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The Quebradagrande Complex: A Lower Cretaceous ensialic marginal basin in

the Central Cordillera of the Colombian Andes

Article  in  Journal of South American Earth Sciences · January 2006

DOI: 10.1016/j.jsames.2006.07.002

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 Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436
www.elsevier.com/locate/jsames

The Quebradagrande Complex: A Lower Cretaceous ensialic

marginal basin in the Central Cordillera of the Colombian Andes
a,*
Alvaro Nivia , Giselle F. Marriner b, Andrew C. Kerr c, John Tarney d

a
Instituto Colombiano de Geologı́a y Minerı́a – INGEOMINAS, Unidad Operativa Cali, A.A. 9724, Cali, Colombia
b
Department of Geology, Royal Halloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
c
School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF1 3YE, UK
d
University of Leicester, Department of Geology, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK

Received 1 October 2004; accepted 1 January 2006

Abstract

The Quebradagrande Complex of Western Colombia consists of volcanic and Albian–Aptian sedimentary rocks of oceanic affinity
and outcrops in a highly deformed zone where spatial relationships are difficult to unravel. Berriasian–Aptian sediments that display
continental to shallow marine sedimentary facies and mafic and ultramafic plutonic rocks are associated with the Quebradagrande Com-
plex. Geochemically, the basalts and andesites of the Quebradagrande Complex mostly display calc-alkaline affinities, are enriched in
large-ion lithophile elements relative to high field strength elements, and thus are typical of volcanic rocks generated in supra-subduction
zone mantle wedges. The Quebradagrande Complex parallels the western margin of the Colombian Andes’ Central Cordillera, forming a
narrow, discontinuous strip fault-bounded on both sides by metamorphic rocks. The age of the metamorphic rocks east of the Quebra-
dagrande Complex is well established as Neoproterozoic. However, the age of the metamorphics to the west – the Arquı́a Complex – is
poorly constrained; they may have formed during either the Neoproterozoic or Lower Cretaceous. A Neoproterozoic age for the Arquı́a
Complex is favored by both its close proximity to sedimentary rocks mapped as Paleozoic and its intrusion by Triassic plutons. Thus, the
Quebradagrande Complex could represent an intracratonic marginal basin produced by spreading-subsidence, where the progressive
thinning of the lithosphere generated gradually deeper sedimentary environments, eventually resulting in the generation of oceanic crust.
This phenomenon was common in the Peruvian and Chilean Andes during the Uppermost Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous. The marginal
basin was trapped during the collision of the Caribbean–Colombian Cretaceous oceanic plateau, which accreted west of the Arquı́a Com-
plex in the Early Eocene. Differences in the geochemical characteristics of basalts of the oceanic plateau and those of the Quebradagrande
Complex indicate these units were generated in very different tectonic settings.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Continental active margin; Back arc basin; Extensional tectonics; Ophiolitic complexes

1. Introduction based magmatic arcs. Throughout the Mesozoic and prob-

A characteristic feature of many convergent plate mar-
gins, especially those affected by the subduction of old,
dense, oceanic lithosphere, is the development of backarc
basins resulting from extensional tectonics (Molnar and
Atwater, 1978; Tarney et al., 1981; Saunders and Tarney,
1982). Such basins commonly occur in intra-oceanic set-
tings, but examples also are associated with continental-
*
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: anivia@ingeominas.gov.co (A. Nivia).
ably much of the Paleozoic, the western side of South
America and the Antarctic Peninsula formed a semicontin-
uous magmatic arc along the margin of Gondwana, where
the formation of volcanic arcs and marginal basins clearly
played an important evolutionary role (Dalziel et al., 1974;
Dalziel, 1981; Atherton et al., 1983; Saunders and Tarney,
1984; Miller et al., 1994). During the Uppermost Jurassic–
Lower Cretaceous, the continental margin was on the brink
of splitting from the continent, and basin formation with
the eruption of mantle-derived basalts was an outstanding
feature. A rosary of N–S-elongated, ensialic marginal

0895-9811/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2006.07.002
424 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436

basins of Tithonian to Albian age from Cape Horn and
South Georgia Island to southwestern Mexico – the latter
continuous with South America in most Triassic–Jurassic
Pangea reconstructions (Coney and Evenchick, 1994) –
remain as scars of a generalized extensional episode.
In Colombia, a sequence of pillow lavas, diabases, and
associated volcaniclastic materials, the Diabase and Dagua
groups (Nelson, 1957; Barrero, 1979) is postulated to con-
tinue this belt of marginal basins northward (Åberg et al.,
1984; Aguirre, 1987; Aguirre and Atherton, 1987). Howev-
er, these materials correspond to younger (Upper Creta-
ceous) accreted terranes of oceanic plateau affinity
(Millward et al., 1984; Nivia, 1987; Kerr et al., 1996,
1997a,b, 2001). The missing link in the chain of marginal
basins along the Northern Andes, according to the geo-
chemical results we present herein, is represented by the
Quebradagrande Complex that outcrops east of the accret-
ed plateau in a more ensialic position and has been errone-
ously considered part of the latter (Bourgois et al., 1982,
1985, 1987; Toussaint and Restrepo, 1993; Kammer,
1995; Kammer and Mojica, 1996).
2. Regional geology and stratigraphic nomenclature
On the western flank of the Central Cordillera of the
Colombian Andes, a sequence of intermediate to basic vol-
canic and sedimentary rocks of lower Cretaceous age
appears. In northern Colombia, this sequence was originally

78 oW 76 o W
.

Atlantic
Ocean
PANAMA 0º

SOUTH AMERICA

Pacific 20ºS
Ocean

AN1416 40ºS

AN1417
80ºW 60ºW 40ºW

Medellín
6 oN

AN1419

QBG95-2
QBG95-3

QBG95-7
3 QBG95-10
Manizales QBG95-11
2
1

PACIFIC Armenia
OCEAN AN1412
AN1410

4 oN
AN1410A LEGEND

Cenozoic rocks and deposits

Cali Western Lithospheric Oceanic

Cretaceous Province

3
Quebradagrande Complex - QGC

Popayán Triassic plutons

Arquía Complex
2 oN 2

Cajamarca Complex
AN1425
AN1426 MAIN STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
1
1 San Jerónimo Fault
Pasto 2 Silvia-Pijao Fault
0 50 100 Km 3 Cauca-Almaguer Fault
ECUADOR

Fig. 1. Geological sketch map of western Colombia to show the distribution, spatial relationships of the Lower Cretaceous Quebradagrande Complex,
and location of samples listed in Table 2.
 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436
described as the Quebradagrande Formation (Botero,
1963). Although regionally exposed (Fig. 1), it is covered
in places by recent volcanic and volcanoclastic deposits that
make correlations difficult. Parts of this sequence have been
mapped as the Aranzazu-Manizales sedimentary Complex
(Gómez et al., 1995) and the Aranzazu-Manizales metasedi-
mentary volcanic Complex (Mosquera, 1978); in other loca-
tions, it was mapped (Paris and Marı́n, 1979) within the
Diabase Group (Nelson, 1957, 1962). The Quebradagrande
rocks consist of imbricated slices of strongly deformed
dynamometamorphic rocks, with crenulation cleavage and
Andean milonitic foliation that bears NNE and dips 50–
70° to the east (Lozano et al., 1984a; Kammer, 1995; Gómez
et al., 1995). Deformation in these rocks has caused them to
be described erroneously as schists and included within the
Cajamarca belt of metamorphic rocks (Nelson, 1957, 1962;
Mosquera, 1978). Moreover, deformation has prevented
the identification of sedimentary sequences within the
Quebradagrande rocks (Rodrı́guez and Rojas, 1985);
though they were originally defined as a formation with dis-
tinct sedimentary and volcanic members, these lithostrati-
graphic units lack precisely defined limits.
To solve the problem of stratigraphic nomenclature
caused by the deformation of the Quebradagrande rocks,
Maya and Gonzalez (1996) propose a stratigraphic scheme
based on lithodemic units (North American Commission on
Stratigraphic Nomenclature, 1983). They assign the rank of
structural complexes to the former Cajamarca, Quebrada-
grande, and Arquı́a units (Table 1). Because the names of
the regional faults that bound these complexes also vary
along their length, new names for the faults have been pro-
posed. Thus, the fault separating the Cajamarca Complex
to the east and the Quebradagrande Complex to the west
has become known as the San Jerónimo fault, whereas that
which separates the Quebradagrande Complex to the east
and the Arquı́a Complex to the west is called the Silvia–
Pijao fault (Fig. 1, Table 1). Another important fault is
the Cauca–Almaguer fault that bounds the Arquı́a Com-
plex to the west and, according to some petrogenetic models
(McCourt et al., 1984; Aspden and McCourt, 1986; Aspden
et al., 1987), marks the limit between Palaeozoic metamor-
phic rocks of continental affinity and Cretaceous accreted
terranes of oceanic character. The latter include the Cañas-
gordas, Diabase, and Dagua groups, the Amaime and Vol-
canic formations, and so forth. For these, Nivia (1997) uses
the term ‘‘Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Prov-
ince’’ (Fig. 1, Table 1), which corresponds to the southern
extreme of the Caribbean–Colombian Cretaceous Igneous
Province (Kerr et al., 1996, 1997a,b) that has been accreted
onto the Northern Andes.
The Quebradagrande Complex is composed of an
assemblage of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks.
The protoliths of the metavolcanic rocks were basaltic to
andesitic lavas and pyroclastics affected by the metamor-
phism of zeolite, prhenite–pumpellyite, and greenschist
facies. The metasedimentary rocks display a wide variation
in grain size, from breccias and conglomerates to coarse
425
sandstones with clasts of cobbles and pebbles of both vol-
canic rocks and chert (Gómez et al., 1995). The presence of
these rocks suggests underwater volcanoclastic sedimenta-
tion produced by mass movements. The metasedimentary
horizons also contain lithic sandstones and volcanoclastic
arkoses. In the lithic sandstones, González (1980a) reports
basic volcanic rock fragments as the main components,
with smaller quantities of mudstones and chert fragments,
whereas the clastic arkoses are dominated by plagioclase.
Lozano et al. (1984b) report black and grey graphitic meta-
greywackes. Milonite slices, up to 1 km thick, formed from
clay-rich carbonaceous mudstones, intercalated with thin
beds of limestone and cherts (González, 1980a).
Marine fossils found in these metasedimentary rocks
include ammonites, gastropods, bivalves, radiolarians, bra-
chiopods, and residues of plants (Gómez et al., 1995).
According to González (1980a), faunas within the Quebra-
dagrande Complex would have lived in epineritic to brackish
waters. However, González (1980a) interprets these rocks as
part of a turbiditic sequence, whereas Lozano et al. (1984a),
on the basis of the lack of maturity of the sedimentary com-
ponents, suggest they accumulated in deep trenches. The fos-
sils range in age from Valanginian to Albian (140–97 Ma)
(González, 1980a; Gómez et al., 1995). Toussaint and Rest-
repo (1978) report a K–Ar (whole-rock) age of 105 ± 10 Ma
from a basalt of the Quebradagrande Complex. Although
K–Ar dating is notoriously unreliable in volcanic rocks as
altered as those of the Quebradagrande Complex, the age
reported by Toussaint and Restrepo (1978) nonetheless
agrees well with paleontological ages.
Areno-rudaceous clastic sequences also are associated
with the Quebradagrande Complex. In northern Colombia,
these rocks are known as the Abejorral (Bürgl and Radelli,
1962), Valle Alto (González, 1980a), and La Soledad (Hall
et al., 1972) formations; to the south, they are known as the
San Francisco (Orrego et al., 1976) and Rojiza (Orrego,
1993) sedimentary sequences (Table 1). The stratigraphic
relationships among these units are difficult to establish,
but their discordant deposition on top of the Cajamarca
Complex and general transgressive character have been
described in several localities (Bürgl and Radelli, 1962; Hall
et al., 1972; González, 1980a). Within the Valle Alto and
Abejorral formations, Rodrı́guez and Rojas (1985) recog-
nize sedimentary facies that vary with time from continen-
tal to offshore marine to brackish, marine-brackish, and
littoral-marine. The fossils in these rocks indicate they
are not older than Berriasian–middle Albian (Etayo, 1985).
Imbricated slices of gabbro and ultramafic rocks are
closely associated with the Quebradagrande Complex in
several localities and often show the same degree of defor-
mation. The most studied outcrops are the Liborina and
Sucre peridotites, the Pereira gabbro, the Pacora and Cor-
doba complexes, and a series of small bodies mapped as the
Romeral gabbros (Calle et al., 1980; González, 1980b,c;
Mejı́a et al., 1983a,b). Toussaint and Restrepo (1974)
group some of these intrusive rocks and volcanic rocks of
the Quebradagrande Complex within the Cauca ophiolitic
 426
Table 1
Stratigraphic units of western Colombia
Western Oceanic Arquia Complex Quebradagrande Complex Cajamarca Complex

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436

Cretaceous Lithospheric
Province
(Upper Cretaceous) Cauca–Almaguer (Neoproterozoic - ?) Silvia–Pijao (Berriasian to middle Albian) San Jeronimo (Neoproterozoic)
Fault Fault Fault
N Marine sediments Areno-rudaceous clastic sequences
Penderisco Fm.: Abejorral Fm. Cajamarca Series
Urrao Member Valle Alto Fm. Cajamarca Group
Nutibara Member La Soledad Fm.
Dagua Group: San Francisco sed. sequence
Cisneros Fm. Rojiza sedimentary sequence
Espinal Fm.
Rio Piedras Fm.
Ampudia Fm.
Marilopito Fm.
Aguaclara Fm.
S
N
Plateau volcanics Mainly meta-volcanics and meta-sediments Lavas and pyroclastics
Barroso Fm. Arquia Group Quebradagrande Fm.
Diabase Group Bugalagrande Schists Aranzazu-Manizales
(meta)-Sedimentary Complex
Amaime Fm. La Mina Greenschists
S
Volcanic Fm.
Mafic-ultramafic rocks Metamorphic basic plutonics Mafic- ultramafic rocks
N Bolivar Ultramafic Complex Rosario Amphibolites Liborina peridotite
Ginebra Ophiolitic Massif Bolo Azul Metagabbroids Sucre peridotite
San Antonio Amphibolites Pacora Complex
and Metagabbroids
Romeral Gabbros
S
Pereira gabbro
 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436 427

Complex and suggest a possible cogenetic relationship
between them (see also González, 1980a).
3. Geochemistry
3.1. Sampling localities
The volcanic rocks of the Quebradagrande Complex
were sampled on a regional basis (Fig. 1) between latitudes
6°35 0 N (Santa Fé de Antioquia) and 1°45 0 N (El Rosal–
Cauca). Sampling was performed along main roads that
cut the Quebradagrande Complex outcrop areas, such as
Santa Fé de Antioquia–Planadas (6°35’ N), Medellı́n–Ebéj-
ico (6°22 0 N), Itagüı́–Heliconia (6°13 0 N), Fredonia–Santa
Barbara (5°55 0 N), Arma–Aguadas (5°37 0 N), Aguadas–
Pacora (5°35 0 N), Pacora–San Bartolome (5°33 0 N), Pac-
ora–Salamina (5°27 0 N), Salamina–La Merced (5°24 0 N),
Armenia–Cajamarca (4°30 0 N), Pijao–Cordoba (4°20 0 N),
and Bolı́var–El Rosal (1°45 0 N).
as Th. The scatter of the Quebradagrande Complex sam-
ples on a variation diagram (Fig. 2) suggests that the alkalis
have been relatively mobile in the rocks, which might have
displaced some samples to the mugearite field in the total
alkali-silica diagram (Fig. 3). Similarly, the only sample
that contains greater than 62 wt% SiO2 is petrographically
identical to the andesites but looks far more altered in thin
section. It is generally considered that large-ion lithophile
elements (LILE), such as K, Ba, Sr, and Rb, are relatively
more mobile during low-grade metamorphism than high
field strength elements (HFSE), such as Ti, P, Nb, Y, Zr,
and rare earth elements (REE) (Wood et al., 1979; Pearce,
1983). Consequently, we place more emphasis on the geo-
chemical behavior of the relatively immobile, trace HFSE.
Five samples that show petrographical evidence of alter-
ation and scatter on variation diagrams that include the

3.2. Analytical methods

Twenty-six samples from the Quebradagrande Complex

were analyzed for major and trace elements at the geo-
chemistry laboratories of Royal Halloway University of
London and University of Leicester. Samples were broken
into chips using manual and hydraulic jaw splinters to
remove weathered surfaces and thin veins of altered mate-
rial. The samples were further crushed using a flypress of a
steel die and shoe. Some 150 g of the coarse material was
ground into a fine powder (<240 mesh) in an agate tema
swing mill. Pressed pellets were made from the fine powders
by adding 15–20 drops of an aqueous solution of polyvinyl Fig. 2. Th versus K2O diagram for Quebradagrande Complex volcanic
alcohol (Mowiol) al 15 tonnes/in.2 pressure in a steel die. rocks. Solid triangles, Group 1; stars, Group 2; solid circles, Group 3;
These pellets were analyzed for trace elements on Phillips solid diamonds, Group 4.
PW1400 X-ray spectrometers using Rh and W radiations.
Major elements were analyzed on the same spectrome-
ters using fusion discs for which the samples were prepared
according to the technique of Marsh et al. (1980). The fine
powder was ignited at 950 °C, then mixed with a flux of
lithium metaborate/lithium tetraborate (Johnson Mattey
Spectroflux 100B) at a 1:5 ratio. After fusion at 1250 °C,
the melt was pressed into an aluminium mould. The discs
were transferred to heated insulating blocks for annealing
at 200 °C overnight and kept in polypropylene bags.

3.3. Alteration

Given the altered nature of the rocks (by ocean floor

hydrothermal fluids and/or dynamic metamorphism), the
subsolidus mobility of the elements must be established
before any petrological inferences can be made from their
composition. Silica and alkalis (Na2O, K2O, Rb, and Ba)
are notoriously mobile during ocean floor metamorphism
Fig. 3. Total alkali versus silica diagram (Le Bas et al., 1986) for
(Stern and Elthon, 1979). The extent of mobility of the Quebradagrande volcanic rocks. Symbols as in Fig. 2. Shaded field defined
alkalis in relation to other less mobile elements can be by 186 samples of volcanic rocks from the Western Oceanic Cretaceous
ascertained by plotting a relatively immobile element such Lithospheric Province (Nivia, 1987; Kerr et al., 1997a,b).
428 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436

latter elements were discarded for geochemical
considerations.
3.4. Major and trace element geochemistry
Representative major and trace elements analysis of the
Quebradagrande Complex samples appear in Table 2. Ana-
lyzed samples were separated into four groups on the basis
of their trace element characteristics. On a total alkali-silica
diagram (Le Bas et al., 1986), most samples plot in the
basaltic andesite field, but some also fall in the basalt,
mugearite, and andesite fields (SiO2 = 48.25–61.7 wt%),
and one sample is a dacite (Fig. 3) whose SiO2 content
(66.35 wt%) might be modified by alteration, as indicated
previously. The diagram suggests the field defined by 186
samples from the Amaime and Volcanic formations of
the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province
reported by Nivia (1987) and Kerr et al. (1997b, 2001).
Compared with these samples, the Quebradagrande Com-
plex rocks display a greater range in SiO2 contents.
In an AFM diagram (Fig. 4), the Quebradagrande Com-
plex samples straddle the tholeiitic–calk-alkaline boundary;
most follow a calk-alkaline differentiation trend, but some
evolved along a tholeiitic trend, as indicated by iron enrich-
ment. The field defined by the samples from the Western Oce-
anic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province also indicates a
difference in the geochemical evolution of the two provinces.
In a variation diagram including Ti (Fig. 5), the higher degree
of differentiation compared with the field defined by the Wes-
tern Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province’s samples
contrast with the low TiO2 (1.3–0.42 wt%) concentration,
which shows that the Quebradagrande Complex samples
are not differentiated components of tholeiitic mid-ocean
ridge or plateau series, which show higher Ti contents.
Fig. 6 shows primordial mantle-normalized multielement
diagrams (Sun and McDonough, 1989) for representative

Table 2
Representative XRF analyses of Quebradagrande Complex volcanic rocks
Sample QBG95-1 QBG95-3 AN1410A AN1425 AN1426 AN1409 AN1414 AN1412 AN1416
SiO2 52.03 52.48 49.29 53.54 48.25 57.64 61.72 52.04 54.11
Al2O3 20.77 17.11 19.59 16.8 18.42 16 16.53 15.67 18.13
Fe2O3a 9.33 11.52 13.07 11.7 13.16 11.91 7.76 8.01 10.07
MgO 3.33 5.13 7.16 7.93 7.97 5.22 2.77 10.54 4.02
CaO 10.83 8.57 8.33 7.31 9.79 2.07 6.06 9.73 9.15
Na2O 2.96 3.04 0.74 1.33 1.02 4.08 3.26 2.01 2.49
K2O 0.3 1.29 0.38 0.4 0.35 1.46 0.7 0.39 0.81
TiO2 0.66 0.78 1.05 0.6 0.74 0.96 0.82 1.03 0.85
MnO 0.18 0.16 0.08 0.14 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.13 0.21
P2O5 0.29 0.25 0.1 0.08 0.08 0.14 0.16 0.14 0.12
Total 100.67 100.34 99.94 100.02 100.12 99.94 100.07 100.01 100.14
LOI% 4.38 3.2 4.54 2.14 6.2 3.11 2.26 3.93 2.42
Trace elements in ppm
Ni 1.9 2.2 18.5 28.9 21.1 3.1 4.9 295.1 7.2
Cr 8 23.4 35.4 39.2 28.8 4 5.8 851.8 13.7
V 210.4 336 399.5 315.5 398 266.5 214 239.5 271
Sc 27.4 33.5 39.9 39.6 41 37.9 26.8 36.8 38.8
Cu 88.7 114.3 147.5 29.4 91.5 53.3 71.8
Zn 90.8 77.4 94.9 112.5 116.2 60.2 112.9
Ga 19 17.2 17.6 14.2 16.2 17.9 14.3 13.5 18.2
Pb 8.5 4.7 3.1 4.4 3.3 2.6 6.1 0.8 6.6
Sr 268.5 483.5 261.6 336.5 189.3 125.7 242.5 445.3 325.7
Rb 7 28.2 4 8.3 6.8 11.6 12.2 5.2 15.1
Ba 212 553.8 122.5 209.2 143.1 1658.7 175.8 199.2 443.3
Zr 63.1 86.7 46 19.4 27.7 67.8 71.8 72.6 64.3
Nb 0.7 1 1 2.5 0.9 1.3 4.7 2 1.4
Th 4.2 3.3 0.4 0.4 1.1 1.8 1.9 0.8 1
Y 17.6 17.3 17.9 11.4 12.4 29 24 23.2 26.7
La 8.6 9.4 1.9 2.2 2.9 6 5.7 2.6 3.6
Ce 18.7 22.8 8.7 7.9 10.7 16.4 15.1 9.3 11.7
Nd 13 15.1 6.5 4.6 6.3 11.8 10.7 10.7 9.3
Interelement selected ratios
La/Nb 12.3 9.4 1.9 0.9 3.2 4.6 1.2 1.3 2.6
Ba/Zr 3.4 6.4 2.7 10.8 5.2 24.5 2.4 2.7 6.9
CeN/YNb 2.9 3.7 1.3 1.9 2.4 1.6 1.7 1.1 1.2
Major elements recalculated to a volatile-free total.
a
Total iron reported as Fe2O3. LOI – Losses on ignition.
b
Chondrite-normalized values.
 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436
Fig. 4. AFM diagram for Quebradagrande Complex volcanic rocks.
Symbols as in Figs. 2 and 3.
Fig. 5. Th versus TiO2 diagram for Quebradagrande Complex volcanic
rocks. Symbols as in Figs. 2 and 3.
samples of the Quebradagrande Complex. All the diagrams
display LILE enrichment relative to HFSE, particularly
Nb. Also, Ba, K, and Sr enrichments are conspicuous by
their pronounced peaks in the diagrams that may reach,
as in the case of Ba and Sr, up to 237 and 58 times the
mantle-normalized concentrations (1659 ppm Ba and
1228 ppm Sr). Conversely, the depletion in Nb is outstand-
ing by the throat it displays in all diagrams. The LILE
enrichment relative to HFSE is usually coupled with LREE
enrichment relative to HREE. The degree of enrichment in
LREE can be monitored using the chondrite-normalized
(Nakamura, 1974) CeN/YN ratio that, in the Quebrada-
grande Complex, varies between 1 and 4 times the chon-
dritic values, suggesting flat to enriched REE patterns
(Fig. 7).
According to the shape of their multielement-normal-
ized pattern, the samples can be divided into four different
groups (Fig. 6). This separation is based mainly on inter-
HFSE ratios, which we believe represent inherited features
from the source of the magmas. For example, Group 1 is
characterized by its low Y/P ratio values (Group 1 = 0.2–
0.5; Group 2 = 0.3–0.9; Group 3 = 0.7–1; Group 4 = 0.6–
1.1), and Group 2 is distinguished by its high Ti/Zr ratios
(Group 1 = 0.3–0.7; Group 2 = 1–2.1; Group 3 = 0.7–1;
Group 4 = 0.7–1.2). However, groups are also homoge-
neous in their LILE and major element characteristics.
429
Group 1 possesses the highest LILE enrichments relative
to HFSE, as indicated by their highest Th contents (2.6–
4.2 ppm) and La/Nb ratio values (1–12.3) compared with
the other defined groups (Group 2: Th = 0.4–2.7, La/
Nb = 0.9–3.8; Group 3: Th = 1.3–1.9, La/Nb = 0.7–4.6;
Group 4: Th = 0.5–1.4, La/Nb = 0.8–4.4). Fig. 7 suggests
that Group 1 also displays the most enriched LREE pat-
terns and a general intergroup trend of increasing CeN/
YN ratios with increasing fractionation (Group 1 = 2.6–
3.8; Group 2 = 1–2.7; Group 3 = 1.4–1.7; Group 4 = 0.6–
1.3). According to the FeO* and TiO2 contents, Group 1
exhibits the most calc-alkaline behavior, as also is indicated
by its position on the AFM diagram (Fig. 4) and the
decreasing TiO2 content with increasing fractionation
(Group 1 = 0.42–0.78; Group 2 = 0.6–1.3; Group
3 = 0.7–0.9; Group 4 = 0.6–1.3 wt%).
4. Petrogenesis
4.1. Fractional crystallization ‘‘Fe–Ti oxide arguments’’
Most of the analyzed Quebradagrande Complex sam-
ples seem to have evolved along two crystallization
trends: a calc-alkaline and a more tholeiitic (Fig. 4).
The occurrence of calc-alkaline characteristics supports
a supra-subduction zone environment of origin for the
Quebradagrande Complex. Although tholeiitic crystalliza-
tion trends are present in most environments where basic
volcanic igneous rocks are generated, calc-alkaline trends
are exclusive to magmatic environments with a conver-
gent margin (Wilson, 1987). Both trends are interpreted
as the result of fractional crystallization of olivine, pla-
gioclase, and clinopyroxene. The main difference between
the two trends is the control exerted over the Fe–Ti oxi-
des during crystallization (Gill, 1981). Experimental evi-
dence (Grove and Baker, 1984) shows that subalkaline,
anhydrous magmas crystallizing in the crust under geo-
logically reasonable oxygen fugacity follow tholeiitic dif-
ferentiation trends. In hydrated basaltic magmas,
dissolved water reduces olivine, pyroxene, and plagio-
clase stability without affecting the thermal stability of
Fe–Ti oxides (Sisson and Grove, 1993), which results in
the early crystallization of Fe–Ti oxides from a calc-alka-
line magmatic system and lower Fe and Ti contents in
the resultant magmas than in a tholeiitic crystallization
sequence where the fractionation of Fe–Ti oxide is
delayed, which increases the Fe and Ti contents of the
magma. Thus, water activity influences the early or late
crystallization of titaniferous magnetite, and subalkaline
magmas with high water contents follow calc-alkaline
differentiation trends, whereas those with low water con-
tents display tholeiitic trends.
4.2. Trace element arguments
The LILE enrichment in volcanic rocks can be produced
by several processes, such as oceanic mantle contaminated
430 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436

Fig. 6. Normalized multielement plot of Quebradagrande Complex volcanic rocks. Normalizing values from Sun and McDonough (1989).

by deeper, uncirculated mantle plumes; low percentages of

Fig. 7. CeN/YN versus Th diagram for Quebradagrande Complex
volcanic rocks. Symbols as in Fig. 2.
fusion in the source; mantle metasomatism by subducting
plate-derived fluids; or contamination. The characteristic
feature of magmas originated from supra-subduction zone
mantle wedges is the LILE enrichment relative to HFSE
(Saunders et al., 1980; Tarney et al., 1981; Saunders and
Tarney, 1982; Pearce, 1983). This feature, produced by
chemical fractionation between LILE and HFSE in the
hydrous environment associated with subduction zones, is
outstanding in the pronounced Nb negative anomaly dis-
played by the Quebradagrande Complex in the spider-
grams. The strong chemical behavior affinity (i.e., similar
incompatibility with the original mantle and basic volcanic
rocks mineralogies) of elements like La (LILE), Nb, and Ta
(HFSE) is well known, such that these elements usually are
placed at adjacent positions in multielement-normalized
 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436
diagrams (Bougault et al., 1985). These elements are not
fractionated by processes like partial fusion or fractional
crystallization. However, metamorphic processes acting
on the subduction zone produce dehydration of the sub-
ducting oceanic crust with consequent production of
hydrous supercritical fluids that transport water and solu-
ble LILE (e.g., La) to the supra-subduction zone mantle
wedge (Saunders et al., 1980; Tarney et al., 1981). The
HFSE (e.g., Nb) can be retained by the subducting oceanic
crust (then an eclogitic assemblage) and returned to the
mantle (Saunders and Tarney, 1982). The latter can be
ascribed to the hydrous environment in the subduction
zone, which favors the stability of mineral phases such as
rutile or ilmenite that retain HFSE (Tarney et al., 1981).
Fig. 8 shows a plot of La/Y versus Nb/Y (La and Nb nor-
malized to Y to eliminate the effects of fractional crystalli-
zation) for the Quebradagrande Complex samples. This
diagram is useful for separating samples that contain a sub-
duction-related component (low La/Nb ratios) from those
derived from an oceanic mantle source region, far from the
influence of a subduction zone (e.g., mid-ocean ridge bas-
alts, mantle plume-generated oceanic plateau basalts). This
diagram also shows fields encompassing the basalts from
the Amaime and Volcanic formations of the Western Oce-
anic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province (Nivia, 1987; Kerr
et al., 1997b, 2001) and lavas of the recent Andean volca-
noes of Colombia (Marriner and Millward, 1984). The
environment of formation for the former rocks was unre-
lated to a subduction zone (Millward et al., 1984; Nivia,
1987; Kerr et al., 1996, 1997a,b, 2001), whereas the latter
are modern examples of rocks produced in a destructive
plate margin. In this diagram, the chemical differences
between the basalts of the Western Oceanic Cretaceous
Lithospheric Province and the subduction-related Quebra-
dagrande Complex are evident. It is thus highly unlikely
that the Quebradagrande Complex lavas and pyroclastics
represent part of the same tectonomagmatic event.
Fig. 8. Nb/Y versus La/Y diagram for Quebradagrande Complex
volcanic rocks. Symbols as in Fig. 2.
431
5. Discussion
On the basis of major element chemical analyses, Gon-
zález (1980a) proposes that the Quebradagrande Complex
is composed of tholeiitic rocks generated in an oceanic rift.
Bourgois et al. (1982, 1985, 1987) and Toussaint and Rest-
repo (1993) propose the same origin but also suggest that
the Quebradagrande Complex had been thrust from the
west onto the continental margin, along with basic rocks
that outcrop west of the Cauca-Almaguer fault (i.e., the
Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province).
According to this model, a single common mantle source
region is responsible for both the Quebradagrande Com-
plex and the volcanic rocks of the Western Oceanic Creta-
ceous Lithospheric Province (Barroso, Amaime, Volcanic
formations, Table 1). Similarly, Kammer (1995) and Kam-
mer and Mojica (1996) consider a close affinity between the
rocks of the accreted Western Oceanic Cretaceous Litho-
spheric Province and the Quebradagrande Complex. The
results presented herein clearly show a subduction zone-de-
rived component in the geochemical composition of the
Quebradagrande Complex. However, the geochemical
characteristics of the Quebradagrande Complex differ fun-
damentally from those of the basic volcanic rocks of the
Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province
exposed in western Colombia (Millward et al., 1984; Nivia,
1987, 1989; Kerr et al., 1996, 1997a,b). In addition, the
reported ages of the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Litho-
spheric Province indicate these rocks were formed during
the Late Cretaceous, whereas evidence for the Quebrada-
grande Complex indicates an Early Cretaceous age. Thus,
the volcanic rocks of the Quebradagrande Complex and
the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province
were generated from two different, unrelated mantle source
regions; in turn, the geotectonic models and interpretations
of a common genesis for both are inherently incorrect.
Geochemical data suggest that the volcanic rocks of the
Quebradagrande Complex formed during the Lower Creta-
ceous in a supra-subduction zone environment, in an island
arc, marginal basin, or active continental margin. To eval-
uate these possibilities, the regional relationships between
the Quebradagrande Complex and adjacent rocks must
be considered. The Quebradagrande Complex outcrops
are bounded by the metamorphic Cajamarca and Arquı́a
complexes (Fig. 1, Table 1). The age of the Cajamarca
Complex, to the east, is constrained as Neoproterozoic
(Gómez and Nuñez, 2003), but the age of the Arquı́a Com-
plex to the west is controversial. Some researchers believe
the Arquı́a Complex was formed during the Lower Creta-
ceous (Toussaint and Restrepo, 1989, 1993; Restrepo et al.,
1991; González and Nuñez, 1991; González, 1993, 2001),
whereas others think it Paleozoic in age (McCourt and
Aspden, 1983; McCourt et al., 1984; Aspden et al., 1987).
However, both the presence of Triassic granitoid plutons,
such as the Santa Barbara Batholith and Amaga and Cam-
bumbia stocks, intruding schists west of the Quebrada-
grande Complex (Fig. 1; McCourt et al., 1984; Mejı́a
432 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436
et al., 1983b; Restrepo et al., 1991) and the occurrence of
Paleozoic rocks west of the Quebradagrande Complex
(Mosquera, 1978; Calle et al., 1980; Mejı́a et al., 1983a,b;
González, 2001) are strong arguments in favor of a Neo-
proterozoic age for the Arquı́a Complex. Assuming a
Paleozoic age for the Arquı́a Complex, McCourt et al.
(1984) present an evolutionary model for the northern
Andes. According to this model, during the Carbonifer-
ous, the continental margin of the northern Andes was
composed of an autochthonous block (Cajamarca Com-
plex) and accreted island arc (Bugalagrande schists,
Rosario amphibolites, and Bolo Azul metagabbroids;
Arquı́a Complex, Table 1). We concur with this model
and believe that the data presented here support a model
in which the Quebradagrande Complex is related to a
magmatic environment associated with a continental
active margin.
Processes operating in subduction zones result in dehy-
dration of the subducting oceanic crust and transport of
generated fluids into the overlying mantle wedge. The
influx of such volatile-rich fluids into the mantle wedge
lowers the solidus of the mantle, resulting in melting
and the formation of hydrated magmas. However, the
water (volatile) content of the magmas may vary accord-
ing to the distance between the centers of volcanic erup-
tion and the trench. For marginal basins, it depends on
the degree of evolution, that is, the development of the
basin. As marginal basins (sensu stricto) open and
the expansion center separates from the island arc, the
hydrous (subduction) component becomes less pro-
nounced (Saunders and Tarney, 1984; Atherton and Agu-
irre, 1992). In this way, the calc-alkaline and tholeiitic
trends and the LILE/HFSE ratio in the Quebradagrande
Complex could be controlled by the preeruptive contents
of the hydrous component in the mantle. As we noted
previously, the samples can be separated into four differ-
ent chemical types (Fig. 6), which may be interpreted as
heterogeneities produced in the mantle during the evolu-
tion of the basin. Thus, Group 1 samples, which appear
to contain more of the subduction component(s) (higher
LILE/HFSE ratios), could have been generated during
the initial stages of basin opening. During latter stages
of basin opening, progressive dilution of this component
in the source region, as reflected in the lower LILE/HFSE
ratios of Groups 2 and 3, culminates in the Group 4 sam-
ples, which display the lowest La/Nb and CeN/YN ratios
(Figs. 7 and 8). Parallel trends between groups in bivari-
ate diagrams for the same degree of differentiation favor
this hypothesis. Furthermore, increasing values of the
CeN/YN ratios with increasing Th in a Th versus CeN/
YN diagram (Fig. 7) could be related to intersample var-
iation due to differentiation processes, whereas parallel
intergroup trends suggest different LILE enrichment in
the mantle. However, the strong deformation of the
Quebradagrande Complex inhibits any reconstruction of
the basin that might help evaluate this hypothesis in terms
of geochemical characteristics.
To explain the Quebradagrande Complex genesis, we
propose a petrogenetic model in which the rocks formed
during the opening of a marginal ensialic basin. Åberg
et al. (1984) and Aguirre (1987) propose that these basins
might form by ensialic expansion or subsidence mecha-
nisms promoted by the rollback action of the subducting
lithosphere on the active continental margin. These mech-
anisms may lead to crustal thinning with consequent adia-
batic decompression melting of the mantle, which
produced both basins and magmatism. The volcanic prod-
ucts erupt over the continental crust or, in cases of extreme
extension, result in the complete rupture of the continental
margin and generation of oceanic crust (Åberg et al., 1984;
Aguirre, 1987; Atherton and Aguirre, 1992).
Ophiolitic sequences proposed as generated by these
processes are common to the Uppermost Jurassic and
Lower Cretaceous of the South American Pacific margin,
extending from its southernmost extreme in South Geor-
gia Island (Chile) to central-western Mexico; the latter is
continuous with eastern Colombia in most Triassic–Ju-
rassic Pangea reconstructions (Coney and Evenchick,
1994). Well-documented ensialic marginal basins are
found in the ophiolitic complexes of the Larsen Peninsu-
la, Tortuga and Sarmiento at South Georgia Island,
Tierra de Fuego, and Patagonia (Tarney et al., 1981;
Saunders and Tarney, 1982; Miller et al., 1994; Stern
et al., 1976); the Rocas Verdes of central and southern
Chile (Åberg et al., 1984); the Puente Piedra and Casma
formations in Peru (Atherton et al., 1985; Aguirre and
Offer, 1985; Atherton and Aguirre, 1992); the Célica For-
mation of southern Ecuador and northern Peru (Aguirre
and Atherton, 1987; Lebras et al., 1987); and the inter-
bedded calc-alkaline volcanics and sedimentary strata
containing shallow marine fauna and imbricated with
serpentinite bodies, ultramafic cumulates, and podiform
chromite of the Siuna Terrane of Nicaragua and Hondu-
ras, which extends northward into the Guerrero Terrane
of southern Mexico. In the latter, Elias-Herrera and Ort-
ega-Gutierrez (1998) posit the upper volcanoclastic
sequence was generated in a continental margin backarc
basin setting. The spatial, chronological characteristics
and geochemical composition of the Quebradagrande
Complex suggest they belong to this belt.
The petrogenetic model proposed for the origin of the
Quebradagrande Complex is illustrated in Fig. 9. In this
model, subduction along the proto-Pacific Colombian mar-
gin produced distension and crustal thinning over the con-
tinental margin. The thinning resulted in the formation of a
basin, as evidenced by the accumulation of transgressive
sedimentary sequences (e.g., Valle Alto, Abejorral; Table
1). The genesis of these arenorudaceous clastic sequences
would agree with the ensialic marginal basin model if they
represent and show the first stages of basin opening. On the
oceanic plate, the progressive increase of temperature and
pressure as subduction processes produced metamorphism
with consequent dehydration. The corresponding subduc-
tion-liberated fluids moved upward, adding H2O, LILE,
 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436 433

Fig. 9. Diagrammatic sketch illustrating evolution of the Quebradagrande Complex–QGC marginal ensialic basin. (A) Subduction and consequent
metasomatism of subcontinental mantle under Paleozoic crust of an oceanic crustal block (Arquı́a Complex) accreted to the continental crustal block
(Cajamarca Complex + shield). (B) Rollback of the continental margin leads to lithospheric thinning and subsequent generation of basins and adiabatic
mantle melting. (C) Formation of marginal basin by generation of oceanic floor in the zone of backarc spreading. (D) Closure of basin, probably due to
forces produced on the continental plate during the aperture of the South Atlantic.
434 A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423–436
and LREE to the subcontinental mantle wedge. The addi-
tion of these fluids lowered the solidus; combined with adi-
abatic decompression induced by crustal thinning, it
resulted in mantle melting. The magmas produced were
calc-alkaline basalts that differentiated at crustal levels to
form andesites and dacites (Quebradagrande Complex
Groups 1 and 2). Basin opening culminated in the genera-
tion of oceanic crust, represented today by ophiolitic com-
plexes. According to this petrogenetic model, more basic
volcanic rocks (Groups 2 and 3) and sedimentary rocks
of the Quebradagrande Complex accumulated on top of
the basin, whereas the associated mafic and ultramafic plu-
tonic rocks (Table 1) represent deeper horizons of the
ophiolitic complexes developed by ocean floor formation
during the opening of the basin.
The opening of the basin led to the gradual movement of
the locus of magmatism away from the trench, which may
have resulted in the dilution of the subduction zone-derived
component and a change in the magmatic products from
calc-alkaline to tholeiitic. According to Saunders and Tar-
ney (1984), marginal basins are short-life geotectonic fea-
tures. Furthermore, Dalziel (1981) suggests that in
marginal basins of southern Chile, collapse or closure coin-
cides with the opening of the South Atlantic. Thus, the
change in the velocity of plate displacement induced by
the South Atlantic opening also may have promoted the
closure of the Quebradagrande Complex marginal basin.
However, the accretion of the Caribbean–Colombian oce-
anic plateau in the late Cretaceous–early Tertiary likely
contributed significantly to the closure of the basin and
deformation of this unit.
6. Conclusions
Regional sampling of the Quebradagrande Complex
between 6°35 0 N and 1°45 0 N in Colombia shows that basal-
tic andesites and andesites have geochemical characteristics
typical of rocks formed in supra-subduction zone magmat-
ic environments. These rocks follow two contrasting differ-
entiation trends: One is calc-alkaline, the other tholeiitic.
The geochemical characteristics of the Quebradagrande
Complex rocks and their spatial and chronological rela-
tionships with the Cajamarca and Arquı́a complexes, the
ultramafic and mafic Cretaceous rocks, and the arenoruda-
ceous Lower Cretaceous related sequences can be integrat-
ed into an evolutionary petrogenetic model of ensialic
marginal basin opening.
The model has global tectonic implications, in that it
forms an important link, through the northern Andes, of
the chain of marginal basins that extended from Tierra
de Fuego to Mexico in the Early Cretaceous. During this
stratigraphic interval, subduction was active along the
South American margin.
The results we present clearly demonstrate that there
is no genetic relationship between the Quebradagrande
Complex and the Upper Cretaceous volcanic rocks that
outcrop west of the Cauca-Almaguer fault – rocks that
are well documented to have formed in an oceanic pla-
teau setting.
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