Regional geologic and

tectonic setting of the

Maracaibo supergiant
basin, western Venezuela

AUTHORS
Paul Mann  Institute for Geophysics, John A.
and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, 4412
Spicewood Springs Road, Building 600, Austin,
Texas 78759; paulm@utig.ig.utexas.edu
Paul Mann is a senior research scientist at the
Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at
Austin. He received his Ph.D. in geology at the
State University of New York in 1983 and has
published widely on the tectonics of strike-slip, rift,
and collision-related sedimentary basins. A current focus area of research is the interplay of
tectonics, sedimentation, and hydrocarbon occurrence in Venezuela and Trinidad.

Paul Mann, Alejandro Escalona, and

Mara Veronica Castillo

ABSTRACT
This special issue contains eight topical studies on the structure,
stratigraphy, and petroleum system of the Maracaibo Basin, a supergiant basin in western Venezuela. Most of the work reported in this
special issue is the product of thesis-related research by masters
and doctoral-level students at the Jackson School of Geosciences of
the University of Texas at Austin during a collaborative relationship with the Venezuelan national oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S. A., that was initiated in the late 1980s. This introductory
article presents a regional overview of the tectonic setting and geology of the Maracaibo Basin.
With a cumulative oil production of more than 30 billion bbl,
since the first production well was drilled in 1914 and estimated
ultimate oil reserves of more than 44 billion bbl, the Maracaibo Basin
is the most prolific hydrocarbon basin in the Western Hemisphere.
Unlike the more extensive Gulf of Mexico giant hydrocarbon provinces, the relatively small size (50,000 km2; 19,305 mi2), relative
simplicity in its structure and stratigraphy, and wealth of surface and
subsurface data make the Maracaibo Basin an attractive target for
basinwide synthesis. The objective of this article is to present a regional compilation of two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional
(3-D) seismic data, wells, and outcrop data at a basinwide scale to
reveal the basins 3-D structure and stratigraphy. Moreover, we show
regional tectonic reconstructions, regional geologic maps, and basin
subsidence history to better constrain four major tectonic events that
affected the basin and that are critical for understanding the timing
and distribution of major unconformities and clastic wedges, the
distribution of the reservoir rocks, the reactivation of older fault
trends, and the timing of maturation for underlying source rocks.
Many of these topics are discussed in greater detail in the other eight
articles in this special issue.

Copyright #2006. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Manuscript received February 17, 2005; provisional acceptance June 10, 2005; revised manuscript
received September 28, 2005; final acceptance October 11, 2005.
DOI:10.1306/10110505031

AAPG Bulletin, v. 90, no. 4 (April 2006), pp. 445 477

445

Alejandro Escalona  Institute for Geophysics, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of
Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, 4412
Spicewood Springs Road, Building 600, Austin,
Texas 78759
Alejandro Escalona is a postdoctoral researcher
at the Institute for Geophysics, University of
Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in geology
at the University of Texas at Austin in 2003,
where he focused on stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela. He is currently interpreting regional seismic and well data subsurface data from offshore
Venezuela to link offshore and on-land Cenozoic
depocenters.
Mara Veronica Castillo  Department of
Geological Sciences and Institute for Geophysics,
John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of
Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, 4412
Spicewood Springs Road, Building 600, Austin,
Texas 78759; present address: Enersis S.A (ENI)
Caracas, Venezuela
Mara Veronica Castillo is a geoscientist at ENI
Venezuela in Caracas and a lecturer on threedimensional seismic interpretation at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas. She
obtained her Ph.D. in geology at the University
of Texas at Austin in 2001, where she focused on
the structural evolution of the Maracaibo Basin,
Venezuela. Her current interest is using merged
3-D seismic data sets for regional basin analysis.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The results presented in this overview and in the
other articles in this special issue would not have
been possible without the long-term cooperation, data contributions, and financial support of
Petroleos de Venezuela, S. A. (PDVSA). All seismic,
well, and other geologic information used in this
issue is used with expressed permission from
PDVSA. We give special thanks to William F. Fisher
and Amos Salvador of the University of Texas
at Austin Department of Geological Sciences for
their steadfast encouragement, supervision, and
financial support for University of Texas at Austin
graduate student research on the Maracaibo
Basin. At the University of Texas at Austin Bureau
of Economic Geology, Noel Tyler, Edgar Guevara,
Bill Ambrose, and H. Zeng began working closely
with PDVSA in 1991 on seismic stratigraphy and
reservoirs, supervised and supported one University
of Texas at Austin graduate student (J. Maguregui,
M.S., 1990), and published three technical reports. At Rice University, Albert Bally supervised
one Rice Ph.D. student (Felipe Audemard, Ph.D.
1991) and served on the University of Texas at
Austin Ph.D. Committee of Mara Veronica Castillo
(Ph.D., 2001). Finally, we acknowledge all those
University of Texas at Austin and Rice University
graduate students whose work is not presented in
this issue but whose research and related publications were essential for creating the foundation for this basinwide synthesis: Jesus Maguregui
(University of Texas at Austin, M.S., 1990), Isaskun
Azpiritxaga (University of Texas at Austin, M.A.,
1991); Jairo Lugo (University of Texas at Austin,
Ph.D., 1991), Felipe Audemard (Rice University,
Ph.D., 1991), Johnny Pinto (University of Texas at
Austin, M.A., 1991), Ramon Gomez (University
of Texas at Austin, M.A., 1995), Pedro Leon (University of Texas at Austin, M.A., 1997), Ronald
Oribio (University of Texas at Austin, M.A., 1997),
and Felix Daz (University of Texas at Austin, M.Sc.,
1998). We thank A. Bally, J. Blickwede, and D.
Goddard for constructive reviews of this article.
The authors acknowledge financial support for
this publication provided by the University of
Texas at Austins Geology Foundation and Jackson School of Geosciences. University of Texas,
Institute for Geophysics contribution 1777.

Editors Note
Color versions of figures may be seen in the
online version of this article.

446

INTRODUCTION
Global Significance of Hydrocarbons of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico
Sedimentary basins of the Gulf of Mexico and northern South
America host a discontinuous belt of giant oil and gas fields that
collectively contribute 5% of the ultimate hydrocarbon reserves of
the world (BP, 2002) (Figure 1A, B). Most of the hydrocarbons of
northern South America occur onshore in Venezuela, with less significant deposits in the adjacent countries of Trinidad and Tobago
and Colombia (Figure 1A). Shelf and deep-water exploration is advanced in Trinidad and Tobago but much less advanced in the Caribbean Sea north of Venezuela and Colombia. The giant hydrocarbon provinces of the Gulf of Mexico form a geographically distinct
province from northern South America that is separated by the
hydrocarbon-poor region of the Caribbean Sea, Central America, and
the Greater Antilles (Figure 1A). Despite their present geographic
separation by 20003000 km (12421864 mi), both the northern
South America and Gulf of Mexicoeastern Mexico provinces were
once contiguous prior to the breakup of Pangea and therefore share
many similarities in their Late Jurassic structure and stratigraphy.
The Maracaibo Basin is located on the southwestern edge of
the Caribbean Sea in western Venezuela near its border with Colombia (Figure 1A). Venezuela has the fifth largest hydrocarbon
reserves in the world, with cumulative oil production of about
60 billion bbl and proven oil reserves of more than 70 billion bbl
(Audemard and Serrano, 2001; BP, 2002; Horn, 2003; Escalona and
Mann, 2006c). Most of the oil and gas produced in Venezuela is
exported to the United States, with a much smaller amount being
exported to hydrocarbon-poor nations in the circum-Caribbean and
South America. In recent years, liquefied natural gas mainly produced in the eastern offshore area of Trinidad has also become a
major export to the United States.
Objectives of This Issue
Unlike the more extensive Gulf of Mexico giant hydrocarbon provinces, the relatively small (50,000 km2; 19,305 mi2) Maracaibo Basin
makes an attractive target for the type of basinal synthesis presented
in this special issue. We are particularly enthusiastic about the
generous contribution of Petroleos de Venezuela, S. A. (PDVSA) to
our study of regional, two-dimensional (2-D) seismic lines, along with
merged three-dimensional (3-D) seismic data coverage that extends
more than 30% of the total basin area (Castillo, 2001; Escalona,
2003).
The overall objective of this article and the special issue as a
whole is to use a regional compilation of all these data types at a
basinwide scale to reveal the basins 3-D structure and stratigraphy
and its key tectonic stages during the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic.
The regional study presented in this article introduces the more
detailed articles in the issue that focus on particular areas of the basin.

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

Figure 1. (A) Location of giant oil and gas fields (red dots) of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region compiled by Mann et al.
(2003) and plotted on a bathymetric and topographic basemap from Sandwell and Smith (1997). A giant oil field is considered to be
one for which the estimate of ultimately recoverable hydrocarbons is greater than 500 million bbl of oil; a giant gas field contains
greater than 3 tcf of gas. As of 2004, the Maracaibo Basin of northwestern South America (boxed area) contains 14 individual giant
oil fields. With a cumulative oil production of more than 50 billion bbl since the early 20th century and proven reserves of more than
70 billion bbl, the Maracaibo Basin is the most prolific, single supergiant basin in the Western Hemisphere. (B) Distribution of
ultimate hydrocarbon reserves from BP (2002) showing that the Caribbean Gulf of Mexico region contributes 5% of the worlds
ultimate reserves. (C) Distribution of ultimate reserves in the Caribbean region showing that the relatively small Maracaibo Basin
contributes 37% of the ultimate reserves in the Caribbean Gulf of Mexico region. The much larger area of the Maturin foreland
basin in eastern Venezuela contributes only about half of this amount to the reserves total.
Mann et al.

447

Figure 2. (A) Tectonic setting

of the Maracaibo Basin in northwestern South America. Major
plates in the Caribbean region
and compilation of earthquake
focal mechanisms are shown
on a gravity map of the Caribbean compiled by Sandwell and
Smith (1997). Focal mechanisms
shown in red are from earthquakes from 0 to 75 km (0 to
46 mi) in depth, blue mechanisms are from 75 to 150 km
(46 to 93 mi) in depth, and
green mechanisms are greater
than 150 km (93 mi) in depth.
(B) Compilation of GPS results
showing plate motions in the region of northern South America. Sources of GPS vectors include Freymueller et al. (1993);
Perez et al. (2001); Trenkamp
et al. (2002). Note the northnortheastward movement of
the East Andean block (EAB)
that encompasses the smaller,
fault-bounded Maracaibo block
(MB). Key to other abbreviations: EPFZ = El Pilar fault zone;
BFZ = Bocono fault zone; SCDB =
South Caribbean deformed
belt; SMBFZ = Santa Marta
Bucaramanga fault zone; EAFZ =
Eastern Andean fault zone.

Our goal both in this article and the special issue as a

whole is to show linkages between deformation, carbonate and clastic depocenter formation, fault reactivation, reservoir development, and sedimentation patterns
and to relate these basinwide events to even larger, platescale tectonic events produced by interactions between
the Caribbean and South American plates. We hope that
this type of basinwide information will help focus future
research and exploration efforts in the Maracaibo Basin.
The remaining reserves of the Maracaibo Basin are
equivalent in size to more than 100 giant fields.
448

TECTONIC SETTING OF THE MARACAIBO BASIN

Plate Boundary Zone Deformation
The Maracaibo supergiant basin is situated in a wide
and diffuse zone of seismically-active, plate boundary
deformation produced by the present-day interaction
of three plates: Caribbean, Nazca, and South America
(Figure 2A). Global positioning system (GPS)-based
geodetic studies carried out since the late 1980s and
compiled in Figure 2B have constrained the movement

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

of the three larger, bounding plates of the region, as

well as smaller plates or blocks in their broad, plate
boundary zones (Freymueller et al., 1993; Perez et al.,
2001; Trenkamp et al., 2002) (Figure 2B). Geologic
mapping, earthquake, and GPS studies show the presence of an elongate, 1400-km (870-mi)-long North Andean block moving to the north-northeast along the
right-lateral East Andean-Bocono fault zones at rates
of about 6 9 mm/yr (0.23 0.35 in./yr) relative to stable South America (Pennington, 1981) (Figure 2B).
Previously proposed tectonic mechanisms for northeastward transport of the North Andean block include
(1) Panama arc collision with northwestern South
America (Pindell and Dewey, 1982); (2) mantle flow
from the Pacific into the Caribbean (Russo and Silver, 1992); (3) collision of the Carnegie Ridge with
northwestern South America (Pennington, 1981); and
(4) oblique subduction along the Ecuador trench (Kellogg and Mohriak, 2000). Regardless of its mechanism, the motion of the North Andean block, which
started during the late Miocene, has led to the superposition of strike-slip and convergent tectonics of late
Neogene age on rocks previously deformed in the Late
Cretaceous and early part of the Cenozoic.

block (Figure 2B), the right-lateral Bocono fault zone

abruptly curves to the east and transitions into the
well-known El Pilar right-lateral strike-slip fault system
(Schubert, 1982; Audemard and Audemard, 2002)
(Figure 2B). To the west of the Maracaibo block, the
Panama arc continues to converge in an east-west direction against the northwest corner of South America at
rates of about 20 mm/yr (0.78 in./yr) (Taboada et al.,
2000; Trenkamp et al., 2002; Colmenares and Zoback,
2003). North of the Maracaibo Basin, a 10 18-km (6
11-mi)-thick oceanic plateau and oceanic crust of the
Caribbean plate is underthrusting northern South
America as shown by a weakly active Benioff zone beneath the Maracaibo Basin (Kellogg and Bonini, 1982;
Colmenares and Zoback, 2003). This weakly active
Benioff zone passes downdip into an approximately
600-km (372-mi)-long subducted slab imaged using
seismic tomography (van der Hilst and Mann, 1994;
Taboada et al., 2000). The subducted slab can be traced
to the surface at the South Caribbean deformed belt,
where it is associated with recent accretion of offscraped sediments at the South Caribbean deformed
belt (Ladd et al., 1984).

Maracaibo Block
The northern area of the North Andean block can be
further subdivided into the Maracaibo block, a triangular wedge of continental crust that includes the Maracaibo Basin and is bounded to the east by the Bocono
right-lateral strike-slip fault, to the west by the leftlateral Santa Marta Bucaramanga fault zone, and to
the north by thrusts faults of the South Caribbean deformed belt (Mann and Burke, 1984; Taboada et al.,
2000) (Figure 2B). Total right-lateral (northward)
displacement of the Maracaibo block relative to South
America has been estimated to be in the range of
50100 km (3162 mi) (Stephan, 1977; Escalona and
Mann, 2006a). Global positioning system measurements and earthquake studies to date are insufficient to
show separate and kinematically distinct North Andean
and Maracaibo blocks, although measurements by
Trenkamp et al. (2002) support active left-lateral slip
on the Santa MartaBucaramanga fault zone at the
western edge of the Maracaibo block (Figure 2B).
The 26-km (1.23.7-mi)-thick petroliferous and
sedimentary section of the Maracaibo Basin occupies a
stable sag area of the interior of the Maracaibo block and
is passively rafted northward by strike-slip faults that
bound the Maracaibo block. To the east of the Maracaibo

REGIONAL GEOLOGIC SETTING OF NORTHERN

SOUTH AMERICA SUPERGIANT BASINS
Classification of Basins of Northern South America
The Maracaibo Basin forms a segment of an arcuate
belt of foreland basins formed during the Cenozoic as
a result of collision of a Pacific-derived Caribbean arc
with the South American craton (Erlich and Barrett,
1990; Pindell and Barrett, 1990; Lugo and Mann, 1995;
Escalona and Mann, 2006a). The belt of foreland basins
closest to the South American craton formed entirely
on continental rocks of South America and includes,
from west to east, the Llanos basin of eastern Colombia,
the Barinas basin of western Venezuela, the Maracaibo
Basin, and the Eastern Venezuela Basin.
Hydrocarbon Distribution in Northern South American Basins
As also seen in Figure 1A, giant fields cluster in three
of these basins: the Llanos (McCollough and Carver,
1992; Cooper et al., 1995), Maracaibo (Escalona and
Mann, 2006a, c), and Eastern Venezuela (Erlich and
Barrett, 1992; Di Croce et al., 1999). All three of these
foreland basins are highly asymmetric, with thickening
Mann et al.

449

of clastic fill toward a major thrust fault and with pronounced thinning of clastic sediments toward the craton. These basins are underlain by north- and northwestdipping carbonate rocks deposited on the passive margin
of South America prior to the arrival of the Caribbean
arc. Mann et al. (2003) classify these basins as continental collision basins related to terrane accretion, arc
collision, and/or shallow subduction to distinguish them
from more familiar foreland basins that were produced
in continent-continent collisional settings.
Sources and Traps in Foreland Basins
Source rocks in the LLanos, Maracaibo, and Eastern
Venezuela basins include Upper Cretaceous black shale
deposited during sea level highstands during the precollisional, passive-margin phase (Buitrago, 1994; Talukdar
and Marcano, 1994; Erlich et al., 2003; Escalona and
Mann, 2006c). Traps include (1) normal or inverted fault
traps on the flexed South American plate; (2) deeply
buried thrusts and folds of the clastic foreland basin;
and (3) younger structures and stratigraphic traps above
the deformed interval that have received remigrated
hydrocarbons from breached reservoirs derived from
folded and thrusted rocks below. Reservoirs include
fractured carbonate and sandstone that both predate
and accompany the foreland basin history (Erlich and
Barrett, 1992).
A less hydrocarbon-rich, and less explored belt of
hydrocarbon basins is found in the lower, middle, and
upper Magdalena basin of Colombia, the Gulf of Venezuela, the Falcon basin of Venezuela, and the Caribbean Sea area north and east of Trinidad and Tobago.
These rocks are close to or overlie the abrupt structural
contact between arc-related rocks of the Caribbean arc
and continental margin rocks of South America. For
that reason, their source rocks, structures, petroleum
potential, and maturation history should not be assumed to be identical to that of the hydrocarbon-rich
belt of foreland basins overlying continental crust (Escalona and Mann, 2006c).
Clustering of Giant Fields in Foreland Basins
More than 30 individual giant oil fields, each with ultimately recoverable reserves greater than 500 million bbl,
are located in onshore Venezuela, with most of those
fields in the more cratonward belt of foreland basins
that include the Llanos, Maracaibo, and Eastern Venezuela (Figure 1). This belt of giant fields produces
predominantly oil with only a few giant gas fields con450

taining greater than 3 tcf of recoverable gas. Clusters of

giants are found in those areas with the deepest clastic
depocenters, indicating a linkage between deep burial
and basin maturity (Escalona and Mann, 2006c).
As of 2004, the Maracaibo Basin (boxed area
in Figure 1A) contained 14 individual giant oil fields,
with most occurring along the eastern coast of the lake
and in the central lake areas where lower Cenozoic
clastic sedimentary rocks are thickest. With a cumulative oil production of more than 30 billion bbl since
the early 20th century and estimated ultimate oil reserves of more than 40 billion bbl, the Maracaibo Basin
is the most prolific supergiant basin in the Western
Hemisphere as a whole. Only giants of the Persian Gulf
region, Alaska (Prudhoe Bay), and the Gulf of Mexico
(Cantarell complex) can rival the magnitude of the cumulative production and proven reserves of the Maracaibo Basin (Mann et al., 2003).
Hydrocarbon production in the Maracaibo Basin
comes from a variety of reservoirs, including Tertiary
and Cretaceous clastic and carbonate rocks. Tertiary
reservoirs are composed of fluvial-dominated and tidaldominated deltaic systems in the Eocene (Marguregui,
1990; Ambrose et al., 1995; Escalona, 2006) and fluvial
systems with associated incised alluvial valleys in the
Miocene (Guzman and Fisher, 2006). Cretaceous reservoirs consist of fractured and karstic carbonate reservoirs (Azpiritxaga, 1991; Chacartegui et al., 1995;
Nelson et al., 2000; Castillo, 2001). Escalona and Mann
(2006c) review the petroleum system of the Maracaibo
Basin in detail.

FOUR MAJOR TECTONIC STAGES IN THE

EVOLUTION OF THE MARACAIBO BASIN
Approach to Tectonic Reconstructions
In this section, we use plate tectonic reconstructions
of northern South America constructed using the software and methods of the University of Texas at Austin
PLATES project (http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research
/projects/plates/). Reconstructions are shown at critical times during the evolution of the Maracaibo Basin
from 80 to 5 Ma. The positions of larger plates surrounding the Caribbean plate (North and South America and Africa) are reasonably well constrained going back
to the Early Cretaceous and Late Jurassic, whereas the
position of other plates forming the Pacific margin of
the Caribbean are only known for the late Cenozoic
(Muller et al., 1999).

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

For brevity, we illustrate only the Late Cretaceous

to Holocene tectonic evolution of the Maracaibo Basin
in Figure 3AF because the events most closely linked
to its petroleum systems date from this period. Previous
tectonic reconstructions that include the Late Jurassic
period of rifting between North and South America
include Pindell and Barrett (1990), Bartok (1993), and
Mann (1999).

Tectonic Stages in the Evolution of Northern South America

Most previous workers have recognized the importance of tectonic stages in understanding the complex
stratigraphic and structural evolution of the northern
margin of South America. For example, Pindell and
Dewey (1982), Eva et al. (1989), Pindell and Barrett
(1990), Lugo and Mann (1995), and Mann (1999) all
identified a Late Jurassic rift stage related to the opening of North and South America, a protracted Cretaceous period of passive-margin formation following
the rift event, a Paleogene period of oblique collision
between a westward-moving Caribbean island arc and
the passive margin of South America, and a Neogene
period of strike-slip faulting and Andean uplift that is
particularly intense and widespread in western Venezuela and Colombia. The timing of these four events,
along with the positions of the larger plates known
from marine magnetic anomalies in oceanic plates,
provide the fundamental constraints on the tectonic
models that we show in Figure 3A F.
On the left side of each reconstruction are the unornamented basement blocks as taken from the PLATES
program. Each basement block has been defined on the
basis of its radiometric age, lithologic composition, volcanic geochemistry, and sedimentary facies. Gaps between blocks represent areas of subsequent crustal
shortening that have been estimated from outcrop and
seismic reflection studies. Mismatched edges of blocks
represent subsequent strike-slip displacements. These
shortening and strike-slip estimates sometimes vary
widely between individual authors, so we indicate the
authors we have chosen to follow in these reconstructions. On the right side of each reconstruction are
inferred sedimentary cover sequences for the basement
blocks that have been compiled from the literature.
With the exception of Pindell et al. (1998), most
authors display their inferred paleogeography on a
basement of present-day geography. Instead, we show
paleogeographic interpretations that were made in
conjunction with the tectonic reconstructions.

Late Cretaceous, Approximately 88 Ma (Coniacian)

Prior to the Coniacian, Late Jurassic rifting between
North and South America created a 1800-km (1118-mi)wide seaway between North and South America that is
commonly referred to as the Proto-Caribbean seaway
(Pindell and Barrett, 1990; Bartok, 1993; Mann, 1999).
The passive margin of northern South America is characterized by a broad, mixed carbonate-clastic shelf on
which were deposited an extensive area of middle to
outer shelf, fine-grained, organic-rich rocks that form the
main source rocks for hydrocarbons in northern South
America (La Luna Querecual Formation) (Cooper
et al., 1995; Escalona and Mann, 2006c). Rocks of this
formation are particularly widespread in the area west
and southwest of present-day Lake Maracaibo, and for
that reason, we have inferred an embayment of the passive margin in that region (Figure 3A). The passive margin narrows in an eastward direction (Erlich and Barrett,
1992) and curves abruptly to the southeast in its eastern
area near present-day Trinidad (Di Croce et al., 1999).

Middle Paleocene, Approximately 60 Ma

By the Paleocene, the eastward-moving Great Arc of
the Caribbean had begun to subduct Mesozoic oceanic crust of the Proto-Caribbean seaway and to influence sedimentary facies in the northern part of the
Maracaibo Basin (Pindell and Barrett, 1990; Lugo and
Mann, 1995; Escalona and Mann, 2006b). The Great
Arc sweeps in a diachronous manner from west to east
across the passive margin, with its initial flexural subsidence in Venezuela recorded by Paleogene clastic sedimentation in the Maracaibo foreland basin. The Great
Arc is a composite structure that includes a back arc,
volcanic arc, forearc, and accretionary prism areas that
are identified on the key in Figure 3A (Mann, 1999).
The South AmericaGreat Arc collision marks
the end of the passive-margin phase in the Maracaibo
Basin and the beginning of the foreland basin phase
that is of critical importance for the formation of reservoir rocks and the maturation of the underlying source
rocks of the passive margin (Escalona and Mann, 2006c).
Prior to this collision, most of the area of the Maracaibo
Basin remained a stable, shallow carbonate platform.
Collision of the Caribbean arc will bend the northnortheastern part of the platform area downward beneath the encroaching thrust faults and tear faults and
form a major foreland basin of late Paleoceneearly
Eocene age (Lugo and Mann, 1995; Escalona and Mann,
Mann et al.

451

Figure 3. (A) Tectonic reconstruction of basement blocks and paleogeographic map for the northern South America at approximately 88 Ma (Coniacian). White areas in tectonic
reconstruction reflect areas of future shortening. Key provides the names of numbered features and paleoenvironments in (B F). (B) Middle Paleocene; (C) middle Eocene, approximately
44 Ma; (D) Oligocene, approximately 30 Ma; (E) middle Miocene, approximately 14 Ma; (F) early Pliocene, approximately 5 Ma. See text for discussion.

Figure 3. Continued.

Figure 3. Continued.

2006b). Sands filling the foreland basin both from the

proto-Maracaibo River draining the continental area to
the south and from the uplifted highlands associated
with thrusting to the north will act as high-quality reservoirs for future hydrocarbons in the basin (Escalona
et al., 2004).
Middle Eocene, Approximately 44 Ma
By about 44 Ma, a large area of proto-Caribbean
oceanic crust had subducted beneath the northwestern corner of South America (indicated in Figure 3C
by the blue areas visible between crustal blocks). The
present-day lake area had become the site of a coastaldeltaic complex that fed an extensive offshore area of
deep-marine sedimentation that filled the forearc and
back-arc areas of the passing Great Arc (Figure 3C).
In the middle Eocene, parts of the Great Arc began to overthrust the north-sloping passive margin. In
the Maracaibo area, collision-related shortening led to
thrust emplacement of the Lara nappes (Stephan, 1977,
1985). This shortening culminated in the late Eocene
Oligocene uplift and erosion of the present-day lake
area and the formation of the prominent Eocene unconformity that is a highly angular contact in some
locations (Escalona and Mann, 2006b).
Oligocene, Approximately 30 Ma
During the Oligocene, the Great Arc continued its
collision with the passive margin and began to form
the Eastern Venezuelan foreland basin by the same tectonic process that formed the Maracaibo foreland basin in the Paleogene (Pindell and Barrett, 1990; Erlich
and Barrett, 1992) (Figure 3D). In the Maracaibo Basin, fluvial sedimentation of the proto-Maracaibo River
was diverted by the uplift of the Colombian Andes, and
the Orinoco River formed to carry most fluvial sediments eastward along the margin (Daz de Gamero,
1996; Escalona et al., 2004) (Figure 3D). Regional uplift in the Maracaibo Falcon area related to continued
convergence and isostatic rebound shifted the position
of the shelf edge far to the north (Guzman and Fisher,
2006). Uplift of the Sierra de Perija west of the Maracaibo Basin occured at this time and is recorded by a
large clastic wedge filling the basin from the west.
The uplift of the Sierra de Perija may be related to the
shallow subduction of the Caribbean crust and the formation of basement uplifts on the overriding South
America plate (Kellogg, 1984; van der Hilst and Mann,
1994; Taboada et al., 2000).

Middle Miocene, Approximately 14 Ma

By about 14 Ma, the Eastern Venezuela foreland basin
was undergoing maximum subsidence as a result of the
oblique collision of the Great Arc and the formation of a
fold-thrust belt in the Serrana del Interior (Erlich and
Barrett, 1992; Roure et al., 1997). Thrust-related deformational effects occurred as far east as Trinidad and produced a major regional unconformity spanning the middle Miocene interval over much of this area ( Tyson,
1990). Sedimentation in the Maracaibo Basin shows
the beginning of the uplift of the Merida Andes east of
the lake (Castillo and Mann, 2006; Guzman and
Fisher, 2006).
In this middle Miocene period, the Maracaibo Basin
was filled by a fluvial-deltaic system related to the protoMaracaibo River draining from the Andes to the south
of the basin (Escalona et al., 2004). Guzman and Fisher
(2006) discuss the narrow strait connecting the protoMaracaibo River in the Maracaibo Basin to a more openmarine area.
Early Pliocene, Approximately 5 Ma
By the early Pliocene, the region looked very similar to
its present-day appearance (Figure 3F). Deformation
was most intense in the far east near Trinidad, where
the collision between the leading edge of the Caribbean
plate and the passive margin continues to the present day
(Babb and Mann, 1999; Boettcher et al., 2003). Strikeslip faulting along the various faults bounding the
edges of the Maracaibo block and along the El Pilar
fault zone mark the terminal stages of plate convergence
(Trenkamp et al., 2002). By the early Pliocene, all fluvial
sedimentation was concentrated on the Orinoco River,
which rapidly filled in the recently formed Columbus
foreland basin east of Trinidad (Di Croce et al., 1999;
Wood, 2000).

OVERVIEW OF THE GEOLOGY OF

THE MARACAIBO BASIN
The purpose of this section is to provide a brief overview
of the regional geology of the Maracaibo Basin, along
with a summary of previous geologic studies that have
led up to the basin synthesis presented in this issue.
The physiographic Maracaibo Basin occupies a
50,000-km2 (19,305-mi2) triangular, intermontane basin in western Venezuela (Figure 4). Lake Maracaibo
occupies about 30% of the surface of Maracaibo Basin
Mann et al.

455

Figure 4. Present-day distribution of outcrops and subcrops of major megasequences in the area of the Maracaibo Basin. Outcrop
data are from Maze (1984) and Borges (1984). (A) Outcrop (orange areas) and subcrop (brown stippled areas) of rift-related red beds of
the Late Jurassic La Quinta Formation. Faults known or inferred to have been active during the rift phase are indicated. (B) Outcrop (dark
green areas) and subcrop (dark green stippled areas) of Cretaceous passive margin-related carbonate rocks of various formations. Faults
known or inferred to have been active during the passive margin phase are indicated. The Merida arch from Salvador (1986) is shown as a
dotted red line. (C) Outcrop (blue areas) and subcrop (blue stippled areas) of Paleogene foreland basin rocks of various formations. Faults
known or inferred to have been active during the foreland basin phase are indicated. (D) Outcrop (yellow areas) and subcrop (yellow
stippled areas) of Neogene basinal rocks of various formations related to Andean uplift and strike-slip motion of the Maracaibo block.
Faults known or inferred to have been active during the Andean uplift and Maracaibo block strike-slip displacement are indicated.

and forms a shallow topographic depression with a

maximum water depth of 30 m (98 ft).
The geologic maps in Figure 4AD show the distribution of both outcrops and subcrops of rocks in the
Maracaibo Basin region, whose structure and stratigraphy
record four major tectonic events described and partly
shown in the tectonic reconstructions in Figure 3AF.
A major point of these maps is to show that the physiographic Maracaibo Basin acts to preserve an approximately 7-km (4.3-mi)-thick, relatively undeformed sec456

tion of JurassicHolocene age that records all four of the

major tectonic events described above (Figure 3AF).
Therefore, in addition to its importance as a supergiant hydrocarbon basin, the subsurface geology of
the Maracaibo Basin provides an important record
of the geologic and tectonic history of northwestern
South America that would be much more difficult
to reconstruct from more fragmentary and more deformed outcrops in the surrounding mountain ranges
(Figure 4AD).

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

Figure 5. Chart of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic formations and their sedimentary facies of the Maracaibo Basin along the line of
cross section shown on the inset map (modified from Parnaud et al., 1995). Formations to the left of the chart are found in the Sierra
de Perija, formations in the middle are found in the Maracaibo Basin, and formations to the right are found in the Merida Andes. We
identify six unconformity-bound tectonosequences in the Maracaibo Basin that are numbered on the left side of the chart. Bounding
unconformities include pre-Cretaceous unconformity, Paleocene unconformity, Eocene unconformity, and upper Miocene
unconformity. The six tectonosequences are related to four major tectonic phases identified as I IV on the left side of the chart.
These tectonic phases include the following: I = pre-Cretaceous (Late Jurassic) rift phase; II = Cretaceous (Neocomian to Maastrichtian
passive-margin phase); III = Paleogene foreland basin phase; and IV = late Oligocene Holocene Andean uplift, strike-slip, and
shortening phase. Total sediment thickness to the top of Paleozoic acoustic basement (kilometers) of the Maracaibo Basin is shown on
the inset map. Modified from Parnaud et al. (1995).
Tectonosequences of the Maracaibo Basin
Figure 5 shows a regional-stratigraphic chart modified
from Parnaud et al. (1995) and Castillo (2001) summarizing the main tectonosequences, formation names,
and paleoenvironments across the Maracaibo Basin.
These tectonosequences are bounded by major basinwide unconformities that include the sub-Cretaceous
unconformity, the Paleocene unconformity, the Eocene
unconformity, and the lower Miocene unconformity
(Figure 5). The unconformities are designated by the
stratigraphic age of their hiatus (i.e., Eocene unconformity). The inset map of Figure 5 shows the total
sedimentary thickness of the basin above the acoustic

Paleozoic basement and the line of section along which

the stratigraphic chart was made.
These tectonosequences are defined by unconformities in outcrops and by major discontinuities on
seismic reflection data (i.e., downlaps, onlaps, and erosional truncations as defined by Mitchum et al., 1977;
Vail et al., 1977). The subsurface discontinuities are also
defined using well-log correlations tied to seismic data
(Lugo and Mann, 1995; Parnaud et al., 1995; Escalona,
2006; Escalona and Mann, 2006b). A general description
of the tectonosequences in the Maracaibo Basin is
summarized below using both outcrop and subcrop
descriptions. More detailed descriptions of the tectonosequences at their type sections in outcrop around
Mann et al.

457

the basin are provided by Sutton (1946), Gonzalez de

Juana et al. (1980), Audemard (1991), and Parnaud et al.
(1995).
Tectonosequence 1: Late Jurassic Rifting
Tectonosequence 1 represents the acoustic basement
of the Maracaibo Basin and the lower limit of sesmic
imaging and deep exploration drilling in the basin (Lugo
and Mann, 1995) (Figure 5, inset). The sequence consists of upper Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks (Mucuchach Formation) and overlying Upper Jurassic red
beds of the La Quinta Formation derived from the erosion of Paleozoic metamorphic blocks rifted and exposed
as highlands during the breakup of Pangea (Schubert
et al., 1979; Maze, 1984). Rift-related red beds are locally sourced by pyroclastic material (La Ge Group) that
was deposited in elongate half grabens (Lugo and Mann,
1995; Parnaud et al., 1995). Rift-related half grabens
containing the Jurassic rocks underlying the Maracaibo
Basin have a north-northeast trend (Audemard, 1991;
Lugo and Mann, 1995) but have also been proposed
based on stratigraphic thickness variations in the mountain ranges surrounding the Maracaibo Basin (Schubert
et al., 1979; Maze, 1984) (Figure 4A).

following authors: Ro Negro (Hedberg, 1931), Apon

(Sutton, 1946); Lisure (Rod and Maync, 1954), Aguardiente (Notestein, et al., 1944), La Luna (Garner, 1926),
and the Socuy Member of the Colon Formation (Sutton,
1946; Gonzalez de Juana et al., 1980).
The Apon, Lisure, Aguardiente, and Maraca formations all make up the Cogollo Group (Gonzalez de
Juana et al., 1980). All carbonate rocks of the Cogollo
Group were deposited on a shallow carbonate platform and are characterized by two main depositional
styles: fining-upward cycles during the Aptian middle
Albian and coarsening-upward cycles in the upper
Albian (Azpiritxaga, 1991). The Upper Cretaceous La
Luna Formation overlying the Cogollo Group forms a
world-class source rock that is responsible for more
than 98% of the hydrocarbons generated in the Maracaibo Basin (Talukdar and Marcano, 1994; Nelson et al.,
2000; Escalona and Mann, 2006c) (Figure 4B). The top
of the organic-rich La Luna Formation is defined by
carbonate rocks of the Socuy Member. This contact is
characterized on seismic data by a prominent, continuous
reflector produced by the acoustic impedance between
underlying shale of the La Luna Formation and overlying
carbonate rocks of the Socuy Member.

Tectonosequence 2: Cretaceous Passive Margin

Tectonosequence 3: Campanian Maastrichtian

Foreland Basin

Tectonosequence 2 deposited on a broad passive margin (Figure 3A), includes Lower Cretaceous carbonate
and clastic units and is bounded by the basal Cretaceous
unconformity separating the Cretaceous carbonate platform from the underlying metamorphic basement rift
features described above. The structural configuration of
the basin during this period was characterized by paleohighs, basins, and tectonic activity west of the Maracaibo Basin, which most workers relate to the uplift of
the Central Cordillera of Colombia (Renz, 1981; Erlich
et al., 1999; Macsotay et al., 2003). Renz (1981), using
cross sections from outcrops along the mountain range
bounding the Maracaibo Basin, interpreted a basement
paleohigh, the Merida arch. Lugo and Mann (1995) interpreted the continuation of the Merida arch into the
southern end of Lake Maracaibo, which affected the
thickness of the Cretaceous passive-margin sediments
(Figure 3A). The top of the tectonosequence is defined
by the Socuy Member of the Colon Formation (Figure 5).
Along with the Socuy Member, the Cretaceous passivemargin tectonosequence includes the following formations shown on the chart in Figure 5 and described in
detail from outcrop studies of the basin edges by the

Tectonosequence 3 formed by early effects of oblique

collision between the Great Caribbean arc and northwestern South America (Figure 3B, C), is bounded at
its base by the Socuy Formation and at its top by the
Paleocene unconformity. The tectonosequence was deposited in a foreland basin and is composed of clastic
sedimentary rocks of the Upper Cretaceous Colon
(Liddle, 1928) and Mito Juan (Garner, 1926) formations,
along with the Paleocene Guasare Formation (Lugo and
Mann, 1995; Parnaud et al., 1995) (Figure 5). Pelagic,
clastic rocks of the Colon Formation are inferred to have
been deposited in the distal region of a foreland basin that
resulted from the Caribbean volcanic arc collision with
northwestern South America (Cooper et al., 1995; Parnaud et al., 1995) (Figure 3A). In the Maracaibo Basin,
the Colon Formation is transitional into the overlying
Mito Juan Formation that was deposited in brackish to
marine environments (Sutton, 1946). Paleocene rocks of
the Maracaibo Basin consist of a shallow-marine, mixed
clastic-carbonate platform section. The top of this section produces an extensive and continuous seismic reflector beneath the Lake Maracaibo area (Lugo and
Mann, 1995; Castillo and Mann, 2006).

458

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

Sandstone of the Cretaceous Colon Formation exhibits a major change in lithology from underlying Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous continentally derived
quartz-rich, and continental stratigraphic units. The
appearance of a belt of graywackes and subgraywackes
in the Colon Formation in the western and southwestern
quadrant of the Maracaibo Basin suggests the accretion of
an arc terrane to the west and southwest of the Maracaibo
Basin (Van Andel, 1958). Audemard (1991) and Marcha
(2004) interpret easterly and northeasterly dipping clinoforms inferred from 2-D and 3-D seismic data in the
northwestern parts of the basin to support this accretion
event. Marcha (2004) concluded that the overlying Paleocene Guasare Formation was deposited on relatively
flat topography and was not influenced by the earlier
collision and event to the west. Lugo (1991) suggested
that relative sea level drop during the Late Cretaceous
Paleocene is responsible for the regressive facies of the
Colon Formation observed in the Maracaibo Basin at
this time. The existence of an Upper Cretaceous
lower Paleocene foreland basin west of the Maracaibo
Basin, therefore, remains controversial.

Tectonosequence 4: Paleocene Oligocene

Foreland Basin Phase
Tectonosequence 4 is composed of lacustrine to fluvialdeltaic rocks defined by the Paleocene unconformity at
their base and the OligoceneMiocene unconformity at
their top (Figure 5). The sedimentary units in this tectonosequence record a sedimentary transition from passive to active margin. This transition coincided with the
southward thrust emplacement of the Lara nappes in
the middlelate Eocene (Stephan, 1985; Audemard,
1991; Lugo, 1991; Parnaud et al., 1995) (Figure 3C, D).
Formations included in this tectonosequence include the well-studied, fluviodeltaic Misoa Formation
(Marguregui, 1990; Lugo and Mann, 1995; Escalona and
Mann, 2006b), the more distal to deep-water sedimentary
rocks of the Trujillo Formation (Mathieu, 1989) and
the shallow-marine Pauj Formation (Sutton, 1946; Gonzalez de Juana et al., 1980; Mathieu, 1989) (Figure 5).
Tectonosequence 4 is characterized by an overall regressive character defined by fluvial facies. The Eocene succession is composed mainly of medium- to fine-grained,
subangular to rounded quartz sandstone with subordinate shale (Lugo and Mann, 1995). The Misoa Formation
is the reservoir rock for most of the major oil fields of the
Maracaibo Basin and is discussed in detail by Escalona
and Mann (2006b, c).

Tectonosequence 5: Oligocene Uplift of the Sierra de Perija

Tectonosequence 5 is bounded by the Eocene unconformity at its base and the upper Miocene unconformity at its top (Figure 5). Shallow-marine to continental clastic deposits dominate this tectonosequence
and include transgressive sands of the Icotea Formation of late Oligocene age. The Oligocene clastic wedge
was deposited during the main uplift of the Sierra de
Perija, which controlled subsidence as well as sediment
dispersal into its associated depocenter (Audemard,
1991; Castillo, 2001).
Tectonosequence 6: Early Miocene to Quaternary
Erosion of Adjacent Mountain Ranges
Tectonosequence 6 is defined by the lower Miocene
unconformity at its base and the present-day floor of
Lake Maracaibo at its top and consists of clastic sedimentary rocks produced by erosion of the uplifted
Sierra de Perija and Merida Andes. Based on fissiontrack age determinations, pulses of uplift of the Sierra
de Perija and Merida Andes occurred during the late
Miocene Pliocene and Pliocene Pleistocene (Kellogg,
1984; Kohn et al., 1984; Shagam et al., 1984; De Toni
and Kellogg, 1993). Lowermiddle Miocene rocks consist of shallow-marine deposits that gradationally pass
upward into late Miocene continental deposits (La
Rosa and Lagunillas formations; Gonzalez de Juana
et al., 1980; Guzman and Fisher, 2006). The Pliocene
Holocene part of the tectonosequence includes the
Onia and El Milagro formations that were deposited
in fluvial-deltaic and lacustrine environments (Gonzalez
de Juana et al., 1980; Audemard, 1991).

PREVIOUS WORK ON THE OUTCROP AND

SUBSURFACE GEOLOGY OF THE
MARACAIBO BASIN
Early Studies
The search for hydrocarbons has been the main impetus for geologic studies in the Maracaibo Basin since
the beginning of the 20th century and especially in the
period after World War I (Sutton, 1946). The presence of hydrocarbons in the Maracaibo Basin has been
known for centuries because oil seeps are plentiful
along all the surrounding mountain fronts of the
Maracaibo Basin (Sutton, 1946; Link, 1952; Escalona
and Mann, 2006c) (Figure 6). Early exploration wells,
Mann et al.

459

460

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

including those of the Bolivar Coast at the northeastern edge of Lake Maracaibo, were drilled adjacent
to natural oil seeps, including the well-known Mene
Grande, or Big Seep field (Link, 1952).
Early geologic studies included systematic field
mapping and compilation of subsurface data from exploration wells (Hedberg, 1931; Notestein et al., 1944;
Van Andel, 1958; Salvador, 1961; Brondijk, 1967; FeoCodecido, 1970; Van Veen, 1972; Renz, 1981). At the
special request of the AAPG, Sutton (1946) compiled
all existing knowledge of the first 30 yr of petroleum
exploration and development geology in the Maracaibo
Basin into a single special issue of AAPG Bulletin.
Private and Government Geological and Geophysical
Studies (1960 1980)
The arrival of 2-D seismic acquisition methods to the
Maracaibo Basin in the 1960s ushered in a new and
productive phase of geologic studies that led to a greatly
improved understanding of the subsurface geology of
the basin. As a result of improved exploration and development methods, Venezuela became the worlds
largest oil exporter in 1970. An enormous amount of
surface and subsurface geologic studies were performed
but were dispersed among different national and international oil companies working in the basin.
In 1976, nationalization of the oil industry gave
the Venezuelan government ownership of the entire
oil infrastructure and database. This led to the creation
of PDVSA and the Venezuela Petroleum Corporation.
At the request of these organizations, a major compilation of the surface and subsurface petroleum geology and stratigraphy of Venezuela was conducted by
Gonzalez de Juana et al. (1980).
Early Academic Studies and Student-Related Work
During the 1980s, United States and French academic
geologists, including Pindell and Dewey (1982), Burke
et al. (1984), Kellogg (1984), Mann and Burke (1984),

Stephan (1985), Salvador (1986), Ostos (1990), and

Pindell and Barrett (1990) began to synthesize the
geologic and tectonic information from the Maracaibo
Basin.
By the 1990s, petroleum exploration and production activities in the Maracaibo Basin led to the acquisition of thousands of kilometers of 2-D and 3-D seismic
reflection data and the drilling of more than 10,000 exploration wells (Figures 7, 8). Parts of this huge data
set were made available for thesis studies by Venezuelan geologists obtaining degrees at universities in the
United States and France (Mathieu, 1989; Audemard,
1991; De Toni and Kellogg, 1993; Lugo and Mann, 1995;
Parnaud et al., 1995; Roure et al., 1997; Duerto, 1998)
(Table 1).
Student Research Projects at the University of Texas at
Austin and Other Universities
The three units of the University of Texas, Jackson
School of Geosciences (Department of Geological Sciences, Institute for Geophysics, and Bureau of Economic Geology [BEG]), have been active in subsurface
seismic-stratigraphic and well research in Venezuela
since the late 1980s. Much of this effort has been in
the form of student M.S. and Ph.D. projects sponsored
by PDVSA and supervised by W. Fisher, A. Salvador,
N. Tyler, and P. Mann at the University of Texas at
Austin (Table 1). In addition, several major research
projects and technical publications have been produced
at the BEG (Ambrose et al., 1995, 1998; H. Zeng,
2002, personal communication).
These studies have been primarily focused at the
scales of individual exploration blocks. Figure 7 and
Table 1 compile the location and name of all the
masters theses and Ph.D. dissertations completed at the
University of Texas at Austin on the Maracaibo Basin
over the last 15 yr. Figure 8 shows the location of the
most relevant regional studies in the Maracaibo Basin
done or published by institutions other than the University of Texas at Austin. As seen in Figures 7 and 8,

Figure 6. Surface geologic map of the Maracaibo Basin region (modified from Borges, 1984) combined with a seismic time slice
from a merged 3-D seismic data set at 1 s two-way traveltime (TWT) beneath the floor of Lake Maracaibo. Colors for outcrops and
subcrops seen on the 3-D seismic time slice indicate the age of rocks and are shown in the figure legend. The present-day topographic
and geologic configuration of the Maracaibo Basin is controlled by uplift of the Merida and Sierra de Perija mountain ranges and by
formation of the Miocene Holocene Maracaibo syncline with a roughly north-south trending axial trace. Global positioning system
velocity vectors from Perez et al. (2001) and Trenkamp et al. (2002) indicate direction and relative rate of displacement of the Maracaibo
block to the north-northeast relative to the stable South America plate to the east of the basin. North-northeast striking, pre-Oligocene
faults characterize the subsurface of central Maracaibo Basin. The Burro Negro fault bounds the present Maracaibo Basin along its
northeastern boundary.
Mann et al.

461

Figure 7. Topographic map of the Maracaibo Basin showing location of PDVSA seismic data used by University of Texas at Austin
masters and Ph.D. graduate students during research projects in the period from 1987 to 2003. Boxes indicate areas of 3-D seismic
data. Note that 2-D and 3-D seismic data almost completely cover the area of Lake Maracaibo.

these combined studies cover most of the area of the

Maracaibo Basin and include a large number of topics,
ranging from reservoir characterization to basin evolution. A common element of all these studies was a reliance on 2-D seismic data and well correlation.
Impact of 3-D Seismic Data on Basin Research
By the late 1990s, the availability of 3-D seismic data,
shown as boxes in Figures 7 and 8, began to impact the
level of understanding of the structure and stratigraphy
of the Maracaibo Basin. The 3-D seismic data were
initially used for reservoir characterization and detail
strucutral analysis of complex Eocene reservoirs that
are widely distributed across the Maracaibo Basin (e.g.,
Leon et al., 1999; Link et al., 1999; Benkovics and
Helwig, 2001). Many of these early 3-D seismic studies
exist only as internal, unpublished PDVSA reports
that concentrate on the more intensively explored
north-central and eastern parts of the basin.
In contrast to these specific exploration-related
efforts, Castillo (2001), Escalona (2003), Escalona and
Mann (2003), and Castillo and Mann (2006) made re462

gional interpretations of time slices from merged 3-D

seismic data sets provided by PDVSA and covering about
30% of the area of the basin (Figures 6, 7). These 3-D
data were augmented by regional 2-D seismic lines. In
the following section, we summarize the main results of
these more regional studies using both 2-D and 3-D
seismic data and relate this information to the four main
tectonic stages of the basin described above.

OVERVIEW OF THE SUBSURFACE GEOLOGY

OF THE MARACAIBO BASIN USING REGIONAL
3-D SEISMIC DATA
Merge of Surface Geology with 3-D Subsurface
Seismic Time Slices
Figure 6 shows the present-day surface geology of the
Maracaibo Basin from Borges (1984), merged with an
interpreted time slice at 1.0 s two-way traveltime beneath the floor of Lake Maracaibo from Castillo (2001).
The present-day topographic and geologic configuration of the basin is controlled by the uplift of the Merida

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

Figure 8. Topographic map of the Maracaibo Basin showing tracks of PDVSA seismic data used by graduate students and
researchers at other universities during the period of 1989 1999. Work by Parnaud et al. (1995) and Roure et al. (1997) was done as
part of a collaborative study between the Institut Francais du Petrole and PDVSA. Boxes indicated areas of 3-D seismic data. These
studies are available publicly as M.S. theses or dissertations. Some have been summarized in published articles and abstracts.

Andes and Sierra de Perija along the mountain front

fault zones described by Duerto et al. (2006). Global
positioning system velocity vectors from Perez et al.
(2001) and Trenkamp et al. (2002) indicate the direction and relative rate of displacement of the Maracaibo
block to the north and northeast relative to the stable
South America plate (Figure 2B).
The Maracaibo Basin is a particularly complex
sedimentary basin for two reasons. First, Late Jurassic
rifting introduced a strong north-south grain to the
floor of the basin that was subject to later reactivation
(i.e., Icotea, Pueblo Viejo, and Urdaneta faults); second,
convergence directions varied from northeast-southwest
in the Eocene to more east-west directions in the postEocene (Escalona and Mann, 2006a); and third, the
basin remained in a zone of active plate boundary
deformation between the Caribbean, South American,
and Nazca plates for a remarkably long period from
Paleocene to Holocene. However, despite this complex
tectonic setting and protracted structural history,
regional 2-D lines and 3-D seismic time slices reveal
that large areas of the central basin have remained
remarkably stable and undeformed throughout the
basins history.

The protracted history of faulting in the basin requires a stepwise approach to fault mapping because
lumping of faults of all ages onto a single map can lead
to the misperception of a high degree of structural
complexity (Figure 4). In fact, most faulting in the
central part of the Maracaibo Basin is confined to
Eocene and older rocks and therefore is deeply buried
by up to 5 km (3.1 mi) of little or undeformed sedimentary rocks (Figure 4). Regional 3-D seismic data, which
can be viewed in horizontal time slices, are particularly
useful for showing how most faults are confined to
deeper levels of the basin.

1.0-s Time Slice from Regional 3-D Seismic Data

Subsurface deformation in the basin at the 1.0-s time
slice (Figure 9) intersects the stratigraphic level from
upper Miocene to Pleistocene or during the period of
tectonosequence 6 shown in Figure 5. These Neogene
rocks dip into the north-south trending Maracaibo
syncline of Castillo and Mann (2006). The Maracaibo
syncline, a previously unrecognized feature of the
Maracaibo Basin prior to Castillo (2001), is inferred to
Mann et al.

463

464

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

Lugo, J.

Pinto, J.

Gomez, R.

Leon, P.

Oribio, R.

Daz, F.

Guzman, J.

Castillo, M.

Escalona, A.

10

11

Ambrose, W., et al.

Ambrose, W., et al.

Zeng, H., et al.

Author

Azpiritxaga, I.

Number

Marguregui, J.

Author

Number
Evolution and reservoir rock properties of middle Eocene tide-dominated
deltaic sandstones in eastern Lagunillas field, Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela
Carbonate depositional styles controlled by siliciclastic influx and relative
sea level changes, Lower Cretaceous central Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
Cretaceous to Neogene tectonic control on sedimentation: Maracaibo Basin,
Venezuela
Sequence-stratigraphic interpretation of upper Paleocene middle Eocene
Rocks: Bloque III, Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
Depositional system analysis of C-6-X and C-7-X members of Misoa
Formation, Bachaquero Suroeste field, Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
Seismic and geological characterization of the middle Eocene Misoa
Formation, centro Lago field, Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela
Reservoir architecture and reserve growth potential of Miocene fluvial-deltaic
deposits, Bachaquero field, Maracaibo Basin
Architecture of a shore-zone reservoir system in Barua field, Maracaibo Basin,
western Venezuela
Miocene stratigraphy and depositional framework of northeastern Maracaibo
Basin, Venezuela: Implications for reservoir heterogeneity prediction in
tectonically active settings
Structural analysis of Cenozoic fault systems using 3D seismic data in the
southern Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela
Regional tectonics, sequence stratigraphy and reservoir properties of Eocene
clastic sedimentation, Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela

Title

Title

Bureau of Economic Geology publications on the Maracaibo Basin

2003

2001

1999

1998

1997

1997

1995

1991

1991

1991

1990

Year

Mann, P., Fisher, W.

Mann, P., Fisher, W.

Fisher, W., Tyler, N.

Tyler, N.

Tyler, N.

Tyler, N.

Tyler, N., and Fisher, W.

Buffler, R.

Salvador, A., Mann, P.

Salvador, A., Bebout, D.

Fisher, W., Tyler, N.

Supervisor(s)

Production optimization of tide-dominated deltaic reservoirs of the lower Misoa Formation (lower Eocene),
LL-652 Area, Lagunillas field
1998
Geologic controls on reservoir architecture and hydrocarbon distribution in Miocene shoreface, fluvial, and
deltaic deposits in the Miocene Norte Area, Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
2002, unpublished report Seismic sedimentology by stratal slicing: A case history in the Miocene Norte Area, Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela

1995

Year

Ph.D.

Ph.D.

Ph.D.

M.Sc.

M.A.

M.A.

M.A.

M.A.

Ph.D.

M.A.

M.A.

Degree

Department of Geological Sciences M.S. and Ph.D. theses and dissertations in the Maracaibo Basin

Table 1. List of the University of Texas at Austin Department of Geological Sciences M.A. M.Sc. Theses and Ph.D. Dissertations in the Maracaibo Basin Completed by Venezuelan
Graduate Students and the University of Texas at Austin Bureau of Economic of Geology Publications on the Maracaibo Basin

Mann et al.

465

Figure 9. (A) Uninterpreted regional time slice of the Lake Maracaibo area at 1 s two-way traveltime (TWT). (B) Interpreted seismic time slice at 1 s TWT, with major structural and
stratigraphic features indicated. Stratigraphic units on the time slice are keyed to the stratigraphic column in (C) on the right. This time slice intersects Pleistocene Lower
Cretaceous rocks. The axial trace of the Maracaibo syncline is gently curved and extends from the southern Maracaibo Basin to the central part of Lake Maracaibo.

represent post-Pleistocene east-west shortening known

from earthquake focal mechanisms and fault studies in
northwestern South America (Taboada et al., 2000).
The axis of the syncline can be easily defined because of
prominent reflectors in the Neogene section (Figure 5).
Stratigraphic dips defined by Castillo (2001) on the
western limb of the syncline in the southern lake range
from 1 to 3j. The exact extension of the Maracaibo
syncline into older Paleogene rocks in the northern part
of the 3-D survey of the basin is not clear, but the same
synclinal outcrop pattern is also present in that area
(Figure 9).
The eastern limb of the Maracaibo syncline is disrupted by young north-south trending folds in the
Ceuta and Tomoporo areas (Figure 9) also manifesting
widespread late Neogene, east-west shortening across
the Maracaibo block. The Icotea and Pueblo Viejo
faults are present only at deeper levels in the basin and
do not affect the super-Eocene section. A surrounding
surficial geologic map shown in Figure 6 shows a combination of northeast-trending fault and fold trends
that either do not deform in the central basin area or are
older features not affecting rocks of this age.
3.4-s Time Slice from Regional 3-D Seismic Data
A deeper horizontal slice at 3.4 s reveals the full extent
of the Icotea and Pueblo Viejo faults because this level
of the basin is mostly beneath the Eocene unconformity
(Figure 10). The Icotea fault can be traced as a linear,
slightly arcuate, approximately 100-km (62-mi)-long
feature with a prominent 10-km (6-mi)-wide pull-apart
or stepover basin along its trace in the central lake area
(Escalona and Mann, 2003). This pull-apart formed during the Eocene and is filled by a 3-km (1.8-mi)-thick
section of Eocene clastic rocks. Escalona and Mann
(2003) calculated that 0.82.25 km (0.51.4 mi) of extension occurred to form this small but deep basin. This
amount of extension provides a minimum right-lateral
offset for the Icotea strike-slip fault zone. To the north,
the Icotea fault forms a sharp, linear boundary at the
3.4-s horizon between sub-Cretaceous rocks to the east
and Cretaceous rocks to the west, suggesting a downto-the-west throw consistent with the 2-D lines discussed by Audemard (1991) and discussed below using
these 2-D seismic lines.
Vertical throw appears to decrease along the central and southern parts of the Icotea fault (Figure 10).
A prominent feature of the southern fault is its arcuate
trace and termination in the area of a detailed 3-D study
described by Castillo and Mann (2006). The curving part
466

of the trace is associated with an increased down-tothe-east throw associated with the formation of an
asymmetrical Eocene-age half graben. The subparallel
VLE fault exhibits a strongly curved northern segment
that obliquely intersects the central trace of the Icotea
fault. The southern trace of the VLE fault abruptly
terminates (Castillo and Mann, 2006). The Pueblo
Viejo fault and an unnamed parallel fault are also straight
and appear to terminate at least on their southern ends.
The north-northeast trend of the faults observed
on the 3.4-s time slice (Icotea, Pueblo Viejo, VLE, etc.)
was likely inherited from normal faults present in the
basement and formed during the Late JurassicEarly
Cretaceous rifting phase (Maze, 1984; Lugo and Mann,
1995) (Figure 4A). These faults were reactivated and
inverted during the Eocene to middle Miocene and then
became quiescent.
3.8-s Time Slice from Regional 3-D Seismic Data
A deeper horizontal slice at 3.8 s reveals the full extent of the subvertical Icotea and Pueblo Viejo faults,
deforming and overlying the basement rocks in the
northern part of the basin and sedimentary rocks in
the southern part (Figure 11). The Icotea fault can
still be traced in basement rocks in the northern part
of the basin as a linear to slightly arcuate feature. In
the central part of the time slice, moderately continuous seismic reflectors are interpreted along the Icotea
fault trace and correspond to locally extended strata in
the Eocene pull-apart basin (Escalona and Mann, 2003).
Vertical throw appears to progressively decrease from
the central to southern parts of the Icotea fault (Castillo
and Mann, 2006).

OVERVIEW OF THE SUBSURFACE GEOLOGY

OF THE MARACAIBO BASIN USING REGIONAL
2-D SEISMIC TRANSECTS
Interpretation of three regional seismic transects spanning the Maracaibo Basin (Figures 12 14) allows
visualization and interpretation of three distinct clastic
wedges formed at different times and correlatable to
the major tectonic phases of the basin summarized in
Figure 5. Clastic wedge thickness ranges from approximately 2 to 5 km (1.2 to 3.1 mi). The orientation and
thickness of each wedge is shown schematically in the
bottom right corner of the three regional 2-D seismic
transects (Figures 12 14).

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

Mann et al.

467

Figure 10. (A) Uninterpreted regional time slice of the Lake Maracaibo area at 3.4 s two-way traveltime (TWT). (B) Interpreted seismic time slice at 3.4 s TWT, with major
structural and stratigraphic features indicated. Colors of stratigraphic units on the time slice are keyed to the stratigraphic column in (C) on the right. The 3.4-s TWT time slice
intersects Miocene to basement units. Widely spaced reflectors indicate gently dipping horizons, and closely spaced reflectors represent steeply dipping horizons. The most
important faults at this level include the north to northeast striking Icotea and Pueblo Viejo faults. The Icotea fault terminates to the south on normal splay faults. (C) Radar image
showing area of 3-D coverage and stratigraphic column of the Maracaibo Basin.

468

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

Figure 11. (A) Uninterpreted regional time slice of the Lake Maracaibo area at 3.8 s two-way traveltime (TWT). (B) Interpreted seismic time slice at 3.8 s TWT with major
structural and stratigraphic features indicated. This 3.8-s TWT time slice intersects Miocene to basement units. The most important structural features include the north-northeast
striking Icotea and Pueblo Viejo faults, the Icotea pull-apart basin at a left step of the Icotea fault in central Lake Maracaibo, and the structural highs formed in the central-southern
region between the Icotea and VLE fault. (C) Radar image showing area of 3-D coverage and stratigraphic column of the Maracaibo Basin.

Mann et al.

469

Figure 12. (A) Uninterpreted 2-D regional seismic line extending from the eastern flank of the Sierra de Perija to the foothills of the Merida Andes to the east (location map in C).
(B) Interpretation of seismic line in (A). The main structures observed in the Maracaibo syncline are rift-related high-angle faults that were reactivated during the Paleogene and
early Miocene (Icotea and Pueblo Viejo faults) and a triangle zone related to the uplift of Sierra de Perija to the west. Three clastic wedges are interpreted and shown schematically
in (D): (1) Maracaibo clastic wedge of Eocene age thickens to the north-northeast; (2) Perija clastic wedge of Oligocene Miocene age thickens to the west; and (3) Merida clastic
wedge of Miocene Holocene age thickens to the south and fills the Maracaibo syncline. The formation of each of these wedges is closely related to a regional tectonic event
affecting the Maracaibo Basin. (C) Radar image indicating the relative position of the 2-D seismic transect in the Maracaibo Basin and depth to acoustic, Paleozoic basement in
kilometers. (D) Schematic diagram showing the relative thickening direction of the three interpreted clastic wedges in the Maracaibo Basin.

470

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

Figure 13. (A) Uninterpreted 2-D regional seismic line that extends from the eastern flank of the Sierra de Perija to the center of the Lake Maracaibo (see C for location).
(B) Interpretation of regional seismic line. The main structural features include the rift-related high-angle faults that were slightly reactivated during the Paleogene and early Miocene,
the Perija triangular zone, and the Rosario anticline. The Rosario anticline is interpreted as a Miocene-age, east-vergent thrust-related fold fault that involves pre-Cretaceous
basement. Note that on this line, both the Perija and Merida clastic wedges are present. (C) Radar image indicating the relative position of the 2-D seismic transect in the Maracaibo
Basin and depth to acoustic, Paleozoic basement in kilometers. (D) Schematic diagram showing the relative thickening direction of the interpreted clastic wedges in the Maracaibo
Basin.

Mann et al.

471

Figure 14. (A) Uninterpreted 2-D regional seismic line along the southwestern margin of Lake Maracaibo ending in the Merida Andes foothills (see C for location). (B) Interpreted
2-D regional seismic transect. The main fault present is the triangular zone produced by uplift of the Merida Andes and the Merida clastic wedge. (C) Radar image indicating the
relative position of the 2-D seismic transect in the Maracaibo Basin and depth to acoustic, Paleozoic basement in kilometers. (D) Schematic diagram showing the relative thickening
direction of the interpreted clastic wedges in the Maracaibo Basin.

Figure 15. Burial histories of

six deep wells and their relationship to the main depocenters
in the Maracaibo Basin (modified from Lugo, 1991; Castillo,
1995). Three main burial episodes
include (1) Paleocene Eocene
foreland phase of subsidence
in the north-northeast of the
basin and formation of the Maracaibo clastic wedge; (2) late
EoceneOligocene phase of subsidence to the west produced
by uplift of the Sierra de Perija
and formation of the Perija clastic wedge. During this phase, an
uplift or rebound is observed in
the north-northeastern part of
the basin; (3) Miocene Pliocene
phase of subsidence to the
southeast of the basin produced
by the uplift of the Merida Andes
and formation of the Merida
clastic wedge. An uplift or rebound phase is observed in
the north-northeastern part
of the basin during the late
Eocene Oligocene.

Each wedge filled a depocenter created by a depression of the Maracaibo Basin located either in front
of a thrust belt (Audemard, 1991; Lugo and Mann,
1995) or adjacent to a Laramide-style basement uplift
associated with uplift of the northern Andes (Kellogg,
1984; De Toni and Kellogg, 1993; Taboada et al., 2000).
Burial histories in the Maracaibo Basin in Figure 15
from Lugo and Mann (1995) and Castillo (2001) show
472

that the main pulses of depocenter formation occured in

two main phases: (1) during the Paleoceneearly Eocene in the northeast part of the basin (Figure 15, locations AC); and (2) starting at the OligoceneMiocene
in the north and western parts of the basin (Figure 15,
locations A C) and migrating to the southern part of
the basin during the Miocene Pliocene (Figure 15, locations D F). An uplift or rebound phase affecting

Regional Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Maracaibo Supergiant Basin

the north-northeastern area correlates to the end of

convergent foreland basin phase (Escalona and Mann,
2006a).
Maracaibo Clastic Wedge (Tectonosequence 4)
This wedge is bracketed by the Paleocene unconformity at the base of the section and the widespread Eocene unconformity at the top of the section (Figure 5).
The thickness of the wedge thins from approximately
4.5 km (2.8 mi) in the area adjacent to the Burro Negro
fault to its pinch-out in the south-central part of the
basin (Figure 12) (Escalona and Mann, 2006a, b). Truncation of fault reactivation features in the Lake Maracaibo area as seen in Figure 12 indicates that deformation accompanied the Eocene collisional event but did
not continue into the post-Eocene. Reactivation of faults
can also be seen to occur in a localized pattern linked
to underlying Upper Jurassic half grabens shown in
Figure 4A. Intervening areas between half grabens exhibit normal faults that have also been reactivated.
Perija Clastic Wedge (Tectonosequence 5)
This wedge is confined to the western Maracaibo Basin
and is bracketed by the upper Oligocene unconformity
at its base and the upper Miocene or younger unconformity at its top (Figures 12, 13). The thickness of the
wedge ranges from approximately 3 km (1.8 mi)
close to the area adjacent to the Sierra de Perija to
about 1 km (0.6 mi) in the south-central part of the
basin. The westward-thickening shape of the wedge
and its eastward-prograding sequences interpreted by
Audemard (1991) suggest that erosion of the Sierra
de Perija provided its main clastic source area. The
period that defines this wedge correlates with the
age of latest Oligocene Miocene fold-thrust deformation and uplift of the Sierra de Perija (Kellogg,
1984). The clastic wedge depocenter is also consistent with previous estimates of deformation during
the late Oligocene Pliocene using fission-track dating and burial histories in the basin (Shagam et al.,
1984) (Figures 12, 13).
One of the most prominent features associated
with the deformation front of the Sierra del Perija is
the El Rosario anticline, a basement-involved faultpropagation fold of at least late Miocene age (Apotria
and Wilkerson, 2005) (Figure 13). The Sierra de Perija
deformation front has been described in detail by Audemard (1991), Duerto (1998), and Duerto et al. (2006)
using 2-D seismic lines in the eastern mountain front.

Andean Clastic Wedge (Tectonosequence 6)

This wedge is bracketed by the upper Miocene unconformity at its base and by the present Maracaibo
Basin topography and Lake Maracaibo floor at its top
(Figures 5, 14). The thickness of the wedge ranges from
approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) in the area adjacent to
the Merida Andes in south Lake Maracaibo to about
1 km (0.6 mi) in the central part of the basin. Audemard (1991) provided a regional basinwide overview of
this sedimentary wedge. De Toni and Kellogg (1993)
and Duerto (1998) described the more proximal part
of the wedge in the southernmost part of the basin and
proposed triangular zones that detach in the Upper
Cretaceous Colon shales. The eastward thickening of
the Andean wedge shape is consistent with the interpretation that the source of the wedge lies to the east
of the basin in the Merida Andes (Castillo, 2001; Castillo
and Mann, 2006).
The period represented by this sedimentary wedge
provides dates of late MioceneHolocene uplift in the
area of the Merida Andes adjacent to the wedge and is
consistent with previous estimates of late Miocene
Pleistocene uplift using fission-track dating (Kohn et al.,
1984; Shagam et al., 1984). The most prominent feature associated with the deformation front of the
Merida Andes is the Maracaibo syncline, a gentle open
fold formed in front of the thrust system between the
Merida Andes and the basin (Castillo and Mann, 2006)
(Figures 6, 9).

CONCLUSIONS
1. The geology and sedimentation of the Maracaibo
Basin was controlled by complex MesozoicCenozoic
tectonic interactions between North American,
South American, and Caribbean plates. The Maracaibo Basin sediments show separation and rifting
between North America and South America during
the Jurassic, passive-margin formation during the
Cretaceous, and migration of the Caribbean plate
to its present position during the Cenozoic.
2. Four tectonic phases are used to explain and subdivide the stratigraphic evolution of the Maracaibo
Basin. The first phase is Jurassic rifting resulting from
the continental breakup of Pangea. In the Maracaibo
Basin region, the Merida Andes, Sierra de Perija, and
the areas adjacent to the north-northeasttrending
faults in the subsurface of the Lake Maracaibo area
represent remnants of the Jurassic rifts (Figures 4A, 5).
Mann et al.

473

3. The second tectonic phase is Cretaceous subsidence

and passive-margin development. After separation
between North and South America, the continental
margin of northern Venezuela became a passive
margin, where Cretaceous carbonate and clastic
sediments were deposited during a relative tectonically stable period. At the onset of Late Cretaceous
collision, the western part of the basin margin
converted from a passive to an active margin.
4. The third tectonic phase is the Paleogene oblique
collision between the Caribbean and South American plates. This convergence is reflected by the development of a greater than 4-km (2.5-mi)-thick lower
middle Eocene foreland clastic wedge. This phase
marks a key interval in the development of one of
the most prolific petroleum systems in the world.
The Maracaibo Basin underwent downwarping as a
response of tectonic loading in the north and
northeast as the Caribbean plate started to collide
with northern South America. Lower middle Eocene clastic input from the south and southwest
infilled the basin and onlapped the Paleocene platform as tectonic loading continued. A flexural bulge
formed in the central part of the initial basin as a
response to thrust belt development to the northnorthwest. As tectonic loading continued, the forebulge migrated southward and was onlapped by
lower Eocene rocks. Linear, north-northeaststriking
faults (Icotea and Pueblo Viejo faults) were reactivated as left-lateral strike-slip faults. A pull-apart
basin formed at a stepover on the Icotea fault.
5. The fourth and final tectonic phase is the North
Andean orogeny, characterized by collision between
the Panama Isthmus and northwestern South America and coeval subduction of the Nazca and Caribbean plate beneath northwestern South America.
These tectonic events produced east-west shortening and northward-northeastward lateral expulsion of the Maracaibo block. The age of this tectonic phase has been constrained by fission-track
dating in the Sierra de Perija and Merida Andes as
late Oligocene to Holocene, with the main period
of range uplift concentrated during late Miocene
Pleistocene. Fission-track dating suggests that the
main uplift of the Sierra de Perija occurred during the
late MiocenePliocene, and that the main uplift of
the Merida Andes occurred during the Pliocene
Pleistocene. In southern Lake Maracaibo, the Merida
Andes uplift is recorded by a thick section of shallowmarine to continental clastic rocks of more than 6 km
(3.7 mi) in thickness that accumulated in an intra474

montane flexural basin developed mainly during the

Pliocene to Pleistocene. Neogene sequences were
mainly continental and were unconformably deposited over Paleogene structures. The most important
structures associated with the Neogene deformation
in the basin itself are the Maracaibo syncline and the
Merida Andes uplift.

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