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28
Schafhauser, A., W. Stinnesbeck, B. Holland, T. Adatte, and J. Remane, 2003,
Lower Cretaceous pelagic limestones in southern Belize: Proto-Caribbean
deposits on the southeastern Maya Block, in C. Bartolini, R. T. Buffler,
and J. Blickwede, eds., The Circum-Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean:
Hydrocarbon habitats, basin formation, and plate tectonics: AAPG
Memoir 79, p. 624 – 637.

Lower Cretaceous Pelagic

Limestones in Southern Belize:
Proto-Caribbean deposits on
the Southeastern Maya Block
A. Schafhauser T. Adatte
Institut für Regionale Geologie, Universität Institut de Géologie, Université de
Karlsruhe, Germany Neuchâtel, Switzerland

W. Stinnesbeck J. Remane
Institut für Regionale Geologie, Universität Institut de Géologie, Université de
Karlsruhe, Germany Neuchâtel, Switzerland

B. Holland
Belize Minerals Ltd., Punta Gorda, Belize

ABSTRACT

T
he Cretaceous sedimentary sequence at Punta Gorda in southern Belize
corresponds only partially to the known stratigraphic column of the Maya
Block. In addition to dolomites and anhydrites of the Coban Formation
(Aptian-Santonian), rudist-bearing shallow-water carbonates of the Campur
Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian), and the siliciclastic flysch sequence of
the Sepur Formation (Maastrichtian-Eocene), pelagic limestones and limestones
of debris-flow origin are present at Punta Gorda. They are of Berriasian-
Valanginian and Aptian-Albian ages. Today, they are thrust onto dolomites of
the Coban Formation and shales of the Sepur Formation.
The pelagic limestones are similar in age and lithology to the sedimentary
sequence of southwestern Cuba and suggest a common depositional area on the
eastern margin of the Maya Block in the Proto-Caribbean Basin.

INTRODUCTION area (Ower, 1928; Dixon, 1956; Bateson and Hall,

Much of Belize, especially the southern part of the
country, is covered by dense tropical vegetation, and
outcrops are relatively rare. Perhaps as a consequence,
the geology of the country remains poorly known.
There are few published studies on the geology of the
1977; Sanchez-Barreda, 1990). These focus mainly on
the geology of the Maya Mountains, which divide
Belize in the northern Corozal Basin and the south-
ern Belize Basin (Figure 1). Most recent authors, how-
ever, agree that the Mesozoic stratigraphy of south-
ern Belize is similar to that of the Petén Basin of

624
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Lower Cretaceous Pelagic Limestones in Southern Belize / 625

Guatemala, located west of Belize (e.g., Rao and
Ramanathan, 1988; Ramanathan and Garcia, 1991;
Lara, 1993). The Petén Basin and the Belize Basin
combined form the southern edge of the Maya Block
and the southernmost part of the North American
plate.
This paper presents the results of our geological
mapping near the town of Punta Gorda in southern
Belize (Figure 1). In addition to the normal Creta-
ceous lithological units of the Petén Basin, we de-
scribe a sequence of pelagic limestones of early and
middle Cretaceous age and discuss the possible re-
lationship of these sediments to the geological de-
velopment of the Caribbean region.
STRATIGRAPHIC SEQUENCE OF
THE MAYA BLOCK
The Maya Block (Dengo and Bohnenberger, 1969)
includes Belize, northern Guatemala, and southern
Mexico (Chiapas, Yucatán) and also is known as the
Yucatán Block (Figure 1) (Mann, 1999). To the north-
west, it is limited by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and
to the south, by the Polochic-Motagua fault system.
This sinistral transcurrent fault system separates the
Maya Block (North American Plate) from the Chortis
Block (Caribbean Plate) to the south.
The oldest sediments of the Maya Block belong to
the Santa Rosa Group (Figure 2). These sediments
crop out in the Maya Mountains and have been en-
countered also in wells in the southern Belize Basin
(Sanchez-Barreda, 1990; Ramanathan and Garcia,
1991). The Santa Rosa Group is composed of conglom-
erates, sandstones, shales, and limestones as well as
phyllites, slates, and quartzites of Carboniferous to
middle Permian ages (Bateson and Hall, 1977). Coe-
val dacitic and rhyolitic volcanic rocks of the Bladen
Volcanic Member are locally interbedded with sand-
stones and shales (Dixon, 1956; Bateson and Hall,
1977). In southern Belize, between the middle Per-
mian and late Jurassic, either no sediments were de-
posited or were eroded prior to deposition of younger
sediments. Triassic granitic intrusions are exposed
in the Maya Mountains (Bateson and Hall, 1977;
Sanchez-Barreda, 1990).
Continental red beds of the Upper Jurassic to Low-
er Cretaceous Todos Santos Formation overlie the
Santa Rosa Group (Flores, 1952; Dixon, 1956; Lara,
1993). This unit consists of fluvial conglomerates and
sandstones as well as lacustrine shales. Shales and
limestones were deposited during transgressive
phases in the upper Todos Santos Formation (Millan,
1985) and characterize the transition from terrestrial
rift basins to carbonate platforms that prevailed dur-
ing the Cretaceous.
The Coban Formation represents these carbonate
platform conditions during the Barremian to San-
tonian (Archila et al., 1990; Scott, 1995; Wug et al.,

Figure 1. Geography and

tectonic structures of the
Maya Block, which includes
northern Guatemala, southern
Mexico (Chiapas, Yucatán),
and Belize. The Maya Block is
separated from the Chortis
Block to the south by the sinis-
tral Polochic-Motagua fault sys-
tem. This fault system contin-
ues into the pull-apart basin of
the Cayman Trough, which
started to open during the
Eocene (Mann, 1999). Belize
is situated east of the Peten
Basin of Guatemala on the
southern edge of the Maya
Block. The Maya Mountains
separate the northern Corozal
Basin and the southern Belize
Basin.
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626 / Schafhauser et al.

Figure 2. Stratigraphy of Belize. The age of the oldest sediments of the Todos Santos Formation and the transition
between the Coban and Campur Formations are not known. Ages of other formations are adopted according to results
from the southern Petén Basin (e.g., Archila et al., 1990; Stinnesbeck et al., 1997; Fourcade et al., 1999). The pelagic
limestones of Early Cretaceous age have been mentioned briefly by Sanchez-Barreda (1990).

1995). In southern Belize, the Coban Formation con-
sists of evaporites, dolomites, micritic limestones,
and stromatolitic dolomites. Sedimentary environ-
ments during deposition of the Coban Formation
included lagoons and sabkhas of a shallow carbonate
platform (Archila et al., 1990). Locally, benthonitic
shales occur intercalated in the Coban Formation,
especially in the northern part of the Belize Basin.
This volcanically derived clastic unit, named Punta
Gorda Formation by Ramanathan and Garcia (1991),
was deposited during transgressive phases on the outer
shelf of the Maya Block (Ramanathan and Garcia,
1991).
The Campur Formation overlies the Coban For-
mation and is characterized by increasing amounts of
shallow-water bioclastic limestones containing
abundant larger foraminifers and rudists. In southern
Belize, the stratigraphic age of this unit is not well
defined but probably ranges from the Campanian to
the Maastrichtian (Ramanathan and Garcia, 1991).
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Lower Cretaceous Pelagic Limestones in Southern Belize / 627

Figure 3. Geological map

of the investigated area 6 km
northeast of Punta Gorda in
southern Belize.

Rhythmic sequences of
shales and terrigenous sand-
stones, as well as polymict
and limeclast breccias de-
posited by turbidites and as
debris flows, characterize the
Sepur Formation (in Belize, re-
ferred to as the Toledo Forma-
tion) and indicate a change
in southern Belize from a
stable carbonate platform to
a mobile orogenic belt. A Pa-
leocene to Eocene age of the
Sepur Formation is indicated
by recent investigations in
southern Belize (G. Keller,
W. Stinnesbeck, unpublished
data), whereas in the Petén
Basin of Guatemala, the base
of the unit is diachronous,
and deposition began in the
late Maastrichtian (Stinnes-
beck et al., 1997; Fourcade
et al., 1999).

STRATIGRAPHIC
SEQUENCE IN THE
PUNTA GORDA AREA

We have mapped two dif-

ferent types of depositional
facies of Cretaceous sedi-
ments in the Punta Gorda
area of southern Belize: shal-
low-water carbonates, which
represent the normal geolog-
ical sequence of the Maya
Block, and pelagic carbon-
ates of early and middle Cre-
taceous ages (Figure 3). Slices
of pelagic limestones have
been thrust onto the dolo-
mites of the Coban Formation and shales of the Ter- Normal Sediment Sequence of the
tiary Sepur Formation. Pelagic limestones to the north Southern Maya Block
of the Punta Gorda area were mentioned previously In outcrop, the Coban Formation is at least 110-m
by Sanchez-Barreda (1990). thick and consists of dolomites and mostly dolomitized
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628 / Schafhauser et al.

Figure 4. Deepening-upward
cycle of the Coban Formation.
The base consists of coarse-
grained dolomites with anhy-
drite nodules. Diameters of
these nodules decrease toward
the top. Upsection, the coarse-
grained dolomites are overlain
by fine-grained, partially lami-
nated dolomites that are in-
tercalated by anhydrite layers.

No fossils were detected

in the Coban Formation, but
lithologies are similar to the
Coban D member in the
Petén Basin of Guatemala,
which is of Aptian age (Wug
et al., 1995; Fourcade et al.,
1999). An Aptian age also
agrees with the results of
Ramanathan and Garcia
(1991), who proposed late
Aptian to early Albian ages
for the dolomites and anhy-
drites of the Coban Forma-
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tion in the Belize Basin. The
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dolomites from the Punta

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Gorda area are interpreted
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as being deposited in sabkha
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environments. Lithologies
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and sedimentological charac-

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teristics are similar to those
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of recent sabkhas of the Tru-

cial coast in Saudi Arabia
(Kendall and Harwood, 1996).
The diameter of anhydrite
nodules in these recent sab-
khas increases toward the
land. In consequence, the de-
creasing diameters of anhy-
drite nodules in the exposed
anhydrites that were deposited in cycles (Figure 4). Coban Formation sequence near Punta Gorda seem
Layers of dark-gray, coarse-grained dolomite with to represent transgressive cycles.
nodules of dolomitized anhydrite form the base of The Campur Formation consists of shallow-water
each cycle. The anhydrite nodules reach maximum and mostly biosparitic limestones. These rocks con-
diameters of 10 cm and decrease in thickness con- tain abundant fragments of echinoderms, benthic
tinuously toward the top, where nodule thickness foraminifers (e.g., miliolids, orbitoids), and rudists
is reduced to approximately 0.5 cm. Light-gray to (e.g., Radiolitidae); they were deposited in an outer
white, fine-grained dolomites and intercalated anhy- platform-margin environment. We suggest that the
drites occur upsection. The dolomites are laminated Campanian Campur Formation not be separated from
in parts, which is attributed to a stromatolitic origin. the Maastrichtian Angostura Formation. Fourcade et al.

Lower Cretaceous Pelagic Limestones in Southern Belize / 629
(1999) proposed this separation based on different
facies and biostratigraphic ages. According to these
authors, the Campur Formation is exposed in central
Guatemala. It is of early Campanian age and consists
of packstones containing echinoderms, rudists, and
benthic foraminifers (Orbitocyclina minima, Sulcoper-
culina cf. dickersoni, S. vermunti, Torreina torrei, Vaug-
hanina cubensis). This lower unit underlies mud-
stones and wackestones with planktic foraminifers
and calcispheres of early late Campanian age (e.g.,
Globotruncanita gr. calcarata, Globotruncana gr. bul-
loides, G. gr. linneiana, Pithonella ovalis, P. sphaerica)
(Fourcade et al., 1999). The Angostura Formation is
exposed in the southern Petén Basin (Guatemala)
and consists of wackestones, packstones, and grain-
stones containing benthic foraminifers (Accordiella
conica, Chubbina jamaicensis, Fleuryana adriatica, Ka-
thina jamaicensis, Cuneolina pavonia, Nezzazatinella
picardi, Dicyclina schlumbergeri, Praerhapydionina cu-
bana, Pseudonummoloculina irregularis), rudists (Bira-
adiolites cf. jamaicensis, Sauvagesia macroplicata), and
algae (Thaumatoporella parvovesiculifera, Diversocallis
undulatus, Acroporella chiapasis) of late Campanian-
Maastrichtian age (Fourcade et al., 1999). Both for-
mations occur in the same lithostratigraphic position
between dolomites of the Coban Formation and silici-
clastic sediments of the Sepur Formation (Vinson,
1962; Archila et al., 1990; Donnelly et al., 1990; Mi-
chaud et al., 1992; Scott, 1995; Stinnesbeck et al.,
1997; Fourcade et al., 1999). In addition, lithologies
and the principal constituents of the Angostura For-
mation and the Campur Formation are similar: wacke-
stones, packstones, and grainstones with benthic
foraminifers, rudists, and echinoderms. Both are reef-
associated deposits and built up the same carbonate
platform on the Maya Block. Even according to the
description of Fourcade et al. (1999), the Campur and
Angostura Formation are indistinguishable; they are
referred to here as one lithostratigraphic unit, the
Campur Formation, which was first defined by Vin-
son (1962) in Guatemala.
The Sepur Formation consists of rhythmically
bedded shales, siltstones, and thin-bedded, size-graded
calcareous sandstones and polymict breccias, in ad-
dition to limeclast breccias.
The limeclast breccias consist of subangular clasts
of biopelmicrite and biomicrite limestones. Clast di-
ameters range from 0.2 cm to 15 cm. The biomicritic
limestones contain benthic foraminifers (e.g., orbi-
toids), which suggests derivation from the Campur
Formation. The framework is grain-supported, and
spar calcite cement is nearly absent between the
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clasts. Similar limestone debris-flow breccias have
been described from Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary
transects in Guatemala (e.g., Hildebrand et al., 1993;
Stinnesbeck et al., 1997; Fourcade et al., 1999), but
they are also present in the Paleocene sequence.
The size-graded layers comprise incomplete Bouma
sequences with basal polymict breccia layers and
laminated calcareous sandstones at the top. The
clasts consist of micritic and biosparitic limestones
and marls, as well as isolated bioclasts of echinoderms,
gastropods, benthic foraminifers (e.g., orbitoids), and
rudists. Noncarbonate clasts of basalt, volcanic glass,
and serpentinite also are abundant and indicate a
provenance from a nearby volcanic source, probably
the Santa Cruz Ophiolite Complex in Guatemala.
The Sepur Formation is interpreted as a turbidite
(flysch) sequence. Planktic foraminiferal associations
in sections of southern Belize (e.g., Salamanca Bridge)
and nearby Guatemala indicate that the base of the
unit is diachronous from the late Maastrichtian (Zone
CF 2-3) to early Paleocene and that deposition con-
tinued into the Eocene (W. Stinnesbeck, G. Keller,
unpublished data). Most authors (e.g., Dixon, 1956;
Vinson, 1962; Lara, 1993) distinguish between the
Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene Sepur and the
Eocene Toledo Formation. We suggest combining
the two formations: both represent flysch sequences
that are indistinguishable in lithology.
SEDIMENTS OF POSSIBLE
PROTO-CARIBBEAN ORIGIN
Berriasian and Valanginian Pelagic Limestones
Early Cretaceous pelagic limestones are the oldest
rocks known today in the Punta Gorda area. Their
minimum thickness is approximately 180 m. These
limestones are thrust onto dolomites of the Coban
Formation (Figure 5) and shales of the Sepur For-
mation. Lithologies include micritic limestones with
interbedded pelsparite layers of turbiditic origin (Fig-
ure 6) and limeclast breccias (Figure 7) that were
deposited as debris flows.
The micritic limestones are brown to gray and
contain calcified radiolarians, ostracods, and calpio-
nellids. Interbedded pelsparitic layers reach maxi-
mum thicknesses of 10 cm. They consist of grain-
supported frameworks of peloids, lumps, and micri-
tic grains. Benthic foraminifers are rare in the pels-
paritic layers. In thin sections, micritic limestones
above the pelsparitic layers often are nodular with
thin fringes of clay around nodules. These nodular
micrites contain rare to abundant pelagic microfossils
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Figure 5. Tectonic contact

between Lower Cretaceous
pelagic limestones (Berriasian)
and dolomites of the Coban
Formation on the east side of
Shafer Mountain (Figure 3).

species are known from the

Tethys realm. We identified
small forms of Calpionella
alpina and large Tintinnopsella
carpathica (Figure 8) as well
as Tintinnopsella longa and
Remaniella sp. Calpionellopsis
has not been found, but its
absence is not absolutely
certain because of the scar-
city of the calpionellids in
thin sections. Therefore, an
accurate dating on zonal
level is impossible. The co-
(calpionellids, ostracods) and may indicate condensed occurrence of small C. alpina and large T. carpathica
sequences. is limited to Zones C and D of the Vocontian zona-
The limeclast breccias are brown to gray, and clasts tion (Remane, 1963, 1964) and corresponds to the
range from coarse to pebble-size sand. They are sub- upper part of the Calpionella Zone and the overlying
angular to subrounded and consist of pelsparite and Calpionellopsis Zone of the Mediterranean standard
micrite limestones that contain benthic foramini- (Figure 9) (Allemann et al., 1971; Remane, 1985;
fers. The clasts are embedded in a micritic matrix, Adatte et al., 1996a, b). In this interval, a middle to
which also contains calpionellids. upper Berriasian age corresponding to the Vocontian
Although calpionellids are rare in the pelagic lime- Zone C (without Calpionellopsis) or the lower part
stones, they are the most common microfossils. The of Zone D (where Calpionellopsis is still rare) seems
calpionellids are well preserved and all calpionellid most probable.
Upsection, the pelsparitic
layers disappear, and only
thin-bedded micritic lime-
stones are present. Individ-
ual beds are from 2- to 5-cm
thick. Calpionellids are ab-
sent, and calcified radiolar-
ians are the only microfos-
sils detected. In these layers,
we found a fragment of the
ammonite genus Olcosteph-
anus (Figure 10). The absence

Figure 6. Calpionellid-bear-
ing micritic limestones of the
Berriasian on the western flank
of Shafer Mountain (Figure 1).
The micritic limestones are
interbedded with pelsparite
layers of turbiditic origin.
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Lower Cretaceous Pelagic Limestones in Southern Belize / 631

stratigraphically highest part of the Lower Cretaceous

pelagic limestone unit (Figure 11).

Aptian–lower Albian Pelagic Limestones

A second unit of pelagic limestones in the Punta
Gorda area is of late Early Cretaceous age and consists
of micritic limestones and detrital limestones of
turbiditic origin. The basal and upper contacts of the
unit are not exposed; in outcrops, the minimum
thickness is 40 m.
The basal exposure of the unit is an unsorted
conglomerate about 7-m thick with rounded to
subrounded clasts of micritic and biosparitic lime-
stones 0.5 to 3 cm in diameter. The biosparitic lime-
stones have grain-supported frameworks of micri-
tized grains and shell fragments. Rare oosparite clasts
indicate a shallow-water origin. Upsection, grain sizes
diminish, and the conglomerate passes into biospar-
ite limestones. The latter consist of micritic grains,
peloids, and lumps. The uppermost part of the unit
consists of micritic limestones with planktic fora-
minifers. Single-keeled globotruncanids, Hedbergella
spp., Heterohelix sp., calcified radiolarians, calci-
spheres (Pithonella sp. aff. P. ovalis) and shells of the
possible ostracod genus Microcalamoides are common,
both in the micritic limestones and in the matrix of
the conglomerate. The presence of Microcalamoides
indicates an Aptian to early Albian age for this unit
(Figure 11) (McNulty, 1985).
Figure 7. Limestone breccia with subangular clasts of
limestones of shallow-water origin.
DISCUSSION

of calpionellids and the presence of Olcostephanus In the Punta Gorda area of southern Belize, Cre-
suggest a Valanginian to possibly Hauterivian age. taceous shallow- and deep-water carbonate and tur-
These thin-bedded micritic limestones represent the biditic sedimentary rocks occur next to each other.

Figure 8. Small specimen of Calpionella alpina (1 – 3) and large forms of Tintinnopsella carpathica (4 – 5) are abundant
in the pelagic limestones of southern Belize. They indicate the presence of the Vocontian calpionellid Zone C or the
lower part of Zone D (middle Berriasian).
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632 / Schafhauser et al.

kowski, 1982) (Figure 13). The limestones contain

radiolarians and calpionellids of middle Berriasian
to early Valanginian ages (e.g., Calpionella elliptica,
Tintinnopsella carpathica, Calpionellopsis oblonga, Cal-
pionellites darderi) (Pszczólkowski, 1987, 1999). Am-
monites are rare in the lowermost Cretaceous of
western Cuba, as they are in southern Belize, but
Olcostephanus is mentioned by Myczynkski (1987)
from the northern Sierra de los Organos. According
to Pszczólkowski (1999), deposition of the limestones
in southwestern Cuba took place in a bathyal envi-
ronment, similar to the pelagic micrites in Belize.
The Early Cretaceous lithological sequence and
fossil assemblages in Cuba thus are similar to the
coeval pelagic limestones in southern Belize. We pro-
pose a common depositional area for these sediments
on the eastern slope of the Maya Block in the Proto-
Caribbean Basin. It was likely that the Guaniguanico
Terrane was located on the northeastern continental
margin of the Maya Block (Iturralde-Vinent, 1994),

Figure 9. Western Mediterranean calpionellid zonation

after Adatte et al. (1996a). The calpionellid zones are, from
left to right: Vocontian calpionellid zones after Remane
(1985), Sümeg and Rome standard zones after Remane
et al. (1986) and Allemann et al. (1971).

Although the shallow-water carbonates of the Coban

and Campur Formations and turbidites of the Sepur
Formation are comparably well known in the region,
the occurrence of pre-Aptian Cretaceous pelagic lime-
stone units is mentioned only by Sanchez-Barreda
(1990). We suggest that the Berriasian-Valanginian
and Aptian-Albian micritic limestones, calciturbidites,
debris-flow breccias, and conglomerates were depos-
ited on the continental slope or foot of the south-
eastern Maya Block in the Proto-Caribbean Basin as
defined by Pszczólkowski (1999). Shallow-water
components such as pellets are derived from lagoons
and oolitic clasts from shoals and bars that rimmed
the margin of the Yucatán platform (Maya Block)
(Figure 12). Berriasian to Valanginian oolitic lime-
stones are known to exist along the northeastern mar-
gin of the Yucatán platform (McFarlan and Menes,
1991).
Pelagic limestones of earliest Cretaceous age, sim-
ilar to the pelagic carbonates of Punta Gorda, exist in
the Sierra de los Organos (Guaniguanico Terrane) Figure 10. Olcostephanus sp. This Valanginian-
of western Cuba (Pszczólkowski, 1999) and in the Hauterivian genus represents the first Cretaceous
Placetas and Camajuani Belt of northern Cuba (Pszczól- ammonite reported in Belize.
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Lower Cretaceous Pelagic Limestones in Southern Belize / 633

Figure 11. Stratigraphy of pe-

lagic limestone units in the Punta
Gorda area of southern Belize.
The calpionellid zonation agrees
with the Vocontian calpionellid
zonation presented in Figure 9.

Figure 12. Depositional model

of the southern Maya Block
(Yucatán carbonate platform)
during the early Cretaceous. The
Early Cretaceous pelagic lime-
stones, lime turbidites, and lime-
clast breccias described here from
Punta Gorda were deposited on
the southeastern continental mar-
gin of the Maya Block in the Proto-
Caribbean Basin. Pellet-rich mi-
critic and oosparitic clasts in the
turbiditic layers and debris-flow
breccias were transported into
the basin from lagoons, shoals,
and bars that rimmed the margin
of the Maya Block.

634 / Schafhauser et al.
Figure 14. Paleogeography of the Maya Block (Yucatán
carbonate platform) during the Early Cretaceous. Oceanic
crust of the Proto-Caribbean was produced between the
Maya Block and South America. Clastic sediments and
limestones of the Todos Santos Formation prevail in the
central part of the Maya Block. The deep-water carbonates
of the Guaniguanico Terrane of southwestern Cuba were
deposited on the northeastern side of the Maya Block
(Iturralde-Vinent, 1994). We suggest that Berriasian and
Valanginian pelagic limestones of southern Belize were
deposited on the southeastern slope of the Maya Block.
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Figure 13. Location of Gua-
niguanico Terrane, Placetas
Belt, and Camajuani Belt in
Cuba. The Cretaceous sedi-
ment sequence of these units
is similar to the pelagic lime-
stones described herein for
southern Belize.
and the pelagic sediments of
Punta Gorda were located far-
ther to the south (Figure 14).
According to Pindell and
Barrett (1990), the present
Caribbean Plate originated
in the Pacific region and penetrated between South
America and the Maya Block during the middle Cre-
taceous. The Proto-Caribbean crust then was sub-
ducted under the Caribbean Plate and the Greater
Antillean Arc developed on the northern margin of
the Caribbean Plate. The Greater Antillean Arc
consisted of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands (Pindell et al., 1988; Pindell
and Barrett, 1990; Mann, 1999; Pszczólkowski, 1999).
Near Punta Gorda, the Cretaceous pelagic lime-
stones and dolomites of the Coban Formation are
folded, with northeast-southwest-directed axes. This
direction indicates a southeast-northwest compres-
sion and is attributed to the collision of the Greater
Antillean Arc with the southern margin of the Maya
Block. As a consequence of this collision during the
late Maastrichtian, a foredeep developed along the
southern margin of the Maya Block, and the stable
carbonate platform environment changed into an
active continental margin (Pindell and Barrett, 1990;
Fourcade et al., 1994) (Figure 15). In Guatemala and
southern Belize, the upper Maastrichtian to Eocene
siliciclastic turbidite (flysch) sequence of the Sepur
Formation characterizes this margin. Clasts of ser-
pentinite and basalt are abundant in sandstones and
breccia layers of the Sepur Formation and represent
eroded remnants of the Proto – Greater Antillean
volcanic arc. Serpentinite clasts probably were de-
rived from the Santa Cruz Ophiolite Complex, which
was obducted during the collision and is now
exposed in the Motagua fault zone south of Belize
(Figure 15) (Rosenfeld, 1981). A second collisional
event may have contributed to folding during the
Paleogene, when the Chortis Block was sutured to
the southern margin of the Maya Block along the
Polochic-Motagua fault zone (Pindell and Barrett,
1990; Meschede and Frisch, 1998).
 HOME CONTENTS SEARCH
Lower Cretaceous Pelagic Limestones in Southern Belize / 635

Figure 15. Paleogeography of the

Maya Block during the Maastrichtian.
The Greater Antillean Arc collided with
the southern margin of the Maya Block
and subsequently migrated north along a
left-lateral strike-slip system on the east-
ern side of the Maya Block. We suggest
that this compressional event caused
the folding of the pelagic limestones of
southern Belize. The Santa Cruz Ophiolite
is a remnant of the Proto-Caribbean Crust
and was obducted during the collision.

North-south-striking thrust faults

are developed in the Punta Gorda area.
This additional east-west-directed com-
pression must have occurred subse-
quent to the deposition of the Sepur
Formation; i.e., after the early Eocene.
This latter compressional tectonic
phase may be related to the opening
of the Cayman Trough (Figure 1) and
its continuation into the Polochic-
Motagua fault system (Pindell et al.,
1988; Pindell and Barrett, 1990; Ros-
encrantz, 1990; Meschede and Frisch,
1998). Transpression and thrust faults along the
southeastern margin of the Maya Block may be the
result of movements along this sinistral transcurrent
fault system. In the Punta Gorda area, the Lower
Cretaceous pelagic limestones were uplifted and
thrusted into and onto the rocks of the Coban and
Sepur Formations.
PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
Sanchez-Barreda (1990) described Upper Jurassic –
Lower Cretaceous open-marine limestones inter-
bedded with dark shales and argillaceous limestones
from outcrops near Punta Gorda without specifying
the locality. The limestones are dark brown to gray
pelletoidal fossiliferous mudstones and pelletoidal
wackestones (Sanchez-Barreda, 1990), similar to the
pelagic limestones described in this paper. The inter-
bedded argillaceous limestones and shales are organic-
rich and form substantial source rocks (Sanchez-
Barreda, 1990). The argillaceous limestones and shales
are absent in the outcrops near Punta Gorda described
in this paper. In addition, the Berriasian and Valang-
inian, as well as Aptian –early Albian, pelagic lime-
stones show no porosity. Therefore, they lack source-
rock or reservoir properties or potential.
CONCLUSIONS
In southern Belize, calpionellid faunas of late Ber-
riasian age (co-occurrence of large specimens of Tin-
tinnopsella carpathica and small specimens of Calpio-
nella alpina) and the ammonite genus Olcostephanus
of Valanginian-Hauterivian age are present in pelag-
ic limestones, calciturbidites, and debris-flow deposits
near Punta Gorda. The calpionellids are known from
the Mediterranean realm and indicate that a seaway
connection existed during the Berriasian between
the Proto-Caribbean and the European Tethys. A sec-
ond unit of turbiditic limestones is of late Aptian –
early Albian age and is characterized by planktic
foraminifers and Microcalamoides. Both units are
slope deposits that developed along the southeastern
margin of the Yucatán carbonate platform (Maya
Block) in the Proto-Caribbean Basin.
Folds with northeast-southwest-directed axes are
present in the Lower Cretaceous pelagic limestones
and in dolomites of the Coban Formation and may
have developed during the collision of the Proto –
Greater Antillean Arc with the southern margin of
the Maya Block in the late Maastrichtian. Movements
along the sinistral Polochic-Motagua fault system
likely occurred in the Eocene during the opening of
the Cayman Trough and resulted in transpression

636 / Schafhauser et al.
and north-south striking thrust faults in the Punta
Gorda area. The pelagic limestone units then were
uplifted and thrusted onto the middle Cretaceous Co-
ban Formation and the Paleocene Sepur Formation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Jose Guadalupe Lopez-Oliva, Universi-
dad Autónoma de Nuevo Leon, Linares, for determi-
nation of Aptian-Albian microfossils, Gerta Keller,
Princeton, for determination of Paleogene planktic
foraminifers of the Sepur Formation and Stephan
Unrein, University of Karlsruhe, for preparation of
thin sections. We acknowledge constructive review
of this paper by William C. Ward and Robert W.
Scott. This study was supported by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant STI 128/2-3 and 2-4).
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