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Journal ofthe Geological Society, London, vol. 144, 1987, pp. 893-905, 6 figs, 1 table. Printed in Northern Ireland

Geometrical control of subduction-related magmatism:

the Mesozoic and Cenozoic plutonic history of Western Colombia
J . A . A S P D E N , l W . J . McCOURT' & M. B R O O K 2
British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
British Geological Survey, 64 Gray 'S Inn Road, London W C l X 8NG, UK

Abstrad: Radiometric age data from Western Colombia, combined with geological evidence, allow
five main plutonic episodes, ranging in age from Triassic to Tertiary, to be recognized. It is suggested
that variation in the convergence angle of the oceanic plate relative to the continental edgewas an
important factor affecting the timing and spatial distribution of plutonic activity. On a regional scale,
majorbreaksinactivity are probably best attributed to either low-angle/parallel convergence or
periods of accretion along the convergent margin.

Regional geological framework mountain range.Its

coreconsists of Precambrian and
The western Colombian Andes consist of four sub-parallel Palaeozoicmetamorphicandigneousrocksoverlain by
mountain ranges which are separated by approximately N-S youngerPalaeozoicsedimentaryrocksand by Mesozoic
orientated intermontane depressions (Fig. 1). From east to redbeds, volcanicrocks,evaporitesandmarine clastic
westthesecomprisetheEastern,theCentralandthe sediments. Thick Cenozoic deposits are also locally present.
Westerncordilleras,andthePacificCoastalRange. The The cordillera is intruded bynumerousgranitebatholiths
Easternand
Central
cordilleras
are
separated by the and plutons, most of which are exposed in the Santander
Magdalena Valley and the Central and Western cordilleras Massif (Irving 1975).
by the Cauca-Patia graben. The Pacific Coastal Range, or The Central Cordillera is made up of apre-Mesozoic,
Serrania deBaudo, which extendsfromthePanamanian polymetamorphicbasementwhichconsistslargely of a
border to approximately 5"N, is separated from the Western disrupted,
Palaeozoic,
paired
(medium/lowpressure)
Cordillera by the Atrato-San Juan depression. The regional metamorphic belt of both continental and oceanic character
geology of the area has been discussed in detail elsewhere (McCourt1984a).ItalsoincludesisolatedPrecambrian
(Campbell 1974; Irving 1975; Alvarez 1983; McCourt et al. remnants and is intruded by numerous Mesozoic batholiths
and stocks. The western edge of the Palaeozoic schist belt is
1984).
TheEasternCordillera is apolydeformedcontinental definedregionally by theRomeralFault(McCourt et al.
1984),a suture of lowermostCretaceous agealongwhich
the Jurassic oceanic basalts and related ophiolitic rocks of
theAmaimeterranewereaccreted(Aspden & McCourt
1986).
The Western Cordilleracomprises anallochthonous
oceanic sequence of basic volcanics and intercalated marine
sediments of dominantly Upper Cretaceous age. Although
the precise origin of this belt, which can be traced at least as
far as 2"s Ecuador,in remainscontroversial (see
Discussion), we believe that it representstheslicedup
remnants of a primitive tholeiitic (in Colombia) to andesitic
(in Ecuador) island arcsequence(McCourt et al. 1984).
Throughoutitslengththebelt is intruded by numerous
Cenozoic batholiths. In Colombia the Western Cordillera is
limited on the east by the Cauca-Patia fault zone, a Lower
Tertiarysuture,
the line of which is marked by a
discontinuous belt of ophiolitic rocks (McCourt & Aspden
1983).
Only in theextremenorthernsector of the
Colombian Andes, in the area to the west of Medellin (Fig.
l),do theWesternandCentralcordilleras come into
' 1 Serranla de Baulo
contact.
2
3
Atrato-San Juan B e s m i P a c ~ f ~Coastal
Western Cordlllera
c Plaln
The Pacific Coastal Range consists of Upper Cretaceous,
4
5
C a m - P a m Graben
Central Cord!l:era splilitized oceanicbasaltsoverlain by Tertiarysediments.
6
7
Magdslena Va11q
Earrein Cwdrllera Boththe Cauca-Patiagrabenand theAtrato-SanJuan
7a
8
Sanrander Masslf
Slerrs Nevada de Santa Marta depression (Fig. 1) contain extensive thicknesses of Tertiary
deposits and, in theformer, Plio-Pleistocene
volcanic
Fig. 1. Principal physiographic provincesof Western Colombia. material is common.

893
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894 ASPDEN J . A. ET A L .

Table 1. Radiometric ages from plutonic rocks in Western Colombia Table l. (continued)
hod' Age Intrusion Ref.3 Loc.~
Loc.' Ref.3 Age Intrusion
Method'
Episode A Pescado Pluton 96 f 3 I c11 1
Puqui Stock 239 f 7 I A1 1 Buga Bath. 94 f 2 I1 c12 2
Santa Barbara Bath. 229 f 68 VI1 A2 2 Santa Rosa Stock 90f4 I1 C13 2
El Buey Stock 227 f 10 I A3 3 Antioquia Bath. 83 f 3 I1 C14 5
Puqui Stock 216 I A4 4 Cordoba Complex 83 f 2 I1 C15 2
Amaga Stock 215 f 7 I A5 5 Santa Rosa Pluton 81f5 I1 C16 2
Puqui Stock 214 f 7 111 A6 1 Antioquia Bath. 80 f 3 I C17 5
Puqui Stock 211 I A7 4 Antioquia Bath. 79 f 3 I C18 19
Santa Barbara Bath. 211 f 51 VI1 A8 2 Cordoba Complex 77 f 4 I1 C19 2
Samana Stock 75 f 5 I1 c20 14
Episode B Antioquia Bath. 74f3 I c21 5
Mocoa Bath. 210 f 4 I B1 6 Antioquia Bath. 72 f 3 I c22 5
Agua Blanca Bath. 198 f 7 - B2 7 Cordoba Complex 72f2 I C23 2
La Corcova Bath. 196 f 7 I B3 8 Antioquia Bath. 71 f 3 I c24 5
La Corcova Bath. 195 f 7 I11 B4 8 Bello Pluton 70 f 3 I C25 5
195 f 8 111 B5 7 Sonson Bath. 69 f 3 I C26 5
S. Barbara Bath. 194 f 7 I B6 7 Antioquia Bath. 68 f 2 I c27 20
Nogotes Bath. 193 f 6 I B7 8 Antioquia Bath. 68 f 3 I C28 20
S. Barabara Bath. 192 f 7 I B8 8
La Plata Pluton 183f 5 I1 B9 2 Episode D
Pueblo Bello Bath. 179 f 23 VI B10 9 Piedrancha Bath. 62f6 I1 D1 21
Patillal Bath. 176 f 7 I B11 9 Q. Latal Pluton 58 f 2 I1 D2 9
Central Bath. 175 f 15 VI B12 9 Manizales Stock 57 f 2 I D3 2
Rio Negro Bath. 175 f 8 I B13 8 Manizales Stock 56f2 I D4 2
Patillal Bath. 174 f 10 VI B14 9 Florencia Stock 54.9 f 1.9 I D5 14
Ojeda Bath. 172 f 6 I B15 9 Mande Bath. 54.7 f 1.3 I1 D6 6
Mocoa Bath. 172 f 2 V B16 10 Tucurinquita Pluton 54 f 2.2 I1 D7 9
Mocoa Bath. 170 f 2 V B17 10 Hatillo Stock 53 f 1.8 I1 D8 14
Sonson Bath. 170 f 3 V B18 11 El Bosque Bath. 49 f 1.7 I1 D9 14
Patillal Bath. 170 f 11 I1 B19 9 Buritaca Pluton 49 f 2.7 VI D10 9
Patillal Bath. 167 f 18 VII B20 9 Parashi Stock 4854 I D11 22
Aracataca Bath. 166 f 6 I B21 9 Acandi Bath. 48.1 f 1 IV D12 6
Mocoa Bath. 166 f 4 IV B22 6 Mande Bath. 47 f 2.5 I1 D13 23
Dolores Pluton 166f4 I B23 6 Santa Marta Bath. 46.5 f 2.3 VI D14 9
Atanques Bath. 166f6 I1 B24 9 Mande Bath. 42.7 f 1 IV D15 6
Patillal Bath. 162 f 18 VI1 B25 9 Mande Bath. 34 I D16 4
Patillal Bath. 160f 30 VI1 B26 8
Sonson Bath. 160 f 4 I B27 12 Episode E
Segovia Bath. 160 f 7 I1 B28 13 L o s Alisales Pluton 30 I El 4
Ibague Bath. 151 f 4 I1 B29 2 Piedrancha Bath. 30 f 1.9 I1 E2 23
Ibague Bath. 148 f 4 I1 B30 2 Arboledas Stock 25 f 1 I1 E3 21
Ibague Bath. 148 f 4 I1 B31 2 Piedrancha Bath. 23 f 3 I E4 21
Ibague Bath. 147 f 4 I B32 14 Pance Stock 24 f 2 VI1 E5 2
Ibague Bath. 146 f 4 I B33 2 Anchicaya Bath. 21 f 5 I E6 4
Ibague Bath. 146 f 3 I B34 2 Anchicaya Bath. 20 f 1 I E7 2
Ibague Bath. 146 f 3 IV B35 6 Anchicaya Bath. 20 f 1 I1 E8 2
Ibague Bath. 145 f 4 I B36 2 Anchicaya Bath. 20f 1 I1 E9 2
Ibague Bath. 143 f 5 I B37 14 Anchicaya Bath. 20 f 1 I1 E10 2
Ibague Bath. 143 f 9 I1 B38 14 Anchicaya Bath. 20 f 1 I Ell 2
Ibague Bath. 142 f 9 I1 B39 14 Anchicaya Bath. 19f 1 I E12 2
Ibague Bath. 142 f 6 I1 B40 14 Anchicaya Bath. 19f 1 I E13 2
Anchicaya Bath. 19f 1 I1 E14 2
Episode C Anchicaya Bath. 19f 1 I1 E15 2
Rio Sevilla Stock 131 f 5 I c1 7 Tatama Stock 19f 1 I1 E16 2
Tarnesis Stock 124 f 6 I1 c2 15 Pance Stock 19f 1 I1 E17 2
Samana Stock 119 f 10 I1 c3 14 Pance Stock 19 f 1 I1 E18 2
Buga Bath. 114f3 I c4 2 La Albania Dykes 18f 1 I1 E19 2
Buga Bath. 113f 10 I c5 16 Anchicaya Bath. 18f 1 I1 E20 2
Mariquita Stock 113f 4 I C6 14 Anchicaya Bath. 18f 1 I E21 2
La Corcova Bath. 111f 4 I c7 8 Pance Stock 18f 1 I1 E22 2
Altavista Stock 104 VI1 C8 17 Piedrasentada 17.4 f 0.4 I E23 6
Buga Bath. 99 f 4 VI11 c9 2 Pance Stock 17f 1 I1 E24 2
Sabanalarga Bath. 97 f 10 I c10 18 Pance Stock 17f 1 I E25 2
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COLOMBIA
WESTERN OFPLUTONISM 895

Table 1. (continued) Honda-Puerto Berrio and the Moras-Palestina/Oto Faults

andcorresponding totheeasternportion of theCentral
Cordillera;Zone 111, whichcorresponds totheSierra
d’ Age Intrusion NevadadeSantaMarta;Zone IV, whichincludes the
La Albania Dykes 17fl I E26 2 Cauca-Patia Graben and the western portion of the Central
Tatama Stock 17fl I E27 2 Cordillera
and
whoseboundariesare
defined by the
Tatama Stock 17fl I1 E28 2 Moras-Palestina/Otu Fault and the Cauca-Patia Fault; and
Suarez Stock 16.5 f 0.8 I1 E29 23 Zone V, which lies to the west of the Cauca-Patia Fault and
San Cristobal Stock 13f3 I E30 24 corresponds to the Western Cordillera. Zone Va represents
La Albania Dykes 12f 1 I1 E31 2 a subdivision of Zone V north of the Garapatas Fault. By
Paramo Urrao Bath. 12 I1 E32 4 considering the distribution of plutonic activity within these
Paramo Urrao Bath. 11 I E33 4 variouszones (Fig. 4),and by using
various lines of
Farallones Bath. 11f 2 I1 E34 15 geological
evidence, we believe that is is possible to
Farallones Bath. 11 f 1 I1 E35 23 recognize five episodes of plutonic activity. Theseare
La Pintada Dykes 8f4 I1 E36 12 Triassic (c. 240-210Ma),Jurassic (c. 200-140Ma), Creta-
Q. Las Minas Stock 8f3 I E37 21 ceous (c. 125-70Ma) andtwoTertiary (c. 60-30 and
Cerro Corvada Pluton 8 f 0.9 I1 E38 12 30-0 Ma) episodes.
Cerro Corvada Pluton 7.8 f 1 I1 E39 12
La Felisa Stock 7.1 f 0.2 I1 E40 24
La Felisa Stock 6.8 f 0.2 I1 E41 24 Triassic plutonisrn (EpisodeA )
Marmato Stock 6.3 f 0.7 I1 E42 25 Theoldestepisode of granite
plutonism identified in
Suarez Stock 6f3 I1 E43 26 Western Colombia is of Triassic age. Although in terms of
El Morro Stock 3.5 f 0.2 I1 E44 24
~~
the radiometric age data (Table 1) this episode is relatively
I, K-Ar biotite; 11, K-Ar hornblende; 111, K-Ar muscovite; IV, poorly defined, we believe that such a division is justified,
K-Ar sericite; V, K-Arwholerock;VI,K-Arhornblende/biotite; since theplutonsconcerned characteristicallypossessa
VII, Rb-Sr whole rock; VIII, Rb-Sr hornblende/biotite. strong NW-SE tectonic biotite fabric (McCourt 1984b; H.
’Locality (Fig. 2). Gonzales pers. commun.). They also have a very restricted
3Hall et al. (1972); 2, Brook(1984); 3, Gonzalez et al. (1980); geographical distribution (Fig. 2) to the east of the Romeral
Botero(1975); 5 , Perez(1967); 6, Sillitoe et al. (1982); 7,Irving faultzoneandwithin the westernpart of theCentral
(1975); 8, Goldsmith et al. (1971); 9, Tschanz et al. (1974);10, Cordillera (i.e. Zone IV, Figs 3 & 4). Compositionally the
Jaramillo et al. (1980);11,Gonzalez(1976);12,Gonzalez(1980); intrusives rangefrombiotite-quartzdiorites/monzonitesto
13, Feininger et al. (1972); 14, Vesga & Barrero (1978); 15, Calk et tonalites(Alvarez 1983) and, with theexception of the
al. (1980);16,Toussaint et al. (1978);17,Toussaint(1980);18, Sanata Barbara Batholith (Fig. 2), comprise a series of small
Gonzalez et al. (1978); 19, Botero (1963); 20, Feininger & Botero stocksandisolatedplutonsthatareintimatelyassociated
(1982);21,Alvarez & Linares(1979);22,Lockwood(1965);23, with the rocks of the Palaeozoic, paired metamorphic belt.
GobelStibane(1979); 24, Alvarez(1983);25,Alvarez et al. Although all the main contacts of these older plutons are
(1979); 26, Alvarez et al. (1978). now typically faulted, the abundance of xenolithic material
clearly indicates that they were originally intruded into the
Plutonism in Western Colombia Palaeozoic metamorphic basement of the Central Cordillera
According tothe available,albeitlimited,geochemical (McCourt etal. 1984).Apossibleexception is thePuqui
evidence, the intrusive rocks of Western Colombia appear meta-tonalite(Fig.
2)
(Hall et al. 1972), which has
tobedominated by calc-alkalinegranites.Theseconsist “gradational,and in part, migmatiticcontacts duetothe
mainly of I-typesasdefined by Chappell & White (1974) ‘lit-par-lit’ injection of the tonalite magma into the
and belong largely to the magnetite series of Ishihara (1977) surrounding, micaceous gneiss, host rock”. Hall et al. (1972)
(Sillitoe etal. 1982;Alvarez1983;Brown etal. 1984), interpret this pluton to be syntectonic and possibly a crustal
althoughsomeplutons of theWesternCordillera maybe anatectite. The initial 87Sr/s6Srratio of 0.7047 f 0.0002 for
M-type granites (Pitcher 1983). the
intrusive,
but
probably
coeval,
Santa
Barbara
About 140 radiometric age determinations are published Batholithfurthersouth(Fig.2),wouldsuggestthat this
from plutonic rocks in Western Colombia. These are listed magma was derived from a primitive isotopic source (Brook
in Table 1 and their distribution is shown in Fig. 2. Taken in 1984) but, at present, we are unable to say whether crustal
isolationthesedata imply thattherehasbeenalmost contamination was important in its genesis. In view of the
continuousplutonic activity overthelast 250 Mawith foliatednature of the Triassicplutons andtheirtectonic
possible acmes at 160-170, 70-90 and 20-25 Ma. However, contacts,the availableradiometricdataareregardedas
the continental edge of Western Colombia is a composite providing only minimum intrusive ages for this suite.
margin thathasbeensubjectedtolarge-scale, strike-slip
faulting (Feininger 1970; Feininger & Bristow 1980; Case et
al. 1984; McCourt et al. 1984; Aspden & McCourt 1986). As
Jurassic plutonisrn (Episode B )
aresult,presentdayColombia is amosaic of discrete The Jurassic intrusive episode represents the most extensive
structuralblocks orzones,theboundaries of which are period of plutonic activity in Western Colombia. Intrusive
defined by major, approximately N-S oriented, faults (Fig. rocks of thisageconsistessentially of a series of major
3). From E to W, these zones comprise: Zone I, to the east batholithswhichcanbedividedinto an easternanda
of theHonda-Puerto Berrio/Bucaramanga-Santa Marta westernbelt. The latter is concentrated along theeastern
faults
and including theEasternCordillera/Santander margin of theCentralCordillera(Zone 11, Fig. 3), but it
Massif andtheMagdalenaValley;Zone 11, betweenthe also extends northwards to include batholiths of similar age
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896 J . A . ASPDEN E T A L .
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PLUTONISMCOLOMBIA
O F WESTERN 897

ZONE Va
+PANAMA DATES

ZONE V

1
ZONE IV

ZONE I l l

a
CT-
LL
5’

O m
a 0-
ZONE Ill

I ZONE I
5
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 M a
Fig. 3. Principal structural/plutonic zonesof Western Colombia PLUTON AGES
(modified from Sillitoe et al. 1982; Alvarez 1983).

in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Zone111, Figs 3 & 4) (see

also Sillitoe et al. 1982), and westward to include the Sonson
Batholith (Zone IV, Figs 2 & 4). The eastern belt of Jurassic
intrusives (Zone I, Figs 3 & 4) consists principally of those
plutons which make up the Santander Massif (Figs 1 & 2).
The southern extension of this belt is probably marked by
the group of largely undatedbatholithslocatedalongthe
western flank of the Eastern Cordillera to the south of 3”N
and immediately to the west of the Guaicaramo Fault (Fig.
2).
Plutonicactivity,oftenaccompanied by volcanism of
intermediateto acidcompositionand of subaerialorigin
(Irving 1975), extendedthroughout much of theJurassic
period from c . 200 to 142 Ma. However, it appears that the
onset of plutonic activity varied from place to place(Fig.
4). The earliest magmatism (210 f 7 to 192 f 7 Ma, Table 1)
seems to be confined mainly to the Santander Massif but it
also includes the Mocoa Batholith to the south (Fig. 2). It is
possible thattheseeasternbeltplutons may representa
separateearly
province which
was subjectedto
later
overprintingduringtheprincipalJurassicmagmaticevent
(183 f 5 to 142 f 6 Ma) (Table l ) , the main axis of which was
Fig. 2. Major Mesozoic and Cenozoic plutons in Western
Colombia.
PLUTONIC EPISODES
Fig. 4. Age distribution of Mesozoic and Cenozoic plutonic activity
in Western Colombia. Dates from the Guarjira Peninsula(B5 and
D11) and reset ages shown in Fig. 2 (Cl, C7 and D1) are omitted.
Ages from Panama are quoted by Sillitoe et al. (1982).
located immediately to the west, along the eastern edge of
the Central Cordillera (Fig. 2). This later activity was also
associated with widespread Cu-porphyrystyle mineralization
and it defines the eastern sub-belt of Sillitoe et al. (1982).
Details of the geochemistry of the Santander suite are
sparse but, according to Irving (1975), the rocks consist of
pink to greybiotite-quartzmonzonites,grandioritesand
granites of both calc-alkaline and potassic affinity.
Goldsmith et al. (1971) also reportthepresence of an
apparently younger (176 f 30 Ma) riebeckite-bearing granite
from this area. Compared with both the Central Cordillera
and Santa Marta, contemporaneous volcanic rocks are less
common.
In contrast, the Central Cordillera and the Santa Marta
plutonics are simple hornblende-biotite
tonalites
and
grandiorites(seealsoAlvarez 1983) thatformelongate,
approximately N-S, tabular batholiths. Preliminary geoche-
mica1 evidence from the Ibague Batholith indicates that this
magmaoriginatedfrom an isotopicallyprimitivesource
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898 J . A . ASPDEN E T A L

region such as the mantle, the initial 87Sr/86Srratios for the Colombia (Fig. 4) but the major batholiths are restricted to
majority of samples falling inanarrowrangebetween theWesternCordillera (Fig. 2), wherethey intrudethe
0.7034 and0.7038 (Brook 1984). The field evidence, in Upper Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequence. In detail
particularthe limited amount of contactmetamorphism, the Tertiary activity can be divided into a Palaeogene and a
suggests that these intrusives were emplaced rapidly to high Neogene (dominantly Miocene) event (Episodes D and E ,
levels in the crust(Irving1975),mostprobably utilizing Table 1). Althoughthere is nocleartimebreakbetween
major fault zones as intrusive channelways. thesetwoepisodes, we believe that suchadivision is
Insummary,theirlack of foliation,theircomposition justified in view of theirrather distinctive geographical
and
size,
their
association with
Cu(and locally Au) distribution, particularly in the Western Cordillera (Figs 2&
mineralization,coupledwiththeagedata,distinguishthe 4). The major early Tertiaryintrusives are situated along the
Jurassicgranitesuitefrom the Triassic one.These two extreme western margin of the Western Cordillera north of
episodesare
also geographically
distinct,
since all the 5"N and include the Mande and Acandi Batholiths together
Jurassic plutons occur to the east of those of Triassic age with theirsatelliteplutons(ZoneVa, Figs3 & 4). This
and, with theexception of theSonsonBatholith,are well-definedbelt of dominantly tonalite/granodiorite com-
located within different structural blocks (Figs 2 & 3). position(Alvarez 1983) also extends
northwardsinto
Panama (Figs 3 & 4). It forms the western porphyry copper
Cretaceous plutonism (Episode C ) sub-belt of Sillitoe et al. (1982), who report various, mainly
mineralization,K-Aragesfromthesuiterangingfrom
Plutonicrocks of Cretaceousageareconcentratedinthe 54 f 1.3 to 42.7 f 0.9 Ma. Botero (1975) also quotes a single
CentralCordillera,themajority in thenorthernsector of 34Ma K-ArdeterminationfromtheMande Batholith
Zone IV to the west of the main belt of Jurassic batholiths which may indicate a younger phase of plutonism.
(Figs 2 & 4). Compared to these latter rocks the Cretaceous ElsewhereintheWesternCordilleraasingleK-Ar
plutons are relatively small in size. The Antioquia Batholith
(Botero 1963; Feininger & Botero 1982) is notable
a
*
(hornblende) age of 62 6 Ma has been reported for the
Piedrancha Batholith (Table 1). This is located in southern
exception, since it covers some 720 km'. It is the only major Colombia near the Ecuadorian border and close to the main
pluton of any age in Western Colombia not aligned parallel Cauca-Patia fault
zone (Fig. 2). The position of the
to the N-S regional trend
(Fig.
2).
In
general
the batholith,the lack of contemporaneous plutonism either
Cretaceous intrusions are of diorite/quartz diorite
to immediately tothenorth,orsouth in Ecuador(Baldock
tonalite composition and are unmineralized and unfoliated 1985), and the
factthat twoyounger
K-Ar ages
of
(cf. Permo-Triassic plutons).They are, however, often 30 f 1.9 Ma and 23 f 3 Ma (Table 1) have been obtained
extensivelytectonized duetolatermovements along the from the same batholith, leadsus to question the validity of
numerous fault splays of the Romeral zone which we believe the
older date
as
an intrusiveage.
For the
present,
also controlled their site of emplacement. The majority of therefore, we prefer to regard the Piedrancha Batholith as
plutonswereintrudedintothePalaeozoic rocks of the lateTertiaryinage,particularlysincethemajority of
Central Cordillera, but the Buga Batholith, which outcrops intrusives of thisageoccupyasimilarpositionalongthe
on the extreme western flank of the cordillera (Fig. 2), was eastern edge of the Western Cordillera (Fig. 2).
emplacedinto
the
Jurassic,
or possibly
lowermost In
the
CentralCordillera, Palaeogene plutonism is
Cretaceous, volcanic andophioliticrocks of theoceanic restricted to a narrow zone on the eastern side, close to the
Amaime terrane (Aspden & McCourt 1986). Palestina and Ibague faults (Fig. 2; Zones I1 and IV, Figs 3
In the Central Cordillera, ages from Cretaceous plutonic & 4). These intrusives form asmall group of biotite tonalites
rocks range from 124 f 6 to 68 f 3 Ma. To the north, in the and granodiorites that intrude the Palaeozoic schist belt and
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Zone 111, Fig. 4), the single range inagefrom 57 f 2 to 49 f 1.7Ma (Table1).
older date of 131 f 5 Ma from the poorly defined Rio Sevilla Contemporaneousplutonism hasalsobeenrecordedfrom
Stock is problematical. We would interpret it as a partially the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Zone 111, Fig. 4), where
reset (previously Jurassic) age, probably resulting from the ages ranging from 57 f 2.5 to 46 f 2 Ma have been obtained
early Cretaceous accretion of the oceanic Amaime terrane from a belt of quartz diorites and granodiorites north of the
along the Romeral fault zone (Aspden & McCourt 1986), an main Jurassic batholiths (Table 1, Fig. 2).
event which gaverise to major
a period of dynamic Neogeneplutonicrocksoccur in boththeCentraland
metamorphism throughout the Central Cordillera (McCourt WesterncordillerasbutarerestrictedtoZonesIVandV
et al. 1984). Similarly, the Cretaceous age from La Crocova
(Figs3 & 4). Theyare particularly well developed in the
Batholith in the Eastern Cordillera may also be reset due to latterand especiallyalong its eastern margin, which is
youngermovementsalongtheBucaramanga-SantaMarta structurally defined by the Cauca-Patia fault zone (Fig. 3).
fault (Fig. 2). Majorplutonsandbatholiths of dioritic to quartz-dioritic
Numerous small intrusions of dominantly gabbroic composition, many of which are currently being unroofed,
composition, not shown in Fig. 2, are also present within the
are found throughout the length of the Western Cordillera.
main outcrop of the Upper Cretaceous volcanic succession
In the Central Cordillera and Cauca graben(Figs 1 & 2),
of theWesternCordillera(Aspden 1984).Althoughona
Neogene plutonism is represented by a regional suite of high
local scale these bodies exhibit intrusive relationships, their
levelporphyriticbodies of daciticcomposition,someof
origin is still uncertain.Forthetime being, we would
which intrudethe MioceneLaPailaFormation(McCourt
considerthem tobecoeval,and possiblycogenetic,with
19846).Thespectacular Pleistocene to Recentvolcanism
their tholeiitic, basaltic host rocks. focusedalong thecrest of theCentralCordilleraand
extendingsouthwardsintoEcuador, mostprobablyrepre-
Tertiary plutonism (Episodes D and E ) sentsthepresentdayexpression of this samemagmatic
Tertiary plutonic rocks are widespread throughout Western episode.
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PLUTONISM
Terrane accretion and timing of magmatism
It is widely accepted that the Mesozoic-Cenozoic evolution
of the Northern and Central Andes was dominated by the
subduction of oceaniccrustbeneathcontinentalSouth
America(Case et al. 1971;Feininger & Bristow1980;
McCourt et al. 1985). The radiometric age data, combined
with
regional
geologicalevidence(Fig. S), serve to
distinguish five main episodes of plutonic activity in Western
Colombia. The plutonsthatmakeuptheseepisodesare
spatially distinct (Figs 2 & 4) and similar events, albeit with
important gaps, can also be recognized elsewhere in western
SouthAmerica. Although the
presence or absence of
magmatic activity canbeattributedtovariouscauses, we
suggest that in Western Colombia the complex geometry of
the subduction zone regime and, in particular, the approach
angle of the oceanic plate relative to the continental edge
hasplayed animportantroleindeterminingthetiming,
development and spatial distribution of this activity. Before
discussing this, however, it is first necessary to consider the
extent
to which the present-day
distribution of the
Mesozoic-Cenozoic plutonic rocks in Colombia is the result
a autochthonous with respect to Colombia.
Break up of Farallon Plate. Change of
approach angle from SW-NE to W - E .
Widespread Miocene to Recent
magmatic activlty
5 4
Accretion of Western Cordillera
Terrane along Cauca-Patia Fault.
along Rorneral Fault. Widespread
dynamothermic metamorphism.
’Blueschist’emplacement
‘Andean’ margin, high angle
subduction results in volcano-
plutonic arc of Episode’B’
- - _ _Change
_ in approach angle
NNW/SSE to NW/SE
Essentially passive margin,
NNW-SSE oblique subduction.
Local anatexis producing
plutonic Episode ‘ A
Fig. 5. Summary of the major plutonic episodes and related
geological events in Western Colombia.
OF W E S T E R N C O L O M B I A 899
of major, strike-slip faulting and the accretionof a series of
allochthonous terranes.
The distinctive structural pattern of Western Colombia is
similar to thatfoundinotherareascharacterized by
large-scale lateral displacements resulting
fromoblique
convergence. McCourt et al. (1984) and Aspden & McCourt
(1986)
concluded that
at
least
twomajorperiods of
accretion(earlyCretaceousandearlyTertiary)couldbe
recognized andthattheentire Pacific marginW of the
Romeral Fault consists of allochthonous oceanic material.
Theyalsosuggested thatatleastpart of thePalaeozoic
schist beltwhichnowforms the bulk of theCentral
Cordillerawasalsoprobablyallochthonousandthatits
present-day complexity is largely the result of “disruption
andstretchingoutalongregionalfaultsparalleltothe
continental margin” in the early Mesozoic. In such a regime
the possibility exists thatsomeplutonsare alsoalloch-
thonous(i.e.theywereaccreted alongwiththeirhost
terranes).Whileatpresentit wouldbe prematureto
definitely ruleoutthis possibility, the availablegeological
and limitedpalaeomagneticevidencesummarizedbelow
suggests thatmost of theplutonic activity is probably
Preliminarypalaeomagneticresultsfrom the eastern
flank of the Central Cordillera imply large-scale translation
and rotation of (?) earlyTriassic redbeds (Scott 1978). In
contrast,similardatafrom aLowerJurassicredbedand
volcanic sequence (the Los Calvos formation) in the Sierra
Nevada de Santa Marta, which unconformably overlies the
Palaeozoic metamorphic basement and roofs major Jurassic
batholiths, arenotindicative of large-scale rotationsor
translation(Macdonald & Opdyke 1984),implying that
theserockswereformedat, or close to,theirpresent
position (R. B.Evanspers.comm.).Takentogether,the
palaeomagneticdata suggest thatthemetamorphic base-
ment of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and its southerly
extensionintheCentralCordillera,representan alloch-
thonous belt which was subjected to large-scale translation
some time during the (?) Upper Triassic period, but that
since at least Lower Jurassic time these rocks have formed
part of continental Colombia.
Similarly, various Precambrian outliers are present in the
Central Cordillera, particularly along its eastern edge, and
theserocks are considered torepresentpart of the NW
Guyana Shield (Irving 1971; Sillitoe et al. 1982). High grade
gneisses and pelites of the Davis Group are intruded by the
140-150Ma Ibague Batholith and these can be correlated
withsimilarPrecambriancratonicrocks thatare exposed
some140km to theSE alongthewesternedge of the
Guyana Shield (Murillo et al. 1982). Although this evidence
is not conclusive, it suggests that the Ibague batholith was
probablyintrudedinto theCentralCordillera close to its
present position. If one accepts this hypothesis then, since
theIbagueBatholithandtheotherJurassicplutons also
intrude the eastern margin of the Palaeozoic schist belt, this
alsomust havebeenincorporatedintothe Colombian
continental block prior to the onset of the Jurassic plutonic
event ( c . 200 Ma). Similar logic can be applied to the group
of Cretaceousintrusives which is presentintheCentral
Cordillera:sincesome of these also intrudethe western
margin of the Palaeozoic schist belt,theytoo mustbe
considered autochthonous.
The majority of Tertiary plutonic rocks are located in the
Western Cordillera which consists essentially of a sequence
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900 J . A . ASPDEN E T A L .

of basic volcanics and interbedded sediments. These rocks interplatemotions commonly at rightangles. In zones of
aredominantly of UpperCretaceousage(Alvarez 1983; obliqueconvergence the
approach angle of oneplate
Aspden 1984) and were considered by McCourt et al. (1984) relative toanother is an importantfactorindetermining
to
represent
allochthonous oceanicmaterial
that was whether the
movements betweenthe two
plates is
accreted onto the continental edge of Colombia, along the accommodated either by 'fluent angled' subduction or by a
line of the Cauca-Patiafaultzone(Fig.2). The precise combination of intermittent subduction and strike-slip.
timing of this event is unknown but the regional geological The importance of the convergence approach angle, and
evidenceindicatesthatittookplaceduringlowermost its relationship to the geometry of the plate boundary, can
Tertiary times. Clasts of diabase and chert derived from the be illustrated by reference to the present-day Sunda trench.
Western Cordillera are present in the lower member of the In Java, high-angle convergence has produced classic island
(?) Palaeocene-Middle EoceneChimborazo Formation. arcmagmatism,whereasobliqueconvergence in Sumatra
Thisformationoutcropsalongthewestern margin of the has resulted in decoupling along the continental edge and
Cauca-PatiaValley(graben)whichseparatestheCentral theformation of thetranscurrentSemangkofault system
and Western cordilleras in southern and central Colombia. (Fitch 1972). Further north the almost parallel approach of
The Chimborazo Formation is in direct, but near vertical, the Indian oceanic plate has resulted in a tensional regime
contact with the Western Cordilleran succession and is itself andthedevelopment of theAndamanSeaasa back-arc
overlain by the largely non-marine, coal-bearing Guachinite basinsince the MiddleMiocene(Curray et al. 1979~).
andFerreiraFormations(Aspden 1984). Althoughthese Reorientations in plate motions occurperiodically (cf.
sediments are locallyfoldedtheyhave not undergone the Curray et al.1979b; Pilger 1983) andthesecanproduce
intensedeformationand cataclasisshown by theUpper important changes in the approach angle between adjacent
Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary succession of the Western plateswith significant effects onthe tectono-magmatic
Cordillera itself. Only very minoramounts of Lower evolution of the commonplateboundary,e.g.Sumatra
Tertiary sediments are present but thicknesses increase along (Cameron et al. 1980). As discussed below, we believe that
the eastern margin, reaching a maximum of >2 km within changes in the approach angle of the oceanic plate relative
the Cauca-Patiagraben (J. W. Aucott pers. comm.). The to NWSouthAmericahave played animportantrolein
lack of cataclasis in the lower Tertiary rocks suggests that determiningthedevelopmentanddistribution of plutonic
theypost-date the maindeformation associatedwith the activity in Colombia, and probably throughout the Northern
accretion of the Western Cordillera, and their distribution Andes, during Cenozoic and possibly Mesozoic times.
indicates that they were deposited into a pre-existing basin Pilger (1983) has presented relative motion vectors for
(i.e. the proto Cauca-Patia graben) which, as shown by the the oceanic floor with respect to continental South America
clasts in the Chimborazo Formation, was already receiving extending back to the Cretaceous. Although he admits that
material derived from the erosionof the Western Cordillera. uncertaintiessurround the computedvectors,particularly
Although the Chimborazo Formation is poorly dated, it is the older ones, the proposed convergence directions for the
overlain by the (?) Upper Eocene-Oligocene Guachinte and Cenozoicare well documentedand generallyaccepted.
FerreiraFormations and wecould
concludethat
the Essentially,theoceanicplateapproachedthecontinental
WesternCordillera
terrane was
accreted onto
the edge of northern South America from the SW throughout
continentaledgeprior to this time(seealsoFeininger & theearlyCenozoic.Approximately 25 Maago,however,
Bristow1980). Hence,theEoceneandMioceneplutonic there was a majorreorientationandthe convergence
rocks, which intrude the Western Cordillera, were emplaced direction changed from SW-NE to W-E, which continues
close to their present position. tothepresentday.Thisreorientation(Anomaly7, Pilger
1983) corresponds to the break-up of the Farallon oceanic
Regional controls on plutonic activity plate toformthe Nazca andCocosplates(Pilger 1983,
1984).Prior to this,the age of the subducted plate
progressivelydecreased andthroughoutmuch of South
Discussion America there was a corresponding decrease in the angle of
Havingsummarized the
variousplutonic
events
and subduction and, consequently, a progressive eastward shift
discussed whether or
not
these
are
autochthonousto in the locus of magmatic activity. This is clearly not the case
WesternColombia, wewouldnow like to discuss those in Colombia and northern Ecuador, where early Cenozoic
factorswhichcouldexplaintheirtiminganddistribution plutonism occurs on the westernmost flank of the Western
within the regional context of NW South America. Cordillera north of 4"N (Fig. 4, Zone Va), but not to the
It is generally accepted that the presence of calc-alkaline south
(ZoneV).
During this period (c. 26-50Ma;
magmatism along
continentaledges is most probably Anomalies 7-22, Pilger 1983) the Farrallon plate
ap-
directly related to the subduction of oceanic lithosphere. In proached continental South America from the SW and the
detail, the factors which control the development and timing approach angle varied from highly oblique to almost parallel
of such activity areundoubtedly complex (Raymond & in that part of the coast between 3"s in Ecuador and 4"N in
Swanson 1980; Pilger 1984). Pilger (1984) suggested that the Colombia (Fig. 6c).Asaresult,subduction in this sector
age of the subducted plate, the convergence rate and the must have been very restricted, or absent, with most of the
interactionwith'hotspottraces' arethethree principal motion probably accommodated by strike-slip movements,
factorswhichhavecontrolled the configuration of the accompanied by slicing-up and stretching out, in the newly
CenozoicAndeansubductionzonesandtheir associated accreted Western Cordilleran terrane (cf. Badham & Halls
magmatism and tectonism (see also Nur & Ben Avraham 1975). The NE-SW Garrapatusfault (Figs 2, 3 & 6) is
1981; Cross & Pilger 1982; Hall & Wood 1985). As pointed interpreted to
be
a reflection of this early Tertiary
out by Badham & Halls (1975),
however,boundaries convergence direction. In contrast, north of Buenaventura,
betweenlithosphericplates are rarelystraight,norare the geometry of the newly accreted Western Cordillera was
Downloaded from https://www.lyellcollection.org by R4l All Groups on Apr 17, 2024

PLUTONISM O F WESTERN COLOMBIA 901

PALAEOZOIC SCHIST BELT

/
r c FAULT CAUCA-,PATIA
:ANDI- M A N D E
BATHOLITH
ROMERAL FAULT
PALAEOZOIC SCHlS

CRETACEOUS

PLUTONIC-

EARLY CALIPUY VOLCANISM

1 c. 200-1 40 Ma " I

P \ \i J'W
B = Buenaventura
G = Guayaquil
FAULT
ROMERAL
TERRANE
AMAIME o

c. 60-30 Ma
CRETACEOUS PL
OF NORTHERN
COLOMBIA

URASSIC PLUTONIC-
OLCANIC ARC

PALAEOZOIC SCHIST BELl

ASTAL BATHOLITH EXTENSIVE MAGMATISN

PERU AND MARGlNAl CULMINATING IN
SIN VOLCANISM QUATERNARY
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

c. 125-70 Ma I c. 30-0 Ma
Fig.6. Cartoons illustrating the possible plate tectonic regimes to explain the Mesozoic-Cenozoic magmatic evolution,
of Western Colombia:
a, Jurassic episode; b, Cretaceous episode;c, Palaeogene episode; d, Neogene episode.

such that a high-anglesubductionregimewasestablished, plutonism along the Palestina Fault zone, in the northern
giving rise to the magmatism represented by the Mande and part of the Central Cordillera, and close to the extension of
Acandi Batholiths of Zone Va (Fig. 6c). Minor plutonism the Romeral fault zone in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
reportedfromsouthernEcuador(Hall & Calle1982) and of Colombia(Fig. 4, Zones I1 and 111, respectively), are
major calc-alkaline volcanism which, together with contem- more difficult to explain but obviously they cannot represent
poraneous
plutonism,
extends
throughout
Peru
and simple subduction zone magmatism related to the Farallon
northern Chile (Cobbing et al. 1981; Cobbing 1982; Coira et plate. It is possible that the former couldrepresent local
al. 1982), are considered to represent a continuation of the anatexisasaresult of large-scalehorizontalmovements
same
subduction
system.
Seemingly
contemporaneous along the Palestina system, whereas the lattercould perhaps
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902 J . A . ASPDEN E T A L .

bemore closely related to subduction of theCaribbean Terrane (Aspden & McCourt 1986) in that they OCCUPY a
plate. similar structural position. Therefore we continue with the
Approximately 25 Ma ago, in response to the change in hypothesisthattheDiabaseGroup of Colombiaand its
theoceanicplateconvergencedirectionfrom SW-NE to northerly volcano-sedimentary equivalent, the Canasgordas
W-E(Pilger1983),ahigh-angle‘straight-on’subduction Group, together with the Macuchi Formation of Equador,
regime was
initiated
and
new
a widespread magmatic representthedisruptedremnants of avolcanicisland-arc
episode which continues to the present day was established sequence (cf. McCourt & Aspden 1985).
(Fig. 6d; Fig. 4, ZonesIV
and
V).
In
Colombia, Inanattempt to explaintheoveralldistribution of
subduction-related magmatism is found as major batholiths CretaceousmagmatismintheNorthernAndes,and by
throughout the
WesternCordillera,
as
andesite-dacite analogywiththeCenozoicmodel, wesuggest thatthe
pophyriesin the Cauca-Patiagrabenand in theCentral simplestplate-tectonicscenario is one involvingrelatively
Cordilleraandascompositecalc-alkalinevolcanoesalong high angle SW-NE convergence (Fig. 6b). Again we would
the axis of theCentralCordillera(Irving 1975;Alvarez proposean offset inthetrench alongamajorNE-SW
1983; Marriner & Millward 1984). This Miocene to Recent transformfault to accountforthenotable absence of
activity, interpreted as an orogenic andesite suite, is related Cretaceous plutonism in Ecuador and southern Colombia.
to high-angleconvergenceandsubduction of theoceanic The present-day expression of this transform would be one
lithosphere beneath the South American plate (cf. Marriner of the many major, approximately N-S, faults of the now
& Millward 1984). It can be traced down through Ecuador, accreted
Western
Corderilla
terrane. The character
Peruand possibly intonorthernChile,albeit withlocal (plutonic or volcanic) andsetting(oceanicarc,marginal
compositionalandspatialvariations(Francis et al. 1977; basin or continental edge) of the magmatism produced by
Thorpe & Francis1979;Thorpe et al. 1981; Lahsen 1982; the proposed SW-NE convergencedirectionwould
Harmon et al. 1984). obviously vary along the length of the boundary depending
Thus it appears that changes in the convergence vectors on many factors,
including subductionlspreading rate,
of the oceanicplateandtheresultingchangesinthe presence or absence of sialic crust, its thickness if present
character and geometry of the subduction zone can explain and the rate and volume of upwelling mantle (cf. Aberg et
both the development and distribution of Tertiary plutonism al. 1984).
inWesternColombiaand, wewouldsuggest, throughout InearlyTertiarytimethissameSW-NEconvergence
the Northern Andes. resulted in the accretion of the DiabaseIMacuchi arc onto
Cretaceous plutonism is only sporadically developed in the continental edge, along aline which approximates to the
north central Colombia and Ecuador but it is very extensive present-day Cauca-Patia Fault
zoneand
its
southerly
throughoutPeru(Cobbing & Pitcher1972;Cobbing1982; extension,theGuayaquil-Doloressuture(McCourt et al.
Hall & Calle1982;Toussaint & Restrepo 1982). This 1984). In the Central Cordillera of Colombia this event is
plutonic arc is not associated with contemporaneous ensialic correlated with a plutonic gap between 68 and 59 Ma (Table
volcanism,butmajor volcanicsequences of dominantly 1; Figs 4 & 5 ) and in regional terms it corresponds to the
Upper Cretaceous age are present in Western Colombia and early
Tertiary
orogenieswhichaffected
the
Western
Ecuador. Not all workers accept
the
Diabase Group Corderillas of Colombia,PeruandEcuador(Steinmann
(Colombia) as being of island-arc origin. Volcanic rocks of 1929; Barrero 1979; Feininger & Bristow 1980).
similar
age
in Western Peru
andCentral
Chileare Jurassic plutonism, which extends throughout Colombia
interpreted as representing primitive mantle-derived mater- andEcuador, is interpretedaspart of acalc-alkaline,
ial extruded in ensialic, aborted, marginal basins (Atherton volcano-plutonic, subduction-related arc (see also Sillitoe et
et al. 1983; Aberg et al. 1984; Aguirre & Offler1985). al. 1982). At this time we envisage that the oceanicplate
Millward et al. (1984) havesummarizedgeochemical and approachedthecontinental block fromthe NW andthis
geological arguments for the Diabase Group tholeiites of the resulted in a ‘straight-on’, high-angle subduction regime and
Caliblock,Colombia,although theCretaceous volcanic widespreadmagmatismalongmuch of theNorthernand
sequences of Western Peru-Chile are distinctive in that they CentralAndes(Fig.6a).This couldalsoaccountfor the
are ensialic. The Western Cordillera succession, on the other conspicuous lack of major Jurassic plutonism in Peru, if we
hand, is underlainby high densitymaterialinterpretedas propose an offset in the subduction zone along a NW-SE
oceaniccrust(Case et al. 1973;Feininger & Seguin1983; transformfaultwhichwould result inapassivemargin.
Howell et al. 1983). Local plutonism recently identified in southern Peru (E. J.
The Macuchi Formation, considered
the
southerly Cobbingpers.comm.),andtheexistence of extensive
contemporaneous extension of the Diabase group (McCourt calc-alkaline Jurassic magmatism in northern Chile (Coira et
et al. 1984), is generallyacceptedasavolcanicisland-arc al. 1982), demands a return to high-angle convergence and
assemblage (Henderson 1979) although Lebrat et al. (1985) the presence of a subduction zone parallel to the continental
havedemonstratedthepresence of anupthrust block of edge.
MORB within it to the east of Pallatanga (Lebrat et al. fig. Obviously thefurther back we attemptto push the
2). They interpret these rocks as either a tectonic slice of ‘convergence-angle model’ the
more speculative the
ocean
crust
“caughtbetween
the
continent
andthe argumentsbecome and,
other
than
the
present-day
intra-oceanicMacuchivolcanic
arc”, or possibly the distribution of Jurassic magmatism, we have no evidence for
upthrust basement of the Macuchi arc. Although feasible,in a NW-SE convergence direction nor the transform fault. In
that similar massive oceanic tholeiites of the Diabase Group passing,however, it is interesting to notethat, if sucha
(Colombia) to the westofCalihavebeen interpreted by transform existed, its expression on the continental margin
Aspden (1984) as the potential floor of the Diabase arc, the of Peru could have resulted in a zone of weakness along
Macuchi MORB of thePallatangaarea couldalsobe which theCretaceous marginalbasinregimeproposed by
equivalent totheT-typeMORB of theolderAmaime Atherton et al. (1983) may have been initiated.
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PLUTONISMCOLOMBIA
OF WESTERN 903

The Jurassic batholiths of the SierraNevada de Santa
MartainnorthernColombia(Fig. 2) are considered to
represent part of the principal Central Cordillera plutonic
belt and they owe their present position to younger faulting.
We consider that the entire Santa Martamassif represents a
translated block which originally formed part of the Central
Cordillera.Thesewouldhavebecomeseparatedduring
early Tertiary time in response to accretion of the Western
Cordilleraandthecontinuedobliqueapproach of the
oceanicplate(McCourt et al. 1984, cf. Duque 1979). The
calc-alkaline to alkaline plutonism of the Santander Massif is
more difficult to account for in termsof the relatively simple
high-angle ‘Andean’subductionmodelproposedhere.It
maypossibly be due to meltingatgreaterdepthsonthe
same subduction zone, or could be alternatively explained
by ensialic rifting.
The JurassicplutonicepisodeinWesternColombia
terminated
Late
inJurassic-Early
Cretaceous
time,
probablyasaresult of collision of theoceanicAmaime
terrane with the continental block (Fig. 5). Thisaccretion
event took place along the Romeral fault zone (Aspden & (eds) Magmatism at a Plate Edge: The Peruvian Andes. Blackie/Halstead
McCourt1986). The concordance of blueschistages from
theCentralCordillerainColombiaandfromsouthern
Ecuador at 132-125 Ma (Feininger
1982;
McCourt & Boletin Geological INGEOMINAS, Bogota, Colombia, 2 6 .
Feininger 1984), together with a pronounced plutonic gap in
theNorthernAndesbetween 142 and124Ma(Table l),
suggests that this occurred close to the Jurassic-Cretaceous
boundary.
Triassic plutonic rocks in Colombia are restricted to the
Palaeozoic metamorphic schist belt. During early Mesozoic
time thecontinentaledge of Colombiawassubjected to
periodicstrike-slipfaulting(McCourt & Aspden 1983),
resulting in sinistral offset of the paired metamorphic belt.
We propose that magma generation occurred during these
faultingevents,whichwerelocalizedalongdeep-seated
crustallineaments,thuscontrollingtherestricteddistribu-
tion of Triassic plutons.
Conclusions
Some of the ideaspresentedhere,inparticulartheplate
tectonic
‘reconstructions’, are necessarilyspeculative.
However, we proposethat sufficient evidence exists to
identify five plutonicepisodesinwesternColombia.With
the exception of the poorly defined Triassic suite, plutonism
showsaprogressivewestwardmigrationthroughoutthe
Mesozoic and early
Cenozoiceras. The geographical
distribution of each of these episodes was distinctive, but it
seems that the changeover from one to the next occurred
over a relatively short period of time.
Raymond & Swanson(1980)suggested thatplutonic
gapsin orogenic settings could be correlated directly with
periods of active accretion-a model applicable to Western
Colombia in the Mesozoic. Other factors may also play an
important role, e.g. marginal basin generation, changes in
the slope of the subducted plate, lowering of the thermal
gradientandconsum tion of aseismic features(Nur
K
Ben-Avraham 1981; berg et al. 1984). We also propose
that a fundamental factor controlling the development and
at least in part, the Mesozoic plutonic history of the same
area.
This paper is published with the permission of the Director of the
BritishGeological Survey (NERC)andtheInstitutoNacionalde
InvestigacionesGeologico-Mineras(INGEOMINAS),Colombia.
Work in Colombia was carried out as part of a bilateral technical
cooperation project between the governments of the UK (via the
Overseas Development Administration) and Colombia. The authors
wouldlike to thank R. J. Pankhurst for hisconstructivecriticism
and suggestions.
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distribution of plutonism in Western Colombia, and possibly
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variation in the convergence direction vectorsof the oceanic
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Received 17 March 1986; revised typescript accepted 20 January 1987.