The Mesozoic Passive Margin of Northern South America

Pindell, James; Erikson, Johan P.

doi:10.1007/978-3-322-85472-8_1

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…During Triassic and Early Jurassic times, a rifting phase affected the northern part of Colombia and Venezuela, probably as a consequence of the breakup of Pangea (Pindell and Dewey, 1982;Jaillard et al, 1990). Concomitantly, backarc extension behind a subduction-related magmatic arc occurred in the area that currently corresponds to the EC (Maze, 1984;McCourt et al, 1984;Pindell and Erikson, 1993;Toussaint, 1995). The presence of the large granitoid Ibagué Batholith (K/Ar ages 151G4 to 131G2 Ma; Brook, 1984;Sillitoe et al, 1982, respectively) and the Jurassic volcanoclastic Saldaña Formation in the Upper Magdalena Valley (Fig.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 93%

Mid-Cretaceous extension-related magmatism in the eastern Colombian Andes

Vásquez¹,

Altenberger²

2005

Journal of South American Earth Sciences

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Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 93%

Mid-Cretaceous extension-related magmatism in the eastern Colombian Andes

Vásquez¹,

Altenberger²

2005

Journal of South American Earth Sciences

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“…4) overlain by 2-3 km of Neocomian evaporite (post-rift Yucatán Platform type, not rift-related) and younger Cretaceous strata. There may be a preevaporite marine (Upper Jurassic) section as well (Pindell and Erikson, 1994), but this has not been reached by Figure 9. Strike-line in the Gulf of Paria (modified from Flinch et al, 1999, location shown on Fig.…”

Section: Aspectmentioning

confidence: 96%

Cenozoic Kinematics and Dynamics of Oblique Collision Between two Convergent Plate Margins: The Caribbean-South America Collision in Eastern Venezuela, Trinidad and Barbados

Pindell¹,

Kennan²

2007

The Paleogene of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Basins: Processes, Events, and Petroleum Systems: 27th Annual

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Numerous structural, tectonic, and geometric aspects of the Eastern South Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone are assessed or reassessed in the light of seismic reflection data, field studies from 2000-2007, heavy mineral analysis, updated interpretation of seismic tomography, seismicity, GPS data, and refined plate kinematic constraints for the Cenozoic. We show that the Cretaceous passive margin of northern South America was transformed to a north-facing, slowly convergent margin in the Late Maastrichtian, and that the collision between the Caribbean and South America was a collision of two convergent margins above an intervening, "doubly subducting" Proto-Caribbean oceanic lithosphere. The new assessments are iteratively integrated to create semi-quantitative palinspastic reconstructions for 5, 10, 25, 31 and 42 Ma, on which paleogeographies are developed. The origin of key sandstone units are considered, due to their importance as major reservoirs, as well as the implications of the kinematic and dynamic modeling for structural timing. The primary collision between the two plates was completed by 10 Ma, with subsequent motion being essentially E-W strike slip, the deformations of which are driven mainly in a bow-wave model of transcurrent simple shear.

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“…The Neocomian marked the final separation and continued seafloor spreading between NW South America from the Yucatán and Chortís Blocks in the early Proto-Caribbean Seaway and the Colombian Marginal Basin (Figs 6 & 7;Pindell & Erikson 1994;Pindell & Kennan 2001). Spanning the gap between the Americas, a lengthening plate boundary of debated nature and complexity must have connected east-dipping subduction zones to the west of the North and South American cordilleras, because it is kinematically impossible for the Proto-Caribbean spreading centre to project into the Pacific (in contrast to the maps of Jaillard et al 1990, their fig.…”

Section: Plate Reconstructions and Reference Framesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tectonic evolution of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and northern South America in the mantle reference frame: an update

Pindell

Kennan²

2009

573

627

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We present an updated synthesis of the widely accepted 'single-arc Pacific-origin' and 'Yucatán-rotation' models for Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico evolution, respectively. Fourteen palaeogeographic maps through time integrate new concepts and alterations to earlier models. Pre-Aptian maps are presented in a North American reference frame. Aptian and younger maps are presented in an Indo-Atlantic hot spot reference frame which demonstrates the surprising simplicity of Caribbean-American interaction. We use the Müller et al. (Geology 21: 275-278, 1993) reference frame because the motions of the Americas are smoothest in this reference frame, and because it does not differ significantly, at least since c. 90 Ma, from more recent 'moving hot spot' reference frames. The Caribbean oceanic lithosphere has moved little relative to the hot spots in the Cenozoic, but moved north at c. 50 km/Ma during the Cretaceous, while the American plates have drifted west much further and faster and thus are responsible for most CaribbeanAmerican relative motion history. New or revised features of this model, generally driven by new data sets, include: (1) refined reconstruction of western Pangaea; (2) refined rotational motions of the Yucatán Block during the evolution of the Gulf of Mexico; (3) an origin for the Caribbean Arc that invokes Aptian conversion to a SW-dipping subduction zone of a trans-American plate boundary from Chortís to Ecuador that was part sinistral transform (northern Caribbean) and part pre-existing arc (eastern, southern Caribbean); (4) acknowledgement that the Caribbean basalt plateau may pertain to the palaeo-Galapagos hot spot, the occurrence of which was partly controlled by a Proto-Caribbean slab gap beneath the Caribbean Plate; (5) Campanian initiation of subduction at the Panama-Costa Rica Arc, although a sinistral transform boundary probably pre-dated subduction initiation here; (6) inception of a north-vergent crustal inversion zone along northern South America to account for Cenozoic convergence between the Americas ahead of the Caribbean Plate; (7) a fan-like, asymmetric rift opening model for the Grenada Basin, where the Margarita and Tobago footwall crustal slivers were exhumed from beneath the southeast Aves Ridge hanging wall; (8) an origin for the Early Cretaceous HP/LT metamorphism in the El Tambor units along the Motagua Fault Zone that relates to subduction of Farallon crust along western Mexico (and then translated along the trans-American plate boundary prior to onset of SW-dipping subduction beneath the Caribbean Arc) rather than to collision of Chortis with Southern Mexico; (9) Middle Miocene tectonic escape of Panamanian crustal slivers, followed by Late Miocene and Recent eastward movement of the 'Panama Block' that is faster than that of the Caribbean Plate, allowed by the inception of east-west trans-Costa Rica shear zones. The updated model integrates new concepts and global plate motion models in an internally consistent way, and can be used to test and guide more local ...

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The Mesozoic Passive Margin of Northern South America

Cited by 21 publications

References 38 publications

Mid-Cretaceous extension-related magmatism in the eastern Colombian Andes

Mid-Cretaceous extension-related magmatism in the eastern Colombian Andes

Cenozoic Kinematics and Dynamics of Oblique Collision Between two Convergent Plate Margins: The Caribbean-South America Collision in Eastern Venezuela, Trinidad and Barbados

Tectonic evolution of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and northern South America in the mantle reference frame: an update

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