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lvarez
a
, Marcio Martins Pimentel
b
a
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Minas, A.A. 1027 Medelln-Colombia, Colombia
b
Instituto de Geociencias, Universidade de Braslia, CEP: 70910-900 Brasilia, D.F., Brazil
Received 1 October 2004; accepted 1 March 2006
Abstract
Under the atlands east of the Andes, the crustal basement is exposed in a few places, composed mainly of the Mitu migmatitic com-
plex and the Parguaza granite, whose ages range between 1.78 and 1.45 Ga. Extensive outcrops of high-grade metamorphic rocks are
found in several places. Two metamorphisms are dated between 1.21.1 and 1.00.9 Ga. They are considered blocks that formed during
the Grenville orogeny and have SmNd T
DM
model ages of 1.871.47. The Andaqu terrane is formed mainly by the Garzo n Massif,
composed of granulites, migmatites, and granites, and the metamorphic rocks of the Sierra de la Macarena, which are covered by unde-
formed Cambrian sediments. It is believed that after the Grenville orogeny, this unit remained attached to the Amazonic Craton. All the
other areas grouped in the Chibcha terrane, though they formed during the Grenville orogeny, are believed to have remained either as
part of another continental block or dispersed islands to be amalgamated to the Amazonic Craton during the Lower Paleozoic orogeny,
which in the Quetame Massif is dated between the Silurian and Devonian and is named the Quetame orogenic event.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Colombian Andes; Grenville orogeny; Quetame event
1. Introduction
The Colombian Andes are divided into three main
branches, known as the Eastern, Central, and Western
cordilleras, and include minor orographic systems such as
the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serran a de
Baudo . There is not a complete coincidence between the
geology and the orography, because the Colombian Andes
are composed of allochtonous terranes accreted to the
Amazonian Craton (Restrepo and Toussaint, 1988; Tous-
saint, 1993; Toussaint and Restrepo, 1994, 1996). The East-
ern Cordillera, the eastern ank of the Central Cordillera,
and parts of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the
Guajira Peninsula constitute the Chibcha terrane, whereas
the western ank of the Central Cordillera and the NW
part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta constitute the
Taham terrane. These two terranes are composed of con-
tinental crust. The Western Cordillera and Serran a de
Baudo are composed of oceanic crust and are grouped in
the Calima, Cuna and Gorgona terranes, respectively.
The Andaqu terrane lies between the Amazonian Craton
and the Chibcha terrane (Fig. 1).
The geological history of current Colombian territory
can be traced back to the Paleoproterozoic, with the gener-
ation of approximately 1.8 Ga old rock units presently
exposed in easternmost Colombia, along the borders with
Brazil and Venezuela. The last important tectonic event
was the collision of the Panama-Baudo arc during the late
Cenozoic. Aleman and Ramos (2000) provide a brief
review of the geological history of the northern part of
the Andes (Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela) in the past
2.0 Ga, and Ramos and Aleman (2000) provide greater
understanding of the Andean orogeny.
During the Proterozoic and Paleozoic, evolution was
related to a Wilson cycle, with continental collisions at
0895-9811/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2006.07.005
*
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: oswaldo.geologo@gmail.com (O. Ordo n ez-Carmona).
www.elsevier.com/locate/jsames
Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 372382
approximately 1000, 380(?), and 270 Ma, followed by the
subsequent opening of oceanic basins. During the Mesozo-
ic and Cenozoic, the regime changed to a North Andean
type of orogen, characterized by the accretion of oceanic
terranes. The collision of the Panama-Baudo block during
the late Cenozoic produced the nal uplift of the Colombi-
an Andes.
In this work, a review of the geochronological and iso-
topic data of the pre-Devonian basement of the Colombian
Andes is developed and complemented by recent data. A
model of the geodynamic evolution of the area between
the Mesoproterozoic and the Silurian is presented.
2. Isotopic data and analytical methods
Sr, Sm, and Nd isotopic analyses were performed at the
Geochronology Laboratory of the University of Brasilia,
using standard ion-exchange chromatography for the sepa-
ration of Sr, Sm, and Nd with a multicollector Finnigan
MAT-262 mass spectrometer. Sm and Nd concentrations
were obtained by isotope dilution using a mixed
149
Sm
150
Nd spike. Sr and Nd isotopic ratios were correct-
ed for mass fractionation to
86
Sr/
88
Sr = 0.1194 and
146
Nd/
144
Nd = 0.7219. Two sigma uncertainties for the
87
Sr/
86
Sr and
143
Nd/
144
Nd ratios are smaller than 0.01%
and 0.005%, respectively.
Decay constants used are those recommended by Steiger
and Jager (1977), and ages are reported at the 95% con-
dence interval. Analysis of the NBS-987 Sr standard gives
values between 0.71024 and 0.71029, and the La Jolla Nd
standard yields values between 0.511828 and 0.511842 dur-
ing the period when the analyses were performed. Isochron
ages were calculated using Ex-Isoplot program 2.05 version
(Ludwig, 1999).
3. Precambrian basement
The Precambrian rocks in Colombia are exposed in
two main regions (Figs. 1 and 2): (1) as the sialic base-
ment of the Chibcha terrain in the Andes and (2) in
the eastern atlands, comprising part of the Amazonian
Craton.
Fig. 1. Suspect terrains of Colombia (modied from Toussaint and Restrepo, 1994, 1996).
O. Ordo nez-Carmona et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 372382 373
3.1. Eastern atlands
The western/northwestern part of the Amazonic Craton
forms the basement of the atlands (Llanos) east of the
Colombian Andes. Most of it is covered by Tertiary sedi-
mentary rocks, though to the east, close to the borders with
Venezuela and Brazil, some outcrops of Precambrian rocks
appear. In the border region between Colombia, Venezue-
la, and Brazil, these metamorphic rocks are included in the
Mitu migmatitic complex (Fig. 1), which comprises mainly
biotite gneisses and migmatites of sedimentary origin with
low-pressure mineral assemblages that normally include
andalusite and cordierite. The sequence is closely associat-
ed with granitoids that likely correspond to anatectic mag-
mas. Descriptions of these poorly studied rocks appear in
Galvis et al. (1979) and Bruneton et al. (1983).
Gneisses and granites yield RbSr isochron ages ranging
between 1780 and 1450 Ma (Priem et al., 1982), interpreted
as reecting the formation of a metamorphic basement at
approximately 1780 Ma superimposed by a magmatic
event at approximately 1450 Ma. One UPb zircon date
indicates an age of 1480 Ma (Priem et al., 1982), and vari-
ous ages between 1447 and 1215 Ma were obtained by K
Ar and RbSr methods in mineral separates (hornblende,
biotite, and muscovite).
The Parguaza granite, a body with a rapakivi texture
that seems to intrude the Mitu Complex, has a UPb zircon
age of 1545 20 Ma and a RbSr whole-rock isochron age
Fig. 2. Simplied geological map of the Colombian Andes (after Toussaint, 1993).
374 O. Ordo nez-Carmona et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 372382
of 1499 39 Ma (Gaudett et al., 1978). These rocks are
part of the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Rio Negro-Juruena
province that evolved in a magmatic-arc environment
between 1.8 and 1.55 Ga (Tassinari, 1984; Teixeira et al.,
1989; Tassinari et al., 1996).
3.2. Garzo n Massif
Extensive outcrops of high-grade metamorphic rocks
are exposed in the Garzo n Massif. Although this zone is
geographically part of the Eastern Cordillera, it is dis-
cussed in this section because it includes metamorphic rock
units east of the Andes (Figs. 1 and 2).
Two main units are recognized, one formed by the Gua-
poto n and Mancagua granitic augen gneisses in the west
and the other, the Garzo n Group, consisting of granulite
facies rocks, including charnockites, enderbites, migma-
tites, mac granulites, pyroxene amphibolites, and ultra-
mac rocks (A