 1).
In the Precordillera and Cordillera Occidental
area, the up to 4 km thick continental volcanosedi-
H. BAHLBURG and C. BREITKREUZ
mentary successions are assigned to a number of for-
mations. Because of difficulties in correlating these
formations with the A r g e n t i n i a n Choiyoi G r o u p
(Suarez et al., 1988), we propose the informal name
"Peine Group" as a collective name for all the north
Chilean successions (with reference to a key area
northeast of the Cord6n de Lila; Breitkreuz and Zeil,
in press}.
Many radiometric ages of the intrusive rocks and
of thermal events within metamorphic series from
to 202 Ma (i.e., Moscovian to Sinemurian, ttuete et
al., 1977; Skarmeta and Marinovic, 1981; V e r g a r a
and Thomas, 1984; Marinovic and Lahsen, 1984;
Davidson et al., 1985; Herr6 et al., 1985; Damm et al.,
1986; Baeza and Pichowiak, 1988a; Padilla, 1988).
However, only four ages are available from volcanic
rocks of the Peine Group, from 290 Ma to 229 Ma
and Zeil, in press). The onset of volcanic activity as
early as the Late Carboniferous is also evident from
30 31, 38
the intercalation of lacustrine sediments containing
Late Carboniferous ostracods and p l a n t r e m a i n s
(Osorio and Rivano, 1985; Breitkreuz et al., under
review}. In spite of this, stratigraphic control within
the Peine Group is very poor. The volcanic activity
faded away in the Precordillera during the Middle
Triassic (Chong and Hillebrandt, 1985; Breitkreuz,
1986).
The volcanic rocks of the Peine Group consist
mainly of silica-rich and subordinate basaltic to an-
desitic lavas and tufts. Caldera eruption s e e m s to
have been a prominent volcanic feature as indicated
by the occurrence of thick ignimbrite sheets, intra-
formational tilting and, in places, the circular outcrop
arrangement of volcanic and cogenetic plutonic rocks
(see also Davidson et al., 1985). Geochemical data on
both the volcanic and plutonic rocks are characteris-
tic of an active continental margin setting (Davidson
et al., 1985; Baeza and Pichowiak, 1988a; Breitkreuz
and Zeil, in press).
In addition to numerous intercalations of alluvial
volcanogenic sediments in all formations of the Peine
Group, a conspicuous sedimentary unit 150 to 600
meters thick occurs ( ' M i e m b r o Medio" of, for in-
stance, the Tuina and Peine Formations; Ramirez
and Gardeweg, 1982; Marinovic and Lahsen, 1984;
Osorio and Rivano, 1985; Padilla, 1988; Breitkreuz,
under review; Breitkreuz et al., under review}. As
depicted in Fig. 6, a limnic-alluvial fan association of
latest Carboniferous to ?Early Permian age CMiem-
bro Medio Time") crops out within a 300 × 100 km
area in northern Chile (Fig. 1), superimposed on the
volcanic deposits of the previous volcanic activity
CPre-Miembro Medio Time"). The limnic sediments,
which contain the Late Carboniferous ostracods men-
tioned above, are d o m i n a t e d by fine- to c o a r s e -
grained volcanogenic detritus that originated from
the erosion of the Pre-Miembro Medio volcanic units.
Furthermore, intra-lacustrine basic volcanism pro-
vided abundant hydroclastic detritus. S u b o r d i n a t e
 Paleozoic evolution of active margin basins in the southern Central Andes 179

stromatolitic limestones and oolitic grainstones are
confined to the margin of the lake.
The continental volcanosedimentary successions
of the Peine Group interfinger in the west at Cerro
1584 with marine elastic rocks and limestones
("1584," Figs. 1, 2, and 6; "Post-Miembro Medio
Time," Niemeyer et al., 1985; Breitkreuz, 1986). At
about 21°S in the Precordillera, shallow marine
limestones of potentially Late Carboniferous-?Per-
mian age are intercalated with rhyolites (Collahuasi
Formation: Vergara and Thomas, 1984; Breitkreuz,
1986; Fig. 1). To the east in the Argentinian Puna,
Early Permian marine clastic and volcanic rocks and
limestones occur in the Arizaro Formation in the
Salar del RincSn area (Figs. 1 and 2; Acefolaza et al.,
1972; Donato and Vergani, 1985). The marine Ari-
zaro Formation conformably overlies the continental
Cerro Oscuro Formation (Fig. 2; Acefiolaza et al.,
1972). These spatial relationships suggest t h a t
during the Early Permian the north Chilean mag-
matic zone protruded as a north-trending peninsula
into the shallow marine basin of the southern Central
Andes (Copacabana Formation, Helwig 1972; Brei-
tkreuz et aI., 1988).
GEODYNAMIC EVOLUTION
Early Paleozoic
Cambrian. The Late Cambrian basin of the
MesSn Group developed as an extensional graben-
like structure on Pampean basement (Salfity et aI.,
1975). Quartz sandstones and shales were deposited

Early Permian - Mid Triassic

Ipost- M. Media - time I Chile ! Argentina
I
W E
siliceous and intermediate
tuffs and lavas
~ ' ~ S.Arizaro shallow marine
21,oS -- ~ 1
with volcanic
,, intercalation
"::''::.". :'.'~--.--- Late Carboniferous
terrestrial sandstones

0 50 km
I I i I I I

Late Carboniferous- ? Early Permian

[M. Media- time I

W E
alluvial to lacustrine
basic [ovas (.peperites) sedimentation

Late Carboniferous
[pre- M. Medio- time I Chile [i Argentina

W E

oo,,ovo
siliceous breccia tufts
and obsidian flows ~
~'~
~
siliceous and
intermediate tufts

" Early ( to Late) Carboniferous

marine to terrestrial clastic sediments

Fig. 6. Volcanic and sedimentary patterns before, during, and after "Miembro Medio Time" of the Peine Group (latest Carboni-
ferous), shown in schematic W-E sections at 24°S.
180 H. BAHLBURGand C. BREITKREUZ
on a shallow marine platform that was connected to
the open sea toward the northwest m i.e., southern
Bolivia (Acefiolaza et al., 1982; Kumpa and Sanchez,
1988). The erosional unconformity of the Irfiyica
Event was potentially linked to further extension of
the basin but could also have been affected by the
global regression in the latest Cambrian (Erdtmann,
1986; Ross and Ross, 1988).
Ordovician. Above the Irfiyica unconformity,
transgression reached the Cordillera Oriental during
the latest C a m b r i a n (Moya, 1988). This trans-
gression was probably linked to a global sea-level rise
during the Cambrian-Ordovician transition (Ross
and Ross, 1988). Approximately 4500 meters of sand-
stones and shales were deposited from latest Cam-
brian to early Llanvirnian time on a shallow marine
shelf(Turner, 1960; Moya, 1988). This shelf extended
into the eastern Puna (Cobres Group) and deepened
toward the west. However, a western border of the
basin is not recorded until the Arenigian, when the
magmatic arc of an east-dipping subduction zone was
active in northern Chile. The volcanic products of
this arc are represented by the VS in the western
Puna close to the Chile-Argentina border region as
well as the CISL and Argomedo beds in northern
Chile (Figs. 2 and 7; Koukharsky et al., 1988; Nie-
meyer, 1989; Breitkreuz et al., 1989; Bahlburg, 1990).
The arc was probably connected to the magmatic belt
of the "F~ja Eruptiva de la Puna Occidental" (Palma
et al., 1986). Thus, the Ordovician basin in the Puna
and the Cordillera Oriental was in a back-arc position
during the Arenigian. According to Forsythe et al. (in
press), the magmatic arc of the Faja Eruptiva de la
P u n a Occidental formed part of the para-autoch-
thonous Arequipa Massif Terrane (AMT). The Puna
extensional back-arc basin formed when the AMT
was moved away from the continent by clockwise
rotation m the rotational pole of which was located to
the north in P e r u .
Occurrences of mafic-ultramafic associations in
the southern Puna are correlated with the ophiolites
of the Argentinian Precordillera (Ramos et al., 1986)
and are similarily interpreted as ocean floor rem-
nants (Fig. 1; Allmendinger et al., 1983; Ramos,
1988). Accordingly, the back-arc basin is presumed to
have been floored by oceanic crust in the southern
Puna south of ca. 24°S (Ramos, 1988), whereas it was
ensialic in the northern Puna and in southern Bolivia
(Semp~r~, 1989; Bahlburg, 1990). This is interpreted
as an indication of the southward progressive opening
of the basin (Forsythe et al., in press). However, no
geochemical data are available for (ultra)mafic rocks
of the southern Puna. Thus we are c a u t i o u s in
transferring the interpretation of geochemical data
on the ophiolites exposed in the Argentinian Pre-
cordillera to the (ultra)basic a s s o c i a t i o n s of the
southern Puna.
During the late A r e n i g i a n , pronounced sub-
sidence of up to 1100 m]m.y. -1 was initiated in the
western reaches of the P u n a basin and continued
until the end of the Llandeilian (Bahlburg, 1990).
This was accompanied by the deposition of ca. 7000
meters of lavas and tufts grading into very poorly
sorted and immature volcaniclastic t u r b i d i t e s (VS,
PTC: Figs. 2 and 3). Subsidence and sedimentation
rates of this order of magnitude are typical features of
deep marine foreland basins where a thrust load is
emplaced on previously attenuated crust (Beaumont
et al., 1982). In the case of the Puna basin, the thrust
load is interpreted to represent the Arenigian mag-
matic arc connected to the AMT. The arc was thrust
eastward upon its back-arc basin at the Arenigian-
Llanvirnian boundary when the drift of the AMT had
been reversed by anticlockwise rotation. Therefore,
this thrusting event is interpreted as the beginning of
the collision between the AMT and the G o n d w a n a
margin in this area (Ramos, 1988; Bahlburg, 1990;
Forsythe et al., in press). The collision transformed
the Arenigian back-arc basin into a Middle Ordovi-
cian foreland successor basin (Fig. 7; B a h l b u r g ,
1991). In response to thrusting in the west, a flexural
bulge contemporaneously formed farther east in the
Cordillera Oriental. Its formation led to uplift and
emergence of the Early Ordovician shelf during the
Guandacol Diastrophic Phase (Fig. 7; Salfity et al.,
1984; Bahlburg, 1990). This t e c t o n i c a l l y a c t i v e
regime controlled sedimentary patterns in the deeper
basin until the end of the stratigraphic record at the
Llandeilian-Caradocian transition; global sea-level
changes had only complementary effects (Bahlburg,
1991; Bahlburg et al., 1990). The collision of the AMT
culminated in the Ocl6yic Orogeny (Figs. 2 and 7) and
led to the folding of the basin fill and to the formation
of the positive area of the Arco Punefio, which under-
went only marginal transgressions during following
Paleozoic times (Fig. 2).
Silurian. Post-tectonically, peraluminous, calc-
alkaline granitoids of the Faja Eruptiva de la Puna
Oriental intruded into the folded sedimentary rocks,
presumably during the Early Silurian (Figs. 1 and 2;
Mendez et al., 1973; Bahlburg, 1990). Our studies
show, furthermore, that these rocks are characterized
by N/S-striking, subvertical shear zones that accom-
modated sinistral strike-slip m o v e m e n t s of as yet
unknown extent. Magma evolution and granitoid
emplacement appear to have been connected to a
transtensional-transpressive strike-slip cycle that
developed in response to the potentially southeast-
directed, oblique collision of the AMT (Bahlburg,
1990). Thus, the Faja Eruptiva de la Puna Oriental
does not constitute the magmatic arc of the Ordovi-
cian subduction zone in this area, as a s s u m e d by
Coira et al. (1982). Accordingly, the interpretation of
the Ordovician Puna basin as a fore-arc basin (Coira
et al., 1982; Herv6 et al., 1987) can no longer be
upheld (Bahlburg, 1990).
Late Paleozoic
Devonian-Early Carboniferous. The presence of a
late Paleozoic subduction complex including blue-
shists in southern and central Chile (Herv~ et al.,
 Paleozoic evolution of active margin basins in the southern Central Andes 181

1974, 1984) led to the analogous interpretation of the
Devonian-Carboniferous basin of northern Chile as a
fore-arc basin (Herr6 et al., 1981; Coira et al., 1982;
Bell, 1987a}. The parallel arrangement of the shelf
facies in the east (Zorras beds, Figs. 1 and 2) and
basinal turbidites in the west (El Toco, Sierra del
Tigre, and Las T6rtolas Formations; Figs. 1 and 2),
which are associated with m~lange zones of the dis-
membered formation type including blocks of (ultra)
mafic alkaline lavas, were taken as further evidence
of a fore-arc environment associated with a subduc-
tion zone m61ange. The turbidite successions were
interpreted as having been deposited on oceanic crust
(Bell, 1982, 1987b). However, the interbedding of the
same (ultra)mafic lavas with the turbidites to the
southeast of Chafiaral (Figs. 1 and 2) shows that their
classification as exotic blocks accreted in the m61ange
cannot be upheld (Bahlburg, 1987a). T h e i r geo-
chemical features characterize the lavas as products
of alkaline and tholeiitic volcanism associated with
extension (Breitkreuz et al., 1989).
Further circumstantial evidence contradicts the
fore-arc model:
• In the western part of the Rio Loa Canyon north
of Tocopilla (Fig. 1), the El Toco F o r m a t i o n is
underlain by garnet shists, gneisses, and migma-
tites (E. Scheuber, Berlin, pers. com.). This, to-
gether with the absence of oceanic crust outcrops,

Cordillera Cord. Occidental Puna Cordillera

de la Costa Depresi6n Preandina
Oriental
Precordittera

Early Permian t?
Arco Pune~o
L
structural high turbidite basin I
Faja Eruptiva de la
Puna Oriental
"peninsula" "gulf" (Silurian intrusions and
shelf sinistra[ strike-slip )

Devonian- Early Carboniferous

extinct foreland

Mid - Ordovician

volcanic arc 1

Early Ordovician
detrita( input
::~ movement of flexural
bulge

Fig. 7. Schematic cross sections outlining the geodynamic evolution of the southern Central Andes between 21°S and 27°S during
the Paleozoic.
SAMES 4/3~-C
182 H. BAHLBURG and C. BREITKREUZ
suggests that the turbidite successions were depo-
sited on continental crust (Herv~ et al., 1981;
Baeza and Pichowiak, 1988b).
• In northern Chile, there is no evidence of sub-
duction-related m a g m a t i s m during the Devo-
nian-Early Carboniferous - - i.e., before the Toco
Orogeny.
• Dacitic tufts exposed in the Quebrada E1 Molle at
approximately 29°S were ascribed to a magmatic
arc (Bell, 1987a). However, they have not been
studied geochemically and may as well have been
associated with the extensional volcanism men-
tioned above.
• Moreover, the mineralogic composition of shelf
and basinal clastic rocks does not indicate a deri-
vation from an arc source (Fig. 3; Bahlburg, 1987
a,b).
• If the turbidite successions of the E1 Toco, Sierra
del Tigre, and Las TSrtolas Formations were in
fact deposited on oceanic crust seaward of a sub-
duction zone, they should show a marked coar-
sening upward trend as the depositional sites
moved closer to the active margin during conver-
gence (Lash, 1985). No trends of this kind have
been observed. To the contrary, the cyclicity of
the turbidite successions shows alternating coar-
sening and fining upward trends within constant
depositional environments at any given locality
through time (Fig. 5). This, together with the
marked proximal-distal trend, indicates growth
of the depositional system by aggradation, as may
be found in elongate extensional basins where
depositional patterns are kept constant at any
one place by balanced subsidence and deposition
vs uplift of the margins (Macdonald, 1986).
• The Chafiaral m61ange, as well as the dismem-
bered formations in the Sierra del Tigre and E1
Toco Formations, is characterized by the paucity
of exotic blocks such as cherts or serpentinites,
which at least is untypical of subduction m~-
langes (Raymond, 1984).
• The westward intensifying, west-verging style of
deformation of the strata (Fig. 4), similarily deve-
loped in the contemporary central Chilean fore-
arc (Godoy 1984), is not necessarily typical of a
fore-arc setting (cf. Westbrook et al., 1988).
• The voluminous granitoid intrusions in the area
of the Cordillera de la Costa (Figs. 1, 2, and 7),
which underwent significant crustal contamina-
tion (Berg and Baumann, 1985), would have been
emplaced in the thin continental wedge of the
alleged fore-arc or accretion prism areas, respec-
tively. However, the fore-arc region near the
trench is an unlikely place for the generation and
crustal contamination of granitoid magmas.
From the results of paleomagnetic investigations
by Forsythe et al. (1987) arose the question of the
autochthony of the Paleozoic marginal areas exposed
along the coast of central and northern Chile. Their
data indicate that the late Paleozoic Pichidangui fore-
arc terrane in the Cordillera de la Costa of central
Chile was displaced northward by about 15 ° along-
strike of the continental margin because of Jurassic
dextral strike-slip movements. There are no paleo-
magnetic data available from northern Chile. At the
same Jurassic-Early Cretaceous time, however, the
north Chilean Atacama Fault Zone a c c o m m o d a t e d
sinistral strike-slip movements in the order of 100 km
(Scheuber 1987; Scheuber and Andriessen, 1990).
This has been linked to oblique subduction of the
oceanic Phoenix plate toward the southeast under the
Chilean margin (Larson and Pitman, 1972; Scheuber
and Reutter, 1988). To us it remains an open ques-
tion whether the alleged Pichidangui terrane could in
fact have been displaced northward by ca. 1500 km in
the plate tectonic context of oblique subduction to-
ward the southeast. |n view of the lack of positive
evidence of true allochthony and of the relatively
small extent of strike-slip displacement along the
north Chilean Atacama Fault Zone during the Meso-
zoic, an autochthonous position of the deeper basin in
the Cordillera de la Costa relative to the shelf areas
farther east seems likely.
The transgression of the D e v o n i a n - E a r l y Car-
boniferous shelf began in the Early Devonian (Figs. 1
and 2). It was probably linked to the global sea-level
rise succeeding a global lowstand at the Ludlovian-
Pridolian transition. The rise of sea level continued
until the middle Tournaisian and was followed by a
global sea-level fall lasting until the end of the Early
Carboniferous (320 Ma; Ross and Ross, 1988). The
relatively stable intertidal to subtidal depositional
environments during the entire Devonian and Early
Carboniferous shelf sedimentation indicate that rates
of subsidence and sedimentation were equalled by the
rate of sea-level change. The transition from marine
strata to presumably continental red beds in the late
Early Carboniferous, ending the stratigraphic record,
could have been connected to the development of a
global sea-level lowstand at the transition from the
Early to the Late Carboniferous. However, one must
bear in mind that, also during the E a r l y Carboni-
ferous the Toco Orogeny took place in the westwardly
adjacent Cordillera de la Costa (Figs. 1 and 2) and
most likely influenced sedimentary patterns on the
shelf.
In the deep marine turbidite basin in the Cor-
dillera de la Costa, the Late Devonian turbidites of
the El Toco Formation were deposited during a period
of global sea-level highstand (Ross and Ross, 1988),
although the deposition of thick turbidite units is
preferentially linked to global sea-level falls and low-
stands (Shanmugam et al., 1985; P o s a m e n t i e r and
Vail, 1988). The turbidite successions of the Early
Carboniferous Las TSrtolas F o r m a t i o n formed co-
evally with the global regressive trend in the Early
Carboniferous. However, their deposition was also
affected by the tectonic m o v e m e n t s of the Toco
Oorogeny (see above; Fig. 2). It is therefore likely that
the turbidite sedimentation in the deep marine basin
was primarily controlled by tectonics - - the effects of
which were enhanced by eustatic processes.
 Paleozoic evolution of active margin basins in the southern Central Andes 183

Based on the above, we interpret the Devonian-

Early Carboniferous basin of northern Chile as an ".\
extensional structure on the South American margin, \
the formation of which was accompanied by alkaline
and tholeiitic intra-plate volcanism. This is corro- El Toco Fm.
borated by tectonic subsidence data indicating basin • Tocopitla
formation in an extensional setting (Bahlburg, in
prep.). Although axial paleocurrents are not in them-
selves indicative of a specific geodynamic situation
Sierra del o
(e.g., Lash, 1985), in the context of the above discus- Tigre Fm.
~~= ~ i .~
sion we infer that this basin had a western margin ~.t" Antofagasta ° i .-.
that was not necessarily emergent (Bahlburg, 1987a). k "~ ,.,. •
In combination with the s u b d u c t i o n complex in
southern and central Chile (Herv~ et al., 1987), we en-
vision a geodynamic situation during the Devonian- Las T6rtolas Fro.
Early Carboniferous comparable to the Recent of the
North American West Coast in the area of northern l= Cha~arai
Mexico and southern California. Here, plate conver- Pacific
gence led to the formation of a subduction zone in
northern Mexico, whereas toward the northwest, the
Gulf of California f o r m e d as a d e x t r a l l y trans-
tensional pull-apart basin bordered in the west by
Baja California (Fig. 8). The respective Devonian-
Early Carboniferous gulf basin in Chile north of 25°S,
however, was not floored by oceanic crust. It is pos- Ocean
sible that the stretching factor applied to the base-
m e n t was not sufficiently large to allow for the
generation of oceanic crust between the w e s t e r n
margin of the basin and the continent (Le Pichon and
Sibuet, 1981). However, crustal stretching in the Santiago
area of Chaharal was sufficiently effective to facili-
tate the generation of alkaline and tholeiitic basic
lavas common to extensional settings (Breitkreuz et
al., 1989).
Subduction at the central Chilean margin may
have been obliquely directed toward the northeast.
For the north Chilean area, we infer that during the
Late Carboniferous the western gulf margin collided
obliquely with the continent after a change to a com-
pressional regime resulting in the Toco Orogeny
(Figs. 2 and 7). The chiefly NW/SE-striking, west- Fig. 8. Interpretation of Devonian-Early Carboniferous paleo-
verging en echelon fold pattern and dismembered geography and geotectonic setting of northern and central Chile
formations may, in this context, be interpreted as the in analogy to the setting of the Recent Pacific margin of south-
result of dextral transpressive strike-slip (Breitkreuz western North America.
et al., 1988). The Late Carboniferous-Middle Triassic
magmatism in northern Chile did not start until after
the Toco Orogeny (Figs. 2 and 7). la Costa might represent a western extension of this
broad magmatic arc. Alternatively, it may be con-
Late C a r b o n i f e r o u s - M i d d l e Triassic. An arc set- sidered as having been formed by anatectic magmas
ting is inferred for this north Chilean Late Car- that generated in the lower crust as a consequence of
boniferous to Middle Triassic magmatic zone (e.g., the Toco Orogeny.
Coira et al., 1982; Niemeyer et al., 1985; Herv6 et al., For the southern Andes, M a h l b u r g K a y et al.
1985, 1987; Breitkreuz and Zeil, in press). The mag- (1989) demonstrated an evolution of the m a g m a t i c
matic zone formed part of an extended continental arc from a subduction-controlled setting during the
margin arc, the products of which can be traced from Carboniferous to a t e n s i o n a l s e t t i n g d u r i n g the
the Peruvian Cordillera Oriental in the north to the Permo-Triassic (see also Mpodozis et al., 1985; Mpodo-
southernmost Andes and the Antarctic Peninsula. In zis and Kay, 1990). Similarily, orogenic plutonism
northern Chile, magmatic activity took place along took' place in the Peruvian Cordillera Oriental during
two parallel N/S-trending zones (in the Precordillera, the Devonian-Carboniferous transition (Carlier et al.,
Cordillera Occidental, and in the Cordillera de la 1982). After a magmatic lull, rift-associated magma-
Costa}, whereby the eastern zone seems to represent tism was active in this region in the Late Permian-
the main arc. The plutonic zone in the Cordillera de Early Triassic (Kontak et al., 1985).
184 H. BAHLBURG and C. BREITKREUZ
This change from subduction control to a ten-
sional regime has been quoted by Davidson et al.
(1985) also for the north Chilean magmatic zone.
Furthermore, Baeza and Pichowiak (1988) inferred
the Permian Pampa Elvira plutonic suite (Fig. 2) to
have formed in a tensional regime. However, based
on our lithological and geochemical data we cannot
distinguish a Carboniferous from a Permo-Triassic
suite within the Peine Group (Breitkreuz and Zeil, in
press). Furthermore, the element distribution of the
Peine Group volcanic rocks is consistent with a for-
m a t i o n in an A n d e a n - t y p e s u b d u c t i o n s e t t i n g
showing no marked within-plat e features. Nonethe-
less, a tensional regime is implied at least for the
Late Carboniferous to ?Early Permian by the vol-
canosedimentary facies association of the "Miembro
Medio" unit (see Fig. 6). The association of limnic
and alluvial fan deposits and the considerable extent
of the basin is characteristic of its tectonically
controlled formation. This is supported by the syn-
depositional basic volcanism recorded in the lake
sediments. As the Miembro Medio basin is super-
imposed on and overlain by magmatic arc successions
it can be interpreted as an arc-graben, indicating an
extensional arc regime. Busby-Spera (1988) demon-
strated that grabens are a common feature of ancient
(southwestern USA) and modern (Central America)
magmatic arcs.
The Permo-Triassic tensional regime at the
Gondwana margin seems to have been related to
intracontinental tensional stress induced by enhan-
ced mantle convection. This was caused by contin-
ental insolation of the mantle by the supercontinent
Pangaea (Mahlburg Kay et al., 1989, Breitkreuz,
1990}. Mpodozis and Mahlburg Kay (1990) indicate
that the abrupt shift of the Permo-Triassic main
magmatic axis located in the Precordillera and Cor-
dillera Occidental to the Cordillera de la Costa in the
Early Jurassic was provoked by the collision of a
postulated terrane with the margin of Gondwana
during the mid-Permian, resulting in a westward flip
of the subduction zone. At the same time, this shift
represents a change from silica-rich crustal-conta-
m i n a t e d m a g m a c o m p o s i t i o n s to basic m a n t l e -
controlled magmas. Alternatively, this westward
shift of the main magmatic axis may have been
caused by a westward bend of the subducting oceanic
slab toward a steeper dip, caused by west.directed
mantle convection (Breitkreuz, 1990}
Acknowledgements---This paper is a eontributmn to IGCP P~ogram
279: Terranes of Latin America. It benefited from re~ .ewe by E.
Godoy and C. Mpodozis. Our studies have been funded by the
German Research Foundation (DFG-grants Gi 31/51 1,3,5~ as part
of the research group "Mobility at Active Plate Margins " Tech-
nische Universitiit, and Freie Universitiit, Berhn We wish to
thank H. Niemeyer, Universidad del Norts, Antofagasta, Chile, as
well as M. C. Moya and J. A. Salfity, Universidad Nacional de
Salta, Argentina, for their close cooperation over the years. F.
Jurtan, Berlin, checked the English text.
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R e s u m e n - - L a evoluci6n geodin6mica del margen continental Paleoz6ico de Gondwana en la regi6n austral

de los Andes Centrales esta caracterizada por la progresi6n hacia el oeste de cuencas orog~nicas a trav~s del
tiempo. La cuenca ordovicica en la Puna y Cordillera Oriental del nort-oeste Argentino se origin6 en el
Ordovicico Temprano como cuenca de tras-arco. El arco magm~tieo correspondiente de una zona de sub-
ducci6n con inclinaci6n hacia el este estuv6 probablemente ubicado en el norte de Chile. En la cuenca de
tras-arco se form6, durante del Arenigiano, un abanico volcanicl6stico granodecreciente en conexi6n con el
arco magm~tico. El aumento en la subsidencia en el Arenigiano tardio permiti6 la depositaci6n de grandes
volumenes de turbiditas volcanicl~sticas durante el Ordovicico Medio. Subsidencia y sedimentaci6n fueron
causadas pot el comienzo de la colisi6n entre el Arequipa MassifTerrane (AMT) para-aut6ctono y el margen
continental sudamericano en la transici6n Argenigiano-Llanvirniano. Se produjo de esta forma el corri-
miento hacia el este del Marc complex" sobre la cuenca de tras-arco, la que se transform6 consecuentemente
en una cuenca marina de antepais. El resultado de tal corrimiento en el oeste fue la formaci6n de una zona
de abombamiente en el este, produciendo el ascenso y la emergencia de la plataforma de la Cordillera
Oriental durante la Fase Guandacol en la transici6n Arenigiano-Llanvirniano. E1 relleno de la cuenca fue
plegado durante la colisi6n final del AMT durante la Orogenia Ocl6yica (Ashgilliano). Los e s t r a t o s
plegados fueron intruidos en forma post-tectbnica por los granitoides de la Faja E r u p t i v a de la P u n a
Oriental, de edad presumablemente Sil~rica. La orogenia produjo el area positiva d e n o m i n a d a Arco
Punefio.
AI occidente del Arco Punefio, se desarroll6, posteriormente, una cuenca marina a partir del Dev6nico
Temprano, cuya plataforma oriental ocup6 el ~rea de la Cordillera Occidental, Depresi6n Preandina y
Precordillera. La correspondiente cuenca marina profunda turbiditica se ubic6 en la Cordillera de la Costa.
La depositaci6n alli continu6 hasta que el relleno de la cuenca profunda fue plegado durante la Orogenia
Toco (Carbonffero Tardio temprano). La cuenca se origin6 como una estructura extensional en el margen
continental de Gondwana. Datos de diversas fuentes independientes indican que la evoluci6n de la cuenca
no estuvo relacionada con la subducci6n. Por lo tanto, no pudo haber estado ubicada en una posiei6n de
ante-arco, como ha sido postulado anteriormente.
Sobre las secuencias plegadas del Dev6nico-Carbonifero Temprano, se desarroll6 un arco volc6nico
continental desde el Carbonffero Tard|o hasta el Tri~sico Medio, el que representa la conexi6n entre la
Provincia del Choiyoi en Chile Central y Argentina, y el rift del Grupo Mitu en el sur del Perti. Las
secuencias del arco volc6nico est6n caracterizadas por la prevalencia de lavas silicicas, tobas, y rocas
sedimentarias volcanicl6sticas. Durante el Carbonffero Tardio, se produjo la depositaci6n de tma espesa
secuencia lacustre conteniendo ostr~icados, en un extenso lago que abarc6 el ~rea de la Depresi6n Preandina.
Esta cuenca lacustre se origin6 en un ambiente tensional de intra-arco, g n el P~rmico Temprano, calizas
marinas se depositaron en una plataforma, tanto al oeste como al este del arco volc~nico, conectadas con el
6rea de depositaci6n de la Formaci6n Copacabana en el sur del Peru.