Andean Structural Styles: A Seismic

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Andean Structural Styles
A Seismic Atlas

Edited by
Gonzalo Zamora
Specialist Division, Repsol Exploración S.A., Madrid, Spain

Andrés Mora
Ecopetrol, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Elsevier
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Notices
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Mountains have a lot to say, just listen.
In memoriam

Dr. Augusto Gansser (1910e2012)

Gansser dressed as Tibetan pilgrim (by A.Heim 1936). Photo provided by V. Markus

Augusto Gansser was one of the last “Universal” Geologists, equally at home in the Alps, the Himalayas, and the Andes.
Gansser received many awards, including the Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society and the Patrons Medal of the
Royal Geographical Society (1968). In 1983, he was given the honorary title “Baba HimalayadFather of the Himalayas”
by Peshawar University, Pakistan. Augusto Gansser was not only a brilliant geologist and explorer, but he was also
fascinated by local culture, people, and landscapes everywhere he went. Gansser was equally a true artist, photographer,
and philosopher. As Luigi Jorio, a journalist from Gansser’s native Canton, Ticino, wrote in his memoriam: “With the
death of geologist and mountaineer Augusto Gansser, Switzerland lost an adventure-loving scientist who survived
‘exceptional journeys’.” “Along with Jacques Piccard and Nicolas Bouvier, Gansser was part of a group of Swiss ad-
venturers and travelers of the 20th century who helped put Switzerland on the world map e and put the world on
Switzerland’s map.”
Augusto Gansser was my Geology and Tectonics Teacher at the ETH in Zürich, Switzerland, and my great idol ever
since. His lectures in Basic Geology, Tectonics, on the Colombian Andes and the Himalayas, were both famous, fasci-
nating, and how I had imagined Geology really to be. His geological profiles drawn with his left hand on the black-board
were equally exact and artistically beautiful. As I had secretly hoped for, in my final Geology exam, Gansser asked me to
elaborate on the Cretaceous sections of the Colombian Andes, long before I ever imagined to once work and live for
5 years in Colombia too. During my student’s years (1967e75) at my Alma Mater, Gansser published two important
Articles on the Andes: Gansser, Augusto (April 1973). “Generalised geological map of the Andes 1:20,000,000: Facts and
theories on the Andes, Twenty-sixth William Smith Lecture.” Journal of the Geological Society, London. 129 (2): 93e131,
and, Gansser, Augusto (1973). “Orogene Entwicklung in den Anden, im Himalaja und den Alpen: ein Vergleich.” Eclogae

xvii
xviii In memoriam

Geologicae Helvetiae. Lausanne. 66: 23e40. Both publications had a decisive influence on my own, later career as a
petroleum geologist with Shell.
Augusto Gansser worked for Shell in Colombia (1937e45) and was Chief Geologist under the Exploration Manager
Daniel Trümpy, father of Rudolf Trümpy (my late Doctor Father), and grandfather of Daniel Trümpy, who also worked for
Shell in Colombia (under Jorge Calvache). Gansser then worked for Shell in Trinidad, before joining Iranian’s NIOC as
Chief Geologist, and eventually returning to Switzerland as Professor of Geology at the ETH and the University of Zürich,
and Head of the Geological Department at the ETH (succeeding the great Alpine Geologist Rudolf Staub).

Exploring on the Sierra del Cocuy (Colombia). Photo provided by V. Markus.

In Colombia, Augusto Gansser launched three pioneering expeditions to the geologically unknown Macarena Mountains,
each lasting 3 months. On the first, by mule, in 1938, men and animals alike were attacked by vampire bats and scorpions.
On the second expedition, in 1939, they travelled by canoe, fighting with a 20 foot long Anakonda, and on his third tour,
by truck in 1942, he found “cliffs dripping with asphaltdunforgettable for a petroleum geologist.” In his spare time,
Augusto Gansser climbed the snow-capped Andean peaks of the Colombian Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, including, with his
wife and a fellow mountaineer, an unnamed peak of 16,400ft. Shortly after descending from the summit, his wife fell on a
snowfield but was saved by her rope. In her honor, Gansser named the mountain “Pico Toti” (his wife’s nick name).

Augusto Gansser

I have no doubt, Augusto Gansser would be greatly pleased and honored to see this remarkable Atlas of the Andes by
Gonzalo Zamora and my friend and ex Ecopetrol colleague Andres Mora, dedicated to him.
Mario Nold (Dr.sc.nat.ETH Zürich)
Preface

Many mountains are the expression of fold-and-thrust belts and are of great interest to both mountaineers and geologists
(who are often also mountaineers). They are fascinated by the peaks, volcanoes, valleys, and glaciers, which provoke the
desire to either climb them or understand their genesis. The Andes, with a length of more than 8000 kilometers, constitute
the longest mountain chain in the world, with several Cordilleras and diverse climates throughout. Early naturalists were
captivated by them and began to carry out expeditions from the 19th century. These expeditions brought some of the
earliest geological cross-sections depicting parts of the Andes (Fig. 1).
Since that time, knowledge of the Andes has evolved enormously, and today the Andes is considered as a global type
example of oceanecontinent convergence with a long-lived evolution of the convergent margin and continuous subduction
of the oceanic lithosphere of the Pacific Ocean beneath the continental lithosphere of South America during the Cenozoic
and Mesozoic. Variations in the direction and rate of convergence, together with changes in the slab dip, have shaped the
present Andean configuration. However, this subduction was preceded by a complex Paleozoic and Proterozoic tectonic
history, with the amalgamation of different terranes and the creation of basins that constructed the Pre-Andean framework.
This intricate tectonic history has favored the development of a large number of sedimentary basins. Some of them are
highly mature in terms of hydrocarbon production, with source rocks and reservoirs from Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and
Cenozoic sedimentary sequences, while others are still underexplored. All these are interesting scenarios for geologists and
geophysicists to study and understand.

FIGURE 1 19th century general section across the Andes of Peru and Bolivia, from the Pacific Ocean north of Arica to Illimani, as represented by
D’Orbigny (1842), Pissis (1856), Forbes (1861).

xix
xx Preface

FIGURE 2 Relief map of South America, showing the approximate location of the different field analogues and seismic case studies of this volume.
 Preface xxi

These basins have a wide coverage of seismic data (2D and 3D), allowing imaging of a large variety of structural styles.
Although the geological history spans a timeframe starting in the Proterozoic with the accretion of different terranes, it is
the Mesozoic and Cenozoic history which shaped the present-day configuration. The varying structural styles are related, to
some extent, with the variability in the stratigraphy, which sets up the conditions for large differences in mechanical
stratigraphy. For example, the presence of one or more effective detachments, synorogenic deposits and erosion, and thick
and thin sedimentary sequences are all factors related with the basin stratigraphy. All of these, together with the basement
configuration or the changes in the stress regime through time, have controlled the structural styles within these basins. To
a large extent, plate tectonics controlled the onset of the deformation, and in several cases, the advance or retreat of the
deformation front.
To date, no comprehensive record of the variability in structural styles and hydrocarbon traps that exist in the Andean
chain has been published.
The 38 chapters that constitute this volume are divided into three major sections (Fig. 2):
l The first section presents three chapters and constitutes an introduction to the regional controls on the structural styles
within the Andean orogenic belt related to the tectonic inheritance; the challenges of the processing sequence and
migration of seismic data in areas with highly variable topography; and the use of sand-box analogue experiments
as templates to investigate the structural evolution and kinematics of natural systems.
l The second section is composed of three chapters covering several field analogues at different scales of observation
(Fig. 2). Analogues are a powerful tool widely used when interpreting low-quality seismic data. Depending on the scale
of observation, outcrops constitute either the surface exposure of a larger, buried structure, or a complete geological
structure. Most of these outcropping structures are replicated in the subsurface and are therefore widely used to under-
stand geometries, fault/fold relationships or structure and sedimentation interactions, as well as 3D evolution.
l The third section, which is the most important of this volume, includes 32 case studies (Fig. 2), covering both produc-
tive and unproductive basins in the Andean, Sub-Andean, and Forearc regions. These case studies show workflows and/
or interpretation techniques in different structural settings where differing levels of seismic quality are observed, group-
ed here into the geographic distribution of the countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.
Collectively, they show a large selection of structural styles including thin-skinned to thick-skinned, extensional and
inversion tectonics. The main goal of this section is to provide a didactic methodology, showing examples on how
to approach the interpretation in the Andean basins, where the complex deformation and variable topography are gener-
ally associated with poor-to-fair seismic images. We hope that the different seismic examples send the message that it is
essential to start with unbiased observations before creating models.
Illustrations and interpretations included in the book are crucial to understanding the complexity of seismic interpre-
tation within the Andean basins. Moreover, this volume is the first seismic atlas that is fully dedicated to the structural
styles within a single mountain chain. Therefore, we expect that it will not only be a landmark for future hydrocarbon
exploration activities in the Andean region, but we also hope that the large number of examples will help researchers and
professors to create an extensive basis for future geoscientists to build upon.
The high resolution files of seismic images can be downloaded from the link d https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-
journals/book-companion/9780323851756

References
D’Orbigny, A., 1842. Voyage dans l0 Amerique Meridionale, tome III. Partie Geol.
Forbes, D., 1861. On the geology of Bolivia and southern Peru. Q J Geol Soc 17 (1e2), 7e62.
Pissis, M., 1856. Reserches sur les Systémes de Soulèvement de l0 Amerique du Sud. Annales des Mines, 5 sér tome IX.
Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support and guidance of all those professors and colleagues we have learnt from.
We acknowledge Zhang Jinjiang (Peking University), Christopher Connors (Washington and Lee University), and
Soumyajit Mukherjee (IIT Bombay), who revised the original proposal of this book and provided useful comments and
suggestions to improve the original idea of this project.
We are indebted to all the authors, for finding the time to prepare and write their contributions, and the patience to
follow our numerous guidelines, multiples requests, and revisions.
Our thanks to Amy Shapiro, Acquisitions Editor of Earth and Planetary Sciences of Elsevier, who supported our
proposal from its early stages and initiated the project. During the course of editing and writing of this book we relied on
the invaluable help of Sara Valentino, Senior Editorial Project Manager, who took care of all aspects related with man-
uscripts, guidelines, and submissions. Most importantly we really appreciate her patience with our delays, questions, and
changes; without her support and constant follow-up, this book would not have been possible.
Our institutions have supported us during the process of this book project: Repsol for Gonzalo Zamora, and Ecopetrol
for Andrés Mora.
The editors would like to acknowledge the effort of the 46 reviewers, in many cases reviewing more than one
contribution. Their generous commitment has, undoubtedly, increased the quality of each chapter.

Alejandro Mora Douglas Paton Javier Támara

Amanda Hughes Ernesto Cristallini Jean Claude Ringenbach
Brad Carter Etienne Jaillard Jhon Shaw
Carlos Macellari Flor Alba Vivas Joaquina Álvarez Marrón
Chris Connors Fred Lorion Joel Saylor
Christopher Clinkscales Greg Schoenborn Jonas Kley
Dave Tanner James Kellogg Josep Antón Muñoz
Don Medwedeff Jaume Vergés Josep Poblet
Juan Hernández Matı́as Ghiglione Roberto Hernández
Juan Ignacio Soto Michael Cottan Stephane Brusset
Juan Luis Alonso Oriol Pla Tomás Zapata
Marı́a Roma Oscar Fernández Vı́ctor A. Ramos
Mario de Freitas Paul Kapp Wayne Narr
Mark Cooper Paul Mann William Agudelo
Martı́n Turienzo Raffaele Di Cuia
Massimiliano Masini Rick Groshong

The editors want to acknowledge Vera Markus, who provided the pictures of her grandfather Professor Augusto
Gansser.
Finally, yet no less importantly, we are indebted to our families for their support and patience during this long process,
bearing our absence and bearing our absence and the late nights. This book is dedicated to them, and in particular, Gonzalo
Zamora would like to dedicate this book to his wife Natalia Rodríguez.

xxiii
Chapter 1

Tectonic inheritance and structural styles

in the Andean fold-thrust belt and
foreland basin
Brian K. Horton1 and Andres Folguera2
1
Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas,
United States; 2Instituto de Estudios Andinos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires,
Argentina

Chapter outline
Introduction 4 Décollement-style fold-thrust systems 12
Tectonic framework 6 Basement-involved block uplifts 15
Modern configuration 6 Inversion of pre-Andean basins 16
Orogenic history 6 Inversion of Andean extensional basins 16
Time-space variability 7 Backthrust belts 16
Rationale: tectonic inheritance 7 Salt-involved belts 17
Structural inheritance 7 Summary and discussion 17
Stratigraphic inheritance 10 Different modes of tectonic inheritance 17
Rheological inheritance 10 Tectonic drivers and controls 18
Thermal inheritance 11 Acknowledgments 19
Andean structural styles 12 References 19

Abstract
Andean orogenesis is expressed in the diverse deformational records of crustal structures and sedimentary basins in western South
America. Here we summarize retroarc structural styles within the Andean orogenic belt and foreland basin system through consideration
of regional contractional fault geometries, their kinematic interactions with other structures, and the comparative involvement of
crystalline basement and sedimentary cover rocks. In assessing the controls on structural style, we emphasize the importance of precursor
conditions and employ the concept of tectonic inheritance to identify four factors that influence Andean deformation. (1) Structural
inheritance involves the reactivation of preexisting faults or basement fabrics and accompanying inversion of sedimentary basins. (2)
Stratigraphic inheritance is exemplified by the preferential localization of interconnected thin-skinned structures above regional
décollements developed in wedge-shaped stratigraphic packages versus isolated basement-involved thick-skinned fault structures formed
in provinces with limited cover strata. (3) Rheological properties guide the activation of new structures by means of the integrated
strength, rock and mineral composition, fluid content and pressure, and associated mechanical heterogeneities and anisotropies that
define crustal and lithospheric architecture. (4) Thermal structure in the form of initial temperature conditions and later thermal per-
turbations (such as cooling/heating episodes related to arc magmatism, subducting slab dynamics, or lithospheric removal) can promote
inboard advance or outboard retreat of deformation. We propose that evaluation of tectonic inheritance will help explain variations in
Andean structural styles that do not bear simple relationships to the history of plate convergence, subduction, and magmatism along the
western margin of South America.

Andean Structural Styles. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85175-6.00001-8

Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 3
4 SECTION | I Introduction

Introduction
The Andes are a long-lived orogenic system with diverse structural and stratigraphic records that reflect the wide variety of
deformational processes along convergent plate boundaries. The Andean fold-thrust belt and foreland basin system
(Fig. 1.1) have been generated during sustained ocean-continent convergence, subduction, continental arc magmatism, and
shortening along the western edge of the South American plate (Ramos, 1999, 2009; Folguera et al., 2015; Horton, 2018a).
Although the Andean forearc and magmatic arc experienced strike-slip deformation, the retroarc sector has been controlled
by principally trench-perpendicular compressional stresses that induced regional horizontal shortening, crustal
thickening, growth of a large crustal root, construction of isostatically compensated topography, and cratonward advance
of an evolving flexural load and foreland basin (James, 1971; Isacks, 1988; Beck and Zandt, 2002; DeCelles and
Horton, 2003).
Cretaceous-Cenozoic shortening has been accommodated by diverse structural elements that affect Phanerozoic cover
strata, igneous rocks of mostly PaleozoiceMesozoic age, and mechanical basement of Precambrian and locally Paleozoic
age (including crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks with minor amounts of metasedimentary and metavolcanic
rocks). Fundamental to the Andean retroarc zone are integrated ramp-flat fold-thrust systems characterized by geometri-
cally and kinematically linked fold and generally low-angle thrust structures developed in supracrustal rocks above
regional décollements (Schmitz, 1994; Schmitz and Kley, 1997; Baby et al., 1997; Kley et al., 1999; McQuarrie, 2002a).
These thin-skinned structures contrast with isolated high-angle reverse faults that penetrate to deeper crustal levels and
potentially accommodate greater degrees of oblique transpressional deformation (Jordan and Allmendinger, 1986; Ramos
et al., 2002). Within the orogen, newly formed normal faults are relatively uncommon and show limited displacement, but
have played an important role in Andean evolution as signs of orogenic collapse (Folguera et al., 2009; Giovanni et al.,
2010; Ramos et al., 2014) or diminished mechanical coupling between the subducting and overriding plates (Ramos, 2010;
Mpodozis and Cornejo, 2012; Horton and Fuentes, 2016; Horton, 2018b).
Following influential studies of the Appalachians, North American Cordillera, and Laramide province (Rodgers, 1971;
Coney, 1976; Dickinson and Snyder, 1978; Erslev, 1993), structural styles in contractional orogenic belts are routinely
classified into thin-skinned fold-thrust systems restricted to cover strata versus thick-skinned basement-involved defor-
mational provinces (Jordan et al., 1983; Rodgers, 1987; Pfiffner, 2017). Some studies suggest that binary categorization
into these two modes fails to represent the range of structural styles in the Andean fold-thrust belt and foreland basin
(e.g., Allmendinger and Gubbels, 1996; Kley et al., 1999; Ramos et al., 2002, 2004; Giambiagi et al., 2012). Specifically,
most thrust systems with regional décollements ultimately involve crystalline basement rocks at depth in trailing hinterland
segments, thus precluding strict discrimination of thin-skinned versus thick-skinned systems purely on the basis of
basement involvement. Nevertheless, careful documentation of basement involvement and contrasts between thin- and
thick-skinned systems provides insights into the structural evolution of major orogenic systems (e.g., Frizon de Lamotte
et al., 2000; Meng and Zhang, 2000; Molinaro et al., 2005; Butler et al., 2006; Yonkee and Weil, 2015; Muñoz, 2019). In
addition to the classification of thin-versus thick-skinned geometries, a more encompassing scheme could recognize that
many attributes intrinsic to the orogenic systemdso-called “inherited” elementsdoperate to varying degrees to guide the
geometric and kinematic evolution of contractional orogenic systems.
Here we explore different factors that influence the structural styles of the Andean retroarc fold-thrust belt and foreland
basin. Employing the concept of tectonic inheritance, we highlight the roles of: (a) preexisting structural features such as faults
and basement fabrics prone to subsequent strain localization; (b) inherited stratigraphic architecture and lithologic units;
(c) crustal/lithospheric rheology; and (d) thermal framework, including thermal perturbations. Our motivation is to expand the
discussion beyond purely structural inheritance and build a broader appreciation for these different controls while recognizing
their potential temporal and spatial overlap during the evolution of the Andean thrust belt and foreland basin.
Although we seek to promote a wider perspective on inheritance and structural styles, several issues are beyond the
scope of this presentation. We do not discuss estimates of the precise onset and rates of Andean orogenesis, which span
from Cretaceous to late Cenozoic and have been presented elsewhere (e.g., Ramos, 1999, 2009; DeCelles and Horton,
2003; McQuarrie et al., 2005; Oncken et al., 2006; Horton, 2018a, 2018b). We also do not review the many calculations of
total orogenic shortening from crustal-scale balanced cross sections, which show distinct variations along strike (e.g., Baby
et al., 1997; Kley and Monaldi, 1998; Kley et al., 1999; McQuarrie, 2002a; Giambiagi et al., 2012, 2015). Rather than
assessing such regional kinematic variations and their implications for surface topography, we focus on the theme of
tectonic inheritance and underscore key templates or structural analogs that will help researchers evaluate the potential
controls on Andean structural styles for specific targets of investigation.
 Tectonic inheritance and structural styles in the Andean fold-thrust belt and foreland basin Chapter | 1 5

FIGURE 1.1 Tectonic map and DEM of western South America showing plate boundaries, Andean magmatic arc, zones of flat slab subduction, the
topographic front of the Andean fold-thrust belt (black line), the foreland deformation front (red line), modern stress orientations from earthquake focal
mechanisms, and selected segments of the retroarc foreland basin system. Modified from Ramos and Folguera (2009) and Hortan (2018a,b).
6 SECTION | I Introduction

Tectonic framework
Modern configuration
The modern plate tectonic configuration of western South America (Fig. 1.1) involves an ocean-continent convergent plate
boundary with a subduction zone defined by the east-dipping oceanic Nazca slab. The trench-parallel Andean magmatic arc
is composed of four discontinuous segments (the northern, central, southern, and austral volcanic zones) divided by
separate regions of late Cenozoic flat-slab subduction or slab-window generation, including the Colombian/Bucuramanga
flat slab (2e8
N), Peruvian flat slab (5e15
S), Chilean/Pampean flat slab (27e33
S), and the Patagonian slab window
adjacent to the Nazca-Antarctica spreading ridge (45e48
S) (Barazangi and Isacks, 1976; Jordan et al., 1983; Ramos,
1999; Breitsprecher and Thorkelson, 2008; Ramos and Folguera, 2009; Wagner et al., 2017). The Andes Mountains form a
continuous topographic barrier that is the product of retroarc crustal thickening driven by horizontal shortening in a
compressional tectonic regime. This shortening has been accommodated in the retroarc fold-thrust belt by principally dip-
slip contractional structures, as reflected in earthquake focal mechanisms and modern stress measurements
(e.g., Assumpção et al., 2016). Many thrust-belt structures are geometrically and kinematically linked to a middle to upper
crustal décollement that is considered to underlie the entire Andean orogenic belt (Baby et al., 1997; McQuarrie, 2002a;
Giambiagi et al., 2012, 2015).
The Andean topographic front marks the sharp boundary between the fold-thrust belt and the low plains of the foreland
basin system, in which regional isostatic (flexural) subsidence has generated accommodation space for large volumes of clastic
sediment eroded from the Andean orogen (Horton and DeCelles, 1997; Mora et al., 2010a). Additionally, isolated topographic
highs within the broad foreland lowlands, although disconnected from Andean topography, represent the easternmost
expression of crustal shortening (i.e., the foreland deformation front), such as in the western Amazonian foreland of Peru
(5e15
S) and the Sierras Pampeanas of central Argentina (27e33
S). In many regions, Andean structural and stratigraphic
records indicate a long-term cratonward advance of arc magmatism, fold-thrust deformation, and foreland basin subsidence
(Rutland, 1971; Isacks, 1988; DeCelles and Horton, 2003; Gómez et al., 2005; Haschke et al., 2006; Carrapa and DeCelles,
2008; Bayona et al., 2008; Folguera and Ramos, 2011; Horton et al., 2020; Capaldi et al., 2020, 2021). This systematic pattern,
however, is not well developed in other regions (particularly within narrow segments of the orogen such as the northern Andes
of Ecuador and southern Colombia at 2
Ne5
S and the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina at 34e44
S and 50e55
S)
where nonuniform and unsteady processes have been promoted by changes in slab dynamics, fluctuations in tectonic regime,
or variations imparted by tectonic inheritance (e.g., Mpodozis and Ramos, 1990; Cooper et al., 1995; Colletta et al., 1997;
Charrier et al., 2002; Parra et al., 2012; McGroder et al., 2015; Folguera et al., 2015). Further complexities are introduced by
spatially variable climatic conditions that can set up internal feedbacks between erosion and deformation style that vary along
the length of the w8000 km long orogenic belt (Masek et al., 1994; Horton, 1999; Montgomery et al., 2001; Strecker et al.,
2007; McQuarrie et al., 2008; Mora et al., 2008; Ghiglione et al., 2019).

Orogenic history
MesozoiceCenozoic subduction along the western edge of South American generated a long-lived continental magmatic
arc and retroarc region with diverse structures and basin systems. A fundamental shift at w100 Ma from extensional or
neutral tectonic regimes to chiefly retroarc shortening followed w130e120 Ma opening of the south Atlantic Ocean and
westward advance of the South American plate away from the African plate (Coney and Evenchick, 1994; Horton, 2018a;
Gianni et al., 2018). After this stage of Gondwana breakup, plate convergence involved westward absolute motion of South
American above subducted east-dipping oceanic lithosphere, with limited accretion of oceanic materials along the
northernmost and southernmost Andean margin (Dalziel, 1986; Megard, 1989).
Construction of the Andes is attributed to Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic retroarc crustal shortening in which the inboard
(eastward) advance of the deformation front demonstrates the time-transgressive history of crustal thickening and asso-
ciated flexural foreland basin development. Nazca-South American plate convergence was generally orthogonal to the
roughly north-trending plate margin (Maloney et al., 2013; Muller et al., 2016). Oblique components of plate convergence
have been largely accommodated in the arc and forearc regions (e.g., Fitch, 1972), with most structures in the retroarc fold-
thrust belt recording plane-strain conditions marked by thrust/reverse focal mechanisms with minimal strike-slip
displacement (Fig. 1.1). Similarly, extension has been confined to either the highest segments of the orogenic belt,
where gravitational collapse is possible (e.g., Dalmayrac and Molnar, 1981), or the thrust belt hinterland to forearc region
where diminished mechanical coupling along the subduction interface may allow extension during slab rollback (Meade
and Conrad, 2008; Martinod et al., 2010).
 Tectonic inheritance and structural styles in the Andean fold-thrust belt and foreland basin Chapter | 1 7

Time-space variability
Despite the shared MesozoiceCenozoic plate tectonic history of roughly orthogonal convergence and noncollisional
processes along the length of western South America, Andean orogenesis has involved substantial variability in tectonic
regime, deformation magnitude, and basin evolution. Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic variations in tectonic regime include
alternations between sustained regional compression and shorter episodes of minor extension or neutral stress conditions
(Ramos, 2010; Horton, 2018b). Additional temporal variations may be manifest as discrete episodes of accelerated or
decelerated Andean deformation and foreland subsidence (e.g., Vergani et al., 1995; Jaillard et al., 2000; Gómez
et al., 2005; Oncken et al., 2006; Bayona et al., 2008; Parra et al., 2009; Buford Parks and McQuarrie, 2019; Echaurren
et al., 2019). Spatial variations are readily apparent in the modern Andean orogen (Fig. 1.1) and include along-strike
fluctuations in topography (height and width of the orogen), crustal thickness, shortening magnitude, and arc magmatism.
Several spatial variations in the Andes correlate with the current plate tectonic configuration. Along the length of the
plate margin, the modern distances from the trench to (A) the Andean topographic front (the thrust belt-foreland basin
boundary) and (B) the foreland deformation front (easternmost surface or subsurface expression of Cenozoic shortening)
are highly variable along strike (Fig. 1.2) (Horton et al., 2022). The trench-normal distances span from 300 to 800 km, with
the most pronounced inboard position of the topographic and deformation fronts recognized in four separate provinces.
The maximum inboard advance of topography and deformation is defined in the central Andes, where the Andean orogen
attains its greatest width, crustal thickness, total horizontal shortening, and mean elevation. The other three provinces
overlap with the Peruvian flat slab (5e15
S), the Chilean/Pampean flat slab (27e33
S), and the Patagonian slab window
where the Nazca-Antarctica spreading ridge (Chile Ridge) intersects the Andean margin (45e48
S).

Rationale: tectonic inheritance

We propose that structural styles in the Andes and many contractional orogenic belts may be considered in the broad
context of tectonic inheritance (Fig. 1.3). This rationale highlights the influence of four parameters: (1) preexisting
structures, (2) precursor stratigraphic architecture, (3) rheological and strength properties, and (4) crustal/lithospheric
thermal configuration. These categories are not mutually exclusive, but are specified here in order to appreciate the range of
potential explanations for differences in structural style. In this rationale, the concept of inheritance need not be limited
strictly to cases of structural inheritance that involve fault reactivation and inversion of former sedimentary basins.
We suggest that the four types of inheritance presented here may apply at different spatial and temporal scales. This
approach recognizes contrasting processes in (a) upper versus lower crustal regions, (b) supracrustal cover strata versus
mechanical basement, (c) more felsic (weaker) versus more mafic (stronger) composition, and (d) early orogenic (thin
crust) versus late orogenic (thick crust) conditions.

Structural inheritance
Structural inheritance represents the influence of preexisting faults or basement fabrics on structural style (Fig. 1.3A).
Structural inheritance is readily recognized in cases of fault reactivation and basin inversion in upper crustal levels
(e.g., McClay, 1995; Lowell, 1995; Cooper and Warren, 2010; Bonini et al., 2012). Many Andean faults are spatially
colocated or closely parallel to preexisting faults and basement fabrics. A frequent Andean situation involves the reac-
tivation of Mesozoic extensional faults as thrust or reverse faults during Cenozoic shortening. In such cases, a pre-Andean
structural low delineated by a hangingwall extensional basin becomes later elevated during Andean shortening, inverting
the original basin. Basin inversion is prevalent in surface and subsurface examples throughout the Andes, particularly in
the eastern foothills of Colombia (2e7
N; Cooper et al., 1995; Mora et al., 2009; Tesón et al., 2013; Teixell et al., 2015;
Mora et al., 2020; Costantino et al., 2021), the foreland provinces of Ecuador and Peru (0e13
S; Balkwill et al., 1995;
Baby et al., 2013; McGroder et al., 2015; Zamora and Gil, 2018; McClay et al., 2018), the Salta rift system of northernmost
Argentina (22e27
S; Grier et al., 1991; Comínguez and Ramos, 1995; Kley and Monaldi, 2002; Kley et al., 2005; Carrera
et al., 2006; Monaldi et al., 2008); and the Neuquén Basin of central Argentina (34e40
S; Manceda and Figueroa, 1995;
Mosquera and Ramos, 2006; Giambiagi et al., 2008, 2022; Mescua et al., 2014; Fuentes et al., 2016).
Contractional inversion of an ancestral extensional basin can be recognized by: a sharp contrast between thick
hangingwall stratigraphic units and thinner correlative footwall strata; the presence of fault-proximal facies (including
coarse-grained alluvial fan or fan-delta deposits) preferentially developed in hangingwall areas adjacent to the original
normal fault; and the spatial coincidence, intersection, or overlap of older normal and younger thrust/reverse faults.
Unequivocal demonstration of fault reactivation can be challenging, in that newly formed thrust faults may also nucleate
within the extensional basin in close proximity but not precisely along original normal faults.
8 SECTION | I Introduction

FIGURE 1.2 A comparative plot showing along-strike (latitudinal) variations in Andean orogenic width and retroarc shortening. Orogenic width is
defined as the trench-normal (cross-strike) distance between the South American subduction trench and the Andean deformation front, with delineation of
three separate provinces of basement-involved foreland deformation: (1) Peruvian foreland (5e15
S), (2) Sierras Pampeanas foreland (27e33
S), and (3)
northern Patagonian foreland (45e48
S). From Horton et al. (2022).

Characteristic structures accompanying basin inversion (Fig. 1.3A) include arrowhead or harpoon thrust-fold
geometries defined by reactivated faults with synextensional stratal wedge (half-graben) geometries preserved in
hangingwall anticlines; and buttress-related folds formed in hanging walls where steeply dipping fault segments and/or
rigid footwall basement rocks impede slip along the reactivated fault surface (Badley et al., 1989; McClay, 1995; Carrera
et al., 2006; Granado and Ruh, 2019; Martínez et al., 2021). Listric normal faults are prone to partial reactivation with
 Tectonic inheritance and structural styles in the Andean fold-thrust belt and foreland basin Chapter | 1 9

FIGURE 1.3 A series of cross sections depicting four modes of tectonic inheritance. (A) Structural inheritance, in which shortening involves (1)
reactivation of a preexisting normal fault with accompanying basin inversion, and (2) fault nucleation along igneous and/or metamorphic basement fabrics.
(B) Stratigraphic inheritance represented by (1) upper-crustal shortening accommodated by interconnected ramp-flat (décollement-style) thin-skinned
structures involving cratonward-tapering cover strata versus (2) basement-involved thick-skinned shortening along isolated fault structures that pene-
trate to deeper crustal levels. (C) Rheological inheritance, in which variations in yield strength profiles (as well as mineral/rock composition, fluid content/
pressure, and resulting heterogeneities and anisotropies) promote (1) a weak mid-crustal décollement with associated thin-skinned fold-thrust belt versus
(2) a uniformly strong profile with thick-skinned crustal-scale basement faults. (D) Thermal inheritance, showing the thermal structure along an ocean-
continent convergent margin involving (1) a steep subduction zone with a warm, weak overriding plate undergoing high-magnitude horizontal shortening
in a retroarc fold-thrust belt and (2) a flat slab subduction zone involving a cool, rigid overriding plate in which crustal-scale contractional structures
develop toward the craton within the plate interior.

shortening-induced displacement focused along the gently dipping, deeper segments of the fault rather than the steeper
shallow segments. In such cases, deformation at shallower levels may be manifest in newly formed footwall splay or
shortcut faults geometrically linked to the deeper reactivated master fault (Mora and Parra, 2008; Amilibia et al., 2008;
Carrera and Muñoz, 2013; Tesón et al., 2013; Fuentes et al., 2016; Mora et al., 2020). Several examples of fault
reactivation and basin inversion are presented in this volume (e.g., Zamora and Carter, 2022; Martínez and Fuentes,
2022; Giambiagi et al., 2022; Cortés et al., 2022).
Andean structural reactivation is not restricted to Mesozoic normal faults, as inherited Paleozoic and Precambrian
structures have also been reactivated (e.g., Carrera and Muñoz, 2013; Giambiagi et al., 2014; Perez et al., 2016a). A less-
common illustration of structural inheritance involves strain localization of Andean structures along metamorphic and/or
igneous fabrics (Fig. 1.3A). These fabrics constitute preexisting planes of weakness (such as foliation, schistosity, or
cleavage planes) that are preferentially activated during regional shortening. Most examples of this process involve pre-
Andean weaknesses within crystalline basement or intrusive belts (González Bonorino, 1950; Mosquera and Ramos,
2006; Hongn et al., 2010; Giambiagi et al., 2011), but Paleozoic foliation or cleavage fabrics within sedimentary rocks also
have been inferred to guide later Andean structures (Laubacher, 1978; Dalmayrac et al., 1980; Martinez, 1980).
An important additional form of structural inheritance involves large-scale Andean reactivation of regional mid- to
upper-crustal extensional detachments. For example, the basement detachment and affiliated normal faults within the
w250 km wide Cretaceous Salta rift system were reactivated during Cenozoic shortening, creating a series of parallel
ranges within the Puna and Santa Barbara regions of northernmost Argentina (22e27
S; Grier et al., 1991; Kley and
Monaldi, 2002; Pearson et al., 2013). The regional integration and geometric linkage of these structures rule out over-
simplified interpretations of these features as isolated, independent basement uplifts analogous to crustal-scale structures of
the Sierras Pampeanas province (27e33
S) (e.g., Montero-López et al., 2018).
10 SECTION | I Introduction

Stratigraphic inheritance
Stratigraphic inheritance refers to the impact of predeformational stratigraphic architecture on structural style (Fig. 1.3B).
In contractional systems, a spatial correspondence has been observed between the inherited stratigraphic framework and
the existence and geometry of regional décollements and interconnected ramp-flat structures developed in preexisting
supracrustal cover strata (Lageson and Schmitt, 1994; Lawton et al., 1994; Boyer, 1995; Mitra, 1997; Espurt et al., 2008;
Yonkee and Weil, 2015; Parker and Pearson, 2021). Specifically, an asymmetric foreland-tapering stratigraphic prism that
is thicker in the hinterland and thinner in the foreland routinely correlates with a deformational style involving a master
regional décollement beneath a fold-thrust belt commonly characterized by a leading imbricate fan and trailing zone of
duplex structures (Fig. 1.3B). For such stratigraphic wedges, the principal décollement is situated at or near the basement-
cover interface, with potential additional detachment horizons present at higher structural levels within the cover
succession. In nearly all Andean cases, the main décollement is linked to a major footwall ramp in the trailing part of the
fold-thrust belt that penetrates into the underlying basement, although these basement rocks may remain at depth with no
surface exposure (e.g., Kley, 1996; Allmendinger and Zapata, 2000).
Two key examples include foreland-directed (east-vergent) structures of the Interandean and Subandean fold-thrust belt
in the central Andes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northernmost Argentina (13e23
S; Mingramm et al., 1979; Baby et al.,
1995, 1997; Dunn et al., 1995; Kley, 1996; Moretti et al., 1996; Echavarria et al., 2003; Anderson et al., 2017, 2018;
Fuentes et al., 2018; Rojas Vera et al., 2019), and retroarc thrust structures in the Precordillera of the southern central
Andes of west-central Argentina (29e33
S; von Gosen, 1992; Ramos et al., 1996; Cristallini and Ramos, 2000; All-
mendinger and Judge, 2014). These zones contain hinterland-thickening Paleozoic stratigraphic packages in which a gently
west-dipping décollement forms along inherited stratigraphic contacts within the Paleozoic succession and along the basal
interface with Precambrian basement rocks.
In selected Andean regions, comparable geometries are expressed in Mesozoic strata capping mechanical basement of
late Paleozoic age. Such cases include an array of imbricate fan, duplex, and backthrust structures, as recognized in the
Tierra del Fuego region of the southernmost Andes (53e56
S; Alvarez-Marrón et al., 1993; Kraemer, 2003) and in the
hinterland Aconcagua and La Ramada segments of the southern central Andes (Cegarra and Ramos, 1996; Giambiagi
et al., 2003).
A complex pre-Andean history resulted in an irregular spatial distribution of Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphic
packages suitable for a ramp-flat structural style. Past studies have shown that an inherited Paleozoic or Mesozoic strat-
igraphic prism is a necessary condition for the regional emergence of such organized thin-skinned deformational belts
(Allmendinger et al., 1983; McQuarrie, 2002b; McGroder et al., 2015). The aforementioned districts also recorded the
highest magnitude (>100e200 km) of horizontal shortening in the Andes (Kley and Monaldi, 1998; Kley et al., 1999;
Allmendinger and Judge, 2014). In these segments, the position of the retroarc deformation front (Fig. 1.2) may be largely
regulated by the original stratigraphic architecturedthat is, the deformation front corresponds to the inboard (eastern)
pinchout of Paleozoic or Mesozoic basin fill. Similarly, the major footwall ramp in the thrust-belt hinterland may coincide
with the sharp stratigraphic transition between thin shelf/platform facies in the east and thicker slope deposits in the west.
A fundamental corollary within the framework of stratigraphic inheritance pertains to zones of basement deformation
defined by isolated crustal-scale reverse faults (Fig. 1.3B). Examples of this classic structural style in which basement-
involved reverse faults penetrate to deeper crustal levels include the Sierras Pampeanas of central Argentina (27e33
S)
and the Laramide province in the western USA (31e46
N) (Jordan and Allmendinger, 1986; Yonkee and Weil, 2015). In
these foreland regions situated >500e1500 km inboard of the trench (Fig. 1.2), the predeformational (pre-Andean)
stratigraphic package is either absent or of very limited thickness (<500 m) and exhibits no pronounced lateral thickness
variations. Therefore, the lack of a thick, wedge-shaped sedimentary succession virtually guaranteed that any compres-
sional stresses that propagated sufficiently to such intracontinental settings would result in shortening that preferentially
affected the underlying crystalline basement (Allmendinger et al., 1983; Yonkee and Weil, 2015). In other words,
shortening that is confined mostly to the basement domain can be considered a natural consequence of the volumetric
dominance of basement rocks relative to thin cover strata. Nevertheless, the lack of a thick stratigraphic package should not
be viewed as the only potential driver of basement-involved deformation.

Rheological inheritance
Rheological properties are critical in defining structural geometries, strain localization patterns, and deformation kinematics
of contractional orogenic belts (Fig. 1.3C). At the lithospheric scale, structural style may correlate with overall integrated
strength or with vertical strength variations, as represented by contrasting yield strength profiles for the crust and upper
 Tectonic inheritance and structural styles in the Andean fold-thrust belt and foreland basin Chapter | 1 11

mantle (Farías et al., 2010; Barrionuevo et al., 2021; Ibarra et al., 2021). A uniform increase in yield strength with depth
may impart a high degree of mechanical coupling between the upper and lower crust, and therefore the generation of
disconnected crustal-scale structures that penetrate into the deeper crust (Fig. 1.3C). In contrast, a vertical strength profile
with a weak middle crust would promote decoupling between the upper and lower crust (Fig. 1.3C), thus favoring
development of a décollement with a series of geometrically linked thrust faults (e.g., Jammes and Huismans, 2012;
Jammes et al., 2014; Giambiagi et al., 2015; Wolf et al., 2021). These opposing rheological circumstances are distin-
guished from the preceding cases of structural and stratigraphic inheritance by their application to newly formed rather than
strictly reactivated structures and to deeper zones below supracrustal sedimentary rocks.
Rheology is strongly connected to variations in the thickness, composition, age, fluid content, and pore fluid pressure of
continental crust and lithosphere (Ruh et al., 2012; Mouthereau et al., 2013; Pfiffner, 2017; Martinod et al., 2020). These
parameters, which help shape the mechanical and compositional heterogeneities and anisotropies at the regional scale (as
opposed to inherited structures at the local scale), are largely inherited from the preceding tectonic history along the
continental margin. For example, disparities in regional thinning of pre-Andean crust and lithosphere during Mesozoic
extension helped determine the rheological framework prior to widespread Cenozoic shortening (Dalziel, 1981;
Sempere et al., 2002; Fosdick et al., 2014). Additional rheological dissimilarities in the Andes can be attributed to spatial
compositional variations due to PrecambrianePaleozoic accretion of compositionally distinct basement blocks (Ramos
et al., 2004; Mescua et al., 2016; Ramos, 2018) and Mesozoic addition of mafic igneous materials within the magmatic arc
and adjacent backarc region (e.g., Atherton, 1990; Lucassen et al., 2004).
In addition to these inherited predeformational properties, changes in thickness and composition of continental crust
and lithosphere inevitably occur during orogenesis. Processes such as progressive crustal thickening, basaltic underplating,
and incremental or episodic removal of dense lower crust or lithosphere will affect the overall crustal and lithospheric
architecture (Allmendinger et al., 1997; Pope and Willett, 1998; Haschke et al., 2006; DeCelles et al., 2009; Garzione et al.,
2017). Synorogenic variations in these processes are capable of inducing pivotal shifts from one deformation style to
another. In systems governed by large-magnitude shortening, regional crustal thickening and growth of continental pla-
teaus generally results in progressively lower values of integrated crustal strength. This mechanical weakening enhances
strain localization and/or ductile flow within thickened crust, affecting deformational processes in the interior and lateral
margins of the orogen (Babeyko et al., 2006; Barrionuevo et al., 2021; Ibarra et al., 2021; Wolf et al., 2021). In contrast,
other studies have suggested that strain hardening or mechanical strengthening occurs within the orogenic interior during
progressive shortening, promoting outward advance of deformation to orogenic flanks (e.g., Nemcok et al., 2013; Mora
et al., 2013).
The rheological structure and yield strength profiles for particular segments of western South America will have
evolved differently according to both the inherited pre-Andean framework and synorogenic changes in the thickness,
composition, and other mechanical properties of crust and lithosphere during Andean orogenesis. The effects of syn-
orogenic shifts in rheology are most acute in the central Andean (Altiplano-Puna) plateau, where extreme crustal thick-
ening and partial removal of the lower lithosphere has generated mechanical weakening and a more felsic bulk composition
(Beck and Zandt, 2002; Tassara et al., 2006), which have further promoted additional shortening and deformation advance
(Sobolev and Babeyko, 2005).

Thermal inheritance
The thermal configuration of crust and lithosphere influences structural geometries and orogenic deformational patterns at
different scales (Beaumont et al., 2006; Jamieson and Beaumont, 2013; Fossen et al., 2017). At the local scale, temperature
variations in the upper crust impact the yield strength and friction coefficient of preexisting faults, along with associated
fluid properties and pore pressures, thus influencing their susceptibility to reactivation (Sibson, 1977; Bonini et al., 2012;
Lafosse et al., 2016; Rattez and Veveakis, 2020). At the regional scale, the thermal structure of crust and lithosphere helps
dictate the integrated strength of rock materials, which affects broader patterns of strain localization (Buiter et al., 2009;
Lacombe and Bellahsen, 2016). Over time, regional heating or cooling will help determine deformation style through the
progressive weakening or strengthening of continental crustal materials. As in the case of rheological inheritance
(Fig. 1.3C), contrasts in the vertical yield strength profile will influence coupling between the upper and lower crust, and
thus favor isolated crustal-scale structures or décollement-style deformation with linked thrust faults.
Along subduction margins, spatial variations in geothermal gradient are likely to foster different structural styles in
forearc, magmatic arc, and retroarc regions. For example, rapid heating episodes related to pulses of arc magmatism,
delamination, or removal of lower continental lithosphere, asthenospheric upwelling, and/or slab window formation may
trigger distinct deformation responses (Beck and Zandt, 2002; Ramos and Kay, 2006; Breitsprecher and Thorkelson, 2008;
12 SECTION | I Introduction

DeCelles et al., 2009; Kay and Coira, 2009; Folguera et al., 2015; Garzione et al., 2017; Gianni and Pérez Luján, 2021). In
this presentation, we focus on the contrasting thermal profiles inherited from steep versus flat-slab subduction (Fig. 1.3D)
(Gutscher, 2002). Whereas steep subduction correlates with a relatively warm retroarc system involving a decoupled upper
crustal fold-thrust belt, flat subduction cools (refrigerates) the plate margin, extinguishes the magmatic arc, and promotes
rigid, crustal-scale deformation farther toward the craton (Fig. 1.3D). The latter situation is observed along the modern
Andean margin, where the Peruvian (5e15
S) and Chilean/Pampean (27e33
S) zones of flat-slab subduction (Jordan
et al., 1983; Ramos et al., 2002; Ramos and Folguera, 2009; Bishop et al., 2018) spatially correlate with basement
shortening provinces and inboard penetration of the foreland deformation front (Fig. 1.2).
In the ancient record, shallowing or steepening of the subducting slab would abruptly alter the thermal configuration
and prompt a shift in structural style (e.g., Jordan et al., 1983; Kay and Coira, 2009). Where past phases of flat subduction
have been followed by slab resteepening and attendant heating (and lithospheric thinning), pervasive thermal weakening is
envisioned to promote decoupling within the crust and generation of large-magnitude thrust-belt shortening (Isacks, 1988;
Wdowinski and Bock, 1994; Tassara, 2005). Similarly rapid phases of heating may accompany the removal or foundering
of dense orogenic roots, further promoting upper-crustal deformation and advance of the retroarc fold-thrust belt
(e.g., DeCelles et al., 2009; Garzione et al., 2017). Both of these processesdslab resteepening and lithospheric
removaldmay help explain how the central Andes attained an exceptional width (Fig. 1.2), accommodated large-
magnitude shortening (Schmitz, 1994; Baby et al., 1997; McQuarrie, 2002a), and generated a foreland basin that
advanced far toward the craton (DeCelles and Horton, 2003; Horton, 2018a).
Although it can be difficult to separate the roles of thermal and rheological inheritance, the aforementioned examples
focus on cases of thermal triggering, where rapid cooling or heating favors a particular structural style. In the absence of
such abrupt episodes, the thermal conditions at the onset of Andean orogenesis were largely governed by the location and
relative magnitude of earlier crustal and lithospheric thinning during Mesozoic extension. Thereafter, Cenozoic shortening
would have induced thickening and buildup of an orogenic root, which progressively modified the thermal structure and
led to slow warming of retroarc regions. In these cases, the thermal configuration was likely subordinate to other forms of
tectonic inheritance.

Andean structural styles

Many studies have categorized contrasting types of retroarc structural systems within the Andes in order to facilitate
comparison among different orogenic segments, develop conceptual models, and generate testable predictions (including
hydrocarbon plays) (e.g., Kley et al., 1999; Jacques, 2003; Ramos et al., 2004; Macellari and Hermoza, 2009; McGroder
et al., 2015; Zamora et al., 2019). Here we identify a series of representative deformational modes (or styles) expressed
within retroarc segments of the Andean orogenic belt (Fig. 1.4). These modes are not mutually exclusive, as many regions
have features emblematic of several different styles and may be considered “hybrid” systems (e.g., Zamora Valcarce et al.,
2006; Rojas Vera et al., 2015; Fuentes et al., 2016; McClay et al., 2018; Mackaman-Lofland et al., 2020). Because the
Andes are dominated by cover strata, with limited exposure of igneous or metamorphic basement, the identified styles tend
to focus on structural relationships within cover strata. However, we emphasize that all of these deformational modes
involve basement rocks, albeit commonly at depth toward more internal (hinterland) segments of the orogenic system.
Further, the selected examples center on dip-slip systems because oblique deformation in the Andes has been accom-
modated predominantly within magmatic arc and forearc regions. It is worth noting that this classification scheme does not
reduce to a simple binary thin-skinned versus thick-skinned interpretation of deformational processes in the Andean
orogenic belt and foreland basin system.

Décollement-style fold-thrust systems

A décollement-style fold-thrust system (Fig. 1.4AeC) involves multiple thrust faults with ramp-flat geometries in which
major faults have large strike length (> 10e50 km) and regularly exhibit large dip-slip displacement (>10 km). The
principal structures include craton-directed (east-vergent) thrust faults arranged into imbricate fans in the frontal or foothills
zones, with duplex systems concentrated in trailing hinterland sectors (Fig. 1.4A and B) (Baby et al., 1997, 2018;
McQuarrie, 2002a; Echavarria et al., 2003; Espurt et al., 2008, 2011; Ghiglione et al., 2010; Anderson et al., 2017, 2018;
Fuentes et al., 2018; McClay et al., 2018; Gallardo Jara et al., 2019). These fold-thrust systems mostly involve sedimentary
cover strata, typically a wedge-shaped stratigraphic prism that thickens toward the western margin. In the Andes, this
inherited asymmetric wedge may constitute deposits of a Paleozoic passive margin, Paleozoic foreland basin, Mesozoic
extensional basin, or Mesozoic postextensional (sag) basin. Given the dominance of Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks, these
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 The next instant it was bang, bang—five times in succession, and
the metal cones buried themselves in that bulk as if it were a
colossal cushion. That the missiles did harm was beyond question,
but they did not stop the advance of the bear. The wounds would
likely prove mortal sooner or later, but not soon enough to save
Alden Payne.
He was on the point of wheeling and dashing off, with no clear
idea of the direction to take, when another report rang out. It was
that of a rifle, whose bullet went straight to the seat of life. With a
snarling growl, the bear reared on his hind legs and clawed at the
wounds made by the revolver bullets, as if he thought they were
splinters which he tried to pluck out.
It was the rifle ball that settled the business. He sagged over on
his side, struck and kicked for a few seconds and then the prodigious
carcass lay still, for he was as dead as Julius Cæsar.
From the same direction that the bear had come, advanced a
Pony Express Rider, with smoking rifle in hand. He had arrived in the
nick of time and could not have asked a fairer target than that
presented by the brute. The man, however, did not know whom he
had saved, until Alden Payne came from behind the boulder and
confronted him. Then he reined up and looked wonderingly at the
youth.
“Who the mischief are you?” he asked, as Alden appeared.
“A young fellow in need of the help you gave.”
“How comes it you’re on foot and in this fix?”
Alden hastily explained.
“So Dick Lightfoot’s dead, eh? Too bad; where did you leave him?”
“Two or three miles back; he was shot from his pony by an Indian
arrow.”
“Where’s his pony?”
“He made off when I sprang from the saddle and hid here.”
“Umph! never run from a bear like that.”
 “I never met a grizzly before.”
“And you didn’t meet one this time: only an ordinary black bear.
Why didn’t you use your rifle?” asked the rider, with a glance at the
weapon on the ground.
“My bullets don’t fit.”
The horseman scrutinized the gun.
“Why it’s Dick’s; you didn’t think to take his bullets; I can let you
have a few; you may need ’em before you reach the station.”
He deftly extracted a half dozen which he passed to the grateful
Alden.
“Don’t lose any time in reloading, which reminds me.”
And he proceeded to recharge his own weapon.
During this brief chat, it struck Alden that the man resembled in
looks and voice the rider who lay on the ground several miles away.
The alert manner and crisp way of speaking were the same.
“You are about the weight of Lightfoot and have much his
appearance.”
“Umph! I ought to; I’m his brother.”
He snatched out a small watch and glanced at it.
“I’ll be hanged! I’ve lost six minutes; I must be off; bye-bye.”
He touched the flanks of his pony with his spurs, and the animal
bounded away at full speed. Almost immediately he disappeared.
To put it mildly, Alden Payne was surprised. Here was a man who
received the news of his brother’s death without a sign of emotion,
and yet doubtless he felt it deeply. But it was all a part of the game.
The living brother might pass over the Great Divide in a brief while
and join the other. Such was the life of the Pony Express Rider.
Alden would have liked to ask the man more questions, had time
permitted. He would have turned over the possessions taken from
the fallen man, had he thought of it. He wished to ask him about that
signal smoke which still stained the sky in front and the rider could
have given him valuable suggestions.
It was too late now. The opportunity was gone and the youth must
think for himself. Six or eight miles remained to be traversed through
a dangerous country and he was on foot. The pony had fled and he
doubted whether he could be recovered.
“He has the mail with him and may take it into his head to go to the
station without me,” was the thought of Alden, as he turned back
over the trail. The hoof prints left by the animal showed clearly in the
ground and it was easy to follow them.
A little way and he came to where the open space broadened. His
vision widened and the first survey showed him Dick quietly cropping
the grass, as if nothing unusual had happened to him. His side was
toward Alden, who whistled.
The pony lifted his head, with the blades of grass dripping from his
jaws, and looked questioningly at the youth, who whistled again and
walked in his direction.
It would be interesting could we know what whims passed through
the brain of the animal which was one of the most intelligent of his
species. The Express Riders used so many horses and were forced
by circumstances to shift so often from one to the other, that not
often was any special affection formed between the human and
brute. In other instances, the fondness was deep and the two stuck
to each other whenever and wherever it was possible to do so.
Dick in his own way must have mourned the loss of his master
when he tumbled from the saddle, but he accepted the substitute in
the minute that he appeared, and yielded the same obedience to one
as to the other. Brief as had been the pony’s service, he like his
companions, had imbibed the fact that his one duty in life was to
carry the mail pouches with the highest speed at his command, and
that such service was to be performed under the guidance of the
man who sat on his back.
When Dick, therefore, heard the whistle and recognized the youth,
he paused only long enough to make sure there was no mistake,
and then with a neigh of pleasure, he trotted toward him. As the two
met, Alden patted the animal’s nose and spoke affectionately:
“Good Dick! you’re worth your weight in gold; I should be in a bad
fix without you.”
He sprang into the saddle. He had hardly settled in his seat when
the pony broke into a trot, which quickly rose to a gallop, though it
was not a dead run. That would come very soon.
The observant Alden noted one fact: the horse did not take the
course which he was following when alarmed by the approach of the
black bear. He veered well to the left, thus leaving the carcass out of
sight in the other direction. His kind dread a dead bear almost as
much as a live one.
The action of Dick confirmed what his new master had suspected
from the first: the route to the station was not over a single, narrow
trail to which the riders confined themselves, but covered an area
that gave wide latitude. That he took the path which was taken by
the man who saved him from the bear was one of those providential
occurrences that are more common in this life than most people
believe.
The emigrant trains were disposed to keep to certain paths, where
the face of the country compelled a closing in, but in other sections
the respective courses were separated by miles, and, as has been
shown the parties plodding across the plains, even though their
routes were parallel, were often so far apart that for days they saw
nothing of one another. Even the twinkle of their camp fires were too
far over the “convex world,” to be visible.
Alden Payne could not free himself from the belief that it was safer
to hold Dick down to a moderate pace than to give him free rein. The
mail was already hopelessly behind time,—a fact which did not
concern him—though he was determined to deliver it at the station if
it were possible for him to do so. This could be done before dark with
the pony on a trot or walk.
The feeling of the young Express Rider was natural. When
drawing near a point where danger is suspected, we prefer to do so
at the most guarded pace. With all of Dick’s sagacity he was more
likely to go wrong when on a run than when on a walk.
The animal must have felt much as did the trained dog, who,
having pointed a bird, was picked up by his new and sympathetic
master and carried off the field, under the belief that he had been
suddenly taken with cramps. Dick gathered his hoofs several times
and broke into an impatient gallop, only to be drawn down again to a
trot which finally dropped to a rapid walk. He gave up the dispute in
disgust and by his action said:
“All right; if you think you know more than I do, you may run
things.”
It did not add to Alden’s serenity of mind to notice that the course
was gradually shifting to the left, and finally led directly toward the
brush of smoke which still stained the blue tinted sky.
All manner of thoughts crowded upon him. The one hopeful truth
was that the living Lightfoot had come over the route unharmed
within the last hour. It would seem that Alden ought to be as
fortunate as he. Ah! if he had only had time to question the rider who
might have passed through a brush with the redskins!
Another fact gave basis for vague hope: a scrutiny of the whole
horizon showed no answering signal. When Indians resort to such
telegraphy, as they often do on the plains and among the mountains,
there are calls and replies. It is on record that on one occasion the
news of the signing of an important treaty at Washington affecting
the Sioux was known to that tribe before the telegraphic messages
could reach the army officers at the reservation. It was carried
westward by Indian telegraphy which none of us fully understands,
except that it seems to be through signal fires from elevated
positions. But in that case, there must have been smoke or blaze
visible at different points, as we know was really the case.
But Alden Payne saw only the shadowy wisp of vapor in front of
him, and must wait to learn its full meaning. That knowledge could
not be long in coming.
 CHAPTER XVI
CAUSE AND EFFECT

A lden was convinced from a study of the signal smoke that it was
gradually fading, as if the fire which caused it was not
replenished. What this signified, as well as the meaning of the
display itself, was beyond him.
When the interval between him and the danger point had dwindled
to an eighth of a mile, Dick did an almost incredible thing. Until then
he had shown no sign of seeing the warning. Suddenly he stopped,
raised his head, thrust his ears forward and looked steadily at the
thin column of vapor for several minutes. The reins lay on his neck
and the rider did not touch them.
The animal wheeled abruptly to the right and broke into a gallop.
His action showed that he read the signal smoke aright. Indians were
there and he must avoid them.
“I shall not interfere again with you,” said Alden admiringly; “you
know a hundred times more than I do of these matters.”
None the less, our young friend was uneasy. With all the pony’s
sagacity, it would not have been strange if he was outwitted. The
dusky enemies must have believed it was an experienced Express
Rider who was coming from the east, and it would seem likely to
them that he would direct his pony as the animal was now directing
himself. If so, the precaution could hardly be of avail.
The ground rapidly changed in character. Before Alden looked for
it the incline increased, and he was riding among boulders, rocks
and dwarfed pines. He felt a coolness too in the air, though the ridge
did not rise anywhere near to the snow line. Looking down at the
ground he saw no signs of others having passed the way before him.
He was the pioneer in that dismal solitude.
 He was glad when the pony of his own accord dropped from the
gallop to his rapid, graceful walk. It was impossible for him to
progress in a straight line, and he was forever turning to the right or
left, rarely following a direct course for more than a few rods.
Alden could not help smiling when it looked for a moment as if
Dick had suddenly reached the end of his rope. He came opposite a
mass of rocks, amid which the twisted pines pushed out in all
directions, though ever striving to reach the vertical with their tops
pointed toward the zenith. To the right and left, the flinty boundary
extended beyond sight.
Without hesitation Dick turned to the left and walked briskly for a
dozen rods. The barrier still interposed. He stopped, wheeled about
and retraced his steps. He was searching for an opening or small
pass, and was not satisfied to approach any closer to the Indian
signal.
Within less than the distance named, to the right of his first turn,
he found that for which he was looking. A gap showed and he
entered it as if it were a stable door that had been opened for him.
“What’s the use of placing a rider on your back, Dick?” asked the
delighted Alden. “Better to give you the mail pouch and tell you to
deliver it at the next station. But then mighty few ponies know as
much as you.”
How far this path led remained to be seen. But it had not been
followed far when Alden met an experience that was as unique as
unexpected. The appearance of the gorge suggested that a torrent
of water poured through it, when the snows melted or the floods
descended. Its width varied from fifty feet to two or three times that
extent, and the irregular walls rose on each side almost as many
feet. If the course lasted, it could not be more favorable.
The bottom of this peculiar ravine was broken at intervals by
stones, and then only pebbles showed. It would have been easy for
Dick to dash through on the gallop which seemed to be his natural
gait, for it was comparatively level, but he chose of his own accord to
walk. He was traveling round instead of crossing lots, as he had
been accustomed to do, and the incident promised to prove another
illustration of the proverb.
And then came the surprise. Dick had turned one of the many
corners, his head dipping with each vigorous step, when he flung up
his nose and snorted. The alert Alden in the same instant saw an
Indian warrior coming toward him.
The redskin was a duplicate of the one who had launched an
arrow at the youth several miles back. He had the same squat,
sturdy figure, the coarse black hair dangling about his bare
shoulders, and growing low upon his forehead, the naked chest, the
frowsy hunting shirt of deerskin, with leggings and dilapidated
moccasins. He carried a knife in the girdle about his waist, and his
right hand grasped a heavy bow as long as himself. Behind his left
shoulder the feathered tips of a number of arrows showed where he
carried his quiver.
Neither the countenance nor chest displayed any of the paint of
which the American Indians are fond. It may be doubted whether the
vari-colored daubs would have added to the hideousness of that
face, which was broad with protuberant cheek bones, an immense
mouth, low forehead and piercing black eyes.
Never was a meeting between two persons more unexpected by
both. The Indian emitted a startled “hooh!” and stopped short, as if
transfixed. As late as the days to which I am referring hundreds of
the western red men used the bow and arrow instead of the rifle.
This was generally due to the difficulty of obtaining the modern
weapon, but in many instances it was choice on their part. It may be
questioned whether in the majority of cases, one was not as effective
as the other.
The particular red man in whom we are now interested had a
formidable bow at command, and no doubt was an expert in its use,
but before discharging an arrow, he must snatch it from behind his
shoulder, fit it to the string and aim. Ere he could do all this the white
youth could bore him through a dozen times had he possessed that
number of guns. He had one which in the circumstances was as
good as the larger number.
 Dick at sight of the redskin had also stopped. Thus he and the
savage faced each other as if the two were carved in stone. Alden
was quickwitted enough to bring his rifle to his shoulder and aim
between the ears of his pony. There was no mistake about it: he had
“the drop” on the other fellow.
And that other fellow knew it. He had been trained never to give or
ask quarter, and he did not ask for it now. Instead, he whirled about
and dashed off in a wild headlong flight. There was something
grotesquely comical in his performance, for instead of running in a
straight line, he leaped from side to side, stooped, dodged, and then
straightened up for a few seconds, during which his speed was
amazing. He did not utter a sound, but no miserable wretch ever
strove more desperately to escape the doom which he expected with
every breath he drew.
Alden read the meaning of the odd actions. It was intended to
distract his aim. Few Indians are fools enough to resort to the trick,
but the Digger tribe sometimes do so.
When the warrior made off, Dick with a faint snort did the same.
He was in pursuit, and since no man ever lived who could outrun a
good horse, little chance was left for the fugitive.
Alden could have brought him down within the same moment that
he stopped. Most men in his situation would have done so, but the
whole thing was abhorrent to the youth. Only in self-defense would
he shoot a human being, as he had proved weeks before.
“I don’t want your life; if you will get out of my path I won’t hurt
you,” was the thought of Alden, who lowered his gun, but held it
ready to use on the instant it might become necessary. He feared
that because the shot was delayed, the Indian would turn and try to
use his bow. In that event, the youth would fire to kill.
He held himself ready to anticipate hostile action. He was so close
to the fleeing warrior and the air was so clear, that every trifle about
the fugitive was noticed. He observed that the sole of his right
moccasin was partly gone and flapped as he ran. Most of the ragged
fringe at the bottom of his shirt had been torn off, but a piece kept
fluttering about and hitting against his hip. The red men of the West
generally wore different clothing from the one described, but the
fugitive suggested a descent from those of his race who lived east of
the Alleghanies.
Alden noted the play of the muscles between the shoulders, where
they were not hidden by the bouncing quiver. The American Indian
as a rule is deficient in muscular development, but this one showed
several moderate ridges that doubled and shifted in response to the
rhythmic swinging of his arms. Each was bent at the elbow with the
hand close to the chest, like a professional runner, but the right hand
was empty, while the fingers of the left were closed about the huge
bow which he was obliged to hold diagonally before him, to prevent
its interference with his running. The tousled head was pushed
forward, and at intervals the redskin looked back. The glare of his
black eyes through the meshes of flying hair suggested an owl
peering from behind a thicket.
Those backward glances were only for an instant but were
continually repeated. The swarthy face showed the terror of the
fugitive, who must have wondered why the fatal shot was delayed.
Perhaps he thought his pursuer meant to make him prisoner—a fate
dreaded as much as death itself.
The Indian ceased his side leaps and ducking, and gave the last
ounce of his strength to flight. He was running extraordinarily fast,
but you do not need to be told that he steadily lost ground before the
rushing pony. It was impossible for the man to get away by means of
direct flight.
Meanwhile, queer thoughts must have bothered Dick. He had
brought his new master within easy striking distance of his enemy
and he did nothing. Why did he not shoot and close the incident?
Why did he wait till the brief space was lessened still more?
The watchful Alden suddenly saw the right hand of the fugitive dart
over to the left shoulder, where the fingers fiddled for a moment.
Then they snapped out an arrow from the quiver and the missile
vanished, as it was brought round in front of his chest. Since the
white man held his fire, the red one meant to use his own weapon.
 At the instant the Indian began fitting the shaft to the string while
still running, Alden shouted at the top of his voice. It was a warning
which was understood and went through the fugitive like an electric
shock. He bounded several feet in air, and dropped the arrow to the
ground, but he did not lessen the haste with which he was speeding
in order to pick it up.
All this occupied but a few brief minutes. The disgusted Dick had
carried his rider to within ten feet of the fugitive and now eased his
pace. The respective speed of each was the same. The pony had
done his part and refused to do more.
Alden Payne decided upon his course at the beginning of the race.
He would maintain the pursuit, allowing the Indian to hold his place a
little in advance until the end of the gorge was reached and the
wretch had the chance to dart aside. This, however, was not the end
of the most peculiar occurrence.
In his panic the redskin attempted the impossible. Fancying the
pony was upon his heels, and his rider about to reach over and seize
or strike him, he made a turn to the right, leaped high in air and
grasped the end of a projecting ledge of stone. Then with the same
fierce haste as before, he strove to draw himself over the edge to the
narrow support above. He succeeded, for the task was not difficult,
but there was not enough space to hide any portion of his body. He
had room barely to stand, and Alden could have picked him off as
readily as when he was fleeing before him. The poor wretch shrank
as close as he could against the wall and cowered and glared and
awaited the bullet.
And Alden Payne, instead of harming him waved his hand and
shouted:
“Good-by, old fellow! Give my love to your folks.”
It was a strange piece of jocularity, but the genial hearted youth
doubted whether it would be appreciated. Having gone by the warrior
he left him in the best possible position to discharge one of his
missiles, and according to the general rule, that is what he would
have done.
 Much has been said and written about the gratitude of the
American Indian. That he sometimes displays that virtue cannot be
denied, but among the wild tribes of the plains, or Southwest, the
rule is the other way. I have referred to this elsewhere. The first
person an Apache strives to kill when the chance offers is he who
has given him bread and drink. He is as quick to bite the hand that
has fed his hunger as a rattlesnake is to strike the foot that crushes
him.
It is a pleasure therefore to tell the truth regarding the Indian
(whose tribe Alden Payne never learned) that had been spared by
the amateur Pony Express Rider. He might have made it bad for the
youth who was riding from him, and who as a consequence could
not keep an eye upon his every movement. When Alden looked back
as he did several times, he saw the warrior still on his perch, and
watching him, but the huge bow in his hand was not raised nor was
another arrow drawn to the head, while the horseman was within
reach of the primitive weapon.
This strange situation could last only a brief time. The speed of
Dick rapidly carried him and his rider beyond reach of any bow and
arrow ever devised. The gorge remained comparatively straight for
quite a way, and the mutual view lasted longer than would have been
the case either earlier or later.
Alden was not yet out of sight of the Indian when he emitted a
series of tremulous whoops, the like of which the rider had never
before heard on his journey across the plains. The first sound was
an explosive shout, and the half dozen which succeeded trailed off
into silence. The redskin made this strange outcry three times and
then ceased.
“I suppose he means that as a reply to my salute,” laughed Alden,
who the next minute whisked beyond view around a turn in the
gorge. “If I knew how to reply I should do so, but we’ll have to wait till
next time.”
Dick showed no disposition to slacken his pace and his rider did
not restrain him. Just after making the turn referred to Alden turned
his head. What led him to do so he could not explain since he knew
he was clear of the warrior whom he had nearly scared out of his
wits, but he saw an amazing sight. The varying character of the
gorge showed a projecting mass of stone on the right near the top. It
was at a wide part of the ravine, and the peculiar shape of the rocks
left a partial cavity behind the jutting portion large enough to hold
several persons.
And in this depression three Indians, looking much like the one he
had left out of sight, had evidently just risen from the ground and
stood motionless as if watching him as he skurried from them. They
must have been there when he rode beneath within fifty feet of
where they were lying in ambush.
Alden was dumfounded. What could it all mean? After watching
and probably signaling they had waited till he rode right into the trap
and then had allowed him to ride out again, unharmed and all
unsuspicious of his peril.
“That is too much for me,” mused the perplexed youth; “I spared
one of them when I had him dead to rights, but why should those
three spare me? That isn’t the way—”
Could those odd sounding signals which the single warrior sent
forward from his perch on the rocks have had anything to do with it?
Did they cause the forbearance of his comrades farther up the
gorge? That such should be the case seemed incredible, but days
afterward Alden submitted the question to Shagbark. The veteran
stroked his whiskers, puffed his pipe for a minute, and then squinted
one eye.
“Thar’s only one way to explanify it,” he answered; “the varmint
whose scalp ye left on top of his head was so thankful that he
signaled ahead to the other three varmints not to hurt ye, ’cause ye
and him war friends.
“I’ll own that that ain’t the gin’ral style of the critters, but sometimes
they act jest as if they war white men, and better than some white
men I’ve met.”
 CHAPTER XVII
AT THE STATION

D ick the pony held his swift gallop for a half mile farther, when he
debouched into an open country, similar in many respects to that
which he had left behind him. While it could not be called level, it
showed no steep inclines and the masses of rocks and heaps of
boulders were readily flanked by the superb courser.
The plucky animal let himself out immediately and the admiring
Alden still allowed the reins to lie on his neck.
“You need no orders from me, old fellow,” said he; “when the
history of the Pony Express is written, more credit should be given to
you and your comrades than to some of the men who sat in the
saddles.”
The ridge which caused Alden anxiety had been crossed, and now
when he looked back he traced the outlines of the vague column of
smoke that was slow in dissolving in the summer air. Surely nothing
more was to be feared from that source. No matter how well
mounted a party of Indians might be, none could overhaul the
peerless Dick, whose graceful legs were again doubling under him
with marvelous rapidity and carrying him and his burden as an eagle
bears its eaglet on its broad back.
“Now, if I should have a flat sail on my right and left like a kite,”
mused Alden, giving rein to his whimsical fancy, “this speed would lift
us clear and we should skim through the air like a swallow. We
should have to come down now and then, when the hoofs would give
us another flip upward and away we should go. I’ll make the
suggestion when I get the chance.”
Suddenly he caught sight of a buck coursing in front. Where he
came from he could not guess. Dick must have headed for him
without either being aware of the fact, until the horse was almost
upon the creature.
The latter kept up his wild flight for several hundred yards when he
was terrified to find that man and horse were gaining upon him. Then
the buck showed a gleam of sense by bolting to the right. He made
astonishing bounds and skimmed with arrowy speed, but it was less
than that of his pursuer. Was there any creature of the plains which
could surpass the half-bred mustang? No.
Alden wondered whether the pony would change his course and
press the pursuit of the game, as almost any one of his species
would have done in similar circumstances. But Dick did not vary a
hair until he confronted another pile of rocks. Instead of flanking
them on the same side with the buck, he whisked in the other
direction. What was a whole herd of deer to him? He carried the
United States mail and everything must give way to that.
From the moment that Alden saw the buck bounding in front of
him, he could have brought him down without checking the pony. But
he did not raise his rifle. To have fired would have been as wanton
an act as the slaughter of the hundreds of thousands of buffaloes
during the few years that followed.
He was convinced that Dick was again going at the rate of twenty-
five miles an hour. He would not have been surprised had the speed
been even greater. That, however, was hardly possible. Again the
still air rose to a gale and the velvety thumping of the delicate hoops
was bewildering in its swiftness. He sat firmly in the saddle, leaning
slightly forward and now and then jerking down his hat which was in
danger of being whisked off by the wind.
“What’s the use, Dick?” asked Alden. “Why not take things easier?
But to do that would be to rob you of your enjoyment. Helloa! there’s
something new!”
He was coursing over the undulating ground, when his gaze
rested on a building half a mile away and in the line of Dick’s run. It
was a low, flat structure of logs, such as is often seen on the frontier.
At the rear was a covered inclosure and from the rough, stone
chimney, built at one end on the outside of the main building, rose a
spiral of smoke—proof that the cabin had occupants.
“It’s the station!” exclaimed the rider the next moment. He
observed three men standing in front, with a saddled horse near
them. Evidently they were watching his approach.
It was the rule among Pony Express Riders that upon arriving
within a half mile of a station, they should proclaim the fact by giving
the “coyote yell.” This was notice to their friends to have a fresh
horse ready, for it must be borne in mind that the minutes were
precious. As the panting animal dashed up, his rider sprang from the
saddle before he had fairly halted and ready hands helped secure it
to the back of the waiting horse. The messenger leaped like an
acrobat into place, caught up the reins, touched with his spurs the
flanks of the animal, which instantly responded with a bound, and
was off on a headlong run.
Often the rider snatched up the lunch that was waiting him, and
ate while his horse was going at top speed. He shouted back to his
cheering friends, with whom he had exchanged a few hurried words
and the next minute was beyond hearing.
Such was the rule while the rider was making his run. Generally
the stations were twelve or fifteen miles apart, and the ride of a one
man was thirty or forty miles. This compelled two changes such as
described, after starting on his furious race. At the end of his “stunt,”
the new man, freshly mounted was awaiting him. The pause after the
arrival of the courier was just long enough for the saddle and mail
pouches to be transferred, when the relief sped away for the next
station, and if all went well, completed his task in schedule time.
The stations as has been stated were scattered over a line nearly
two thousand miles long, through the wildest and most dangerous
section of our continent. This distance had to be covered in eight
days, which was an average of two hundred and fifty miles a day, the
like of which had never been known before and probably will never
be known again. We recall that the number of these stations
between Sacramento and St. Joseph, Missouri, was a hundred and
ninety. No regular intervals, however, could be established, for a
great deal depended upon the physical nature of the country. From
what has been already said, it will be understood that a horseman
often had to do double duty because of some accident to his partner.
Thus more than one Express Rider covered two and in a few
instances three hundred miles never leaving the saddle except for a
minute or two when changing horses. While the system was
wonderful in its completeness, many breaks were inevitable.
The three men who were standing in front of the squat cabin were
Tom Harper, Tim Jenkins, and Gideon Altman. A brother of the last
named was absent hunting game for the larder of the establishment.
The first named—Harper—was wiry and slight of frame, while the
other two were of ordinary stature. Harper was a rider, but the weight
of his comrades shut them out, except in case of necessity.
Dick Lightfoot who had reached his “last station” a dozen miles to
the eastward, was due at the present place in time to meet his
brother, whom Alden encountered at the time of his flurry with the
bear. The men at the station knew that some accident must have
befallen Dick and were therefore on the watch, when they descried a
stranger coming toward them on the pony which they recognized as
belonging to the missing rider.
Dick was in a lather and his sides heaved. Alden did not dismount
but looked down in the faces of the group who scrutinized him
keenly. Tim Jenkins, massive and heavily bearded, acted as speaker
for his comrades.
“Who are you?” he demanded of Alden, who gave his name.
“Where’s Dick Lightfoot?”
“He was killed by Indians eight or ten miles back.”
“How do you come to be mounted on his pony?”
There was an aggressiveness in the tone and manner of Jenkins,
but Alden ignored it. The circumstances warranted suspicion. So he
told his story as succinctly as he could. The three listened closely,
and must have felt the truth of the words of the youth whose looks
and personality pleased them.
 “You’ve got grit, young man,” commented Jenkins; “did you have
any idea of the risks you had to run?”
“I saw Alexander Carlyle the first rider start from St. Joe last April,
and on our way across the plains I have exchanged a few words with
others. I knew it wasn’t any child’s play.”
“You’re right—it isn’t. Poor Dick! it will be a sad blow to his brother
Sam. I suppose your friends will look after the body when they come
up to it?”
“There’s no doubt of that; I sent word to Shagbark, our guide, who
would do it without any such request from me.”
“Shagbark, eh? So he’s your guide; well, there isn’t a better one in
the West than he; that’s what Kit Carson has said many a time and
he knows. See here, my young friend, what’s the use of your staying
in that saddle? Your pony doesn’t go any farther.”
“But I should like to do so.”
“Tom Harper is here to take the place of any chap that gets
knocked out.”
“Why not let me complete the run?”
The three men looked in one another’s faces and smiled
significantly.
“Do you really want to try it?”
“Nothing can suit me better.”
“You have never been over the route.”
“I have never been over the run just finished; I left everything to
the pony and he did not go astray.”
Alden did not think it worth while to tell of his adventure in the
gorge while coming through the ridge.
“You’re correct as to the ponies; all of them have been over the
road long enough to become familiar with it. What do you say, Tom?”
asked Jenkins, turning to the relief rider.
 “Well, I ain’t partic’lar,” replied the wiry fellow, who despite his
youthful looks, was a veteran of the plains; “I expected to ride, if
anything happened to Dick, but this young chap seems to have set
his heart on it and I don’t want to spoil his fun.”
Alden’s eyes sparkled. Having begun the run, almost from the
beginning, he was ambitious to complete it.
“Then it’s settled,” said he, dropping from the saddle, and stepping
across to the waiting animal.
“Hold on a minute,” interposed Jenkins; “being as you ain’t a
reg’lar you needn’t be as strict as they have to be.”
“What do you mean?” asked the puzzled Alden fearing that he was
to be subjected to some vexatious handicap.
“It’s a good fifteen miles to the next station and most of the way is
so rough that your horse will have to walk; there are a few stretches
where you can let him out, but, for all that, you won’t reach the
station till well into the night.”
“What of that?”
“You need rest.”
“I’m not tired,” persisted Alden, afraid that the men would change
their minds.
“That may be, for you haven’t had much of a ride yet, but it is
nearly dark; you must eat supper with us.”
“You are kind, but have we time? The mail is already late.”
Jenkins threw back his head and laughed. His mirth was so
unrestrained that his comrades and even Alden smiled in sympathy.
“If you want a job I’ll recommend you to Colonel Majors. I saw from
the way you rode when you came in sight that you understand the
business.”
“How much are we behind the schedule?”
Jenkins drew out a big silver watch whose ticking could be heard
by all. He squinted one eye and studied the figures.
 “A little more than an hour: it’s no hanging matter if you make it
two or three hours more.”
The action of the man reminded Alden that he had the watch and
papers of Dick Lightfoot in his possession. He took them out and
explaining the matter, handed them to Jenkins.
Had the youth been given his choice, he would have resumed his
ride without another minute’s delay, but to refuse the invitation might
offend. Moreover, he was hungry.
“Your advice is good and I am thankful to eat with you.”
Four men made their quarters at this lonely cabin. One of them
was an extra rider for emergencies, while all, as has been said,
could perform the duty if required. Such supplies as they needed
were sent to them by their employers. Russell, Majors & Waddell
were the proprietors, who made their headquarters in the east, while
Bolivar Roberts was superintendent of the western division. In
Carson City, Nevada, he engaged the fifty or sixty riders needed,
and he and the firm looked carefully after their employees.
Since nearly all the stations were in the midst of superb hunting
grounds, the men at the remote posts obtained a large part of their
food by means of their guns. It was a pleasant variation of the
monotony, and the spice of danger from prowling redskins gave zest
to their enjoyment.
Dick having been unsaddled was turned out to graze with three
others. In the inclosure at the rear of the cabin, these were gathered
at night or during stormy weather, and one or two were always in
readiness for the regular riders. The horse which Alden was to ride
for the next station was allowed to wait, saddled and bridled, and
ready to start the moment called upon.
Alden followed his friend into the cabin, with Harper and Altman at
his heels. Leaning his rifle against the logs by the door, he glanced
around.
The dwelling could not have been of simpler structure. The single
room was some twenty feet square. At one end was an old
fashioned fireplace, in the middle of which stood a small cooking