Journal of the Geological Society, London, Vol. 160, 2003, pp. 687701. Printed in Great Britain.

A tectonostratigraphic synthesis of the Sub-Andean basins: implications for the

geotectonic segmentation of the Andean Belt

J O H N M . JAC Q U E S
Tellus Division, Robertson Research International Limited, Llandudno LL30 1SA, UK (e-mail: jmj@robresint.co.uk)

Abstract: The tectonic, structural and depositional history of 19 Sub-Andean foreland and eight southern
Caribbean basins has been synthesized and is summarized by regional geohistory charts. These charts
recapitulate the subsidence regimes recognized and have been used to evaluate correlations between
genetically related stratigraphic sequences. Based on spatial and temporal changes in palaeo-depositional
setting, the Sub-Andean region can be subdivided longitudinally into several tectonostratigraphic domains.
The differential amount of subsidence between two adjacent tectonostratigraphic provinces or sub-provinces
relies on the presence of a transverse zone of structural accommodation. The location of these transfer zones
correlates with a number of known and several newly identified zones of intracontinental deformation.
Combined with changes in the structural geometry of the Andean Fold and Thrust Belt and the relative
dominance of basement fault systems along the length of the Andean foreland, it is suggested that the Andean
Belt can be separated into five tectonic domains (which are themselves bounded by transverse, structural
accommodation zones). Representing the multiphase reactivation of pre-existing basement fault systems, the
influence of these broad zones of transcontinental deformation is most apparent during the TriassicJurassic
period, suggesting that they were intimately associated with accommodating intraplate stresses during the
breakup of the Gondwana Supercontinent.

Keywords: Sub-Andean foreland, segmentation, tectonostratigraphy, subsidence.

New technical developments and advances in the spatial pre-
sentation of geological data have been used to create a regional
database for the Sub-Andean foreland region, in which 19 basins
are recognized extending from the northern margin of South
America (Venezuela) as far south as Tierra del Fuego (Argentina)
and South Falklands offshore (Figs 1 and 2). These are the
Maracaibo, Barinas, Middle Magdalena Valley, Upper Magdalena
Valley, Llanos, Oriente, Huallaga, Santiago, Ucayali, Madre de
Dios, Beni Plain, Santa Cruz, Northwest, Cuyo, Neuquen,
Nirihuao, Magallanes, Malvinas and South Falkland Basins. The
objective of this paper has been to synthesize their tectonic,
structural and depositional history so as to identify tectonostrati-
graphic domains and their boundaries along the length of the
Sub-Andean Belt.
An underlying theme of particular importance throughout the
geological record is the influence of old, reactivated, transcrustal
faults and shear zones. As described below, this infrastructural
framework has controlled, to varying degrees, the palaeo-deposi-
tional history of the Sub-Andean foreland trough into a series of
basins with contrasting subsidence histories. This mechanistic
framework for the structural development of the Sub-Andean
foldthrust belt and foreland may provide an insight into under-
standing the distribution and quality of source rocks, reservoirs
and seals, and the timing and style of hydrocarbon trap formation
(Jacques 2004).
This paper presents an overview of the tectonostratigraphic
evolution of the Sub-Andean region. The tectonostratigraphic
development of each basin has been illustrated in terms of
megasequences (the megasequence concept of Hubbard et al.
1985) as a means of creating a regional geohistory chart from
patterns of subsidence that can be used to identify distinct
tectonostratigraphic provinces and their boundaries.
The companion paper (Jacques 2003), addresses the impor-
tance of this long-lived fracture system on a plate tectonic scale,
with reference to the accommodation of intraplate stresses during
the Late Mesozoic break-up of the Gondwana Supercontinent.
Datasets and methods
Data sources
This synthesis is based on public domain data, including
published papers, theses and dissertations. Papers cited, many of
which are either specific references to original ideas or syntheses
of broad areas or topics, contain extensive bibliographic refer-
ences to original data sources. The complicated, varied and
protracted history of the Sub-Andean Belt necessitates a brief
overview of the principal tectonic events influential in the
tectonostratigraphic evolution of its foreland basins. Where
relevant, some local events are mentioned, but in general, details
have been omitted.
Digital compilations
All structural and geology maps were compiled digitally as point
and geographical (arc) coverages using ESRIs ARC/VIEWTM
and ARC/INFOTM GIS (Geographic Information System) for-
mats at a basin-scale of around 1:500 000 to 1:2 000 000. In the
few areas of sparse data, a compilation scale of up to 1:3 500 000
was necessary to create a complete structural and geological
coverage for South America. It is not possible here to show the
level of detail and the full extent of this coverage, which
includes: the large intracratonic, interior Solimoes, Amazonas,
Maranhao (Parnaba), Sao Francisco, Alhuampa, Chaco and
Parana Basins (Fig. 1a); and the passive margin basins of the
South Atlantic (Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina) and Equatorial,
Central Atlantic (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana and Brazil)
(Fig. 1a). The level of detail of this coverage, at a basin scale, is

687
688 J. M . JAC Q U E S

Fig. 1. (a) Present-day geotectonic setting of the Sub-Andean and southern Caribbean basins. (b) Example clip-out map from the digital coverage.
Oriente Basin: present-day structural elements.
 T H E S U B - A N D E A N BA S I N S : PA RT 1 689

Fig. 2. (a) Present-day geotectonic setting of the Sub-Andean and southern Caribbean basins superimposed on TerrainBase, showing tectonic domain
boundaries (transverse structural lineaments) and their control on the segmentation of the Andean foreland. Sub-Andean basin boundaries are shown
together with major oceanic features and areas of flat-slab subduction. (b) Simplified geology map showing Andean deformational styles (after Kley et al.
1999), transverse structural lineaments, present-day zones of volcanic activity and the overall sense of crustal block rotation during the development of the
Bolivian Orocline (counter-clockwise in southern Peru and clockwise in northern Chile; see text for explanation). Neotectonic boundaries and their
boundaries (after Dewey & Lamb 1992) are shown.
690 J. M . JAC Q U E S
shown in an example clip-out map from the main digital
coverage (Fig. 1b). Because the geological data have been
captured digitally as point and geographical (arc) coverage GIS
formats, this allows for individual digital datasets to be visua-
lized either separately at any scale or in combination. The
superimposition of one dataset onto another allows for spatial
relationships to be recognized and analysed. An attempt has been
made in the companion paper (Jacques 2003) to provide a
simplified map from the coverage to highlight some geospatial
relationships, particularly with reference to the position, orienta-
tion and continuity of transverse, deep crustal structures. These
relationships are described in a table presented by Jacques
(2003), with each geological phenomenon linked by number to
the map.
Defining deep crustal, intracontinental fracture systems
By their very nature, most deep crustal fracture systems are not
expressed at the surface by discrete faults or shear zones that
will define their exact position and length. In fact, in most cases,
basement lineament reactivation is manifested in the upper crust
by diffuse linear zones of deformation, which may be of the
order of tens to hundreds of kilometres wide. They are often
cited to have controlled: (1) the siting of deeply sourced
(subcrustal) magmas, implying that they traverse the entire
lithosphere; (2) the position and geometry of intra- and inter-
cratonic rifting; (3) the siting of granitic magmas and genetically
related precious metal deposits; (4) changes in deformation style;
(5) patterns of regional metamorphism; (6) basement morph-
ology, which, in turn, may have a direct effect on sedimentary
facies changes. Referred to as tectonic, crustal or basement
lineaments, these structures are interpreted as representing a
composite of deep crustal lithospheric fractures which, on a
regional scale, interlink to form a transcontinental belt or zone
that can accommodate intraplate deformation during major
episodes of plate reorganization. Hence, they do not generally
represent one discrete structure, but along any part of their length
they may be defined at or close to the Earths surface by major
crustal discontinuities. During reactivation, strains related to deep
crustal movements may be expressed directly in the sedimentary
cover (e.g. faults and shear zones), or indirectly, influencing
patterns of deposition, deformation, metamorphism and igneous
activity. Defining the age and lateral extent is often a major
problem. Does the continuity of the tectonic lineament owe its
existence to an original, ancient, crustal feature (e.g. accretionary
boundary between cratons), or does it represent the preferential
reactivation of ancient zones of crustal weakness along certain
parts of its length as the crustal fracture system propagated and
was guided through the crust? There is also the question of
where in the Earths crust these megafractures are actually
created and remain to be reactivated once the prevailing stress
field is favourably oriented. A clue may lie in the fact that many
influence the siting of subcrustal magmas, suggesting that these
structures are established in the lower crust, reaching at least
lithospheric mantle depths (Jacques & Reavy 1994). Acting as
vertical zones of low strength, strains related to their reactivation
may become less localized towards the Earths free surface,
explaining why many deep crustal lineaments are not expressed
directly at the Earths surface by discrete structures such as
narrow shear zones or brittle faults. Hence, many crustal
lineaments are represented in the upper crust by broad zones of
diffuse deformation that are very difficult to determine from
seismic reflection profiles.
The geotectonic framework of the Sub-Andean and
Southern Caribbean regions
The western margin of South America: Sub-Andean
foreland basins
Present-day geotectonic setting. At a plate tectonic scale, the
Andean Mountain Belt represents the expression of contractional
strains related to the eastward subduction of the Pacific oceanic
plate beneath the entire length of the western margin of the
South American continent. The Sub-Andean basins lie to the east
of the Andean Thrust Front and form a series of foreland style
basins to the Andean Mountain Belt (Figs 1 and 2a). The
continental and tectonic framework of the region can be
separated into three principal components: (1) stable cratonic
(shield) areas in the east; (2) the Andean zone of deformation in
the west; (3) an intervening belt of foreland basins. Individual
basins can be divided into two regions: (1) the Sub-Andean
foothills, a relatively narrow fold and thrust belt in the west; (2)
a broader, relatively undeformed foreland region in the east. The
basins possess an asymmetric profile, with the thickest sedimen-
tary sequence in the Sub-Andean foothills, progressively thinning
eastwards onto crystalline basement (generally Precambrian).
Located along the eastern flank of the Andean Cordillera, the
Andean Fault System has a strike length of over 5000 km and
varies in width from 50 to 700 km. In the Central Andes of
Bolivia, the Cordillera has its greatest width of c. 700 km. The
zone is characterized by predominantly sub-parallel, westerly
dipping thrust faults.
Transverse, tectonic transfer zones: structural segmentation of
the Andean Belt. Along the length of the Andean Fault System,
several major changes in style of deformation and geometry
(strike-swings) may define the position of several, approximately
ENE-trending, deep crustal, transverse tectonic boundaries (see
Fig. 2b), which have been used to subdivide the Sub-Andean
region into morphostructural units or segments with different
geological histories (see Corvalan 1989). From north to south,
these are the Huancabamba and Abancay (Pisco) Deflections, the
AricaSanta Cruz Line (bisecting the angle of the Bolivian
OroclineArica Deflection), boundaries that occur at latitudes
278S and 338S, and the Bariloche Transversal (c. 478S; Corvalan
1989).
An investigation into the pattern of Plio-Pleistocene and active
horizontal deformation by Dewey & Lamb (1992) led them to
conclude that several transfer zones, oriented orthogonal or at a
high angle to subduction, are necessary to account for the
remarkable variations in partitioning of the plate slip vector into
displacement and strain along different parts of the Andean Belt.
Between latitudes 58N and 478S, four neotectonic segments were
recognized (14), with two of these divided into subdivisions
(2A and 3A; see Fig. 2b). Several of these transfer accommoda-
tion zones suggested by Dewey & Lamb (1992) correspond to
those defined by Corvalan (1989; see Fig. 2b). Dewey & Lambs
boundary transfer zone (Guayaquil Bend) between their segments
4 and 3 correlates with the Huancabamba Deflection (Gansser
1973; Megard 1987; Corvalan 1989); their boundary zone
separating 3A from the rest of segment 3 coincides with the
Abancay (Pisco) Deflection (Ham & Herrera 1963; Marocco
1971; Corvalan 1989); and their transfer zone between segments
3A and 2 corresponds to the Bolivian Orocline (AricaSanta
Cruz Line; Sonnenberg 1963; Corvalan 1989). South of the
Bolivian Orocline, the boundaries are somewhat different. This
probably reflects the regions far greater complexity in terms of
its geological history, involving, in particular, a large number of
 T H E S U B - A N D E A N BA S I N S : PA RT 1
major, Early Palaeozoic terrane accretionary events. In turn,
these had a profound effect in providing exploitable weak zones
preferentially developed along inter-terrane boundaries that could
be used as intraplate accommodation structures during plate
reorganization phases, thus leading to its high degree of segmen-
tation (see Mpodozis & Ramos 1989 and discussion below).
One of the aims of this paper is to evaluate the position of
these deep crustal lineaments and explore the concept that the
reactivation of these structures, and similar, differently oriented
deep crustal lineaments may have been responsible for repeated
changes in the longitudinal extent and depositional history of
different palaeogeographical domains, ultimately controlling
rates of uplift and subsidence in different segments of the
Andean Belt. Tectonically induced uplift associated with the
reactivation of these basement faults may have been responsible
for the development of intrabasinal highs and several major
basin-bounding arches that subdivided the Sub-Andean foreland
trough into the series of basins present today.
Steep-slab vs. shallow-slab subduction. It has been suggested
by Corvalan (1989) (see also Allmendinger et al. 1983) that
several of these trans-Andean basement fractures may have
ultimately controlled changes in the style of subduction along the
length of the Andes, as expressed by major longitudinal varia-
tions in the style of deformation within both the foldthrust belt
and foreland areas. Two alternating styles of subduction are
recognized (Barazangi & Isacks 1976; Jordan et al. 1983): (1)
steep-slab subduction (25308) involving old, dense oceanic
crust subducting at a relatively high angle; this is often
characterized by an active volcanic arc and widespread extrusion
of basalts in the foreland region; (2) shallow-slab or flat-slab
subduction (5108) involving the subduction of young, buoyant
oceanic crust at a relatively low angle. This may result in
subdued Late Miocene to Holocene arc volcanism. As shown by
Figure 2, there appears to be a fairly strong spatial relationship,
with flat-slab subduction and fold belts developed further into
the plate interior by foreland basement thrust systems.
Of the 10 known flat-slab regions worldwide (see Gutscher et
al. 2000), four (almost half; see Fig. 2a) occur along the South
American Plates Pacific margin; could this be a testament to its
tectonically segmented nature, caused by old lithospheric dis-
continuities, which, in some way, control the geometry of the
subducting Nazca Plate? From north to south, the following flat-
slab regions are recognized: (1) Colombia (698N), associated
with the Choco Block; (2) Ecuador (128N), allied with the
Carnegie Ridge; (3) Peru (2158S), connected with the Nazca
Ridge and Inca Plateau; (4) Chile (28338309S), linked with the
Juan Fernandez Ridge. Magmatically quiescent, three of these
regions are characterized by adakitic arc magmas that are
strongly depleted in Y and heavy rare earth elements (an
exception is Colombia; Gutscher et al. 2000). The steeply
dipping zones of subduction are reflected onshore by intense,
young, calc-alkaline volcanism, referred to as the Northern,
Central and Southern Volcanic Zones (Fig. 2b; Jordan et al.
1983), which roughly coincide with the Northern, Central and
Southern Andean tectonic belts (see Fig. 2a and b), defined
below.
Variations in along-strike shortening of the Andean Belt. Large
variations in the amount of along-strike shortening of the Andean
Belt strongly indicate that inherited stratigraphic and structural
transverse features of the South American Plate controlled
structural segmentation of the Andean foreland region (see
Mpodozis & Ramos 1989; Kley et al. 1999). These boundaries
691
are often sharp, subdividing the Andean foreland into a number
of segments characterized by the following structural styles (see
Fig. 2b; Kley et al. 1999).
(1) Thick-skinned fold and thrust belts with an inferred mid-
crustal (1020 km depth) basal detachment in the basement.
Examples include the Eastern Cordillera (with local thin-skinned
deformation; Dengo & Covey 1993; Cooper et al. 1995) and
Magdalena Valley Basin of Colombia, and the Santa Barbara
System of northern Argentina (Monaldi & Kley 1997). These
belts are typically shortened by 2035% and occur in Mesozoic
extensional basins where extensive thrust reactivation of normal
faults has occurred, resulting in inversion (Kley et al. 1999).
(2) Thin-skinned deformation belts with structures detached
along a decollement horizon within the sedimentary cover,
representing the most intense shortening, from 40 to 70% (Kley
et al. 1999). This includes the Santiago and Huallaga Belts (Sub-
Andean Ranges) of Peru (Mathalone & Montoya 1995), the
Bolivian and northernmost Argentinian Sub-Andean Ranges
(Roeder 1988; Baby et al. 1992; Dunn et al. 1995), the
Argentinian Precordillera (Jordan et al. 1993), the Aconcagua
Thrust Belt (Ramos 1988a) and the thin-skinned part of the
Patagonian Cordillera (Ramos 1989; Alvarez-Marron et al.
1993), and the Magallanes Foreland Fold and Thrust Belt, which
forms an integral part of the western margin to the Magallanes
Basin. Thin-skinned belts generally develop in areas where the
thickness of the sedimentary cover is in excess of 3 km and
unaffected by strong Mesozoic extension (Kley et al. 1999),
providing a laterally continuous Palaeozoic section, with a multi-
tude of exploitable detachment horizons.
(c) Foreland basement thrusts that may cut and affect the
entire crust, as implied by deep seismic investigations (e.g.
Jordan & Allmendinger 1986). These belts generally accommo-
date the least amount of crustal shortening overall, ,10% (Kley
et al. 1999), and are often referred to as Laramide or Pampea-
nas-type basement thrust systems, e.g. Sierras Pampeanas of
Argentina (Jordan & Allmendinger 1986).
This structural segmentation of the Andean Belt has, in part,
been linked to the Miocene to present-day geometry of the Nazca
Plate, reflecting changes in subduction angle (steep- to flat-
slab) along the length of the western margin (Pilger 1981;
Jordan et al. 1983). However, it has been suggested by
Allmendinger et al. (1983) that these changes in structural style
are more likely to be due to inherited lithospheric inhomogene-
ities, in terms of both structure and stratigraphy, which may, in
themselves, provide important mechanical anisotropies in the
South American Plate that can exert an influence on the dip of
the subducting slab (Isacks 1988; Watts et al. 1995). An
interesting point made by Kley et al. (1999) is that it is possible
that long-standing differences in lithospheric properties of ad-
jacent segments along the strike of the Andes translate into
stratigraphic differences that will ultimately control the structural
style of the foreland. From this reasoning, one might expect that
the position of long-lived, transverse crustal structures, important
in controlling changes in depositional setting along the Andean
margin, will be expressed in some way by changes in structural
style produced by the climax of Andean orogenic deformation.
The northern margin of South America: southern
Caribbean basins
Present-day geotectonic setting. The NW (northern Andes) and
northern margins of South America are a closely related tectonic
system. The present-day physiographic and tectonic configuration
of this region is thought to have developed during Mesozoic to
692 J. M . JAC Q U E S
Cenozoic times as a result of the interaction of the Pacific, South
American and Caribbean Plates (Fig. 1a). The region as a whole
is an immensely complicated assemblage of microcontinental
blocks and fragments bounded by high-strain suture zones, wide
and narrow mobile belts and transcurrent fault systems. Along
this orogenic system, oceanic crust defining the southern bound-
ary of the Caribbean Plate has been and is currently being
obliquely subducted beneath the northern continental margin of
South America. The Caribbean Plate has moved eastwards at
rates between 2 and 4 cm a 1 , relative to North and South
America. This movement has been and is being accommodated
on a broad plate boundary zone up to 250 km wide, dominated
by dextral transpressional displacements accommodated within
continental, oceanic and island-arc material.
Based on tectonostratigraphic, palaeomagnetic and palaeobio-
geographical studies, complex assemblies of terranes have been
recognized. These include allochthonous blocks and fragments,
island arcs and accretionary complexes. These terranes have
amalgamated through processes of convergence and accretion,
with their sutures often marked by ophiolite, melange and
volcano-plutonic material (e.g. McCourt et al. 1984; Aspden et
al. 1987). Continued movement of these terranes, including block
rotations, has been achieved by the development of regional-
scale fault systems at their boundaries. Several of these terranes
appear to be entirely allochthonous with respect to the NW and
northern margins of South America, and are interpreted to have
been derived directly or indirectly from an exotic (proto-) Pacific
region by a process of Mesozoic and Tertiary island-arc develop-
ment, drift and accretion.
Synoptic overview of the tectonic evolution of the Sub-
Andean and southern Caribbean basins
The western margin of South America: Sub-Andean
foreland basins
Although the Sub-Andean basins are often referred to as classic
retro-arc foreland depositional systems, the actual foreland style
of subsidence recognized generally occurred very late in the
geological evolution of these basins. The oldest sediments
recognized are of Cambro-Ordovician age (Gondwana Passive
Margin Megasequence; Fig. 3), but it was not until the Tertiary
that retro-arc foreland subsidence occurred throughout the An-
dean Belt. The modern Sub-Andean Mountain Belt developed
primarily during the Neogene to Recent and, in part, appears to
be related to the 25 Ma breakup of the oceanic Farallon Plate
into the Nazca and Cocos Plates. This appears to mark the start
of increased and more orthogonal rates of convergence along the
central and southern parts of the western margin (Pardo Casas &
Molnar 1987). However, within the northern Andes, the low
angle of its continental margin to the direction of plate motion
was accommodated, not by large-scale orogenic shortening, but
by strain partitioning, with dextral transpressive deformation
taken up on several regional-scale shear zones (e.g. Romeral
Fault Zone; Dewey & Lamb 1992), ultimately resulting in lateral
extrusion of the Northern Andean Block (see Ramos & Aleman
2000 and references therein).
The Andean mountain-building process is generally considered
to have started in the Mid- or Late Cretaceous and continued,
with several identifiable phases of more intense contractional
deformation, to the present day. Older, Palaeozoic phases of
tectonism are usually referred to as pre-Andean orogenic events
or cycles, largely related to continental growth by several stages
of exotic terrane accretion, and the development of magmatic
arcs and accretionary prisms along subduction zones. The
Neoproterozoic to Early Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of south-
ern South America is particularly complicated (e.g. Bahlburg &
Herve 1997), primarily because of the large number of terrane
collision events that occurred and, more importantly, the compo-
site nature of many of the terranes, often built up of several
basement domains, leading to ambiguities in defining actual
terrane boundaries. This has led to the proposition of a large
number of contrasting terrane accretionary models.
The Andean orogenic period is generally accepted to have
been driven by the eastward subduction of Pacific oceanic crust
beneath the west margin of the South American continent. The
resultant Andean convergent arc is characterized by accretion-
ary episodes that appear to be mainly related to: (1) magmatic
and volcanic processes transferring material from the mantle to
crust; (2) continental tectonic erosion related to orogenic uplift,
leading to the development of the present-day relief. The role of
kinematic parameters in the Andean orogenies may well result
from a combination of factors. Reviewed by Jaillard et al.
(2000), these include: westward shift of the overriding South
American Plate, driven by South Atlantic ridge push from the
Albian onwards, resulting in Andean crustal shortening and the
stopping of slab retreat; age of subducted oceanic crust; increase
in convergence rates between the Nazca oceanic and South
American continental plates and its relationship to subsidence
rates in both the fore-arc and foreland; changes in convergence
direction of the two colliding plates; angle of dip of the
subducting slab and its potential for basal erosion of the
overriding plate; the choking of the subduction system by the
arrival of continental crustal fragments, aseismic ridges and
seamounts. The pre-Andean and Andean orogenies are separated
by a Mesozoic transitional period, which is marked by a very
different style of tectonism and magmatism.
Two main phases of orogenic activity are recognized: pre-
Andean orogenesis and Andean orogenesis. These are sum-
marized in a Supplementary Publication, which is available from
the Society Library or the British Library Document Supply
Centre, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, UK as
Supplementary Publication No. SUP 18187 (6 pages). It is also
available online at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18187. The
Supplementary Publication also includes a summary of the
tectonic evolution of the northern margin of South America.
The northern margin of South America: southern
Caribbean basins
Basin development in NW South America has involved the
interaction of both the Pacific and Caribbean oceanic plates with
the South American continental margin. This has resulted in a
complex interplay of both Andean and Caribbean styles of
deformation during their evolution, as expressed by the compli-
cated spatial and temporal relationships. Strains related to
Andean tectonics diminish eastwards along the northern margin.
There are many controversies concerning the origin and
formation of the Caribbean region, the most important being the
amount of displacement of the Caribbean Plate. Two widely
contrasting models have been invoked: one considers that the
Caribbean Plate formed in situ; the other regards it as a Pacific-
derived piece of trapped oceanic crust.
The model of in situ formation (e.g. Klitgord & Schouten
1986; Donnelly 1989) proposes that the Caribbean region formed
during the period 13080 Ma as South America moved south-
eastwards away from North America. Igneous upwelling in the
resultant space between the two continents produced the anom-
 T H E S U B - A N D E A N BA S I N S : PA RT 1 693

Fig. 3. Regional geohistory chart for the Sub-Andean basins.

alously thick oceanic crust of the Caribbean Plate. Recently The alternative school of thought proposes that the Caribbean
acquired palaeomagnetic inclination data favour the formation of is a piece of allochthonous Pacific ocean floor that has been
ophiolite complexes in a Caribbean (inter-American) position as brought in behind an eastward-moving arc system that migrated
opposed to a distant origin out in the Pacific. through an oceanic corridor (Proto-Caribbean Seaway) between
694 J. M . JAC Q U E S
North and South America during the Late Cretaceous and
Cenozoic (e.g. Pindell & Dewey 1982; Burke et al. 1984; Pindell
& Barrett 1990). This model has been used to explain: (1) the
exotic nature of material on both the north and south margins
of the Caribbean Plate; (2) large-scale, transcurrent fault dis-
placements along the north and south margins of the plate as a
consequence of its eastwest lateral movement relative to North
and South America; (3) the transpression along the plates
southern diffuse boundary, resulting in loading and foredeep
development on the northern margin of South America; (4) local
pull-apart basin creation at releasing and restraining bends.
Available information regarding the geological history of the
Caribbean region effectively commences in Carboniferous to
Permian times. The model for the evolution of the northern
margin of South America followed herein is based on that
proposed by Pindell & Dewey (1982) and Dewey & Pindell
(1985), with contributions from multiple sources, such as Ross &
Scotese (1988) and Pindell & Erikson (1994). A set of palaeo-
geographies has been compiled on computer-generated bases
produced by Paleomap (Scotese et al. 1994, 1998) and are
presented by Jacques (2004).
Tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Sub-Andean
basins: tectonic domains and their boundaries
The stratigraphy of each basin has been documented in the form
of a chronostratigraphic summary chart, allowing the tectonos-
tratigraphic development of the basin to be illustrated in terms of
megasequences (see Figs 3 and 4).
The chronostratigraphic summary charts have been synthe-
sized to produce a regional geohistory chart for both the western
and northern margins of South America (Figs 3 and 4, respec-
tively) from patterns of subsidence that can be used to identify
distinct tectonostratigraphic provinces and their boundaries. It is
clear from Figure 3 that the sedimentary fill of the basins of the
Sub-Andean region can be divided into two broad chronostrati-
graphic divisions, namely a pre-Tertiary (pre-Andean) fill
deposited within a variety of regional tectonic regimes, and a
Tertiary (Andean) fill related to a more uniform style of
tectonism associated with convergent subduction processes.
The different amount of subsidence between two tectonostrati-
graphic provinces or sub-provinces relies on the presence of a
transverse zone of structural accommodation. This transfer zone
is the locus of differential vertical movement necessary to
accommodate the variation in subsidence rates or uplift between
two tectonic domains. The location of these transfer zones
correlates with a number of known (see Corvalan 1989 and
references therein), and several newly identified, crustal linea-
ments. Two predominant sets of basement lineaments are recog-
nized: ENEWSW and NWSE (Fig. 2). These are interpreted
here as old, deep crustal fracture systems that have been
repeatedly reactivated during the tectonic development of the
Andean region to form diffuse zones of deformation within the
overlying cover. Many of these structures are inferred to be
transcrustal, providing pathways for siting magma that has risen
from mantlelithospheric depths, and transcontinental, with
many extending the entire width of South America (see Jacques
2003). The same two trends form the predominant structural
fabric in adjacent Precambrian Shield areas, which supports the
argument for a degree of tectonic inheritance of older structures
beneath the Sub-Andean basins. Their greatest influence on the
tectonostratigraphic development of the Sub-Andean basins is
clearly during the Triassic to Late Jurassic (Fig. 3). This suggests
that these broad zones of deformation played a crucial role in
accommodating intraplate stresses during the Mesozoic breakup
of the Gondwana Supercontinent.
The picture that emerges is one of a complex interaction of
the two sets of crustal lineaments during the tectonic and
depositional evolution of the region. Despite this complexity, it
appears that the relative dominance, on a regional scale, of one
set of lineaments over the other changes approximately halfway
down the length of the western margin, across a broad transition
zone structurally expressed by the Arica Deflection or Bolivian
Orocline. Based on this relative dominance, together with the
segmentation of the Andean Belt into tectonostratigraphic pro-
vinces and sub-provinces by these first-order, transverse crustal
lineaments, it is suggested that the Sub-Andean Belt can be
separated longitudinally into five tectonic domains, as follows.
Northern Tectonic Domain
This tectonic domain extends along the northern continental
margin of South America and appears to continue down the
western margin as far south as the ENE-trending Tumbes
GuayaquilTacutu Tectonic Lineament (Fig. 2a). On a basin
scale, in Colombia (Llanos Basin and Putomayo Sub-basin of the
Oriente Basin) and Venezuela (Barinas, Maracaibo, Guarico and
Maturin Basins), NW-trending basement lineaments are of
second- and third-order importance, forming major basin-bound-
ing (e.g. El Baul, Arauca and Vaupes Arches) and intra-basinal
arches or highs (e.g. Merida, Santa Maria, Trinidad, Orocue,
Santiago and Ariari Arches), respectively. The latter may structu-
rally compartmentalize the basin into several depocentres or sub-
basins. Isopach patterns show that the NWSE-trending Merida
Arch was a positive feature during the Cretaceous (Lugo &
Mann 1995) and it has been suggested (Macellari 1988) that this
represents one of a sub-parallel set of arches that controlled
passive margin sedimentation in NW South America; possibly
representing the reactivation of older Precambrian or Palaeozoic
structural fabrics (Lugo & Mann 1995). Along the northern
continental margin, the reactivation of first-order, pre-existing
basement fabrics is likely to have occurred during the Triassic to
Jurassic, producing a series of en echelon rifts of ENE to NE
trend (Espino, Merida, Uribante, Barquismeto and Machiques;
e.g. Parnaud et al. 1995). During this period, tectonic inheritance
of this basement fabric appears to have been responsible for the
re-entrantsalient geometry of South Americas rifted margin
during the opening of the Proto-Caribbean Seaway (e.g. Pindell
& Erikson 1994). An understanding of the location and geometry
of these rifts is of particular interest because biomarkers suggest
that Jurassic oils, sourced from hypersalinelacustrine rift-
controlled lakes, may extend beneath both the Serrania del
Interior and the Gulf of Paria (Goodman et al. 1998).
Tectonostratigraphically, the ENE TumbesGuayaquilTacutu
Tectonic Lineament appears to mark a fundamental change in
style of basin development during the Triassic and Jurassic,
separating the Late Palaeozoic Arc-related WrenchMesozoic
Retro-arc Extensional Basin Province into two sub-provinces. To
the north of the crustal lineament, sediment was deposited in the
Llanos, Middle and Upper Magdalena Valley Basins within an
environment dominated by transpressional tectonics (Magdalena
Arc-related Wrench Megasequence; Fig. 3). To the south, in the
Oriente, Huallaga, Santiago and Ucayali Basins, sediments were
deposited in a back-arc extensional environment (Pre-Andean
Retro-arc Extensional (I) Megasequence; Fig. 3), and character-
ize the Western Tectonic Domain described below. The Tumbes
GuayaquilTacutu Tectonic Lineament also marks the northern
limit of the Permian Copacabana salt of the Santiago and
 T H E S U B - A N D E A N BA S I N S : PA RT 1
Huallaga Basins and appears to have been an important control
on the tectonic setting during the Cretaceous, from passive
margin in the north to a subduction system in the south (see
below). The Northern Tectonic Domain represents the most
prolific hydrocarbon system in South America, dominated by
source rocks of Late Cretaceous age (La Luna Formation and
equivalents; see Jacques 2004).
Western Tectonic Domain
Extending southwards, from the TumbesGuayaquilTacutu
Tectonic Lineament, this tectonic domain includes the Maranon
and Acre Sub-basins of the Oriente Basin, and the Santiago,
Huallaga and Ucayali Basins (Fig. 2a). The southern boundary of
the domain is taken to be the ENE-trending PiscoAbancay
Fitzcarrald Tectonic Lineament, which may define the southern
edge of the SolimoesAmazonas megafracture system, expressed
at surface by the ENE- to NE-trending Fitzcarrald Arch. This
major basement arch is associated with an ENE-trending normal
fault system of Palaeozoic origin (Mathalone & Montoya 1995).
It marks an abrupt change in trend of the Andean Cordillera
(Abancay Deflection), and separates the Ucayali Basin from the
Madre de Dios Basin, which forms part of the Central (Transi-
tional) Tectonic Domain. A notable feature of this domain is that
its basins are elongated from north to south, and basin-bounding
and intra-basinal arches (e.g. Aguaja HighContaya Arch,
Iquitos Arch and Cushabatay High) extend for great distances,
some of them the entire length of the domain with an overall
northsouth trend (see Fig. 1b). This is in contrast to the rest of
the Sub-Andean Belt, where NW and/or ENE transverse structur-
al lineaments separate basins from one another, and many are
crossed by intra-basinal highs derived from both sets. This
contrast may result from the fact that most of this zone is
traversed by a very broad zone of deformation (possibly up to
150 km wide), representing the westward continuation of the
ENE-trending SolimoesAmazonas Megashear (.3000 km long;
see Jacques 2003). During large-scale intraplate movements,
strain may have been dissipated throughout the zone and, in
particular, focused along the northern and southern margins of
the tectonic domain (i.e. along the TumbesGuayaquilTacutu
and the PiscoAbancayFitzcarrald Tectonic Lineaments, re-
spectively). During oblique Tertiary subduction, it has also been
shown (Dewey & Lamb 1992) that within this domain (their
Segment 3), the sinistral shear (trench-parallel) component was
distributed over a wide zone, on a variety of structures in the
foreland thrust belt. This appears to be in contrast to the
behaviour of deformation in the domains to the north and south,
where, in general, the plate boundary zone is narrower, providing
a weak zone for the parallel component to be concentrated.
Central (Transitional) Tectonic Domain
This central, transition zone extends from the ENE- to NE-
trending Fitzcarrald Arch (ENE PiscoAbancayFitzcarrald Tec-
tonic Lineament) in southern Peru, as far south as the ENE-
trending Michicola Arch in northern Argentina and Paraguay
(ENE Michicola Tectonic Lineament; Fig. 2a). This includes the
Madre de Dios, Beni Plain and Santa Cruz Basins. Two major
ENE-trending basement arches (Madidi Arch and Boomerang
Hills Uplift) separate these basins from each other. Throughout
this zone, the interaction of the two sets of basement fractures
has strongly controlled the tectonic and depositional development
of the Andean Belt. The centre of the zone is defined by the
AricaParaguaiAraguaia Tectonic Lineament, an important
695
control during Neogene lineament-block tectonics. This crustal
fault appears to have separated counter-clockwise block rotations
in the north from clockwise rotations in the south, leading to the
creation of the Bolivian OroclineArica Deflection (see Scanlan
& Turner 1992; Somoza et al. 1996; Beck 1998, and references
therein; see Jacques 2003), which forms the most prominent
feature of the Andean Belt. The ENE-trending regional tectonic
lineaments identified here appear to define the three structural
zones recognized by Baby et al. (1995) (see also geotectonic
provinces of Roeder & Chamberlain 1995) within this tectonic
domain: a northern Sub-Andean Zone (13178S) in which the
structural fabric is oriented NWSE, extending from the ENE
PiscoAbancayFitzcarrald Tectonic Lineament to the Arica
ParaguaiAraguaia Tectonic Lineament; a central zone (17
188S) that changes from NWSE to a northsouth orientation
and is characterized by the BoomerangChapare Transfer Zone,
a lateral ramp system interpreted here as representing the cover
expression of the deep crustal AricaParaguaiAraguaia Tec-
tonic Lineament; and a southern zone (18228S) oriented north
south, which extends from the traversing AricaParaguaiAra-
guaia Tectonic Lineament, south to the ENE Michicola Tectonic
Lineament.
As shown by Figure 2b, the ENE-trending tectonic lineaments
have only been extended as far west as the Eastern Cordillera,
for two reasons: (1) although they may have had a tectonostrati-
graphic influence in the Altiplano and Western Cordillera, the
pronounced Andean shortening and displacement in this region
have probably masked a great deal of this evidence (however, see
Sempere et al. 1997); (2) the westward limit of old, thick,
cratonic lithosphere (Brazilian Shield) may occur at around
678W (Masson et al. 2000), at the edge of the Eastern Cordillera
in the Central Andes.
The influence of this ENE-trending basement fabric on mag-
matic activity is undoubtedly demonstrated by the linear distribu-
tion of Cenozoic calc-alkaline volcanism in the Bolivian western
Andes (see Avila-Salinas 1991). These volcanic belts are 50
100 km long (e.g. Canapa Range) and have been considered by
Avila-Salinas (1991) to represent ascent of magma controlled by
deep-seated basement lineaments associated with crustal block
rotations during the development of the Bolivian Orocline.
Another interesting phenomenon is the geospatial distribution of
Miocene to Present shoshonitic magmatic activity. Located to the
east of the main calc-alkaline volcanic arc (see Sebrier & Soler
1991), the northern and southern extents of shoshonitic volcan-
ism coincide exactly with the ENE PiscoAbancayFitzcarrald
and AricaParaguaiAraguaia Tectonic Lineaments, respec-
tively.
In this domain, the influence of ENE-trending crustal linea-
ments on the distribution of igneous activity and their influence
on its geochemistry are also illustrated by the location of
metalliferous deposits. Along the Cordillera Oriental, the Boli-
vian Tin Belt extends for c. 1100 km, terminating in the north at
the ENE-trending Madidi Arch and in the south at the ENE-
trending Michicola Arch (Michicola Tectonic Lineament). Inter-
estingly, the belt can be divided into northern and southern
segments (see Urquidi-Barrau 1989). In the northern segment,
the metal deposits are genetically related to plutons of Late
Triassic to Early Jurassic and Oligocene age, whereas, in the
south, the age and type of intrusive activity are different, with
the deposits produced by sub-volcanic porphyry stocks of
Miocene age. This profound difference occurs abruptly across
the trace of the AricaParaguaiAraguaia Tectonic Lineament.
These segments also contrast in having distinctly different
erosion levels, with the northern segment of the Tin Belt more
696 J. M . JAC Q U E S

Fig. 5. Generalized, Early Cretaceous (140 Ma) palaeogeography

showing influence of crustal lineaments along the length of the Andean
Belt (see Fig. 1 for legend). Circled numbers: 2, the ENE Solimoes
Amazonas Megashear (diffuse zone of deformation); 5, the ENE
Michicola Tectonic Lineament; 7, the NW Martin Garcia Tectonic
Lineament; 8, the NW Valle Fertil Tectonic Lineament; 10, the NW
GastreAgulhas Megashear. Plate reconstruction derived from Paleomap
(Scotese et al. 1994, 1998).

elevated and deeply eroded than its southern counterpart

(Urquidi-Barrau 1989), testifying to the importance of these
ENE-trending crustal lineaments in accommodating differential
amounts of subsidence and/or uplift along the Andean Belt.

Eastern Tectonic Domain

Fig. 4. Regional geohistory chart for the southern Caribbean basins.
Defined to the north by the ENE-trending Michicola Arch (ENE
Michicola Tectonic Lineament), this domain is taken to extend as
far south as the NW-trending Martin Garcia Tectonic Lineament,
where it intersects with the ENE-trending La SerenaRibeira
Tectonic Lineament (Fig. 2a). Defining the Sub-Andean North-
west Basin, this tectonic domain represents the NW part (corner)
of a major Neocomian rift system that extends from the South
Atlantic Colorado Basin to the ENE-oriented Lomas de Olmedo
Trough (Fig. 5; see Comnguez & Ramos 1995; Schmidt et al.
1995; Welsink et al. 1995b). The ENE-trending Michicola Arch
(ENE Michicola Tectonic Lineament) forms the northern bound-
ary of the Lomas de Olmedo Trough, which has been preferen-
tially developed along the suture between the Amazonia
(Brazilian) and Pampia (Pampean) Cratons (Comnguez &
Ramos 1995). The trough forms part of the Salta Rift System,
which has been partially controlled by a triple junction involving
 T H E S U B - A N D E A N BA S I N S : PA RT 1
the Amazonia, Pampia and Arequipa Precambrian cratons
(Ramos & Vujovich 1995), which were amalgamated during the
Early Cambrian. It is possible that the terrane accretionary
process of the Pampean Terrane onto the proto-Andean margin
of South America (Gondwana) was guided or produced and
controlled by southern Iapetus oceanic and Gondwana continen-
tal megafractures oriented ENE (see Rapela et al. 1998). For
example, the southern margin of the Pampean Terrane may have
been defined and controlled by the ENE-trending La Serena
Ribeira Tectonic Lineament.
The initiation of the Cretaceous Salta Rift System has been
linked in time and space to the opening of the South Atlantic
(e.g. Comnguez & Ramos 1995; Viramonte et al. 1999; see Fig.
5). Adiabatic decompression melting associated with the exten-
sional reactivation of this triple junction may explain the
Cretaceous alkaline igneous activity concentrated in this area
along ENE-trending crustal lineaments (see Jacques 2003), with
several alkaline igneous complexes occurring along the length of
the ENE-trending Michicola Tectonic Lineament. Although their
ages are correlative with the Parana Volcanic Province magma-
tism, the geochemistry, petrology and isotopic compositions of
the Salta Rift magmas show different source regions and
petrogenetic processes (Viramonte et al. 1999). Synrift alkaline
volcanic activity from 110 to 100 Ma has been related to initial
doming and crustal thinning produced by the rise of hot astheno-
spheric magma (Viramonte et al. 1999), notably some time after
the initial (Neocomian) development of the interconnected Salta
graben system into a triple junction arrangement. It is suggested
(Jacques 2003) that the Michicola Tectonic Lineament is one of
a group of important transcontinental fractures that defined the
northern limit of two tectonic domains (Pelotas and Sao
Francisco Tectonic Domains) that were instrumental in control-
ling the geometry of Mesozoic rifting along the South Atlantic
margin and its subsequent subsidence history. It is possible that
the 110100 Ma alkaline igneous event represents a phase of
plate reorganization related to the final separation of South
America from Africa during the late Albian, resulting in opening
of the Equatorial Atlantic.
The importance of the ENE-trending Michicola Arch (ENE
Michicola Tectonic Lineament) in defining a major, across-strike
tectonic domain boundary is possibly suggested by the results of
seismic attenuation data (Whitman et al. 1992, 1996). At the
same latitude of the Michicola Tectonic Lineament (238S), these
data indicate that the properties and structure of the lithosphere
beneath the Central Andean plateau change abruptly. Coinciding
with a dramatic along-strike variation in Andean tectonic style
and deformational timing between the Altiplano and Puna
segments of the Andean Belt (see Jacques 2003), the upper
mantle, south of 238S, is interpreted to be hotter and the
lithosphere is thinner and weaker (Whitman et al. 1996). Based
on several lines of evidence, Whitman et al. (1996) concluded
that this along-strike segmentation of the Andean plateau and
foreland ultimately reflects a long-standing change in structure
and geochemistry of the crust and mantle lithosphere. This
exerted an influence throughout the Phanerozoic, as demonstrated
by the abrupt increase of the Palaeozoic sedimentary section of
the present-day Andean foreland, north of its position
(Allmendinger et al. 1983; Allmendinger & Gubbels 1996).
Whitman et al. (1996) noted that, in the Eastern Cordillera, tin
mineralization is confined to regions north of 23.58S, suggesting
that this may reflect old, cratonic basement that does not extend
farther south. In other words, this boundary may represent the
subsurface limit of the Brazilian Shield. It is, however, important
to note that Whitman et al. (1996) actually suggested that this
697
boundary could be oriented NWSE, which may correlate with
the NW Martin Garcia Tectonic Lineament, or a similarly
oriented crustal lineament. Of note here is that the NW Martin
Garcia and ENE Michicola Tectonic Lineaments both correlate
with major fault zones that are interpreted to have been
extremely important in accommodating intraplate strain during
Neocomian rifting (see discussion on global implications) and, in
particular, during the development of the Lomas de Olmedo
Trough of the Salta Rift System (e.g. Schmidt et al. 1995; Fig.
5). Defining the NW corner of a large continental crustal block
composed of the Parana, Rio de La PlataLuiz Alvez and Sao
Francisco cratons, these two crustal fractures may have interacted
with the NE-trending Transbrasiliano Fault Zone during South
Atlantic rifting and opening.
Southern Tectonic Domain
South of the Arica Deflection (Bolivian Orocline), the domi-
nance of crustal lineaments oriented NWSE increases south-
wards (Fig. 2a and b). Approximately coinciding with the
arcuate trace of the NNW- to NW-trending Gastre Fault System,
the influence of ENE second-order basement lineaments is much
less apparent. The Gastre Fault has been suggested to define the
position of a major terrane boundary (GastreAgulhas Mega-
shear) that separates the Southern Patagonian Block from the
rest of South America (Rapela & Pankhurst 1992). It has a
prolonged history of reactivation and may have been an
important translatory structure during the development of the
South Atlantic Rift System, when South America separated
from Africa during the Mesozoic breakup of Gondwana. How-
ever, its level of importance is still a matter of debate. It may
form the tectonic boundary between the Late Palaeozoic Arc-
related WrenchMesozoic Retro-arc Extensional and the Rift
Post-rift Sag Basin Provinces of the Sub-Andean foreland (Fig.
3). Basins in the latter tectonostratigraphic province (Magal-
lanes, Malvinas and South Falkland) can be linked directly to
the Mesozoic evolution of the South Atlantic Rift System (Figs
3 and 5). Within the Southern Tectonic Domain, several
tectonostratigraphic sub-provinces are recognized and are
bounded by the following transverse tectonic lineaments: the
ENE Michicola and La SerenaRibeira Tectonic Lineaments,
the NW Valle Fertil, San Rafael and South Malvinas Tectonic
Lineaments, and the GastreAgulhas Megashear (Fig. 3; see
Jacques 2003a).
This marked contrast in geological evolution between adjacent
tectonostratigraphic sub-provinces of the Southern Tectonic
Domain has been commented on by Mpodozis & Ramos (1989)
(see also review by Ramos 2000). Based on changes in the nature
of the Sub-Andean retro-arc basins, differences in structural style
and behaviour of related magmatic arcs through time, those
workers recognized the following well-defined segments at
latitudes 21278S (Segment A), 27358S (Segment B), 35408S
(Segment C), 41498S (Segment D) and 49568S (Segment E).
Mpodozis & Ramos (1989) showed the boundaries to segments
AE as traversing southern South America at a high angle to
subduction. They also appear to have deliberately depicted the
boundaries in an ambiguous fashion, not linking them to major
crustal discontinuities. This caution is understandable, as it was
only from studying in detail the tectonostratigraphic evolution of
the Mesozoic South Atlantic passive margin basins of Argentina
(Jacques 2003) that a fuller picture has emerged. The tectonic
boundaries that were so instrumental in controlling differences in
passive margin development can be traced across the continent
into the Sub-Andean region, where they mark the boundaries
698 J. M . JAC Q U E S
between provinces and sub-provinces recognized from the sub-
sidence and depositional record of the retro-arc basins. The
principal controlling tectonic lineaments are NWSE and, where
they intersect the retro-arc basins of the Chile and Argentine
Andes, they correlate extremely well with the trace of the east
west segment boundary lines drawn by Mpodozis & Ramos
(1989) (see Jacques 2003).
In northern Patagonia, four main episodes of calc-alkaline
magmatism are recognized (c. 450370 Ma, c. 350280 Ma, c.
220200 Ma and 18010 Ma (Cingolani et al. 1991). An inter-
esting feature is that only the 18010 Ma magmatic phase trends
northsouth parallel to the subduction margin and Andean
orogenic strike, whereas the three older phases were emplaced
under the control of NWSE-trending structural lineaments, as
noted by Cingolani et al. (1991). Those workers argued that
these oblique structural lineaments are one of the oldest and
most constant features of the North Patagonian Massif, playing
an important role in its Palaeozoic, Triassic and Jurassic evolu-
tion, thus emphasizing the geological coherence of northern
Patagonia throughout the Phanerozoic, in contrast to the subduc-
tioncollision model of Ramos (1984, 1986, 1988b), which
considers Patagonia as an allochthonous terrane that was accreted
to the rest of southern South America during the Late Palaeozoic.
However, there is still considerable uncertainty, as the oblique
NWSE distribution of the granitoids could be interpreted as
representing a subduction-related magmatic arc along the south-
ern palaeomargin of South America before the collision of
Patagonia. Despite these uncertainties, it is clear that the litho-
spheric infrastructural framework of this domain is dominated by
NWSE-trending crustal lineaments. This is clearly exemplified
by the development of Mid- to Late Triassic and Mid-Jurassic
NWSE-trending, large-scale half-grabens (e.g. Cuyo Basin;
Ramos & Kay 1991) through Patagonia (e.g. Uliana & Biddle
1988; Pindell & Tabbutt 1995; Tankard et al. 1995; Feraud et al.
1999) following the tectonic fabric of the region, controlled by
ancient, major crustal boundaries between previously amalga-
mated terranes (Ramos & Kay 1991). Transfer faults to these
grabens are oriented ENE and are interpreted to be inherited
from the second-order basement structure of the region. The
Santa Cruz, MercedarioRamda, El Espinacito and La Cerrada
Cordillera of the La Ramada Fold and Thrust BeltFrontal
Cordillera of the Argentinian High Andes are traversed by
several ENE-trending lineaments (e.g. Rio BramaderoRio Blan-
co), which segment the ranges into an en echelon pattern. This
has been interpreted recently by Cristallini & Ramos (2000) to
be the result of thick-skinned inversion of inherited (Triassic)
steep rift faults during the Mid-Miocene (1412 Ma), with
basement block geometry and uplift controlled by the Triassic
ENE transfer faults (lineaments), producing the en echelon
arrangement.
A remarkable feature that points to an inherited influence of
these two sets of basement fabrics is the distribution of the
Cenozoic retro-arc Patagonian Plateau Lavas of alkaline and
tholeiitic composition. In the southernmost occurrence, the Pali
Aike Volcanic Field, DOrazio et al. (2000) noted that azimuth
distribution of both core alignment and elongation clearly show,
from analysing c. 470 volcanic centres, NWSE and ENE
WSW prevailing trends. The NWSE trends match the orienta-
tion of the Mesozoic Patagonian Austral Rift (Corbella et al.
1996) and the ENEWSW alignments parallel the main trend of
the Neogene to Recent Magellanes Strait Rift System (Diraison
et al. 1997). On a major scale, it is noticeable that the main
occurrences of this Cenozoic volcanic activity show a degree of
spatial coincidence with the regional-scale NWSE-trending San
Rafael, GastreAgulhas and South Malvinas crustal fracture
systems.
The southern extent of the Southern Tectonic Domain is taken
to be defined onshore by the Tierra del Fuego Shear Zone.
Traced east, it forms part of the southern faulted margin of the
Magallanes Basin and, offshore, it continues as a major accom-
modating plate structure, the North Scotia Ridge Fault Zone (see
Jacques 2003). Offshore, this represents the actual sinistral
transform boundary between the South American and Scotian
Plates and defines the southern continental crust boundary of the
South Falkland Basin (Fig. 1a). This plate configuration is a
mirror image of that seen along the northern margin of South
America where, instead, a broad, dextral transpressive zone of
deformation defines the plate boundary between the South
American and Caribbean Plates, and forms the northern bound-
ary of the Northern Tectonic Domain.
Summary and discussion
The differential amount of subsidence and uplift between the
Sub-Andean tectonostratigraphic provinces and sub-provinces
has been taken up across complex, broad, transverse accommoda-
tion zones, which probably represent the multiphase reactivation
of pre-existing fault systems in the underlying ?Precambrian
basement. Two predominant sets are recognized: ENEWSW
and NWSE. The relative dominance of one set of crustal
lineaments over the other changes approximately halfway down
the length of the Andes, with ENE-trending crustal lineaments
dominating in the north and NW-trending crustal lineaments
dominating in the south. This change in dominance occurs across
a broad zone of deformation represented by the Bolivian
Orocline (Arica Deflection). This, combined with changes in the
structural geometry of the Andean Fold and Thrust Belt, suggests
that the Andean region can be separated longitudinally into five
tectonic domains (which are themselves bounded by major
transverse, structural lineaments): Northern, Western, Central
(Transitional), Eastern and Southern. Both sets of lineaments
occur as major structural anisotropies throughout the basement
rocks of South America (e.g. Guyana, Brazilian and Uruguay
Shields), providing zones of weakness, which were repeatedly
reactivated and, at least in part, controlled: (1) the geometry of
inter- and intra-cratonic rifting; (2) rates of subsidence and uplift
along the Andean depositional axis; (3) the position of basin-
bounding and intra-basinal highs or arches; (4) the structural
geometry of the Andean Deformation Zone, correlating with
changes in deformational style and major deflections; (5) the
location of magmatism. The position of these transverse, deep
crustal faults appears to have had a profound effect on source
rock distribution and quality, and maturation history (see Jacques
2004). As with the geotectonic evolution of the region, it is
suggested (Jacques 2004) that a similar five-fold subdivision can
be made for its petroleum resources and productivity. These five
petroleum provincesmegasystems are based primarily on source
rock age and all are productive systems, which may vary in
productivity from one sub-province to the next. This variation
principally reflects lateral changes in source rock richness and
may be directly or indirectly related to the influence of the trans-
basinal crustal faults, identified in this paper, affecting sediment
distribution patterns (particularly facies changes) and rates of
subsidence.
On a broader, global tectonic scale, it is suggested in a
companion paper (Jacques 2003), that this transcontinental base-
ment fracture system exercised a significant control on large-
scale reorganization of crustal blocks during the breakup of the
 T H E S U B - A N D E A N BA S I N S : PA RT 1
Gondwana Supercontinent. Acting as second-order, sub-plate
boundary zones, they appear to have controlled: (1) the siting of
Mesozoic, intraplate, alkaline igneous activity, with important
implications for source rock maturity in the interior, Phanerozoic
intracratonic sag basins of South America; (2) the location of
failed arms (aborted rifts) of triple-junction rift systems on the
South Atlantic margin; (3) the tectonostratigraphic evolution of
the central and southern South Atlantic passive margin basins.
This work represents the culmination of several years of integrated
structural, stratigraphic and geochemical research on the basins of South
America. I would like to thank the following GIS specialists responsible
for the digital capsulation of the geological datasets used in this paper: R.
West, M. Williams and M. Cairns. Special thanks are reserved for L.
Barber, who helped to compile and draft many of the figures. The
interpretations and opinions detailed in this paper are those of the author
and not necessarily those of Robertson Research International Limited.
Special thanks go to W. Fitches for his advice, encouragement and
valuable discussions. I thank V. Ramos and E. Cristallini for their
thorough reviews of the manuscript and for their positive and constructive
comments, and H. Fossen for his editorial comments.
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Received 20 August 2002; revised typescript accepted 25 March 2003.

Scientific editing by Haakon Fossen