TECTONICS, VOL. 19, NO.

5, PAGES 787-813 OCTOBER 2000

Geodynamicsof the northern Andes'

Subductions and intracontinental deformation (Colombia)
AlfredoTaboada,
l'zLuisA. Rivera,TMAndr6sFuenzalida,
5ArmandoCisternas,
4
Herv6Philip,
1Harmen
Bijwaard,
• Jos60laya,
5andClaraRivera
5

Abstract. New regional seismological data acquired in more than 9000 km alongthe westernmarginof SouthAmerica
Colombiaduring1993 to 1996 and tectonicfield datafrom the [M•gard, 1987]. Intracontinental
deformationin the northern
EasternCordillera(EC) permita reexamination
of the complex Andes results from the complex interaction between three
geodynamicsof northwesternSouthAmerica.The effect of the lithosphericplates (Figure 1). The Nazca oceanicplate is
accretionof the Baud6-Panamaoceanicarc, which began12 Myr convergingeastwardat 6 cm/yr relativeto northwestern South
ago, is highlightedin connectionwith mountainbuildingin the America(NWSA); the Caribbeanplate is movingat 1-2 cm/yr to
EC. The Istminaand Ibagu6 faults in the southand the Santa the E-SE relativeto NWSA [Freyrnueller et al., 1993;Kellogg
Marta-Bucaramanga fault to the northeastlimit an E-SE moving and Vega,1995].
continentalwedge. Progressiveindentationof the wedge is The EasternCordillera(EC) of Colombiais a N-NE trending
absorbedalong reverse faults located in the foothills of the intracontinentalorogenicbelt extendingfor 750 km from the
Cordilleras(northwardof 5øN) and transpressive deformationin Ecuadorian to the Venezuelan border. It is located in the eastern
the Santander Massif. Crustal seismicity in Colombia is part of the northernAndes,whereit risesabruptlyabovethe
accuratelycorrelatedwith active faults showing neotectonic lowlandsof the South American craton.The medium height of
morphologicalevidences.Intermediateseismicity allows to the chainis closeto 3000 m (AltiplanoCundiboyacense), with
identify a N-NE trendingsubductionsegmentbeneaththe EC, summitsreaching5500 m.
whichplungestowardtheE-SE. Thissubduction
is interpreted
as The genesisof the EC hasbeena matterof long debate,and
a remnant
of thepaleo-Caribbean
plateau(PCP)assuggested
by variousdeformationmodelsat the lithosphericscale have been
geologicalandtomographicprofiles.The PCP showsa low-angle proposedfor thenorthernsegment:
subductionnorthwardof 5.2øN and is limited southwardby a 1. The oceanic subductiontype models suggestthat the
majorE-W transpressive shearzone.Normaloceanicsubduction Caribbeanplate subducts
beneaththe EC [e.g.,Pennington,
of theNazcaplate(NP) endsabruptlyat thesouthernlimit of the 1981]. In this particular model the North Andean block
Baud6 Range.Northward,the NP subductsbeneaththe Choc6 (correspondingto the Andeanrangesof Ecuador,Colombia,and
block, overlappingthe southernpart of the PCP. Cenozoic Venezuela) is moving toward the NE relative to the South
shorteningin the EC estimatedfrom a balancedsectionis ~120 Americanplate,alonga transpressive
systemof faultsfollowing
km. Stressanalysis
of fault slip datain the EC (northward
of thefrontof theEC [Pennington,1981;Freyrnueller
et al., 1993;
4øN), indicatesan ~E-SE orientationof c•l in agreementwith the Kelloggand Vega,1995].Otherauthorshavesuggested thatthe
PCP subductiondirection. Northward, near Bucaramanga,two Nazcaplate (andnot the Caribbean) subductsbeneaththe EC
stress solutions were observed: (1) a late Andean N80øE [e.g.,vanderHilstandMann,1994].
compression
and(2) an earlyAndeanNW-SE compression. 2. The low-anglethrustingmodelsproposethat faulting and
folding in the cordillerancrust are the consequenceof the
reactivationof an east vergent detachmentalong the middle or
1. Introduction lowercrust[DengoandCovey,1993;Cooperet al., 1995].These
models suggestthat the gently dipping detachmentextends
The Andes of Colombia, Venezuela,and Ecuadorrepresent
beneaththe Middle Magdalenabasinand CentralCordilleraand
the northern termination of the Andean belt, which extends for branches off from the Nazca subduction zone beneath the
WesternCordilleraof Colombia(Figure1 andPlate1).
•UMR 5573, Laboratoirede G6ophysique,Tectoniqueet 3. The intracontinentaldeformationtypemodelsproposethat
S6dimentologie,CNRS, Universit6MontpellierII, Montpellier,France. the northernsegmentof the EC may resultfrom subductionof
ZDepartamento de IngenieriaCivil, Facultad de Ingenieria, thecontinental lithosphericmantle(CLM) beneaththemountain
Universidadde LosAndes,Bogotfi. range[Collettaet al., 1990].In thisparticular
modelthedirection
3Seismological
Laboratory,CaliforniaInstituteof Technology,
Pasadena. of continental subduction has not been determined, and two
4Institut
dePhysique
du Globe,Universit6 Strasbourg, possibilitieshave been put forward (east or west dipping
LouisPasteur,
France. subduction).
$Instituto
de Investigaciones
en Geociencias,
Mineriay Quimica, Some of these authors have suggestedthat the collision
Bogotfi.
between the Panama-Choc6 terrane and NWSA, which occurred
6Vening
MeineszSchool
of Geodynamics,
Institute
of EarthSciences,
UtrechtUniversity,Netherlands. at about 12 Ma [Duque-Caro,1990b], causeduplift and
shorteningin the EC [Dengoand Covey,1993; Cooperet al.,
Copyright2000 by theAmericanGeophysical
Union.
1995;Kelloggand Vega,1995].
Papernumber2000TC900004. On the basisof new seismological,
tectonic,and tomographic
0278-7407/00/2000TC900004512.00 data, we reevaluate the seismotectonics of Colombia and the

787
788 TABOADAET AL.:GEODYNAMICS
OFTHE NORTHERNANDES

I I
Bahama 6ow
Banks
North American Plate
I cm/y \ 500km I
20N -

• o o \

Plate .,•
1-2 cm/y
._

1-2 cm/y

COCOS
10
Plate

South American Plate

• Reverse fault
• Strike-slipfault
• Normal fault
• Fold axes
½• Spreading ridge
i•')):/•'•.!
Oceanic ridge (rise)
0,4 - 1,5 km ........ Magneticanomaly
1,5- 3,0 _ _,,,Oceanicbasins
....... ..?- Nazca Plate 3,0-5,0 o
ß
Calc-alkaline volcanoes
Alkaline volcanoes
.....
'........
>5,0 ,,• --
..... Bahama Banks
-,-.,5-t
BucaramangaSeismicityNest
Plate velocityrelativeto SouthAmerican

Figure 1. Neotectonic
platesettingof thenorthernAndesandthe Caribbean regionindicatingthemainactivefault
systems.The continentaldeformationin Colombiais the resultof the relativemotionsof the threemain plates
(Nazca,SouthAmerican, andCaribbean). Map sources
areindicated in Plate1. G, Guayaquil;
Q, Quito;B, Bogotfi;
C, Caracas;CB, Choc6 block; EC, EasternCordillera;MB, Maracaiboblock; MR, Malpelo Ridge; CR, Coiba
Ridge; BR, BarracudaRidge;TR, Tibur6n Rise; HE, HessEscarpment; SMB, SantaMarta-Bucaramanga fault;
Lan, Lesser Antilles Arc.

geometry zonesbeneathNWSA. This paper devoted

of subduction to theanalysis
of theseismicity
patternof Colombia
and
examinesthetectonicstructureof the northernsegmentof the EC the seismotectonics of the Eastern Cordillera: several
(whichextends andits seismological
fromthesouthof Tunjato Bucaramanga) andstructural
crosssections
arepresented,
aswell
relationship
with intermediate
seismicity locatedbeneaththe as a stress field mapcalculated
frommicrotectonic
analysis
of
range(Plate1). Seismological
datainclude relocated
events
from fault slip data.
the National Seismological
Network of Colombia,recorded
between June 1993 and December 1996. Tectonic data include 2. TectonicSettingof the Northern Andes
field observations
on structuralgeologyand geomorphology and the Caribbean
concerning
activefaulting.Tomographic
sections
acrossthe
northernAndeswereobtainedfrom a globalmodelwhichaimsto Intracontinental deformation in the northern Andes is
solvelithospheric-scale
structures
in themantle[Bijwaard
etal., characterized
by mountainchainsassociated with large-scale
19981. reverse
andstrike-slip
faults.Thedirection
of rangesis generally
In section 2 we shall summarizeand discussthe principal N-S to NE-SW, compatiblewith the convergence directions
geologic
andtectonic
features
of thenorthern 3 between
Andes.Section plates(Figure1 andPlate1). Thepresentdeformation
presents
a geodynamic
modelof theColombian Andes,based
on patternis markedby the reactivation
of large-scale
faultzones,
geologic
dataandtomographicprofiles.Sections
4 and5 are inheritedfromprevioustectonicphases.Eastwardmovement of
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 789

the Nazca plate is partly absorbed along the east dipping SW leading to oblique subductionalong the old continental
subductionzone beneath NWSA and along several continental marginand to largedextralmovementsalongthe RFS [Gr6sser,
fault systemsthat are subparallelto the mountainchains. 1989]. The breakupof the Farallonplate into the Nazcaand
Cocosplatesat 25 Ma reorientedconvergencebetweenNWSA
2.1. The Andes of Ecuador
and the Farallon / Nazca plate from a NE-SW to an E-W
The Andean chain in Ecuador displays two main ranges direction [Lonsdaleand Klitgord, 1978; Pilger, 1983].
roughlyparallelto the oceanictrench,separated
by the Inter- Convergence
has remainedapproximatelyE-W until present,
AndeanDepression
(locatedeastward
from Quito)(Figure1). leading to transpressivedeformationalong continentalfaults
The WesternCordilleraof Ecuadoris composedof oceanicrocks trending N-NE in southwesternColombia. The Serrania del
accretedto the continentalong a major suturezone, during late Baud6 is a narrow range located to the west of the Western
Cretaceous and early Tertiary [e.g., Aspdenand Litherland, Cordillera.It is an exotic piece of CentralAmerica,which was
1992]. The EcuadorianInter-AndeanDepressioncorresponds to partof an islandarcthatextendedtowardPanama(Figure2). The
an allochthonousblock characterizedby an uppermostPliocene- islandarc was linked to subductionof the Pacific plate beneath
Quaternarybasinwhich is locatedbetweentwo N-S trending the southwestern
margin of the proto-Caribbean
plate [e.g.,
Wadgeand Burke, 1983]. The eastwardmovementof the
reverse basementfaults [Lavenu et al., 1995]. Reverse faults
exhibitoppositethrustingvergencecreatinga "pushdown"type Caribbeanplate with respectto NWSA during early and middle
compressional
basinand are connected southwardto a major Miocene was partly absorbed by subduction of oceanic
right-lateral
fault whichstrikesN30øE(locatedeastward from lithospherebeneaththe northwesterncomer of South America
Guayaquil) (Figure1) [e.g.,Winteret al., 1993].Right-lateral [Pindell and Barrett, 1990]. Subductionled to the closureof the
oceanic domain located in between the Baud6-Panama island arc
movement
isprogressively
absorbed
alongE-NE trendingnormal
faultsof the Gulf of Guayaquil basin[Winteret al., andthe WesternCordillera.This oceanicdomaincorresponded
pull-apart to
1993]. The overall fault geometryresemblesan extensional the southern part of the paleo-Caribbeanplate, and it was
horsetailwith a restrainingbend correspondingto the Inter- separatedfrom the Nazca plate by an approximatelyeast-west
AndeanDepression. trendingtransformfault (Figure2a). Finally, collisionbetween
The Eastern Cordillera of Ecuador (Cordillera Real) is a the exotic block and NWSA occurred toward Middle Miocene

metamorphic
beltwhichoverthrusts
thesub-Andean zonelocated time (12 Ma) [Duque-Caro,1990b]:theeasternpartof theisland
eastward,
alongtheNorthAndean and arc (includingtheBaud6rangeandnortheastern
Frontalfault[e.g.,Aspden Panama),known
Litherland, 1992]. The Cordillera Real is limited by two main as the Choc6 block (CB), was accretedto the northwesternflank
reversefaultswith oppositevergence.The sub-Andeanzoneis of the Western Cordillera. The collision between the western

characterized
by a seriesof eastward
vergingimbricated
slicesof Panamaisland arc and South America occurredlater, mainly
sedimentary
andvolcanic
rocks[Baldock,
1982]. duringlateMioceneandPliocene[Mannand Corrigan,1990].
The final closure of the Pacific-Caribbeangateway occurred
2.2. The Andes of Colombia duringthe latePliocene.
Duque-Caro[1990a]proposes
thatthe
Panamanianisthmusbecamecompletelyemergentbetween3.7
The ColombianAndesbetweenlatitudesIøN and 8øN display
and 3.1 Ma, whereasKeller et al. [1989] estimatethat the closure
threemainranges,
the Western,Central,andEasternCordilleras,
of the isthmusbeganat 2.4 Ma, with final closureat 1.8 Ma.
whichmergesouthward into a singlerange(Plate1). The
WesternandCentralCordillerasarealignedparallelto the Pacific The CB is limited by activefault systemssuchas the Uramita
fault zone (UFZ) to the eastand the Istminadeformedzone (IDZ)
coast and are separatedby the Cauca-PatiaIntermontane
Depression (CPID). The Eastern Cordillera diverges to the south (Plate 1) [Duque-Caro,1990b; INGEOMINAS,
1997]. The IDZ is characterizedby transpressiveright-lateral
progressively from the Central Cordilleraalong a N-NE
direction.The Magdalena Riverflowsnorthward alongthe wide faultstrendingE-NE, suchastheGarrapatas
fault (GAF),which
valleylocatedbetween thesetworanges(Plate1). Thenatureand showsneotectonic activity[Parisand Romero,1994;Guzmdnet
composition of the threeCordilleras
are substantiallydifferent, al., 1998]. The UFZ is conjugate,trendingto the N-NW and
eachoneresultingfrom distincttectonicprocesses thataffected exhibitinga transpressiveleft-lateralmovement.The accretionof
NWSAduringtheMesozoic andCenozoic(Table1). the CB is contemporarywith the onsetof the major "Andean"
The Romeralfault system(RFS), whichextendsalongthe tectonicphasein the EC, whichbeganat 10.5 Ma andcontinued
boundarybetweenthe CPID and the Central Cordillera, duringPlio-Quatemary time [e.g.,Cooperet al., 1995;Kellogg
subdividesthe Colombian Andes into two main regions:The and Vega,1995; Taboada etal., 1998].
"Occidente" and the "Oriente" located west and east of the RFS, Late Tertiaryand presentdeformation alongthe RFS is
respectively. Thisfault systemjoinsthe Ecuadorian suturezone characterized
by eastdipping reverseand strike-slipfaultswhich
farther south as mentioned in section 2.1. arepartof a largerwestvergent, basement-involved fold and
The evolutionandstructural styleof the "Occidente"hasbeen thrustbelt [Alfonsoet al., 1994;Parœs and Romero,1994;
fashionedby convergence betweenthe proto-Pacific or proto- Guzmdnet al., 1998]. The RFS trendsN-NE and showsa right-
Caribbean plateandNWSA.Mountainrangeslocatedto thewest lateral component in southwestern Colombia(Plate 1).
of theRFSarecomposed of oceanic rocksaccretedto thewestern Northward of latitude 4øN it shows a left-lateral component
marginof SouthAmericaduringthe Mesozoicand Cenozoic whichisprobably associatedwithE-SEconvergence between the
[e.g.,McCourtet al., 1984;PindellandBarrett,1990;Restrepo- Choc6 block and NWSA. The Armenia 1999 earthquake,
Pace, 1992;Kelloggand Vega,1995].DuringCretaceous and earthquake 13 in Table2, clearlyillustrates the left-lateral
early Cenozoicthe Farallonplateapproached NWSA from the movement alongtheRFS:thefocalmechanism obtained fromthe
790 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

.,,

E
. ,...,

I,LI

'Z 3 .w•'u.d
 TABOADA ET AL.' GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 791

65 ø

•6oo
•....••_
B

,-•oo' -1.0% +1.0%

80* 7,5* 70* 65* 85øW 70' 65 ø

"' oP N" --"

Plate2. Tomographic
sections
across
thenorthern
Andesandhypothetical
interpretations
in termsof subduction
of oceaniclithospheres.
792 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

Table 1. AgeandOriginof theMain RangesandCordilleras

in Colombia
MountainChain Composition NeogeneOrogenicPhases

Baud6-PanamaRanges The Baud6-Panama ranges consist of several The collision betweenthe easternpart of the island arc and
exotic blocks, which were part of an oceanic NWSA occurredduring the middle Miocene at 12 Ma
island arc locatedalong the westernmargin of (Choc6 block). The collision between the westernPanama
the proto-Caribbean
plate. islandarc and SouthAmerica occurredmainly during late
Miocene and Pliocene.

Western Cordillera The WC is composedof oceanicrocks(turbiditic The WC is characterizedby a late Cenozoicthrust and fold
depositsandophiolites)
accreted
to thewestern belt linked to the Nazca subduction (south of 5øN) and to
marginof SouthAmericaduringthe Mesozoic the accretion of exotic Caribbean blocks (north of 5øN).
and early Cenozoic. Neotectonicdeformationis observedalongbothfoothills.

Central Cordillera The CC is composed of a pre-Mesozoic, The CC is limited by reversefault systemslocatedalong the
polymetamorphic basementincludingoceanic foothills, which root beneaththe range.The Romeralfault,
and continental rocks, intruded by several locatedalong the westernflank, has been activatedsince
Mesozoic and Cenozoic plutons related to Oligocene,combiningstrike-slipand reversemovement:
subduction. Active volcanoes linked to the Neogene transpressivemovement is right lateral in
Nazca subductionzone are located along the southwesternColombia, and left lateral northward of 4øN.
crest of the Cordillera (south of 5øN).

Eastern Cordillera The EC is composed of a Precambrian and The Andeantectonicphasebeganat 10.5 Ma and continued
Paleozoic polymetamorphic basement, during Plio-Quaternary time. Incipient transpressive
deformed during several pre-Mesozoic deformationin the flanks occurredduring the Paleogene.
orogenicevents.Basementrocksare covered Intracontinentaldeformationin the northernEC is closely
by a thick sequence
of MesozoicandCenozoic related to accretion/collisionepisodesalong the active
sedimentaryrocks, strongly deformed during margin of NWSA and to shallow subductionof the PCP
Neogeneby thrustingandfolding. beneath the Cordilleras (north of 5.2øN).

NWSA, northwestern
SouthAmerica;WC, WesternCordillera;CC, CentralCordillera;EC, EasternCordillera;PCP,paleo-Caribbean
plateau.

Harvard centroid moment tensor (CMT) file is coherent with a Cenozoic (Sin6belt)[Duque-Caro,1984].TheSanJacinto
beltis
left-lateralN-NE activefault obsevedin thefield (thestrike,dip, characterized
by threemoderateridges,whichextendnorthward
andrakeof the focalplanesare 8ø/65ø/-21 ø and 107ø/71ø/-153ø, for 360 km alonga discontinuous
range.The thicksedimentary
respectively).This result is coherentwith the convergence sequence observedin theareaconsists
of upperCretaceousand
direction betweenPanamaand Bogotfi determinedby Global lower Tertiary deep-searocks, deformedby compressive
PositioningSystem(GPS) measurements [Kelloggand Vega, tectonics[Duque-Caro, 1984].Large-scale
anticlines
andthrust
1995]. Quaternarytectonicactivity in the RFS is moderateto faultstrendingN-NE and with vergencetowardthe Caribbean
high, as shown by shallow seismicity and neotectonic sea have been described.These structuresare mostly linked to
geomorphologic alongthewesternflankof the convergence
featuresobserved betweenthe Caribbeanplate and NWSA. The
CentralCordillera
uptolatitude zone) easternflank of the thrustbelt is coveredwith Quaternaryfluvio-
8øN(Nazcaplateinfluence
[Paris and Romero, 1994]. The RFS is generally assumedto lacustrinedeposits.
extend northward between latitudes 8øN and 11øN across the The Sinfi thrust belt is located between the Sinfi fault to the
ColombianCaribbeanregionfor morethan300 km in a N-NE eastandtheSouthCaribbean Marginalfaultto thewest(Plate1).
direction(Plate 1). Nevertheless,fault tracesare lessvisibleat the Thisyoungerbelt extendsparallelto the Colombian Caribbean
surfacein this area, and neotectonicactivity is very low. The marginalongmorethan500 km.It comprises severalanticlines
paleosuture subdivides the Caribbean regioninto two principal locatedinlandand progressively continuesoffshorealongthe
domains[Duque-Caro, 1984]:(1) a continental domainlocated continentalshelf and the inner slope of the active Caribbean
eastwardof the RFS, characterized by Paleozoicand Mesozoic margin[e.g.,INGEOMINAS, 1997].Thedeformation patternis
basementrocks, and (2) an oceanic domain west of the fault, similarto the San Jacintothrustbelt and displayswestvergence
characterized by basementand sedimentary rocksof oceanic fault-bend folds within a thick cover of Neogene sediments
affinity.A thicksedimentary
coverof Tertiarymarinesediments [Duque-Caro,1984]. The internalstructureof thesebeltsis
and Quaternaryfluvial and lacustrinedepositsoverliesthe compatiblewith a low-anglebasalfrictionaccretionary
prism.
continentalrocks.Quaternarysedimentsare locatedwithin the Activefoldingalongthetoeof theprismhasbeeninterpreted in
lowlandscorresponding to the Lower Magdalenaand Lower termsof low-anglesubduction of the Caribbeanplatebeneath
Caucafloodplains. northwesternColombia[ToroandKellogg,1992].
The mostimportant tectonicstructures
observedto thewestof The Colombian "Oriente" consists of the Central and Eastern
the RFS in the Caribbeanmarginare the San Jacintoand Sinfi Cordilleras,which lie at or near the western margin of the
thrustandfold beltscomposed
of deformed
oceanicrocks[e.g., PrecambrianGuyanashield.Rocksobserved in thesemountain
Case et al., 1984]. The Sinfi- San Jacintoterranesresultedfrom rangeshaveexperiencedseveralphases
of tectonicdeformation
two progressiveaccretionaryepisodesof deformationand asa resultof platemotionsincethebreakup of Pangea[e.g.,
emergence,
duringtheearlyCenozoic (SanJacinto
belt)andlate M•gard, 1987].
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 793

*
. Caribbean •1•
Plate 1'2
C/n/y
10

cocos /_^_R b'

Plate • • /---

500km •

Figure2. Schematic tectonicreconstructions of the northernAndesandthe Caribbean(a) at 20 Ma and (b) at

presenttime. Reconstructionsillustratethe geodynamic patternbeforeandafterthe collisionof the Baud6-Panama
islandarc(BPA;darkshaded area),whichbeganat 12 Ma. Starsindicateapproximate locationof activevolcanism;
crosssectionsa-a' andb-b' are illustratedin Figure3. EC, EasternCordillera;AR, AbandonedRidge.

The CentralCordillera(CC) is composed of a pre-Mesozoic, trending E-NE cut acrossthe CC and the Magdalenavalley
polymetamorphic basementcorresponding mainlyto a disrupted, betweenlatitudes4øN and 5øN (e.g., the right-lateralIbagu6
medium-to low-pressure,metamorphicbelt includingrocksof faul0 [Vergaraet al., 1996].Thesestrike-slip faultsareparallel
both oceanic and continentalcharacter [McCourt et al., 1984]. and form an "en echelon"systemwith the Garrapatasfault zone.
Basementrocks (largely Paleozoic)are intrudedby several Thus they are probablyassociated with the accretionof the CB
Mesozoic and Cenozoic plutons related to the subductionof (Plate 1).
oceanic lithosphereunderneaththe Andean chain. Recent
magmaticactivity is concentratedalong the crestof the Central 2.3. The Eastern Cordillera
Cordillera, where active volcanoes with summits attaining
heightsof 5750 m are located. The EC is characterizedby a Precambrianand Paleozoic
The westernflank of the CC is steeperthan the easternflank polymetamorphicbasement,deformed during several pre-
and has been uplifted by transpressive movementalong faults Mesozoic orogenic events. Basementrocks are covered by a
dippingeastward,whichbelongto the RFS (for instance,the thick sequenceof Mesozoicand Cenozoicsedimentaryrocks,
1999 Armeniaearthquake).The easternflank of the CC is stronglydeformedduringNeogenetime by thrustingandfolding
characterizedby west dipping reversefaults located along the [e.g.,Irving, 1971]. Jurassicand Cretaceous sedimentary rocks
foothill of the Magdalenavalley. Strike-slipright-lateralfaults were depositedwithin large basinswhoseorigin is possibly
794 TABOADA ET AL.' GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

i !
75øW • 73øWVenezuela

o o• • or' •' SøN _

O• ' •
.

o
œ

C'

O
_ 6øN

cc<"
C • 8)
o•
.D ¸ EC •

'7 .
- 4ON
' c 12 •'11 LB

0 0 --t •' ß

O0 WC Colombia

o
73øW
,,, , ,! , [ ..... _,,,, ,.,,=
- 2ON 2•N -
Depth (km) Magnitude
¸
0-30 © 3
30-60 4
60-90
5
90-120

120-150
6[ >150

Plate 3. Seismicityof Colombiaduring the period June 1993 to December1996, relocatedfrom data of the
NationalSeismological
Networkof Colombia
(NSNC).Whitediamonds
areseismic
stations;
whiteandgraystars
represent
shallowandintermediate
strongearthquakes
duringthelastdecade,numbered
according
to Table2. LB,
Llanos basin; UG, Uraba Gulf.
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 795

SLR
¸

,O
I
t

7øN 7ON -

CC

O •

.• 3• ../ •' 72øW

ß I 30
.• • 33_• Depth (km)
' ., I• B •/ 32•c' •60
>6o

ß • agnitude0-30

, • og
'

9•120
• •• •11avi•ncio• 12•150
• '
•x•ø•
73•
3•0

ß 3 0 6•90
• >150
Plate 4. Seismicity(June1993 to December1996),focalmechanisms,
andtectonics
of the northernhalf of the
Eastern Cordillera. Orange circles correspondto crustal seismicity;green and blue circles correspondto
intermediate seismicity.Activefaultingandfoldingandabbreviations areshownwith thesamesymbolsasthosein
Plate 1. Vertical crosssectionsA-A' to D-D' of Figure4 and Plates4 and 5 are indicatedby thick gray lines.The
upperright insetshowsmechanisms
associated
with the Bucaramanga
nest.Mechanisms
correspond
to Harvard
centroidmoment tensor(CMT) solutionsfrom 1976 to 1998.
 796 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

related
to (1) continental
riflingsinceTriassic,
asa consequence
Sabanade Bogotharea occurredbetween3 and 5 Ma as revealed
of an extensionaltectonicregime in NWSA, linked to the by palinologicdata from Pliocenedeposits[Helmensand Van
separation between NorthAmericaandSouthAmerica[Mojicaet der Hammen,1995]. However,pre-Pliocene compressive
al., 1996], or (2) back arc basin extensionlocated east of the deformation
hasbeenidentifiedin theEC fromstratigraphic
and
Central Cordillera, as a consequence of subductionof the tectonic analysis. Neogene and, in particular, Miocene
FarallonoceanicplatebeneathNWSA. compressivedeformationis visible in the axial zone of the EC,
Graben systemsextended in a N-NE direction, from the wherefoldedsedimentaryrocksare overlainby tilted Pliocene
CordilleraReal in Ecuadorall throughthe EC of Colombia,the depositswith a pronounced
angularunconformity (e.g.,Tunja
amountof extensionincreasing
northward[e.g.,Etayo et al., area [Taboadaet al., 1996]).
1969;Mojicaet al., 1996].Thedirection
of grabens changesto Compressional deformationandthrustingalong"enechelon"
N-NW in thenorthern endof theEC:namely,it becomesparallel reverse faults located in the eastern foothills (Servith- Santa
to the Santander Massif(SM). Fromherethe grabensystem Maria (SSM),Guaichramo (GF), Yopal,andEC Frontalfaults)
branchesintoat leastthreeindependent
basinstrendingNE: one are mainly associatedwith collisionand convergence of the
parallelto the Mf•ridarange,anotheroneat the presentlocation Panama-Baud6 island arc located to the west. These faults are
of theMaracaibo lake,andthelastalongthePerijhrange,at the known as the Piedemonte Llanero fault system (PLFS)
limit between Colombia and Venezuela (Plate 1). These three
[INGEOMINAS,1997].Thrustingalongthe PLFS alsoabsorbs
branches terminate abruptlyagainst theeast-west Ocastrike-slip right-lateral
slipalongtheAlgeciras-Altamira faultsystemin the
fault. Mesozoic basinslocated south of the Oca fault were formed
southern segment.Evidenceof activefaultingalongthePLFS is
on thinnedcontinental crustsubjected to a meanE-SEtrending numerousand includesthrustedQuaternaryterracesand fault
extension andareorientedaccordingly. Othereast-west trending scarpsin youngalluvialdeposits.
Mesozoicgrabenshavebeendescribednorthof the Oca fault.
The northernsegmentof the EC extendsfrom the southof
Lateron, compressive
Cenozoicdeformation reactivatedsome
of thenormalfaultsthatbounded
theMesozoic inverting ¾unja
basins, toBucaramanga. In thisarea thewidth oftherange is
greaterthan200 km, andthe highestsummitsattain5500 m. The
theirsenseof movement[e.g.,Collettaet al., 1990, 1997]. The
two maininheritedfault directionsin theEC correspondto NE- morphology of thissegmentis characterized
by threemajorNE
SW and N-S trendingfaults. Tectonicinversionof basement trending
topographichighs
which aretruncated
southward(Tunja
faultscreatedfaultingand foldingof the thick sedimentaryarea). These highs areseparated bytwodrainage areas,andthey
sequences (mostlymarine)depositedin theMesozoic basins. are associatedwith reversefaultswhichprogressively die off
At leastthreedistinctpre-Andeantranspressive deformation towardtheSE [Taboada et al., 1996].Thissegment is bounded
phaseshavebeenobserved in the Magdalenavalleyandthe EC northward by a majorleft-lateral,strike-slipfaultknownasthe
duringthe Paleogene [e.g.,Cooperet al., 1995; Caseroet al., Santa Marta-Bucaramanga (SMB) fault. Strike-slip
movement
1997]: (1) a Late Cretaceous - early Paleocene deformation along the SMB fault is absorbed southward by west vergent
phasemostlypresentin the Upper Magdalenavalley and the reversefaultswhichoverthrust the Magdalena valley(Salinas
southernsegmentof the EC, which was linked to the final fdultsystem, Plate1). TheSMBfaultis alsoconnected to east
accretionof oceaniccrustalfragmentsof the WesternCordillera vergent reversefaults locatedwithin the axial zone of the EC.
[McCourtet al., 1984],(2) an earlyto middleEocenetectonic The overall fault geometryevokes a compressivehorsetail
phase,whichcreatedwestvergentthrustingand foldingin the termination.The total left-lateraldisplacement alongthe SMB
MiddleMagdalena, and(3) a lowermost Oligocenecompressire fault has been estimatedto be roughly between50 km and
phasecharacterized by thrustingandfoldingalongwestvergent slightlyover100 km in the northernpart,androundfiguresof
tearfaultsin thewesternflankof theEC [Branquetet al., 1999]. 100 km havegenerallybeenassumed [e.g.,Tschanz et al., 1974;
The lateEocene-early Oligocenetectonicphasealsocreatedeast Laubscher, 1987;Boinet et al., 1989].In the southern partthe
vergentthrustingalong the easternfoothill of the EC [e.g., horizontal
offsetdecreases substantially as strike-slip
movement
Corredor,1997].Duringthesephases, right-lateral is absorbed
transpressive alongthrustsof theEC. Left-lateralmovement along
deformationprobablyoccurredalongthe Romeraland Salinas the SMB fault may have initiated during the Eocene
fault systemsas a resultof obliqueconvergence betweenthe compressionalevent and occurred mainly since late Miocene
paleo-Caribbean plate and NWSA. The accretionof the San [Boinetet al., 1989];thusstrike-slip movement alongtheSMB
Sacintoterrane,whichoccurredduringPaleogene [Duque-Caro, fault is concomitantwith thrustinganduplift in theEC.
1984], seems to be well correlated with the Eocene and ThruststrendingNE-SW locatedin the easternfoothill (PLFS)
Oligocenetranspressive
phasesmentioned previously. are bent northwardat ~6øN (Plate 1): somesegments
join
The EC widensprogressively northwardshowingdifferent progressivelyN-S trendingthrustsof the SantanderMassif (SM),
tectonicstylesanda varyingmorphology.The southern segment while othersterminateagainstNW-SE faultscombiningreverse
is a narrowrangewithmoderaterelief,notexceeding 2500-3000 and left-lateralmovement(Chucarimaand Morronegro faults).
m alongthe mountaincrest(Plate 1). Major right-lateralfaults The SM is a N-NW cordilleranbranch(roughlyparallelto the
trendingNE displacebasementrocks(e.g.,Algeciras- Altamira SMB fault), which largelyexposesPaleozoicand Precambrian
fault system)[Vergara,1996].Reversefaultingis observed
in basementrocks and deformed Mesozoic sedimentaryrocks
restraining
bendsandin N-NE trendingfaultslocatedalongthe [INGEOMINAS,1997]. The morphologyof the relief located
foothills.
eastwardfrom and delimited by the SMB fault and its horsetail
Thecentralsegment
encloses
the"Sabana
deBogoth,"
a high termination is arcuate and shows a relatively continuous
plateaulocatedat 2700 m. Reversefaultsdippingtowardthe mountaincrest.The externalpart of this elbow-shapedrelief is
rangeareobserved in bothfoothills(Plate1). Majorupliftin the borderedby activethruststhatplungetowardthe range.
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 797

2.4. The Maracaibo Block and the Caribbean can be associatedwith a SE dippingintracontinental
subduction
beneaththe range. The MB is being expulsednortheastward
The Caribbeanplatemovedeastwardrelativeto the Southand
North Americanplatesduringthe Cenozoic[e.g., Wadgeand relativeto stableSouthAmericaby conjugatemovement along
Burke, 1983; Pindell and Barrett, 1990]. The North American- the N-NW trendingSMB fault andtheNE trendingBocon6fault
[e.g.,Mann andBurke,1984;Soulas,1986;Beltrtin,1993].
Caribbean plate boundary exhibits a total left-lateral
The MB is bounded northward by the Oca-Anc6n
displacement
of around1000 km parallelto the Caymantrough
transpressive
faultsystem (OA),whereE-W trendingright-lateral
pull-apartbasin(Figure1). The studyof magneticanomalies
in
faultsstandout [e.g.,Audemardand Singer,1996].The Sierra
the oceanic crust formed along the north-southtrending mid-
Cayman spreadingcentershowsthat the trough openedby at
Nevadade SantaMarta (SN) is a tetrahedral-shaped
range
located in the northwesternvertex of the MB, which attains 5840
least45-50 Ma. Spreadingratesare estimatedat 15 and30 mm/yr
m. It is composedof Paleozoic and Precambriancontinental
sinceandpriorto 26 Ma, respectively
[œosencrantz
et al., 1988].
rocks intrudedby Mesozoic and Cenozoicplutons [e.g.,
The spreadingratedecreaseat 26 Ma implied a decreaseby half INGEOMINAS, 1997]. These rocks are similar to thoseobserved
in E-NE displacementrate betweenthe Caribbeanand North
southward in theSanLucasRangein accordance withlargeleft-
Americanplates.The slowdownof the Caribbeanplate may be
lateral displacement along the SMB fault. The boat prow
correlatedwith the breakupof the Farallonplate that occurredat
morphology of the SN massifresultsfrom the conjugate
strike-
26 Ma, changingthe boundaryconditionsalong the western
slip movement of the OA andSMB faults.The N-NE trending
Caribbeanmargin.Between43 and 26 Ma, Farallonapproached
Perij• rangeis locatedwithintheMB, absorbing around20 km of
the Caribbeanfrom the W-SW at an averagevelocityof around7
shorteningin the crustalongthrustswith dominantvergence
cm/yr (convergencedirectionwas subparallelto the Cayman
towardtheNW [e.g.,KelloggandBonini,1982].
trough)[e.g.,LonsdaleandKlitgord,1978;Pilger, 1983;Wadge
and Burke,1983;Gordonand Jurdy,1986]; afterthe breakup
(between26 Ma andpresent)theCocos- Caribbean convergence 3. NeogeneGeodynamicEvolution
was around 8 cm/yr toward the N-NE, while the Nazca - of the Colombian Andes
Caribbean convergence was around 5 cm/yr eastward 3.1. Schematic Sections Across the Oceanic Basins
(convergence
directionsareobliquewith respectto the Cayman and the Cordilleras
trough) [Hey, 1977; Kellogg and Vega, 1995]. Slight
convergencebetween the North and South American plates The genesisof theColombianCordilleras
is closelyrelatedto
duringNeogene[e.g.,Ladd, 1977]may havealsocontributed
to the boundaryconditionsalongthe activemarginslocatedtoward
the slowdown of the eastward movement of the Caribbean. the east. Figure 3 shows two schematic cross sections that
The South American-Caribbeanplate boundaryconsistsof a illustrate the influence of the accretion of the Baud6-Panama arc
broadzoneof transpressive right-lateraldeformation[Stephan, (BPA), which occurredat 12 Ma (crosssectionsa-a' and b-b' are
1985]. The deformation mechanism evokesslip partitioningin locatedin Figure2).
the southernCaribbeanaccretionarywedge,causedby oblique Crosssectiona-a' suggests that at 20 Ma the paleo-Nazca
convergence:thrusting is located along the low-angle South plate subductedobliquelybeneaththe BPA. The paleo-Nazca
CaribbeanMarginal fault, whereasdextral shearingis absorbed subduction is coherent with a Middle Miocene calc-alkalic
along major transcurrentfaults locatedat the rear of the prism volcanicpulse that has been identified in westernPanamafrom
(Oca-Anc6n, San Sebastian,and El Pilar faults;Plate 1) [Beltrdn, radiometric
dating[Mannand Corrigan,1990]. Subduction of
1993].Internaldeformation of theplate,northward of thewedge, the paleo-Caribbeanplate (PCP; which is older and thicker)
is characterizedby N-NW trending normal faults that are beneaththe Cordillerasis also indicated:the subducting plate
coherentwith relativeconvergence betweenthe North andSouth dips very gently toward the E-SE. Several geologicaland
Americanplates (Figure 1). The NW trendingnormalfaults geophysicalobservations favor a low-anglesubductionof the
observed in the wedge are also consistent with oblique PCP beneath the Colombian Cordilleras:
convergence.Major right-lateralfaults trend E-W and display 1. The absenceof magmatismbeforethe accretionof the BPA
high angles;they are locatednearthe zone separatingcontinental northward of the Istmina deformed zone (IDZ, Plate 1) is
basement rocks from sedimentaryrocks in the accretionary coherentwith a low-anglesubduction. The Cenozoicplutonic
wedge.The convergence componentbetweenthe Caribbeanand episodes northwardof the IDZ canbe dividedinto a Paleogene
NWSA alongthe E-W trendingactivemarginseemsto be much magmatic eventanda Neogene(postaccretion) magmaticevent
lowerthanthestrike-slip
component
(Figure1 andPlate1). [Aspden
et al., 1987].Paleogene
magmatism
mainlyoccurred
Continental deformation in northern Colombia and during the early Eocene and shows intrusivesof intermediate
northwesternVenezuela is mostly absorbedalong active fault compositionlocatedalong the westernmargin of the Western
systemslocatedthroughoutthe boundariesof the Maracaibo Cordillera (WC) north of 5øN [INGEOMINAS, 1997]. This
triangularblock (MB). The VenezuelanAndesde M6rida range magmatismis alsoobservedin the SN and is probablylinkedto
forms the limit between the MB and the craton and is the initial stagesof subductionand accretionof the Caribbean
characterizedby transpressivedeformation:oppositevergence plate beneath the northwestern comer of South America.
thrustingalongthe foothillsand right-lateralfaultingparallelto Kinematicreconstructions
of the Caribbeanplate show that this
the axial zone [Stdphan,1985; Soulas, 1986]. The tectonic subductionwas active since the early Cenozoic[Pindell and
structureof the range recalls a crustal-scaleflower structure. Barrett, 1990]. The extinctionof Paleogene magmatismis
Average Neogene shorteningacrossthe Andes de M6rida is coherentwith low-anglesubduction:
a thin asthenospheric
wedge
estimatedat 60 km, andassuggested by Collettaet al. [1997],it abovethe subducting slabpreventsmagmasfrom formingover
798 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

/
;

/
/

ß /
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 799

MagdalenaValley SalinasF.S. Suarez F, SMB SCH MN CH

Continental
Crust

!;

'"""'-"'%1
,,,,
-,-
- ""
!
--,,-,
,..-.,,-..
I ,
Craton --
- 50 km "-.. ' 0

I
ß Thinned
Continental
'-. ',, !

Section D-D'

Lithospheric
Mantle ,,• !© Sedimentary Rocks
Andean (< 12 Ma)
I
I
Pre-AndeanTertiary
L Cretaceous
E. Cretaceous
! . Undif. Cretaceous
Jurassic
--lOOk • ß Shallow Earthquake
ß Intermediate Earthquake
SMB Santa Marta -
BucaramangaFault
SCH Servita-ChitagaFault
9 MN MorroNegro Fault
CH Chucarima Fault
ECF Eastern Cordillera
FrontalFault System
LB Llanos Basin

Plate6. Cross sectionD-D'passing

bytheBucaramanga nestandorthogonal
to theSMBfault(Plate4). Field
mappingof activetectonics
isincluded,
anditsrelation
tosubduction
issuggested.
800 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

a o RFS a'

b • •
wcRFS
I cc • MV
BPA e!e•eme n
EC . ß
b'
I
!-1 l---1 i i i

O! :100
km• ',
Figure3. Schematic
tectonic
cross
sections
ofthenorthern
Andes
andtheCaribbean
at20Ma (a-a')andatpresent
time (b-b'), illustratingthe geodynamic
patternbeforeandafterthe collisionof the BPA, whichbeganat 12 Ma
(crosssectionsare locatedin Figure2). Activefault systemsin the sectionsbear arrowsand strike-slipsymbols.
NP, Nazcaplate;PCP,paleo-Caribbean plate;RFS,Romeralfaultsystem; CLM, continentallithospheric mantle;
WC, WesternCordillera;CC, CentralCordillera;MV, Magdalenavalley.

theflat slabregion.Thisassertion
hasbeenobserved in other Cross section b-b' shows schematically the present
regionssuchasthecentralAndes,wherelow-anglesubductionis deformation pattern from the Nazca subduction zone to the
present[Kay,1999]. craton(Figures2b and 3). In the sectionwe suggestthat the
2. The ageandthickness of the Caribbeanplateare also accretedBPA is connected at depthto an eastdippingremnantof
coherentwith a low-anglesubduction.
The Caribbeanplateis the PCP. This remnantshowsa low anglebeneaththe CC and the
formedby thickCretaceousvolcanicplateaus
separated
by deep Magdalenavalley and becomessteeperbeneaththe EC. Thus at
basins[Maulfretand Leroy, 1997]. Oceanicplateausand this latitude the Nazca plate subductsbeneath the PCP. The
extensivevolcanic (basaltic)flows observedin the Caribbean accreted terranes of the Western Cordillera are located in between

volcanicprovince wereprobably
formedabovetheGalapagos the BPA and the RFS, which dips steeplyeastward.Notice that
hot spot[Maulfret andLeroy,1997;Sintonet al., 1998]. active faulting in the WC is characterizedby subvertical,left-
Thickenedoceaniccrustcausesbuoyancyof oceanicplateaus, lateral shearzonescoherentwith E-SE convergencebetweenthe
whichis Oneof the maincausesof low-anglesubduction[e.g., Caribbeanand NWSA (Figure1 and Plate 1). The Centraland
Gutscheret al., 1999]. Eastern Cordilleras show active reverse faults along their
foothills as described in sections 2.2 and 2.3.
3. Present-day
low-anglesubduction
of the Caribbeanplate
beneath the Maracaibo block has been proposedfrom scarce Late Miocenemagmaticactivityof intermediatecomposition
seismologic
dataand tomographicprofiles[e.g.,Pennington, has been observed near the RFS between latitudes 5øN and 7øN
1981;KelloggandBonini,1982;Totoand Kellogg,1992;van [INGEOMINAS,1997]. The magmatismis characterized by
der Hilst and Mann, 1994; Malav• and Sutirez, 1995; PErez et diorites which have been dated roughly between 12 and 6 Ma
al., 1997]. [Aspden
et al., 1987].Oldermagmatic
bodies(11 - 12 Ma) seem
At 20 Ma the continentalmarginlocatedabovethe low-angle to be located along the crest of the WC, whereasyounger
Caribbeansubductionwas probablycharacterized by a thinned magmatic bodies(6- 8 Ma) arelocatedalongtheCPID (Plate1).
continental
lithospheric
mantle(CLM) (section
a-a',Figure3). ' Thecomposition
of theserockssuggests
thattheyarelinkedto
Low-anglesubduction can resultin mechanical thinningand the subductionof the Nazca platebeneaththe accretedterranesof
hydrationof the continentallithosphereby fluids from the the "Occidente" [e.g.,Aspdenet al., 1987].Their emplacement
coolingsubducting slab[Kay,1999].Thus,thinnedcontinental occurredafter the beginningof the accretionof the BPA. Partial
lithosphere
ismuchweakerthannormalcontinental is melting and dehydrationof oceanic crust (sedimentsand
lithosphere
and is particularly
susceptible
to deformation. The continental eclogites)generallyoccursat depthsrangingbetween90 and150
marginshowsseveralsuturezonesandmajorfaultsystems. The km and requireshigh temperatures existingin the asthenosphere
RFS is representedas a steepfault plungingtowardthe E-SE. [Wilson,1989].We suggestthat as the Nazcaplateapproached
the accretedPCP, a wedgeof asthenospheric
Accreted oceanic terranes of the WC were located beneath the materialwas located
RFS that probablyexhibitedtranspressivemovement.At this in betweenthem. This wedge favoredmelting and magmatism
time,reversefaultingprobablyoccurred
alongtheeastern during the late Miocene beneaththe WC and RFS. Progressive
foothill
of theCC,creating a shallow
forelandbasineastward et advanceof the Nazca plate probablyshiftedmagmatismslightly
[Cooper
alongtheactualMagdalena to the east. Finally, during the Quaternarythe subductionshear
al., 1995].Basinsprobablyextended
valley,theEC,andtheM6ridaAndes(Figure2a).EarlyMiocene zone of the Nazca plate was probablylocatedat the baseof the
BPA and the PCP remnant as indicated in cross section b-b'. The
tectonicactivityalongthe faults that boundedold Mesozoic
basinswasprobablyvery low. absenceof recent volcanic activity associatedwith the Nazca
 TABOADAET AL.:GEODYNAMICS
OFTHE NORTHERNANDES 801

subduction
zonenorthwardof latitude5øNmay be linkedto the located
beneathPanamain thelowermantlecorresponds
to the
presence
of thePCPremnantbeneaththe CC: the oceanicplate ancient
Farallon-Nazca
platesubduction,
andit maybecorrelated
may act as a shieldthat preventsrising magmafrom percolating with the tomographicsectionslocatedsouthward.
throughthe hangingwall to reachthe surface. Crosssection B, locatedat 6.5øN,showsan overlapzone
In this tectonic model the accretion of the BPA at 12 Ma
whereboththeNazcaandPCPsubductions arepresent (Figures
blocked progressively normal oceanic subduction of the 2 and3). Asin cross
sectionA, thePCPisinterpretedin termsof
CaribbeanplatebeneathNWSA. The convergencerate alongthe a shallow subductionbeneaththe ColombianCordilleras;
suture zone decreased, and active deformation shifted eastward eastward,theslabseems to plungeat a steepanglebeneath the
toward weak zonesof the continentallithosphere.Shortening SouthAmericancraton,penetratingonce again into the lower
localized along Mesozoic extensionalbasins,creatingtectonic mantle. The Nazca plate is located westward and is
inversionof oldnormalfaults[e.g.,Collettaet al., 1990].Notice hypothetically
interpreted
according
to anotherlarge-scale,
high-
that thinned and weakened CLM beneath the continental basins velocity anomalythat is alsovisible in crosssectionC (locatedat
favored the shifting of tectonicdeformationfar to the east. As 4øN).Theplateseemsto plungeat an intermediate angle(close
will be discussedin sections4.2 and 5.1, shorteningof the to 35ø) intotheuppermantle(thisassertionis clearlyvisiblein
continental lithosphereis associatedwith an E-SE dipping sectionC, whereintermediate earthquakes
indicatethedip of the
subduction of the PCP beneath the EC as indicated in cross Nazcaplate). In the transitionzone the dip angleseemsto
section b-b'. becomesteeper(nearlyvertical).Finally,we suggestthat the
Nazcaplateoverturns in the lowermantleandis locatedalong
3.2. TomographicSectionsAcrossthe Northern Andes the high-velocityanomalythat dipsmoderatelytowardthe west.
Tomographicsectionsallow us to studythe lithosphericand Overturningmight occuralonga kink locatednearor below the
mantle structuresat great depth.In this sectionwe will discuss 660-km discontinuity.
Notice that at 4øN the east plunging
several tomographicsectionsperformed across the northern tendencyof the PCP is still visible.This mightbe an artifactof
Andes from a global model which aims to solve lithospheric-themodel,whichcannotresolvethelateralheterogeneity, owing
in themantle[Bijwaardet aL, 1998].Thisglobal to scarceseismicity.Nevertheless,theremay still be a remnantof
scalestructures
model was obtainedfrom an improved inversionof a global the PCP at this latitude(indicatedwith a questionmark in cross
earthquakedataset,usingP, pP, andpwP phases[Bijwaardet sectionC), sincetheNeogeneconvergence directionbetweenthe
PCP and the South American Craton is E-SE.
aL, 1998]. The datasetcomprisesover 82,000 well-constrained
earthquakesreprocessed from the InternationalSeismological Thishypotheticalinterpretation
shouldbe confirmedby more
Centredataset [Engdahlet aL, 1998].The differentresolution detailedtomographicstudiesin NWSA. In sections4 and 5 we
testsperformedbeneathnorthernSouth America (Venezuela, will discussthe relationshipbetweensubductions andcontinental
Colombia, and Ecuador) suggest that the resolution of deformation in the northern Andes, according to new
tomographicresultsis quite good for the entire mantle. The seismologicalandtectonicdatafrom Colombia and, in particular,
from the EC.
resolutionrangesfrom 150-kin resolutionin the uppermost
mantle to 250 km near 660-kin depth and slowly decreases
farther down. Thus lithospheric-scalestructuressuchas oceanic 4. Seismicityof Colombia
subducting slabsoughtto be well described by themodel.
Plate 2 illustrates three east-west trending tomographic The NationalSeismological
Networkof Colombia
(NSNC)
sectionsacrossthe northernAndesincludingseismicity(sections consists
of 15 short-period
stations
monitoring
theseismicity
are locatedat latitudes9øN, 6.5øN, and 4øN). The hypothetical overtheColombian
territory
westoftheLlanos
Basin,
operating
interpretations
of the sectionsare alsogiven:largehigh-velocity since
June1993.Theaccuracy
oftheseismicity
mapof Colombia
anomalies indicated in blue are attributed to the subduction of haschangedsignificantlysincethe installation
of this network
[Taboadaet al., 1998].
oceanic lithosphericplates composedof colder and denser
material.
4.1. Data Analysis
CrosssectionA, locatedat 9øN, suggests
a flat subductionof
the CaribbeanplateaubeneaththeMaracaiboblock.Thisresultis Routine
locations
made
bytheNSNCarecomputed
byusing
consistentwith other tomographicstudieswhich also show a theHYPO71
program
[LeeandLahr,1975],witha velocity
shallowdippingslabin this region[vander Hilst and Mann, model consisting
offiatlayers
forthewholecountry.
Thuslateral
1994]. Eastward,it seemsthatthe PCPplungesat a steepangle variations
arenottakenintoaccount eventhough important
(between50ø and 60ø) beneaththe craton,penetratinginto the contrasts
existallovertheColombian
territory
(mountain
ranges
lower mantleto a depthof around1000 kin. This hypothetical andsedimentary
andigneousrocks).
Theonlyvariation
allowed
interpretation is coherent with large-scale tectonic inthehypocenter location
program
isrelated
tothetopography,
reconstructions of the PCP: around 1500 km of the Caribbean in the form of station corrections.
plateau have been subductedbeneath NWSA since 80 Ma Thedatabase
used
inthisworkcorresponds
tothecatalog
of
[PindellandBarrett,1990].This impliesthattheremayexistan seismicity
duringtheperiodfromJune1993to December1996.
east-westtearfault in the Caribbeanplatealongits boundarywith Therefore,
inordertoreduce
location
errors
andtoimprove
the
NWSA. The surfaceexpressionof this limit corresponds to the accuracy
ofhypocenters,
werelocated
earthquakes
bycomputing
San Sebastian- E1 Pilaf fault system(Figure I and Plate 1). stationcorrections
for sourceswithin a restrictedvolume.We
Notice that at this latitude the Nazca subduction, which is located selectedeventswith at leastfive P andthreeS arrivaltimesin
southward,is not visible. Perhapsthe high-velocitydiffusezone order
toestablish
good
station
corrections,
reduce
theprobability
802 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

Table 2. Main ColombianEarthquakes,1990-2000

Earthquake Region Date Long Lat Depth,km Mw

1 Murind6 Oct. 17, 1992 -76.39 ø 7.22 ø 15.0 6.6

2 Murind6 Oct. 18, 1992 -76.34 ø 7.27 ø 15.0 7.1
3 Pfiez June 6, 1994 -75.94 ø 2.93 ø 15.0 6.8
4 Murind6 Sept.13, 1994 -76.54 ø 7.09 ø 23.0 6.0
5 Pacific Sept.27, 1994 -78.92 ø 5.90 ø 16. 3 6.1
6 Tauramena Jan. 19, 1995 -72. 85 ø 5.16 ø 16.0 6.5
7 S.W. Pereira Feb. 8, 1995 -76.36 ø 4.09 ø 68.2 6.3
8 Intermediate Aug. 19, 1995 -75.69 ø 5.22 ø 128.7 6.5
9 OffshoreTumaco April 27, 1996 -79.42 ø 2.47 ø 15.0 6.1
10 Panama-Colombia Nov. 4, 1996 -77.21 ø 7.47 ø 15.0 6.3
11 Intermediate Sept.2, 1997 -75.57 ø 4. 00ø 213.2 6.7
12 Intermediate Dec. 11, 1997 -75.84 ø 4. 11 ø 189.5 6.3
13 Armenia Jan. 25, 1999 -75. •77ø 4. 45 ø 15.0 6.1

See Plate 3.

of wrongreadings,andobtainwell-determined hypocenters.
The 4.2. Seismicityand Tectonics
numberof eventssatisfying
the criteriaof a minimumof eight
Seismicitypatternsresultingfrom the new NSNC data are
arrivalswas6115for thewholecountry(Plate3).
much more precise than others previously obtained about
The relocation
procedure
consistedin choosing eventswithin
Colombia, actually defining the most active zonesof the crust
a volumethat was smallcomparedto the distancebetweenthe
alongthe borderof mountainrangesand alsoshowingtwo main
sourceand the station.Thus any systematic
differencebetween
calculated and observed arrival times could be attributed to the
zonesof intermediateseismicityunder the Central and Eastern
Cordilleras. Relocated epicenters from the database are
deviationof the velocitymodelwith respectto true velocities
represented
in Plate3 by meansof circles(sizeandcolorindicate
alongthe sampled
region.The process
was iterativebecause
magnitudeanddepth,respectively). Additionally,the epicenters
successive
locationsimplied changesin the hypocenterand
recalculationof the travel times. The relocationprocedurewas of the most importantColombianearthquakessince 1992 are
indicatedwith stars(Table 2).
implemented
bytheuseof theHYPOELLIPSE
algorithm
[Lahr,
1985], whichallowsfor therelocationof eventsby usingat each Crustal earthquakesconcentratealong the foothills of the
iterationnew stationcorrections,obtainedfrom the stationdelays Cordillerasandalignwith themainfaultsobservedat the surface.
computed
duringtheprevious
iteration.
Theprocess
begins
with For instance,seismicactivity is clearly associatedwith the thrusts
the definitionof the eventscorresponding
to eachspacewindow, on each side of the Eastern Cordillera. Notice that several seismic

fromthehypocenters
obtained
bytheflatvelocitymodelusedby clustersare locatedaroundthe epicentralzonesof major recent
the NSNC. The HYPOELLIPSE programwas run with the earthquakes. The shallowseismicityclusteron the borderof the
"GlobalOption"activated,
thusensuring
special to the Llanos, located at ~5øN and 73øW, is due to aftershocksof the
attention
depthrange.Therelocation
volumewaschosento bea running recent1995 strongearthquakes of Tauramena(earthquake 6 in
cylindrical
window
of radius
0.5øandvariable
depth
range
(0< h Table 2). Shallow seismicityis also sharply aligned along the
< 30 km, 30 < h < 110km, andh > 110 kin). Afterwards, events Central Cordillera north of 2øN. One cluster at ~ 3øN and 76øW is
weresortedaccording to theirhypocenters, regrouping theminto due to the aftershockactivityof the Paez earthquakeof 1994
the mobile windows of 0.5 ø in radius, each 0.2 ø of latitude or (earthquake 3 in Table 2), whichproduceda largenumberof
longitude,andthe depthrangesdescribed above.The events hugelandslides anddistributed damage.It shouldbe observed
within each window were processed five times,and at each that the epicentralzone of the recent destructiveArmenia
iterationtheaveraged wereusedas inputstation earthquake
timeresiduals alongthe Romeralfault system(earthquake 13 in
delays thatafterfiveiterations Table2) waspreviouslyquiet,whiletherewasimportantshallow
for thenextrun.It wasobserved
with a valuethat was associated activityalongthe neighboring
the residueswereconverging Ibagu6strike-slip
fault.Thereis
with the lateralvariationsin structure.Someeventswere repeated alsointensecrustalactivityalongthe WesternCordilleranorthof
sincethe windowswere overlapping.
In thosecases,the final Buenaventura(BU, on the coast at latitude 4øN, Plate 1). The
hypocenter wasthe averageoverthe common windowsfor a shallow cluster located south of the Urabfi Gulf (east of the
givenevent,afterverifyingthatstandard in depthwas Panama border, Plate 1) is the result of the series of strong
deviation
less than 20 km. earthquakes
of Murind6(earthquakes 1, 2, and4 in Table2), the
The final rms residualsfluctuate around 2 s, which seems to largestoneof themwithmagnitude
of Mw = 7. 1.
berathergoodforthesizeof thenetwork
(1000km,Plate3). Intermediateseismicityshowsa well-definedclusteralongthe
Thisvalueandanestimated precision of 0.2 km/sfor thevelocity northwesternmargin of the Eastern Cordillera. The cluster
model allow us to conclude that the horizontal error for events corresponds
to a neatslabrunningfrom5.2øN to 7ø N in latitude
insidethenetwork maybelessthan5 kmandlessthan15kmfor along150 km, from the northof Bogotfito the Bucaramanga
depth. seismicity
nest(BSN) (Plates1 and3). The activitycontinues
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 803

downto 180kmin depthunderthenorthern

segment
of theEC; NWSA. The westernpart of the shearzonemay affectthe Nazca
it isroughly
oriented
N30øEanddipstotheE-SE.Thiselongatedplate:late Miocenemagmatismnorthof 5øN is slightlyshifted
clustercorresponds
to a well-defined
subduction not westwardwith respectto recentvolcanismin the CC. In this part
segment,
knownbeforethe installationof the NSNC. We suggestthat this the shearzone may exhibit left-lateralmovement,coherentwith
active deformation observed in the Colombia- Panama basin
slabcorresponds
to a remnant
of the PCP,whichdisplays
a
shallowsubductionbeneathnorthwesternColombiaand plunges (e.g.,the Southern
Panama
faultzone,Plate1). The shearzone
into the mantlebeneaththe EC (Figures2 and 3 and Plate2). alsoalignsalongthe southernmarginof the Coibamicroplate
Pennington[1981] had suggested an oceanicsubductionunder (Plate 1), where left-lateral movementhas been observedfrom
thisregionbuton thebasisof scarceandpoorlydefineddataand focal mechanisms(e.g., the focal mechanismof earthquake5
obtained from the Harvard CMT file is coherent with a left-
at a largerscale.
to a compactandintenseconcentration lateralEW fault (Plate 3): the strike,dip, and rake of the focal
The BSN corresponds
of earthquakes at a depthof ~150km (at 6.8øN,73øW) planesare 7ø/69ø/-167
located ø and 273ø/78ø/-21
ø, respectively).
The
[e.g., Santo,1969;Dewey,1972; Rivera, 1989]. Seismicity inversionin the shearsensebetweenthe westernand easternpart
associatedwith this subductionchangesorientationnorth of the of the shear zone can be explained in terms of the relative
BSN, trendingalong a N-S direction.The changein trending velocitiesof the platesand the lithospheric blocksseparated by
directionis especially
visiblefor earthquakeswith depthsgreater the shear-zone. Section5 will presenta moredetailedanalysisof
than 120 km. This new information shows that the BSN is not an the seismicityof the EasternCordilleraand its relationshipwith
isolatedphenomenon as was previouslythought.Instead,it is faultingin thecontinental lithosphere.
relatedto an inflectionof the subductingsurface;moreprecisely,
it is placedat the end of the most active segmentof this 5. New Constraints on the Tectonic Structure
subduction.The intermediateN-S trending seismicity located of the Eastern Cordillera
northwardof the BSN continuesnorthwardbeneaththe Perijfi
range[e.g.,Malav•andSutirez,1995].Thusit canbe interpreted New seismological andgeologicdatahavebeenusedto study
as resultingfrom a shallowsubductionof the Caribbeanslab the tectonicstructureof the EC at crustaland lithosphericscales.
beneaththe Maracaiboblock (seesection3) [e.g.,Kelloggand Plate4 showsthe distributionof seismicityaroundthe EC areaas
Bonini, 1982]. a functionof depthandmagnitude,
obtainedfor theperiod1993-
The cluster of intermediateseismicityobservedunder the 1996. Shallow earthquakesindicatedin orange are generally
Central and Western Cordilleras at ~3øN to 5.5øN is related to the located near the foothills of the Eastern and Central Cordilleras,
oceanicsubduction of the NazcaplateunderSouthAmerica.The where activeand potentiallyactivefault systemsare observed.
clusterconnectsto the shallowseismicityobservedat the Pacific The Salinas fault system, which extends along the western
Ocean off the Colombian coast. The shallow cluster located foothill of the EC, is clearly associatedwith shallow seismicity
offshoreat ~2.5øNcorresponds to theaftershocks of earthquake9 along imbricatedthrustswith vergencetoward the Magdalena
of Table 2. This event is locatedwithin the regionaffectedby the valley (Plates1 and 4). The shallowclusterof earthquakes
greatColombianearthquake of 1906, Mw = 8.8, and the large locatedto the SE of Tunja corresponds to aftershocksof the 1995
Tumaco1979earthquake, Mw = 8.2 [Kanamoriand McNally, Tauramena earthquake.This shallow event reactivated a NE
1982]. Scarce intermediateseismic activity is also observed trendingreversefault belongingto the Guaicfiramofault system
beneath the WC and CC northward of 5.5øN and southward of (GF; Plates1 and 4).
3øN. This seismicityis also attributedto the Nazcasubducting Intermediate seismicity is mostly observed beneath the
slab. western flank of the EC and extends northward beneath the
The intermediateseismicity beneath the EC is limited SantanderMassif (SM). Intermediateearthquakedepthsalong
southward,
alonga roughlyeast-west
trendingboundary(with this zone tend to increase toward the E-SE. The intermediate
azimuth between N90øE and N100øE), located at 5.2 ø N. This seismicclusterlocatedto the southof Bucaramangais known as
boundary aligns with the northern termination of the the Bucaramanga seismicity nest (BSN). Intermediate
intermediate-seismicity clusterbeneaththe WesternandCentral earthquakesin the BSN are locatedwithin a prolatedvolume
Cordilleras.We suggestthatthisboundarymay correspond to a with azimuthcloseto E-W, which plungesgentlyeastward.
major E-W transformshearzone. The fault aligns with the Figures 4a and 4b show two crosssectionsof seismicity,
southernterminationof the Baud6Rangeand may correspondto which allow us to analyzethe geometryandnatureof subduction
the southernlimit of the PCP remnant(Figures2a and 3). Thus beneath the EC (the location of the sectionsis indicated in Plate
its formationis probablylinked with shallowsubductionof the 4). Cross section A-A' is oriented perpendicularlyto the
PCP beneaththe Cordillerasand with subsequentaccretionand mountainrange, and it includesseismicitywithin a band that
convergencebetweenthe Panama-Baud6arc and NWSA. In the coversentirelythesubduction zone(thehalf widthof thebandis
easternpartof the shearzonethe PCP locatednorthwardoughtto 150 km, measuredfrom the line segmentA-A'). This cross
be in contactwith the continentallithosphericmantle (CLM) section clearly shows a subductingslab that dips ~45øSE,
located southward.Movement in this segmentshould be right extendingbetween60- and 200-km depth.This seismicitypattern
lateral. Notice that the Salinasfault systemis locatedabove the is interpretedas resultingfrom active subductionof the PCP
shear zone in the continental crust: the trend of the main thrusts beneaththeEC (crosssectionb-b', Figure3). The flat slabregion
changesfrom roughlyN-S southwardof the shearzoneto N-NE is locatedeastwardof the Salinasfault system,as indicatedby
northwardof theshearzone(Plate1). The N-NE trendingthrusts scarceseismicitydata. Earthquakesfrom the BSN are located
are coherent with S-SE convergencebetween the PCP and within the cluster around 150-km depth. Shallow seismicity,
804 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

j •

EC Eastern Cordillera
CC Central Cordillera
MV MagdalenaValley
--200 km * LB Llanos Basin
- 1O0 km 0 . 100 km
I I I I I I

SW EC SMB SM NE
- • .... • ,,,--.._(9i© •._4k_m
-
'*..............................................................................................................
............................
---= 1.................. / .-•.•-• ............

--100 km

j l

EC Eastern Cordillera
SM Santander Massif
SMB Santa Marta -
--200 km Bucaramangafault
100 km
I

Figure 4. Verticalcrosssections
of seismicity
across
theEasternCordillera(Plate4) (theverticalexaggeration
for
thetopography
is 3). (a) Crosssection
A-A', orthogonal
to theEC andlocatednorthward
of Tunja.It includes
seismicitywithina bandthatcoversentirelythesubductionzone.(b) CrosssectionB-B', parallelto the axisof the
range.The subductionsegment beneaththeEC is well separated,
with theBucaramanga nestat thenorthernend.
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 805

corresponding to activefaulting in the crust,is concentrated

near with a roughly E-SE trending extensionalregime in the
the foothills of the EC and along the Magdalena valley. Notice subductingslab.
the scarceseismicityin the zone lying betweenthe uppercrust
and the subductingslab.This zone,locatedbetween25- and 60- 5.1. Regional CrossSectionsof the Eastern Cordillera
km depth,is interpretedas the lower crustand a layer of thinned In order to study the tectonic structure of the EC at
CLM located beneath the Moho (Figure 3). A possible lithosphericscale, we have reconstructed two regional cross
explanation is that the deformation mechanism in these two sectionsby means of geologic data in the upper crust and
layers involves mainly ductile shearing. In summary, the seismologicalinformation(sections
C-C' andD-D', Plate4). Plate
deformationmechanismat lithosphericscale involves active 5 illustratesthe sectionacrossthe Tunja area,includingseismic
subductionand shorteningof thinned continentallithosphere activitywithin a 50-kin-widthbandcenteredalongline segment
beneath the EC.

CrosssectionB-B' (orthogonal to A-A') orientedalongthe The tectonicstructurein the uppercrustwas constrainedby

axis of the EC permitsthe identification
of intermediate-depthcombininginformationfrom severalsources:(1) field work in
seismicityassociatedwith the BSN and separationof this structural geology, neotectonics, and microtectonics in the
seismicityfromthat of the remainingpartof the subduction(the eastern foothill and the axial zone of the EC; (2) published
half widthof thebandis 40 km, measured from theline segment geologic maps from the Colombian Geological Survey
B-B', Plate4). The BSN appearsasanearthquake clusterlocated (INGEOMINAS) [e.g., Ulloaet al., 1975,1976; Renzoniet al.,
toward the N-NE of the section(beneaththe SMB fault). 1983; INGEOMINAS, 1997]; and (3) available information on
Focal mechanismsof earthquakesobtainedfrom the Harvard structuralgeology and stratigraphypublishedin the literature
CMT files for the period1976-1998are includedin Plate4. The [e.g., Collettaet al., 1990; Cooperet al., 1995; Taboadaet al.,
localization,depth, focal planes, magnitude,and date of the 1996; Vergaraet al., 1996; Taboadaet al., 1998;Branquetet al.,
HarvardCMT solutions in Plate4 areavailablein a supplemental 1999].
figure(Appendix A).• The graysymbols are mechanisms from As illustrated in Plate 5, the northern segment of the EC
crustal earthquakes while the black ones correspond to resultsfrom shorteningof thinnedcontinentallithosphereduring
intermediate-depth seismicity.Earthquakes 30, 31, 32, and 33 of Cenozoic compressivephases, linked to convergenceand
the Tauramenasequence, on the easternfoothill of the EC, are in subductionof the PCP beneathNWSA. The geometryof the
reversefaultingassociated with thrusts.Earthquake7, westof the subductingoceanicplate is constrained by earthquakelocations:
MagdalenaRiver is also a thrustbut is relatedto the San Lucas the PCP showsa shallowdip beneaththe Magdalenavalley, and
range.Earthquakes 4, 8, 27, and 28 belongto the elbow in the thenit becomes muchsteeperbeneaththeEC (attaining50ø-60ø).
SM at the placewhereit meetsthe Andesde M6rida range.These Intermediate-depth seismicactivity is concentratedbeneaththe
earthquakesindicatecompression in a E-NE direction,transverse subduction fault zone and decreases westward toward the Baud6
to the trendof faultingalongthe foothills. Range(Plate4). The thinnedCLM seemsto be affectedby a
The Bucaramanganestis represented by 16 focal mechanisms major reverseshearzone with vergencetowardthe Magdalena
corresponding to eventswith depthsaround150 km (seeinsetin valley. Reverse movement along this ductile shear zone can
Plate 4). A preliminary stress tensor obtained from these inducemechanicaldraggingof continentalcrustdown to great
mechanisms(eventsbetween1977 and 1997) has o2orientedNS depth,as a consequence of shorteningof the thinnedcontinental
and o2 orientedalongthe EW direction,plunging30ø westward. lithosphere.This mechanism has been proposed in other
A previousstudymadeby Rivera [1989]basedon polaritiesof P intracontinentalcollisionalbelts(Himalayas, westernAlps, and
arrivals from the catalog of the InternationalSeismological Pyrenees)[e.g.,Malavieilleand Chernenda, 1997]. The crustal
Centre(ISC) corresponding to the period1977-1983providesa tectonic structure and the location of the ductile shear zone are
stresstensorwith (•1orientedEW, o2 orientedvertical,and coherent with the east dipping intracontinentaldeformation
orientedNS. The inversionof the combineddatasetshowsagain model proposedby Colletta et al. [1990]; nevertheless, more
Ol orientedEW, but o2 is closeto o3 (thestressellipsoidshape geophysicalstudiesare necessaryto confirm this hypothesis
ratioR=[(•2-O3]/[Ol-O3] isnearzero),meaninganuniaxialtectonic (e.g., gravimetry,tomography, and deepseismicprofiles).The
stressregime. A similar result was already obtainedby Rivera thinnedCLM is stronglydeformedby compression, and it may
when comparingdatacomingfrom a local networkon top of the alsobe mechanically draggedinto the subduction zoneby the
Bucaramanganest with the ISC data from the global network. oceanic plate located beneath (Plate 5). The deformation
Thesedifferentsolutionsindicatethatwith thedataexistingup to mechanism in the lowercrustandin the CLM beneaththe range
now, only anEW orientedo• is well constrained, while o2and o3 probablycombines pureshearandheterogeneous simpleshear.A
are free to move on a plane orthogonalto it, and the tectonic d6collementlevel may be locatedalongthe boundarybetween
stressis in betweencompressional and strike-slipregimes.The the PCP and the thinned CLM.
remainingintermediate-depth mechanisms (earthquakes 2, 10, The totalamountof shortening in the EC duringthe Cenozoic
20, 25, and 34) oughtto be locatedin the PCP and are coherent compressional phasesis estimatedto be roughlyaround120 kin,
accordingto our balancedcrosssection.This value is coherent
with the estimationproposedby Colletta et al. [1990], who
•Supportingfigures(Appendices A andB) areavailable ondiskette calculated at least105km of shortening. Nevertheless,shortening
or via AnonymousFI'P from kosmos.agu.org, directory could be slightly greater as suggestedby several authors:
APEND(Username - anonymous, Password = guest). Diskettemaybe
ordered fromAmerican Geophysical Union,2000FloridaAvenue, N.W., Laubscher[1987] estimateda total compression of ~130 km
Washington, DC20009orbyphone at 800-966-2481; $15.00.Payment from Neogeneplate kinematicreconstructions; Kellogg and
must accompanyorder. Duque [1994] estimated140-150 km of late Mioceneto recent
806 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

shortening from geological balanced cross sections and The axial zone is characterized
by threemain reversefaults:
geophysical data.The initial crustalstructurebeforeshortening (1) the Boyacfifault, which reactivatesthe normalfault that
corresponded to two largebasinswhereas muchas 10 km of limitedtheTablazo-Magdalena graben[e.g.,Collettaet al., 1990;
sediments accumulated duringMesozoic[e.g.,Etayoet al., 1969; Taboada
etal., 1996];(2) theSoapaga
fault,whichis lesssteep
Colletta et al., 1990; Cooperet al., 1995]: the Tablazo- and probably correspondsto an old Paleozoic crustal fault
Magdalenagrabento the NW and the Cocuyhalf grabento the. reactivated during subsequenttectonic events (P. Cobbold,
SE (seeinset in Plate 5). Thesebasinswere limited by normal personalcommunication,1995); and (3) the Chfimezafault,
listric faults, which rooted into a d6.collementlevel in the lower whichprobablyreactivatesa Mesozoicnormalfault that affected
crust. The presenceof a thinned and weakenedcontinental the Cocuyhalf graben.The Chfimezafault joins a low-angle
lithospherefavored mountain building in this site during db.
collementlevel locatedat the base of the Early Cretaceous
Cenozoic. The strength of the crust was diminished by sequence. Movementalongthed6.collement is accommodated by
preexistingbasementnormal faults and by thick Mesozoic imbricatedthrustswith vergencetowardthe SE (Y. Branquet,
sedimentarysequenceswith low competence. personalcommunication, 1999).Totalshortening in thiszoneis
Tectonic deformation in the northern segment of the EC around40 km and is mainly associated with the Andeantectonic
migratedin spaceandtime duringseveralorogenicpulses,which phase.
have beenidentifiedby meansof detailedstratigraphicanalysis The eastern foothill is characterizedby four main fault
[e.g.,Cooperet al., 1995;Caseroet al., 1997].As mentioned
in systemswith vergence toward the craton: the Santa Maria,
sections2 and 3, shorteningoccurred as a consequenceof Guaicfiramo,Yopal, and Cusianathrusts.The Guaicfiramofault
varyinggeodynamic conditions
duringCenozoicalongthe active reactivates the main normal fault that limited the eastern border
marginslocatedwestward.The deformationmechanismin the of theCocuyhalfgraben[e.g.,Cooperetal., 1995]. We estimate
crust involves the tectonic inversion of the main normal faults shortening in the eastern foothill at ~35 km, which occurred
whichareoftenassociated
withfootwallshortcuts
[Cooperet al., mainly during the Andeantectonicphase.The total amountof
1995]. shorteningwhich we obtainedduring the Andeanphaseis
The westernmarginis characterized
by thrusting
andfolding roughlybetween80 and 100 km; this valueis slightlygreater
with vergencetowardthe Magdalenavalley (Salinasand thanthe 68-km estimationproposedby Cooperet al. [1995] for
Magdalenavalleyfaultsystem):
at leastfourmainthrusts
thatcut the Andeantectonicphase.
throughtheuppercrustcanbedistinguished(eachonebearsan Anothergeologicfeatureis the existenceof smallplutonsof
arrowin thehanging
wall indicating
thrustingvergence).
These K/Rb rich rhyoliteseastwardof the Tunja area,which constitute
faultsrootat depthintotheeastdippingductileshearzonethat the sole Tertiary volcanic rocks known in the EC
affectsthe lithosphericmantle;the total estimatedshortening [INGEOMINAS,1997]. The petrographic analysisof theseMio-
along them is around45 km. Main thrustssplay in several Pliocene rocks suggestthat their original compositionwas
branchesin the uppercrust,exhibitingflat andrampgeometries slightlylessacid(rhyodacite,
dacite,or trachytedomain)andthat
in the sedimentarycover and footwall shortcutsin basement they suffered subsequent alteration in the crust by
rocks.Flatscorrespond to db.
collementlevelslocatedalongweak hydrothermalism
[Martinez,1989].We suggest
thattheserocks
sedimentary rocksof the Cretaceous and the early Paleocene may be linked to partial meltingassociated
with subductionof
(Plate5). Shortening
alongwestvergentthrustsandfoldsin the thePCPbeneaththeEC (Plate5), yet theirpreciseoriginremains
westernmarginof theEC resultsfromthecumulated effectof the uncertain.

Paleogene and the Andean(post12 Ma) compressive phases Plate 6 illustratesthe sectionacrossthe Bucaramanga
nestarea
[e.g.,Boinetet al., 1989; Cooperet al., 1995]. Paleogene includingseismicactivity within a 50-km band centeredalong
deformation has been established from truncated folds in the the line segmentD-D' (Plate4). The tectonicstructurein the
Middle Magdalenavalley,whichareunconformably overlainby uppercrustwasconstrained combininginformationfromseveral
late Eoceneclastics[e.g., Morales and ColombianPetroleum sources:(1) field work in structuralgeology,neotectonics, and
Industry,1958].Thesefoldsareassociated with underlyinglistric microtectonics in the northern termination of the EC and in the
thruststhatprobablyrootedintothemainfaultsthataffectedthe SM; (2) published geologic maps from the Colombian
westernborderof the Tablazo-Magdalena basin.The Paleogene GeologicalSurvey(INGEOMINAS) [e.g., Ward et al., 1969,
unconformitiesare indicatedschematicallyin the pre-Andean 1977; INGEOMINAS, 1997]; and (3) available informationon
Tertiarysedimentary rocks(pinklevelin thesectionin Plate5). structuralgeologyand stratigraphypublishedin the literature
Shorteningduring Paleogenetranspressive phasesis apparent [e.g.,Julivert,1958;Karoruer,1993; Corredor,1997;Steueret
from the analysisof the tectonicstructures: the offsetof the al., 1997].
Cretaceousin the flat of the Salinas thrust is much greater than Mountainbuildingin this arearesulted,as in the wholeEC,
the offsetof Andeansediments in the frontalramp (e.g., third from Cenozoicshorteningof thinnedand weakenedcontinental
thrustfrom the NW to the SE, Plate 5). lithosphere.
The geometryof the subducting oceanicplate is
The vergenceof thrustingandfoldingin the axial zoneandin constrained
by earthquakelocations:the PCP showsa shallow
the eastern foothill is toward the South American Craton. dipbeneath
theMagdalenavalley(around
15ø),andit becomes
Nevertheless,back thrustsare alsoobservedin the hangingwalls progressively
steeperbeneaththe EC (attaining30ø-40ø).
of the majorthrustslocatedalongthe easternfoothill. Main east Intermediate-depth
seismicactivityis concentrated
in the BSN,
vergentthruststendto join a low-angleductileshearzonein the whichcorresponds
to the clustershownin crosssectionD-D'.
lower crust [Collettaet al., 1990]. In our interpretation
this The overall tectonic structure of the chain resembles a
d6.collementbranches off from the shear zone, near the Moho. lithospheric-scale
flowerstructure.
It is characterized
by strike-
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 807

slipfaultingalongsteep(vertical)
faultslocated
in theaxialzone analysisof structuraldataby meansof numericalandgraphical
and by reversefaultingalongthrustslocatednearthe foothills. methods[Etchecopar et al., 1981;Taboadaet al., 1991;Ritzand
The SantaMarta- Bucaramanga (SMB) fault is themajorstrike- Taboada, 1993; Taboada, 1993] allowed us to determinethe
slipfaultlocatedin between theSantanderMassif(SM) andthe principalstressdirectionsand to establisha new neotectonic
EC; the fault trace is linear along 700 km except for a stress mapat a regionalscale(Figure5). Table3 summarizes the
compressionaljog at latitude8øN. It showsmainly left-lateral resultsobtainedfrom the stressanalysis,indicatingthe number
movement
alongitstraceduringtheNeogene
[e.g.,Irving,1971; and locationof the outcrop,the lithology and age of the rocks,
Tschanzet al., 1974; Boinetet al., 1989]. The sectionsuggests and the orientationof the bedding plane. Stressresultsinclude
that the SMB fault is subvertical and affects the whole the azimuthandthe plungeof the threeprincipalstressaxeso•,
continental
lithosphere.The thinnedCLM mightalsobe affected 02, and 03, whichcorrespond to the principalcompressional,
by two,steep,ductileshearzoneswithopposite vergence located intermediate,and extensionalaxes,respectively.When the stress
beneaththe EC and the SM, respectively.Theseductileshear determinationwas carriedout by meansof the Etchecoparet al.
zonesoughtto exhibittranspressive movement, and theyjoin [1981]method,thestressellipsoidshaperatioR=(o2-o3)/(o•-o 3)
progressively along was also calculated (stations 1-23 and 32-42). When stress
the SMB fault at depth.Reversemovement
them can inducedraggingof continentalcrustdown to great determinationwas carried out by means of graphical methods,
depth. Nevertheless,the existenceof these shearzonesis then only the principal stressdirectionsof o• and o3 were
hypotheticaland shouldbe confirmedby other geophysicalspecified(stations24-31). The last two columnsin Table 3
studies.
An alternate
interpretation,
in particular,
beneaththeSM, indicateadditional parameters suchas (1) the qualityfactorQF,
would consistin supposing that crustalreversefaultsroot at whichindicatesthequalityof thestressdetermination (A, B, and
depthintoa gentlydippingd6collement levelin thelowercrust C correspond to good,medium,and poorqualitystressresults,
(and not into a steepductile shearzone in the lithospheric respectively);
(2) thenumberof microtectonic dataconstraining
mantle). In this case, deformation in the crust would be the stress tensor solution (NMD); and (3) the local tectonic
decoupled
from deformation
in the lithospheric
mantle.As in deformationphasecorrespondingto the calculatedstresstensor
crosssectionC-C', a d6collementlevel may be locatedalongthe (LTP). The completedata set and the stressanalysisfor the
boundarybetweenthePCPandthethinnedCLM. studied outcrops are summarized in supplementalfigures
Westof the SMB fault, the uppercrustaltectonicstructureis (AppendixB). The Etchecoparet al. methodis basedon the
characterized
by westvergence reversefaultslocatedalongthe minimization of angular differences between calculated and
westernflank of the cordillera(Salinasfault system):the fault observedstriaealongmicrofaults,supposing
thatthe stresstensor
to imbricatedthruststhat root into the is homogeneousat the outcrop scale and that tectonic
geometrycorresponds
basement.Thesefaultsroot at depthinto the eastdippingshear deformationremainslow. Each frame in the supportingfiguresin
zone that affectsthe CLM. Splay faults are observedin the AppendixB displaysthe stereographic projectionof faults used
Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentarycover. As in crosssection in the determinationof the stresstensor(big stereoplot)
with the
C-C', Paleogeneunconformities are indicatedschematicallyin observedand calculatedstriae. The small stereoplotshowsthe
the pre-AndeanTertiary sedimentaryrocks located in both microfaultdata that were rejectedduringthe inversionprocess.
foothills(pinklevel in Plate6). Noticethe presence of an active The normalized Mohr circle diagram and the histogramof
back thrust(Sufirezfault) whichjoins at depththe thrustsof the angulardeviationsare alsoshown.
Salinasfaultsystem.Thesethrustsjoin northward thetraceof the In Figure 5 the horizontalprojectionsof the compressional
SMB fault (Plate1). The averagealtitudeof the chainbetween stressaxes (o•) are plotted for all available solutions.The
theMagdalenavalleyandtheSMB faultis around1500m. orientation of the compressionalaxis in the Bucaramanga
The uppercrustaltectonicstructureof the SantanderMassif seismicitynestis alsoindicated.In outcrops1-33, 35, 37, 39, and
(eastwardof the SMB fault) is mainly characterizedby east 40, onesingledeformationphasewasobserved;in the remaining
vergentreversefaults.SteepfaultssuchastheChucarima showa outcrops,which are all located in the Bucaramangasector
left-lateralcomponent, whileshallowerdippingfaultssuchasthe (outcrops34, 36, 38, 41, and 42), two deformation phases
Frontalfaultsystem showa dominant reverse movement (Plates resultedfrom the analysis.Notice that in severaloutcropsthe
1 and 6). This observationsuggestsstrain partitioningin the measurements weredoneon steeplydippingbeds(Table3). In
crust.In the easternfoothillsgeomorphologic evidencessuchas thesecases,the dip of the compressional axis is alwaysmuch
uplifted and tilted terraces,pressureridges, and fault scarps lower, indicatingthat the measuredmicrofaultsoccurredduring
indicateactivethrustingalongthe EC Frontalfault system.The thefinal stagesof tiltingandfoldingof sedimentary rocks.
averagealtitudeof the mountainchainbetweenthe SMB fault The results correspondingto the region north of Tunja
and the Llanos Basin is around 3000 m. (stations 22-32), in the axial zone of the EC, indicate a rather
homogeneous E-SE compressiveregime (N125øE). Other
5.2. Tectonic Stress Field in the Eastern Cordillera
tectonicand geomorphologic
featuressuchas N30øE trending
In orderto analyzethe neotectonic
stressfield in the EC, we thrustsandfoldspresentin this regionare in agreementwith this
studied the brittle deformation of sedimentary rocks and result.In the easternfoothillregion(stations
7-12), stressresults
Quaternarydepositsobserved in the axialzoneandthefoothills. indicateagainan E-SEcompression direction(N120øE).These
Forty-twodifferentoutcropswerestudiedin detail,whererocks observationsare consistentwith thrustingalong the Piedemonte
exhibitedbrittle deformationin relationwith mountainbuilding. Llanerofault system(PLFS)andwith focalmechanisms
(e.g.,
In theseoutcrops,
microtectonic suchasstriatedfaults, Tauramena
structures earthquake,
Table2, andPlate4).
tension gashes,folds, and stylolitheswere measured.The The principal
stress
directionsobtainedin the Bogotfizone
808 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

72øW

I 3km I ,74øW
ß / 173øW
42b

41b

37

7ON

34b•'•
38b• ,-
36b

75øW

26/
25

27

Tun

Eastern
Cordillera 8
16

, .5ON
,

72ow
i
Maximum Horizontal Stress Orientation

• • CompressionalRegime
• • UniaxialCompression
• • Strike-SlipRegime
21

• Reverse
F. • Strike-slip
F.
• Anticline'"•/,,.,Syncline
74øW c• Bucaramanga
Seismicity
Nest

Figure 5. Neotectonicstressmapof the northernhalf of the EC. Stresstensorswerecalculatedin 42 differentsites

frommicrotectonic
observations
(Table3). Arrowsindicatethemainhorizontal
compressional
axis.Theupperleft
inset showsstressresultsnear the intersectionbetweenthe SantaMarta- Bucaramangaand Sufirezfaults (near
Bucaramanga,
BM). The orientationof the compressional
stressaxis in the Bucaramanga
seismicitynest is
indicated.BO, Bogotfi;FS, fault system.

(stations13-21) are morecomplex.A globalE-SE directionis orientationof o] is closeto N110øE). A similar rotationis also
still observed,yet somestationsshow directionsrangingfrom observed
inthedirections
ofthetectonic
andmorphological
main
NW-SE to NE-SW. The deviations that are observed in stations structures
(e.g.,Salinasthrust).
16-18couldbe associated with thepresence
of NeogeneNW left- In theBucaramanga
sector
(stations
33-42)wheretwomajor
lateraltranspressive faulting.Stations19 and 21 showan ENE- faultsystems
converge
(SMBandSufirez faults),twotypesof
WSW compressionthat could correspondto a pre-Andean solutions
wereobserved:
(1) a N80øEcompression
whichis sub-
transpressive phase.Theseoutcrops(exceptingstation16) are orthogonal
to theSMBfaultand(2) a NW-SEcompression.
The
locatedsouthwardof Bogotfi,near the intersectionbetweenthe stressdetermination
in Plio-Quaternarysedimentary
rocks
Facatativastrike-slipfault andN-S trendingthrusts. (stations 34-37) indicates a well-constrained uniaxial
Farther west, in the Magdalena valley area, stressanalysis compressionwith o• closeto N80øE(solutions
34b, 35, 36b, and
results (stations 1-5) turn slightly counterclockwise(the 37). We interpret
theseresults
as co'-responding
to the late
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 809

Table 3. Resultsof Microtectonic

StressAnalysisin theEasternCordillera

St Long Lat Lithology Age Strat ol 02 03 R QF, NMD LTP

1 -74.53ø 5.03 ø limestone E. Cretaceous 112ø,32oS 277ø,10ø 022o,57ø 181ø,31ø 0.52 A, 16 Early Andean
2 -74.53ø 4.90 ø calc. siltstone E. Cretaceous 114ø,07ø 002%69ø 204ø,19ø 0.10 A, 19 Andean

045o,38ow 304ø,01ø 034ø,29ø 212ø,61ø 0.46 A, 13 Andean

3 -74.59ø 4.88ø cong.sandstone
E. Tertiary
006o,18OE 282ø,22ø 135ø,65
ø 017ø,12ø 0.57 A, 18 Andean
4 -74.63ø 5.09ø conglomerate E. Tertiary
014o,40OE 108ø,36ø 241%43ø 357%26ø 0.01 B, 7 Andean
5 -74.67ø 5.18ø cong.sandstone
E. Tertiary
6 -74.95ø 4.81ø granodiorite Jurasic 142ø,37ø 315ø,53ø 049ø,03ø 0.74 A, 24 Early Andean?
7 -73.31 ø 4.44 ø sandstone Neogene 064ø,47øN 311ø,17ø 161%71ø 044%09ø 0.00 A, 16 Andean

8 -72.64 ø 5.23 ø sandstone E. Cretaceous 287ø,25ø 181%30ø 049%49ø 0.14 A, 17 Andean

9 -73.45 ø 4.28 ø mudstone Neogene 123ø,01ø 033%01ø 262ø,89ø 0.57 A, 9 Andean

10 -73.59 ø 4.22 ø mudstone Plio-Quaternary 119ø,05ø 026%29ø 219ø,61ø 0.34 A, 10 Late Andean

11 -73.64 ø 4.15 ø sandstone E. Cretaceous 128ø,26ø 222%09ø 329%63ø 0.84 A, 10 Andean

Quaternary 114ø,36ø 003%26ø 245%43ø 0.04 A, 10 Late Andean

12 -72.60ø 5.10ø gravel
13 -74.08 ø 4.65 ø mudstone E. Tertiary 023o,54OE 111%27
ø 212%20
ø 333%56
ø 0.49 A, 15 Andean

14 -74.29 ø 4.90 ø siltstone L. Cretaceous 000o,40OE 285ø,11ø 100ø,79

ø 195ø,01
ø 0.75 A, 19 Andean

15 -74.23 ø 4.88 ø siltstone L. Cretaceous 020o,44OE 105ø,11

ø 012%18
ø 225ø,69ø 0.29 A, 16 Andean

16 -74.14 ø 4.92 ø siltstone L. Cretaceous 319%19ø 090ø,62ø 222%20ø 0.83 B, 9 Andean

17 -74.22 ø 4.56 ø sandstone L. Cretaceous 019ø,45øE 087ø,14ø 351ø,26

ø 203ø,60ø 0.38 A, 16 Early Andean
18 -74.23 ø 4.57 ø siltstone L. Cretaceous 023ø,45oS 104ø,13
ø 195%04
ø 303ø,77ø 0.50 A, 8 Andean

19 -74.24 ø 4.57 ø sandstone L. Cretaceous 150ø,50øE 070%07 161%05

ø 282ø,81
ø 0.23 A, 14 Pre-Andean

300ø,05ø 030%03ø 153ø,84ø 0.41 A, 19 Late Andean

20 -74.04ø 4.72ø lagoonaldepositQuaternary
21 -74.24 ø 4.46 ø siltstone L. Cretaceous 015o,45OE 069ø,24ø 162%07
ø 267ø,65ø 0.08 A, 16 Pre-Andean

22 -73.18 ø 5.76 ø siltstone Paleogene 139%02ø 048%23ø 234ø,67ø 0.49 A, 10 Andean

Jurasic 162o,51oW279ø,05
ø 186ø,28
ø 018ø,61ø 0.78 B, 8 Andean
23 -72.84ø 5.90 ø conglomerate
24 -73.35 ø 5.64 ø siltstone L. Cretaceous 064ø,35øE 150ø,00
ø 060o,90ø A, 15 Andean

25 -73.33 ø 5.67 ø siltstone L. Cretaceous 043ø,30øN 130ø,00ø 040o,90ø B, 12 Andean

26 -73.27 ø 5.72 ø siltstone L. Cretaceous 030ø,40øN 124ø,00ø 034ø,90ø B, 10 Andean

27 -73.17 ø 5.78 ø sandstone Jurasic 050ø,15øN 140ø,00ø 050%90ø B, 10 Andean

28 -72.94 ø 5.98 ø sandstone E. Cretaceous 035ø,35øN 120ø,00

ø 030ø,90ø B, 8 Andean

29 -73.06 ø 5.55 ø sandstone Paleogene 029ø,34øW 305%30ø 125ø,60ø B, 8 Andean

30 -72.86 ø 5.84 ø limestone E. Cretaceous 030ø,52øW 124%00ø 034%90ø B, 12 Andean

31 72.81 ø 5.89 ø sandstone E. Cretaceous 010ø,39øE 120ø,00

ø 030ø,90ø B, 8 Andean

32 -72.78 ø 6.03 ø cataclastic Paleozoic 296o,02ø 026ø,13ø 197ø,77ø 0.35 B, 7 Andean

33 -73.18 ø 7.08 ø sandstone Cretaceous ? 092ø,12ø 199ø,54ø 354o,33ø 0.68 A, 10 Late Andean

Plio-Quaternary 302%16ø 211ø,02ø 116ø,74ø 0.69 B, 9 Andean

34a -73.12ø 7.16ø gravel
Plio-Quaternary 260%00ø 350ø,00ø 119ø,90ø 0.09 A, 15 Late Andean
34b -73.12ø 7.16ø gravel
Plio-Quaternary 263o,08
ø 117%80
ø 353ø,06ø 0.44 A, 12 Late Andean
35 -73.12ø 7.17ø gravel
Plio-Quaternary 317ø,35ø 092%45ø 209ø,24ø 0.15 B, 7 Andean
36a-73.12 ø 7.16ø gravel
Plio-Quaternary 060ø,06ø 329ø,08ø 189ø,80
ø 0.04 A, 15 Late Andean
36b -73.12ø 7.16ø gravel
Plio-Quaternary 256ø,07ø 356%56ø 161ø,33ø 0.02 A, 9 Late Andean
37 -73.12ø 7.17ø gravel
38a-73.12 ø 7.16 ø limestone Paleozoic 109ø,09
ø 351ø,72
ø 201ø,15ø 0.34 A, 11 Andean

38b-73.12 ø 7.16 ø limestone Paleozolc 245o,34ø 054%55ø 152ø,05ø 0.17 A, 8 Late Andean

39 -73.12 ø 7.17 ø limestone Paleozolc 261ø,18ø 357ø,19ø 132ø,63

ø 0.05 A, 27 Late Andean

Paleozolc 285o,21ø 069ø,65ø 190ø,13ø 0.06 A, 18 Andean

40 -73.12 ø 7.17 ø limestone
41a-73.14 ø 7.20 ø limestone Paleozo•c 137ø,17ø 011ø,63ø 233ø,21ø 0.32 A, 20 Andean

4lb-73.14 ø 7.20 ø limestone Paleozo•c 093o,04

ø 002ø,12
ø 200ø,77ø 0.29 A, 11 Late Andean

42a-73.14 ø 7.21 ø limestone Paleozmc 140ø,34ø 290ø,52ø 040ø,15ø 0.49 B, 5 Andean

42b-73.14 ø 7.21 ø limestone Paleozoic 070ø,12ø 162ø,09ø 286ø,75ø 0.26 A, 9 Late Andean

Thestress
axes
arespecified
bymeans
oftheazimuth
andthedipangle.
Thebedding
plane
isspecified
bymeans
oftheazimuth,
the
dip,and
thegeographical
quadrant
ofthedip.
Azimuths
aremeasured
clockwise
fromthenorth;
dips
aremeasured
downward
from
the
horizontal.
St,microtectonic
station;
Long,
longitude;
Lat,latitude;
Strat,
bedding
plane;
R=(o2-o3)/(ol-o3);
QF,quality
factor
forthe
stress
tensor
solution
(A,good;
B,medium;
C,poor);
NMD,number ofmicrotectonic
data
constraining
thestress
tensor
solution;
LTP,
local
tectonic
phase.
Cong.,
conglomeratic;
E.,early;
L.,late.SeeFigure
5 andAppendix
B.
810 TABOADA ET AL.' GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

Figure 6. Schematicblock diagramindicatingthe three-dimensionalgeometryand kinematicsof the oceanic

subductionsbeneaththe northernAndes.The Bucaramangaseismicitynestis indicatedby the whitestarlocatedin
the paleo-Caribbeanplate.The mainintracontinental
fault systems
andthe SouthCaribbean Marginalfault are
indicatedin white; the thrustlocatedalong the ColombianNazca trenchand the suturebetweenthe Choc6 block
(CB) andthe WesternCordilleraarealsoindicated
in white(Plate1). Faultsystemsin blackaffectthe oceanic
plates.Theoverlapzonelocatedbetween5.2øNand7øNcorresponds to a regionwhereboththeNazcaandpaleo-
Caribbeanplateare present.

Andean tectonic phase in the Bucaramanga area. This southernsegmentof the SMB fault and thrusting along the
compressionalaxis is coherent with other regional stress BoyacfiandSoapaga
faultsduringthe earlyAndean(Figure5).
indicators such as shallow focal mechanisms in the Santander The N80øE compressionaldirection is coherent with active
Massif (SM) (e.g., mechanisms
4, 8, 27, and 28, Plate 4). thrustingalongthe westernflank of the EC: the azimuthof the
Solutions34a and 36a were obtainedfrom the analysisof fault Sufirez and Salinas faults near Bucaramangais close to N-S
slip datathat werenot compatiblewith the N80øE compressive (Plate 1). The SMB fault shows several evidences of recent left-
phase.The obtainedtensorsare less well constrainedand are lateral movementin the Bucaramangasector,such as triangular
compatiblewith a NW-SE compression, which we interpretas facetsand deviationsof the drainagenetwork parallel to the fault
thetectonicregimethatprevailedduringtheearlyAndeanphase. trace; notice that recentfaulting has occurredwithin a tectonic
Stations 38-42, located in Paleozoic rocks, indicate stresstensor stressfield characterizedby a o• directionthat is sub-orthogonal
solutionswith a compressional
directionrangingfromNW-SE to to the fault. The orientationof the stresstensoraxes implies that
N70øE. Stations38, 41, and42 showthe two deformationphases the tectonic shear stressalong the main fault is low. This
mentioned
previously.Solutions38a, 41a, and42a indicatean observationsuggeststhat the mechanicalbehaviorof the SMB
averageNW-SE strike-slipregime,whichwe interpretas early fault duringthe late Andeanphasemighthavecorresponded to a
Andean. Solutions38b, 39, 4lb, and 42b indicate an average weakfault (characterizedby a low frictionvalue).
N80øE uniaxial compression.Station 40 shows a uniaxial Thesestressresultsare globallycoherentwith the NeogeneE-
compression orientedN105øE,whichis intermediatebetweenthe SE convergence betweenthePCPandNWSA. Nevertheless, they
two tectonicphasesdeterminedin otherstations. should be completed by more measurementsof stress and
The occurrenceof two tectonicphasesin the Bucaramanga kinematicindicators,in particular,in areaswhereinformationis
zonecan be relatedto the migrationof tectonicdeformationin lacking(e.g.,SM andMagdalena valley)andin complexareas
the EC during the Andeanphase.The NW-SE compressional suchasthe southernterminationof the SMB fault and the Bogotfi
direction is coherent with left-lateral movement along the zone.
 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES 811

6. Conclusions westernfoothillsof the EC and with faulting in the Centraland

WesternCordillerasnorthof Buenaventura. Our resultssuggest
The complex geodynamics of the northern Andes is
that the northernEasternCordilleraresultsfrom shorteningof a
characterized
by the subduction
of the PCP and the Nazcaplate thinned and weakenedcontinentallithospherelinked to active
beneath NWSA. The block diagram in Figure 6 indicatesthe
subduction
of thePCPbeneaththerange(theoceanicslabstrikes
hypotheticalgeometryand kinematicsof the subductingoceanic N30øE and dips between30ø and 60ø toward the craton). Two
plates;the main geodynamic
featuresare the following:(1) A regionalcrosssectionsfrom the Magdalenavalley throughthe
shallow ~N-NE trendingsubductionof the PCP, northwardof
EasternCordillerato the LlanosBasin(acrossthe Tunja and
5.2øN to 5.5øN. The PCP possibly plunges into the mantle Bucaramanga
areas)supportthis interpretation.
The subduction
beneaththe EC and the Maracaibo block to a depth of around zone shows a dominant reverse movement coherent with N-NE
1000 km. A tear fault may exist in the PCP along the San trendingthrustsand folds observedin the crust (Plate 1). Total
Sebastian-El
Pilaf fault systemin Venezuela.(2) A moderately
shorteningin this areaduringCenozoiccompressional
eventsis
steep-N-S trendingsubductionof the Nazca plate southwardof -120 km.
7øN.The NazcaplateplungesintothemantlebeneaththeCC and Stress tensor determinationsfrom fault slip data in the
possiblyoverturnsin the lowermantle.The northernboundaryof
northern segment of the EC are in agreement with an
the plate is transpressive
and subduceslocallybeneathPanama.
homogeneousE-SE compressiveregime during the Andean
(3) An overlapregionbetweenthe PCP and the Nazcaplate,
between 5.2øN and 7øN.
tectonicphase.ResultsaroundBucaramanga, wheretwo major
fault systemsconverge(SMB and Sufirezfaults),indicatea late
The interaction between the two subductingplates in the
AndeanN80øEuniaxialcompression whichis suborthogonal to
overlapregioncreatesactivefaultingin bothslabs.The eastward
the SMB fault.A changeof orientation
of stressdirectionsmay
movement of the Nazca plate "pushes"the PCP, creating be found along the EC. Namely, southwardof Villavicencio,
deformationalongroughlyE-W trendingfault zonesthat bound
foldingand faultingare compatiblewith a principalstresso2
the overlapregion:
oriented in the EW direction (e.g., Macarena range).
1. Intermediate seismicity distribution beneath the EC
Nevertheless,o• rotatesand takesan E-SE directionnorthwardof
suggeststhe existenceof a major right-lateraltransformshear
the Algecirasfault.The stressresultsobtainedin theEC may be
zone located at around 5.2øN, with azimuth between N90øE and
incorporatedin mechanicalmodelsof the stressfield in NWSA
N100øE. This fault alignsitself with the southernterminationof
[e.g.,Meijer, 1995].
the Baud6Rangeand may be considered as the southernlimit of
The Maracaibotriangularblock is boundedby the SMB and
the PCP. The southernlimit of the Coiba microplate,locatedat
Oca-Anc6nconjugatestrike-slipfault systems
andby theAndes
around5.5øN,is alsoalignedwith this transformshearzoneand
de M6rida range.Compressionaldeformationin the Andes de
shows active left-lateral movement.
M6rida, the Perijfirange,and the SierraNevadade SantaMarta is
2. The Bucaramanga seismicitynestlocatedin the PCP at a
also coherent with E-SE convergencebetween the PCP and
depth of 150 km (at 6.8øN, 73øW) may correspondto an
NWSA. The Maracaibo block exhibits right-lateral movement
inflexionzoneor a "hinge"zonein the oceanicslab.
Intracontinental deformation in the northern Andes results
alongthe Bocon6fault, which is locatedalongthe axial zoneof
the Andesde M•rida and trendsN50øE. Shorteningand lateral
from obliqueconvergencebetweentheoceanicslabsandNWSA.
expulsionof the Maracaiboblockare drivenby E-SE movement
The transpressivetectonicphasesobservedin the Colombian
of the PCP and by convergenceof the previously mentioned
Cordillerasmaybe linkedto (1) the accretion/collision
episodes
continental wedge. Intracontinentalsubduction beneath the
that occurredalong the active margin of NWSA during the
Andesde M•rida range[Collettaet al., 1997] mightalsoresult
Cenozoic; (2) the NE to E-NE trending motion between the
from shortening of thinned and weakened continental
oceanicslabs(Farallonand PCP) and the Cordillerasduring the
lithosphere,
linkedto theindentationof the Maracaiboblock,and
Paleogene;and (3) the E-W convergence betweenthe Nazca
shoulddisplaya right-lateralcomponent.
plate and NWSA and the E-SE convergence betweenthe PCP
and NWSA, duringNeogene.
Neogeneintracontinentaldeformationnorthwardof 5øN is Acknowledgments.
The authors
aregratefulto G. Paris,H. Vergara,
mainly influencedby the E-SE convergence betweenthe PCP C. Ulloa, G.C. Renzoni,C. Dimat6,A. Sarria,J.P. Soulas,E. Castro,J.
and NWSA. The IDZ and the Ibagu6 right-lateralfault zone in Romero,G. Camargo,
G. Fajardo,J. Zfifiiga,E. Carrillo,J. Clavijo,and
geologistsof INGEOMINAS, Ecopetrol,and Carder, with whom we
the southand the SantaMarta-Bucaramanga (SMB) left-lateral sharedfield tripsanddiscussions
on Andeantectonics
in the past10
fault to the noaheast are the boundaries of a deformable years.We would like to thank H. Salamanca,N. Prada,W. Ruiz, J.
continentalwedgethat is movingtowardthe E-SE. This block Escall6n,and C. Montoya of the Universidadde Los Andes,and A.
seemsto be draggedby the PCP locatedbeneath.Progressive Delplanqueof the Universit6de Montpellier,for technicalhelp.We are
also grateful to M. Mattauer, A. Chemenda,J. Ritz, J. Malavieille, M.
movementof the wedgeis absorbedalongreversefaultslocated
S6ranne,S. Lallemand,J.M. Dautria, and Y. Branquetfor discussions
in the foothills of the three Cordillerasand, in particular,in the
and observationson the manuscript,and to M.A. Gutscherfor comments
EC. Noticethatthe Garrapatas andIbagu6"enechelon"faultsare
on the manuscriptand for correctingthe English.Reviewer'scomments
relativeto thePCPshearzonelocated greatly improvedthe manuscript.This work was supportedby the
slightlyshiftedsouthward
at 5.2øN (Plate 1). Universidadde LosAndes(Bogotfi), theInstitutode Investigaciones
en
Geociencias,
Mineriay Quimica(Bogotfi),the EcopetrolExploration
Crustalseismicityin the ColombianAndesis well correlated Division (Bogotfi),the Universit6de MontpellierII (UMR 5573), the
with the main tectonic features observed at the surface, in Institutde Physiquedu Globe de Strasbourg,and the California Institute
particular,
withactivefaultsystems
situated
alongtheeastern
and of Technology(DivisionContribution 8715).
812 TABOADA ET AL.: GEODYNAMICS OF THE NORTHERN ANDES

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