4

Baquero, Marvin, Sebastian Grande, Franco Urbani, Umberto Cordani, Chris

Hall, and Richard Armstrong, 2015, New Evidence for Putumayo crust in the
basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela,
in C. Bartolini and P. Mann, eds., Petroleum geology and potential of the
Colombian Caribbean Margin: AAPG Memoir 108, p. 103–136.

New Evidence for Putumayo Crust

in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and
Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela
Marvin Baquero*
PDVSA, Department of Exploration, Puerto La Cruz 6063, Anzoategui, Venezuela
(e-mail: mbaquero75@gmail.com).

Sebastian Grande
School of Geology, Mines and Geophysics, Central University of Venezuela, Caracas 1040, Venezuela
(e-mail: sgrande52@gmail.com).

Franco Urbani
School of Geology, Mines and Geophysics, Central University of Venezuela, Caracas 1040, Venezuela and
Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research (FUNVISIS), El Llanito 1073, Miranda, Venezuela
(e-mail: urbanifranco@gmail.com).

Umberto Cordani
Institute of Geosciences, Geochronology Research Center, University of Sao Paulo, Rua do Lago, 562,
Sao Paulo, SP 05508-080, Brazil (e-mail: ucordani@usp.br).

Chris Hall
Argon Geochronology Laboratory, Earth and Environmetal Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 C.C.
Little Bldg., 1100 North University Ave., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, U.S.A.
(e-mail: cmhall@umich.edu).

Richard Armstrong
Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia
(e-mail: richard.armstrong@anu.edu.au).

ABSTRACT
U/Pb zircon and 40Ar/ 39Ar hornblende ages of medium- to high-grade metamorphic
­basement rocks from La Vela Bay in the Falcon Basin and of granitic gneiss rocks from a base-
ment inlier in the southeastern Guajira Peninsula, northwestern Venezuela, measured by laser

*Current address: INTEVEP, Strategic Research Department of Exploration, Los Teques, Venezuela.

Copyright ©2015 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

DOI:10.1306/13531933M1083639

103

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 103 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 104  Baquero ET AL

ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry and sensitive high-resolution ion mi-

croprobe, document the presence of Meso- to Neoproterozoic crust related to the ­Putumayo
orogen, which probably correlates with the Chibcha terrane, in Colombia. Metawackes,
metapelites, and granitic gneisses from these localities showed a high-grade metamorphism
peak between 1.0 Ga and 0.98 Ga. Ages of inherited zircon cores of 1212 ± 11 Ma, 1214 ± 10 Ma,
1227 ± 9 Ma, 1366 ± 38 Ma, 1519 ± 9 Ma, and 2707 ± 8 Ma, are interpreted as relicts of detrital
igneous grains that were originally incorporated from the Amazon craton into the sedimentary
protolith. In addition, 40Ar/39Ar ages of hornblende crystals in metapelites preserve younger
events between 923 Ma and 916 Ma, which indicate cooling under 530°C after the granulite
facies peak. Radiometric ages presented in this study support the idea that these basement
rocks probably formed part of a single orogenic belt in western South America, that formed in
an active margin located in the northwestern part of the Amazon craton, which gave rise to a
continental collision with Baltica during the Neoproterozoic assemblage of Rodinia.

Introduction coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)

Remnants of Meso- to Neoproterozoic crust have been
identified in several basement inliers in the Andean
chain from northern Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador,
and Colombia (MacDonald and Hurley, 1969; Tschanz
et al., 1974; Kroonenberg, 1982; Litherland et al., 1985;
Priem et al., 1989; Wasteneys et al., 1995; Sadowski
and Bettencourt, 1996; Restrepo-Pace et al., 1997; Ruiz
et al., 1999; Ramos and Aleman, 2000; Schneider-San-
tos et al., 2000; Ordonez-Carmona et al., 2002; Boger
et al., 2005; Cordani et al., 2005; Cardona-Molina et al.,
2006; Casquet et al., 2006; Jimenez-Mejia et al., 2006;
Ramos, 2010, and many other authors).
Early works recognized an intra-plate heating
event on the border of the Venezuelan Guayana shield
­(Kalliokoski, 1965; Olmeta, 1968; Espejo and Santam-
aria, 1972; Gaudette et al., 1977; Feo-Codecido et al.,
1984; Colvee and Szczerban, 2006). ­Martin-Bellizzia
et al. (1968) tentatively named this heating “Orino-
quian-Nickerie tectonometamorphic event,” which
took place between 1.3 Ga and 0.85 Ga (Figure 1).
­S imilarly, a Mesoproterozoic thermal event has
been recognized in the Guiana shield (1.2 Ga) called
K´Mudku event (Barron, 1969). It also has been recog-
nized in the V­ entuari-Tapajos and Rio Negro-Juruena
Belts and in the Rio Apa craton, located in the west-
ern border of the Brazilian Amazonia shield and called
Rondonian-San Ignacio event (Cordani et al., 2010a).
On the other hand, basement outcrops in the core of
Merida Andes of Venezuela (Iglesias Complex, Merida
terrane) yield 207Pb/206Pb zircon ages of 1133 Ma, 1080
Ma, 1050 Ma, and 1020 Ma (Burkley, 1976). Additional
evidence is in the Perija Range reported by Dasch
(1982), where granitic gneisses from El Palmar Granite
yielded 207Pb/206Pb zircon age of 1050 Ma. Goldstein
et al. (1997) reported SHRIMP U/Pb detrital zircon
ages of populations at 1.2–1.0 Ga (n = 49) in a sand
sample from the middle of the lower Orinoco River;
the source of this zircon population is still a matter of
debate. However, new U/Pb laser ablation inductively
geochronology of detrital zircon has been conducted
by Pepper et al. (2013) in the delta of the Orinoco River
near the town of Barrancas, Monagas State, and yielded
a major age probability cluster around 1.1–0.9 Ga (n =
622), providing the existence of a Meso- to Neoprotero-
zoic episodic event that could be derived largely from
Merida Andes in Venezuela (Burkley, 1976; Noguera,
2009; Noguera et al., 2011; Dugarte, 2012; van der Lelij,
2013) and eastern Colombia (Johnson, 1991).
Other possible Meso- to Neoproterozoic fragments
in Venezuela are (1) the undated igneous metamorphic
amphibolite facies of El Oira Complex in the Nula Sarare
region, Tachira State: this complex is the V ­ enezuelan
continuation of the Meso- to Neoproterozoic Bucara-
manga gneiss in the Santander massif, ­Chibcha ter-
rane (Canelon, 1977; Fierro and Useche, 1985; Cordani
et al., 2005) (Figure 1); (2) small scattered bodies of a
late Mesoproterozoic quartz feldspar gneissic rocks
in the Paraguana Peninsula, Falcon State (Mendi et
al., 2013); and (3) a fragmented anorthosite manger-
ite charchnokite granite suite in the Yumare Complex,
Yaracuy State. Zircon ages from recent quartz gabbro
charnockite in this anorthosite-mangerite-­charnockite-
granite suite show a strong Meso- to ­Neoproterozoic
signature between 1150 Ma and 873 Ma (n = 40, Urbani
et al., 2013). It was not possible to calculate a concor-
dia age. The ­“zircon tuff algorithm method” of Ludwig
and Mundil (2002) for this zircon population yielded
a 919 +5/–8 Ma age, and it was interpreted as the best
approximation of the crystallization age. Because of the
methods used in some of the previous reports (e.g. Rb/
Sr, K/Ar in K–feldspar system, or the intrinsic limita-
tion of the U/Pb technique used in the years 1970–
1980), the conclusions of these works were not widely
accepted or understanding of the geologic evolution of
this belt is still limited.
Grande and Urbani (2009) documented medium-
to high-grade metamorphic rocks in northwestern
­Venezuela. These rocks occur in the following diverse
situations: (1) as cores extracted in the early 1970s by

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 104 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  105

Figure 1. Regional geologic map of north South America illustrating the major tectonic and locations of remnants of
­ renvillian crust and including locations of well drilling–core samples from the Falcon Basin and outcrop Atuschon granitic
G
gneiss from the southeastern Guajira Peninsula, northwestern Venezuela. Modified after Ostos (1990). G ­ eology key:
1. Guayana shield (cratonic area, early Meso- and Paleoproterozoic crystalline basement); 2. Precambrian Meso- to
­Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic basement, including the Garzon massif, Santander massif, Santa Marta massif, M ­ erida terrane,
Yumare Complex, Guajira region (Colombia and Venezuela), Paraguana Peninsula, Falcon central, San Julian C ­ omplex, El
Guayabo Complex, El Tinaco Complex, El Baul and La Macarena; 3. Mesozoic of the eastern Cordillera and Perija Range;
4. Mesozoic metamorphic of the western Cordillera; 5. Mesozoic of the Caribbean mountains system (San Julian Complex);
6. Paleogene turbidities of the Caribbean mountains system; 7. Jurassic intrusives; 8. Cretaceous intrusives; 9. Cenozoic
intrusives; 10. upper Cretaceous–Paleogene volcanics and sediments of the Cordillera de La Costa of Colombia; 11. early–
middle Cretaceous oceanic basalt (Proto-Caribbean–Siquisique–ophiolite); 12. Quaternary volcanics; 13. upper Cretaceous
Caribbean Oceanic Plateau = FT = ­Falconia terrane, MT = Merida terrane, PP = Paraguana Peninsula, PR = Perija Range, GP
= Guajira Peninsula, SMM = Santa Marta massif, PU = Putumayo Belt, OTE = Orinoquian–Nickerie tectonothermal event,
RSI = ­Rodonian–San Ignacio Belt (Mesoproterozoic), SMBF = Santa Marta–Bucaramanga fault, BF = Bocono fault, OF: Oca
fault, AF = Ancon fault, OAF = Oca–Ancon fault. 100 km (62.1 mi)

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 105 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 106  Baquero ET AL
the Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation at the base-
ment of La Vela Bay in the Falcon Basin, which con-
tains calc-silicate rock and meta-evaporite, metapelite,
metawacke, felsic, mafic, ultramafic, and garnet gran-
ulites; (2) as outcrops in the 4-km (2.5-mi) elongated
hill of Cerro El Guayabo in northeastern Yaracuy State
­(Figure 1), which contains a metamorphic suite of mafic
and felsic granulites, with boudins of ultramafic para-
granulite, calc-silicate rock, and meta-evaporite; (3) as
xenoliths of marble, mafic granulite, and anorthosite in
the Oligocene Miocene basanitic lavas of Cerro Atrave-
sado, central Falcon Basin (Figures 1 and 2); and also
(4) as boulders of phlogopite marbles in the Nuezalito
Formation, which crops out in Bocoy and Riecito riv-
erbeds, northwestern Portuguesa State, of potential
Neoproterozoic affinity, inferred from petrologic, pet-
rographic, and textural studies. Nevertheless, Fournier
et al. (2011) in a calc-silicate rock of Bocoy River have
Figure 2. Map of drilling–core
sample locations. It shows the
location of the main wells in La
Vela Bay, offshore Falcon Basin.
Basic regional geology is after
Garrity et al. (2006). Nomencla-
ture of the drilling–core is after
Feo-Codecido et al. (1984).
50 km (31.1 mi)
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 106
reported a phlogopite cooling age with a plateau of
882.2 ± 3.8 Ma, thus confirming the Neoproterozoic age
assumption for these metacarbonates.
Noguera (2009) reported a set of U/Pb ages of
detrital zircon from turbidite sequences located in
the Venezuelan northern margin (Matatere, Guarico,
Los Arroyos, and Pampatar Formations). These U/Pb
dates define a distinct population aged between 1.3 Ga
and 1.0 Ga (Figure 3). In the absence of extended out-
crops of Meso- to Neoproterozoic rocks in northern
Venezuela, Noguera (2009) suggests a source located
in the northern extremity of the Andes and probably
from Santa Marta and Santander massifs. Further
west, Azancot (2010) mapped the Atuschon granitic
gneiss in southeastern Guajira Peninsula, northwest-
ern Venezuela, and based on petrography correlated
it with the Los Mangos granulite, Santa Marta massif
(Figures 1 and 4).
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  107

73oW 62oW
12oN 12oN
Pampatar Fm.
Paraguaná
I. Margarita N
Santa
Marta
COLOMBIA

Lago
de
Maracaibo Guárico Fm. Caratas Fm. Los Arroyos Fm.

8oN Río Guache Fm. Matatere Fm. 8oN

300 km

Age distribution of detrital zircon of the Matatere, GUIANA

250 Guárico, Los Arroyos and Pampatar formations
72

200 Distributions of U-Pb detrital zircon ages

for the Matatere Fm.

71
80

150 70

Meso-Neoproterozoic 60
Putumayo Orogen 50 Meso-Neoproterozoic
100
40
237

30

238
50

1200
1215

1324
20
1554

1544
1060

1041
587

1822

1835
600

2594

2840
10
0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 2800 3200

o o
73 W 62 W

Figure 3. Age distribution of detrital zircon from turbidity sequences located in the Venezuelan northern margin. Modified
from Noguera (2009). 300 km (186.4 mi)

Recently, Ibanez-Mejia et al. (2011) have reported
new geochronological and petrological data that docu-
ment the existence of a previously unrecognized Meso-
to Neoproterozoic high-grade belt buried under the
northern Andean foreland basin, for which the term
“Putumayo orogen” was assigned. The Putumayo
orogen was likely the result of collisional interactions
between a northwestern active margin of Amazonia
and the Sveconorwegian Province of southern Baltica,
as the final step for the agglutination of Rodinia at 0.98
Ga ­(Figure 5). According to Ibanez-Mejia et al. (2011,
­Figure  1) the Putumayo orogen could be extended
toward northern South America, thus covering the
Chibcha terrane in Colombia and the Merida terrane,
Guajira Peninsula, Yumare and El Guayabo Complexes,
­Paraguana ­Peninsula, and the Falcon Basin in Venezuela.
To corroborate these suspected Putumayo basement
rocks in northwestern Venezuela, we provide robust iso-
tope dating, which includes new LA-ICP-MS and sen-
sitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U/Pb
ages of metamorphic zircon and 40Ar/39Ar hornblende
ages of high-grade metamorphic rocks from basement
cores from La Vela Bay in the Falcon Basin and Guajira
­Peninsula, northwestern Venezuela ­(Figures 2 and 3).
Regional Geologic Setting
The geologic history of northwestern ­Venezuela reflects
the interaction between the northwestern South ­America
passive margin and the ­Caribbean plate, including the
arc trench system of the ­Caribbean Arc. However, the
geodynamic evolution p ­ robably involved accordion-
type tectonics in which (1) ­Putumayo terranes were
separated from the northwestern Amazon craton during
the breakup of Rodinia (ca 750 Ma; Cawood et al., 2001;
­Murphy et al., 2004; Pisarevsky et al., 2008; Cawood and
­Hawkesworth, 2014); (2) these terranes reamalgamated
in the P­ aleozoic to form part of G
­ ondwana during the
assemblage of Pangea in the Permo-Triassic; (3) in
the ­Jurassic North America separated from the Amazon
craton during Pangea breakup, separating again bro-
ken pieces of Putumayo terranes; and (4) finally some
Putumayo fragments in the Caribbean region docked

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 107 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 108  Baquero ET AL

Figure 4. Map of the Atuschon

granitic gneiss in the Venezuelan
Guajira Peninsula, northwestern
Venezuela, including sample
location. 10 km (6.2 mi); 250 m
(820.2 ft)

against the South America passive margin during Late
Cretaceous–early Eocene oblique collision with the
Caribbean plate by the migration of the Caribbean Arc.
These Putumayo fragments were accreted to the north-
western continental margin of South America from the
Colombian Guajira ­Peninsula (Jojoncito granitic gneiss)
to the eastern Falcon Basin.
Grande (2013a,b) proposed the term “Falconia
­t errane” (FT) for an allochthonous basement block
with a size of about 200 km (124 mi) by 80 km (50 mi),

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 108 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  109

N
BALTICA
Rodinia Configuration
1.0-0.98 Ga

Archean crust Paleoproterozoic

Laurentia Baltica
Gand Grenville Idefjorden
Masserian Pronvince
ifs Avalonian- terrane
Cadomian Granite-Rhyolite Telemarkia
Terranes province terrane
LAURENTIA
Eastern Segment
AMAZONIA Blekinge-Dalarma
West-Africa dolerite dyke
swarm
Amazonia
Rodonian-San Colombian-Oaxaquian
Ignacio terranes
1000 Km Sunsás-Aguapei Putumayo Basin
basement

PUTUMAYO OROGEN
1,0-0,98 Ga
Middle America Terranes, Colombia and
Venezuela
AMAZONIA BALTICA
S N

System K-Ar and Rb-Sr resetting

in mica, hornblende, and K-feld peak high-grade metamorphic
Meso-Neoproterozoic ages granulite facies
Feo-Codecido et al. (1984)
K-Ar (K-feld = 1025 Ma)
K-Ar (K-feld = 1110 Ma)
K-Ar (biotite = 1264 Ma)
Rb-Sr (K-feld = 865 Ma)
Cordani et al. (2010b)
K-Ar (whole-rock = 920 Ma)
K-Ar (whole-rock = 930 Ma)

Figure 5. Tectonic evolution of the Putumayo orogen proposed by Ibanez-Mejia et al. (2011). This autochthonous orogenic
belt was likely the result of collisional interactions between a northwestern active margin of Amazonia and the Sveconorwe-
gian province of southern Baltica, as one of the steps for the agglutination of Rodinia at 1.0–0.98 Ga. 1000 km (621.4 mi)

underlying the eastern Falcon Basin. This terrane is
poorly exposed and crops out only in its northwestern
and southern parts. In the Paraguana Peninsula of Fal-
con State, this terrane appears as a small quartz feld-
spar gneiss unit, which is the bedrock intruded by the
Permian El Amparo metagranodiorite. In the Yumare
and El Guayabo Complexes in northeastern Yaracuy
State, the high-grade metamorphic units belonging
to the FT appear tectonically imbricated with Neo-
proterozoic to Cretaceous, intermediate- to low-grade
metamorphic units and also with unmetamorphosed
Cretaceous to Eocene sedimentary units (Figure 1).

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 109 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 110  Baquero ET AL
Lithologically the FT corresponds to medium- to high-
grade belt including calc-silicate rock and meta-evap-
orite, metapelite, metawacke, felsic, mafic, ultramafic,
and garnet granulites and a dismembered anorthosite
charnockite suite (Grande 2013a, b). Much of this
terrane is covered by a thick Cenozoic sedimentary
sequence (Figure 6).
On the other hand, the Venezuelan Guajira Penin-
sula, located about 110 km (68.3 mi) north of the city
of Maracaibo, is an east-west margin in northwestern
Venezuela (Figure 1). Sedimentary, metamorphic, and
Figure 6. Simplified stratigraphic columns for La Vela Bay, offshore in the eastern Falcon Basin. Note that there is a hiatus
between the Meso- to Neoproterozoic basement and Cenozoic units.
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 110
igneous rocks are exposed in this area, indicating a
long and varied geologic record from Mesoproterozoic
to C­ enozoic (Rollins, 1960) (Figure 7). The sedimen-
tary units are made up of a thick sequence of T ­ riassic–
Jurassic and Miocene strata, intruded by several
Cretaceous granitic plutons. All of these units uncon-
formably overlie Proterozoic rocks (Atuschon granitic
gneiss; Azancot, 2010). In addition, its current geologic
setting is the direct result of an oblique collision, which
gave rise to a primitive continental arc during the late
­Cretaceous–early Eocene of the Caribbean plate below
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  111

Onshore
Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula
Radiometric
Age Period Age Unit
(Ma) (Ma)
72°W 71°30’W
Pleistocene

Pliocene Caribbean Sea

2.5 succession of
Castilletes
Miocene

limestone,
sandstone and shale
Serranía
GUAJIRA de Jarara

12°N
PENINSULA

Cuiza Fault

66.0 Jojoncito Granitic ELA

EZU
Gneiss VEN
COLOMBIA
Cretaceous

SCALE

0 10 20 km Atúschon Granitic Gneiss

Atuschon Granitic Gneiss
120±4 tonilite, diorite Ipapure Sample Zu-6
K-Ar (WR) quartz-andesite Granodiorite
and granodiorite
143±7 La Teta
K-Ar (WR) porphyritic Rhyodacite
145.0 rhyolite
Jurassic

Cojoro Group

sandstone and Uipana

conglomerate Rancho Grande
201.3 Dacite
Triassic

dacitic lavas Guasosopo

1000
pre-Putumayo
(this study) event A B
Atúschon Granitic
proterozoic

1028.7±4.4 ~1.17-1.0 Ga
related to AMCG Gneiss The zircon fraction of the Zu-6 sample reveal
suite and granitic dykes two morphology varieties: (A) subhedral
Meso-

prisms with rounded interfacial edges

(magmatic origin), and (B) multifaceted equant
to soccer ball grain (metamorphic origin).

Figure 7. Summary of geologic columns of the Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula, northwestern Venezuela.

the northwestern margin of South America (Weber Petrography of Dated Basement Core Samples from
et al., 2009; Cardona-Molina et al., 2014). La Vela Bay, the Falcon Basin, and Atuschon Granitic
Gneiss, Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula

Petrographic Characteristics 23-M-22X-1—Biotite Sillimanite Garnet Feldspatic

Quartzite (Biotite Sillimanite Garnet Feldspar Quartz
Sample lithologies, mineral assemblages, drilling–core Gneiss). This sample is a rock with abundant quartz,
intervals, and locations are summarized in Table 1. alkali feldspar, and plagioclase, containing essential
Localities are shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4. garnet. Dated sample 23-M-22X-1 correlates with thin

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 111 10/21/15 11:18 AM

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 112

112  Baquero ET AL
Table 1.  Lithologies, mineral assemblages, methods, and sample locations of analyzed rocks.

Methods Location
Intervals
Sample ID Lithology Mineral assemblages Drilling-core LA-ICP-MS(1) SHRIMP-II(2) 40
Ar-39Ar(3) Material Latitude Longitude

La Vela Bay—offshore Falcon Basin  

         
23-M-22X-1 Metawacke Biotite ± sillimanite ± garnet + 8933 – 9048 ft X X  
K-feldspar + quartz gneiss
23-M-22X-3 Metapelite Biotite ± sillimanite ± cordierite + 9312 – 9577 ft X     Zircon 11°35’ 69°32’
hornblende + clinopiroxene +
K-feldspar gneiss
23-M-22X-4 Mafic granulite Quartz ± clinopiroxene + 9577 – 9587 ft   X  
plagioclase gneiss (mafic
granulite)
23-M-17X Metapelite Biotite ± clinopiroxene + 7980 - 7999 ft     X Hornblende 11°42’ 69°34’
cordierite + hornblende +
plagioclase gneiss

Guajira Peninsula—onshore Gulf of Venezuela                  

Zu-6 Granitic gneiss Plagioclase + hornblende + Surface sample   X   Zircon 11°41’ 71°47’
K-feldspar + quartz gneiss
1
Conducted by Baquero, M., Sato, K. & Sproesser, W.M. at the CPGeo-USP.
2
Conducted by Armstrong, R. at Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
3
Conducted by Hall, C. at Argon Geochronology Laboratory, University of Michigan, USA.       
The petrographic description of samples 23-M-22X-1, 23-M-22X-3,23-M-22X-4, and 23-M-17 was done by Grande (2013a,b).
The petrographic description of sample Zu-6 was done by Azancot (2010).       
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  113

sections 23-M-22X-9018'8" and 23-M-22X-9031'-33'8" (see
Table 2). It is a coarse-grained rock, with gneissic ­texture,
containing elongated and fractured garnet porphyro-
blasts, chloritized in its borders and fractured, which
reach up to 9 mm in length, in a quartz feldspatic matrix
(Figure 8A to D). It represents one of the few medium-to
high-grade lithologies in northwestern Venezuela where
garnet is present as an essential component. Garnet and
biotite often show coronas of acicular radial sillimanite
­(Figure 8C and D). Despite the great depth from which
this lithology was extracted, it is crossed by numerous
quartz chlorite secondary veinlets. Its protolith is prob-
ably sedimentary, because of its abundant quartz and
accessory graphite, probably being a semipelitic wacke
or subgraywacke, where garnet and sillimanite could
have originated from original pelitic material. Its petro-
graphic description is as follows:
Quartz: colorless, elongated porphyroblasts with
amoeboid borders, often defining a flaser texture,
because of preferred orientation. These large grains
have formed by recrystallization of former smaller
grains and have no undulatory extinction (Figure 8B).
Alkali feldspar: colorless to brownish because of
argillization, hypidioblastic, shows tartan twin-
ning (Figure 8D), and scarce drop-shaped perthitic
exsolution.
Plagioclase (An40): dirty looking because of strong
sericitization (Figure 8B to D). Usually almost totally
covered by sericite leaflets and epidote prisms. Some
crystals show albite and Carlsbad albite twinning, which
allow an estimation of its molar percentage as andesine.
Garnet: pale pinkish, xenoblastic, and forms quite
fractured skeletal prophyroblasts with choritized
borders and fractures (Figure 8A and B); sometimes
skeletal remnants are embedded in pseudo-isotropic
chlorite (Figure 8C and D); in other samples have dis-
continuous coronas and inclusions of acicular radial
sillimanite.

A B
Chl Pl

Grt
Gr Qtz-flaser

0.5 mm Grt 0.5 mm

Grt Grt
Mc
Chl

Qtz Sil
Sil
Bt (Chl)
Bt (Chl)
Pl
C 0.5 mm 0.5 mm D
Figure 8. Photomicrographs of dated cores of biotite-sillimanite-garnet quartzite (possibly a feldspatic metawacke or metasu-
bgraywacke) from the basement of La Vela Bay, offshore Falcon Basin. (A) Section 23-M-22X-9042’, uncrossed polars (UP).
Detail of a fractured garnet porphyroblast with borders and fractures altered to chlorite; some graphite is visible. (B) Section
23-M-22X-9042’, crossed polars, XP. Flaser texture and preferential orientation foliation defined by quartz porphyroblasts,
sericited crystals of plagioclase, and fractured garnet xenoblasts. (C) Section 23-M-22X-9018’8”, UP. Chloritized biotite with
an epitaxial sillimanite corona. Top left shows skeletal garnet embedded in pseudo-isotropic chlorite. (D) Same as before,
XP. The epitaxial overgrowth of the sillimanite corona surrounding biotite is evident; top right shows a microcline crystal with
tartan twinning. Bt 5 biotite, Chl 5 chlorite, Grt 5 garnet, Mc 5 microcline, Pl 5 plagioclase, Qtz 5 quartz, Sil 5 sillimanite.

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 113 10/21/15 11:18 AM

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 114

114  Baquero ET AL
Table 2. Modal mineralogy and lithological classification of high-grade rocks of dated cores from the basement of La Vela Bay, offshore Falcon Basin.

Sample ID Qtz Kfs Pl Cpx Hbl Bt Grt Sil Mu Gr Chl Crd Op Ttn Ep Zr/Ap Lithology

La Vela Bay—offshore Falcon Basin  

23-M-22X-1                                  
9018'8" 58 12 11 – – 1 6 1 2 <1 – – – 1 <1 <1 Biotite ± sillimanite ± garnet + K–feldspar +
9031' and 9033'8" 60 2 22 – – <1 7 1 1 <1 – – – <1 – <1 quartz gneiss
23-M-22X-3                                  
9312' 3 3 54 23 5 – – – – – 5 5 1 – – <1 Quartz + cordierite + hornblende + clinopiroxene
+ K–feldspar gneiss
9587'9" 16 14 27 23 – <1 – – – – 6 8 <1 – 4 <1 Biotite ± cordierite + quartz + clinopiroxene +
K–feldspar gneiss
23-M-22X-4                                  
9579' 15 – 61 22 – – – – – – – – 1 – – 1 Quartz ± clinopiroxene + plagioclase gneiss (mafic
granulite)
23-M-17X                                  
7981'6" – – 37 6 42 3 – – – – 8 3 1 1 – – Biotite + clinopiroxene + cordierite + hornblende +
plagioclase gneiss
7991'4" – – 35 12 46 <1 – – – – – 2 1 <1 <1 <1 Biotite ± clinopiroxene + cordierite + hornblende +
plagioclase gneiss
Atuschon granitic gneiss—Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula

Zu-1 50 40 1 – 2 4 – – – – 0 – 1 – – <1
Zu-3 30 40 1 – 10 12 – – – – 0 – 1 – – 1
Zu-4 35 35 1 – 2 13 – – – – 0 – 10 – – 1 Plagioclase + hornblende + biotite + K–feldspar +
Zu-5 45 35 4 – 7 2 – – – – 1 – 3 – – 1 quartz gneiss
Zu-6 40 35 2 – 20 0 – – – – 1 – 2 – – <1
Zu-6-A 40 35 4 – 10 0 – – – – 1 – 3 – – 2
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  115
Sillimanite: light green, somewhat brownish, with
moderate relief and typical acicular radial habit (fib-
brolite); forms discontinuous coronas around chlo-
ritized garnet and biotite (Figure 8C and D); also
appears as fine acicular aggregates between quartz
and feldspar crystals.
Biotite: scarce, with micaceous habit, and strongly
choritized; usually appears with coronas of acicular
radial sillimanite that forms epitaxial overgrowths
(Figure 8C and D).
Muscovite: colorless, scarce, with micaceous habit,
and often associated with sillimanite, from which it
differs by lower relief and being colorless.
Chlorite: light green with weak pleochroism, mica-
ceous to feathery habit, and occurs as an alteration
product of garnet and biotite.
Titanite: dark brown with weak pleochroism, elon-
gated prismatic habit, and shows cleavage and poly-
synthetic twinning, possibly of detritic origin.
Zircon: light brown to neutral, short prismatic habit,
and occurs with rounded borders.
Epidote: colorless to greenish and forms tiny pris-
matic crystals and grains as alteration products of
intermediate plagioclase.
Apatite: colorless, long prismatic habit, and appears
with characteristic rounded basal sections.
Graphite: granular to scaly; and scarce but conspicu-
ous (Figure 8A).
Ore minerals: xenoblastic limonitized magnetite,
appear as isolated grains, pyrite as limonitized cubic
crystals, and form leucoxene as an alteration product
of titanite.
23-M-22X-3 and 23-M-17X—High-Grade Cordierite
Pelitic Gneiss (Metapelite). This lithology is particu-
larly abundant in well 23-M-22X (see Table 2). It is a
gneissic medium-grained rock (1–4 mm), with folia-
tion defined by biotite, amphibole, and/or chlorite,
the latter being an alteration product. It is the only
lithologic type in northwestern Venezuela that exhib-
its somewhat preserved cordierite, which is often pin-
itized and hard to identify. When preserved it has a
weak greenish hue, and it is easy to be mistaken with
other low birefringence species, except for its higher
relief and alteration to pinite (chlorite) (Figure 9A to
D). It also can be transformed to fibrous sillimanite
associated with chlorite (Figure 9C and D). The fol-
lowing is its petrographic description:
Plagioclase (An33–34): cloudy and brownish because
of saussuritization; appears as laths showing albite,
Carlsbad albite, and pericline twinning; difficult
to spot because of alteration. Sometimes it shows
albitic overgrowths and antiperhitic textures with
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 115
drop-like exsolutions of alkali feldspar having lower
birefringence.
Quartz: colorless, xenoblastic with sutured borders,
in large elongated grains defining foliation that has
strong undulatory extinction; also appears as smaller
grains with ameboid borders.
Alkali feldspar: colorless, with tabular habit; it is
microcline showing tartan twinning and having scarce
sericitized perthitic exsolutions of albite.
Cordierite: when it is well preserved, it has a light
greenish hue, moderate relief, and a stubby prismatic
habit, as seen in Figure 9A to C. The unaltered parts
present as a mosaic of residual fragments, as shown in
Figure 9A and B. Cordierite more commonly appears
as rounded or stubby prismatic choritized pseudo-
morphs (pinite). It also can be transformed to fibrous
sillimanite, which is mingled with chlorite (Figure 9C
and D). It is the only mafic mineral ever present in
this lithologic type; all others can vary or concentrate
locally, even at a thin section level. This variability is
probably because of subtle chemical changes in the
pelitic protolith.
Sillimanite: light brownish green; it appears as
fibrous parallel aggregates and veinlets inside chlo-
ritized cordierite, showing higher birefringence
(­Figure 9A to D).
Hornblende: moderately pleochroic from green to
pale green; has an elongated prismatic habit with dark
brown basal sections showing rhombic cleavage. It
defines a nematoblastic foliation (Figure 10A and B);
often associated with clinopyroxene (Figure 10).
Clinopyroxene: neutral with dark spots, stubby pris-
matic, with rectangular cleavage, and quite well pre-
served (Figure 10A and B). The dark hue is because of
its alteration to leucoxene and carbonate.
Biotite: strongly pleochroic from reddish brown
to pale brown, chloritized and altered to leucoxene,
and is Ti-rich. It forms feathery aggregates that, when
locally abundant, define a lepidoblastic foliation.
Chlorite: pale green; weakly pleochroic. It appears
as a product of alteration of biotite and cordierite
(­Figure 9A to D).
Apatite: colorless; prismatic to granular. It is scarce
but conspicuous.
Epidote: pale green; weakly pleochroic. It forms
granular aggregates or tiny short prisms as a product
of alteration of plagioclase.
Calcite: dirty looking and brownish; probably
­Fe-bearing; it appears as a product of alteration of pla-
gioclase and clinopyroxene. It also appears as isolated
spots in the rock.
Titanite: moderate pleochroism in brownish hues,
prismatic idioblasts, sometimes wedge-shaped, quite
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 116  Baquero ET AL

A Pl (Ser) B
Pl (Ser)

Crd Crd+Sil
Crd+Sil Crd

Mag Mag
0.5 mm 0.5 mm
Crd (Chl)
Crd
Mag
Mag
Sil
Crd+Chl

Crd+Chl
Crd Pl
Crd
C 0.5 mm Crd 0.5 mm D

Figure 9. Photomicrographs of sillimanite-cordierite-plagioclase high grade pelitic gneiss from basement cores of La Vela Bay,
offshore Falcon Basin. (A) Section 23-M-22X-9312’, uncrossed polars. Short prismatic crystal of cordierite with unaltered granu-
lated borders, having moderate relief and a greenish hue. In the lower left and center of the picture the central parts of the
crystal are altered to chlorite (pinitized), but in the center of the picture two crystals are altered to fibrous sillimanite. (B) Same
as before, crossed polars (XP). Note the low birefringence of cordierite, forming a granular mosaic. (C) Detail of a crystal
of chloritized cordierite transformed in its borders and fractures to fibrous sillimanite, which shows better in the ­unaltered
borders. Note the higher relief of cordierite compared to plagioclase. (D) Same as before, XP. Note the higher ­birefringence
of sillimanite compared to chlorite and the altered plagioclase. Chl 5 chlorite, Crd 5 cordierite, Mag 5 magnetite,
Pl 5 plagioclase, Ser 5 sericite, Sil 5 sillimanite.

A B
Hbl
Hbl

Cpx Cpx

Pl
Pl
0.5 mm 0.5 mm

Figure 10. Photomicrographs of clinopyroxene hornblende plagioclase pelitic gneiss from basement cores of La Vela Bay.
(A) Section 23-M-17-7991’4”, uncrossed polars. Clinopyroxene altered to carbonate and leucoxene surrounded by
­hornblende. Note the folded elongated prism of amphibole. Some pinitized cordierite is present. (B) Detail of the former,
showing dark crystals of clinopyroxene, which appear as being formed from hornblende, and not the other way round, as
usually happens. Plagioclase shows antiperthitic texture. Cpx 5 clinopyroxene, Hbl 5 hornblende, Pl 5 plagioclase.

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 116 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  117

altered to leucoxene, and shows polysynthetic twin-
ning and marked rhombic cleavage.
Opaques: magnetite in large grains (Figure 9A to D),
limonitized pyrite, and leucoxene as an alteration
product of clinopyroxene and Ti-biotite.
23-M-22X-4—Clinopyroxene Quartz Plagioclase
Gneiss (Mafic Granulite). This is also a common
lithology in these cores. The dated sample correlates
with thin section 23-M-22X-9579' (Table 2). It is a rock
rich in plagioclase and quartz, with essential propor-
tions of clinopyroxene. Its foliation is defined by very
deformed quartz and clinopyroxene. A pelitic proto-
lith is assumed because of the lack of information, but
it could also be mafic, volcanoclastic, or epiclastic. Its
petrographic description follows:
Plagioclase: sericitized and epidotized; shows hardly
visible albite twinning because of its alteration; prob-
ably andesine because of its alteration pattern.
Quartz: colorless, xenoblastic to ameboid, and with
strong undulatory extinction.
Clinopyroxene: neutral or altered to ferrous car-
bonate, limonite, and leucoxene, in which case has a
brownish hue (Figure 11A); with short prismatic habit;
because of its high extinction angle, it could be augite.
Some plagioclase inclusions could represent a relict
blastophitic texture.
Epidote: pale green, prismatic to granular, and
occurs as an alteration product of plagioclase.
Zircon: neutral to gray, with rounded typical “soc-
cer-ball” habit (Figure 11B), indicating high-grade
metamorphic.
Carbonate: colorless calcite in conjugated veinlets
(Figure 11B) or appears as brownish ferrous carbonate
as an alteration product of clinopyroxene.
Apatite: colorless, with long prismatic habit, quite
fractured, and scarce.
Opaques: magnetite in isolated grains; forms leucox-
ene as an alteration product of clinopyroxene.
Atuschon Granitic Gneiss, Venezuelan Guajira Penin-
sula. This is a holocrystalline, coarse-grained foliated
rock. The samples examined by Azancot (2010) consists
mainly of potassic feldspar (35–40%), quartz (35–50%),
plagioclase (4–1%), hornblende (2–20%), and biotite
(1–13%); accessory minerals include zircon, apatite,
and magnetite. The mineral composition of this gneiss
suggests that its protolith is granitic. Together with
zircon morphology, CL images and geochemistry data
(Table 3) indicate a magmatic origin. ­Typical macro-
and microscopic features of this gneiss are shown in
Figure 12. The petrographic analysis of the Atuschon
granitic gneiss area is given in Table 2.
Analytical Procedures
Whole-rock Major and Trace Elemental Analyses
Seven samples were selected for chemical analyses of
high-grade metamorphic rocks from La Vela Bay, off-
shore Falcon Basin, and one sample from the Atuschon
granitic gneiss in the Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula. The
samples were crushed and powered to 200 mesh in an

A B
Cpx
Qtz Cal

Zr
Pl Pl
Qtz 0.5 mm 0.5 mm

Figure 11. Photomicrographs of clinopyroxene quartz plagioclase gneiss (mafic granulite) from basement cores of La Vela Bay.
(A) Section 23-M-22-9579’, crossed polars. Quite altered clinopyroxene crystals cut by carbonate veinlets, unaltered quartz
and sericitized plagioclase. Some plagioclase inclusions in clinopyroxene could represent a relict blastophitic texture.
(B) Another detail of the same section. Here the rock is cut by conjugated carbonate veinlets, which have quite altered all the
minerals present. Plagioclase is sericitized and carbonatized, clinopyroxene is also carbonatized. In the left side of the picture
two zircon crystals can be seen, the lower one showing typical “soccer-ball” habit. Cal 5 calcite, Cpx 5 clinopyroxene,
Pl 5 plagioclase, Qtz 5 quartz, Zr 5 zircon.

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 117 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 118  Baquero ET AL

Figure 12. (A) Field photo-

graph of Atuschon granitic
gneiss. B to F) Thin sec-
tion of sample Zu-6, with
crossed polars. (B) Note
the presence of perthitic
potassic feldspar stained to
Fe-oxides. (C) Hornblende
surrounded by perthitic
potassic feldspar. (D) Biotite
partially chloritized
­surrounded by quartz and
perthitic potassic feldspar.
(E) Perthitic potassic
feldspar with drop-shaped
albite exsolutions. In the
right side of the picture a
zircon crystal with subhedral
morphology can be seen.
(F) Metamorphic zircon
showing typical “soccer-ball”
morphology surrounded by
perthitic potassic feldspar.
Bt 5 biotite, Hbl 5 horn-
blende, Kfs 5 ­potasic
feldspar, Qtz 5 quartz,
Zr 5 zircon.

agate mortar and an agate mill. The abundances of major
and minor elements were obtained using inductively
coupled plasma (ICP) emission spectrometry ­following
a lithium borate fusion and dilute digestion of a 0.2-g
sample pulp. The accuracies of ICP emission analyses
are estimated to be ±0.01, and the trace elements were
analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma mass
spectrometry (ICP-MS) at Acme Analytical Laboratories
­(Vancouver, Canada; for further details of the analytic
procedure, see http://acmelab.com). For analytical qual-
ity control, one international rock standard STD SO-18
and a prepared blank G1 were analyzed along with the
sample series. Results are given in Table 3.
LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP U/Pb Zircon Geochronology
All zircons were processed and separated from 2-kg to
5-kg rock samples by standard density and magnetic
separation techniques at the Center of Geochronologi-
cal Research of the University of Sao Paulo (CPGeo–
USP). Non-magnetic zircons were mounted in epoxy
and polished to approximately half of their original
thickness. Prior to the analyses, cathodoluminiscence
(CL) images were obtained for all grains to investi-
gate the crystal zoning and to select analytical spots.
U/Pb metamorphic zircon analyses were performed
using a using a inductively coupled plasma mass

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 118 10/21/15 11:18 AM

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 119

Table 3. Major and trace element analyses of the representative high-grade metamorphic and Atuschon granitic gneiss rocks from La Vela Bay,
offshore Falcon Basin, and Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula, respectively.

ID muestra: 23-M-22X-1 23-M-22X-1 23-M-22X-1 23-M-22X-2 23-M-22X-3 23-M-22X-3 23-M-22X-4 Zu-6

Basin Falcon Falcon Falcon Falcon Falcon Falcon Falcon Maracaibo
lithology: offshore offshore offshore offshore offshore offshore offshore Guajira, Atuschon
metawacke metawacke metawacke metapyroxenite metapelite metapelite mafic granulite granitic gneiss

New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  119
Depth (ft): 8.933' 9.025' 9.046' 9.199' 9.318' 9.577' 9.579' Outcrop
Depth (m): 2.722 2.750 2.757 2.803 2.840 2.919 2.920 -
SiO2 61.82 64.21 70.25 44.53 63.51 57.72 40.73 77.34
Al2O3 14.48 13.64 11.92 7.13 11.51 14.14 8.44 12.5
TFe2O31 8.5 7.08 7.16 10.16 6.07 7.5 6.36 1.22
MgO 3.7 2.91 2.82 9.6 3.07 4.65 6.9 0.19
CaO 0.62 0.6 0.73 18.35 5.51 3.84 21.97 0.1
Na2O 0.96 1.48 1.2 0.39 2.94 3.57 0.33 3.15
K2O 6.27 6.18 3.88 2.13 2.98 3.73 2.89 4.48
TiO2 0.93 0.87 0.47 0.74 0.86 0.99 0.48 0.08
P2O5 0.16 0.11 0.05 0.3 0.16 0.22 0.12 0.03
MnO 0.15 0.15 0.23 0.32 0.09 0.11 0.16 0.02
Cr2O3 0.013 0.012 0.01 0.009 0.012 0.012 0.006 <0.002
Ni 59 45 34 355 40 48 22 <20
Sc 21 17 18 16 16 16 11 2
LOI 2.1 2.4 1.1 5.9 3.1 3.3 11.3 0.7
Sum 99.69 99.7 99.77 99.57 99.81 99.75 99.73 99.82
                 
Ba 1040 1498 824 1193 582 768 719 1288
Be <1 <1 <1 5 <1 1 2 <1
Co 32.9 22.4 13.7 63.1 14.4 20.8 19.8 0.6
Cs 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.1 <0.1 0.1 1 0.6
Ga 19.1 15.4 11.9 12.1 12.4 15.9 13 13.3
Hf 8.3 7.4 8.5 4.2 5.1 7.8 5.2 3.2
Nb 11.7 13.6 13.9 2.4 6.2 8.8 7.2 9
Rb 189.5 131.9 76.1 37.8 43.2 52.8 82.2 97.5
Sn 1 <1 <1 1 3 3 2 1
Sr 140.2 129.9 127.7 652.5 271.4 225.5 199.4 50.4
Ta 0.5 0.7 0.9 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.8
Th 13.7 10.6 5.2 2.8 1.2 1.4 7.1 5.3
U 1.3 0.7 0.9 0.4 0.6 0.3 2.5 1
V 138 106 73 137 87 95 67 <8
W <0.5 <0.5 0.7 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 1.4 1.1
Zr 291.7 243.5 299.4 158.6 203.3 279.1 171.2 76.6
Y 37.6 34 43.8 25.3 32.7 28.5 39.6 18.2
La 42.8 34.2 20 53.6 28.8 20.3 42.3 25.6
Ce 89.2 68.7 38.6 135.4 63 42.6 92.2 49
(continued)
10/21/15 11:18 AM
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 120

120  Baquero ET AL
Table 3. Continued

ID muestra: 23-M-22X-1 23-M-22X-1 23-M-22X-1 23-M-22X-2 23-M-22X-3 23-M-22X-3 23-M-22X-4 Zu-6

Pr 10.76 8.21 4.38 17.86 7.76 5.72 10.47 5.63
Nd 42.9 33 16.7 80 31.4 25.4 41.3 20.5
Sm 8.39 6.01 3.97 13.33 6.64 5.34 7.88 3.56
Eu 1.83 1.42 1.28 2.78 1.25 1.02 1.44 0.57
Gd 7.21 5.26 5.44 8.21 6.19 5.13 7.06 2.81
Tb 1.16 0.97 1.21 1.08 1.05 0.86 1.18 0.48
Dy 6.77 6.08 7.46 4.93 5.91 5.11 6.46 2.98
Ho 1.41 1.29 1.69 0.87 1.21 1.04 1.32 0.6
Er 4.45 3.94 5.28 2.48 3.6 2.98 3.96 1.86
Tm 0.67 0.64 0.77 0.37 0.54 0.47 0.6 0.32
Yb 4.37 4.13 5.24 2.23 3.3 3.03 3.84 2.21
Lu 0.67 0.6 0.8 0.34 0.5 0.46 0.57 0.36
TOT/C 0.11 0.22 0.08 0.98 0.53 0.2 2.36 <0.02
TOT/S 0.3 0.33 0.06 1.13 0.03 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02
Mo 1.9 1.4 0.8 1.5 0.2 0.6 0.3 1
Cu 210.5 75.6 98.9 75.1 3.6 2.9 1.6 1.7
Pb 8.2 10.4 2.5 3.9 0.5 1.8 1.2 0.6
Zn 214 89 31 26 35 70 24 9
Ni 59.9 41.7 34.8 266.3 25.5 40.7 7.6 3.3
As 76.8 22.8 9.8 16.7 2.6 2 2.2 <0.5
Cd 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Sb <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Bi <0.1 0.1 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Ag 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Au 1.3 1.7 0.7 3.2 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 1.2
Hg 0.02 0.05 0.02 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01
Tl <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Se 1.2 0.9 <0.5 1.4 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  121
spectrimetry (ICP-MS) attached to a New Wave UP193
laser ablation system (l = 193 nm) with an excimer
laser beam diameter of 30 mm in core samples from La
Vela Bay, the Falcon Basin. ­Analyses were carried out
at Geochronology Research Center, University of Sao
Paulo. Detailed analytical procedures are described
by Sato et al. (2010). The unknown zircons were cali-
brated relative to GEMOC GJ-1 zircon standard with
ages 206Pb/238U = 599.8 ± 2.4 Ma, 207Pb/235U = 601.6
± 9 Ma and 207Pb/ 206Pb = 608.5 ± 0.5 Ma. Analyses
of the standard were performed at regular intervals
between unknowns. A total of 35 U/Pb analyses were
performed in the two samples. The best age selected
for geologic interpretation is the 207Pb/206Pb age for
zircons older than 850 Ma and the 206Pb/238U age for
younger zircons. In addition, zircon fractions from
samples Zu-6, 23-M-22X-1(metawacke, duplicated),
and 23-M-22X-4 (mafic granulite) were analyzed on
SHRIMP-II at the Research School of Earth Sciences,
the Australian National University, Canberra, accord-
ing to the procedures described by Williams (1998).
Tables 4 and 5 present the apparent U/Pb ages and the
complete analytical dataset.
40
Ar/39Ar Hornblende Determination
A few hornblendes from samples of metapelitic rock
were concentrated and analyzed by the 40Ar/ 39Ar
method in the Argon Geochronology Laboratory
of the University of Michigan using the McMaster
Nuclear Reactor at McMaster University in Ham-
ilton, Ontario. The J value estimated for the sample
packet location was 3.71 × 10−3 ± 9.89 × 10−6. Ar iso-
topes were measured using a VG 1200S noble gas
mass spectrometer equipped with a source operating
at 150-mA total emissions and equipped with a Daly
detector operated in analog mode. Streepey et al.
(2000) and Keane et al. (2006) describe these analyti-
cal procedures. ­Replicate laser step-heating analyses
were performed, and detailed analytical data are pro-
vided in Table 6.
Results and Discussion
Whole-rock Geochemistry
Major and Trace Elements
High-grade Metamorphic Rocks, Sedimentary Proto-
lith, and Felsic Composition, La Vela Bay. The varia-
tion in chemical composition (Table 3) is illustrated in
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 121
Harker diagrams in Figure 13 for the major elements
and in Figure 14 for some trace elements. The major ele-
ment distribution indicates a similar composition for
these rocks, though some chemical variations are evi-
dent in the Harker diagrams. These rocks exhibit a pre-
dominant felsic composition. The SiO2 contents range
from 58% to 70%, except for two samples that contain
40% to 45% of SiO2 (no zircon fractions were separated
from the 23-M-22X-2 sample). The Harker diagrams of
La Vela Bay samples show the highest Na2O disper-
sion, while the other has negative correlations between
Si2O and TiO2, MgO, Al2O3, CaO, MnO, and Fe2O3 and
positive correlations between Si2O and K2O. The La
Vela Bay rocks have light rare earth element-enriched
chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns with
strongly negative Eu anomaly (Sun and M ­ cDonough,
1989) (Figure 15A). All samples also have similar Large
ion lithophile element and high field strength element
patterns and display negative Rb, Th, and U anomalies
in the upper crust-normalized trace element diagram
(Taylor and McLennan, 1981) (Figure 15B), a typical fea-
ture of high-grade metamorphic rock granulite facies,
and thus we cannot establish the nature of the protolith.
However, they have high Zr and Si2O content that sug-
gests a meta-sedimentary character.
Atuschon Granitic Gneiss, Venezuelan Guajira
Peninsula. Its composition, determined in the sample,
Zu-6, is as follows: 77% SiO2 and 12.5% Al2O3 (Table 3).
It shows lower CaO, Fe2O3, MgO, MnO, and TiO2 and
higher Al2O3, K2O, and Na2O (Figure 13). The K2O ver-
sus SiO2 diagram (Figure 13) shows the granitic gneiss
plot in the medium-K calc-alkaline field. The Atuschon
granitic gneiss exhibits similar REE distribution pat-
terns as the high-grade metamorphic rocks from La Vela
Bay. Primitive mantle normalized multi-element plot
yields negative Ta, Nb, and Ti anomalies and (La/Sm)N
value of 3.94 (McDonough and Sun, 1995) (Figure 16A),
which is typical of subduction zones. In the tectonic dis-
crimination diagrams after Jolly et al. (2001), the sample
shows a calc-alkaline arc affinity (Figure 16B). Similarly,
within the Yb vs. Ta, Yb+Ta vs. Rb, and Y+Nb vs. Rb
discrimination diagrams for granitic gneiss after Pearce
et al. (1984), the analyzed sample plots in the volcanic
arc granite setting (Figure 16C to E).
Zircon Textures and CL Images
La Vela Bay, Offshore Falcon Basin—Drilling–Core
The zircon fractions studied in the samples 23-M-22X-1,
23-M-22X-3, and 23-M-22X-4 of this work are pink,
transparent, and mostly 50 to 180 mm in diameter, and
10/21/15 11:18 AM
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 122

Table 4. Summary of LA-ICP-MS U/Pb zircon data for drilling–core samples 23-M-22X-1 and 23-M-22X-3—La Vela Bay, offshore Falcon Basin.

  Ratio Dates (Ma)          

% Best
207
Spot Pb-235U   1s 206
Pb-238U   1s 238
U-206Pb   1s 207
Pb-206Pb   1s 208
Pb-206Pb   1s 206
Pb-238U   1s 207Pb-235U   1s 207
Pb-206Pb   1s Concord. Age ±1s Remark

Sample 23-M-22X-1 
1.1 1.6551 ± 0.0170 0.1634 ± 0.0006 6.1183 ± 0.0211 0.0737 ± 0.0004 0.3517 ± 0.5289 976 ± 3 992 ± 6 1035 ± 10 98 1035 ± 10  
2.1 1.9521 ± 0.0217 0.1787 ± 0.0007 5.5975 ± 0.0229 0.0795 ± 0.0005 3.2286 ± 5.1865 1060 ± 4 1099 ± 7 1189 ± 11 96 1189 ± 11  
3.1 1.3371 ± 0.0157 0.1428 ± 0.0007 7.0035 ± 0.0328 0.0689 ± 0.0004 1.4186 ± 2.4468 860 ± 4 862 ± 7 894 ± 11 100 894 ± 4  
4.1 1.8035 ± 0.0211 0.1750 ± 0.0010 5.7155 ± 0.0330 0.0752 ± 0.0004 2.1703 ± 4.0402 1039 ± 6 1047 ± 8 1076 ± 11 99 1076 ± 11  
5.1 1.4930 ± 0.0166 0.1500 ± 0.0006 6.6673 ± 0.0250 0.0716 ± 0.0004 0.3862 ± 0.7810 901 ± 3 928 ± 7 975 ± 10 97 975 ± 10  
6.1 3.0160 ± 0.0331 0.2326 ± 0.0010 4.2992 ± 0.0186 0.0942 ± 0.0004 1.4945 ± 3.3075 1348 ± 5 1412 ± 8 1519 ± 9 95 1519 ± 9 SA craton
source?
7.1 1.5099 ± 0.0158 0.1525 ± 0.0007 6.5573 ± 0.0294 0.0716 ± 0.0004 1.4848 ± 3.5770 915 ± 4 934 ± 6 974 ± 12 98 974 ± 12  
8.1 1.9139 ± 0.0198 0.1807 ± 0.0007 5.5353 ± 0.0212 0.0767 ± 0.0003 0.1911 ± 0.5215 1071 ± 4 1086 ± 7 1117 ± 9 99 1117 ± 9  
9.1 1.5145 ± 0.0165 0.1530 ± 0.0006 6.5341 ± 0.0269 0.0706 ± 0.0004 1.4259 ± 4.4029 918 ± 4 936 ± 7 944 ± 13 98 944 ± 13  
10.1 1.6582 ± 0.0183 0.1640 ± 0.0007 6.0982 ± 0.0250 0.0735 ± 0.0004 0.2042 ± 0.7262 979 ± 4 993 ± 7 1029 ± 10 99 1029 ± 10  
11.1 1.5628 ± 0.0168 0.1593 ± 0.0007 6.2790 ± 0.0276 0.0721 ± 0.0004 2.0686 ± 8.6723 953 ± 4 956 ± 7 989 ± 12 100 989 ± 12  
12.1 12.2000 ± 0.1318 0.4786 ± 0.0022 2.0894 ± 0.0096 0.1856 ± 0.0008 0.9338 ± 4.7674 2521 ± 10 2620 ± 10 2707 ± 8 96 2707 ± 8 SA craton
source?
13.1 1.8436 ± 0.0221 0.1716 ± 0.0008 5.8275 ± 0.0275 0.0782 ± 0.0004 0.5686 ± 3.7112 1021 ± 4 1061 ± 8 1155 ± 10 96 1155 ± 10  

Sample 23-M-22X-3
1.1N 2.2012 ± 0.0173 0.1967 ± 0.0014 5.0837 ± 0.0358 0.0811 ± 0.0004 0.1753 ± 0.0655 1158 ± 7 1181 ± 5 1227 ± 9 98 1227 ± 9 Inherited
zircon
1.2B 1.6254 ± 0.0159 0.1621 ± 0.0013 6.1698 ± 0.0507 0.0725 ± 0.0005 0.6466 ± 0.2478 968 ± 7 980 ± 6 1000 ± 13 99 1000 ± 13  
3.1N 2.0954 ± 0.0170 0.1922 ± 0.0013 5.2021 ± 0.0347 0.0784 ± 0.0005 0.3402 ± 0.1375 1133 ± 7 1147 ± 6 1161 ± 12 99 1161 ± 12  
3.2B 1.7382 ± 0.0149 0.1706 ± 0.0012 5.8620 ± 0.0419 0.0741 ± 0.0005 0.3821 ± 0.1587 1015 ± 7 1023 ± 6 1044 ± 13 99 1044 ± 13  
4.1 1.6308 ± 0.0121 0.1617 ± 0.0011 6.1825 ± 0.0405 0.0719 ± 0.0004 0.8878 ± 0.3792 966 ± 6 982 ± 5 982 ± 10 98 982 ± 10  
5.1 2.0162 ± 0.0211 0.1838 ± 0.0016 5.4403 ± 0.0486 0.0785 ± 0.0004 0.3866 ± 0.1693 1088 ± 9 1121 ± 7 1162 ± 11 97 1162 ± 11  
6.2B 1.5498 ± 0.0112 0.1554 ± 0.0010 6.4344 ± 0.0419 0.0714 ± 0.0003 0.1126 ± 0.0526 931 ± 6 950 ± 4 970 ± 10 98 970 ± 10  
8.1N 2.0238 ± 0.0157 0.1866 ± 0.0013 5.3589 ± 0.0363 0.0773 ± 0.0004 0.1929 ± 0.0962 1103 ± 7 1124 ± 5 1133 ± 9 98 1133 ± 9  
8.2B 1.8852 ± 0.0129 0.1763 ± 0.0012 5.6727 ± 0.0372 0.0773 ± 0.0004 0.2030 ± 0.1048 1047 ± 6 1076 ± 5 1131 ± 9 97 1131 ± 9  
9.1 1.3711 ± 0.0185 0.1434 ± 0.0014 6.9723 ± 0.0667 0.0689 ± 0.0004 0.4358 ± 0.2331 864 ± 8 877 ± 8 895 ± 12 99 895 ± 8  
10.1 1.6490 ± 0.0212 0.1606 ± 0.0013 6.2278 ± 0.0512 0.0718 ± 0.0009 -1.2156 ± 2.8934 960 ± 7 989 ± 8 979 ± 26 97 979 ± 26  
11.1 1.4591 ± 0.0244 0.1517 ± 0.0016 6.5904 ± 0.0697 0.0700 ± 0.0011 -0.7154 ± 1.9063 911 ± 9 914 ± 10 926 ± 33 100 926 ± 33  
13.1 1.4578 ± 0.0202 0.1497 ± 0.0016 6.6801 ± 0.0698 0.0703 ± 0.0009 -1.0557 ± 3.6958 899 ± 9 913 ± 8 935 ± 27 98 935 ± 27  
14.1 1.5021 ± 0.0175 0.1539 ± 0.0014 6.4965 ± 0.0586 0.0711 ± 0.0009 -0.5214 ± 2.1652 923 ± 8 931 ± 7 961 ± 26 99 961 ± 26  
15.1 1.5171 ± 0.0125 0.1559 ± 0.0012 6.4137 ± 0.0513 0.0708 ± 0.0006 -0.7045 ± 3.5944 934 ± 7 937 ± 5 952 ± 17 100 952 ± 17  
16.1B 1.4956 ± 0.0138 0.1511 ± 0.0012 6.6194 ± 0.0540 0.0706 ± 0.0007 -0.5543 ± 3.5217 907 ± 7 929 ± 6 945 ± 20 98 945 ± 20  
17.1 1.4742 ± 0.0106 0.1516 ± 0.0013 6.5971 ± 0.0556 0.0700 ± 0.0005 -0.0459 ± 0.7453 910 ± 7 920 ± 4 926 ± 16 99 926 ± 16  
10/21/15 11:18 AM
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 123

Table 5. Summary of SHRIMP U/Pb zircon data for drilling–core samples 23-M-22X-1 (duplicated) and 23-M-22X-4 from La Vela Bay, offshore Falcon Basin,
and Atuschon granitic gneiss from Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula.

Composition Isotopic ratios Dates (Ma)        

U Th 206
Pbc 206
Pb *
error % Best
232 238 207 * 235 207 * 206 * 206 * 238 206 238 207 206
Spot (ppm) (ppm) Th/ U (%) (ppm) Pb / U ± 1s Pb / Pb ± 1s Pb / U   1s corr Pb/ U ± 1s Pb/ Pb ± 1s Discordante Age ±1s Remark
La Vela Bay—offshore Falcon Basin 
Sample 23-M-22X-1 (duplicated) 
3.1 84 38 0.45 0.00 12 1.679 ± 2.1 0.0735 ± 1.5 0.1656 ± 1.5 0.695 988 ± 13 1029 ± 31 4 1029 ± 31  
4.1 571 199 0.35 0.00 82.8 1.662 ± 1.3 0.07149 ± 0.58 0.1686 ± 1.2 0.894 1005 ± 11 971 ± 12 -3 971 ± 12  
5.1 146 230 1.58 0.00 21 1.65 ± 1.7 0.07117 ± 1.1 0.1682 ± 1.3 0.755 1002 ± 12 962 ± 23 -4 962 ± 23  
6.1 151 104 0.69 0.00 20.9 1.604 ± 1.9 0.07221 ± 1.1 0.1611 ± 1.5 0.788 963 ± 13 992 ± 23 3 992 ± 23  
7.1 292 208 0.72 0.00 45.8 2.073 ± 3.3 0.0823 ± 2.7 0.1828 ± 1.8 0.558 1082 ± 18 1252 ± 54 16 1252 ± 54  
8.1 281 36 0.13 0.11 39 1.599 ± 2.2 0.072 ± 1.5 0.1611 ± 1.6 0.734 963 ± 15 986 ± 31 2 986 ± 31  
9.1 110 60 0.55 0.00 15.9 1.676 ± 1.9 0.07209 ± 1.3 0.1686 ± 1.4 0.730 1004 ± 13 989 ± 26 -2 989 ± 26  
10.1 160 92 0.58 0.00 22.8 1.64 ± 1.7 0.07157 ± 1.1 0.1662 ± 1.3 0.756 991 ± 12 974 ± 23 -2 974 ± 23  
11.1 434 230 0.53 0.06 62.3 1.658 ± 1.4 0.07189 ± 0.69 0.1672 ± 1.2 0.862 997 ± 11 983 ± 14 -1 983 ± 14  
12.1 111 58 0.52 0.00 15.9 1.67 ± 1.9 0.07233 ± 1.3 0.1674 ± 1.4 0.729 998 ± 13 995 ± 26 0 995 ± 26  
13.1 102 50 0.49 0.18 14.1 1.618 ± 2.3 0.0726 ± 1.6 0.1616 ± 1.7 0.734 966 ± 15 1003 ± 32 4 1003 ± 32  
14.1 119 68 0.57 0.00 16.5 1.592 ± 1.9 0.07163 ± 1.3 0.1612 ± 1.4 0.732 963 ± 12 976 ± 26 1 976 ± 26  
15.1 315 68 0.22 0.04 45.1 1.655 ± 1.8 0.07201 ± 1 0.1667 ± 1.5 0.823 994 ± 14 986 ± 21 -1 986 ± 21  
16.1 313 51 0.16 0.00 42.5 1.576 ± 1.5 0.07214 ± 0.8 0.1584 ± 1.2 0.840 948 ± 11 990 ± 16 4 990 ± 16  
17.1 406 21 0.05 0.00 58.4 1.665 ± 1.7 0.07211 ± 1.1 0.1675 ± 1.3 0.756 998 ± 12 989 ± 22 -1 989 ± 22  
18.1 212 150 0.71 0.00 30.1 1.64 ± 1.6 0.07218 ± 0.95 0.1648 ± 1.3 0.797 983 ± 11 991 ± 19 1 991 ± 19  
19.1 613 61 0.10 0.02 77.3 1.421 ± 1.3 0.07022 ± 0.62 0.1468 ± 1.2 0.881 883.1 ± 9.5 935 ± 13 6 935 ± 13  
20.1 259 143 0.55 0.00 36 1.616 ± 1.6 0.07234 ± 0.86 0.162 ± 1.3 0.842 968 ± 12 996 ± 17 3 996 ± 17  
21.1 354 94 0.27 0.00 55.8 2.015 ± 3.8 0.0796 ± 3.3 0.1835 ± 1.8 0.481 1086 ± 18 1188 ± 66 9 1188 ± 66  
Sample 23-M-22X-4                                        
1.1 145 248 1.71 0.00 21.9 1.762 ± 2.8 0.0728 ± 2.4 0.1756 ± 1.6 0.563 1043 ± 15 1007 ± 48 -4 1007 ± 48  
2.1 36 33 0.93 0.00 5.3 1.751 ± 2.7 0.0739 ± 2.1 0.1718 ± 1.7 0.638 1022 ± 16 1038 ± 42 2 1038 ± 42  
3.1 90 135 1.49 0.00 12.7 1.62 ± 1.9 0.07163 ± 1.4 0.1641 ± 1.4 0.700 979 ± 12 975 ± 28 0 975 ± 28  
4.1 144 175 1.22 0.00 20.3 1.62 ± 1.7 0.07161 ± 1.1 0.1641 ± 1.2 0.751 979 ± 11 975 ± 22 0 975 ± 22  
5.1 111 75 0.68 0.00 31.2 4.99 ± 2.3 0.1108 ± 1.2 0.3267 ±2 0.855 1822 ± 31 1813 ± 22 0 1813 ± 22 SA craton
source?
6.1 273 207 0.76 0.00 47 2.193 ± 1.3 0.07933 ± 0.67 0.2005 ± 1.2 0.868 1178 ± 12 1180 ± 13 0 1180 ± 13  
7.1 270 200 0.74 0.00 40.6 1.778 ± 1.9 0.07375 ± 1.3 0.1748 ± 1.5 0.750 1039 ± 14 1035 ± 26 0 1035 ± 26  
8.1 485 166 0.34 0.02 77.6 2.011 ± 3.9 0.0784 ± 3 0.1861 ± 2.5 0.647 1100 ± 25 1157 ± 59 5 1157 ± 59  
9.1 416 369 0.89 0.04 61.2 1.729 ± 1.8 0.07321 ± 1.1 0.1713 ± 1.5 0.797 1019 ± 14 1020 ± 22 0 1020 ± 22  
10.1 118 208 1.77 0.00 16.2 1.577 ± 2.1 0.07126 ± 1.2 0.1605 ± 1.6 0.797 960 ± 15 965 ± 25 1 965 ± 25  
11.1 130 227 1.75 0.00 23.7 2.38 ± 3.2 0.0813 ± 2.5 0.2123 ±2 0.621 1241 ± 22 1228 ± 49 -1 1228 ± 49 Inherited
zircon
12.1 296 392 1.33 0.04 44.9 1.81 ± 2.1 0.0743 ± 1.6 0.1767 ± 1.4 0.668 1049 ± 14 1049 ± 32 0 1049 ± 32  
123

13.1 373 87 0.23 0.05 53.8 1.761 ± 1.7 0.07609 ± 0.68 0.1679 ± 1.5 0.912 1001 ± 14 1097 ± 14 9 1097 ± 14  
10/21/15 11:18 AM

14.1 146 227 1.55 – 20.4 1.601 ± 1.7 0.07126 ± 1.2 0.163 ± 1.3 0.725 973 ± 11 965 ± 24 -1 965 ± 24  

(continued)
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 124

Table 5. Continued
124

Composition Isotopic ratios Dates (Ma)        

U Th 206
Pbc 206
Pb *
error % Best
232 238 207 * 235 207 * 206 * 206 * 238 206 238 207 206
Spot (ppm) (ppm) Th/ U (%) (ppm) Pb / U ± 1s Pb / Pb ± 1s Pb / U   1s corr Pb/ U ± 1s Pb/ Pb ± 1s Discordante Age ±1s Remark
15.1 303 415 1.37 0.05 48.1 1.942 ± 1.6 0.07634 ± 0.85 0.1845 ± 1.4 0.851 1092 ± 14 1104 ± 17 1 1104 ± 17  
16.1 148 289 1.96 0.11 20 1.542 ± 2.2 0.0709 ± 1.7 0.1576 ± 1.4 0.647 944 ± 13 956 ± 34 1 956 ± 34  
17.1 103 139 1.35 0.00 13.9 1.555 ± 2 0.07207 ± 1.3 0.1565 ± 1.6 0.767 937 ± 14 988 ± 27 5 988 ± 27  
18.1 131 74 0.57 – 30.3 3.794 ± 2.4 0.10194 ± 0.91 0.2699 ± 2.2 0.923 1540 ± 30 1660 ± 17 7 1660 ± 17 SA craton
source?
19.1 97 133 1.38 0.00 13.5 1.631 ± 2 0.07261 ± 1.4 0.1629 ± 1.5 0.741 973 ± 13 1003 ± 27 3 1003 ± 27  
20.1 13 10 0.78 0.00 1.94 1.775 ± 4.4 0.0753 ± 3.6 0.1709 ± 2.6 0.583 1017 ± 24 1077 ± 72 6 1077 ± 72  
21.1 383 143 0.37 0.02 53.4 1.608 ± 1.6 0.07189 ± 1.2 0.1622 ± 1.1 0.701 969 ± 10 983 ± 24 1 983 ± 24  
22.1 140 203 1.45 0.00 19.3 1.572 ± 1.7 0.07117 ± 1.1 0.1602 ± 1.3 0.739 958 ± 11 962 ± 23 0 962 ± 23  
Atuschon granitic gneiss, Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula Zu-6
1.1 182 37 0.21 0.06 27.5 1.805 ± 1.6 0.07446 ± 1.00 0.1758 ± 1.2 0.760 1044 ± 11 1054 ± 21 1 1054 ± 21  
2.1 509 123 0.25 0.04 77 1.784 ± 1.4 0.07349 ± 0.82 0.1761 ± 1.1 0.799 1045 ± 11 1028 ± 17 -2 1028 ± 17  
3.1 698 159 0.24 0.00 103 1.752 ± 1.3 0.07363 ± 0.80 0.1725 ± 1.1 0.801 1026 ± 10 1031 ± 16 1 1031 ± 16  
3.2 228 65 0.30 0.00 33.5 1.729 ± 1.6 0.0733 ± 1.10 0.1711 ± 1.2 0.733 1018 ± 11 1022 ± 22 0 1022 ± 22  
4.1 331 72 0.22 0.00 49.4 1.754 ± 1.4 0.07325 ± 0.69 0.1737 ± 1.3 0.879 1032 ± 12 1021 ± 14 -1 1021 ± 14  
5.1 481 94 0.20 0.00 71.8 1.77 ± 1.3 0.07378 ± 0.58 0.174 ± 1.1 0.885 1034 ± 11 1036 ± 12 0 1036 ± 12  
5.2 135 35 0.27 0.00 20 1.707 ± 1.9 0.0718 ± 1.10 0.1724 ± 1.5 0.823 1025 ± 15 980 ± 22 -5 980 ± 22  
6.1 188 42 0.23 0.00 28.2 1.776 ± 1.5 0.074 ± 0.91 0.174 ± 1.2 0.796 1034 ± 11 1041 ± 18 1 1041 ± 18  
7.1 418 83 0.20 0.01 62.9 1.77 ± 1.3 0.07331 ± 0.62 0.1751 ± 1.1 0.872 1040 ± 11 1022 ± 13 -2 1022 ± 13  
7.2 239 42 0.18 0.00 35.8 1.74 ± 1.5 0.07226 ± 0.81 0.1746 ± 1.3 0.847 1038 ± 12 993 ± 17 -4 993 ± 17  
8.1 179 50 0.29 0.11 26.4 1.754 ± 1.7 0.07417 ± 1.10 0.1715 ± 1.3 0.769 1020 ± 12 1046 ± 22 2 1046 ± 22  
9.1 295 70 0.25 0.00 43.7 1.764 ± 1.8 0.07415 ± 0.73 0.1725 ± 1.7 0.918 1026 ± 16 1046 ± 15 2 1046 ± 15  
10.1 196 42 0.22 0.00 28.5 1.712 ± 2.4 0.0733 ± 2.10 0.1694 ± 1.2 0.499 1009 ± 11 1022 ± 42 1 1022 ± 42  
10.2 746 349 0.48 – 112 1.773 ± 1.2 0.07382 ± 0.48 0.1742 ± 1.1 0.913 1035 ± 10 1036.5 ± 9.7 0 1037 ± 10  
11.1 277 89 0.33 0.00 40.7 1.725 ± 1.4 0.0732 ± 0.73 0.1709 ± 1.1 0.842 1017 ± 11 1020 ± 15 0 1020 ± 15  
12.1 232 46 0.21 0.00 34.2 1.711 ± 1.4 0.07208 ± 0.84 0.1721 ± 1.2 0.812 1024 ± 11 988 ± 17 -4 988 ± 17  
13.1 231 46 0.20 0.08 35.2 1.804 ± 1.5 0.07382 ± 0.86 0.1772 ± 1.2 0.808 1052 ± 11 1036 ± 17 -1 1036 ± 17  
14.1 233 55 0.24 0.00 34.6 1.691 ± 1.4 0.07117 ± 0.82 0.1723 ± 1.2 0.823 1025 ± 11 962 ± 17 -7 962 ± 17  
15.1 292 66 0.23 0.00 43.8 1.744 ± 1.4 0.07256 ± 0.75 0.1743 ± 1.2 0.842 1036 ± 11 1002 ± 15 -3 1002 ± 15  
16.1 110 42 0.39 – 16.5 1.781 ± 1.8 0.07384 ± 1.30 0.1749 ± 1.3 0.717 1039 ± 13 1037 ± 26 0 1037 ± 26  
17.1 230 39 0.18 0.00 34 1.778 ± 2 0.0748 ± 1.50 0.1725 ± 1.2 0.612 1026 ± 11 1063 ± 31 3 1063 ± 31  
17.2 482 161 0.34 0.00 72.3 1.762 ± 2.8 0.07324 ± 0.59 0.1745 ± 2.7 0.977 1037 ± 26 1021 ± 12 -2 1021 ± 12  
18.1 304 68 0.23 0.00 44.5 1.736 ± 1.4 0.07396 ± 0.72 0.1702 ± 1.2 0.861 1013 ± 11 1040 ± 15 3 1040 ± 15  
19.1 261 65 0.26 0.00 39.6 1.804 ± 1.5 0.07409 ± 0.78 0.1766 ± 1.3 0.857 1048 ± 13 1044 ± 16 0 1044 ± 16  
20.1 439 116 0.27 0.00 66.1 1.757 ± 1.4 0.07275 ± 0.60 0.1752 ± 1.3 0.905 1041 ± 12 1007 ± 12 -3 1007 ± 12  
SHRIMP-II. Analysis conducted by Armstrong, R. at Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia 
Errors are 1-sigma; Pbc and Pb* indicate the common and radiogenic portions, respectively. 
10/21/15 11:18 AM

Error in standard calibration was 0.22% (not included in the above errors but required when comparing data from different mounts). 
Common Pb corrected using measured 204Pb. 
 Common Pb corrected using measured Pb. 
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 125

Table 6. 40Ar/39Ar data of hornblende sample from 23-M-17X drilling–core in La Vela Bay, offshore Falcon Basin.

Laser power           Age  

36 37 38 39 40
F39 W Arair   ±1s36 ArCa   ±1s37 ArCl   ±1s38 ArK   ±1s39 Ar   ±1s40   (Ma)   1s
Sample 23-M-17X Hornblende A                                    
0.0077056 100 1.55376 ± 0.03927 12.87597 ± 0.45646 0.66421 ± 0.08968 1.46661 ± 0.1034 528.79744 ± 1.76957   290.14 ± 48.95
0.0191008 200 0.64774 ± 0.06462 18.59218 ± 0.56045 0.56278 ± 0.09328 2.16887 ± 0.14169 339.03878 ± 1.2885   402.64 ± 52.39

New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  125
0.0573108 300 0.41436 ± 0.06337 19.134 ± 0.34363 1.47742 ± 0.09824 7.27255 ± 0.14 723.26425 ± 1.25224   478.16 ± 15.41
0.0833006 400 0.7259 ± 0.03909 30.13694 ± 0.53627 1.03633 ± 0.10326 4.94665 ± 0.17398 578.70239 ± 1.21051   431.86 ± 18.23
0.1009395 500 0.46555 ± 0.04578 29.88033 ± 0.87491 0.97419 ± 0.09972 3.35724 ± 0.17418 476.59581 ± 1.22039   569.21 ± 32
0.1261288 600 0.43876 ± 0.05748 36.02148 ± 0.65353 2.6863 ± 0.07295 4.79429 ± 0.09892 705.814 ± 1.19351   659.68 ± 19.92
0.2987218 800 0.83362 ± 0.07724 152.85338 ± 1.30853 21.6082 ± 0.13668 32.84977 ± 0.34865 6071.93853 ± 7.66189   905.03 ± 8.10
0.4104711 1000 0.76272 ± 0.04901 209.09001 ± 1.14402 16.67254 ± 0.17758 21.26935 ± 0.13613 3846.35877 ± 4.21804   876.33 ± 5.30
0.61767 1200 0.27612 ± 0.06143 247.10676 ± 1.46505 21.72184 ± 0.21879 39.43635 ± 0.2982 7362.49815 ± 4.81414   934.03 ± 5.82
0.8785587 1600 0.34225 ± 0.074 399.70579 ± 1.35396 29.86753 ± 0.20631 49.65517 ± 0.19808 9169.10828 ± 4.79958   926.09 ± 3.39
0.8945886 2000 0.00122 ± 0.0574 226.21143 ± 1.06271 4.38271 ± 0.09342 3.051 ± 0.12476 587.21946 ± 1.12829   964.29 ± 37.43
0.976235 3000 0.49626 ± 0.06153 1109.56775 ± 3.29772 7.00785 ± 0.13366 15.53982 ± 0.20368 3014.30203 ± 2.6   933.68 ± 10.63
1 4000 0.07493 ± 0.07376 412.38035 ± 2.16701 1.88368 ± 0.08153 4.52321 ± 0.13773 1034.46476 ± 1.15261   1082.48 ± 30.37
Sample 23-M-17X Hornblende B                                    
0.0092552 100 1.2261 ± 0.05461 8.37006 ± 0.29311 1.63278 ± 0.08631 3.65553 ± 0.121 602.73525 ± 1.2148   390.41 ± 26.34
0.0236362 200 0.4559 ± 0.06141 17.33136 ± 0.39731 0.75984 ± 0.05968 5.68004 ± 0.09866 407.82401 ± 1.5367   293.44 ± 18.66
0.0482608 300 0.55736 ± 0.05217 26.69493 ± 0.58644 0.92315 ± 0.06803 9.72595 ± 0.21069 654.95747 ± 1.68763   306.49 ± 10.81
0.0770014 400 0.5756 ± 0.06663 29.68841 ± 0.43516 1.19297 ± 0.10167 11.35168 ± 0.11651 938.32774 ± 1.00927   400.56 ± 9.93
0.1062432 500 0.73056 ± 0.04013 30.99946 ± 0.5819 1.37774 ± 0.07841 11.54961 ± 0.13776 1020.75495 ± 1.6129   411.21 ± 7.01
0.1310484 600 0.57702 ± 0.08451 26.47933 ± 0.49031 1.46889 ± 0.09073 9.79727 ± 0.232 877.41087 ± 1.70432   424.17 ± 16.10
0.1703218 800 0.59444 ± 0.0574 54.4283 ± 0.58865 4.2499 ± 0.08354 15.51177 ± 0.14213 2644.72524 ± 3.70119   830.62 ± 7.69
0.3599135 1000 0.47659 ± 0.06844 214.08407 ± 1.12401 31.37688 ± 0.28321 74.88289 ± 0.27334 14858.29499 ±16.93325   980.62 ± 3.08
0.729714 1200 0.45834 ± 0.07106 407.99382 ± 1.45592 67.10101 ± 0.34447 146.05982 ± 0.45697 26447.53967 ± 8.35097   916.26 ± 2.33
0.8214001 1300 0.27031 ± 0.08778 129.8221 ± 1.27545 15.74669 ± 0.17013 36.21319 ± 0.24606 6326.21381 ± 4.72073   885.46 ± 5.60
0.8502267 1400 0.14341 ± 0.06049 45.07406 ± 0.49862 4.51261 ± 0.15494 11.38562 ± 0.23489 1972.72234 ± 2.06648   873.47 ± 15.68
0.8592629 1500 0.06491 ± 0.06746 20.62119 ± 0.518 1.3455 ± 0.07203 3.56905 ± 0.17432 557.51485 ± 1.32779   795.40 ± 39.46
0.8691185 1600 0.12719 ± 0.08388 21.54267 ± 0.78796 1.73333 ± 0.09711 3.89265 ± 0.10115 594.95133 ± 1.24087   762.48 ± 32.06
0.8817408 1800 0.05901 ± 0.04732 37.16008 ± 0.58587 2.88766 ± 0.0869 4.98542 ± 0.22224 902.94175 ± 1.04963   906.15 ± 33.70
0.8946999 2000 0.16457 ± 0.05747 48.81936 ± 0.62962 3.5832 ± 0.12305 5.11845 ± 0.17681 918.84358 ± 1.10594   875.40 ± 27.53
0.9234011 2600 0.02447 ± 0.05204 89.93973 ± 0.96417 6.37793 ± 0.12341 11.33609 ± 0.15886 2061.70279 ± 2.12482   920.59 ± 11.48
0.9912069 3200 0.36402 ± 0.05908 193.98272 ± 1.39217 19.47043 ± 0.14292 26.78118 ± 0.26791 4918.34013 ± 3.70551   914.21 ± 7.65
1 4000 0.12014 ± 0.06428 42.21777 ± 0.66319 1.46778 ± 0.05973 3.47301 ± 0.12962 786.92805 ± 1.12439   1055.20 ± 36.04
Analysis conducted by C. Hall at Argon Geochronology Laboratory, University of Michigan, USA.   
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 126  Baquero ET AL

17 30 23-M-22X-1
16 23-M-22X-2
15 25 23-M-22X-3
14 23-M-22X-4
20 Zu-6

Al2O3
13

CaO
15 Upper Cont. Crust
12
11 10
10
9 5
8 0
7
6 -5

12 7.0
11 6.5
10 6.0 high K
9 5.5
8 5.0
Fe2O3

K 2O
7 4.5
6
5 4.0
4 3.5
3 3.0 medium K
2 2.5
1 2.0
0 1.5

12 0.40
10 0.35
0.30
8
0.25
MgO

MnO
6 0.20
4 0.15
0.10
2
0.05
0 0.00
-2 -0.05

4.5 1.2
4.0
3.5 1.0
Figure 13. Selected major ele- 3.0 0.8
Na2O

2.5
ment oxide (wt%) concentra- 0.6
TiO2

2.0
tion vs. SiO2 content (wt%) 1.5 0.4
illustrating the broad composi- 1.0 0.2
tional range of the high-grade 0.5
0.0
0.0
metamorphic rock from La -0.5 -0.2
Vela Bay, offshore Falcon Basin
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85
and Atuschon granitic gneiss,
SiO2 SiO2
­Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula.

show typical soccer-ball (multi-faceted) morphology
probably acquired during a high-grade metamorphic
event (Figure 4, granulite facies metamorphism). The
CL images (Figure 17) suggest three different zircon
populations: (1) those with weak CL brightness, sug-
gesting a metamorphic origin with a slightly darker
central “core” and a diffuse metamorphic overgrowth;
(2) prominent grains with weak CL and homogeneous
or diffuse metamorphic structure without a nucleus;
and (3) a small group with older inherited (detrital)
cores and regular oscillatory zoning, probably older
magmatic zircons with a dark CL and diffuse meta-
morphic overgrowth. Therefore, this soccer-ball mor-
phology and the lack of internal zoning in rims might
indicate that these zircons were affected by a late high-
grade metamorphic event.
Southeastern Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula—
Outcropping Basement
The CL images from Zu-6 sample reveal two mor-
phologic varieties of zircon in this sample (Figure 18):
(1)  multi-faceted equant to soccer-ball (rounded)

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 126 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  127

1800 350
1600 300 La Vela Bay
1400 250
1200 200
1000 150
Ba

Zr
800 100 Atuschon
600 50
400 0
200 -50

220 150
200 140
180 130
160 120
140 110
120
Rb

V
100 100
80 90
60 80
40 70
20 60
0 50

800 30
700 25 La Vela Bay
600
20
500
15
Sc

400
Sr

300 10
200 5
100 Atuschon
0 0
-100 -5

160 35
140 30
120 25
100 20 Figure 14. Trace element vari-
Nb

80
Y

60
15 ation diagrams for the high-
40
10 grade metamorphic rock from
20 5 La Vela Bay, offshore Falcon
0 0 Basin and Atuschon granitic
-20 -5 gneiss, Venezuelan Guajira
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 Peninsula. The symbols are as
SiO2 SiO2 in Figure 13.

grains, and (2) subhedral prisms with rounded interfa-
cial edges and with length-to-width ratios of 2:1 to 5:1.
The first population shows oscillatory-zoned magmatic
cores with rims of a diffuse metamorphic texture, and
some grains are dominated by a dark CL illumination
and diffuse metamorphic texture without a nucleus.
The second population shows mostly a distinctive
oscillatory-zoned core with a dark CL and diffuse met-
amorphic overgrowth, but some zircons occur without
distinctive cores and with a dark CL illumination.
Geochronological Data
LA-ICP-MS U/Pb Zircon
Samples 23-M-22X-1 (Metawacke) and 23-M-22X-3
(Metapelite). A total of 35 spot analyses were made
on 30 zircons. Both cores and rims of the grains were
analyzed. One analysis on an inherited core gives
207
Pb/206Pb age of 1227 ± 9 Ma and was interpreted as
the detrital material in the protolith. Two zircon crystals
gave 206Pb/206Pb ages of 2707 ± 8 Ma and 1519 ± 9 Ma.

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 127 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 128  Baquero ET AL
1000
100
REE/chondrite
10
1 from lower crust after the Amazonia–Baltica collision
La Pr
Ce
10
REE/upper cont. crust
1
0.1
granulite facies
0.01
Rb Th
Ba
Figure 15. (A) Chondrite-normalized rare-earth ­element
­ iagram; normalization factors are from Sun and
d are consistent with this result.
­McDonough (1989) for all high-grade metamorphic and
Atuschon granitic gneiss rocks analyzed for this study.
­Post-Archean average shale, upper continental crust (data
from Taylor and McLennan, 1985). (B) Incompatible
­element variation. All data are normalized to values for
­average upper continental crust (Taylor and McLennan,
1981). The symbols are as in Figure 13.
The presence of these zircons might indicate an Ama-
zon craton source. Magmatism in the Guayana shield
has been reported at 2.7–2.8 Ga (Imataca Complex)
and 1.55–1.45 Ga (Parguaza batholith) (Goldstein et al.,
1997). Zircon populations with these ages have been
found in the Colombian Guajira Peninsula (Cordani
et al., 2005; Ordonez-Carmona et al., 2006). Figure 19A
shows an inverse U/Pb concordia diagram for zir-
cons from 23-M-22X-1 and 23-M-22X-3. These zircons
yield an age range between 1189 Ma and 860 Ma, and
most data points fall along a U/Pb discordia line, with
13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 128
two dominant ages clusters around concordia, one of
A
them gives a U/Pb age ca 981 ± 10 Ma (data points
n = 10) and a second U/Pb concordant age ca 935 ±
continental crust 17 Ma (data points n = 11). A similar age has been
reported by Weber et al. (2012) at 935 Ma in the Maya
Block (Guatemala, Middle American terrane). The U/
Pb age ca 0.98 Ga is interpreted as the age of the peak
high-grade metamorphic event (Figure 5, Putumayo
orogen), while the younger age of 935 Ma could be
Upper Continental Crust interpreted as post-tectonic AMCG suite melt material
Post-Archean Australian Shale
Pm Eu Tb Ho Tm Lu
and probably related to delamination by convective
Nd Sm Gd Dy Er Yb removal of the lithosphere because of asthenospheric
B ascent (Grande, 2013a,b).
SHRIMP U/Pb Zircons
Sample 23-M-22X-1 (Metawacke, Duplicated). All
except three of the 19 zircons from this sample plot
along the concordia and yield a weighted average
207
Pb/206Pb age of 984.8 ± 6.7 Ma (Figure 19B). No sedi-
mentary protolith or older inherited (detrital) cores
were dated. Therefore, this group is interpreted as
representing new zircon that formed during the peak
granulite facies metamorphism (Figure 5, Putumayo
K La Sr P Zr Ti Y Yb orogen). Although the laser ablation inductively cou-
U Nb Ce Nd Hf Sm Tb Tm
pled plasma mass spectrometry data from 23-M-22X-1
are less precise and accurate than SHRIMP ages of this
duplicated sample, it is clear that the LA-ICP-MS data
Sample 23-M-22X-4 (Mafic Granulite). These zir-
cons have unusually high Th/U ratios, which may
indicate that they originated from high-grade rocks
(Harley et al., 2007). Most of the SHRIMP analyses
of this group fall along concordia ages in the range
of 1822–937 Ma; three cores yield older concordant
207
Pb/206Pb ages of 1228 ± 49 Ma, 1660 ± 17 Ma, and
1813 ± 22 Ma. They are related to inherited zircons
and represent the remains of detrital igneous grains
that were originally incorporated into the sedimentary
protolith from the Amazon craton, whereas the ages
between 1035 Ma and 935 Ma (Figure 20A) correspond
to pre-Putumayo and post-Putumayo metamorphic
events. This sample is represented by two concordant
206
Pb/238U ages: 1034.2 ± 11.9 Ma and 967.4 ± 7.8 Ma.
The first one could be interpreted as pre-Putumayo
event (ca 1.17–1.0 Ga) and equivalent to the closure
of back-arc basin in the northwestern active margin of
Amazonia, and the second one could be interpreted as
AMCG suite melt material from the lower crust after
the Amazonia-Baltica collision (Figure 5), which was
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  129

1000
A

100
samples/primitive mantle

10

0.1

Cs Ba U Nb La Pb Sr Hf Sm Ti Y Lu
Rb Th Ta K Ce Pr Nd Zr Eu Dy Yb

100

14
C
12 B
10 10 WPG
La/Yb

8
Ta

6 Calc-alkaline syn-COLG
4 arc
2 1
0 VAG ORG
0 200 400 600 800
Zr/Th 0.1
Figure 16. (A) Incompatible
0.1 1 10 100
Yb elements for Atuschon granitic
10000 gneiss from Venezuelan Guajira
D E Peninsula, normalized to McDon-
ough and Sun (1995). (B–E) Trace
1000
syn-COLG syn-COLG element variation for Atuschon
granitic gneiss. Tectonic discrimi-
WPG WPG nant diagrams in (B) from Jolly et
Rb

100
al. (2001) for La/Yb vs. Zr/Th and
in (C–E) from Pearce et al. (1984)
VAG VAG
10
ORG ORG
for Ta vs. Yb, Rb vs. Yb+Ta, and
Rb vs. Y+Nb, respectively.
VAG 5 volcanic arc granites,
1
WPG 5 within-plate granites,
0.1 1 10 100 1000 1 10 100 1000 10000 ORG 5 ocean-ridge granites,
(Yb + Ta) (Y + Nb) syn-COLG 5 collision granites.

the Putumayo orogen proper, and this post-tectonic 135 ppm and 698 ppm and shows low Th/U ratios
AMCG suite possibly extended to as young as 919 around 0.2, intermediate between typical ratios for
+5/–8 Ma (Urbani et al., 2013). metamorphic and magmatic zircons (Schaltegger et
Sample Zu-6 (Atuschon Granitic Gneiss). This al., 1999; Vavra et al., 1999). No Mesoproterozoic zir-
sample shows that the U content is variable between con or inherited core was dated. Figure 20B illustrates

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 129 10/21/15 11:18 AM

 130  Baquero ET AL

Figure 17. Cathodolu-

miniscence images of
metamorphic zircon
for the high-grade
metamorphic rocks
from drilling–core
sample well 23-M-22X,
La Vela Bay, offshore
Falcon Basin.

a concordant age of 1028.7 ± 4.4 Ma related to the
pre-Putumayo event ca 1.17–1.0 Ga as orogenic gra-
nitic intrusions. The Atuschon granitic gneiss prob-
ably extends to the north into the Colombian Guajira
as the Jojoncito granitic gneiss (Colombian Guajira
Peninsula) and Perija Range as Las Lajas granite (Ven-
ezuela). Similar concordant ages between 1081 Ma and
916 Ma have been reported by Cordani et al. (2005) and
Cardona-Molina et al. (2006) in the Colombian Guajira
region and the Dibulla gneiss (Santa Marta massif).
40 39
Ar/ Ar Hornblende Geochronology
Sample 23-M-17—Hornblende (Metapelite). This
hornblende preserves older apparent Ar/Ar plateau
ages between 923 ± 15 Ma and 916 ± 22 Ma, which
indicate the age of cooling under 530°C after the peak
of granulite facies metamorphism (Figure 21); similar
K/Ar and Ar/Ar cooling ages have been reported in
the Santa Marta massif and Guajira region by Tschanz
et al. (1974) and Cordani et al. (2005).
Conclusions
1. The results described in this work confirm the
existence of a Meso- to Neoproterozoic continen-
tal block or a mosaic of blocks in northwestern
­Venezuela, recording a complex crustal history.

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 130 10/27/15 10:06 AM

 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  131

Sample Zu-6 14.1

962±17 Ma

Population A 4.1
1021±14 Ma
3.1
1031±16 Ma 12.1
988±17 Ma

3.2
1022±22 Ma 9.1
1.1 1046±15 Ma
1054±21 Ma 2.1
13.1 1028±17 Ma
1036±17 Ma
20.1
1007±12 Ma 18.1
1040±15 Ma

19.1 15.1
1044±16 Ma 1002±15 Ma
10.1
7.1
1022±42 Ma
Population B 1022±13 Ma 8.1
1046±22 Ma
5.1
1036±12 Ma 17.2
1021±12 Ma

5.2 7.2
980±22 Ma 10.2 17.1
993±17 Ma 1063±31 Ma
1036.5±9.7 Ma
6.1
1041±18 Ma 11.1
1020±15 Ma

16.1
1037±26 Ma Figure 18. Cathodoluminis-
cence images of metaigneous
zircon grains analyzed from
outcrop Atuschon granitic
0 100 μm gneiss, Venezuelan Guajira
Peninsula.

2. Geochronological data from these allochthonous
terranes studied together with the Merida terrane,
Perija Range, and Yumare and El Guayabo Com-
plexes could be correlated with the Chibcha ter-
rane in Colombia and were probably part of the
Putumayo orogen (Ibanez-Mejia et al., 2011).
3. It is possible to identify two main events: (a) pre-
Putumayo event ca 1.17–1.0 Ga and equivalent to
the closure of back-arc basin in the northwestern
active margin of Amazonia and (b) Putumayo
event ca 0.98 Ga, and it is interpreted as the age
of the peak high-grade metamorphic event during
final Rodinia assembly.
4. Although more petrological, geochemical, and ge-
ochronological data are lacking for this continental
block, it can be correlated to Grenvillian terranes
found in Middle America and Mexico (Oaxaca,
Maya, and Chortis).
5. During the late Cretaceous–early Eocene oblique
collision of the Caribbean plate against South
America passive margin, most of this Meso- to
Neoproterozoic continental block was overthrust-
ing, which became one of the primary sources, in
addition to Caribbean Arc source to the Cenozoic
turbidite unit in northwestern Venezuela (Mata-
tere Formation).

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 131 10/21/15 11:18 AM

13880_ch04_ptg01_103-136.indd 132

132  Baquero ET AL
Figure 19. Concordia diagram for drilling–core samples (A) 23-M-22X-1 (metawacke) and 23-M-22X-3 (metapelite) and (B) 23-M-22X-1
(metawacke, duplicated).
10/21/15 11:18 AM
 New Evidence for Putumayo Crust in the Basement of the Falcon Basin and Guajira Peninsula, Northwestern Venezuela  133

Plateau steps are black, rejected spetps are white

Hornblende A
1600

Age in Ma
1200

800

200 Plateau age = 916±22 Ma

MSWD = 0.21; prob.= 0.97
incl. 87.4% of the 39Ar
0
Hornblende B
1600

Age in Ma
1200

800

400 Plateau age = 923±15 Ma

MSWD = 0.66; prob.= 0.77
incl. 86.9% of the 39Ar
0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Fraction of 39Ar Released
Figure 21. 40Ar/39Ar hornblende ages spectra plots of
metapelite obtained from drilling–core well 23-M-17X.

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