Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58

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Journal of South American Earth Sciences

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The persistence and role of basin structures on the 3D architecture of

the Marañón Fold-Thrust Belt, Peru
Arne F. Scherrenberg*, Rodney J. Holcombe, Gideon Rosenbaum
School of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The 3D architecture of fold-thrust belts commonly involves thin-skinned and thick-skinned deformation.
Received 26 February 2013 Both thick- and thin-skinned deformation styles have been suggested to occur in the Marañón Fold-
Accepted 21 December 2013 Thrust Belt (MFTB) in Peru, but the relative timing and strain partitioning associated with them are
not well understood. We demonstrate that inherited basement structures along the Peruvian convergent
Keywords: margin reactivated during the evolution of the MFTB. We present results from field mapping, inter-
Marañón Fold-Thrust Belt
pretation of remote sensing imagery, and cross section construction and restoration. The results show
Thin-skinned deformation
that the Chonta Fault, a median pre-folding basin normal fault, was inverted and acted as a mechanical
Thick-skinned deformation
Peru
buttress during initial east-vergent contraction of the fold-thrust belt. This fault separates the belt into
Andes two domains of distinctly different structural styles. During the Eocene, units to the west of the Chonta
Fault deformed by folding, using the fault as a buttress, and subsequently propagated eastward by thin-
skinned thrusting. This was followed in the Miocene by west-vergent, basement-involved deformation,
which overprinted the earlier east-vergent, thin-skinned structures. The proposed tectonic model of the
MFTB highlights the role of basement-fault reactivation during orogenesis and the involvement of deep
structures in partitioning deformation styles.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Thin-skinned deformation in the MFTB involved both buckle

Thin-skinned deformation in convergent margins is typically
characterised by foreland-directed folding and thrusting above a
décollement (Coward, 1983). This type of deformation is recognised
in a number of segments within the Andes (e.g. Kley, 1999),
including the Marañón Fold-Thrust Belt (MFTB) of central Peru,
which has been described as a classic example of a foreland-
vergent, thin-skinned fold-thrust belt (FTB; Fig. 1) (Harrison,
1960; Petersen, 1965; Szekely, 1969; Coney, 1971; Mégard, 1984;
Vicente, 1989). However, some observations from the MFTB show
evidence for both thin-skinned and thick-skinned deformation, as
well as opposite vergence thick-skinned deformation (e.g. Mégard
and Galdas, 1996; Wilson and Reyes, 1997; Scherrenberg, 2008).
Whether the opposite sense of tectonic transport represents a
change in the plate boundary interactions (e.g. Coughlin et al., 1998)
or a more local effect associated with the influence of basement
wedges (e.g. Ramos et al., 2002) remains unclear.
Abbreviations: MFTB, Marañón Fold-Thrust Belt; FTB, fold-thrust belt; Fm,
formation.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ61 7 33469798; fax: þ61 7 33651277.
E-mail addresses: arne.scherrenberg@gmail.com (A.F. Scherrenberg), rod@
holcombe.net.au (R.J. Holcombe), g.rosenbaum@uq.edu.au (G. Rosenbaum).
folds and fault-related folds, with the two styles of folding domi-
nating different parts of the FTB (e.g. Mégard, 1987b). The boundary
separating the belts of buckle folds and the fault-related folds in the
MFTB is an inverted growth fault that penetrated the basement
(Chonta Fault, Fig. 2). The early history of the Chonta Fault, as a
normal fault, was associated with Mesozoic back-arc extension,
with the fault separating the precursor back-arc basin geometry
into two Cretaceous stratigraphic domains of different facies and
thicknesses (Scherrenberg et al., 2012) (Fig. 2). During the Eocene,
the Chonta Fault was inverted (e.g. Wilson and Reyes, 1964;
Mégard, 1987b; Scherrenberg, 2008), and may have controlled
the transition between the two modes of thin-skinned behaviour.
There are suggestions that basement-involved structures occur
inside and along the MFTB (e.g. Mégard and Galdas, 1996; Wilson
and Reyes, 1997; Carlotto et al., 2009), but the influence of such
deep structures on the 3D architecture of the FTB is not understood.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the interplay between
thin-skinned and thick-skinned structures in the MFTB. Based on
field observations and extrapolated map interpretations of remote
sensing imagery, we present a revised geological map and seven
cross sections across the MFTB, as well as schematic palinspastic
restorations of the cross sections. Our results enable us to docu-
ment the relative timing and partitioning of structures across the

0895-9811/$ e see front matter Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2013.12.007
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Fig. 2. Basic stratigraphic order of units in the study area with facies changes across the Chonta Fault (CF) (Scherrenberg et al., 2012). Thickness variations are distinct across CF and
dominate the Cretaceous sequence (see Scherrenberg et al., 2012). WFD, Western Fold Domain; ETD, Eastern Thrust Domain; sb, stratigraphic basement or ’basement’ in the text;
mb, metamorphic basement.

MFTB and their relationships to the deeper structure of the Chonta
Fault. We show that the structural development involved two
regional deformation events, with the Chonta Fault playing an
important role in dictating the spatial and temporal distribution of
deformation.
2. Geological setting
The NNW-trending MFTB in the Peruvian Andes is a convergent
margin orogen associated with the subduction of the oceanic Nazca
plate beneath the continental South American plate (Fig. 1). The
belt is situated on the eastern flank of the Western Cordillera
(Cordillera Occidental) with the Coastal Batholith to its west, and
the Eastern Cordillera (Cordillera Oriental) to its east. The northern
and southern boundaries of the MFTB are delimited by two de-
flections in the morphology of the Andes (Abancay and Huanca-
bamba) that are likely related to inherited heterogeneities in the
South American plate (e.g. Gansser, 1973; Corvalán, 1990; Ramos,
2008) (Fig. 1a). The FTB started to develop during latest Creta-
ceous time, possibly in response to the flattening of the subduction
angle along the South American plate margin, which marked the
initiation of contractional deformation in the Peruvian Andes
(e.g. Mégard, 1987a, 1987b; Ramos and Aleman, 2000).
The stratigraphy of the study area is presented in Fig. 2 and
discussed in Scherrenberg et al. (2012). The “basement” comprises
metamorphic Ordovician and older units overlain by a Carbonif-
erous to Jurassic succession. The sedimentary cover sequence
consists of Cretaceous units deposited in a back-arc setting, overlain
by Upper Cretaceous to Palaeogene foreland units, Palaeogene to
Neogene volcanic arc rocks, and Quaternary deposits. Thickness
variations occur in all units, including the Permo-Triassic Mitu
Group and Chambará Formation (Fm). In particular, pronounced
stratigraphic and thickness changes are recognised in the Creta-
ceous units, which likely represent two basins of different strati-
graphic facies (deep basinal vs. shelfal) and different thicknesses
(thicker units in the western basin in comparison to the eastern
basin) (Scherrenberg et al., 2012). The NNW-trending Chonta Fault,
separated the two basins (Fig. 2), and was active as a growth fault
during basin development. It affected all supracrustal sequences
above the Palaeozoic basement metamorphic rocks, and presum-
ably also part of the metamorphic basement (Scherrenberg et al.,
2012). The Chonta Fault represents a long-lived inverted normal
fault in the basement of the basin, giving the back-arc basin a half-
graben geometry, with the graben floor tilted to the east
(Scherrenberg et al., 2012). The same boundary corresponds to a
major change in deformation style across the MFTB (e.g. Megard,

Fig. 1. a) Schematic map showing the three main morphotectonic components of the central Peruvian Andes (with elements from INGEMMET, 1999; and Benavides-Cáceres, 1999),
the longitudinal margins of the belt and flat slab segment (RS, Romeral Suture; HD, Huancabamba Deflection; AB, Abancay Deflection), the subduction zone, plate tectonic vectors
(from Schellart et al., 2007), structures crosscutting the general NNW Andean trend (INGEMMET, 1999), and the study area (box refers to Fig. 3). b) Schematic cross section across the
central Peruvian Andes (modified after Ramos and Aleman, 2000).
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 A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58 49

1987b; Scherrenberg, 2008). However, it remains unclear how the
Chonta Fault partitioned deformation during Andean inversion.
Deformation in the MFTB was dominated by stacked thrusts in
the east, and variably verging and tightening folds in the west. Due
to the lack of subsurface data, there are many uncertainties with
regards to the 3D geometry of the MFTB (e.g. Mégard, 1987b;
Vicente, 1989; Rodríguez, 2008; Carlotto et al., 2009). In most
models, the belt has been described as a typical thin-skinned,
regionally detached and easterly wedging architecture (Wilson
and Reyes, 1964; Petersen, 1965; Szekely, 1969; Coney, 1971;
Mégard, 1984; Vicente, 1989; Benavides-Cáceres, 1999) (Fig. 1b).
In these studies, the basal detachment to most of the FTB is located
in shale of the Lower Cretaceous Oyon Fm. Recently, Scherrenberg
et al. (2012) have suggested that the Oyon Fm shale underlies only
the western part of the FTB and a major basal Cretaceous uncon-
formity exists in the east (Fig. 2).
Much of the MFTB is dissected by strike-slip faults, dominantly
trending NEeSW, that crosscut the regional NNW structural trend
(Fig. 1a). These strike-slip faults may represent basement-involved
transverse faults (e.g. Benavides-Cáceres, 1999). However, their
exact geometry and basement-interaction is rather ambiguous, and
some may represent shallow lateral ramps detaching from a
décollement in the sedimentary cover (e.g. Love et al., 2004).
3. Methods
3.1. Geological mapping
Fieldwork was conducted for 6 months over three years in
central Peru (Figs. 1 and 3). The area is approximately 7800 km2 and
spreads over three published 1:100,000 scale geological maps (La
Unión, 20-j, Yanahuanca, 21-j, and Oyón, 22-j; Cobbing and
Sánchez, 1996a, 1996b; Cobbing and Garayar, 1998). Field map-
ping was conducted at 1:25,000 to 1:50,000 scales, predominantly
along transects perpendicular to the structural grain of the MFTB,
and complemented by contact mapping. Additional interpretations
were made based on the original 1:100,000 maps, aerial imagery
and satellite IKONOS data. Scale and accuracy of aerial and satellite
imagery mapping were dependent on the resolution of the various
images and image types, and the accuracy of image registration and
referencing. All gathered data were compiled into Pitney Bowes
MapInfoÒ GIS and are presented as 1:100,000 geological maps
(modified after the published INGEMMET maps) in the
Supplementary Material Files.
Cross section construction and restoration of the supracrustal
sequence were done using the structural modelling software
package 2DMove (v.3.1d) from Midland Valley Exploration Ltd. For
the construction of cross sections, we applied Suppe’s (1983) “dip-
domain technique”, which uses dip domain bisectors at every point
in the folded bed template. For the restoration, we used the “flex-
ural slip unfolding algorithm”, whereby the template layers are
pinned and unfolded by movement along a layer-parallel slip sys-
tem. The unfolding technique conserves bed-length (for beds par-
allel to the template bed) and bed-area (including thickness
variations), and hence maintains the area of the fold and the model.
That is, this technique attempts to abide by Dahlstrom’s (1969)
rules of geometrical acceptability (i.e., conservation of bed-
lengths and consistency between adjacent structures), although
the geometric constraints inherent in stacked parallel folds, affect
the shape of layers distal to the known data. The major problem
with all stacked parallel fold techniques is the loss of fold shape
away from the centre of curvature and the production of cusps in
fold cores. The maintenance of fold shape down the axial surface is
solved in nature by allowing some (incompetent) layers to depart
markedly from a parallel shape, and the cusp problem to be solved
by accommodation structures and local décollements.
Apart from the geometric modelling limitations of the software
and its algorithms, other limitations to the cross sections relate to
erosion, lack of subsurface data, and the need to incorporate ‘dog-
legs’ into some section lines. These limitations, in particular those
related to the software algorithm, produced some geometrical ar-
tifacts into the cross sections that were adjusted manually. How-
ever, some artifacts related to parallel fold construction still remain.
To accommodate ‘dog-leg’ mismatches and to maintain approxi-
mate parallelism of the section lines to the dominant direction of
tectonic transport, best-fit straight section lines were used with
variable azimuths that averaged the problem.
In the seven cross sections, we have used surface data to
construct a data-controlled layer template and then used 2DMove
to extrapolate the structure to depth. We have allowed the program
to balance the supracrustal sequence but have left the basement
unbalanced. Locally, area balancing alone was used to account for
thickening and thinning of the basal Cretaceous Oyón shale and the
uppermost Lower Cretaceous Pariatambo shale of the sedimentary
cover sequence. The main areas of uncertainty in the sections are
the relationship across the basement-cover contact and the degree
to which the eastern domain extends beneath the frontal thrust.
4. Structural observations

3.2. Cross section construction and restoration
We constructed seven cross sections across the MFTB, spaced
10e20 km apart and oriented broadly parallel (up to 10 obliquity)
to the plate convergence vector (Schellart et al., 2007) (Fig. 3). The
length of each cross section is w40e60 km, from the basement
uplifts in the Cordillera Oriental to close to the magmatic arc in the
Cordillera Occidental. The cross sections are based on the compi-
lation of surface data, interpreted surface structure and strati-
graphic constraints (see Fig. 2 and Scherrenberg et al., 2012).
The rocks are strongly folded and faulted, with a broad struc-
tural high exposing basement rocks in the east (Fig. 3 and Online
Supplementary Material, Maps 1e3). West of the Chonta Fault,
the structure is dominated by macroscopic upright folds and a
number of large steep reverse faults along the eastern limbs of
antiforms. East of the Chonta Fault, although upright folds still
occur locally, the macroscopic structure is dominated by one to four
low-angle thin-skinned thrust sheets, with distinct ramps and flats
accompanied by fault-bend and -propagation folds. Axial-plane
cleavage is largely absent from all the folded sedimentary rocks

Fig. 3. Geological map of study area (revised from geological maps of Cobbing and Sánchez, 1996a, 1996b; Cobbing and Garayar, 1998) with section lines that closely approximate
the field transects across the study area and subdivided into different domains and segments (see online supplementary material, Maps 1e3, for more detail). a) The MFTB is
separated into a western fold domain (FD) and an eastern thrust domain (TD), flanking the basement high (BH). Stereographic projection plots of bedding illustrate the bedding
geometry and fold orientation per domain. Cross sections are presented in Fig. 6, and are named after nearby lakes or mines. b) Study area divided into three segments with different
structural trends: the NNWeSSE trending northern and southern segments, and a distinct central NeS trending interval. Segments are named after the published 1:100,000
geological map sheets: La Unión (LU), Oyón (O) and Yanahuanca (Y). Rose plots of bedding illustrate the dominant structural trend per segment. ‘Eye’ symbols show directions of
photos presented in Fig. 4. The two boxes indicate the areas shown in Fig. 5a and c.
50 A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58

in both domains. The FTB is cut by numerous transverse tear faults
and one large meridional strike-slip structure.
4.1. Western fold domain
West of the Chonta Fault, tight, parallel, upright, macroscopic
NNW-trending folds dominate the structure. Small-scale folds are
restricted to the two most incompetent units, Oyón Fm and Par-
iatambo Fm, in the cores of antiforms and close to steep wNNW-
trending reverse faults (Fig. 3 and Online Supplementary Material,
Maps 1e3). Large, steep, west-dipping reverse faults occur along
the eastern limbs of macroscopic antiforms, but in several locations
east-dipping reverse faults occur along the limbs or axial surfaces of
the folds. In other instances, such as immediately southwest of
Raura (Fig. 3b), large steep reverse faults with a dominantly east-
vergent movement cut obliquely across major folds. A stereo-
graphic synoptic plot of all bedding for this domain illustrates an
overall horizontal, rounded, close fold shape (Fig. 3a).
Although the dominant west-dipping reverse faults suggest an
overall east-vergence, folds are overturned in both east and west
directions (Fig. 4aec). Commonly, the crests of major east-verging
antiforms are bent back toward the west (Fig. 4b). Many of the
observed macroscopic and large mesoscopic folds in the western
domain are tight, with a large amplitude/wavelength ratio (Fig. 4c).
The macroscopic folds have a rounded to chevron-style geometry. A
commonly observed feature in the cores of these folds is chevron-
style/cuspate folding of competent units and disharmonic, isoclinal
folding of incompetent units. Folds are locally cylindrical but

Fig. 4. Photos showing mountain-scale, rounded to chevron-style folds in Upper Cretaceous Jumasha limestone of the western fold domain (aec) and prominent faults of the
eastern thrust domain (for locations see Fig. 3). Overturning of folds is to both east and west (dashed yellow lines represent fold axial planes). a) Open, west-vergent syncline (S-
view); b) Open, west-vergent anticline (N-view); c) Tight, east-vergent syncline (S-view). d) W-tilted nappe (S-view), where Lower Cretaceous Goyllarisquizga clastics (Ki-g)
override uppermost Cretaceous-Palaeogene/Neogene Casapalca red beds (KsP-c) bedding parallel. e) Leading edge of the MFTB in the Oyón segment (S-view) defined by a
prominent fault-propagation fold (dashed white lines reflect bedding) in Upper Cretaceous Jumasha limestone (Ks-j) overriding planar Casapalca red beds on the frontal thrust
(solid white line).
 A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58 51

double plunge slightly at map scale, with plunges generally less

than 20 . Locally, such as immediately southwest of Raura, fold
hinges steepen to plunges up to 30 over several kilometres.
Parallel folds dominate the fold styles in the western domain.
Local bedding plane-parallel slickenlines, perpendicular to fold
hinges, indicate components of flexural slip, and contractional ac-
commodation structures in the cores of folds indicate components
of neutral surface buckle folding. The large amplitude/wavelength
ratio suggests that a component of bulk flattening may have
occurred. However, given the absence of cleavage and persistent
parallel fold shape, any bulk flattening must have been small.
The underlying rocks below the Cretaceous sedimentary units
are exposed along the Antamina road near Chiquián (Fig. 1; outside
the actual study area), showing folding of the Permo-Triassic Mitu
units together with the semi-conformable Cretaceous sequence.
The involvement of older metamorphic basement in the folding
was not observed.

4.2. Eastern thrust domain

The eastern thrust domain consists of several (up to four) thin-

skinned thrust sheets and related fault bend and propagation folds.
The latter fault-fold relationships are dominantly angular to kink-
like structures, but tight, upright, rounded folds, similar to those
in the western fold domain, occur as local fold trains (e.g. west of
Lauricocha; Fig. 3b). A stereographic synoptic plot of all bedding for
this domain illustrates an overall NNW-trending horizontal,
rounded, close fold shape (Fig. 3a), with a longer western limb.
In one of the foreland thrusts (Fig. 4d), a hangingwall and
footwall flat is defined by shallowly dipping clastic rocks of the
Lower Cretaceous Goyllarisquizga Group concordantly overlying
similarly dipping Casapalca Fm red beds (uppermost Cretaceous-
Palaeogene/Neogene). This w30 W dipping thrust flat outcrops
extensively along strike for at least 80 km and illustrates the thin-
skinned nature of the system.
In the foreland of the southern Oyón segment (Figs. 3 and 4e),
the frontal thrust is accompanied by a prominent fault-propagation
fold adjacent to the planar beds to the east. In the northern seg-
ments (Yanahuanca and La Unión), the frontal thrust occurs within
the basement high as steeply dipping inverted faults. Because these
thin-skinned thrusts tend to form anastomosing thrust traces in
map view, the number of discrete thrust sheets behind the frontal
thrust varies from one to four. The anastomosing thrusts suggest
that duplex structures may exist in cross section view. Thrust ramps
steepen sequentially toward the hinterland and may form part of an
imbricate fan.

4.3. Basement high

A third domain lies dominantly east of the frontal thrust and

forms a broad basement-cored anticlinorium defined by the
structure in the supracrustal sequence. Bedding orientations in the
overlying sedimentary rocks indicate an overall NNW-trending
horizontal, rounded, open fold architecture (see stereoplot BH in
Fig. 3a), while exposed metamorphic basement rocks show variable
orientations of foliation. The strongly folded nature of this domain
Fig. 5. a) Map of the northern transition in the oroclinal kink (for legend see Fig. 3). b)
is indicated by the occurrence of multiple smaller folds. Schematic cross section (AeA0 with BeB0 overlay) demonstrates the east-side-up
The easternmost thrust flats and ramps of the FTB are tilted component on the NeS fault, and the variation in fold wavelength across the
westward, consistent with being on the westward limb of the ‘spoon-fault’ (see text for discussion). Folded red dashed and blue solid lines represent
regional anticlinorium (Fig. 3 and Online Supplementary Material, the geometry of the base of the Lower Cretaceous Chimú quartzites south and north of
the spoon-fault, respectively, and correspond to the section lines in Fig. 5a. c) Map of
Maps 1e3). Tilting of the frontal structures is most prominent in the southern transition in the oroclinal kink across several curved (tear) faults (for
the northern segments, where both the basement and overlying legend see Fig. 3).
supracrustal units are exposed. Farther south, the flats to the west
of the frontal thrust also have westward dips.
52 A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58

Fig. 6. (aeg). Seven restored cross sections across the structural grain of the study area in the MFTB (section lines and legend are presented in Fig. 3). Note that volcanic, intrusive,
Quaternary and stratigraphic-basement units (see Fig. 2) as well as minor out-of-section faults are not shown in the restorations (Quaternary units are also omitted from the cross
sections). Bulldozing of the Mitu Group and Chambará Fm in front of the underthrust slab is indicated in the Queropalca cross section (c) and that of the Celendín Fm in front of the
frontal thrust is indicated in the Uchucchacua cross section (f), but both features may well occur in several other cross sections. The approximate width of the three main domains
(fold domain, thrust domain and basement high) is indicated above each cross section, but is not used for the shortening estimates presented in each legend, which are summarized
in Table 1. An explanation of the shortening calculations can be found in the text and Fig. 7. CF, Chonta Fault; FT, Frontal Thrust; FD, Fold Domain; TD, Thrust Domain; BH, Basement
High; U, Underthrusting; *, Definite out-of-section movement; Dashed lines represent likely detachments in FD; Dotted lines represent inferred deeper structures.
A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58 53

Fig. 6. (continued).
54 A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58
Fig. 6. (continued).
4.4. Chonta Fault
In map view, the Chonta Fault trends NNWeSSE in the northern
and southern segments, and NeS in the central Yanahuanca
segment (see Fig. 3a and b). It is a major structure, spanning the
entire 130 km length of the study area and beyond it. Outside the
central 50 km long NeS trending belt, the fault dips steeply (w50e
75 ) to the west, but in the central NeS section it becomes sub-
vertical and locally east-dipping.
The post-late Cretaceous kinematics of the Chonta Fault is east-
vergent reverse, based on the dip and stratigraphic offset across the
fault (except near Raura). Near Raura (Fig. 3b), there is a short in-
terval of normal sense displacement along the Chonta Fault, based
on interpreted stratigraphic levels within the exposed Jumasha Fm
on either side of the fault. This interval occurs close to a transverse
fault structure and in an area of more steeply plunging (w30 )
folds. The change in fold plunge may have been sufficient to pro-
duce a west-side-down tear along the Chonta Fault. The slip in this
zone is variable.
4.5. Cross faults and oroclinal flexures
A number of sub-vertical faults were observed along deeply
incised linear valleys. Piercing point criteria (based on fold hinges)
indicate dextral or sinistral strike-slip offset of less than 1 km on
these faults, or both senses of displacement in some cases. Faults
and folds disappear, or change shape, amplitude and/or wavelength
across a number of such valleys (e.g. in the valley west of Laur-
icocha), indicating the likely tear fault origin of the faults. These
tear faults could represent either thin-skinned lateral ramps (Pohn,
2000) or basement piercing faults (Biddle and Christie-Blick, 1985).
Two oroclinal deflections are recognized in the study area,
bounding a w50 km long segment in which the Andean structural
trends have an anomalous NeS orientation rather than the regional
NNW orientation (Fig. 3b). Both deflections are characterised by
curved tear faults (Fig. 5).
The oroclinal deflection near Chonta is subtle in the eastern
thrust domain and more pronounced in the folded domain. A
complex set of tear faults and folds accommodates the transition
from the NeS trend into the regional NNW trend. The transition
occurs over a NeS interval of about 30 km. Oroclinal trend de-
flections on the western side of the FTB occur more to the south
than the deflection on the eastern margin. In addition to a number
of smaller structures, a steep NeS fault and a spoon-shaped
transverse tear fault accommodate this variable deflection
(Fig. 5a). The NeS fault dextrally offsets folds and also marks a
prominent east-side-up component of movement in cross section
(Fig. 5b). Its slip dies out along strike. The curved ‘spoon-fault’ acts
as a backthrust with its northern NNW-trending segment, dipping
w70 E. The EeW trending segment of the ‘spoon fault’ is a steep
tear fault. Movement on the curved ‘spoon-fault’ dies out along
strike and the fault appears to merge with the Chonta Fault to the
east. The tectonic block bounded by the ‘spoon-fault’ and Chonta
Fault represents a hangingwall relative to the surrounding blocks.
The hangingwall block is uplifted by 10 to >1000 m, exposing
considerable intervals of the Lower Cretaceous Oyón Fm above
younger Cretaceous units. The uplifted block is also folded more
than the surrounding blocks (e.g. compare sections A and B in
Fig. 5b), indicating greater horizontal contraction.
5. Cross sections and restorations
Fig. 6aeg presents seven cross sections across the MFTB. Each
figure illustrates the interpreted architecture at depth based on the
observed meso- and macroscopic structures, and the stratigraphic
constraints described earlier. Fig. 6 also presents schematic resto-
rations of the supracrustal sequence using the flexural-slip
unfolding algorithm (see Section 3.2). This algorithm is justified
based on the observations of abundant bedding-parallel slicken-
lines and the absence of axial plane cleavage. The latter also sug-
gests that active folding was sufficient to produce the contraction
across this part of the orogen, without involving an additional
component of bulk shortening producing cleavage. In the following
sub-sections, we describe the interpretation of subsurface struc-
tures used for cross section construction in each of the structural
domains.
5.1. Western fold domain
Macroscopic and large mesoscopic folds observed in the west-
ern domain are in general tight, with a large amplitude/wavelength
ratio (segment FD in Fig. 6). The cross sections show a broad
decrease in the amplitude/wavelength ratio toward the meta-
morphic basement, which is most likely, an artifact of the unfolding
algorithm. In the absence of subsurface data, we surmise that
folding involved local décollements along the basement-cover
interface, as shown by the dashed lines in the sections. Alterna-
tively, Mégard (1987b) postulated that the incompetent nature of
 A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58
the low-grade metamorphic basement rocks could accommodate
folding of this interface. At some localities in the cross sections, we
infer the Palaeozoic basement and sedimentary cover to fold in
unison. We also postulate detachment folding or detachment
faulting in the Oyón Fm shale and/or Mitu Fm marl, which would
result in a flatter basement-cover interface and some thin-skinned
structures in the fold domain. One detachment fold is interpreted to
develop above a “basal” detachment in the Oyón Fm shale (e.g.
Mégard, 1984; Vicente, 1989), and several faults are considered to
splay off this décollement, propagating up to the surface (Fig. 6g).
These interpreted thin-skinned structures in the fold domain,
which are based on the fault-to-depth prediction technique of the
structure software, also could be basement-involved. Most of the
faults that crop out are interpreted as steep, basement-involved,
reverse faults. We do not think that these faults are associated
with detachment folding, because of their relatively large dip angle
(>45 ) and the existence of a structural step. This structural step
was determined by: (1) the substantial variations of stratigraphic
horizons across the corresponding faults (i.e., the exposed horizon
within the cover rocks changes considerably across basement
faults, locally even from base to top of the sedimentary cover)
suggesting large offsets on the actual faults, and (2) the depth to the
base of synclines, that is, an intervening step in the basement is
suggested in cases where two synclines are separated by an anti-
cline and one of the synclines is uplifted above a regional datum. A
local basement fault-bend fold or duplex could represent part of
this step that is needed to balance faulted stratigraphy at the sur-
face with that in the subsurface (Fig. 6g). Hence, the steep accom-
modation faults, considered to cut through the complete
sedimentary cover and part of the basement, are needed to explain
the structural elevations in the western fold domain.
Changes in deformation style appear across transverse struc-
tures in the western fold domain, but are more distinct in its
northern and southern extent. These major changes indicate a
separation of the western fold domain into three segments, and are
marked by arrays of transverse, (partly) basement-involved tear
faults (see Fig. 5a and b).
5.2. Eastern thrust domain
In the NeS structural segment, several thin-skinned thrust
sheets and related fault-bend and -propagation folds dominate the
eastern thrust domain, and are associated with one common
décollement toward the foreland (Fig. 6bef). This décollement oc-
curs within a broad hangingwall antiform. It is assumed to have
been originally horizontal, because it is a frontal thrust with no
apparent lower ramps, and the footwall unit immediately beneath
the flat is the unit that continues out into the foreland. Although
that foreland is now tilted by the later deformation, it is reasonable
to presume that this youngest unit (a syntectonic product of the FTB
itself) was horizontal at the time of final thrusting. Local duplex
floor faults and imbricate fan thrusts sole into this décollement. In
the hinterland of the thrust domain, a local low-angle WSW-dip-
ping reverse fault is likely a splay of the Chonta Fault in the upper
w5 km of the metamorphic basement (e.g. Fig. 6c), developing
some of the folds at the surface. A prominent nappe structure
separates the foreland décollement from the hinterland low-angle
thrust (e.g. Fig. 6c), indicating a slight transverse change in defor-
mation style across the NeS structural segment.
The thrust domains of the most northern and southern cross
sections (Fig. 6a and g) that are not part of the NeS tectonic
segment are distinctly different in structural style. The northern
cross section lacks a low-angle thrust on the hinterland side of its
thrust domain. The southern cross section also does not have a
décollement in the eastern domain. In the southern cross section,
55
the western fold domain is interpreted to overlie the eastern
domain, which lacks any thrusts and could better be associated
with the exposed basement high to the NNW. Such major changes
in structural style across the thrust domain indicate segmentation
into three distinct longitudinal segments that are bound by (base-
ment-involved?) transverse faults, and influence the oroclinal kink
(described in Section 4.5).
5.3. Basement high
As pointed out in Section 4.3, some of the highest structural
elevations of all units occur in the core of the broad anticlinorium
cored by basement in the eastern domain. This may suggest that
folding has also affected the basement. However, stratigraphic data
indicate that a topographic high, associated with a horst in the
Cretaceous basin system, had already existed prior to folding (e.g.
Mégard, 1984, 1987b; Benavides-Cáceres, 1999; Scherrenberg et al.,
2012). The thickness of exposed units increases eastward from the
Chonta Fault toward the contact with the upper Lower Cretaceous
units, with the Crisnejas Fm and Jumasha Fm (Fig. 2) showing a
greater thickness than their equivalent units to their west. This
suggests that a structure between the thrust domain and basement
high controlled the thickness variation, and may have been the
basin margin normal fault that inverted into the frontal thrust as
suggested by Romero (2008) and Carlotto et al. (2009).
We infer from the surface data of the sections such as at Chonta
and Queropalca (Fig. 6b and c) that the frontal thrust system is
folded by the basement anticlinorium and the overlying supra-
crustal package extends beneath the frontal thrust sheet. The dif-
ferences in stratigraphic thickness (e.g. Goyllarisquizga Group,
Fig. 6f) suggest that the degree of separation across the thrust is
sufficient to infer considerable underthrusting of the eastern block
(Fig. 6). The western limit of the underthrust block is uncon-
strained, and the sections are drawn assuming that the structure
links with the steep median fault or the first major anticline west of
the frontal thrust. This approach gives relatively consistent 3D
architectural results when comparing the sections to each other,
but is interpretive and results in a large variation in shortening
estimates along the belt (maximum difference is w14%). While the
underthrust block may not extend as far as we have shown, it is
likely to be deeper than the general base level of the stratigraphic
section (e.g. Fig. 6a).
5.4. Estimates of horizontal shortening across the belt
Vicente (1989) and Mégard (1984) previously estimated short-
ening across the MFTB ranging from >50 km to w30 km, respec-
tively. Because of this difference, we have estimated the horizontal
shortening across the MFTB by restoring the regional cross sections
to their pre-deformational length. The shortening estimates are a
minimum, if we assume that all of the stratigraphic and geometric
assumptions of the cross sections are correctly represented.
In addition to the bulk shortening across each of the cross sec-
tions, the approximate strain within each of the structural domains
was calculated separately, that is, the shortening relative to the
original width of each domain, not the shortening as a fraction of
the full cross section width. The exception is the crude estimate of
the contraction due to underthrusting, which is a fraction of the
entire section width (Fig. 7).
Restoration of the complete sedimentary cover of all cross sec-
tions yields bulk shortening estimates ranging from 27% to 41%
(horizontal stretches of 0.73 to 0.59, or w22e32 km) across the
entire fold belt (Table 1). Within the western fold domain, the
shortening is approximately 19e35%, and within the thrust domain
the shortening is 35e42%. The shortening occurring in the
56 A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58

Fig. 7. Cartoon and formulae illustrating the approach taken to calculate the approximate strain (as horizontal stretches) for each domain, as well as the component of under-
thrusting associated with basement flexing from the cross sections presented in Fig. 6. The “before” and “after” states of basement uplift illustrate the component of underthrusting
(HG).

Table 1 limit was reached, or that the deformation partitioned into another
Strains for each structural domain. part of the Andean Orogen.
Cross-section Bulk FD TD BH U Balancing and restoration of the basement in the cross sections
HS %S HS %S HS %S HS %S HS %S
was not deemed viable without any subsurface data to constrain
basement geometry. Hence, no horizontal shortening estimates of
San Martin 0.72 28 0.81 19 0.6 40 0.85 15 0.92 8
the basement structures were determined. Vicente (1989) and
Chonta 0.73 27 0.81 19 0.62 38 0.9 10 0.92 8
Queropalca 0.68 32 0.72 28 0.62 38 0.9 10 0.89 11 Mégard (1984) suggested that the amount of basement shortening
Patarcocha 0.67 33 0.74 26 0.65 35 e e 0.91 9 was equal to that of the sedimentary cover, because no major
Raura 0.65 35 0.74 26 0.64 36 e e 0.95 5 component of extensional strain could be found perpendicular to
Uchucchacua 0.59 41 0.66 34 0.58 42 e e 0.89 11
the shortening direction that would compensate for the lost cover
Iscaycruz 0.59 41 0.65 35 e e 0.82* 18 0.84 16
length when restored and when keeping the basement unde-
HS e horizontal stretch, %S epercentage shortening, FD e Western fold domain, TD formed in their models.
e Eastern thrust domain, BH e Basement high, U e Underthrusting, *Partial base-
ment high.

6. Discussion

basement high domain ranges from 10% to 18%, and it is likely that
some of the additional shortening in the FTB was from propagation
of the deformation recorded in this domain back across the FTB,
tightening the fault bend folds and tilting structures. In those sec-
tions where it can be estimated, the underthrusting contributes
about 5e16% to the bulk shortening. Given the variable nature of
the stratigraphic section across the belt, it is likely that the w10 km
difference in shortening estimates that we calculate for the entire
belt is statistically insignificant. The average estimate of 30e35%
shortening in the main part of the FTB agrees broadly with Mégard
(1984). These shortening values lie just below the theoretical limit
where cleavage-accommodated bulk strain must take over from
active folding and faulting (e.g. Ghassemi et al., 2010). The values
are consistent with the observation that cleavage is absent. The
implication is that active crustal deformation ceased before the
6.1. The role of the Chonta Fault in buttressing and thin-skinned
tectonics
The restored sections illustrate the magnitude of the Chonta
Fault in its final basin configuration. Normal sense slip increases
with depth in the section, reflecting its role as an active growth
fault during basin formation (Scherrenberg et al., 2012). The
maximum pre-folding, stratigraphic separation across the fault
ranges from 1500 m to 2500 m, with much of the lower half of the
supracrustal stratigraphy juxtaposed against a basement footwall.
This pre-folding geometry has a profound effect on the location and
style of structures formed in this area.
Scherrenberg et al. (2012) have shown, based on stratigraphic
grounds, that the Chonta Fault was an active growth fault during
the basin development in the Mesozoic, and perhaps even in the
 A.F. Scherrenberg et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 51 (2014) 45e58
Late Palaeozoic. That is, this structure is a steep inverted normal
fault, rather than a large anticline (Vicente, 1989) or a low-angle
thrust fault (Mégard, 1984, 1987b) (Fig. 2). Based on the marked
change in structural style across this fault and the restored sections,
we suggest that the Chonta Fault has acted as a buttress during the
east-vergent thin-skinned deformation. West of the fault, short-
ening has been entirely accommodated by upright folding, pre-
sumably above a décollement at, or near, the basement contact. In
some sections (Fig. 6b, c and e), the thin-skinned deformation
propagates from near the intersection of the Chonta Fault. Thus, the
buttress formed by the Chonta Fault is breached at this point, and
the top of the buttress translated slightly to the east. In the other
sections, there appears to be no breaching of the buttress, which
must then have acted as a rigid boundary driving thin-skinned
thrusting to its east. The absence of cleavage indicates that the
26e35% shortening across most of the subareas of the folded
domain was entirely accommodated by the folding, and deforma-
tion in the domain ceased as the limits of shortening by this
mechanism was reached. The Chonta Fault had to have operated as
an active buttress for some time for folding to accumulate. Perhaps
the subsequent breaching of the buttress was driven by the rheo-
logical strengthening of the eastern domain as the limits of active
folding (w35% shortening) were approached.
6.2. Two generations of deformation
There are several indications that a large-scale deformation
event overprinted the east-vergent structure. Principal among
these is the observation that the thrust flats are tilted some 30 to
the west by a prominent broad gentle antiform in the foreland of
the frontal thrust. Another indication of superposition of a west-
vergent deformation is the pronounced westward axial plane
flexure of some of the mountain-scale antiformal folds. The
distinctive west-vergent overturning of the crests of otherwise
east-vergent antiforms in the folded domain suggests that this
deformation extended across the MFTB and was west-vergent.
West-vergent deformation is likely to have weakly folded the
basement-cover interface or basal décollement.
A two-stage development of FTBs, thin-skinned followed by
thick-skinned, with continuous foreland-vergence, has been
documented in other convergent margins (e.g. Apennine, Papuan,
Irian, and Zagros FTBs) (e.g. Mazzoli et al., 2000; Hill et al., 2002;
Cloos et al., 2005; Molinaro et al., 2005). This is different than the
two-stage mountain building process described here, whereby the
Eocene east-vergent (foreland directed) thin-skinned contraction
was followed by west-vergent (hinterland directed) thick-skinned
deformation. One question that remains unresolved is whether
the second stage of contraction was associated with a regional
westward tectonic transport, or rather represented local antithetic
deformation. A similar phase of west-vergent deformation,
described in the Sierras Pampeanas in Argentina (e.g. Zapata and
Allmendinger, 1996; Coughlin et al., 1998), was attributed to a
change in the dynamics of the plate interactions (Coughlin et al.,
1998). It is possible that such interactions were also responsible
for the west-vergent structures in the Peruvian Andes. An alter-
native explanation to the west-vergent structures is that they were
controlled by the eastward transport of basement wedges under-
lying the thin-skinned structure (e.g. Roeder and Chamberlain,
1995; Ramos et al., 2002; Espurt et al., 2008).
7. Conclusions
The buttress provided by a pre-existing major basin growth fault
has had a profound effect on the 3D architecture and thin-skinned
evolution of the MFTB. The Chonta Fault formed a substantial
57
mechanical buttress during the initial east-vergent contraction of
the FTB along the middle of the FTB. The thicker stratigraphic
package on the western side crumpled against the mechanical
interface, forming macroscopic upright folds. Ultimately, the
buttress was either breached or rigidly translated such that the
thinner package on the eastern side detached from the basement in
thin-skinned fold-thrust deformation. We speculate that the build-
up of stress, associated with the limits to shortening by folding
against this buttress, triggered the thin-skinned breakthrough
across the Chonta Fault to form the thrust domain.
Although somewhat obscured by the initial east-vergent struc-
tures, a second west-vergent deformation overprints the FTB from
the east. This deformation was more thick-skinned in nature and
involved broad folding of the basement-cover contact. Westward
tilting of thrust flats, warping of the foreland, and west-vergent
overturning of the crests of otherwise east-vergent antiforms
mark its effect on the MFTB. The late hinterland-vergent event
drove deformation westward back into the early mountain system.
Acknowledgements
This paper describes part of AFS PhD project, completed at The
University of Queensland, Australia. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd is
thanked for their generous financial and logistical support.
We also thank Timothy Coughlin, who drove the concept for this
study and provided the original hypothesis on which it was based.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2013.12.007.
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