Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133

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Journal of Structural Geology

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jsg

Deformation history of the Puna plateau, Central Andes of

northwestern Argentina
Susana Henríquez a, *, Peter G. DeCelles a, Bárbara Carrapa a, Amanda N. Hughes a,
George H. Davis a, Patricia Alvarado b
a
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1040, E. 4th Street, Tucson, AZ, USA
b
CIGEOBIO (CONICET-UNSJ)-Departamento de Geofisica y Astronomía, FCEFN-Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Argentina

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Two tectonic shortening events created the first-order structural characteristics of the Puna plateau: one in the
Puna plateau Paleozoic and a second during the Andean Orogeny in the Cenozoic. To constrain the structural characteristics
Andes and timing of Andean deformation in the Puna plateau, we focus on differentiating these two shortening events
Thrust belt
and provide cooling ages (apatite fission track and apatite (U–Th)/He) to determine the amount of Andean
Structure
exhumation on the hanging-wall of major Cenozoic faults. Two contrasting expressions of shortening are
Thermochronology
Exhumation documented. In Ordovician strata, strain requires four stages: folding, flattening through cleavage formation,
low-angle faulting and local distributed shear. In the Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata, shortening is expressed as
reverse faults, fault-propagation folds and dipping panels. Dissimilarities reflect different P-T conditions and
amount of strain, as structures in the Ordovician rocks require higher temperatures and strain than Andean
structures in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata. Furthermore, local Cretaceous AFT cooling ages in pervasively
cleaved Ordovician rocks reveal these rocks did not reach temperatures compatible with cleavage formation
during the Andean event. Lastly, our data show a middle Eocene to Oligocene exhumation history that supports
an overall continuous development of the Andean thrust belt in the Puna plateau since the early Cenozoic.

1. Introduction
Retroarc thrust belts record the dynamics of orogens along conver­
gent plate margins (e.g., Willett, 1992; Tavani et al., 2015; Yonkee and
Weil, 2015). Analyzing the kinematic evolution of structures is funda­
mental to determining the evolution of thrust belt. This includes
studying the strain and mechanisms of deformation operating at
different times and scales. In the hinterland of the central Andes, the
thrust belt involves the Altiplano-Puna plateau, a >3600 m high region
(e.g., Isacks, 1988) with crustal thicknesses of up to 70 km (e.g., Beck
et al., 2015; Rivadeneyra-Vera et al., 2019). North of 21 ◦ S, several
studies in the Altiplano and Eastern Cordillera have documented
Cenozoic shortening involving Paleozoic to Cenozoic rocks (Fig. 1; e.g.,
McQuarrie, 2002; Müller et al., 2002; Ege et al., 2007; Anderson et al.,
2017). South of 21 ◦ S, shortening across the Puna plateau also involves
Paleozoic to Cenozoic rocks; however, different expressions of short­
ening have been attributed to Paleozoic and Cenozoic shortening events
(e.g., Bahlburg, 1991; Kley et al., 1997; Müller et al., 2002). Thus, the
study of the Andean fold-thrust belt requires consideration of both An­
dean deformation and structures inherited from older shortening events.
We use the term “Andean deformation” to refer to the Cenozoic-age
deformation, even though the Andean deformation started during the
Late Cretaceous (e.g., Cobbold and Rosello, 2003; Mpodozis et al., 2005;
Arriagada et al., 2006).
Structurally, one of the main issues arises from different observations
and interpretations of the nature and timing of structures in the Ordo­
vician strata of the Puna. Ordovician strata are ca. 10 km thick north of
21 ◦ S (e.g., Müller et al., 2002) and at least ca. 7 km in the Puna plateau
(e.g., Bahlburg, 1991), where they constitute the only exposed Paleozoic
rocks. Upright folding and cleavage in the Ordovician strata have been
related to a Carboniferous-Permian event (Kley and Reinhardt, 1994;
Jacobshagen et al., 2002) but also to high-strained domains spatially
correlated with Cenozoic-age structures (McQuarrie and Davis, 2002).
This confusion raises questions about strain progression and mecha­
nisms of cleavage development and overall deformation in the Puna
plateau.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: susanahg@email.arizona.edu (S. Henríquez).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2020.104133
Received 11 October 2019; Received in revised form 26 June 2020; Accepted 30 June 2020
Available online 6 August 2020
0191-8141/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Henríquez et al.
Fig. 1. Digital Elevation Model of the Central Andes depicting the main tec­
tonomorphic regions. CC: Coastal Cordillera, CD: Cordillera de Domeyko, WC:
Western Cordillera, EC: Eastern Cordillera, IA: Interandean Ranges, SA: Sub­
andean Ranges, SB: Santa Bárbara Ranges.
The purpose of this contribution is to analyze details of deformation
in the northern Puna plateau in order to examine kinematics, including
strain continuity. In order to understand structural mechanisms oper­
ating at regional scale, it is necessary to first understand the dominant
mechanism at outcrop scale within individual thrust sheets and struc­
tures. We hypothesize that the strain and exhumation history during
Andean deformation in the northern Puna plateau is not able to fully
account for the strain progression within Ordovician rocks. To test this
hypothesis, we characterize deformation at outcrop scale and document
the distribution of strain across Ordovician lithotectonic assemblages,
investigate the origin of cleavage development, describe Cenozoic
deformation in Andean synorogenic basins, and document cooling and
exhumation in the Andean thrust belt. By integrating strain observations
with the exhumation history in basement uplifts, we introduce kine­
matic constraints for deformation in the region. In this paper, we show
that progressive deformation of Ordovician strata involved at least four
phases of deformation, two pre-Andean phases, which produced upright
folding and flattening through cleavage formation; and two later phases
that during the Cenozoic (?) produced low-angle faulting and local do­
mains of distributed shear. Moreover, this study shows that shortening,
exhumation, and erosion occurred in the northern Puna plateau mainly
between the middle Eocene (ca. 45-40 Ma) and the Oligocene (ca. 25
Ma) due to the forward propagation of the thrust belt.
2. Regional geology
2.1. Regional tectonic setting
The modern Andean retroarc thrust belt in the Central Andes records
the growth of the Andes by shortening and thickening due to the east­
ward propagation of the orogenic belt during the Cenozoic (e.g., Isacks,
1988; Allmendinger et al., 1997; McQuarrie, 2002; Kley, 1996; Oncken
et al., 2006; DeCelles et al., 2011, 2015; Carrapa and DeCelles, 2015).
The central Andean retroarc region between 18◦ and 25 ◦ S is divided
2
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
into four longitudinal tectonomorphic zones (Fig. 1) which, from west to
east are the (1) Western Cordillera, (2) Altiplano-Puna plateau, (3)
Eastern Cordillera, and (4) the Subandean and Santa Bárbara ranges.
The Western Cordillera is composed of the Neogene to Recent vol­
canic arc with high volcanic peaks that reach ca. 6000 m a.s.l. The
Altiplano-Puna plateau is a high elevation (>3600 m a.s.l.) and rela­
tively flat zone in the hinterland. The Altiplano is an internally drained
basin at ca. 3600 m elevation that records sedimentation since the
Paleocene (e.g., Horton, 2005). The surface is dominated by modern
salars and Neogene to Quaternary sediment. Its southern part was
deformed during late Oligocene to Miocene time (e.g., Elger et al.,
2005). South of 21 ◦ S, the Puna plateau has a more rugged topography
formed by a series of ranges that separate small internally drained ba­
sins; base level is at ca. 4200 m (Isacks, 1988; Allmendinger et al., 1997;
Coutand et al., 2001; Strecker et al., 2007). Surface geology in the Puna
plateau is dominated by Ordovician sedimentary and igneous rocks,
with Cenozoic sedimentary rocks and Miocene volcanic rocks along its
western edge (Fig. 2). The Eastern Cordillera is the highest part of the
thrust belt, reaching ca. 6500 m elevation. This part of the thrust belt
also presents differences north and south of 21 ◦ S. North of 21 ◦ S, it is an
externally drained region that accommodated significant shortening in a
doubly-vergent thin-skinned fold-thrust belt developed between late
Eocene and Oligocene time (e.g., McQuarrie, 2002; Müller et al., 2002;
Barnes et al., 2008; Anderson et al., 2018). It exposes mainly Cambrian
to Silurian sedimentary rocks locally covered by Mesozoic and Cenozoic
strata. South of 21 ◦ S, the Eastern Cordillera or Cordillera Oriental
transitions to a bivergent Miocene thrust belt (Kley and Monaldi, 2002;
Kley et al., 2005). In this part of the thrust belt, thick-skinned defor­
mation exposes Proterozoic to Mesozoic rocks that separate Cenozoic
depocenters. Finally, the Subandean zone is a thin-skinned fold-thrust
belt composed of Silurian through Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, mainly
north of the Argentina-Bolivia border. It was formed during the last 10
Ma (e.g., McQuarrie, 2002; Echavarria et al., 2003; Barnes et al., 2008;
Hernández and Echavarria, 2009; Anderson et al., 2018; Calle et al.,
2018). The Subandean ranges transition southward into the Santa
Bárbara ranges, where upper Cambrian to Devonian, Cretaceous and
Cenozoic rocks are uplifted and deformed by east-dipping reverse faults
(Kley and Monaldi, 2002).
2.2. Regional stratigraphic assemblages
The stratigraphic record in the northern Puna plateau includes three
main periods of sedimentation during the Ordovician, Cretaceous and
Cenozoic (Fig. 3). These are described in the following sections.
2.2.1. Ordovician
The total stratigraphic thickness of Ordovician rocks in the Puna is >
7000 m (Bahlburg, 1991; Moya, 2015). The Ordovician includes three
unconformity-bound units that are referred to as the Complejo de Pla­
taforma de la Puna (CPP), a volcaniclastic sequence, and the Complejo
Turbíditico de la Puna (CTP) (Figs. 2 and 3). The Complejo de Plata­
forma de la Puna (CPP) is mainly composed of the Cobres Group, a 2000
m thick quartzite and shale sequence in the Del Cobre Range. The vol­
caniclastic sequence includes the 3800 m thick Aguada de la Perdiz and
Chiquero Formations (Buatois et al., 2009). The third Ordovician unit,
the Complejo Turbidítico de la Puna, is a ca. 3500 m thick succession of
sandy to conglomeratic turbidites that accumulated in a basin in the
western Puna (Bahlburg, 1991). The Ordovician deposits accumulated
in a north-south trending foreland basin with increasing accommodation
to the west and a forebulge to the east where shelf to deltaic sediments
were deposited (Bahlburg, 1991; Egenhoff, 2007).
The Ordovician units have been affected by low-grade meta­
morphism (Jacobshagen et al., 2002). During Ordovician time, two
magmatic arcs developed: the Complejo Igneo y Sedimentario Cordón de
Lila in the forearc (CISL, Furongian-Tremadocian; e.g., Niemeyer,
1989), and the Faja Eruptiva de la Puna Oriental in what is now the Puna
S. Henríquez et al.
Fig. 2. Geologic map of the northern Puna plateau.
region. According to Bahlburg et al. (2016), this magmatic event pro­
duced a N–S belt that extends for ca. 400 km and includes a middle
Ordovician phase (480-460 Ma) followed by a second and main event
during the late Ordovician (453-444 Ma).
2.2.2. Cretaceous
Up to 6000 m of sedimentary rocks, referred to as the Salta Group,
accumulated in the intracratonic Salta Rift. The Salta Group consists of
the Pirgua, Balbuena, and Santa Bárbara Subgroups (Salfity and Mar­
quillas, 1994), which represent formations controlled by normal faulting
and post-rifting thermal subsidence (e.g., Welsink et al., 1995). The
Pirgua Subgroup consists of up to 4 km of clastic and volcanic rocks (e.g.,
Marquillas et al., 2005) of Neocomian to lower Maastrichtian age. The
Pirgua Subgroup was deposited during the syn-rift phase of the Salta Rift
(e.g., Grier et al., 1991; Starck, 2011). The Balbuena Subgroup consists
of 400–500 m of Maastrichtian to lower Paleocene limestone and clastic
rocks (e.g., Marquillas et al., 2005; Sempere et al., 1997). The Balbuena
Subgroup consists of ca. 250 m of limestone and calcareous sandstone of
the Lecho and Yacoraite Formations. These formations are of Maas­
trichtian age and provide a structural marker across the region.
2.2.3. Cenozoic
The Lower Cenozoic stratigraphy includes the Mealla, Maiz Gordo,
and Lumbrera Formations of the Santa Bárbara Subgroup. The Mealla
Formation consists of 100–150 m of sandstone and siltstone; the Maiz
Gordo Formation consists of 200–250 m of coarse-to fine-grained
sandstone; and the Lumbrera Formation is 400–450 m of sandstone and
mudstone, with intercalations of dark green to grey claystone and
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Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
stromatolitic limestone (Marquillas et al., 2005). The Santa Bárbara
Subgroup has been interpreted as the results of a second episode of
thermal subsidence in the Salta Rift (Salfity and Marquillas, 1994;
Marquillas et al., 2005; Starck, 2011). However, DeCelles et al. (2011)
documented an extremely mature sequence of compound paleosols in
the Maiz Gordo and Lumbrera Formations, which represents a zone of
stratigraphic condensation over a period of ca. 10–15 Ma throughout all
of northwestern Argentina and southern Bolivia (DeCelles and Horton,
2003; Horton, 2005). The paleosol disconformity is interpreted to be the
result of forebulge migration through this part of the Andes, with fore­
deep and wedge-top deposits above the paleosols supporting the east­
ward migration of a foreland basin system during the Cenozoic (DeCelles
and Horton, 2003; DeCelles et al., 2011).
Above the Lumbrera Formation, the stratigraphic record can be
divided into the Quebrada de Los Colorados Formation, Río Grande
Formation and the Jujuy Subgroup. The Quebrada de Los Colorados
Formation is an upward-coarsening succession of sandstone and
conglomeratic sandstone interbedded with red siltstone (DeCelles et al.,
2011; Montero-López et al., 2018). This unit crops out from the Susques
area to the east, with ca. 860 m measured in the Tres Cruces area (Boll
and Hernández, 1986). A maximum depositional age of 37.6 ± 1.2 Ma
was determined using U–Pb analysis of detrital zircons (Carrapa et al.,
2012). The Río Grande Formation is composed of 3000–4200 m of eolian
and fluvial sandstone and conglomerate (Starck and Vergani, 1996; Siks
and Horton, 2011). Siks and Horton (2011) reported 40Ar/39Ar analyses
of five ashfall tuffs in the Cianzo area that yielded weighted mean ages
between 16.34 ± 0.6 Ma and 9.69 ± 1 Ma. Carrapa et al. (2012) reported
a maximum depositional age of 21.4 ± 0.7 Ma for the equivalent
S. Henríquez et al. Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133

Fig. 3. Simplified stratigraphic columns. Modified from Bahlburg (1991), Boll and Hernández (1986), Moya (2015), Kley and Monaldi (2002), Siks and Horton
(2011) and DeCelles et al. (2011).

Angastaco Formation and considered that this formation was deposited
from ca. 21 to ca. 9 Ma. These early to mid-Miocene units were deposited
in the foredeep and wedge-top parts of the foreland basin system
(DeCelles et al., 2011; Carrapa et al., 2012). The Jujuy Group includes
the Pisungo and Sijes Formations, which crop out in the Tres Cruces and
Cianzo areas. The Pisungo Formation consists of a succession of poorly
consolidated conglomerate that accumulated in proximal alluvial fans
on the flanks of growing structures (Siks and Horton, 2011). The Sijes
Formations is a 200 m thick pyroclastic unit (Turner, 1960) covered by
dacites dated at 12 ± 2 Ma by K–Ar on whole rock (Coira, 1979).

4
S. Henríquez et al.
Sedimentation continued until ca. 0.8 Ma in the Tres Cruces area (e.g.,
Streit et al., 2017).
2.3. Regional deformation events
Three main periods of deformation have characterized the evolution
of the northern Puna plateau: a series of Paleozoic events, the Early
Cretaceous rifting event, and the Cenozoic Andean shortening event.
2.3.1. Pre-Andean deformation
Deformation in the Ordovician section is characterized by N–S to
NNE-SSW trending open to upright folds, which are marked by slaty
cleavage (e.g., Cladouhos et al., 1994; Müller et al., 2002). Similar styles
of folding have been documented across the Eastern Cordillera in Bolivia
and Puna regions (e.g., Bahlburg, 1991; McQuarrie, 2002; Pearson et al.,
2013). This folding took place under low-grade metamorphic condi­
tions. In the northern Puna plateau, the folded and cleaved Ordovician
rocks are overlain unconformably by Cretaceous strata.
Information about thermal conditions and timing of folding and
cleaving of the Ordovician rocks is provided by studies of vitrinite
reflectance, infrared spectroscopy of organic matter, illite crystallinity,
and fluid inclusion analyses performed on sedimentary rocks collected
north of the study area in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Bolivia (at
ca. 21 ◦ S; Kley and Reinhardt, 1994; Jacobshagen et al., 2002). Results
show that: 1) K–Ar ages on synkinematic illite crystals in the Ordovician
rocks point to a late Carboniferous age for cleavage development
(320-290 Ma); 2) fluid inclusions in quartz veins cutting Ordovician
strata indicate temperatures of ca. 240–270 ◦ C; and 3) vitrinite reflec­
tance data from Ordovician to Carboniferous rocks demonstrates a
decrease in sediment maturity from the Devonian to Carboniferous rocks
and from west to east in Devonian rocks (Kley and Reinhardt, 1994).
These results suggest that a late Devonian-early Carboniferous heating
event was responsible for the folding and the development of slaty
cleavage (Kley and Reinhardt, 1994). Müller et al. (2002) argued that
the contact between the deformed Ordovician section and the
un-cleaved Cretaceous units is, in most cases, an angular unconformity
but without much angular discordance and that the subvertical slaty
cleavage is observed in both folded and flat-lying Ordovician rocks.
Therefore, Müller et al. (2002) argued that pre-Cretaceous folding of the
Ordovician strata in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Bolivia seems to
be moderate or localized, even though the Ordovician rocks had to have
been buried to 3–7 km depth during peak metamorphism and cleavage
formation during late Devonian-late Carboniferous time. McQuarrie and
Davis (2002) observed both highly strained and unstrained domains in
Paleozoic rocks of Bolivia (at ca. 18 ◦ S). The highly strained domains are
mainly in cores of folds and fault zones, whereas the unstrained domains
occur along sections of strata that are structural flats (McQuarrie and
Davis, 2002). Additionally, structural conformity between Jurassic and
Devonian rocks in central Bolivia indicates that the folding, faulting and
cleavage observed in the Paleozoic strata are results of progressive
deformation in the Andean thrust belt and not Late Paleozoic
(McQuarrie and Davis, 2002).
During the Early Cretaceous, the Salta Rift and its three main
depocenters accommodated significant regional extension (e.g., Starck,
2011). The N–S trending Tres Cruces depocenter (Fig. 2) in the northern
Puna is strongly deformed by Andean deformation, yet preserved
normal faults were described by Monaldi et al. (2008).
2.3.2. Andean deformation
Exposures of rocks and structures in the Paso de Jama, El Toro,
Salinas Grandes, and Tres Cruces depocenters and mountain ranges in
between (Fig. 2) provide insight into the nature of Andean deformation.
These ranges are bounded by high-angle reverse faults that uplift
Ordovician strata over Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata. At the surface, the
high-angle reverse faults dip more than 60◦ , strike N–S to NNE-SSW, and
do not show a preferred vergence (e.g., Coutand et al., 2001). The
5
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
Salinas Grandes and Tres Cruces depocenters have been studied
combining surface observations with seismic reflection profiles and
interpreted to be the results of late Eocene to Quaternary shortening
(Coutand, 1999; 2001; Steinmetz and Galli, 2015). Kinematic analyses
of the Cenozoic faults in the northern Puna (Marrett et al., 1994; Cla­
douhos et al., 1994; Coutand et al., 2001) have shown shortening di­
rections trending on average 110◦ (Coutand et al., 2001) and 120 ± 20◦
(Cladouhos et al., 1994) with subvertical stretching. Basin burial and
uplift histories indicate a late Eocene age for the onset of shortening
between 23 and 25◦ S (Coutand et al., 2001), whereas structural data at
22 ◦ S indicate that shortening continued during Miocene to Pliocene
times (Cladouhos et al., 1994). In southern Bolivia, Andean deformation
in the Eastern Cordillera corresponds to development of the
ENE-trending bivergent fold-thrust belt that formed mainly between ca.
45 and 25 Ma (e.g., McQuarrie, 2002; Müller et al., 2002; Ege et al.,
2007; Anderson et al., 2017). Shortening continued until ca. 9 Ma and
was followed by minor strike-slip faulting (e.g., Müller et al., 2002).
3. Methods
This work combines field methods and three analytical methods: (1)
Geologic mapping to document structures, contacts and geologic re­
lationships as a basis for kinematic analysis; (2) U–Pb geochronology on
detrital zircons to constrain maximum depositional ages of two Cenozoic
depocenters and the age of deformation; (3) apatite fission track and
apatite (U–Th)/He thermochronology to constrain the cooling history of
Ordovician rocks. Because the depths and styles of the deformation are
intimately related to thermal conditions, cooling ages can inform on the
depth of deformation driven exhumation.
3.1. Field methods
Structural data were collected along geologic transects and during
mapping. The mapping was focused on providing constraint for defor­
mation along the selected transects; thus, it was concentrated on
regional distribution of lithologic units, cross-cutting relationships and
unconformities. We identified and described dipping panels within the
Ordovician strata and collected samples in the hanging-wall of Cenozoic
thrust faults for low-temperature thermochronologic analysis. For each
dipping panel, we described the lithology and bed thickness; searched
for veins and indicators of bedding orientation; measured bedding and
cleavage; and characterized fold geometries and fault zones. Work in
Cenozoic deposits was focused on characterizing deformation by
measuring bedding, describing geometries and collecting samples for
U–Pb geochronology. Additionally, we measured and described strati­
graphic sections and collected samples to provide age constraints in
depocenters with previously unknown stratigraphy.
3.2. U–Pb geochronology
In order to constrain the age of Cenozoic deposits we used U–Pb
geochronology on detrital zircons from sedimentary rocks and on zir­
cons from volcanic rocks. We collected eight sandstone samples for
detrital zircon analyses and one volcanic rock for igneous zircon ana­
lyses. Descriptions of mineral separation techniques and data reduction
methods are in the supplementary material (sections S1 and S2.1). U–Pb
analytical data can be found in Fig. S1 and Table S1 (Supplementary
material). To determine maximum depositional ages of sedimentary
samples we applied the TuffZirc routine in Isoplot (Ludwig, 2008). This
technique yields reliable ages when the sample has either a group of at
least five analyses of igneous crystals, or a reasonable fraction of the
analyses (at least 30–40%) are cogenetic with an eruption age; TuffZirc
only works well on crystals that are unaffected by Pb loss. For samples
that do not meet this criterion, we used the mean age of the youngest
cluster of three or more grain ages overlapping at 2σ (Dickinson and
Gehrels, 2009). The clusters or peaks were determined using the DZ Age
S. Henríquez et al. Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133

Pick Program from the University of Arizona LaserChron Center (www.
geo.arizona.edu/alc). Results are shown in Table 1.
3.3. Low-temperature thermochronology
The main objective of low-temperature thermochronology in this
study was to determine the thermal history of rocks along hanging-walls
of structures within the thrust belt (e.g., Ege et al., 2007; Mora et al.,
2015). We employed apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U–Th)/He
(AHe) thermochronology. These two thermochronometers constrain the
timing of cooling as rocks transit through the upper few kilometers of
crust (e.g., Reiners and Brandon, 2006). We were especially interested in
understanding the cooling history of the Ordovician rocks, which have
experienced pressures and temperatures necessary for low-grade meta­
morphism. We collected a suite of 11 samples, including three for AHe
analysis (SH16-3, SH16-19 and SH16-40), six for AFT analysis (SH16-5,
SH16-9, SH16-10, SH16-11, SH16-33 and SH16-47), and two for both
(SH16-1 and SH16-4) (Tables 2 and 3; Fig. 2). We targeted Ordovician
sandstones/quartzites and intrusive bodies in the hanging-walls of
major reverse faults (Fig. 2). Apatite grains were separated following the
description in the supplementary material (section S1).
3.3.1. Apatite fission track thermochronology
AFT thermochronology uses crystallographic damage in apatite
grains produced by natural fission of 238U. These fission tracks are
preserved at temperatures below 80–120 ◦ C and rapidly healed at
temperatures higher than 120 ◦ C (e.g., Green et al., 1989). Between 80
and 120 ◦ C, fission tracks begin to anneal or shorten defining a tem­
perature range known as the partial annealing zone (PAZ) (e.g., Green
et al., 1989). Depending on the time-temperature paths that the sample
experienced after deposition or crystallization, the original fission tracks
can be fully annealed by burial, fully retained by fast and monotonic
exhumation through the PAZ, or partially annealed if the sample resided
within the PAZ.
For each sample, we counted fission tracks in 20 grains or all the
available grains in cases of low grain availability or quality. Descriptions
of sample preparation and analysis are provided in the supplementary
material (sections S1 and S2.2). To assess whether the grain ages belong
to a homogenous population, we used the X2 test where a P(X2) >5%
indicates that individual data are consistent with a common ratio of
spontaneous and induced counts (e.g., Galbraith, 1981; Green, 1981).
The results are shown in Table 2.
3.3.2. Apatite (U–Th)/He and thermal modeling
The apatite (U–Th)/He system is based on α-particles (4He) emitted
during the radioactive decay of the elements 238U, 235U, and 232Th
(Farley et al., 1996; Ehlers and Farley, 2003). The 4He particles are
retained within the crystal at low temperatures, whereas at high tem­
peratures 4He particles diffuse out of crystal. For apatites, the diffusive
loss of 4He happens between 40 and 80 ◦ C in the partial retention zone
(PRZ) (e.g., Farley, 2000; Reiners and Brandon, 2006). Procedures for
grain selection and analysis are described in the supplementary material
(sections S1 and S2.3).
Our sampling strategy targeted Ordovician and Lower Cretaceous
intrusive rocks exposed across the Puna plateau. For each sample, we
analyzed 3 to 5 single aliquots. We looked at the age reproducibility
among grains of a given sample and investigated correlations between
eU (ppm) and Rs (μm) and eU (ppm) and corrected age (Ma) to evaluate
radiation damage (e.g., Shuster et al., 2006). We used inverse modeling
to determine the time-temperature histories of samples using the soft­
ware HeFTy (Ketcham, 2005; section S2.4). Results of the apatite
(U–Th)/He analyzes are shown in Table 3 and Figs. S3 and S4, and are
discussed in the results and interpretation sections from old to young in
the context of each range. The parameters and data considered for the
thermal models are presented in Table 4 following protocols proposed
by Flowers et al. (2015).
4. Stratigraphy and U–Pb geochronologic constraints on Puna
Cenozoic depocenters
The youngest rock units in the northern Puna affected by Andean
thrusting and folding are ca. 6.5 Ma (Letcher, 2007). Thus, mapping and
dating of Cenozoic rocks provide insight into the character and timing of
late Cenozoic deformation (Figs. 4 and 5). Two Cenozoic depocenters in
the western part of the Puna were studied: The Paso de Jama and El Toro
depocenters (Fig. 6). We also mapped sedimentary rocks in the Susques
area and collected samples to establish depositional ages.
An ~2.5 km-thick, upward-coarsening sequence of Cenozoic strata
crops out in the Paso de Jama area (Fig. 4). The base of the section is not
exposed but is inferred to rest unconformably upon strongly deformed
Ordovician turbiditic strata in the Olaroz Range (Fig. 4). The lower
~780 m of the section consists of laminated siltstone transitioning up­
ward into fine-grained sandstone with current ripples, trough cross-
stratification, and lenticular sandstone bodies with erosional bases
that are interpreted as fluvial channel deposits (Fig. 6). The sample

Table 1
Compiled U–Pb geochronologic analyses.
Sample Location Type Lithology No. of Youngest Methoda Age Lat. Long. Elevation
crystals population

[Ma ± 1σ] [Ma ± [◦ S] [◦ W] [m a.s.l.]

1σ]

SH16-13 Susques Range Basement Tuff 18 NA Weighted Mean 6.8 ± − 23.001 − 66.358 3995
0.11
SH17-10 Susques Range Detrital Tuffaceous 24 9.12 ± 0.1 Weighted Mean NA − 23.185 − 66.509 4121
sandstone
b
SH17-12 Susques Range Detrital Sandstone 302 61.3 ± 1.7 Weighted NA − 23.197 − 66.481 4242
Meanb
SH17-19 Paso de Jama Detrital Sandstone 178 22.15 ± 0.33 TuffZirc Age NA − 23.230 − 66.926 4249
area
SH17-21 El Toro area Detrital Sandstone 287 425 ± 34 Weighted Mean NA − 23.093 − 66.758 4153
c
SH16-44 El Toro area Detrital Gravel 288 36.1 ± 3.6 Weighted NA − 23.126 − 66.769 4290
Meanc
PJ405DF Paso de Jama Detrital Sandstone 262 270 ± 48 Weighted Mean NA
area
PJ793DZ Paso de Jama Detrital Sandstone 290 35.99 ± 0.87 TuffZirc Age NA − 23.242 − 66.955 4298
area
a
Method used to calculate youngest population.
b
MSWD = 13, Ma ± 2σ, Probability of fit = 0 and n = 4.
c
MSWD = 29, Ma ± 2σ, Probability of fit = 0 and n = 3.

6
S. Henríquez et al. Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133

(PJ405DZ) did not produce a statistically significant Cenozoic age

Note: ρs—spontaneous track density, Ns—number of spontaneous tracks, ρi—induced track density; Ni—number of induced tracks; ρd—dosimeter track density; Nd—number of dosimeter tracks; P(χ)2—χ2 probability; m
Elevation (m a.
(Table S1). A sandstone sample (PJ793DZ) collected at 793 m above the
base of the measured stratigraphic section (Fig. 6) produced a youngest
U–Pb detrital zircon age population (maximum depositional age) with a

3286

3984

4161

4523

4295

4137

3623

4054
mean age of 36.99 ± 0.87 Ma (PJ793DZ, 17 grains). We correlate the
s.l.)

strata in the lower part of the section with the Quebrada de Los Colo­
rados Formation, which has yielded similar ages elsewhere in the Puna
− 65.956

− 66.491

− 67.094

− 66.863

− 66.838

− 66.757

− 66.245

− 66.683
Lat. (◦ S)

plateau and Eastern Cordillera of northwestern Argentina (DeCelles

et al., 2011; Carrapa et al., 2012). Resting conformably above the lower
interval is an ~200 m thick unit of fine-grained sandstone with frosted
− 23.380

− 23.422

− 23.295

− 23.125

− 23.116

− 23.088

− 23.406

− 23.109
grains and large-scale trough cross-stratification (several meter-thick
Long.

cross-sets), which we interpret as an eolian deposit. We tentatively

(◦ W)

correlate this unit with the lower member of the Angastaco Formation
(Carrapa et al., 2012), which includes lower Miocene eolianites (Starck
Age Central (Ma

and Anzótegui, 2001; DeCelles et al., 2011; Kortyna et al., 2019). Above
the eolian interval, a sequence of massive coarse-grained sandstone beds
40.5 ± 3.5

26.3 ± 2.9

69.6 ± 5.8

44.4 ± 5.6
25 ± 2.4

67 ± 6.6

43 ± 4.4

29 ± 3.5
was sampled (SH17-19) for U–Pb detrital geochronology (ca. 50 m in the
± 1σ)

local stratigraphic succession, ca. 1150 m in the composite stratigraphic

section shown in Fig. 6). The maximum depositional age obtained is
22.15 ± 0.33 Ma (SH17-19, 28 grains), which is consistent with previ­
Age Pooled (Ma

a.s.l.: meters above sea level. Error is 1σ, calculated using the zeta calibration method (Hurford and Green., 1983) with zeta of 357.6 ± 7.7 for apatite.
ously reported age of the Angastaco Formation (Carrapa et al., 2012).
40.1 ± 2.4

26.3 ± 2.9

69.6 ± 5.8

40.2 ± 3.8

27.2 ± 2.5

The Cenozoic succession in the Paso de Jama area ends with ~1000 m of
25 ± 2.4

67 ± 6.6

43 ± 5
± 1σ)

very coarse-grained fluvio-alluvial sandstone and conglomerate.

The El Toro depocenter contains an upward-coarsening Cenozoic
sequence (Fig. 6). At the base of the succession, a fine-grained sandstone
4604

4604

4604

4604

4604

4604

4604

4604

intercalated with variegated paleosols is correlated with the Lumbrera

Nd

Formation. A sample (ca. 2 m) above the basal angular unconformity

Dosimeter

1387667

1411361

1140157

1269196

1257349

1277052

1340278

1182279

(SH17-21) on top of Ordovician rocks produced U–Pb zircon ages older

than 250 Ma. Above this unit, a sequence of pink to red, medium-to
ρd

coarse-grained sandstone transitions upward into coarse-grained sand­

stone and conglomerate. A sample from this interval (SH16-44, ~480 m)
P(χ)2

produced youngest detrital zircon U–Pb ages of ca. 36 Ma from three

(%)

0.1
65

90

85

82

10

39

grains (Fig. 6; Table 1); however, the individual ages do not overlap at
5

2σ, such that a maximum depositional age cannot be certified (Dick­

1238

2555

1053

1269
743

492

675

475

inson and Gehrels, 2009). Nevertheless, we tentatively interpret this

Ni

coarse-grained interval as equivalent to the Quebrada de Los Colorados

4253220

4480360

1583270

1421472

1822958

2355152

6057459

1419454

Formation of late Eocene age (Carrapa and DeCelles, 2008). Above this
Induced

unit, a sequence of very coarse-grained sandstone and partially consol­

ρi

idated conglomerate caps the sequence. We tentatively surmise that this

unit is equivalent to either the Rio Grande or Angastaco Formations (e.
125

407

146

210

186

144
96

97
Ns

g., Boll and Hernández, 1986; Carrapa et al., 2012; Siks and Horton,
2011).
429444.663583472

713701.243820431

204567.868100927

421818.826994438

567142.535393444

416009.778271011

687371.239223813

289867.524640791

In the western side of the Susques area, DeCelles et al. (2011)

documented the Lumbrera Formation as an upward-coarsening succes­
Spontaneous

sion that starts with ~100 m of massive red siltstone and paleosols and
records increasing amounts of fluvial sandstone and conglomerate
up-section. The section described by DeCelles et al. (2011) is ~400 m
ρs

thick and was measured ca. 10 km south of the studied area in an

along-strike equivalent position. In the studied part of the Susques area
the sequence of red sandstone intercalated with conglomerate reaches
Crystals
No. of

~600 m thick. This unit is capped by a conglomeratic unit (~300 m

12

18

20

13

20

20

12

13

thick) that we tentatively correlate with the Rio Grande Formation.

Above this unit, a volcanosedimentary unit composed of sandstone and
Sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone
Granite

Granite

Granite

ignimbrite (~400 m thick) of probable Miocene age marks the top of the
Type

stratigraphic record. A sample from the uppermost ignimbrite (SH16-13,

Fig. 2, Table 1) and a sample from a tuffaceous sandstone from the
middle part of the volcanosedimentary succession (SH17-10, Figs. 5 and
Ordovician/Del Cobre
Cretaceous/Del Cobre

Ordovician/Susques

6, Table 1) yielded weighted mean U–Pb zircon ages of 6.8 ± 0.11 Ma

Ordovician/Lina

Ordovician/Lina

Ordovician/Lina

Ordovician/Lina

Ordovician/Lina

and 9.12 ± 0.1 Ma, respectively (Table 1). This unit is age-equivalent to
Apatite fission track data.
Unit/Locality

the Sijes Formation in the Tres Cruces area and the Pisungo Formation
farther east in the Cianzo area (Siks and Horton, 2011).
Range

Range

Range

Range

Range

Range

Range

Range
SH16-1-

SH16-4

SH16-5

SH16-9
Sample
Table 2

SH16-

SH16-

SH16-

SH16-
10

11

33

47
2

7
 S. Henríquez et al.
Table 3
Apatite (U–Th)/He data (Continued).
Sample Unit/Sample type Aliquot name 4He 4He 4He U (ng) U (ng ± Th Th (ng Sm Sm (ng Th/U Raw age Raw age Ft Ft Ft
(pmol) (pmol ± (pmol ± 1σ) (ng) ± 1σ) (ng) ± 1σ) (atomic) (Ma) (Ma ± 238U 235U 232Th
1σ) 1σ) 1σ)

SH16-1 Granite, basement 16B892_SH_SH16_1_1 0.0226 0.0003 1.3109 0.1731 0.0025 0.0492 0.0007 1.8630 0.0283 0.292 22.432 0.414 0.720 0.682 0.682
sample 16B893_SH_SH16_1_2 0.0091 0.0001 1.5579 0.1071 0.0015 0.0318 0.0005 1.1863 0.0177 0.304 14.506 0.293 0.666 0.622 0.622
16B894_SH_SH16_1_3 0.0499 0.0006 1.1374 0.2388 0.0034 0.0743 0.0011 2.6266 0.0389 0.319 35.609 0.611 0.755 0.721 0.721
16B895_SH_SH16_1_4 0.0092 0.0001 1.3652 0.1183 0.0017 0.0376 0.0005 1.1935 0.0178 0.326 13.326 0.249 0.703 0.664 0.664
16B896_SH_SH16_1_5 0.0577 0.0007 1.1885 0.2011 0.0029 0.6321 0.0091 1.7301 0.0259 3.225 30.269 0.470 0.702 0.662 0.662
SH16-3 Granite, basement 16B898_SH_SH16_3_1 0.3289 0.0036 1.1079 2.2462 0.0323 0.0420 0.0018 4.8098 0.0731 0.019 26.937 0.476 0.851 0.829 0.829
sample 16B899_SH_SH16_3_2 0.1004 0.0012 1.1504 0.7904 0.0114 0.0199 0.0003 2.5555 0.0379 0.026 23.316 0.419 0.814 0.787 0.787
16B900_SH_SH16_3_3 0.0220 0.0005 2.0731 0.2108 0.0031 0.0084 0.0001 0.8360 0.0125 0.041 19.107 0.477 0.732 0.696 0.696
16B901_SH_SH16_3_4 0.0734 0.0014 1.9653 0.2710 0.0039 0.0619 0.0009 1.0324 0.0157 0.234 47.278 1.122 0.752 0.718 0.718
16B902_SH_SH16_3_5 0.0353 0.0007 2.0636 0.2604 0.0038 0.0056 0.0001 0.6425 0.0095 0.022 24.880 0.619 0.729 0.692 0.692
SH16-4 Granite, Basement 16B903_SH_SH16_4_1 0.0330 0.0007 2.0307 0.1591 0.0023 0.0300 0.0004 0.4677 0.0071 0.193 36.683 0.891 0.717 0.679 0.679
sample 16B904_SH_SH16_4_2 0.4306 0.0084 1.9539 2.1691 0.0313 0.1384 0.0020 3.4292 0.0536 0.065 36.127 0.864 0.839 0.816 0.816
16B905_SH_SH16_4_3 0.1103 0.0022 1.9511 0.4854 0.0070 0.1344 0.0019 2.5211 0.0387 0.284 39.228 0.922 0.827 0.802 0.802
16B906_SH_SH16_4_4 0.1460 0.0029 1.9620 0.4263 0.0061 0.4527 0.0066 1.8416 0.0278 1.089 50.367 1.148 0.828 0.804 0.804
16B907_SH_SH16_4_5 0.0389 0.0008 2.0103 0.1822 0.0027 0.0441 0.0007 1.0425 0.0158 0.248 37.144 0.896 0.729 0.692 0.692
SH16- Ordovician 16B910_SH_SH16_19_2 0.0613 0.0012 1.9609 0.4565 0.0066 0.3277 0.0047 0.9292 0.0139 0.736 21.212 0.489 0.760 0.727 0.727
19 Diorite, basement 16B911_SH_SH16_19_3 0.0093 0.0002 2.0836 0.0946 0.0014 0.0610 0.0009 0.5902 0.0089 0.662 15.746 0.382 0.698 0.658 0.658
sample 16B912_SH_SH16_19_4 0.0580 0.0011 1.9811 0.3354 0.0048 0.6242 0.0090 0.9589 0.0143 1.909 22.188 0.499 0.717 0.678 0.678
16B918_SH16_19_6 0.0155 0.0007 4.2152 0.0888 0.0013 0.2964 0.0042 0.8697 0.0127 3.424 17.965 0.779 0.664 0.620 0.620
SH16- Granite, Basement 16B914_SH_SH16_40_1 0.0014 0.0001 6.9897 0.0071 0.0001 0.0581 0.0008 1.2106 0.0180 8.447 11.877 0.839 0.762 0.729 0.729
40 sample 16B915_SH_SH16_40_2 0.0036 0.0001 2.7449 0.0088 0.0001 0.0742 0.0011 5.2137 0.0779 8.694 20.185 0.586 0.808 0.781 0.781
16B920_SH16_40_4 0.0073 0.0003 4.2225 0.0682 0.0010 0.0246 0.0004 1.3127 0.0195 0.370 17.932 0.790 0.662 0.618 0.618
8

Ft Ft Rs Corrected 1s err ppm eU ppm U ppm Th ppm Sm nmol mass ap W.A. Std. Long. Lat. (◦ S) Elev. Aliquot name Sample
232Th 147Sm (um) age (Ma) anal. w/Sm (morph) (morph) (morph) 4He/g (μg) age ± σ Dev. (◦ W) (m a.s.
(Ma) (Ca) (morph) [Ma] [Ma] l.)

0.682 0.910 50.689 31.188 0.576 73.241 61.864 17.587 665.741 8.090 2.640 26.5 ± 12.7 − 23.380 − 65.956 3286 16B892_SH_SH16_1_1 SH16-1
0.622 0.891 41.699 21.821 0.442 68.777 65.053 19.300 720.454 5.514 1.747 0.2 16B893_SH_SH16_1_2
0.721 0.921 58.456 47.235 0.812 71.086 57.435 17.881 631.807 12.011 3.777 16B894_SH_SH16_1_3
0.664 0.904 47.575 18.986 0.356 76.703 58.849 18.685 593.502 4.598 1.731 16B895_SH_SH16_1_4
0.662 0.904 47.292 44.135 0.687 174.368 75.691 237.932 651.208 21.720 2.048 16B896_SH_SH16_1_5
0.829 0.952 98.833 31.681 0.561 124.870 92.492 1.731 198.053 13.543 18.248 31.05 ± 15 − 23.423 − 66.195 3547 16B898_SH_SH16_3_1 SH16-3
0.787 0.941 78.417 28.665 0.516 84.301 68.762 1.735 222.323 8.737 9.573 0.3 16B899_SH_SH16_3_2
0.696 0.914 53.225 26.104 0.653 67.705 55.001 2.184 218.111 5.749 3.201 16B900_SH_SH16_3_3
0.718 0.920 57.856 62.953 1.498 64.318 49.365 11.281 188.071 13.364 4.514 16B901_SH_SH16_3_4
0.692 0.913 52.474 34.155 0.851 84.356 90.520 1.941 223.321 12.253 3.139 16B902_SH_SH16_3_5
0.679 0.909 50.159 51.236 1.248 63.810 48.751 9.184 143.328 10.128 2.637 49.6 ± 6.6 − 23.422 − 66.491 3984 16B903_SH_SH16_4_1 SH16-4

Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133

0.816 0.949 91.277 43.099 1.031 115.546 112.991 7.211 178.626 22.430 19.193 0.5 16B904_SH_SH16_4_2
0.802 0.945 84.664 47.512 1.119 54.067 44.896 12.430 233.201 10.202 9.778 16B905_SH_SH16_4_3
0.804 0.945 85.381 61.148 1.396 62.848 43.513 46.211 187.990 14.899 8.606 16B906_SH_SH16_4_4
0.692 0.913 52.463 51.051 1.234 48.173 41.765 10.103 238.964 8.920 4.098 16B907_SH_SH16_4_5
0.727 0.923 59.880 28.100 0.649 265.707 120.111 86.222 244.490 16.121 2.023 26.76 ± 12 − 22.590 − 65.859 3800 16B910_SH_SH16_19_2 SH16-
0.658 0.902 46.685 22.709 0.552 61.242 53.898 34.765 336.452 5.312 1.822 0.35 16B911_SH_SH16_19_3 19
0.678 0.909 49.999 31.481 0.710 224.491 146.213 272.115 418.011 25.293 2.165 16B912_SH_SH16_19_4
0.620 0.890 41.399 27.836 1.208 136.115 53.876 179.829 527.624 9.417 1.192 16B918_SH16_19_6
0.729 0.924 60.375 15.796 1.116 6.933 1.981 16.308 339.768 0.401 3.800 23.1 ± 4.8 − 23.274 − 65.787 3536 16B914_SH_SH16_40_1 SH16-
0.781 0.939 75.946 24.661 0.715 7.113 1.217 10.311 724.607 0.494 7.116 0.5 16B915_SH_SH16_40_2 40
0.618 0.890 41.211 27.056 1.194 50.774 33.372 12.032 642.745 3.579 1.577 16B920_SH16_40_4

Note: FT—alpha–ejection correction (see methods section and references therein); 1s err anal.—one–sigma analytical precision; eU—equivalent uranium concentration (U + 0.235 x Th); m a.s.l. - meters above sea level.
W.A.: Weighted Average. Aliquot name in cursive was not considered for age.
 S. Henríquez et al.
Table 4
Constraints for HeFTy models.
Sample location Thermochronologic data Additional geological information Model parameters

Sample Long. Lat. (◦ S) Elev. AHe Aliquots Modeled AFT Data Modeled Crystallization intrusive Total Paths Acceptable Good
(◦ W) (m a.s. Paths Paths
Grain AHe Error Error N of Age Model Age T ( C)
◦
Reference
l.)
Age (Ma) (%) grains (Ma) Age (Ma)
(Ma) (Ma)

SH16-1 − 23.380 − 65.956 3286 16B892_SH_SH16_1_1 22.4 5 22 11 25 25 145–90 350–400 147 ± 10 to 96 ± 5 Ma, 10,97,543 25,613 1,000
16B893_SH_SH16_1_2 14.5 3 21 Halpern and Latorre
16B894_SH_SH16_1_3 35.6 NC NC (1973)
16B895_SH_SH16_1_4 13.3 3 23
16B896_SH_SH16_1_5 30.3 NC NC
SH16-3 − 23.423 − 66.195 3547 16B898_SH_SH16_3_1 26.9 5 19 – – – 500–460 350–400 478.40 ± 3.46 Ma, UPb, – 18,933 1,227 1,000
16B899_SH_SH16_3_2 23.3 5 21 Insel et al. (2012) and 483
16B900_SH_SH16_3_3 19.1 4 21 ± 3 Ma, UPb, –Hauser et al.
16B901_SH_SH16_3_4 47.3 NC NC (2011)
16B902_SH_SH16_3_5 24.9 5 20
9

SH16-4 − 23.422 − 66.491 3984 16B903_SH_SH16_4_1 36.7 9 25 18 40.1 40.1 500–450 350–400 476 ± 1 Ma, Lork and 2,73,78,220 30,835 5
16B904_SH_SH16_4_2 36.1 NC NC Bahlburg, 1993), 453.3 ±
16B905_SH_SH16_4_3 39.2 10 25 9.3 Ma, UPb, –Bahlburg
16B906_SH_SH16_4_4 50.4 15 30 et al. (2016)
16B907_SH_SH16_4_5 37.1 10 27
SH16- − 22.590 − 65.859 3800 16B910_SH_SH16_19_2 21.2 4 19 – – – 500–450 350–400 447.1 ± 6 Ma, Bahlburg 20,241 1,577 1,000
19 16B911_SH_SH16_19_3 15.7 3 19 et al. (2016)
16B912_SH_SH16_19_4 22.2 5 23
16B918_SH16_19_6 18.0 4 22
SH16- − 23.274 − 65.787 3536 16B914_SH_SH16_40_1 11.9 4 34 – – – 145–90 350–400 150.4 ± 0.9 Ma, UPb, – 22,118 2,966 1,000
40 16B915_SH_SH16_40_2 20.2 4 20 Insel et al. (2012)
16B920_SH16_40_4 17.9 4 22

Model specific parameters: Search Method used was Monte Carlo. The present condition (0 Ma) for all the samples was considered 20 ◦ C. We used the Nodal, GOF Product for the weighted mean path funstion. The merit
value for "good" and "accepatable" fit are 0.5 and 0.05 respectively.

Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133

Model prameters for (U–Th)/He system: AHe ages are the uncorrected ages (Table 3).The calibration model used for apatite (U–Th)/He data is RDAAM from Flowers et al. (2009). The alpha ejection corection model used
was from Ketcham et al., (2011). The error used for finding paths is reported as a percentage of the uncorrected age. Radious, U, Th and Sm concentrations required for the model correspond to ppm U (morph), ppm Th
(morph) and ppm (Sm (morph) values from Table 3.
Model prameters for AFT system: The Zetha value is 357.6 ± 7.7. The annealing model is from Ketcham et al. (2007). No lenght data was obtained from the samples.
S. Henríquez et al.
Fig. 4. Map and composite cross-section of the Olaroz and Lina ranges. Stereographic projections of the bedding and cleavage across the cross-section.
5. Structures in the northern Puna plateau
5.1. Overview of contrasting structural styles
The main structures in the Ordovician assemblage are mesoscale
upright folds, generally close to tight, with most limbs dipping from 45◦
to 80◦ , and flattened by widely distributed cleavage (Figs. 7 and 8).
Distinct areas characterized by symmetric folding and systematic
asymmetric folding were documented, with local subregions exhibiting
east and west-vergent folding. These structures contrast profoundly with
structures in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks that are marked by the
presence of thrust faults, steeply dipping reverse faults, local asymmetric
macroscopic folds and extensive homoclinal dip panels indicative of
folding at larger spatial scales (Figs. 4 and 5). Folding and cleavage in
the Ordovician assemblage of the northern Puna plateau have been
generally described in previous studies (e.g., Coira and Zappettini, 2008;
Bahlburg, 1991; Mon and Salfity, 1995). However, by taking a regional
10
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
perspective, we are able to document systematic variations in how these
structures are distributed spatially across the northern Puna plateau and
thereby identify the critical observations that permit differentiation of
these deformational events. In the following section we lay out some key
examples that document these two contrasting expressions of shortening
in maps, cross-sections, and photographs.
5.2. Nature of deformation
5.2.1. Structures within the Ordovician rocks
The Ordovician assemblage is generally characterized by interca­
lated weak layers (shales to very fined-grained sandstones) and strong
layers (medium to coarse-grained quartz-rich sandstones) that vary in
thickness from a few centimeters up to a few tens of meters. The con­
trasting strength of the two main compositional layers correlates with
variations in structural style. Folds in the Ordovician assemblage trend
15 ± 10◦ (stereographic projections, Figs. 4 and 5) and have concentric
S. Henríquez et al.
Fig. 5. Map and composite cross-section of the Susques and Del Cobre Ranges.
(Fig. 7c and f and 8d) and chevron geometries (Figs. 7b and 8f). Bed
thicknesses of strong layers are generally preserved across folds. Some
folds display thickening in their cores accommodated by smaller-scale
folds and layer-parallel slip in weak lithologies (Fig. 7c). Fold sizes
and geometries vary systematically based on the mechanical layering
and the amount of strain. Fold wavelengths range from about 150 m to
2.5 km. In areas such as the Del Cobre Range where weak lithologies are
separated by thick stiff intervals (quartzitic sandstone several meters
thick), deformation in the Ordovician section includes second-order
folds with wavelengths of a few tens of meters due to slip on internal
detachments in areas in which weak lithologies predominate (Fig. 8a
and d). However, in other portion of the Del Cobre Range, the Ordovi­
cian section is minimally folded or cleaved (due to its mechanical
competence), resulting in the formation of large, open, kilometer-scale
folds (Fig. 5).
Cleavage distribution and spacing varies from being preferentially
11
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
located in weak layers to penetrative across folds; the significance of
these variations will be further explored in section 5.2.1. Within rocks
that are both folded and cleaved, highly strained domains are charac­
terized by tight to isoclinal folds, steeply dipping fold limbs, small scale
folds (8e), penetrative cleavage and cleavage orientations subparallel to
bedding (Fig. 8c). The cleavage and scale of the folds is at least partially
controlled by the amount of strain and rheologic strength of the strata.
Other associated features are locally abundant quartz veins (Fig. 8b),
kink bands (Fig. 7a) and low-angle thrust faults (Fig. 7d).
The structure of the Ordovician rocks exposed in the Olaroz Range
exhibits notable systematic local variations. On the western side of the
range, axial surfaces and cleavage dip preferentially eastward (Fig. 4). In
the middle of the range, folds are more symmetrical; in this area,
conglomerate pebbles in the center of a syncline exhibit sub-horizontal
open cracks that indicate vertical extension (Fig. 7e and g). In the syn­
cline along the eastern side of the range, folds are tighter to isoclinal
S. Henríquez et al.
Fig. 6. Schematic stratigraphic sections of the Paso de Jama and El Toro basins and relative probability plots showing the results of the detrital U–Pb geochronology.
with cleavage subparallel to the bedding. Axial planes of folds are west
dipping but display an eastward variation from high-angle to low-angle
in a fanning arrangement (Fig. 7h).
5.2.2. Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks
Steeply dipping reverse faults that bound the modern ranges are the
main structures that characterize the Mesozoic to Cenozoic assemblage
(Fig. 2). Reverse faults trend NS to NNE, are subparallel to the Ordovi­
cian strata, and dip >50◦ . Folds and faults in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic
strata trend 10◦ –25◦ (Figs. 4 and 5) and produce dip domains and large
asymmetric folds. Backlimbs map out as broad homoclines where ca.
2.5 km of Eocene to Miocene strata dip between 30◦ and 80◦ . Schematic
cross-sections in Figs. 4 and 5 represent the scale difference in geometry
and deformation styles observed within the Mesozoic to Cenozoic as
compared to Ordovician assemblage. Folds are asymmetrical and show
both east- and west-vergence in accordance with the vergence of adja­
cent reverse faults. Westward dipping domains in the Paso de Jama and
El Toro areas are clear expressions of Cenozoic faulting (Fig. 4).
In the Paso de Jama area, the contact between Ordovician and
Cenozoic rocks is covered but is inferred to be a west-dipping reverse
fault that uplifts the Ordovician rocks over the Cenozoic strata. A west-
dipping reverse fault and an onlapping unconformity over Ordovician
strata form the western and eastern boundaries, respectively, of Ceno­
zoic strata in the El Toro area. In the Susques area, a west-vergent
reverse fault uplifts Ordovician rocks and imposes a west-vergent fold-
thrust system to the west. In the Del Cobre Range, a west-vergent and
12
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
two east-vergent reverse faults produce regional lineaments in the area.
Reverse faults in the Del Cobre Range cannot be observed directly cut­
ting Cenozoic strata; however, Cretaceous rocks are preserved in the
footwall of the west-vergent reverse fault (Coira and Zappettini, 2008),
suggesting that these faults are post-Cretaceous.
Folds involving the Lumbrera Formation were observed in the El
Toro and Susques areas. Two small-scale east-vergent kink anticlines at
the base of the tilted domain in the El Toro area and an asymmetrical,
partially covered, east-vergent anticline with a short hinge zone in the
Paso de Jama area indicate east-vergent deformation. In the Susques
area, two tight and overturned east-vergent anticlines within a west-
dipping panel indicate that the east vergent deformation likely pre­
ceded west-vergent deformation, although it is possible that these events
were contemporaneous.
Differences in fold geometries provide insight into the deformation
age. Folds involving Eocene to early Miocene strata are open to over­
turned, whereas folds involving late Miocene and younger deposits are
gentle to open, suggesting that most shortening was accommodated
prior to the late Miocene. Examples of these fold relationships are
observed in a gentle syncline in the eastern side of Paso de Jama and in a
north-plunging fold in the western part of the Susques area. There, the
Ordovician basement (exposed to the south) is in direct contact with late
Miocene ignimbrites, indicating either paleotopography or the erosion
of Eocene to early-mid Miocene strata prior to the later folding event.
S. Henríquez et al. Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133

Fig. 7. Photos documenting strain development in Olaroz and Lina ranges. a) Kink bands b) Chevron folds c) Flexure slip fold: Anticline showing thickening in the
hinge region. Quarzitic sandstone beds preserve original thickness, whereas intercalated finer-grained strata show variable thickness. This can be seen in the eastern
side of the picture where a syncline includes steep dipping panels at the base that flatten to sub-horizontal beds toward the top of the outcrop. d) Low angle thrust
faults e) Conglomerate with quarzite clast affected by vertical extension (see g in this figure) f) Folds with east-dipping axial surfaces. g) Clast with open sub-
horizontal fractures due to vertical extension h) High strain domain: folds with west axial surfaces that steepen from east to west. This shear zone aligns with a
west-dipping Cenozoic fault to the south.

13
S. Henríquez et al. Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133

Fig. 8. Photos documenting strain development in the Del Cobre Range. a) Anticline in the core of a syncline (Photo d). Concentric fold detachment within the
section. Other structures in the picture are tension gashes, small-scale folds and thrust faults that accommodate shortening in the core of the folds and axial-planar
cleavage which provide evidence of fold flattening. b) Quartz veins. c) Cleavage subparallel to the bedding. d) Relatively large-scale syncline. Parasitic folds in the
core are described in a). The quarzitic beds control these bigger folds, while smaller rheological changes control smaller scale structures. e) Small-scale folds are
indicating east-verging shear parallel to the bedding. f) Chevron folds in the core of a syncline (ca. 700 m wide). The wavelength is ca. 200 m, suggesting a shallow
detachment. Unconformity at the top with Cenozoic strata (undifferentiated).

14
S. Henríquez et al.
Fig. 9. Strain Progression. Proposed strain stages for deformation in the Ordovician basement.
5.3. Interpretation of kinematics and strain
5.3.1. Folding and cleavage formation in Ordovician rocks
Strain within the Ordovician section is heterogeneous and parti­
tioned, with different structural elements distributed within the two
main compositional and rheologic rock types. Folding is the main
mechanism accommodating strain within the Puna ranges, and flexural
slip is the dominant mechanism by which the folding was accomplished.
The intercalation of rheologically contrasting rocks in Ordovician strata
is such that within the folded domains, strong layers largely maintain
their thickness, while bedding-plane slip between stiff layers and
distributed shear and flexural flow within incompetent layers leads to
folds that are roughly parallel. Incompetent shales therefore absorbed
more of the strain than the more competent sandstone/quartzite
lithologies.
Fold geometries (especially symmetric and tight to isoclinal folds),
variable scales of folding, and observations of intraformational de­
tachments at outcrop scale (Fig. 8 a, d) suggest that detachment folding
is operating at the mesoscale. We speculate that weak layers within the
Ordovician strata acted as intraformational detachments at depth due to
the short wavelengths of the structures relative to the overall known
thickness of the stratigraphic section. Although fault-propagation
folding might be operating locally, the lack of systematic overturned
limbs and faulted domains in the deeper stratigraphic levels make the
role of fault-propagation folding difficult to assess.
Folds were subsequently flattened during cleavage formation;
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Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
however, cleavage varies from weak (spaced cleavage) to slaty (pene­
trative cleavage). The tectonic flattening that produces cleavage is
accommodated by pressure dissolution (e.g., Wood, 1974; McClay,
1977; Davis et al., 2011). The presence of quartz, which could have been
dissolved and locally reprecipitated in veins, further supports pressure
dissolution. Flattening via cleavage formation is likely the result of the
natural progression of flexural-slip folds after they hit a tightening limit,
though formation during a slightly later but distinct event cannot be
ruled out.
Although two (Paleozoic and Cenozoic) shortening events are
documented in the region, the absence of intersecting cleavage planes
indicates one event of cleavage formation. If cleavage in the Ordovician
rocks was formed in the same tectonic event across the Altiplano and
Puna plateau, then the synkinematic illites dated in southern Bolivia
(Jacobshagen et al., 2002) suggest that recrystallization and pressure
dissolution in the northern Puna plateau is Paleozoic in age.
5.3.2. Interpretation of the major reverse faults
Reverse faults in the study area are large-scale structures that extend
for over 100 km along strike. The lateral continuity and area uplifted
above regional stratigraphic elevation in the hanging-walls of these
faults suggest that they are deep-seated structures. Fault throw is at least
5–6 km based on fault dip, the thicknesses of local Cenozoic strati­
graphic sections that were overridden, and cooling ages presented in the
following section. Fault-related folding associated with these structures
was also accommodated by flexural slip but within more spatially
S. Henríquez et al.
Fig. 10. Summary of the AFT and AHe ages for the northern Puna at 23–24 ◦ S.
extensive uniform dip domains than in the Ordovician assemblage, in
this case involving unmetamorphosed and otherwise internally un­
strained stratigraphic packages up to ca. 4 km thick. The long, gently
dipping backlimbs and steep, narrow front limbs of these structures
point toward fault-propagation folding as the dominant structural style.
Dip domains are an expression of fault slip along footwall ramps that
formed during fault-bend or fault-propagation folding.
5.4. History of deformation
Structural relationships allow for determination of the relative
timing of events. Structures that only affect the Ordovician rocks are the
first expressions of deformation in the northern Puna plateau. Because
cleavage in Ordovician rocks are not systematically rotated around fold
hinges, we propose that cleavage formation either post-dated an initial
folding event or, more likely, accompanied the development of the folds.
We believe that initial buckling transitioned into flexural-slip folding
that in latter stages was accompanied by flattening and the development
of axial planar cleavage. Layer-parallel strain due to further shortening
continued to form and rotate cleavage planes, flattening the folds. Low-
angle thrust faults that crosscut fold limbs affected by cleavage imply a
later stage of horizontal compression (Fig. 7d).
Deformation in the northern Puna plateau ended with Cenozoic
reverse and thrust faulting and folding clearly observed in the Mesozoic
and Cenozoic rocks; however, the expression of Cenozoic deformation
within the Ordovician assemblage is conspicuous. To better constrain
the deformation history and explore possible effects of Andean defor­
mation in the Ordovician section, we combined cleavage orientations
with observations of Cenozoic deformation. In the Olaroz Range, two
cleavage domains are observed: a west-dipping domain on the eastern
side and an east-dipping domain on the western side. Cleavage orien­
tation in the hanging-wall mirrors the Cenozoic faults below. One
possible explanation for this is that because the Ordovician rocks were
already folded, cleaved and unable to accommodate more flexural slip,
slip along two bounding Cenozoic reverse faults further strained the
Ordovician rocks through distributed shear producing the systematic
rotation of cleavage (Fig. 9 part 4). These structures are not the first-
order expression of Cenozoic deformation; however, they demonstrate
16
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
one way in which Andean shortening might have increased strain in the
Ordovician rocks. Thus, we propose that strain progression evolved in
the Ordovician assemblage in four main stages depicted in Fig. 9: 1)
main stage of upright folding; 2) flattening stage accompanied by
cleavage formation, vertical extension and possibly rotations; 3) low-
angle thrusting, and 4) local domains of distributed shear.
6. Low-temperature thermochronology
6.1. Apatite fission track thermochronology results
Although AFT was attempted on all samples, low apatite yield
limited the results to eight cooling ages. We sampled Ordovician sedi­
mentary rocks, Ordovician intrusives, and a Cretaceous intrusive from
six ranges across the Puna plateau (Fig. 2). The results are shown in
Table 2 and Figs. S5 and S6. Seven of the eight samples passed the χ2 test,
which indicates a single population. All samples of the Ordovician
sedimentary unit show ages younger than Ordovician. The results are
described below from older to younger in the context of each mountain
range.
In the Olaroz Range (Fig. 4), two samples from the Ordovician
sedimentary succession yielded Cretaceous cooling ages. SH16-9 and
SH16-10 yielded pooled ages of 67 ± 6.6 Ma and 69.5 ± 5.8 Ma
respectively. To the east, two samples from the Lina Range show Eocene
cooling ages; pooled ages from samples SH16-11 and SH16-47 are 40.2
± 3.8 Ma and 43 ± 5 Ma, respectively. One sample from an Ordovician
intrusive exposed in the Susques Range (SH16-4) yielded a pooled age of
40.1 ± 2.4 Ma. This sample was multi-dated using (U–Th)/He thermo­
chronometry (see below). To the east, two samples from Ordovician
sedimentary units exposed along the Del Cobre Range produced Oligo­
cene cooling ages. Sample SH16-33 collected from an Ordovician granite
within the central thrust sheet of the Del Cobre Range produced a pooled
age of 27.2 ± 2.5 Ma, whereas a granitic sample from the Tusaquillas
Range (Tusaquillas Intrusive, Fig. 2) yielded an age of 25 ± 2.4 Ma.
Sample SH16-5 from the Ordovician sedimentary succession exposed
west of the Paso de Jama area cooled through the AFT closure temper­
ature at 26.3 ± 2.9 Ma.
S. Henríquez et al.
6.2. Apatite (U–Th)/He thermochronology results
We performed (U–Th)/He analyses on five samples (22 single grains;
SH16-1, SH16-3, SH16-4, SH16-19 and SH16-40). AHe dates from the
Susques Range (SH16-4) are between ca. 43 and ca. 61 Ma. Single-grain
dates from the Del Cobre Range (SH16-3) are between ca. 26 and ca. 62
Ma. Single-grain AHe ages from the Del Cobre Range E (SH16-1) are
between ca. 18 and ca. 47 Ma. Additionally, sample SH16-19, which we
consider to be an along-strike equivalent of sample SH16-1, produced
dates between ca. 22 and 31 Ma. Sample SH16-40 from the western flank
of the Aguilar Range yielded dates between ca. 15 and ca. 27 Ma. This
sample did not contain many apatites. Two of the analyzed grains
proved not to be apatites, and two others were broken and partially
complete (SH16_40_1 and SH16_40_2) although larger than the only
complete aliquot analyzed (SH16_40_4). The two incomplete grains
produced younger dates and low eU concentrations (SH16_40_1, 15.7 ±
1.1 Ma, 6.9 ppm eU and SH16_40_2, 24.6 ± 0.7 Ma, 7.1 ppm eU)
compared to the third grain (SH16_40_4, 27 1.1 Ma, 50. 7 ppm eU). We
used the three grains to constrain the cooling history through a thermal
model discussed in the next section.
6.3. Interpretation: Cooling history and exhumation of Ordovician ranges
The new thermochronology data from samples across the northern
Puna plateau record Eocene to Oligocene (Fig. 10) cooling of rocks
passing through the uppermost 3.3 km of crust (assuming 30 ◦ C/km and
surface temperature of 20 ◦ C). We interpret the cooling ages as the
timing of exhumation and erosion in the hanging-walls of active struc­
tures (e.g., McQuarrie and Ehlers, 2017) and thus to represent the timing
of shortening in the Andean thrust belt.
6.3.1. Olaroz and Lina Ranges
Two new AFT ages from the Olaroz Range indicate cooling at 67 ±
6.6 Ma (SH16-9) and 69.5 ± 5.8 Ma (SH16-10). The Olaroz Range is
bounded by an east-vergent fault to the east and by an inferred west-
vergent fault on the western flank (Fig. 4). These faults uplifted the
range during the Miocene (after ca. 22 Ma) disconnecting the Paso de
Jama depocenter from the El Toro depocenter (Fig. 4). The stratigraphic
record suggests that these units were deposited within the same depo­
center before being deformed; this implies erosion of at least 2 km of
Cenozoic strata from above the Olaroz Range. These two samples were
collected in the uppermost part of the Ordovician succession, suggesting
that only a small part of the Ordovician section is missing. Moreover, the
age distribution observed in the AFT radial plots (Fig. S5) shows a clear
trend toward younger ages that suggests that these samples (SH16-9 and
sH16-10) resided in the lower part of the PAZ (O’Sullivan and Parrish,
1995). We interpret these two Cretaceous ages to indicate <3.3 km of
erosion (assuming 30 ◦ C/km and surface temperature of 20 ◦ C) due to
the Cenozoic shortening and exhumation, ca. 2 km of which would be
required to remove the Cenozoic foreland deposits.
To the east, two samples from the Lina Range record the onset of
exhumation during Andean deformation. The two AFT ages evince
cooling at 40.2 ± 3.8 Ma (SH16-11) and 43 ± 5 Ma (SH16-47). These
new ages suggest that the thrust front was located in the western Puna
plateau producing shortening and inducing exhumation and erosion by
mid-Eocene time (ca. 45-40 Ma), consistent with previous results re­
ported by Carrapa and DeCelles (2008) and Carrapa et al. (2012).
6.3.2. Susques Range
In the Susques Range, a sample (SH16-4) collected in the hanging-
wall of a west-vergent thrust fault was multi-dated using AFT and AHe
techniques. The youngest aliquot (SH16_3_4) has a very high eU (ca.
115 ppm) suggesting possible He implantation or zonation (Farley et al.,
2011; Gautheron et al., 2012; Murray et al., 2014). The other single ages
are between ca. 47 and 61 Ma and show a weak correlation between eU
and the corrected age (Fig. S2), suggesting some radiation damage. A
17
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
thermal model for this sample (HeFTy, Table 4, Fig. S3) suggests cooling
from temperatures of at least 80 ◦ C and possibly higher than 120 ◦ C at
ca. 45-35 Ma. Only five ‘good’ paths were found. Although these paths
do not represent a unique solution, all of them suggest that rapid cooling
through the AFT PAZ and AHe PRZ is a plausible solution. We interpret
this cooling event as the result of exhumation due to thrusting and
erosion of the hanging-wall of the fault at ca. 45-35 Ma.
A previous study by Letcher (2007) reported three AFT ages for the
Susques Range (ST-1, ST-2, and ST-3, Fig. 2, Table S2). Additionally,
these authors reported Eocene apatite (U–Th)/He ages for the same
samples (ST-1, weighted mean of 5 grains, 46.7 ± 3.1Ma; ST-2, weighted
mean of 3 grains, 46.3 ± 1.5 Ma; ST-3, weighted mean of 3 grains, 37.9
± 1.2 Ma; ST-4, weighted mean of 3 grains, 29.4 ± 2.9 Ma). Letcher
(2007) attributed the systematically older AHe ages compared to the
AFT ages to possible contamination of the AHe ages by inclusions or He
implantation. She used AFT data from two samples (ST-2 and ST-3) to
model plausible T-t thermal histories using HeFTy (Ketcham, 2005)
based on which they proposed cooling at ca. 26-20 Ma.
Previous and new AHe ages are similar (single ages between ca. 35
and 50 Ma for 5 samples) which would require that any external process
responsible for producing older AHe ages would have had to be sys­
tematic. Additionally, older AFT ages to the west (Lina Range) provide a
reasonable context for middle Eocene AHe ages in the Susques Range.
Thus, although it is possible that the AHe ages are in general older than
AFT ages due to inclusions or He implantation, long residence time in
the PAZ could have produced radiation damage which can increase 4He
retentivity and thus, produce AHe ages older than AFT ages (inverted
ages; Shuster et al., 2006; Fox and Shuster, 2014). In any case, partially
reset AFT ages and slightly older AHe ages suggest limited exhumation
and erosion (ca. 2.0–3.3 km assuming a paleogeothermal gradient of 30
◦
C/km) in the range, likely starting at ca. 45-35 Ma.
6.3.3. Del Cobre and Tusaquillas Ranges
Two new cooling ages from the Del Cobre Range (SH16-33 and
SH16-3) and one multi-dated sample in the Tusaquillas Range (SH16-1)
help constrain exhumation in three main thrust sheets (Figs. 2 and 5). An
AFT sample (SH16-33) from the central part of the Del Cobre Range
(Fig. 5) shows cooling at 27.2 ± 2.5 Ma. Five AHe ages from sample
SH16-3 contrain cooling in the thrust sheet to the east. The oldest aliquot
(SH16_3_4, 62.9 ± 1.5 Ma) has the lowest eU (ca. 64.3 ppm). The
combination of a relatively older age with low eU suggests He implan­
tation in the grain. He implantation also explains an older AHe age
compared to the AFT ages reported for samples from the same range (SC-
1, SC-3, and SC-4, Fig. 2). The remaining grains produced ages between
ca. 26 and ca. 34 Ma, with eU between ca. 67 and 124 ppm and a size
(Rs) between ca. 52 and 98 μm. These results depict a strong correlation
between age and eU, and between Rs and eU (Fig. S2) suggesting radi­
ation damage in the sample. A thermal model based on four AHe grains
from sample SH16-3 (Fig. S4) shows monotonic cooling through the AHe
PRZ between ca. 40 and 10 Ma in the next thrust sheet to the east.
For the Tusaquillas Range, five AHe ages and one AFT age allow
determination of the cooling history of the range. Grain SH16_1_3 yiel­
ded the oldest age (47.2 ± 0.8 Ma) and lowest eU (76.7 ppm), suggesting
He implantation. Grain SH16_1_5 yielded an age of 44.1 ± 0.7 Ma with a
high eU (174.3 ppm) and U/Th (3.225 atomic) ten times larger than the
ratios of the other grains. Moreover, this grain is older than the AFT age
for the same sample (SH16-1, 25 ± 2.4 Ma) thus inverting the expected
relation between these two techniques. The other grains produced ages
between ca. 18 and ca. 31 Ma, with similar eU (ca. 68–76 ppm) and U/
Th (ca. 0.29–0.31 atomic). These three aliquots show no correlation
between age and eU, or Rs and eU (Fig. S2); however, these ages are,
within error, equivalent to the AFT age. Thus we combined results from
these two techniques in a thermal model to determine the thermal his­
tory of the sample. The thermal model (Fig. S3) indicates rapid cooling
through the PRZ and PAZ between ca. 30 and ca. 25 Ma in the east­
ernmost thrust sheet. Finally, four AHe ages from an along-strike
S. Henríquez et al.
equivalent sample (SH16-19) show a strong correlation between age and
eU, and between Rs and eU (Fig. S2), a process that produces older ages
due to a higher He retentivity in the apatite crystals. A thermal model
based on these samples shows monotonic cooling through the AHe PRZ
between ca. 30 and ca. 10 Ma. The Del Cobre Range has been extensively
dated by previous thermochronometric studies. Published cooling ages
in this range consist of seven AFT ages and four apatite (U–Th)/He ages
(Deeken, 2005; Letcher, 2007). Deeken (2005) reported four AFT ages
(SUS-1, SUS-2, SUS-3 and SUS-4, Fig. 10, Table S2) for the central range.
According to their results, the central part of the Del Cobre Range
(Figs. 5 and 10) experienced cooling through the PAZ between ca. 31
and ca. 37 Ma (Figs. 5 and 10). For the next thrust to the east, Letcher
(2007) reported three AFT ages (SC-1, SC-3 and SC-4, Figs. 5 and 10,
Table S2) and four apatite (U–Th)/He ages (SC-1, weighted mean of 2
grains, 30.7 ± 2.4 Ma; SC-2, weighted mean of 3 grains, 27.6 ± 0.9 Ma;
SC-3, weighted mean of 2 grains, 26.4 ± 1.0 Ma; SC-4, weighted mean of
3 grains, 32.4 ± 2.3 Ma). These authors considered that these AHe ages
were affected by either inclusions or He implantation and used two AFT
ages (SC-1 and SC-4) to model thermal histories using HeFTy (Ketcham,
2005). Based on the modeled T-t paths they proposed punctuated
cooling between ca. 28 and ca. 15 Ma or continuous cooling since ca. 28
Ma until the present.
Our new ages mainly complement the previous ages in the Del Cobre
Range and point to the onset of exhumation and erosion between ca. 37-
29 Ma in the central part of the range, between ca. 28 and 10 Ma for the
next thrust sheet to the east, and rapid exhumation and erosion between
ca. 30-25 Ma for the easternmost thrust sheet. The cooling ages decrease
eastward and require ca. 3.3 km of erosion (assuming a paleogeothermal
gradient of 30 ◦ C/km) induced by upper Eocene to Oligocene east-
vergent shortening in the middle of the northern Puna plateau. During
the Oligocene, cooling due to exhumation and erosion in the hanging-
wall of an inferred east-vergent thrust sheet is also recorded to the
west (west of the Paso de Jama depocenter). A new AFT age of 26.3 ±
2.9 Ma (SH16-5) suggests out-of-sequence shortening in the Puna
plateau.
6.3.4. Aguilar Range
In the Aguilar Range, one sample (SH16-40) from the western side of
the range yielded few apatites to analyze. A thermal model constrained
by three AHe ages shows slow cooling through the AHe PRZ between ca.
30 and ca. 15 Ma. However, two of the three apatites analyzed have very
low eU, increasing the uncertainty of the results.
Two previous studies recorded cooling in the Aguilar Range. Deeken
(2005) reported cooling between ca. 17 and ca. 23 Ma based on two AFT
ages in the eastern part of the range (GA6 and GA7, Fig. 10). Insel et al.
(2012) used K-feldspar multi–diffusion domain modeling to propose a
rapid cooling event (ca. 150-100 ◦ C) driven by exhumation and erosion
in the Aguilar Range at ca. 35-25 Ma.
Our AHe ages overlap and are slightly older than the AFT ages re­
ported by Deeken (2005). Slow cooling suggested by the thermal model
(Fig. S4) suggests that the sample (SH16-40) was close to the AHe PRZ
and, therefore, the eastern part of the Aguilar Range likely sat at a higher
structural level than the western side. On the other hand, the rapid
cooling event proposed by Insel et al. (2012) could also be reconciled
with our AHe ages; however, the three thermochronometric contraints
(AHe, AFT and K-feldspar multi-diffusion domain modeling) cannot be
reconciled in a single cooling history. Low apatite yields in the samples
could have affected the AFT ages, as discussed by Insel et al. (2012). If
that is the case, the rapid cooling between ca. 35-25 Ma would have
required rapid erosion and sedimentation at the time. The stratigraphic
record to the east in the Tres Cruces area includes ~800 m of sedi­
mentary rocks (Casa Grande Formation according to Boll and Hernán­
dez, 1986, and Geste Formation according to DeCelles et al., 2011)
between late Eocene and Oligocene times. It is possible that a later
erosion event could have removed part of this stratigraphic record;
however, uplift of the ranges farther to the west could easily explain
18
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
sedimentation in the Tres Cruces area at that time. Since the sedimen­
tary units that overlie the Casa Grande Formation are thick (up to 4 km)
and coarse (the Río Grande and Pisungo Formations), we speculate that
significant exhumation and erosion happened in the Aguilar Range after
the Oligocene. We interpret that cooling due to faulting, exhumation,
and erosion in the Aguilar Range could have started as early as ca. 27
Ma, but that at least 2 km of erosion happened between ca. 25 and 15
Ma.
7. Discussion: Regional implications
7.1. Timing of Andean exhumation and shortening in northern Puna
plateau
The combination of bedrock cooling ages and timing of Cenozoic
basin formation shows that Andean shortening was accommodated by
an eastward propagating orogenic system with local, west-vergent, out-
of-sequence faulting. This shortening contributed to different stages of
crustal thickening in the frontal and hinterland parts of the thrust belt.
Henriquez et al. (2019) documented late Cretaceous-Eocene exhu­
mation coeval with shortening in the Cordillera de Domeyko of northern
Chile, which was probably the location of the earliest part of the central
Andean thrust belt (Arriagada et al., 2006). Cooling ages in the Lina
Range record the relocation of the thrust front by the middle Eocene (ca.
40–45 Ma). During this time, significant exhumation and deposition of
growth strata have been reported in the Cordillera de Domeyko and
Salar de Atacama Basin (Maksaev and Zentilli, 1999; Mpodozis et al.,
2005; Arriagada et al., 2006; Henriquez et al., 2019). To the north at 21
◦
S, reset zircon (U–Th)/He ages indicate cooling at ca. 43-40 Ma in the
central Eastern Cordillera (Anderson et al., 2018). To the south at ca.
24.5 ◦ S, the Geste Formation accumulated in a wedge-top depozone no
later than ca. 38 Ma (DeCelles et al., 2007; Carrapa and DeCelles, 2008)
indicating Eocene shortening in the western Puna plateau. Additional
information regarding the evolution of the thrust belt comes from the
exhumation history in the Olaroz Range, where Cretaceous cooling ages
indicate that rocks now at the surface did not experience temperatures
higher than 120 ◦ C since that time; therefore, they were too shallow to
have developed cleavage during the Andean shortening event. Thus,
most of the penetrative deformation within the Paleozoic strata in this
area is pre-Andean, and probably late Paleozoic. This limited exhuma­
tion also indicates that the westernmost Puna plateau was never buried
by a thick foreland basin, possibly because of the presence of
pre-Cenozoic paleotopography (Carrapa and DeCelles, 2015).
By late Eocene to early Oligocene time (ca. 37-31 Ma), the thrust
front propagated into the Del Cobre Range. During this time, exhuma­
tion continued to the west in the Cordillera de Domeyko (Maksaev and
Zentilli, 1999; Henriquez et al., 2019) after magmatism ceased (by ca.
37 Ma; e.g., Coira et al., 1993; Haschke et al., 2002). Middle Eocene
exhumation driven by shortening in the western Puna contemporaneous
with exhumation to the west in the Cordillera de Domeyko suggests that
the orogen was growing by shortening both in the hinterland and along
the eastern orogenic front. At 21 ◦ S, the thrust belt propagated westward
from the central Eastern Cordillera to the Altiplano (AFT ages; Ege et al.,
2007; Anderson et al., 2018). At ca. 26 ◦ S, an AFT age in the
hanging-wall of a thrust fault west of Arizaro basin (37.3 ± 4.8 Ma;
Carrapa and DeCelles, 2015) and detrital AFT and AHe ages reveal late
Eocene exhumation in the western Puna plateau (Carrapa et al., 2009).
Moreover, stable isotope paleoelevation data suggest that the western
side of the Puna plateau had high elevations (>4 km) and dry conditions
no later than ca. 38-36 Ma (Canavan et al., 2014; Quade et al., 2015).
The samples that record high paleoelevations are located ~330 km to
the south in a proximal foreland basin position during Eocene time. Our
data support the hypothesis that shortening could have been responsible
for Eocene crustal thickening and surface uplift in the Puna plateau as
suggested by Quade et al. (2015).
During the Oligocene (ca. 31-25 Ma), exhumation due to east-
S. Henríquez et al.
vergent shortening is recorded in the Del Cobre Range and possibly in
the Aguilar Range. Exhumation due to shortening is also recorded in the
westernmost ridge of the northern Puna plateau at 23 ◦ S. These results
document eastward propagation of the thrust front and out-of-sequence
shortening in the hinterland. At 21 ◦ S, AFT cooling ages in the Eastern
Cordillera and southern Altiplano (Elger et al., 2005; Ege et al., 2007)
record a similar exhumation history. There, shortening in the hinterland
was accommodated by east-vergent deformation in the southern Alti­
plano at ca. 30-27 Ma (Elger et al., 2005; Ege et al., 2007), equivalent to
deformation in the westernmost ridge of the Puna plateau. However, the
significant west-vergent shortening in the Eastern Cordillera which
reached the Altiplano by ca. 27 Ma (e.g., Ege et al., 2007) is apparently
not recorded in the northern Puna plateau.
After ca. 25 Ma, exhumation is recorded mainly in the Aguilar Range
before propagating eastward into the Eastern Cordillera. Shortening
continued in the plateau, deforming Cenozoic deposits (Paso de Jama, El
Toro, Susques and Tres Cruces areas). Deformation ceased at ca. 6.5 Ma
in the Susques area (Letcher, 2007). A similar deformation history is
observed at 21 ◦ S, where the thrust front migrated into the easternmost
Eastern Cordillera at ca. 25 Ma (e.g., Anderson et al., 2018).
Out-of-sequence deformation is recorded at ca. 19-10 Ma by AFT ages in
the southern Altiplano (Elger et al., 2005), by Miocene synorogenic
deposits in the western Eastern Cordillera (Horton, 1998) and at ca.
15-10 Ma by AHe ages in the western Eastern Cordillera (Anderson et al.,
2017, 2018). Out-of-sequence shortening at this latitude ended by ca. 10
Ma (Gubbels et al., 1993; Horton, 2005). A similar dynamic in the
hinterland at these two latitudes suggests continuous evolution of the
thrust belt along the transition from the Altiplano to the Puna plateau
since late Oligocene.
7.2. Accommodation of shortening
Shortening is mainly accommodated by folding and cleavage
development within Ordovician strata and thrust faulting and associated
folding of Cenozoic rocks. Shortening of Ordovician basement has not
been precisely estimated in this study. Strain varies across the ranges,
with general estimates based on line-length balancing from outcrops
suggesting 25–50% shortening. Additionally, strong spaced cleavage
would add as much as 25–35% (Alvarez et al., 1978). If cleavage was
formed during the late Paleozoic, significant shortening and flattening
probably took place at that time. Andean strain likely increased the
strain and at least locally rotated folds and cleavage. Microstructural
studies of Ordovician rocks, in tandem with petrochronologic dating,
would be required to estimate the Andean contribution to shortening
within Ordovician rocks. We speculate that it will be significantly less
than the Paleozoic shortening. Moreover, if a significant part of the
shortening in the Ordovician section is of Paleozoic age, then it is likely
that a Paleozoic-age detachment-controlled shortening, exhumation,
and erosion during both Paleozoic and Andean shortening.
8. Conclusions
New structural, geochronologic and thermochronologic data help
constrain the thermal conditions and time of deformation in the Puna
plateau. Cenozoic strata were deformed by horizontal shortening mainly
through reverse and thrust faults and folding. The amounts of strain and
the thermal conditions for deforming Ordovician versus Cenozoic strata
are significantly different and could not have taken place during a single
shortening event.
The strain progression in the Ordovician basement requires at least 4
stages: a first stage of upright folding, a second stage of flattening
through cleavage formation, a third stage of low-angle thrusting, and a
fourth stage of local distributed shear. Cenozoic Andean deformation
happened under near-surface conditions locally no deeper than ca. 3.3
km, whereas the strain history in Ordovician strata requires conditions
for pressure dissolution of quartz and formation of cleavage planes with
19
Journal of Structural Geology 140 (2020) 104133
synkinematic illite growth. Since most of the folding and flattening in
the Ordovician strata happened prior to and during cleavage formation,
most of the shortening in the Ordovician rocks is likely to be Carbonif­
erous in age (K–Ar ages on synkinematic illites; Jacobshagen et al.,
2002).
New apatite fission track and apatite (U–Th)/He ages document
eastward propagation of the Andean thrust belt during middle Eocene
through Oligocene times. Exhumation in the western part of the north­
ern Puna plateau started at ca. 45-40 Ma before propagating eastward
until at least ca. 25 Ma. Cretaceous AFT cooling ages in Ordovician strata
involved in Cenozoic deformation demonstrate that locally Ordovician
rocks did not experience temperatures higher than ca. 120 ◦ C and thus,
Andean deformation did not occur at temperatures required for pressure
dissolution. Additionally, new thermochronologic data reveal two pe­
riods of out-of-sequence exhumation: during the Oligocene as recorded
by an AFT age (ca. 26 Ma), and during the Miocene, as recorded by
deformation of dated Cenozoic strata.
This study shows that Andean shortening in the northern Puna
plateau took place at the same time as shortening in the Eastern
Cordillera at Altiplano latitudes. However, a significant difference is that
strain within the Paleozoic strata in the northern Puna plateau cannot be
explained entirely by the Cenozoic Andean event as documented in
central Bolivia (McQuarrie and Davis, 2002). This along-strike differ­
ence might reflect the distribution of Paleozoic shortening and/or the
style of Cenozoic deformation and mechanism for cleavage formation
within the Paleozoic strata.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Susana Henriquez: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology,
Data curation, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Writing -
original draft, Writing - review & editing. Bárbara Carrapa: Concep­
tualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing - review & edit­
ing. Amanda Hughes: Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing.
George Davis: Conceptualization, Writing - review & editing. Patricia
Alvarado: Resources.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this research was provided by GSA research grant,
Tinker Field Research Grant Program, AAPG grant, Lewis and Clark
Fund for Exploration and Field Research and by the National Science
Foundation CSEDI grant EAR-1565475. The manuscript was signifi­
cantly improved in response to comments by an anonymous reviewer.
We are also grateful for the support of the editor.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jsg.2020.104133.
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