Andrea Belén Tonato

Raspas Complex

Raspas is a metamorphic complex located at the southwest of Ecuador. It is formed by high

pressure mafic, ultramafic and sedimentary rocks. This complex has an oceanic origin, and
it is the only known eclogite occurrence in the Andes. According to Lu – Hf dating, it is
possible to say that blue schist, a metapelite, and an eclogite overlap at around 130 Ma and
date high-pressure garnet growth. The Raspas Complex belongs to the set of various
metamorphic terranes into the “El Oro Metamorphic Complex”. Some studies have
interpreted the terranes as a tectonic me´lange whose elements were juxtaposed either in the
late Jurassic to early Cretaceous within the deeper part of an accretionary prism (Aspden et
al. 1995) or in the Cretaceous (or later) during exhumation. In addition, Peak metamorphic
conditions in the eclogites reached 1.8 GPa at 600_C, corresponding to a maximum burial
depth of *60 km.

Reference

John, T., Scherer, E. E., Schenk, V., Herms, P., Halama, R., & Garbe-Schönberg, D.
(2010). Subducted seamounts in an eclogite-facies ophiolite sequence: the Andean Raspas
Complex, SW Ecuador. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 159(2), 265-284.