See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/249551859

Distribution, timing, and causes of Andean deformation across

South America

Article  in  Geological Society London Special Publications · January 2007

DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2007.272.01.17

CITATIONS READS
145 1,027

6 authors, including:

Peter Robert Cobbold Eduardo Rossello

Université de Rennes 1 Universidad de Buenos Aires
259 PUBLICATIONS   16,336 CITATIONS    184 PUBLICATIONS   4,093 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Pierrick Roperch Cesar Arriagada

French National Centre for Scientific Research University of Chile
145 PUBLICATIONS   3,204 CITATIONS    117 PUBLICATIONS   1,920 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

MAGIC Monsoons in Asia caused Greenhouse to Icehouse Cooling? View project

Structure and tectonic evolution of the Preandean Depression, Central Andes. Case study "Salar de Punta Negra Basin" View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Eduardo Rossello on 23 September 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Distribution, timing, and causes of Andean deformation
across South America

PETER R. COBBOLD1, EDUARDO A. ROSSELLO1,2, PIERRICK ROPERCH1,3,

CÉSAR ARRIAGADA1,4, LUIS A. GÓMEZ1,5 & CLAUDIO LIMA1,6
1
Géosciences-Rennes (UMR6118 du CNRS), Université de Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes Cedex,
France (e-mail: peter.cobbold@univ-rennes1.fr)
2
CONICET y Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
3
IRD (UR154–LMTG), 14 rue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse France
4
Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 13518, Correo 21,
Santiago, Chile
5
Ecopetrol, Bogotá, Colombia
6
CENPES, Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract: The Andean Orogeny in South America has lasted over 100 Ma. It comprises the
Peruvian, Incaic and Quechuan phases. The Nazca and South American plates have been
converging at varying rates since the Palaeocene. The active tectonics of South America are
relatively clear, from seismological and Global Positioning System (GPS) data. Horizontal
shortening is responsible for a thick crust and high topography in the Andes, as well as in SE
Brazil and Patagonia. We have integrated available data and have compiled four fault maps at
the scale of South America, for the mid-Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous, Palaeogene and Neo-
gene periods. Andean compression has been widespread since the Aptian. The continental
margins have registered more deformation than the interior. For the Peruvian phase, not
enough information is available to establish a tectonic context. During the Incaic phase,
strike-slip faulting was common. During the Quechuan phase, crustal thickening has been
the dominant mode of deformation. To investigate the mechanics of deformation, we have
carried out 10 properly scaled experiments on physical models of the lithosphere, containing
various plates. The dominant response to plate motion was subduction of oceanic lithosphere
beneath continental South America. However, the model continent also deformed internally,
especially at the margins and initial weaknesses.

The Andes extend for about 7000 km along the
west coast of South America (Fig. 1). At this
convergent plate margin, the Nazca Plate and
other oceanic plates subduct beneath the conti-
nental part of the South American Plate. The
most notable topographic features of the Andes
are: (1) several peaks over 6000 m; (2) a wide cen-
tral plateau (Altiplano–Puna); (3) strong bends
to north and south of the plateau; (4) belts trend-
ing east–west at the northern and southern edges
of South America. The last are transcurrent
boundaries, where continental South America
abuts oceanic micro-plates (Caribbean in the
north, Scotia in the south).
The main cause of high altitude in the Andes
is a thick crust. The Moho is abnormally deep
beneath the Andes, reaching 70 km beneath the
Altiplano (Wigger et al. 1994; Yuan et al. 2002).
Elsewhere across South America, except on the
continental shelf, the Moho is at normal or near-
normal depth. Abnormal crustal thickness in the
Andes is mainly due to east–west shortening,
in response to rapid convergence at the Pacific
margin. Magmatism is a secondary contributor
to crustal thickness.
The average width and elevation of the Andes
varies along strike, as does the amount of short-
ening. This variation correlates with changes
in the dip and perhaps in the buoyancy of the
subducting oceanic plates (Jordan et al. 1983;
Gutscher et al. 2000; Gutscher 2002). Which is
the cause and which is the consequence? How
does the structural style vary along strike? Does
it change gradually or suddenly? Does it correlate
with oroclinal bending of the mountain belt
(Isacks 1988)?
Further questions are about timing. Since
when has shortening accumulated? Is it relatively

From: RIES, A. C., BUTLER, R. W. H. & GRAHAM, R. H. (eds) 2007. Deformation of the Continental Crust: The
Legacy of Mike Coward. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 272, 321–343.
0305-8719/07/$15 © The Geological Society of London 2007.
322 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.

Fig. 1. Current topography of South America and surrounding tectonic plates. Spot heights are in metres. (Notice
altitudes over 6000 m in Andes; close to 3000 m in Guiana Highlands and SE Brazil; and over 1000 m in
Patagonia.) Background is shaded relief map of South America and surrounding ocean floor. This is not a map
projection, but a 2D plot of latitude v. longitude.

recent, or does Andean deformation have a long
history? Did it go through phases of increased
activity?
A closer look at the topography of South
America will show that high altitudes also occur
well outside the Andes (Fig. 1). Over much of
Patagonia, altitudes reach 1000 m. In the prov-
ince of Buenos Aires, basement blocks reach
1243 m. In SE Brazil, a plateau rises eastward,
reaching nearly 3000 m near the coast. The
Guiana Highlands do reach 3000 m. Corre-
spondingly, the Moho is anomalously deep in
these areas, reaching 43 km beneath SE Brazil
(see references given by Cobbold et al. 2001) and
46 km beneath the Guiana Plateau (Schmitz
et al. 2002). Between the highlands are large
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA
depressions, almost at sea level. What causes
such anomalous values of altitude and crustal
thickness? Could it be Andean compression?
Why do the anomalies occur in specific places?
The current paper follows the outline of a
previous talk (Cobbold et al. 1996). However, it
includes more data. We consider first the plate-
tectonic context of South America. Next we
summarize the active deformation, according to
recent geophysical and geological investigations.
Then we discuss the history of deformation. We
consider areas where the quality of exposure is
good at the surface, or where the petroleum
industry has acquired subsurface data. The best
constraints on the style and timing of deforma-
tion come from sedimentary basins, where strata
have accumulated over long periods of time and
ages are unequivocal. Two outstanding but
neglected examples are the Atacama Basin of
northern Chile and the Neuquén Basin of west-
ern Argentina. Good data also come from the
passive margin of SE Brazil and from the Eastern
Cordillera of Colombia. On the strength of these
and other data, we have compiled new fault maps
for Andean deformation at the scale of South
America. Finally, we have resorted to physical
modelling, as a way of explaining some of our
observations.
Plate tectonics
The South American Plate is partly continental
and partly oceanic (Fig. 1). On all sides, except in
Central America, the surrounding plates are oce-
anic. Currently, the Nazca, Cocos and Caribbean
plates all subduct beneath continental South
America. Since the Late Cretaceous, this scenario
has not changed very much, except that the
Nazca and Cocos plates appeared at 23.4 Ma, by
splitting of the Farallon Plate (see Tebbins &
Cande 1997), and that the ridges between adja-
cent oceanic plates have migrated northwards
with respect to South America (Nürnberg &
Müller 1991). A more significant complication
has been collision with Central America, which
started in the Miocene. Almost certainly, the
main causes of Andean Orogeny were, and
continue to be, rapid convergence between the
Nazca and South American plates and thermal
weakening of the crust above the subduction
zone (Isacks 1988). At the Caribbean and Scotian
margins, convergence and transcurrent motions
have introduced significant local complexities.
However, there is no evidence that any continent,
other than Central America, has collided with
South America since the Late Cretaceous.
A factor that is less easy to take into account is
plate motion with respect to an underlying fixed
323
mantle. Silver et al. (1998) have suggested that
westward motion of South America induces
a significant drag at the base of the lithosphere
and therefore modifies the balance of horizontal
forces. However, the possible consequences of
this model for Andean Orogeny remain to be
explored.
Convergence at the Pacific margin was faster
than usual during the Eocene and late Miocene
and this may explain the Incaic and Quechua
phases of the Andean Orogeny (Pardo-Casas &
Molnar 1987; Somoza 1998). Unfortunately,
plate reconstructions are less precise for earlier
periods, because oceanic crust of that age has
been subducted and its magnetic anomalies are
not available for study (Nürnberg & Müller
1991).
Current deformation
Stress
The World Stress Map is a global compilation
of contemporary tectonic stress data. The stress
maps are available online (Reinecker et al. 2004)
and show the orientation of the greatest horizon-
tal compressive stress (SH). The data come
from focal mechanisms of earthquakes, borehole
breakouts and other reliable sources. For South
America, the data come mainly from seismically
active areas, including the Andes but also Brazil
(Fig. 2). Unfortunately, data are sparse for
Patagonia, although the area is seismically active.
In general, seismic activity is more widespread
than the World Stress Map would suggest. This
is because many earthquakes have not yielded
reliable fault plane solutions. In South America,
seismic activity is especially widespread, not only
over the highlands, but also over many of the
sedimentary basins and even the continental
margins. Thus almost the entire continent is
actively deforming in one way or another.
According to the World Stress Map, South
America is dominantly undergoing thrust fault-
ing, as a result of horizontal compression. Over-
all, SH is close to east–west and this would appear
to reflect rapid convergence at the Pacific
margin. However, in the NW and SE corners of
South America, respectively, SH trends NW–SE
and NE–SW. These directions are compatible
with strike-slip faulting at the northern and
southern continental margins, and also with
continuing collision of Central America
(Pennington 1981). On a more local scale, in the
forearc of the Andes and on their eastern slopes,
SH tends to be perpendicular to the main
topographic scarps. Thus gravitational forces
may contribute to the local state of horizontal
compression.
324 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.

Fig. 2. Current stress in South America (World Stress Map, 2004 release, Reinecker et al. 2004). (Notice thrust
faults (TF) over much of continent, strike-slip faults (SS) at northern and southern margins and normal faults
(NF) in high Andes of Peru. Other faults are unclassified (U). Map projection is Mercator.
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA
Thrust faulting also occurs in the highlands of
SE Brazil and the Amazon Basin. Although not
in the same database, data are available at
regional scale for SE Brazil, including the off-
shore continental margin, where focal mecha-
nisms indicate thrust faulting (Assumpção 1998).
Thus it is reasonable to infer that at least part of
the currently abnormal crustal thickness of SE
Brazil is due to recent shortening and thickening
(Cobbold et al. 2001).
Strike-slip faulting is common in NW South
America, near the transcurrent boundary of the
Caribbean Plate. Normal faulting occurs at the
eastern end of this boundary. Normal faulting is
also common in the high Andes of northern Peru,
where SH trends more nearly east–west.
GPS velocities
The Global Positioning System (GPS) has
allowed measurements to be made of changes in
position (displacements) over a period of several
years. Where there is a displacement gradient,
the problem is to know how much of the strain
is elastic and how much is non-elastic or
permanent.
The first data for South America, although
subject to error, seemed to indicate that the Cen-
tral Andes were shortening horizontally, whereas
the foreland was not (Norabuena et al. 1998).
Updated results, part of SNAPP (South America–
Nazca Plate motion Project; World Wide
Web Address: http://www.earth.northwestern.
edu/research/snapp.html), are similar (Fig. 3).
Like SH in the World Stress Map (Fig. 2), GPS
velocity vectors trend broadly east–west (Fig. 3).
However, recent surveys seem to indicate that
only a small portion of the GPS signal is due
to permanent deformation (O. Heidbach, pers.
comm.). Following major earthquakes at Anto-
fagasta (1995) and Arequipa (June 2001), a large
part of the strain recovered and was presumably
elastic. Thus longer-term observations would
appear to be necessary.
A separate dataset is available for the NW
corner of South America (Trenkamp et al. 2002).
Relative to stable South America, the NW corner
is moving to the NE, causing a combination of
shortening and strike-slip motion.
Palaeomagnetic data
Palaeomagnetic data have shown that the curva-
ture of the Central Andes is mainly due to defor-
mation; in other words, that it is an orocline
(Randall 1998, and references therein; Coutand
et al. 1999b; Roperch et al. 2000; Lamb 2001;
Arriagada et al. 2003; Gilder et al. 2003; Rousse
325
et al. 2003; Richards et al. 2004). This is an
important fact, which helps us to understand
how deformation has accumulated in the highest
and widest part of the Andes. Because the
curvature of the Andes coincides with that of the
coastline, it may be that oroclinal bending is
responsible for both features.
We have synthesized the available data in the
form of four maps (Fig. 4), showing the amount
of rotation for rocks in four age groups: Neo-
gene, Palaeogene, Mesozoic and Palaeozoic. A
simple pattern emerges, in which rotations are
clockwise in the southern part of the central
Andes and counter-clockwise in the northern
part. We infer that (1) oroclinal bending has
occurred since the Cretaceous, and (2) the
older the rocks, the larger is the amount of
rotation. In other words, oroclinal bending has
accumulated progressively since the Cretaceous.
For the modern forearc of northern Chile and
southern Peru, the palaeomagnetic data show
that most of the rotation occurred before the
Neogene, and probably in the Eocene (Arriagada
et al. 2003). If further data bear out this conclu-
sion, it has to be accepted that the Central Andes
have a long history and that Neogene deforma-
tion is no more than a final, and perhaps small,
fraction of it.
Fault maps
We have compiled four diagrammatic maps,
summarizing the style and timing of deformation
across continental South America (Figs 5–8).
The maps have not been compiled accurately
using, for example, a geographical information
system. Instead they are schematic, and should
be considered as illustrations or reviews of
current knowledge.
The maps are labelled (1) mid-Cretaceous,
(2) Late Cretaceous, (3) Palaeogene, and (4)
Neogene. For the purposes of this paper, these
names will be used informally, to represent (1)
the Aptian to Albian, (2) the Cenomanian to
Maastrichtian, (3) the Palaeocene to Oligocene,
and (4) the Miocene to Recent. The last three
maps encompass the Peruvian, Incaic and
Quechua phases of Andean Orogeny, as defined
by Steinmann (1929). In his view, these phases
were relatively well-defined and separate events.
However, there is some evidence that compres-
sional basins have been forming intermittently
since the Late Cretaceous (Noblet et al. 1996).
The quality and abundance of our fault data
are not even. On the Neogene map, fault traces
are relatively abundant in the highlands,
where outcrop is of good quality, and in the
326 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.

Fig. 3. Current GPS velocities in Central and Northern Andes. Reference values (bottom left) are for velocity of
Nazca Plate with respect to South America, according to GPS measurements and plate model NUVEL-1A.
Background is shaded relief map of South America and surrounding ocean floor. This is not a map projection,
but a 2D plot of latitude v. longitude.

sedimentary basins, where petroleum explora- Neogene (Fig. 5)

tion has been active (Fig. 5). On the other three
maps, fault traces are sparse. However, that
does not necessarily mean that pre-Neogene
deformation was less intense. An absence of data
may simply reflect the age of the rocks. In the
foreland, old rocks have subsided beneath more
recent sediment. In the mountains, they have
undergone uplift and exhumation. In general,
the older the deformation, the poorer is the
remaining evidence.
On the Neogene map, reverse faults dominate.
Most of them are in the Andes, where they tend
to coincide with current topographic scarps.
We infer that the mountains have been through
a period of uplift in the Neogene, as a result of
crustal shortening and thickening.
(1) In the Central Andes, the dominant fault
vergence is eastward in the eastern Sub-Andes,
and westward on the western sides of the Eastern
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA 327

Fig. 4. Tectonic rotations in Central and Peruvian Andes. Data are from Randall (1998) and more recent
publications (Coutand et al. 1999; Roperch et al. 2000; Lamb 2001; Arriagada et al. 2003; Gilder et al. 2003;
Rousse et al. 2003; Richards et al. 2004). Rotations (open arrows) and their error ranges (black triangular sectors)
are with respect to current north. Senses of rotation (clockwise in south, counter-clockwise in north) may explain
trends of Andes and coastline. For Mesozoic and Cenozoic host rocks, magnitude of rotation increases with age
(in Ma, white boxes). This is not a map projection, but a 2D plot of latitude v. longitude.
328 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.

Fig. 5. Neogene faults. Fault categories are (1) dominantly reverse (fine lines, triangles pointing down dip), (2)
dominantly strike-slip (bolder lines, arrows indicating sense) and (3) dominantly normal (boldest lines). Dashed
lines indicate less confidence than continuous lines. (For sources of data, see text.) Background is shaded relief
map of South America and surrounding ocean floor. This is not a map projection, but a 2D plot of latitude
v. longitude.
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA 329

Fig. 6. Palaeogene faults. Circles draw attention to documented localities. Fault categories are (1) dominantly
reverse (fine lines, triangles pointing down dip), (2) dominantly strike-slip (bolder lines, arrows indicating sense)
and (3) dominantly normal (boldest lines). Dashed lines indicate less confidence than continuous lines.
(For sources of data, see text.) Background is shaded relief map of South America and surrounding ocean floor.
This is not a map projection, but a 2D plot of latitude v. longitude.
330 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.

Fig. 7. Late Cretaceous faults. Circles draw attention to documented localities. Fault categories are (1)
dominantly reverse (fine lines, triangles pointing down dip), (2) dominantly strike-slip (bolder lines, arrows
indicating sense) and (3) dominantly normal (boldest lines). Dashed lines indicate less confidence than continuous
lines. (For sources of data, see text.) Background is shaded relief map of South America and surrounding ocean
floor. This is not a map projection, but a 2D plot of latitude v. longitude.
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA 331

Fig. 8. Mid-Cretaceous faults. Circles draw attention to documented localities. Fault categories are (1)
dominantly reverse (fine lines, triangles pointing down dip), (2) dominantly strike-slip (bolder lines, arrows
indicating sense) and (3) dominantly normal (boldest lines). Dashed lines indicate less confidence than continuous
lines. (For sources of data, see text.) Background is shaded relief map of South America and surrounding ocean
floor. This is not a map projection, but a plot of latitude v. longitude.
332 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.
Cordillera (Allmendinger et al. 1997; Baby et al.
1997; Müller et al. 2002; Echavarria et al. 2003)
and Western Cordillera (Muñoz & Charrier
1996). Thus the Eastern Cordillera is the surface
expression of a large crustal pop-up. Between the
Eastern and Western cordilleras is the Altiplano
Basin, which went through a late stage of devel-
opment in the Neogene (Lamb & Hoke 1997;
Lamb et al. 1997; Rochat et al. 1999). The main
reverse faults of the Central Andes are deep-
seated, but they branch upward into thin-skinned
structures, especially in the Sub-Andes. The
westward vergence of the Eastern Cordillera is
inherited from the Late Palaeozoic, when crustal
thickening was also active (Müller et al. 2002).
Cleaved Ordovician slates are overlain uncon-
formably by Cretaceous redbeds, which them-
selves were deformed in Palaeogene and Neogene
times. Also inherited in part, from the shape of
a Palaeozoic basin, is the arcuate form of the
Sub-Andes (Baby et al. 1996).
(2) Across the high plateau (Puna) of NW
Argentina, reverse faults lie between alternating
ranges and basins (Allmendinger et al. 1997;
Coutand et al. 2001).
(3) Reverse faults also bound most of the
uplifted basement blocks in the Pampean ranges
of NW Argentina (Allmendinger et al. 1983;
Jordan & Allmendinger 1986; de Urreiztieta et al.
1996). Again, the dominant vergence is westward.
In the southern ranges, the reverse faults have
formed by reactivation of Early Cretaceous rift
basins (Schmidt et al. 1995; Webster et al. 2004).
(4) In Peru and Ecuador, reverse faults are
the main structural features of the cordilleras
and Sub-Andes (Mathalone & Montoya 1995;
Steinmann et al. 1999; Gil Rodríguez et al. 2001;
Hermoza et al. 2005).
(5) Reverse faults are common beneath
Neogene strata of the retro-arc foreland basin in
Ecuador (Baby et al. 1999) and northern Peru
(Gil Rodríguez et al. 2001), where they have
formed by right-lateral transpressional reactiva-
tion of Mesozoic normal faults.
(6) The High Andes of west–central Argentina
and central Chile are mainly due to reverse
faulting of Neogene age (Ramos et al. 1996).
(7) Reverse faults occur in and around the
Pantanal Basin of western Brazil (Milani et al.
1990), near the geographical centre of South
America.
(8) The Guiana highlands are seismically
active and the crust is thick, but whether or
not this is due to Neogene shortening remains
something of a mystery.
(9) The cordilleras of Colombia and Venezu-
ela are mainly crustal pop-ups, which have
formed by reactivation of Mesozoic rift basins, in
a context of right-lateral transpression (Colletta
et al. 1990, 1997; Taboada et al. 2000; Branquet
et al. 2002).
(10) Transpression also explains the recent
altitudes and scarps on the Atlantic margin of
Brazil (Cobbold et al. 2001). Active fault traces
line the Taubaté Rift and the River Paraíba do
Sul, as far as the coast. In the Taubaté Rift, Neo-
gene wrenching has folded and faulted Oligocene
lacustrine strata.
(11) In Patagonia, reverse and strike-slip
faults of Neogene age have been described in
the Andes (Ramos 1989; Cembrano et al. 1996;
Diraison et al. 1998), and recent faults are visible
on published geological maps and satellite
images of the foreland.
(12) Strike-slip faults prevail at the southern
and northern edges of South America, which are
transcurrent plate boundaries. At the northern
edge the motion is right-lateral (Kellogg et al.
1985; Trenkamp et al. 2002), whereas at the
southern edge it is left-lateral (Cunningham
1993; Diraison et al. 2000).
(13) In the Amazon Basin of Brazil, Neogene
strike-slip faulting has reactivated a Palaeozoic
rift (Mossman et al. 1984). The faults trend east–
west as far as the margin, where they run into
seismically active oceanic fracture zones.
(14) Normal faults along the Magellan Strait
indicate that the island of Tierra del Fuego has
been separating from mainland Patagonia and
that the principal compression is NE–SW
(Diraison et al. 1997, 2000). Normal faults also
occur to the north, as far as Lago General
Carrera in Chile, where they coincide with the
subducted East Chile Rise (Lagabrielle et al.
2004).
(15) The Gulf of Guayaquil is a pull-apart
basin, containing some 5000 m of Plio-
Pleistocene strata (Deniaud et al. 1999). Normal
faults, reverse faults and strike-slip faults form
a horsetail splay at the SW end of the Dolores–
Guayaquil Megashear, which coincides with a
sharp bend in the Andes and adjacent coastline.
Palaeogene (Fig. 6)
(1) In the Central Andes, reverse faults of Palaeo-
gene age were active in the forearc of Peru
(Noblet et al. 1996) and northern Chile
(Arriagada et al. 2002, 2006), in the Altiplano
Basin and Cordillera Oriental of Bolivia (Lamb
& Hoke 1997; Lamb et al. 1997; Müller et al.
2002), and in several intramontane basins of the
high plateau (Puna) of NW Argentina (Coutand
et al. 2001; Carrapa et al. 2005). Horton (2005)
has identified a formerly widespread foredeep, in
which middle Eocene to Oligocene strata accu-
mulated during a period of significant shortening
to the west. Such a distribution indicates that
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA
the Andes have propagated eastward since the
Palaeocene (McQuarrie et al. 2005).
(2) In the Western Cordillera of central Peru,
the Incaic phase of deformation resulted in folds
and reverse faults, which are overlain in regional
unconformity by well-dated Eocene strata and
volcanic rocks (Steinmann 1929; Noble et al.
1979, 1990).
(3) Reverse faults of Palaeogene age were
active in the Oriente Basin of Ecuador
(Christophoul et al. 2002), in the Eastern
Cordillera of Colombia (Julivert 1963; De Freitas
et al. 1997; Gómez 2003), and in the adjacent
Magdalena Valley (Schamel 1991; Laumonier
et al. 1996; Gómez et al. 2003).
(4) In Patagonia, there was thrusting and
strike-slip faulting in the foothills of the Neuquén
Basin (Cobbold & Rossello 2003) and in the
Magallanes foreland basin (Ramos 1989;
Alvarez-Marrón et al. 1993; Diraison et al. 2000;
Ghiglione & Ramos 2005).
(5) In SE Brazil, older structures underwent
transpressional reactivation in the Palaeogene
(Cobbold et al. 2001).
Late Cretaceous (Fig. 7)
(1) In the Central Andes, reverse faults of Late
Cretaceous age controlled subsidence of a
foreland basin, now the Atacama Basin in the
forearc of northern Chile (Arriagada et al. 2002,
2006; Mpodozis et al. 2005). Reverse faults also
appeared in the Copiapó area, inverting earlier
Mesozoic rifts (Mpodozis & Allmendinger 1993).
(2) Reverse faults were active in the Oriente
Basin of Ecuador (Baby et al. 1999).
(3) In the Neuquén Basin of northern
Patagonia, thrusting led to regional subsidence
in a continental foreland basin, where redbeds
accumulated (Cobbold & Rossello 2003). The
same association occurs further south, in the
Chubut Basin.
(4) In the southernmost Andes, thrust tecton-
ics caused regional subsidence in the Magallanes
foreland basin and simultaneous uplift of meta-
morphic rocks in Cordillera Darwin (Dalziel &
Palmer 1979; Nelson et al. 1980; Winslow 1982;
Klepeis 1994; Coutand et al. 1999a; Diraison
et al. 2000; Ghiglione & Ramos 2005).
(5) In SE Brazil, the coastal ranges underwent
uplift and exhumation (Cobbold et al. 2001).
(6) On the Atlantic margin of NE Brazil, there
were phases of transpressional deformation in
the Piauí Basin (Zalán et al. 1985) and in the
Potiguar Basin.
Mid-Cretaceous (Fig. 8)
Although for many years the mid-Cretaceous
was seen as a period of rifting or passive
333
subsidence, evidence is accumulating for an onset
of compressional deformation in the Aptian.
(1) Growth strata from the Neuquén Basin
(Cobbold & Rossello 2003) and the Atacama
Basin (Arriagada et al. 2002, 2006; Mpodozis
et al. 2005) point clearly to a context of shorten-
ing and thickening. In both basins, transitional
evaporites and continental redbeds overlie
marine strata that accumulated in a rift setting
during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.
(2) In what is now the Coastal Range of cen-
tral Chile, ductile shortening occurred during the
mid-Cretaceous (Arancibia 2004).
(3) In the Magallanes Basin, the earliest phase
of uplift, erosion and formation of a foreland
basin was of mid-Cretaceous age (Winslow 1982;
Diraison et al. 2000).
(4) In the San Julián Basin, offshore southern
Patagonia, an Early Cretaceous rift basin became
strongly inverted, folded and faulted under
Aptian transpression (Homovc & Constantini
2001).
(5) The same can be said for SE and NE
Brazil, where compressional reactivation of the
continental margin started shortly after the
formation of an Aptian break-up unconformity
(Cobbold et al. 2001; Meisling et al. 2001).
(6) The Amazon Basin, which formed in a rift
setting during the Palaeozoic, went through a
phase of strong wrenching (Szatmari 1983),
sometime between the Early Jurassic and the
Cenomanian, but most probably in the mid-
Cretaceous. Right-lateral wrenching acted along
the Amazon Basin (Caputo 1991), while, in the
nascent Equatorial Atlantic, Africa was pulling
away in a right-lateral sense from South
America. The wrenching was responsible for
strike-slip faults, reverse faults, and large folds,
which uplifted the Precambrian basement.
Redbeds of Albian to Cenomanian age are
unconformable upon it.
Summary
The amount of available data decreases accord-
ing to its geological age, but otherwise the four
fault maps are broadly similar.
(1) All show reverse faulting in the Central
Andes.
(2) All show reverse faulting in Patagonia.
(3) All show compressional or transpressional
reactivation in SE Brazil.
(4) All show strike-slip faulting in the south-
ernmost Andes.
(5) Two of them show strike-slip faulting in
the northernmost Andes.
(6) Two of them show strike-slip reactivation
of the Amazon rift.
(7) Two of them show compressional reactiva-
tion in NE Brazil.
334 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.
The most obvious differences are as follows.
(1) Neogene deformation is strongest in the
Central Andes.
(2) Palaeogene deformation is prevalent in the
Northern, Central and Southern Andes.
(3) Cretaceous deformation appears to be
prevalent in southern, eastern and central South
America (as far north as Ecuador).
The last statement should be qualified,
because it may reflect the availability of data.
Otherwise, one is struck by the almost ubiquitous
nature of compressional deformation through-
out South America since the mid-Cretaceous.
This makes sense, in that the mid-Cretaceous was
a period of plate reorganization, following the
opening of the South Atlantic (Nürnberg &
Müller 1991). Ever since then, one would expect
ridge push to have been active in the South
Atlantic, as well as in the Pacific, keeping South
America in a state of generalized compression.
Because the four fault maps are for periods
when faulting appears to have been unusually
active, the intervening periods remain somewhat
of a mystery. One such period is the Oligocene. It
has been suggested that the Oligocene was a time
of normal faulting in SW South America (Jordan
et al. 2001; Pananont et al. 2004). This is a subject
of intense interest and debate.
That compression caused shortening and
thickening in the Andes is understandable, if a
high heat flow was responsible for softening, but
why did deformation occur repeatedly in other
areas, such as SE Brazil or the Amazon Basin?
Was it simply that these areas were crustal weak-
nesses, prone to reactivation, or did they respond
to stress concentrations, resulting from condi-
tions at the irregular boundaries of South
America?
Physical models
To obtain some insights into the mechanics of
deformation at the scale of South America, 10
experiments on physical models were carried out
at Géosciences-Rennes in 1992 and 1994. They
followed earlier work during which limited sub-
duction of oceanic lithosphere had been observed
in physical models (Pinet & Cobbold 1992;
Pubellier & Cobbold 1996) and they served as
a template for experiments on subduction that
were performed later at Géosciences-Rennes
(Faccenna et al. 1996). However, the work on
South America was not published at the time,
because it seemed premature. Here two of the
experiments are described (Figs 9 and 10). We do
not pretend that they reproduce faithfully what
has occurred in South America, but we believe
that they provide some insights into potential
mechanisms of deformation at continental scale.
The model materials were (1) heavy sand
(quartz sand from Fontainebleau, France), for
the brittle oceanic crust; (2) light sand (a mixture
of quartz sand and ethyl cellulose), for the brittle
continental crust; (3) light silicone putty (Gomme
GS1R, manufactured by Rhône-Poulenc), for
the ductile continental crust; (4) heavy silicone (a
mixture of light silicone and powdered galena),
for the mantle lithosphere; (5) clear honey for the
asthenosphere (Table 1). The models were prop-
erly scaled for gravitational forces (Table 2). The
model ratio of length was 107. For further details
of scaling and of the experimental technique, the
reader may consult earlier publications (Davy &
Cobbold 1988, 1991; Pinet & Cobbold 1992;
Pubellier & Cobbold 1996).
The models were constructed and deformed
within a square box, 110 cm wide and 30 cm
deep. First, the box was filled with honey. Next, a
layer of heavy silicone was floated onto it. Then,
a patch of light silicone was added, to represent
ductile continental crust. Finally, a layer of light
or heavy sand completed the layering. A travel-
ling trough poured the sand in thin layers of
uniform thickness and a mask was used to obtain
the required shape of the model continent.
To obtain transform boundaries within
oceanic crust, the sand was siphoned off along
narrow strips, so that the heavy silicone rose to
the surface along them. To initiate subduction
zones, thin strips of powdered bismuth sulphide
were added at the surface.
Deformation was imposed by one or more
mobile plates, which travelled horizontally at
steady preset speeds, without touching the
bottom of the box.
Experiment 1 (Fig. 9)
The objectives of this experiment were two.
Would rapid subduction of oceanic lithosphere
cause shortening of an adjacent continent?
Would initial weaknesses within the continent
lead to heterogeneous shortening?
For simplicity, the continent was initially
rectangular and homogeneous, except for an
initial zone of weakness, oblique to the margin,
where sand was thinner (1 mm). The zone of
weakness was meant to represent a pre-existing
structure, such as one of the Mesozoic rifts of
South America.
To encourage subduction, a thin strip of
powdered bismuth sulphide was added to the free
upper surface, at the edge of the oceanic lithos-
phere. Being heavy, the bismuth sulphide
mimicked in a simple way the increase in weight
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA 335

Fig. 9. Physical model of subduction and oroclinal bending. Photographs show the upper surface of the model,
before deformation (a), after 2 h (b), and after 21.5 h (c). Initial spacing of grid lines (dark) was 5 cm. The
continent (pale) was initially rectangular and homogeneous, except for an oblique zone of weakness (darker,
dashed outline). Subduction of oceanic lithosphere (grey) was stimulated by adding a heavy strip of powdered
bismuth sulphide (black) at the western edge of the continent. A single piston (right), advancing at 5 mm h−1,
caused compression and rapid subduction. Close-up views (d)–(f) of rectangular boxes shown in (a)–(c) show
progressive deformation of the initial weakness and consequent oroclinal bending of the continental margin. The
heavy strip underwent variable amount of subduction. The experiment was performed at Géosciences-Rennes on
10 June 1992 by E.A.R. and P.R.C.
336 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.

Fig. 10. Physical model of plate tectonics around South America. Photographs show upper surface of model,
before deformation (a), after 6 h of deformation (b), and after 14 h (c). Initial spacing of grid lines (dark) was
5 cm. Reinforced markers (dashed lines) are for better interpretation. The continent (bottom centre) had the
shape of South America (SAm) and was homogeneous, except for an initial weakness (dotted outline).
Subduction of oceanic lithosphere was stimulated by adding heavy strips of powdered bismuth sulphide (black) at
the western edge of continent and along the Antilles arc (a). Initial faults were made by siphoning off sand. One
piston (top left), advancing at 5 mm h−1, pushed the Nazca–Caribbean Plate (Nz-Ca) and North American Plate
(NAm) eastward, but not the Antarctic Plate (An). A second piston (right) pushed all plates westward at
2.5 mm h−1. Subducting Nazca Plate reached 7 cm under South America (continuous-line arrow, c). The edge of
the continent became eroded (about 5 cm) by subduction (a). Transform motions accumulated on initial faults.
Close-up (d) of the rectangular box in (c) shows details of deformation. Northern and southern parts of
continental South America rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise, respectively. The experiment was performed
at Géosciences-Rennes on 24 June 1994 by C.L., E.A.R. and P.R.C.
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA 337

Table 1. Physical properties of model materials

Material Density Viscosity Cohesion Internal friction Thickness of Thickness of

(g cm−3) (Pa s) (Pa) (deg.) continent (mm) ocean (mm)

Light sand 1.2 0 45 2 0

Heavy sand 1.5 50 45 0 3
Light silicone 1.16 10000 2 0
Heavy silicone 1.35 50000 4 4
Honey 1.37 100 200 200

Table 2. Characteristic values and scaling

System Length Thickness Density Stress Viscosity Strain rate Time Velocity
(m) (m) (kg m−3) (Pa) (Pa s) (s−1) (s) (m s−1)

Nature 750E+04 300E+02 300E+01 900E+06 100E+20 900E-16 111E+11 270E-11

(7500 km) (30 km) (900 MPa) (0.35 Ma) (8.5 cm a−1)
Model 750E-03 300E-05 150E+01 450E-01 100E+02 450E-05 222E-00 135E-07
(75 cm) (3 mm) (45 Pa) (3.7 min) (5 mm h−1)
Ratio 100E+05 100E+05 200E-02 200E+05 100E+16 200E-13 500E+08 200E-06

that results from cooling and ageing of an
oceanic lithosphere in nature.
Compression was applied at the eastern side
of the continent (right, Fig. 9) by a plate sliding
horizontally at 5 mm h−1. Because of friction at
lateral boundaries, the compressive stress was
almost certainly greatest next to the piston. The
plate velocity was much greater than the rate of
rollback of the slab under its own weight. The
experiment lasted 21.5 h (equivalent to 122 Ma in
nature).
In the first stages of deformation, a thrust
fault formed at the continental margin and the
oceanic lithosphere started to subduct. However,
after 2 h, subduction became irregular and the
continent deformed (Fig. 9b). In particular,
the initial weakness shortened and thickened
(Fig. 9e). Another zone of deformation, marked
by en echelon folds and thrusts, formed across
the NW corner of the continent. Where the conti-
nent shortened, the oceanic plate subducted less.
To north and south of the continent, subduction
zones formed within the oceanic lithosphere.
As deformation accumulated in the zone of
initial weakness, a large block to the south of it
rotated clockwise, whereas areas to the north
of it bent in oroclinal fashion (Fig. 9e and f). The
final result was an asymmetrically sinuous mar-
gin, much like the west coast of South America.
All this time, the adjacent oceanic lithosphere
subducted, but did not deform internally, except
by bending.
In conclusion, subduction initiated at the
margin between continental and oceanic lithos-
pheres, even though the greatest compression
was on the other side of the continent. Rapid
subduction resulted in deformation next to the
convergent margin. The pattern of deformation
reflected the mechanical heterogeneity of the
continent. Large blocks rotated by slipping on
the subduction zone, and the margin became
asymmetrically curved.
Experiment 2 (Fig. 10)
The objective of this experiment was to investi-
gate how a more realistic plate configuration
might influence the pattern of continental
deformation.
Initially, the continent had the true current
shape of South America and it was homoge-
neous, except for an initial zone of weakness,
oblique to the margin, where the sand was
thinner (1 mm). As in the previous experiment,
this zone of weakness was designed to represent
a pre-existing structure, such as one of the
Mesozoic rifts of South America. The surround-
ing oceanic lithosphere was divided into plates.
The boundaries between them were created
artificially.
To nucleate subduction, two thin strips of
powdered bismuth sulphide were added to the
free upper surface, (1) at the edge of the oceanic
lithosphere, next to the western margin of the
continent, and (2) across the oceanic lithosphere,
338 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.
to the north of the continent. The latter repre-
sented the convergent boundary (Antilles sub-
duction zone) between the Caribbean and South
American plates.
Two other faults were created within the
oceanic lithosphere by siphoning off the sand, so
that the underlying silicone rose to the surface.
The faults represented the boundaries between
(1) the Caribbean and North American plates
and (2) the Nazca and Antarctic plates. The
Nazca and Caribbean plates initially formed a
single plate.
A rigid western sidewall pushed the Nazca–
Caribbean Plate, and the strip to the north of it,
at a velocity of 5 mm h−1 (equivalent to 8.5 cm a−1
in nature). The direction of motion was at about
80° to the continental margin (as occurs in South
America today). This action simulated ridge
push from the East Pacific Rise. Simultaneously,
a rigid eastern sidewall pushed all the plates west-
ward at a velocity of 2.5 mm h−1, simulating ridge
push from the Mid-Atlantic Rise. The experi-
ment lasted 14 h (equivalent to 80 Ma in nature).
As in the previous experiment, the plate velocities
were greater than the rate of rollback of the
slab under its own weight. Because of low shear
strength, the artificial faults behaved as trans-
form boundaries. Between them, compressive
stress was probably almost uniform across the
moving Nazca–Caribbean Plate.
In the first stages of deformation, thrust faults
formed at the western margin of the continent
and to the north of it. Immediately, the advanc-
ing oceanic lithosphere subducted. Bridging the
gap between subduction zones, a transcurrent
fault formed at the northern margin of the
continent. After 2 h, a zone of thrusting and
high topography, resembling Central America,
appeared spontaneously within the moving oce-
anic plates. Subduction continued in the Antilles
zone, but at about half the rate of subduction
at the main convergent margin. By the end of
the experiment, the Nazca Plate had subducted
about 7 cm (arrow, Fig. 10d), or 700 km in
nature. To this should be added about 5 cm
(500 km in nature) of subduction-erosion at the
edge of the continent.
The grids show that the northern and central
parts of the continent rotated clockwise by about
10° with respect to the surrounding oceanic
plates. In contrast, the southern part (Patagonia)
rotated counter-clockwise. The clockwise rota-
tion of the northern and southern parts probably
resulted from (1) rapid advance of the Nazca and
Caribbean plates, relative to the Antarctic Plate,
and (2) frictional drag at the northern boundary.
The counter-clockwise rotation of the southern
part may have been due to drag at its southern
boundary. The relative rotation between conti-
nental and oceanic parts of South America
resulted in deformation along the continental
margins. In particular, there was shortening and
thickening along the SE margin, and rifting at
the western margin next to the triple junction
(Fig. 10d).
Horizontal compression was responsible for
more generalized deformation at the continental
margins. Because the eastern margins were
oblique to the greatest stress, they took up strike-
slip motion, right-lateral at the SE margin, and
left-lateral at the NW margin. The wrenching
resulted in en echelon folds and reverse faults.
Between zones of wrenching, the two eastern
apices of the continent thrust over the adjacent
oceanic lithosphere. At the western margin, next
to the subduction zone, the zone of initial weak-
ness took up some shortening, although less so
than in the previous experiment. Elsewhere, the
continent suffered little internal deformation.
Discussion
The fault maps presented here show that
compressional deformation in continental South
America has accumulated primarily in the
Andes, but also at other locations around the
margins, especially SE Brazil and Patagonia.
Moreover, deformation has been recurrent in
these areas. This is not surprising, because the
plate configuration and general directions of
motion around continental South America have
not changed greatly since the mid-Cretaceous.
Mechanically speaking, the boundary conditions
have remained relatively stable. Minor changes
in the direction and speed of plate motions can
account for variations in the rate of deformation
and in structural style (the phases of Steinmann
1929).
Experiment 2, which had stable boundary
conditions, also showed recurrent deformation
along certain segments of the continental margin.
In particular, it showed (1) strike-slip deforma-
tion at the northern and southern margins of the
continent, as well as the SE and NW margins,
and (2) thrusting around the eastern coastal
promontories of Brazil and southern Patagonia.
The former is easily understood in terms of east–
west compression and lateral friction. In con-
trast, the latter results from wholesale rotation of
northern and southern parts of the continent.
Such a complex motion has not been suggested
before for the real South America, but it might
explain the shortening and topography of the
coastal mountains of SE Brazil and the Maurice
Ewing Bank (south of the Falkland Islands).
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA
In Experiment 1, where the boundary condi-
tions were highly simplified, an internal weakness
led to a sinuous margin, involving large rotations
of crustal blocks. This provides an explanation
for the Bolivian orocline, where rotations have
accumulated since the Cretaceous, in a large
Palaeozoic foreland basin, next to a Mesozoic rift
in the south.
Thus the main cause of oroclinal bending and
other variations in structural style along the
Andes may be mechanical heterogeneity within
the continent, rather than variations in the sub-
ducting slab. Indeed, the importance of palaeo-
geography and pre-existing faults has been
emphasized before, for example for NW Argen-
tina (Allmendinger et al. 1983; Grier et al. 1991;
Kley et al. 2005), Bolivia (Baby et al. 1996), Peru
(Gil Rodríguez et al. 2001), and the Andes in
general (Cobbold et al. 1996; Kley et al. 1999;
Jacques 2003). Probably, the subject deserves
more widespread recognition and further study.
Typically, a continent is more heterogeneous
than an oceanic lithosphere. The former is older
and has inherited weaknesses, whereas the latter
is younger and more uniform, as a result of
consolidation at mid-oceanic ridges.
Conclusions
(1) Compressional deformation is widespread
in continental South America, especially at the
margins, and it has been accumulating since the
mid-Cretaceous.
(2) According to geophysical data (topogra-
phy, crustal thickness, GPS velocities, seismic
activity, stress maps), shortening and thickening
are continuing in the Andes, as well as in SE
Brazil.
(3) From geological data, we have compiled
maps for mid-Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous,
Palaeogene and Neogene faulting. At all periods,
faulting was dominant in the Andes, but it also
occurred at northern and southern transcurrent
boundaries, on the Atlantic margin, in
Patagonia, and even in the Amazon Basin.
(4) Because deformation was recurrent at
these localities, we infer that it was mainly due to
reactivation of crustal weaknesses, and to special
conditions on the boundaries of South America.
(5) Our physical models may provide some
explanation of the above processes. The domi-
nant response to plate motion was subduction of
oceanic lithosphere beneath continental South
America. However, the continent also deformed
internally, especially at the margins.
(6) In one experiment, a zone of initial weak-
ness next to the convergent margin shortened
preferentially, causing large rotations of adjacent
339
blocks and generating curvature of the margin.
Such a process may help to explain the develop-
ment of the Bolivian orocline.
(7) In another experiment, where the model
continent had a broadly triangular shape, resem-
bling South America, the oblique NE and SW
margins deformed in strike-slip mode, the eastern
apices of the continent thrust over the adjacent
oceanic lithosphere, and large parts of the conti-
nent rotated, causing reverse faulting at the SE
margin. Such motions may explain the complexi-
ties of deformation at the scale of South America.
P.R.C. first gave a talk on this subject in 1996, at a meet-
ing in St. Malo. M. Coward encouraged us to publish
the results. South America was among his many inter-
ests. In 1969, he and P.R.C. took part in a memorable
9 month field campaign to the Andes (Imperial College
Andean Volcanoes Project). Over the following years,
we had many enthusiastic discussions about South
America. We thank O. Heidbach of the World Stress
Map project for useful remarks and for permission to
publish Figure 2. The constructive comments of the
reviewers, A. Tankard and P. Baby, resulted in a better
manuscript.
References
ALLMENDINGER, R. W., RAMOS, V. A., JORDAN, T. E.,
PALMA, M. & ISACKS, B. L. 1983. Paleogeography
and Andean structural geometry, northwest
Argentina. Tectonics, 2, 1–16.
ALLMENDINGER, R. W., JORDAN, T. E., KAY, S. M. &
ISACKS, B. L. 1997. The evolution of the Altiplano–
Puna plateau of the Central Andes. Annual Review
of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 25, 139–174.
ALVAREZ-MARRÓN, J., MCCLAY, K. R., HARAMBOUR,
S., ROJAS, L. & SKARMETA, J. 1993. Geometry and
evolution of the frontal part of the Magallanes
foreland thrust and fold belt (Vicuña Area), Tierra
del Fuego, Southern Chile. AAPG Bulletin, 77,
1904–1921.
ARANCIBIA, G. 2004. Mid-Cretaceous crustal shorten-
ing: evidence from a regional-scale ductile shear
zone in the Coastal Range of central Chile (32°S).
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 17,
209–226.
ARRIAGADA, C., COBBOLD, P., MPODOZIS, C. &
ROPERCH, P. 2002. Cretaceous to Paleogene
compressional tectonics during deposition of
the Purilactis Group, Salar de Atacama. Fifth Inter-
national Symposium on Andean Geodynamics,
Toulouse, Extended Abstracts. IRD Editions, Paris,
41–44.
ARRIAGADA, C., ROPERCH, P., MPODOZIS, C.,
DUPOND-NIVET, G., COBBOLD, P. R., CHAUVIN, A.
& CORTÉS, J. 2003. Paleogene clockwise tectonic
rotations in the forearc of central Andes,
Antofogasta region, northern Chile. Journal of
Geophysical Research, 108(B1), 2002, doi:10.1029/
2001JB001598.
340 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.
ARRIAGADA, C., COBBOLD, P. R. & ROPERCH, P. 2006.
The Salar de Atacama basin: a record of Cretareous
to Paleogene Compresional tectonics in the Central
Andes. Tectonics 25, TC1008, doi:10.1029/
2004TC001770.
ASSUMPÇÃO, M. 1998. Seismicity and stresses in the
Brazilian passive margin. Bulletin of the Seismologi-
cal Society of America, 88, 160–169.
BABY, P., SPECHT, M., OLLER, J., MONTEMURRO, G.,
COLLETTA, B. & LETOUZEY, J. 1996. The
Boomerang–Chapare transfer zone (Recent Oil
Discovery Trend in Bolivia): structural interpreta-
tion and experimental approach. In: ROURE, F.,
ELLOUZ, N., SHEIN, V. S. & SKVORTSOV, I. (eds)
Geodynamic Evolution of Sedimentary Basins.
Technip, Paris, 203–218.
BABY, P., ROCHAT, P., MASCLE, G. & HÉRAIL, G. 1997.
Neogene shortening contribution to crustal thicken-
ing in the back arc of the Central Andes. Geology,
25, 883–886.
BABY, P., RIVADENEIRA, M., CHRISTOPHOUL, F. &
BARRAGÁN, R. 1999. Style and timing of deforma-
tion in the Oriente Basin of Ecuador. Fourth
International Symposium on Andean Geodynamics,
Göttingen, Extended Abstracts. IRD Editions, Paris,
68–72.
BRANQUET, Y., CHEILLETZ, A., COBBOLD, P. R., BABY,
P., LAUMONIER, B. & GIULIANI, G. 2002. Andean
deformation and rift inversion, eastern edge of
Cordillera Oriental (Guateque–Medina area),
Colombia. Journal of South American Earth
Sciences, 15, 391–407.
CAPUTO, M. V. 1991. Solimões megashear: intraplate
tectonics in northwestern Brazil. Geology, 19,
246–249.
CARRAPA, B., ADELMANN, D., HILLEY, G. E.,
MORTIMER, E., SOBEL, E. R. & STRECKER, M. R.
2005. Oligocene range uplift and development of
plateau morphology in the southern central Andes.
Tectonics, 24, TC4011, doi:10.1029/2004TC001762.
CEMBRANO, J., HERVÉ, F. & LAVENU, A. 1996. The
Liquiñe Ofqui fault zone: a long-lived intra-arc fault
system in southern Chile. Tectonophysics, 259,
55–66.
CHRISTOPHOUL, F., BABY, P. & DÁVILA, C. 2002. Strati-
graphic responses to a major tectonic event in
a foreland basin: the Ecuadorian Oriente Basin
from Eocene to Oligocene times. Tectonophysics,
345, 281–298.
COBBOLD, P. R. & ROSSELLO, E. A. 2003. Aptian to
recent compressional deformation, foothills of the
Neuquén Basin, Argentina. Marine and Petroleum
Geology, 20, 429–443.
COBBOLD, P. R., SZATMARI, P., LIMA, C. & ROSSELLO,
E. A. 1996. Cenozoic deformation across South
America: continent-wide data and analogue models.
Third International Symposium on Andean Geo-
dynamics, St. Malo, Extended Abstracts, ORSTOM,
Paris, 21–24.
COBBOLD, P.R., MEISLING, K. & MOUNT, V. S. 2001.
Reactivation of an obliquely rifted margin, Campos
and Santos basins, southeastern Brazil. AAPG
Bulletin, 85, 1925–1944.
COLLETTA, B., HÉBRARD, F., LETOUZEY, J., WERNER,
P. & RUDKIEWICZ, J.-L. 1990. Tectonic style and
crustal structure of the Eastern Cordillera (Colom-
bia) from a balanced cross-section. In: LETOUZEY, J.
(ed.) Petroleum and Tectonics in Mobile Belts.
Technip, Paris, 81–100.
COLLETTA, B., ROURE, F., DE TONI, B., LOUREIRO, D.,
PASSALACQUA, H. & GOU, Y. 1997. Tectonic inher-
itance, crustal architecture, and contrasting struc-
tural styles in the Venezuelan Andes. Tectonics, 16,
777–794.
COUTAND, I., DIRAISON, M., COBBOLD, P. R., GAPAIS,
D., ROSSELLO, E. A. & MILLER, M. 1999a. Structure
and kinematics of a foothills transect, Lago Viedma,
southern Andes (49°30pS). Journal of South
American Earth Sciences, 12, 1–15.
COUTAND, I., ROPERCH, P., CHAUVIN, A., COBBOLD, P.
R. & GAUTIER, P. 1999b. Vertical axis rotations
across the Puna plateau (northwestern Argentina)
from paleomagnetic analysis of Cretaceous and
Cenozoic rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research,
104, 22965–22984.
COUTAND, I., COBBOLD, P. R., DE URREIZTIETA, M.
et al. 2001. Style and history of Andean deforma-
tion, Puna plateau, northwestern Argentina.
Tectonics, 20, 210–234.
CUNNINGHAM, W. D. 1993. Strike-slip faults in the
southernmost Andes and the development of the
Patagonian orocline. Tectonics, 12, 169–186.
DALZIEL, I. W. D. & PALMER, F. K. 1979. Progressive
deformation and orogenic uplift at the southern
extremity of the Andes. Geological Society of
America Bulletin, 90, 259–280.
DAVY, P. & COBBOLD, P. R. 1988. Indentation tectonics
in nature and experiment. 1. Experiments scaled for
gravity. Bulletin of the Geological Institutions of
Uppsala, New Series, 14, 129–141.
DAVY, P. & COBBOLD, P. R. 1991. Experiments on
shortening of a 4-layer model of the continental
lithosphere. Tectonophysics, 188, 1–25.
DE FREITAS, M., FRANÇOLIN, J. B. M. & COBBOLD, P.
R. 1997. The structure of the Axial Zone of the
Cordillera Oriental, Colombia. VI Simposio
Bolivariano, Memorias, Tomo II. Asociación
Colombiana de Geólogos y Geofísicos del Petróleo,
Bogotá, 38–41.
DENIAUD, Y., BABY, P., BASILE, C., ORDÓÑEZ, M.,
MONTENEGRO, G. & MASCLE, G. 1999. Ouverture
et évolution tectono-sédimentaire du golfe de Gua-
yaquil: bassin d’avant-arc néogène et quaternaire du
Sud des Andes équatoriennes. Comptes Rendus de
l’Académie des Sciences, Série IIA, 328, 181–187.
DE URREIZTIETA, M., GAPAIS, D., LE CORRE, C.,
COBBOLD, P. R. & ROSSELLO, E. 1996. Cenozoic
dextral transpression and basin development at the
southern edge of the Puna Plateau, northwestern
Argentina. Tectonophysics, 254, 17–39.
DIRAISON, M., COBBOLD, P. R., GAPAIS, D. &
ROSSELLO, E. A. 1997. Magellan Strait: part of a
Neogene rift system. Geology, 25, 703–706.
DIRAISON, M., COBBOLD, P. R., ROSSELLO, E. A. &
AMOS, A. J. 1998. Neogene dextral transpression
due to oblique convergence across the Andes of
northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of
South American Earth Sciences, 11, 519–532.
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA
DIRAISON, M., COBBOLD, P. R., GAPAIS, D., ROSSELLO,
E. A. & LE CORRE, C. 2000. Cenozoic crustal thick-
ening, wrenching and rifting in the foothills of the
southernmost Andes. Tectonophysics, 316, 91–119.
ECHAVARRIA, L., HERNÁNDEZ, R., ALLMENDINGER, R.
& REYNOLDS, J. 2003. Subandean thrust and fold
belt of northwestern Argentina: geometry and
timing of the Andean evolution. AAPG Bulletin, 87,
965–985.
FACCENNA, C., DAVY, P., BRUN, J.-P., FUNICIELLO, R.,
GIARDINI, D., MATTEI, M. & NALPAS, T. 1996. The
dynamics of back-arc extension: an experimental
approach to the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Geophysical Journal International, 126, 781–795.
GHIGLIONE, M. & RAMOS, V. 2005. Progression of
deformation and sedimentation in the southernmost
Andes. Tectonophysics, 405, 25–46.
GILDER, S., ROUSSE, S., FARBER, D., MCNULTY, B.,
SEMPERE, T., TORRES, V. & PALACIOS, O. 2003.
Post-Middle Oligocene origin of paleomagnetic
rotations in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic
rocks from northern and southern Peru. Earth and
Planetary Science Letters, 210, 233–248.
GIL RODRÍGUEZ, W., BABY, P. & BALLARD, J.-F. 2001.
Structure et contrôle paléogéographique de la
zone subandine péruvienne. Comptes Rendus de
l’Académie des Sciences, Série IIA, 333, 741–748.
GÓMEZ, E., JORDAN, T., ALLMENDINGER, R.,
HEGARTY, K., KELLY, S. & HEIZLER, M. 2003.
Controls on architecture of the Late Cretaceous to
Cenozoic southern Middle Magdalena Valley basin,
Colombia. Geological Society of America Bulletin,
115, 131–147.
GÓMEZ, L. A. 2003. Evolution tectonique, systèmes
pétroliers et prospectivité de la Vallée Moyenne du
Magdalena et de la Cordillère Orientale, Colombie.
PhD thesis, Université de Rennes 1.
GRIER, M. E., SALFITY, J. A. & ALLMENDINGER, R. W.
1991. Andean reactivation of the Cretaceous Salta
rift, northwestern Argentina. Journal of South
American Earth Sciences, 4, 351–372.
GUTSCHER, M.-A. 2002. Andean subduction styles
and their effect on thermal structure and interplate
coupling. Journal of South American Earth Sciences,
15, 3–10.
GUTSCHER, M.-A., SPAKMAN, W., BIJWAARD, H. &
ENGDAHL, E. R. 2000. Geodynamics of flat subduc-
tion: seismicity and tomographic constraints from
the Andean margin. Tectonics, 19, 814–833.
HERMOZA, W., BRUSSET, S., BABY, P., GIL, W.,
RODDAZ, M., GUERRERO, N. & MOLANDO, B. 2005.
The Huallaga foreland basin evolution: thrust
propagation in a deltaic environment, northern
Peruvian Andes. Journal of South American Earth
Sciences, 19, 21–34.
HOMOVC, J. F. & CONSTANTINI, L. 2001. Hydrocarbon
exploration potential within intraplate shear-related
depocenters: Deseado and San Julián basins, south-
ern Argentina. AAPG Bulletin, 85, 1795–1816.
HORTON, B. K. 2005. Revised deformation history of
the central Andes: inferences from Cenozoic
foredeep and intermontane basins of the Eastern
Cordillera, Bolivia. Tectonics, 24, TC3011, doi:
10.1029/2003TC001619.
341
ISACKS, B. 1988. Uplift of the central Andean plateau
and bending of the Bolivian orocline. Journal of
Geophysical Research, 93, 3211–3231.
JACQUES, J. M. 2003. A tectonostratigraphic synthesis
of the Sub-Andean basins: implications for the geo-
tectonic segmentation of the Andean Belt. Journal
of the Geological Society, London, 160, 687–701.
JORDAN, T. E. & ALLMENDINGER, R. W. 1986. The
Sierras Pampeanas of Argentina: a modern ana-
logue of Rocky Mountain foreland deformation.
American Journal of Science, 286, 737–764.
JORDAN, T. E., ISACKS, B. L., ALLMENDINGER, R. W.,
BREWER, J. A., RAMOS, V. A. & ANDO, C. A. 1983.
Andean tectonics related to geometry of subducted
Nazca plate. Geological Society of America Bulletin,
94, 341–361.
JORDAN, T. E., BURNS, W. M., VEIGA, R., PÁNGARO,
F., COPELAND, P., KELLEY, S. & MPODOZIS, C.
2001. Extension and basin formation in the south-
ern Andes caused by increased convergence rate: a
mid-Cenozoic trigger for the Andes. Tectonics, 20,
308–324.
JULIVERT, M. 1963. Los rasgos tectónicos de la Sabana
de Bogotá y los mecanismos de deformación de
las estructuras. Boletín de Geología, Universidad
Industrial de Santander, 13–14, 5–102.
KELLOGG, J. N., OGUJIOFOR, I. J. & KANSAKAR, D. R.
1985. Cenozoic tectonics of the Panama and North
Andes blocks. VI Latin American Geological
Congress, Bogotá, Colombia, Memoirs, 1, 40–59.
KLEPEIS, K. A. 1994. Relationship between uplift of the
metamorphic core of the southernmost Andes and
shortening in the Magallanes foreland fold and
thrust belt, Tierra del Fuego, Chile. Tectonics, 13,
882–904.
KLEY, J., MONALDI, C. R. & SALFITY, J. A. 1999.
Along-strike segmentation of the Andean foreland:
causes and consequences. Tectonophysics, 301,
75–94.
KLEY, J., ROSSELLO, E. A., MONALDI, C. R. &
HABIGHORST, B. 2005. Seismic and field evidence
for selective inversion of Cretaceous normal faults,
Salta rift, northwest Argentina. Tectonophysics,
399, 155–172.
LAGABRIELLE, Y., SUÁREZ, M., ROSSELLO, E. A.,
HÉRAIL, G., MARTINOD, J., RÉGNIER, M. & DE LA
CRUZ, R. 2004. Neogene to Quaternary tectonic
evolution of the Patagonian Andes at the latitude
of the Chile Triple Junction. Tectonophysics, 385,
211–241.
LAMB, S. 2001. Vertical axis rotation in the Bolivian
orocline, South America 1. Paleomagnetic analysis
of Cretaceous and Cenozoic rocks. Journal of
Geophysical Research, 106, 26605–26632.
LAMB, S. H. & HOKE, L. 1997. Origin of the high
plateau in the Central Andes, Bolivia, South
America. Tectonics, 16, 623–649.
LAMB, S., HOKE, L., KENNAN, L. & DEWEY, J. 1997.
Cenozoic evolution of the Central Andes in Bolivia
and northern Chile. In: BURG, J.-P. & FORD, M.
(eds) Orogeny Through Time. Geological Society,
London, Special Publications, 121, 237–264.
LAUMONIER, B., BRANQUET, Y., LOPÈS, B., CHEILLETZ,
A., GIULIANI, G. & RUEDA, F. 1996. Mise en
342 P. R. COBBOLD ET AL.
évidence d’une tectonique compressive Eocène–
Oligocène dans l’Ouest de la Cordillère Orientale
de Colombie, d’après la structure en duplex des
gisements d’émeraude de Muzo et de Coscuez.
Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, Série
IIA, 323, 705–712.
MATHALONE, J. M. P. & Montoya, M.R. 1995. Petro-
leum geology of the Sub-Andean basins of Peru.
In: TANKARD, A. J., SUÁREZ, S. R. & WELSINK, H. J.
(eds) Petroleum Basins of South America. American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoirs, 62,
423–444.
MCQUARRIE, N., HORTON, B. K., ZANDT, G., BECK, S.
& DECELLES, P. G. 2005. Lithospheric evolution of
the Andean fold–thrust belt, Bolivia, and the origin
of the central Andean plateau. Tectonophysics, 399,
15–37.
MEISLING, K., COBBOLD, P. R. & MOUNT, V. S. 2001.
Segmentation of an obliquely rifted margin,
Campos and Santos basins, southeastern Brazil.
AAPG Bulletin, 85, 1903–1924.
MILANI, E. J., KINOSHITA, E. M., DE ARAÚJO, L. M. &
DA CRUZ CUNHA, P. R. 1990. Bacía do Paraná:
posibilidades petrolíferas da calha central. Boletim
de Geociências da Petrobràs, 4, 21–34.
MOSSMAN, R., FALKENHEIM, F. U. H., GONÇALVES, A.
& NEPOMUCENO FILHO, F. 1984. Oil and gas poten-
tial of the Amazon Paleozoic basins. In: HALBOUTY,
M. T. (ed.) Future Petroleum Provinces of the World.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists,
Memoirs, 40, 207–247.
MPODOZIS, C. & ALLMENDINGER, R. W. 1993. Exten-
sional tectonics, Cretaceous Andes, northern
Chile. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 105,
1462–1477.
MPODOZIS, C., ARRIAGADA, C., BASSO, M., ROPERCH,
P., COBBOLD, P. & REICH, M. 2005. Late Mesozoic
to Paleogene stratigraphy of the Salar de Atacama
basin, Antofagasta, Northern Chile: Implications
for the tectonic evolution of the Central Andes.
Tectonophysics, 399, 125–154.
MÜLLER, J. P., KLEY, J. & JACOBSHAGEN, V. 2002.
Structure and Cenozoic kinematics of the Eastern
Cordillera, southern Bolivia (21°S). Tectonics,
21(5), 1037, doi:10.1029/2001TC001340.
MUÑOZ, N. & CHARRIER, R. 1996. Uplift of the western
border of the Altiplano on a west-vergent thrust
system, Northern Chile. Journal of South American
Earth Sciences, 9, 171–181.
NELSON, E. P., DALZIEL, I. W. D. & MILNES, A. G.
1980. Structural geology of the Cordillera Darwin –
collisional-style orogenesis in the southernmost
Chilean Andes. Eclogae Geologicae Helveticae, 73,
727–751.
NOBLE, D. C., MCKEE, E. & MÉGARD, F. 1979. Early
Tertiary ‘Incaic’ tectonism, uplift, and volcanic
activity, Andes of central Peru. Geological Society of
America Bulletin, 90, 903–907.
NOBLE, D. C., MCKEE, E., MOUIER, T. & MÉGARD, F.
1990. Cenozoic stratigraphy, magmatic activity,
compressive deformation, and uplift in northern
Peru. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 102,
1105–1113.
NOBLET, C., LAVENU, A. & MAROCCO, R. 1996. Con-
cept of continuum as opposed to periodic tectonism
in the Andes. Tectonophysics, 255, 65–78.
NORABUENA, E. O., LEFFLER, G. L., MAO, A. et al.
1998. Space geodetic observations of Nazca–South
America convergence across the central Andes.
Science, 279, 358–362.
NÜRNBERG, D. & MÜLLER, D. 1991. The tectonic
evolution of the South Atlantic from Late Jurassic
to Present. Tectonophysics, 191, 27–53.
PANANONT, P., MPODOZIS, C., BLANCO, N., JORDAN, T.
E. & BROWN, L. D. 2004. Cenozoic evolution of the
northwestern Salar de Atacama Basin, northern
Chile. Tectonics, 23, TC6007, doi:10.1029/
2003TC001595.
PARDO-CASAS, F. & MOLNAR, P. 1987. Relative motion
of the Nazca (Farallon) and South American plates
since Late Cretaceous time. Tectonics, 6, 233–248.
PENNINGTON, W. D. 1981. Subduction of the eastern
Panama Basin and seismotectonics of northwestern
South America. Journal of Geophysical Research,
86, 10753–10770.
PINET, N. & COBBOLD, P. R. 1992. Experimental
insights into the partitioning of motion within
zones of oblique subduction. Tectonophysics, 206,
371–388.
PUBELLIER, M. & COBBOLD, P. R. 1996. Analogue mod-
els for the transpressional docking of volcanic arcs
in the Western Pacific. Tectonophysics, 253, 33–52.
RAMOS, V. A. 1989. Andean foothills structures in
northern Magallanes basin, Argentina. AAPG
Bulletin, 73, 887–903.
RAMOS, V. A., CEGARRA, M. & CRISTALLINI, E. 1996.
Cenozoic tectonics of the High Andes of west–
central Argentina (30–36°S latitude). Tectono-
physics, 259, 185–200.
RANDALL, D. E. 1998. A new Jurassic–Recent apparent
polar wander path for South America and a review
of central Andean tectonic models. Tectonophysics,
299, 49–74.
REINECKER, J., HEIDBACH, O., TINGAY, M.,
CONNOLLY, P. & MÜLLER, B. 2004. The 2004 release
of the World Stress Map. World Wide Web
Address: http://www.world-stress-map.org/
RICHARDS, D. R., BUTLER, R. F. & SEMPERE, T. 2004.
Vertical-axis rotations determined from paleomag-
netism of Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata of the
Bolivian Andes. Journal of Geophysical Research,
109, B07104, doi:10.1029/2004JB002977.
ROCHAT, P., HÉRAIL, G., BABY, P. & MASCLE, G. 1999.
Bilan crustal et contrôle de la dynamique érosive
et sédimentaire sur les mécanismes de formation
de l’Altiplano. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des
Sciences, Série IIA, 328, 189–195.
ROPERCH, P., FORNARI, M., HÉRAIL, G. & PARRAGUEZ,
G. V. 2000. Tectonic rotations within the Bolivian
Altiplano: implications for the geodynamic evolu-
tion of the central Andes during the late Tertiary.
Journal of Geophysical Research, 105, 795–820.
ROUSSE, S., GILDER, S., FARBER, D., MCNULTY, B.,
PATRIAT, P. & TORRES, V. R. 2003. Paleomagnetic
tracking of mountain building in the Peruvian
 ANDEAN DEFORMATION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA
Andes since 10 Ma. Tectonics, 22, 1048, doi:10.1029/
2003TC001508.
SCHAMEL, S. 1991. Middle and Upper Magdalena
basins, Colombia. In: BIDDLE, T. (ed.) Active
Margins. American Association of Petroleum
Geologists, Memoirs, 52, 283–301.
SCHMIDT, C. J., ASTINI, R. A., COSTA, C. H., GARDINI,
C. E. & KRAEMER, P. E. 1995. Cretaceous rifting,
alluvial fan sedimentation, and Neogene inversion,
southern Sierras Pampeanas, Argentina. In:
TANKARD, A. J., SUÁREZ S. R. & WELSINK, H. J.
(eds) Petroleum Basins of South America. American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoirs, 62,
341–358.
SCHMITZ, M., CHALBAUD, D., CASTILLO, J. & IZARRA,
C. 2002. The crustal structure of the Guyana Shield,
Venezuela, from seismic refraction and gravity data.
Tectonophysics, 345, 103–118.
SILVER, P. G., RUSSO, R. M. & LITHGOW-BERTELLONI,
C. 1998. Coupling of South American and African
plate motion and plate deformation. Science, 279,
60–63.
SOMOZA, R. 1998. Updated Nazca (Farallon)–South
America relative motions during the last 40 My:
implications for mountain building in the central
Andean region. Journal of South American Earth
Sciences, 11, 211–215.
STEINMANN, G. 1929. Geologie von Peru. Karl Winter,
Heidelberg.
STEINMANN, M., HUNGERBÜHLER, D., SEWARD, D. &
WINKLER, W. 1999. Neogene tectonic evolution and
exhumation of the southern Ecuadorian Andes: a
combined stratigraphy and fission-track approach.
Tectonophysics, 307, 255–276.
SZATMARI, P. 1983. Amazon rift and Pisco-Juruá fault:
Their relation to the separation of North America
from Gondwana. Geology, 11, 300–304.
View publication stats
343
TABOADA, A., RIVERA, L. A., FUENZALIDA, A. et al.
2000. Geodynamics of the Northern Andes: subduc-
tions and intracontinental deformation (Colombia).
Tectonics, 19, 787–813.
TEBBINS, S. F. & CANDE, S. C. 1997. Southeast Pacific
tectonic evolution from Early Oligocene to Present.
Journal of Geophysical Research, 102, 12061–12084.
TRENKAMP, R., KELLOGG, J. N., FREYMUELLER, J. T. &
MORA, H. P. 2002. Wide plate margin deformation,
southern Central America and northwestern South
America, CASA GPS observations. Journal of
South American Earth Sciences, 15, 157–171.
WEBSTER, R. E., CHEBLI, G. A. & FISCHER, J. F. 2004.
General Levalle basin, Argentina: a frontier Lower
Cretaceous rift basin. AAPG Bulletin, 88, 627–652.
WIGGER, P. J., SCHMITZ, M., ARANEDA, M. et al. 1994.
Variation in the crustal structure of the Southern
Central Andes deduced from seismic refraction
investigations. In: REUTTER, K.-J., SCHEUBER, E. &
WIGGER, P. J. (eds) Tectonics of the Southern
Central Andes. Structure and Evolution of an Active
Continental Margin. Springer, Berlin, 23–48.
WINSLOW, M. A. 1982. The structural evolution of the
Magallanes Basin and neotectonics in the southern-
most Andes. In: CRADDOCK, C. (ed.) Antarctic
Geoscience. University of Wisconsin Press, Madi-
son, 143–154.
YUAN, X., SOBOLEV, S. V. & KIND, R. 2002. Moho
topography in the Central Andes and its
geodynamic implications. Earth and Planetary
Science Letters, 199, 389–402.
ZALÁN, P. V., NELSON, E. P., WARME, J. E. & DAVIS,
T. L. 1985. The Piauí Basin: Rifting and wrenching
in an Equatorial Atlantic transform basin. In:
BIDDLE, K. T. & CHRISTIE-BLICK, N. (eds) Strike-
slip Deformation, Basin Formation and Sedimenta-
tion. Society of Economic Paleontologists and
Mineralogists, Special Publications, 37, 177–192.