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Geological Society, London, Special Publications Online First

Inversion tectonics under increasing rates of

shortening and sedimentation: Cenozoic example from
the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia
Andrés Mora, Andrés Reyes-Harker, Guillermo Rodriguez, Eliseo
Tesón, Juan Carlos Ramirez-Arias, Mauricio Parra, Víctor
Caballero, José Pedro Mora, Isaid Quintero, Víctor Valencia,
Mauricio Ibañez, Brian K. Horton and Daniel F. Stockli

Geological Society, London, Special Publications, first published

March 8, 2013; doi 10.1144/SP377.6

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Inversion tectonics under increasing rates of shortening

and sedimentation: Cenozoic example from the Eastern
Cordillera of Colombia
ANDRÉS MORA1*, ANDRÉS REYES-HARKER1, GUILLERMO RODRIGUEZ1,
ELISEO TESÓN1, JUAN CARLOS RAMIREZ-ARIAS1, MAURICIO PARRA1,
VÍCTOR CABALLERO1, JOSÉ PEDRO MORA1, ISAID QUINTERO1,
VÍCTOR VALENCIA2, MAURICIO IBAÑEZ2,
BRIAN K. HORTON3 & DANIEL F. STOCKLI4
1
Instituto Colombiano del Petróleo-Ecopetrol, km 7 Via a Piedecuesta,
Bucaramanga, Colombia
2
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
3
Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences,
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
4
Department of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
*Corresponding author (e-mail: andres.mora@ecopetrol.com.co)

Abstract: The Northern Andes of Colombia is a key locality for understanding tectonic inversion
of symmetric rifts. A review of available data on structural geometry and deformation timing, and
new thermochronology and provenance data from selected localities, enable the construction of
balanced cross-sections and shortening budgets. During early deformation in the Palaeocene,
most shortening was focused in the western sector of the orogen, in the Central Cordillera and
the Magdallena Valley, although widely spaced and mild inversion occur in areas as far to the
east as the Llanos Basin. After a period of tectonic quiescence in the Middle Eocene, deformation
resumed across a former early Mesozoic graben in the Eastern Cordillera. Peak shortening rates and
out-of-sequence reactivation of the main inversion faults were in place in latest Miocene time,
during a phase of topographical growth. Our results indicate that coeval activation of basement
highs and adjacent slower-slip shortcuts appear to be characteristic of inverted symmetric
grabens. However, before reactivation and brittle faulting occur, strain hardening is required.
Deformation rates in the Eastern Cordillera correlate with the westwards velocity of the South
American Plate. A threshold convergence rate of approximately 2 cm year21 seems to be necessary
to activate shortening in the upper plate.

In convergent margins with ocean –continent plate
boundaries, most conventional models suggest that
orogenesis in the upper plate advances towards the
foreland region, which in the Andes would be a sys-
tematic eastwards propagation of deformation
(Butler 1987; DeCelles & Mitra 1995; DeCelles &
Horton 2003). At the scale of thrust belts this has
been called a forward-breaking sequence, which is
characterized by a principal thrust sheet kinemati-
cally linked to smaller thrust faults with less displa-
cement closer to the foreland basin. This precise
situation should be strictly true only in cases
where the push clearly comes from the hinterland
and deforms a homogeneous (layer-cake) sedimen-
tary succession of shales and sands or other mechan-
ical stratigraphy with contrasting rheologies that
systematically taper towards the foreland. This has
certainly been observed in typical situations such
as in the Neogene evolution of the sub-Andean
zones of Argentina (Echavarria et al. 2003) and
Bolivia (Uba et al. 2009). However, in other situ-
ations, prestrained provinces become an integral
part of evolving orogens and the deformation
history is influenced by inhomogeneous basement
configurations, rapidly varying facies and thick-
nesses of sedimentary packages, and generally long-
lasting inherited anisotropies and structures (Ring
1994; Wetzel et al. 2003; Paton & Underhill
2004). A key question concerns how deformation
migrates during contractional orogenesis in those
settings. More precisely, how do previous exten-
sional histories (i.e. the presence of extensional
basins) influence the locus and distribution of later
contractional deformation?

From: Nemčok, M., Mora, A. & Cosgrove, J. W. (eds) Thick-Skin-Dominated Orogens: From Initial
Inversion to Full Accretion. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 377,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP377.6, updated version # The Geological Society of London 2013.
Publishing disclaimer: www.geolsoc.org.uk/pub_ethics
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Dalhousie University on November 13, 2013
A. MORA ET AL.
In the Northern Andes, the Eastern Cordillera is
the most external and youngest component of the
Colombian Andes, and is therefore a lateral equival-
ent of the sub-Andean zone of the central Andes of
Argentina and Bolivia (Mora et al. 2010a). The
most evident deformation phases in this chain
occurred in the Neogene (Cooper et al. 1995; Villa-
mil 1999) but recent data show even earlier defor-
mation events (Parra et al. 2012; Caballero et al.
2013, this volume, in press). Although the Eastern
Cordillera’s structural position is similar to the sub-
Andean ranges of the Central Andes and it consti-
tutes the active deformation front of the Andes at
this latitude, its pre-existing configuration and style
of deformation is very different. In particular, the
relatively gentle deformation and moderate exhu-
mation in comparison to other analogue orogens,
and wealth of new data acquired by Ecopetrol S.A
in the framework of the project ‘Cronologı́a de la
deformación en las Cuencas Subandinas’, make
the Eastern Cordillera an ideal pilot study region.
The region is well suited for analysing the tempo-
ral and spatial distribution of deformation in inver-
sion orogens regarding the polarity of deformation
migration, the rates of shortening and attendant
boundary, and the degree of coupling between con-
tractional orogenesis and former extensional defor-
mation. We therefore review the available data and
present new data sets regarding the structural styles,
deformation history and rates in order to propose
a model of deformation migration in inversion oro-
gens and its controlling factors. To understand what
controls the observed patterns, we propose diverse
role for plate tectonics, the properties of the rocks and
materials that were deformed or deposited during
deformation, and the role of surface processes.
Tectonic setting
The Northern Andes has a different configuration
compared with the Central Andes, largely because
it is conditioned by several major plates interacting
with the orogenic belt (i.e. Caribbean, Nazca and
South American plates). However, these plates
have only been in their present configuration since
about 23 Ma, when the Farallon Plate was broken
into the Nazca and Cocos plates, which caused a
reorganization of the Pacific plates (Gutscher et al.
1999). This reorganization has also been suggested
as a key factor influencing plateau building in the
Central Andes (Allmendinger et al. 1997).
The Northern Andes comprise three different
branches north of 28N. Accreted and uplifted
oceanic material constitutes the Western Cordillera,
which is the westernmost branch deformed since the
Late Cretaceous –Palaeocene (Fig. 1). Uplifted
igneous and metamorphic rocks of continental
affinity constitute the Central Cordillera. Finally,
the Eastern Cordillera, which is the topic of this
study, comprises the easternmost external chain of
the Colombian Andes, which is separated from the
Central Cordillera by the Magdalena Valley inter-
montane hinterland basin (Fig. 1). The area of the
present-day Eastern Cordillera mostly coincides
with a Neocominan extensional domain, where the
areas of most-positive relief roughly coincide with
the most subsident area during the Early Cretaceous
(Mora et al. 2006; Sarmiento-Rojas et al. 2006).
Taboada et al. (2000) suggested that the Late
Miocene indentation of the Panamá– Baudó arch
was responsible for the main phase of mountain
building in the Eastern Cordillera. This hypothesis
has been recently supported based on the correla-
tion of oroclinal bending of the Eastern Cordillera
with the shape of the Panamá –Baudó arch (Mann
& Vargas-Jimenez 2011). However, recent data
suggest that the tectonic collision of the Panamá
isthmus actually began by the Late Oligocene
(Farris et al. 2011), which also correlates with the
most updated views and recent data on the moun-
tain building in the Eastern Cordillera. This sug-
gests, in stark contrast with the earlier studies
(Cooper et al. 1995; Casero et al. 1997), that moun-
tain building in the Eastern Cordillera affected
virtually all of the former Neocomian graben by
Late Oligocene time (Mora et al. 2010b; Silva
et al. this volume, in press). A key question is
whether this phase, defined as a stage of faster oro-
genic advance in the Eastern Cordillera (Parra et al.
2009b), is also related to the earlier age proposed
for Panama collision (Farris et al. 2011).
Based on the analysis of earthquake focal mech-
anisms, Cortés & Angelier (2005) identified a rough
boundary for the influence of the Nazca Plate v. the
Caribbean Plate in transferring stress to the Eastern
Cordillera. This boundary is located at about 48N.
In that sector, there is a fundamental change from a
NNE– SSW to an east –west to NNW –SSE stress
direction.
The Eastern Cordillera
As previously suggested (Mora et al. 2010c), the
Eastern Cordillera constitutes a weak block
between the stronger cratonic domains of the
Garzon Massif and the Llanos to the SE, as well
as the Maracaibo block to the NE (Fig. 1). This
strength contrast is reflected in the fact that these
regions underwent little deformation during the
main Cenozoic orogenesis, as revealed in seismic
profiles of the Maracaibo (Escalona & Mann
2006) and Llanos (Delgado et al. 2012) blocks, as
well as by surface geology in the Garzón Massif.
In contrast, the Eastern Cordillera appears to
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

Fig. 1. Topographical map (GTOPO30) of NW South America showing major tectonomorphic elements.

coincide with a long lasting mobile belt bounding
the adjacent cratonic belts (Cooper et al. 1995; Mora
et al. 2006, 2010c; Sarmiento-Rojas et al. 2006).
Mora et al. (2010c) further refined the indenter
model of Taboada et al. (2000) by mapping the
main boundary faults of the weak block of the
Eastern Cordillera, which are the Tesalia –Algeciras
(Velandia et al. 2005; Mora et al. 2010c) and Bucar-
amanga faults (Fig. 2). These two faults accommo-
date dextral and sinistral strike-slip motion,
respectively. Tesón et al. (this volume, in press)
presents multiple data reinforcing the idea of differ-
ent stress domains in the Eastern Cordillera, as
suggested by Cortés et al. (2006) and Mora et al.
(2010c). In the updated indenter model (Mora
et al. 2010c), the different stresses that actually
cause the oroclinal bending in the Cocuy region
are formed by the escape of the weaker Eastern
Cordillera between the strong Maracaibo and
southern Llanos cratonic blocks (Figs 1 & 2b).
The Eastern Cordillera is a bivergent orogen that
coincides with a Neocomian depocentre which ori-
ginated during Early Cretaceous extension. Casero
et al. (1997) suggested that the Early Cretaceous
rift essentially coincides with the modern areas
with the most positive relief in the Eastern Cordil-
lera. The rift prompted the fundamental bivergent
configuration of the Eastern Cordillera, with two
foothills-style marginal thrust belts, the Magdalena
Valley belt to the west and the eastern foothills
belt to the east, with dominantly west- and east-
vergent faults, respectively (Fig. 2a). As shown by
Mora et al. (2006) and Tesón et al. (this volume,
in press), the typical association of both the west-
ern and eastern foothill belts is that of a basement
high uplifted by reverse faults, usually inverted
normal faults, adjacent to thin-skinned belts coin-
ciding with Tertiary depocentres. At both the west-
ern and eastern mountain fronts, the thin-skinned
belts are arranged in an en echelon pattern. Also
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 2. (a) Geological and (SRTM 30; b) topographical maps of the Eastern Cordillera, and the Middle Magdalena
and Llanos basins of Colombia. A genetic classification of the main faults is provided based on Mora et al.
(2006, 2010c), Caballero et al. (2013), Jimenez et al. (this volume, in press) and Tesón et al. (this volume, in press).

significant is the presence of a central, topographi-
cally elevated structural depression, the Sabana de
Bogotá (Bogotá Plateau), which is bounded by
two basement highs, the Farallones Anticline and
the Villeta Anticlinorium (Fig. 2). Basement expo-
sures in the weaker domain of the Eastern Cordillera
are restricted to the Floresta and Quetame basement
uplifts (Fig. 2a). However, analogue basement-
involved structures, bounded by reverse (inverted)
faults but lacking basement exposures, include the
Los Cobardes, Peñon and Arcabuco anticlines
(Fig. 2a). The stratigraphy of the Eastern Cordillera
is summarized in Figure 3.
Methods
We constructed the present study based on a
global view of the available data on the structural
geometry and timing of deformation from other
chapters of this Special Publication (e.g. Caballero
et al. 2013, this volume, in press; Jimenez et al.
this volume, in press; Moreno et al. this volume,
in press; Silva et al. this volume, in press; Tesón
et al. this volume, in press), as well as on additional
data sets that include growth strata in key locations,
new apatite fission-track thermochronology, as well
as cross-cutting field relationships. Based on this
line of evidence, we compiled maps of the timing
and style of the structures. Then we used data
bearing on the chronology of deformation to kine-
matically restore the cross-sections presented in
this Special Publication (Tesón et al. this volume,
in press). This restoration was based on the retro-
deformation of growth strata, where observed,
and on sediment provenance, syn-tectonic facies,
palaeocurrents and mostly thermochronological
constraints previously discussed in other studies
(Table 1), as well as the new one presented here
(Tables 2 & 3). The principal goal was to try to
build high-resolution, calibrated thermal histories
using the software HeFTy (Ketcham 2005), and
incorporating vitrinite reflectance (Ro) data, apatite
and zircon fission-track data (AFT and ZFT,
respectively) and (U –Th)/He data from this study,
published works and other chapters of this Special
Publication, taking the most representative results
from the different structural domains. Later, the
different faults were restored to eight different
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

Fig. 3. Chronoestratigraphic framework along a transect across the Eastern Cordillera (shown in the inset map).
Modified from Gómez et al. (2003, 2005), Mora et al. (2006, 2010b) and Parra et al. (2009a, b, 2010).

steps during the Cenozoic based on the fact that the
interpreted geometries and fault trajectories should
be retrodeformed by an amount that satisfies the
one-dimensional HeFTy thermal histories and
other geological constraints derived mostly from
growth strata and provenance data. These different
steps, as combined with the data from other kin-
ematic restorations in this Special Publication,
were used to calculate incremental shortening rates
for each section. Finally, we compare our results
against different controlling factors for the timing,
style and distribution of deformation to propose a
Table 1. Apatite fission-track data used in this study

Sample Longitude Latitude Elevation Unit AFT age # MTL (mm) # Source
(8W) (8N) (m) (see ages in Fig. 3) (Ma) Gr +1s error† length

Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Dalhousie University on November 13, 2013

+1s error*

Figure 8
GC1093-64 73821′ 36.12′′ 4805′ 31.2′′ 23353 Chipaque Formation 31.7 + 3.1 20 12.02 + 0.22 100 This work
GC1093-67 73821′ 36.12′′ 4805′ 31.2′′ 23505 Une Formation 36.8 + 7.1 6 11.92 + 0.35 100 This work
Section Figure 14
606 –7 72812′ 09.92′′ 7800′ 19.06′′ 550 Carbonera (C8 –C6) 3.8 + 0.6 38 13.38 + 0.94 16 This work
Formation
′ ′′ ′ ′′
606 –11 72813 18.23 7808 41.53 621 Mirador Formation 5.0 + 0.9 28 13.64 + 0.59 7 This work
996 –04 73801′ 15.70′′ 7817′ 05.11′′ 1405 Tablazo Formation 10.8 + 3.5 9 12.84 + 0.91 7 This work
996 –20 73809′ 28.57′′ 7803′ 41.67′′ 753 Bucaramanga terraces 36.8 + 7.1 20 12.78 + 0.35 74 This work
996 –30 73806′ 58.27′′ 7809′ 16.57′′ 801 Palermo Formation 48.2 + 4.6 12 13.71 + 0.25 9 This work
1032 –15 72809′ 10.49′′ 7802′ 02.86′′ 381 Guayabo Group 14.1 + 1.3 34 12.89 + 0.26 39 This work

A. MORA ET AL.
1032 –19 73818′ 59.86′′ 7806′ 10.86′′ 1869 Une Formation 3.0 + 0.5 20 12.41 + 0.00 1 This work
1032 –24 72831′ 07.72′′ 7816′ 35.79′′ 1506 Floresta Formation 4.9 + 0.6 40 13.65 + 0.24 62 This work
Figure 15
RG-06 73820′ 54.42′′ 5836′ 39.00′′ 3121 Socha Formation 46.8 + 3.3 18 13.50 + 0.82 11 Parra et al. (2009a, b)
RON-1002 73809′ 46.96′′ 5821′ 56.40′′ 2055 Upper Socha Formation 42.0 + 4.2 15 13.32 + 0.22 34 Silva et al. (this volume, in press)
US-1004 74808′ 30.30′′ 4831′ 04.88′′ 2776 Socha Formation 52.8 + 2.5 37 14.07 + 1.12 200 Silva et al. (this volume, in press)
AFT-250710 – 12 72820′ 45.99′′ 6832′ 01.54′′ 4499 Mirador Formation 6.7 + 1.3 14 13.83 + 0.44 14 Silva et al. (this volume, in press)
MM-005 72831′ 28.38′′ 5828′ 52.46′′ 865 Guadalupe Formation 11.2 + 1.9 12 11.83 + 0.86 10 This work
CS-3 73842′ 55.44′′ 4811′ 53.62′′ 995 Guatiquia Formation 3.1 + 0.5 40 11.2 + 1.9 This work
Section Figure 17
RG-04 73805′ 17.59′′ 5855′ 30.02′′ 3619 Montebel Formation 19.8 + 2.1 38 13.61 + 0.22 53 Parra et al. (2009a, b)
AM-12 72853′ 42.99′′ 5849′ 26.74′′ 2550 Pre-Devonian basement 16.0 + 3.0 31 13.89 + 0.21 55 Parra et al. (2009a, b)
AM-09 72851′ 36.41′′ 5849′ 41.96′′ 2435 Une Formation 25.7 + 2.1 30 12.91 + 0.21 75 Parra et al. (2009a, b)
MP-27 72831′ 20.31′′ 5830′ 22.28′′ 839 Las Juntas Formation 11.7 + 2.5 24 14.03 + 0.58 8 Mora et al. (2010b)
MP-40 72830′ 04.01′′ 5829′ 3.1′′ 665 Une Formation 8.3 + 1.2 24 12.66 + 0.88 10 Mora et al. (2010b)
AM-02 72828′ 26.72′′ 5828′ 1.92′′ 639 Los Cuervos Formation 42.2 + 3.7 38 11.65 + 0.14 201 Mora et al. (2010b)
MP-82 72815′ 54.68′′ 5840′ 07.81′′ 582 Carbonera Formation 25.9 + 2.3 25 10.89 + 0.32 53 Mora et al. (2010b)
MP-85 72815′ 37.91′′ 5840′ 11.50′′ 564 Los Cuervos Formation 10.9 + 2.1 40 11.78 + 0.31 55 Mora et al. (2010b)
MP-72 72813′ 41.88′′ 5840′ 02.51′′ 486 Guayabo Group 22.8 + 3.4 23 14.80 + 1.14 45 Mora et al. (2010b)
MP-45 72807′ 42.42′′ 5837′ 31.96′′ 317 Guayabo Group 30.9 + 3.1 24 12.40 + 0.22 48 Mora et al. (2010b)

*
Pooled (central) age reported for ages that pass (fail) the x2 test.
†
Mean track length (MTL) of confined fission tracks measured.
Table 2. New apatite fission-track data acquired using the external detector method (EDM)

Sample Latitude Long Elevation Unit Stratigraphic # U Rho-S Rho-I Rho-D P(x2)‡ AFT age Cl MTL +1s SD #

Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Dalhousie University on November 13, 2013

(8N) itude (8W) (m) age (Ma) Gr (ppm) (NS)* (NI)* (ND)† (Ma) (%wt) error (mm)} (mm) length
+ 1s error§

1093 – 73821′ 36.12′′ 4805′ 31.2′′ 23353 Chipaque 94 –85 20 62 8.61 (267) 64.18 (1991) 11.86 (1860) ,1 31.7 + 3.1 0.00 –0.40 12.02 + 0.22 2.23 100
64 Formation
1093 – 73821′ 36.12′′ 4805′ 31.2′′ 23505 Une 106 –94 6 136 22.50 (126) 141.4 (792) 11.84 (1860) ,1 36.8 + 7.1 0.00 –0.30 11.92 + 0.35 2.22 100
67 Formation
MM-005 72831′ 28.38′′ 5828′ 52.46′′ 865 Guadalupe 82 –71 13 32 1.02 (37) 23.14 (836) 12.84 (2020) 92 11.2 + 1.9 0.01 –0.19 11.83 + 0.86 2.71 10
Group

INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

*
Rho-S and Rho-I are the spontaneous and induced track density measured, respectively (105 tracks cm22). NS and NI are the number of spontaneous and induced tracks counted for estimating Rho-S and
Rho-I, respectively.
†
RhoD is the induced track density measured in the external mica detector attached to CN2 dosimetry glass (105 tracks cm22). ND is the number of induced tracks counted in the mica for estimating RhoD.
‡ 2
(x ) (%) is the chi-square probability (Galbraith 1981; Green 1981). Values greater than 5% are considered to pass this test and represent a single population of ages.
§
Pooled (central) age reported for ages that pass (fail) the x2 test.
}
Mean track length of confined fission tracks measured.
Data produced and counted by Geotrack using a Zeta value of 392.9 + 7.4 for CN5 glass.

Table 3. New apatite fission-track data acquiered using laser abaltion-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)

Sample Latitude Longitude Eleva- Unit Strati- # Gr NS* S(PV)† 1sS(PW) jMS‡ 1s 43
Ca§ U}
238
P(x 2) AFT age Dpar SD #Dpar MTL + SD #
(8W) (8W) tion graphic (cm2) (E-07 cm2) jMS (Ma) + (mm) (mm) 1s error (mm) length
(m) age (Ma) 1s error (mm)**

CS-3 73842′ 4811′ 995 Guatiquia 360 –300 40 40 9.27E-05 2.99E-06 16.42 0.34 3.42E 2 02 2.44E 2 03 16 3.1 + 0.5 1.62 0.22 40 13.18 + 2.44 21
55.44′′ 53.62′′ Formation 0.53

*
Number of spontaneous fission tracks counted over area W.
†
Sum of Ri* Wi for all grains evaluated; Ri is (238U/43Ca) for apatite grain i; Wi is the area over which NS and Ri are evaluated.
‡
z-calibration factor based on LA-ICP-MS of fission-track age standards.
§
Background-corrected 43Ca (dimensionless).
}
Background-corrected 238U (dimensionless).
 2
x (%) is the chi-square probability. Values greater than 5% are considered to pass this test and represent a single population of ages.
**
Mean track length of confined fission tracks measured.
# Gr, Number of apatite grains counted.
Dpar, Diameter parallel to the etch pit.
# length, number of lengths measured.
+1s, Error range.
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 4. Pre-Cretaceous outcrops in the Central and Eastern cordilleras. Precambrian and Palaeozoic basement include
medium- and low-grade metamorphic rocks exposed in the Central Cordillera and the eastern flank of the Eastern
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Dalhousie University on November 13, 2013
INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES
model of deformation that we suggest can be gener-
alized to the initial stages of many inversion orogens
but more precisely to inversion orogens where short-
ening and sedimentation rates increase with time.
Results
Basement framework
As shown by Tesón et al. (this volume, in press),
the Eastern Cordillera can be subdivided according
to its main basement domains (Fig. 4), which con-
ditioned later deformation patterns. The most signifi-
cant contrast is the fact that the Eastern Cordillera
forms a part of two fundamental provinces. One pro-
vince is located to the west, where metamorphic
basement of Permo-Triassic age (Fig. 4c) underlies
Jurassic early syn-rift rock units (Fig. 4d). This
province is located west of the Boyacá and Bucara-
manga faults, and includes the documented sub-
surface relationships of the Middle Magdalena
Valley Basin (Ibañez-Mejia et al. 2011). In contrast,
the basement province to the east includes areas
where the metamorphic basement is of early Palaeo-
zoic age (Horton et al. 2010b) (Fig. 4b) and under-
lies upper Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks (Fig. 4c).
In those areas, dated Jurassic syn-rift rocks are
absent and the earliest syn-rift deposits are mostly
of Berriasian age (Ingeominas 2005). Such relation-
ships are well expressed in the Farallones Anticline
of the Quetame Massif, but also in the Santander
and Floresta massifs. It is worth noting that with
the notable exception of the Santander Massif (Fig.
4a), unambiguous Precambrian outcrops are absent
in this domain, where the metamorphic rocks are
constituted by metasedimentary units. These obser-
vations describe contrasting thermal and deforma-
tion histories in Upper Palaeozoic and early Meso-
zoic rocks cropping out across the Boyacá and
Bucaramanga faults. In the Permo-Triassic, burial
to metamorphic conditions in the west occurred
coevally to the accumulation of platformal sequences
to the east. Subsequent Jurassic rift-related accu-
mulation only occurred in the western province.
Earliest deformation
Data from Parra et al. (2012) and Caballero et al.
(2013, this volume, in press) show a clear exhuma-
tion event throughout the Palaeocene that probably
started as early as the latest Cretaceous. This event
has been documented in the subsurface of the
Middle Magdalena Basin and also in outcrop areas
Fig. 4. (Continued) Cordillera. Late Palaeozoic exposures show a marked contrast across the Bucaramanga and Boyacá
faults, with medium-grade metamorphic rocks to the west and platformal sedimentary rocks to the east. Jurassic
rift-related redbeds occur only west of these structures. See the text for further explanation and references.
west of the Boyacá Fault (Silva et al. this volume,
in press) (Fig. 5a, b). From this evidence, it is impor-
tant to note that the areas of Palaeocene exhumation
and important erosion coincide with the areas of
Permo-Triassic metamorphic basement and oldest
(Jurassic) syn-rift deposition (compare Figs 4 &
5). However, important evidence by Bayona et al.
(2013) from provenance, heavy minerals, reworked
pollen and glauconite, as well as stratigraphic thick-
ness changes, indicate that to some extent there were
probably minor intrabasinal highs in the foredeep
areas of the eastern portions of the former graben
basin undergoing inversion. It is our point of view
that those local highs were not detected by bed-
rock or detrital thermochronology because there
was limited structural and topographical relief
such that the uplift of these structural highs east of
the Boyacá Fault did not produce significant
cooling effects in the rock units.
A new perspective from our paper and even more
intriguing is the finding that most probably there
was Palaeocene deformation in the flat-lying
Llanos Basin (Fig. 6). This is interpreted first based
on the almost total absence of a Palaeocene strati-
graphic record (which pinches out very close to the
present-day deformation front) in the subsurface of
the southern portions of the Llanos foreland basin.
This is first documented in the public domain here
in this work, which contrasts with the eastwards-
advancing pinch-out of the Eocene –Neogene units
(depositional zones in Figs 5c, d & 6). Second, pro-
venance data indicate sediment derivation from
immature unstable sources that cannot be located
further than 150 km (Johnsson et al. 1991). Third,
exposed unconformities in the area of the Guamal
River show the Eocene Mirador Formation rest-
ing upon Late Cretaceous units with no Palaeocene
facies preserved (Fig. 7). Fourth, our new thermo-
chronology in this study (Fig. 8), which allows
Palaeocene cooling of exposed basement highs like
the La Macarena High (Fig. 2) and buried highs
like the Melon el Viento. All of these lines of evi-
dence allow us to suggest that most of the Pre-Oligo-
cene deformation visible on the seismic sections in
the Llanos Basin (see Fig. 6) is actually of Palaeo-
cene age, similar to the Middle Magdalena Basin
(Caballero et al. 2013, this volume, in press).
Tectonic quiescence
We suggest here that evidence in the subsurface of
the Middle Magdalena Valley area indicates that
Palaeocene deformation continued into the Early
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 5. Palaeocene –Eocene palaeogeography of the study area based on surface and subsurface cross-cutting
stratigraphic relationships, and thermochronometric and provenance data. See Caballero et al. (2013) and Silva et al.
(this volume, in press), and references therein, for supporting information.
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

Fig. 6. Seismic reflection line from the Llanos Basin showing a basement high beneath undeformed Cenozoic strata.
Folded Cretaceous units uncomfomably lying beneath Oligocene strata constrain deformation to have occurred
prior to the Oligocene but during the Cenozoic Andean orogeny.

Eocene (Fig. 5c). However, we suggest that the Mid- significantly low sediment accumulation rates in
Eocene was a phase in which tectonic quiescence the Mid-Eocene Upper Mirador Formation in the
dominated the study area. We use three arguments eastern foothills (which represents the marine
to support this interpretation. First, the presence of fine-grained interval of the Mirador Formation)
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 7. Geological map of the Rio Guamal region showing cross-cutting relationships of Early Cenozoic deformation
in the Boa Anticline. The arrow indicates the locality where early Eocene strata of the Mirador Formation lies
unconformably on top of the Upper Cretaceous strata of the Guadalupe Group.

between two periods of higher sediment accumu-
lation (Fig. 9). Second, westwards retrogradation
of the Mid-Eocene provenance divide documented
by Silva et al. (this volume, in press) in the axial
zone of the Eastern Cordillera (compare Fig. 5c,
d). In this case, the provenance divide returned to
a position closer to the Early Palaeocene deforma-
tion front, in the present-day hanging wall of the
Boyacá Fault. We interpret this as the effect of an
increase in the ratio of accommodation space to
sediment supply because of a lower sediment sup-
ply from a stable area. Finally, in the Magdalena
Valley, the fine-grained lower interval of the
Middle Eocene Esmeraldas Formation (see Cabal-
lero et al. 2013, this volume, in press) was also
deposited under lower sedimentation rates com-
pared to the previous and subsequent time intervals.
The detrital zircon provenance record of this unit
also documents an eastwards retreat of the prove-
nance divide between detrital zircons coming from
the Central Cordillera and detrital zircons coming
from the Eastern Cordillera. In fact, we find in this
interval the closest provenance divide to the
Eastern Cordillera in the entire Cenozoic record of
the Nuevo Mundo Syncline, which we consider
combined with the previous evidence as an indicator
of slow tectonics or quiescence.
Widespread exhumation, strain hardening
and low deformation rates
With lag-time analysis of detrital zircons (Fig. 10),
Saylor et al. (2012) proposed a further advance of
the deformation front in the Late Eocene after tec-
tonic quiescence, consistent with previous results
(Parra et al. 2009b; Mora et al. 2010b). At this time,
motion along the Pesca– Soapaga Fault System
actively exhumed rocks in its hanging wall. Silva
et al. (this volume, in press) confirm that this
domain of Late Eocene exhumation extends along
the entire hanging wall of the Machetá Fault south
of the Pesca –Soapaga Fault System (Fig. 5d).
Several recent studies demonstrate that exhuma-
tion was ongoing by the Oligocene in the domain
of the entire ancestral graben (Parra et al. 2009b;
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES
Fig. 8. Thermal models obtained using HeFTy software
(Ketcham 2005) for Cretaceous susurface sedimentary
rocks retrieved from the Merey-1 well. The dark-grey
area encloses time– temperature paths with a good-fit to
the measured AFT data. The light grey area encloses paths
with only an acceptable fit. Black boxes correspond to
constraints in the time– temperature (t-T ) space derived
from stratigraphical relationships in the well. Thermal
solutions support the onset of cooling in Palaeocene time.
Horton et al. 2010a; Mora et al. 2010b, 2011). New
exhumation data in Silva et al. (this volume, in
press) confirms that this period recorded the
maximum frontal advance of orogenic deformation
(e.g. Parra et al. 2009b). The dramatic eastwards
advance of the pinch-out of the Oligocene C7
member of the Carbonera Formation (Fig. 11a)
documented with our well and subsurface data
reinforces this interpretation. Effectively, the zero
depositional boundary in the foreland was pushed
eastwards by the advancing deformation front.
Microtectonic data (Mora et al. 2013) also show
that second-order detachment and basement folds
formed in the Oligocene in different places of the
Eastern Cordillera with fractures and associated
slaty cleavage of that age. These folds were gener-
ally not associated with inversion basement faults,
and had lower amplitude and shorter wavelength
involving a shallow (c. 5 km depth) detachment
(Kammer 1997; Kammer & Mora 1999; Mora &
Kammer 1999). In this study, we complement
these observations by showing growth strata to
document the behaviour in the present foothill prov-
inces (i.e. the Magdalena and eastern foothills in
Fig. 12). What we observe in virtually all of the mar-
ginal Tertiary synclines of both the western and
eastern foothills of the Eastern Cordillera is
Oligocene growth strata continuous with ongoing
deformation or minor unconformities where sedi-
mentation stopped briefly but quickly resumed in
the presence of active deformation (Gómez et al.
2003; Bayona et al. 2008; Parra et al. 2010). In
fact, Suppe et al. (1991) documented similar
growth unconformities that represent a near-zero
time hiatus.
The Oligocene was, therefore, a period of gener-
alized deformation throughout the graben domain,
with second-order contractional folds forming
across the entire graben basin (Tesón et al. this
volume, in press). The most significant new obser-
vation from our data is that, while the graben
domain was undergoing thrust-induced exhumation,
the foothill depocentres experienced almost zero
exhumation but recorded very high sedimentation
rates while deformation was ongoing as well.
Evidence in other chapters in this Special Publi-
cation (see Caballero et al. 2013; Jiménez et al. this
volume, in press; Moreno et al. this volume, in
press) and previous publications (Parra et al.
2009a, b; Horton et al. 2010a; Mora et al. 2010b;
Bande et al. 2012; Ramı́rez-Arias et al. 2012)
show that the important basement high (mainly the
Farallones and Pisba anticlines in the eastern foot-
hills, and the Cobardes and Villeta anticlines in
the western foothills) adjacent to the synclinal mar-
ginal depocentres in both the western and eastern
foothills (Medina, Nunchı́a in the east, and Nuevo
Mundo and Guaduas in the west) (Fig. 2) were
exhumed by thrust-induced denudation, while
growth strata in adjacent synclines underwent defor-
mation in which sedimentation rates mostly
exceeded crestal uplift rates of the main structures
(Fig. 12). Even more important is the finding that
exhumation of these basement highs after the
period of tectonic quiescence was typically coeval
(see the References cited above), suggesting a syn-
chronous activation of the main syncline-inversion
anticline pairs.
Acceleration in tectonic rates and
subsequent peak deformation
We show that the Early Miocene was a period with
comparatively higher accumulation rates in both
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 9. Cenozoic sediment accumulation rates based on both compacted (CAR) and decompacted (DAR) thicknesses
in the NE Magdalena Valley (Nuevo Mundo), and northern (Sirirı́) and southern (Medina) eastern foothills. Data
sources are Parra et al. (2010).

Fig. 10. Double-dated ZHe ages of samples from the Floresta area in the Eastern Cordillera plotted by their stratigraphic
age and lag time (e.g. Ruiz et al. 2004, dashed diagonal lines) (after Saylor et al. 2012). Zircons are identified as being of
volcanic origin if their ZHe and Zircon U– Pb ages overlap within their 2s uncertainty. Volcanic zircons (red) are
excluded from lag-time analysis. The three stages are interpreted as episodes of rapid exhumation (stages 1 and 2) and
the introduction of new supra-PRZ sedimentary sources (Stage 3). Lag-time values (L) are in Ma.
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

Fig. 11. Oligocene–Miocene palaeogeography of the study area based on surface and subsurface cross-cutting
stratigraphical relationships, and thermochronometric and provenance data. See Caballero et al. (2013) and Silva et al.
(this volume, in press), and references therein, for supporting information.
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 12. Subsurface cross-cutting relationships indicating Oligocene deformation. Oligocene growth strata occur in the
(a) central and (b) northern eastern foothills, and (c) in the Provincia oil field in the Middle Magdalena Basin. The
location of seismic sections is provided in Figure 2.

proximal basins to the east and west of the Eastern
Cordillera (Fig. 9). The coarser-grained record of
the C1 member in the Medina Basin (Parra et al.
2010), as well as in the Magdalena (Colorado For-
mation: Gómez et al. 2005; Moreno et al. 2011;
Caballero et al. this volume, in press), may sug-
gest increased rates of deformation. Indeed, internal
unconformities within the Colorado Formation
appear to support that idea (see Fig. 12a).
In addition, direct qualitative evidence suggests
that shortening rates should have beeen faster
since the Late Miocene in both foothill areas. This
is supported by the following observations.
† Cross-cutting relationships in cross-sections
from both foothill belts, especially evident
in the northernmost cross-sections (Jiménez
et al. this volume, in press) where the longest
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

Fig. 12. Continued.

traces of the most-frontal faults cut through Late
Miocene– Pliocene continental sediments of the
Guayabo Formation.
† Thermochronology reported by Mora et al.
(2008, 2010b, c), as well as Moreno et al. (this
volume, in press), from the most-frontal faults
in both foothills suggest the fastest deformation
rates occurred along those deformation fronts.
To consider the detailed quantification of these
rates, it is interesting to review the recent chro-
nology of the Neogene Guayabo Formation by
Delgado et al. (2012). Using AFT data and intra-
Guayabo unconformities, they suggest that the
upper portion of the Guayabo Formation should
be Pleistocene. If true, then cross-sections L and
M from Jimenez et al. (this volume, in press)
would require virtually all of the approximately
10 km of shortening along the Yopal Thrust to be
of Late Miocene –Pleistocene age, with more than
half of that as Pleistocene. Therefore, shortening
rates of at least 3 mm year21 should be obtained
for those frontal thrusts. These are in line with the
approximately 5 mm year21 rate obtained by Mora
et al. (2008) in the southern segment of the eastern
foothills.
New U– Pb ages from the Real Formation along
the western foothills (Caballero et al. 2013) give
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A. MORA ET AL.
Fig. 12. Continued.
sedimentation rates of about 0.35 mm year21 in the
Late Miocene (Fig. 13) compared with rates
of 0.25 –0.40 mm year21 in the eastern foothills
(Fig. 9). Sedimentation rates clearly increased at
the same time as shortening rates in both areas. How-
ever, of note in our cross-sections (see also Tesón
et al. this volume, in press) is the presence of a
thicker Neogene (especially Late Miocene –Pleisto-
cene) sedimentary sequence in the eastern foothill
belt. This feature is especially visible in the north-
ernmost regional cross-section with the thickest suc-
cession (Fig. 14).
An additional aspect becomes evident when
one compares the Neogene exhumation patterns
obtained with multiple thermochronometers mod-
elled using HeFTy software (Ketcham 2005) in
different geomorphic areas of the eastern flank of
the Eastern Cordillera. These data are from the
incised valleys of the eastern foothills, which con-
trast with the very low incision of almost flat-lying
areas in the axial zone near Bogotá. A distinct
pattern is detected with little Neogene exhumation
in the central axial zone near Bogotá (samples
RG06, RON1002 and US1004: Fig. 15) contrast-
ing with the external deeply incised valleys in the
foothills where exhumation accelerated drasti-
cally (1023– 24, MM005, CS3). In the Cocuy area,
models from the northern part of the eastern foot-
hills also require fast exhumation rates since the
Late Miocene (sample AFT 250710-12: Fig. 15).
A similar pattern of rapid Late Miocene –Recent
exhumation is observed to the north in the Sirirı́
area, where AFT ages younger than about 5 Ma
occur and the Precambrian basement has been
deeply incised (Fig. 16). This is in line with the
observations by Mora et al. (2008) of faster exhuma-
tion rates in the foothills during the Neogene. If our
initial shortening assessments are considered, then
a coeval acceleration of shortening would be also
required in the Neogene. Therefore, we try in the
following section to give more precision to our
shortening assessments throughout the Cenozoic
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

Fig. 13. Field relationships (a) and detrital zircon U–Pb ages, shown in (b) as age –probability functions (red line)
and age histograms (blue), in three Miocene samples of the Middle–Upper Miocene Real Formation in the Opon
Anticline, Middle Magdalena Valley Basin. Middle– Late Miocene ages of the youngest populations of detrital zircon
U– Pb ages overlap with biostratigraphical and radiometric ages of the unit (see Gómez et al. 2005 and references
therein) and exhibit an upsection decrease in age. This pattern reflects the volcanoclastic origin of zircons and provides
maximum depositional ages. Thickness relationships (inset cross-section in a) and ages yield compacted sediment
accumulation rates of approximately 0.35 mm year21. See the location in Figure 2.

by kinematically restoring the deformed-state cross-
sections of Tesón et al. (this volume, in press) (Figs
14, 17–19).
Extrapolation of shortening rates from the
regional balanced cross-sections
We used a procedure where all of the data on the
chronology of deformation is incorporated into the
kinematic restoration. Ideally, this includes the use
of growth strata. However, such records are particu-
larly scarce in the Eastern Cordillera. Therefore, as
described previously, we mostly relied on deriving
the position of buried rocks through time from
the modelled thermal histories and a geothermal
gradient using the raw data and the HeFTy models
in this volume (Caballero et al. 2013, this volume,
in press; Moreno et al. this volume, in press;
Silva et al. this volume, in press), in addition to
published work (Parra et al. 2009b; Mora et al.
2010b; Ramı́rez-Arias et al. 2012). Later, we
compare these results with an assessment of the
rocks exposed at the surface from various prove-
nance studies in the same area (Caballero 2010;
Quintero 2010; Parra et al. 2010; Moreno et al.
2011; Ramı́rez-Arias et al. 2012), which allow us
to calibrate the kinematics of fault movement
given a prescribed geometry.
From this approach, in all sections, we obtained
Palaeocene shortening rates of less than 2 mm
year21, which then decreased to almost zero during
the mid-Eocene and then started increasing again
by the Oligocene (Fig. 20). However, since the
Oligocene, shortening rates have been 2 mm
year21 before 10 Ma, with a dramatic increase after-
wards, which peaks at values of between 5 and
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 14. Sequentially retrodeformed structural cross-section from the Middle Magdalena Valley, across the Santander
Massif to the NE foothills, approximately at 78N. The location of the section is provided in Figure 2.

8 mm year21 in the regional sections, and between
3 and 5 mm year21 for the eastern and western foot-
hills of the Eastern Cordillera. Cross-sections with
sufficient resolution for different steps during Late
Miocene–Pleistocene time provide evidence for a
gradual acceleration in shortening rates from the
moderate Late Miocene rates to the very fast Plio-
Pleistocene (Fig. 20).
Discussion
In order to propose a model for the observed spatio-
temporal deformation patterns, in the following
discussion we suggest a plausible correlation of
different deformation processes with the plate
tectonic configuration, mechanical properties of
deformed rocks and the role of surface processes.
The role of plate tectonics
It is important to recognize that the spatial pattern of
deformation clearly shows that shortening during
the Palaeocene was mostly focused in the Central
Cordillera, the Magdalena Valley and in the wes-
ternmost portions of the Eastern Cordillera, as evi-
denced by the exhumation records of those areas
(Fig. 5a, b). However, local and presumably low-
amplitude structural highs have been also documen-
ted in eastern areas as far as the Llanos Basin
(Fig. 6). Documented rates of shortening would be
less than 1 mm year21 (Fig. 20). We suggest that
this period involved localized and strong defor-
mation in the Central Cordillera but widely spaced
and mild inversion in the Eastern Cordillera and
Llanos Basin. In contrast, after deformation
resumed in the Latest Eocene (Fig. 5c, d), exhuma-
tion during the Oligocene was documented all along
the former Early Cretaceous graben, an area that
coincides with the present-day positive relief of
the Eastern Cordillera (Fig. 11a). Shortening rates
were also faster and, locally, reached 2 mm year21,
coeval with the fastest eastwards advance of the oro-
genic front. At this time, the easternmost Eastern
Cordillera chain should have reached areal dimen-
sions similar to today but, presumably, at lower
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES
Fig. 14. Continued.
elevation (Fig. 11a). Peak shortening rates and out-
of-sequence reactivation of the main inversion
faults were in place, starting in latest Miocene time,
during a phase of topographical growth and eleva-
tion rise (Van der Hammen et al. 1973; Wijninga
1996; Hooghiemstra et al. 2006) in an inversion
orogen that already attained its broadest areal
extent in the Oligocene (Fig. 11).
In the following, we try to correlate the observed
deformation behaviour with Cenozoic plate kin-
ematics. A phase of shortening, starting at about
40 Ma, with subsequently increasing rates is dif-
ficult to correlate with Nazca – South America con-
vergence rates. For instance, a peak conver-
gence rate is defined at approximately 49 Ma and
a minimum by about 40 Ma (Pardo-Casas &
Molnar 1987). This clearly anti-correlates with the
shortening rates we report here for the Northern
Andes.
In the Central Andes, Oncken et al. (2006)
estimated that when rates of westward South Amer-
ican drift reach threshold values of about 1.7 cm
year21, shortening starts in the upper plate. As in
the Central Andes, with our interpretation of
Eastern Cordillera shortening resuming again by
the Late Eocene (c. 40 Ma), we find a rough coinci-
dence between the onset, then steadily increasing
Oligocene –Neogene shortening and the increasing
rates of westwards South American drift (Silver
et al. 1998). In such a case, the shortening threshold
values of about 2 cm year21 for westwards South
American drift in the Eastern Cordillera would be
slightly higher than those in the Central Andes
since deformation also started later in the Eastern
Cordillera. However, it is worth noting that post-
Early Eocene shortening could have commenced
slightly earlier in the Central and Western Cordil-
leras to the west. In this context, the most-important
phase of elevation increase in the Eastern Cordil-
lera would correlate with the faster Late Miocene
shortening rates in the upper plate and the fastest
westward South American drift.
Another interesting correlation is the width of
the deformation zone across the Early Cretaceous
graben domain of the Eastern Cordillera and the
plate kinematic history. First, we find that by
49 Ma, published plate kinematic data (Pardo-Casas
& Molnar 1987) (Fig. 21) suggest that the direction
of convergence becomes more perpendicular with
respect to the South American margin and remains
relatively uniform during the following periods.
We suggest that more localized deformation in the
Palaeocene is caused by a more oblique to transpres-
sional regime that did not facilitate deformation to
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A. MORA ET AL.
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

advance eastwards towards the weak graben domain
but, instead, promoted deformation along deeply
rooted exhuming structures. However, the wide-
spread low-amplitude deformation in the Llanos
Basin could be due to a preferential reactivation of
local inversion structures under low strain rates. In
this context, low strain rates favour a more wide-
spread, less focused mode of deformation. In con-
trast, the very fast shortening rates in the late
Miocene, when the plates converged in a near-
perpendicular direction, would favour focused
plastic or brittle failure of the crust, which may acti-
vate deeply rooted master normal faults and prompt
increased elevation (Figs 13– 16).
Mechanical properties
As previously mentioned, the metasedimentary
basement in the Eastern Cordillera compared with
the cratonic basement of the Llanos and Putumayo
areas or Maracaibo Basin, along with the nearly
absent shortening in these two cratonic areas,
suggest the presence of a long-lasting weak mobile
belt between two strong cratonic blocks. This model
supports the indenter model (Taboada et al. 2000),
where the weak block is squeezed by the two resist-
ant ones and moves along the Algeciras and Bucar-
amanga faults. However, assessments by Tesón
et al. (this volume, in press) suggest that the
weakest domain in the Eastern Cordillera is prob-
ably the one where contractional deformation is
intense during the Late Palaeozoic (e.g. Permo-
Triassic metamorphism west of the Boyacá and
Bucaramanga faults: see Fig. 4c) and Mesozoic sub-
sidence first commences (e.g. documented Jurassic
Girón Formation: Kammer & Sánchez 2006). This
point is reinforced by the fact that deformation
associated with significant cooling starts at, and is
restricted to, this precise domain during the Palaeo-
cene, coinciding with the Early Cretaceous graben
basin. Therefore, under low shortening rates (dur-
ing the Palaeocene) only the weakest portions of
the graben underwent significant deformation. In
contrast, faster Oligocene shortening rates (and a
more perpendicular convergence) prompted a
virtually coeval activation of all of the inherited
master graben faults (see Caballero et al. 2013;
Moreno et al. this volume, in press; Tesón et al.
this volume, in press), which slipped at rates
higher than the adjacent footwall shortcuts (see
Figs 14 & 17 –19). During the Oligocene, analogue
master inversion faults with opposite vergence in
both the western and eastern foothills continued to
be active and shed detritus into adjacent Cenozoic
depocentres. These depocentres are bounded by
either shortcuts or Neocomian faults affected by
flexural normal faulting (Caballero et al. 2013;
Moreno et al. this volume, in press). We propose
that this association of coeval activation of base-
ment highs and adjacent slower-slip shortcuts
should be a fundamental behaviour of inverted
symmetric grabens, which starkly contrasts with
other thrust belts. Thus, in this inverted orogen,
there are faults of similar mechanical strength
for reactivation but opposite vergence, and we
show that these became active at the same time on
both sides of the orogen and along strike in the
same front (Mora et al. 2006, 2010b; Parra et al.
2009b; Bande et al. 2012; Ramı́rez-Arias et al.
2012; Caballero et al. 2013; Moreno et al. this
volume, in press).
This general behaviour, as well as the regional
spatial pattern of propagation of basement-involved
deformation, suggests that deformation partition-
ing with time is controlled by the former rift sub-
graben and master faults (Fig. 4). However, before
reactivation and brittle faulting can occur, thus
producing different styles (described in detail by
Tesón et al. this volume, in press), strain hardening
is required. The main evidence for this conclusion is
the presence of Oligocene second-order folds (i.e.
folds that are independent of inversion tectonics)
and associated coeval penetrative strain (Mora
et al. 2013). The coeval activation of inherited
fault systems in inverted symmetric grabens should
be a typical feature for this style of orogenic belts
since it has been observed even in domains where
the reported stress directions exhibit different direc-
tions with respect to the main faults in other domains
of the belt.
Certainly, the northwards escape of the weak
block, as suggested by Tesón et al. (this volume,
in press), causes oroclinal bending of the Eastern
Cordillera mobile belt between the two cratonic
areas. Although such lateral changes in the pre-
existing configuration promote salient growth in the
orogen, this does not necessarily indicate an earlier
or later activation of the master basin-boundary
graben faults during contraction. Rather, these
results most probably suggest that basin-boundary
master normal faults of opposite vergence (Magda-
lena and eastern foothills) somehow interacted

Fig. 15. Contrasting thermal histories based on AFT and (U– Th)/He data from rocks cropping out along the axial
sector and along the eastern foothills of the Eastern Cordillera. Late Eocene–Oligocene (40– 30 Ma) onset of cooling
and moderate to low cooling rates since late Miocene time along the axial Eastern Cordillera contrast with Late
Oligocene– early Miocene (30–20 Ma) onset of cooling and very rapid Late Miocene– Recent cooling rates in the
eastern foothills. See Figure 8 for conventions for thermal models plots.
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 16. (a) Geological map and AFT ages from the Sirirı́ area in the NE foothills of the Eastern Cordillera. (b) Thermal
models from selected samples. See Figure 8 for conventions.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Dalhousie University on November 13, 2013

INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

(a)

(b)

Fig. 17. Sequentially retrodeformed structural cross-section from the Opon Anticline in the western foothills,
across the Floresta Massif, to the Zamaricote Syncline in the central eastern foothills, approximately at 68 N. See
the location in Figure 2.
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A. MORA ET AL.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 18. Sequentially retrodeformed structural cross-section from the La India Syncline in the western foothills, across
the northern Bogotá Plateau, to the Nunchı́a Syncline in the central eastern foothills, approximately at 5810′ N.
See the location in Figure 2.
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES

Fig. 19. Sequentially retrodeformed structural cross-section approximately at 48N, from the southern Guaduas
Syncline in the western foothills, across the Bogotá Plateau, to the Boa Anticline in the SE foothills. See the location in
Figure 2.

in the extensional phase, transferring stresses from particular shortening rates (roughly 1–2 mm
one side of the graben to the other in the absence year21), the system is again activated as a whole
of hard linkages. Later in the Oligocene, under with interacting faults.

Fig. 20. (a) Shortening rates calculated from sequentially restored cross-sections presented in Figures 14 and 17– 19.
East– west-spreading velocity of the South America–Africa (bold black line, after Silver et al. 1998) is provided for
comparison. (b)Shortening rates in local cross-sections in the western (Lisama) and eastern (Sirirı́ and
Volcanera) foothills.
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A. MORA ET AL.

Fig. 21. Reconstruction of two points on the Nazca Plate with respect to the South American Plate at the times of
various magnetic anomalies, after Pardo-Casas & Molnar (1987). A major change in convergence obliquity
at Early Eocene time (49 Ma) is indicated with a blue ellipse.

Surface processes relief. Regarding shortening rates, faster rates

As mentioned in Nemcŏk et al. (this volume, in
press) and previously discussed in the works by
Mora et al. (2008) and Ramı́rez-Arias et al.
(2012), we reinforce the idea that the Eastern Cor-
dillera is a key natural laboratory for studying
inverted orogens conditioned by climatic forcing.
In the Eastern Cordillera, focused denudation due
to an orographic rain shadow on its eastern side is
a typical feature. Climatic forcing prompted by
moisture-bearing winds coming from the Amazon
apparently focused precipitation, differentially
enhancing denudation, as we show here, and also
unloading the active faults (Mora et al. 2008).
Towards the zone of lateral escape (Cocuy area) in
the weak block of the Eastern Cordillera, the Cordil-
lera not only advanced through a salient, but it also
developed extremely high structural and topogra-
phical relief associated with very young AFT and
AHe ages (Fig. 16). This is regarded as evidence
of peak denudation rates, which facilitate kinematic
histories in which structural blocks prefer to grow
vertically and not advance. Additional evidence
for this point of view is that the weakest central
block of the mobile belt, west of the Boyacá
and Bucaramanga faults, which exhumed deep
metamorphic basement during late Palaeozoic oro-
genesis and is adjacent to upper Palaeozoic sedi-
mentary rocks, was not the locus of deep or
focused exhumation during Tertiary contraction
and neither focused deformation and structural
coupled with rapid exhumation is something not
necessarily observed in the eastern side of the
Eastern Cordillera. Indeed, the fastest rates of short-
ening for the western and eastern sides started after
the Latest Miocene and continued to present. In this
case we do not find conclusive new evidence of
the eastern side of the Eastern Cordillera moving
faster than the western side due to more rapid
denudation.
Faster denudation rates, of the order of
1 mm year21 (Mora et al. 2008), certainly produce
other effects. Most obvious is the massive flux of
Neogene –Recent conglomerates during periods of
peak accumulation (Fig. 9). With the available
data, this appears to be limited to the eastern foot-
hills, because the western Magdalena foothills have
thinner Neogene –Recent conglomeratic sequences
and slower accumulation rates. We hypothesize
that rapid fault movement and synchronous rapid
erosion generate a massive flux of sediment that
is exclusive to the eastern foothills. As suggested
by Jiménez et al. (this volume, in press), this thick
sequence of Neogene siliciclastic rocks acted as a
rigid backstop during deposition of the uppermost
levels and also heated deeper shaly horizons,
prompting them to reduce basal friction. In certain
areas of the eastern foothills, with all of these
elements, antiformal stacks and passive roof
duplexes are present. It is significant how this type
of structure is underdeveloped or absent in the Mag-
dalena foothills where the Neogene clastics are
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INVERSION TECTONICS: COLOMBIAN ANDES
thinner and the basal shaly detachments are more
discontinuous (see Moreno et al. this volume, in
press). The combination of these factors has been
reproduced with similar results in analogue models
(Couzens-Schultz et al. 2003).
Conclusions
The Eastern Cordillera of Colombia is a prime
example of inversion tectonics where plenty of
new data sets allow us to evaluate the role of differ-
ent factors in mountain building in an inverted rift
setting.
† Plate tectonics, mainly the direction of conver-
gence and the velocity of westwards South
American drift most probably controlled the
width of the deformation zones and the defor-
mation rates.
† The presence of a weak, long-lasting mobile belt
that controls multiphased long-lived tectonic
events defines the Eastern Cordillera. Of impor-
tance is the realization that the contractional
reactivation of most of its main inversion base-
ment highs is virtually coeval regardless of its
vergence. Subdivision of the region into weaker
blocks is also possible, as represented by areas
where the earliest (Mesozoic) extension and
the earliest (Palaeozoic) contraction occurred
within the broader domain of the Mesozoic
graben basin (west of the Bucaramanga and
Boyacá faults).
However, surface processes facilitated focused pro-
tracted denudation and allowed deformation to be
focused in the areas on the lee side of the orogen,
but generally not in the weakest zones
This study was funded by Ecopetrol–ICP as part of the
project ‘Cronologı́a de la Deformación en las Cuencas
Subandinas’. The authors would like to thank the editors
of this Special Publication, J. Cosgrove and M. Nemcŏk,
for their constructive comments; and also the reviewers
J. Buchanan, A. Henk and R. Sorkhabi for their positive
contributions that improved the manuscript. H. Bueno was
of great help with the final edition of the cross-sections.
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