Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30

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Journal of South American Earth Sciences

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Andean evolution of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt, Northern Patagonian
Andes (38
300 e40
300 S)
Ezequiel García Morabito a, b, *, Víctor A. Ramos a, b
a
Laboratorio de Tectónica Andina del Instituto de Estudios Andinos “Don Pablo Groeber”, Departamento de Cs. Geológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales,
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
b
CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Aluminé fold and thrust belt between 38
300 and 40
300 S is the result of two periods of progression
Received 7 January 2011 of deformation toward the foreland. The chronology of deformation and its relationship with magmatism
Accepted 28 March 2012 through time show spatially and temporally separated magmatic events closely linked to distinct
deformational stages. Data presented here confirms a Late Cretaceous mountain-building phase that
Keywords: coexisted in space and time with an eastward arc-migration. During this stage, a belt of deformation
Patagonian Andes
expanded through the foreland where it produced the Southern Neuquen Precordillera. This eastern
Mountain uplift
independent mountain grew separately from the main Andean axis through a combination of inversion
Collón Cura basin
Southern Neuquén Precordillera
of the old rift systems and interaction with a pre-Andean belt which acted as a foreland obstacle. On the
basis of tectonostratigraphic controls we define the last Andean contractional phase between the Late
Miocene and the Pliocene. This event induced the reactivation of both sectors of the fold and thrust belt
with minor propagation toward the foreland, leading to the uplift of the Patagonian Andes and reshaping
the Southern Neuquén Precordillera. Both intervals of shortening are separated by a period of localized
extension that resulted in the development of the Collón Cura basin within this Andean segment. Here,
large thicknesses of volcanosedimentary sequences accumulated contemporaneously with the exten-
sional activity between the earliest Oligocene and the Early Miocene.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction a topographic break across the Andean foothills, changing the

The existence of independent mountain systems that have
growth separately from the main Andean axis comes as a recurrent
case throughout the entire Andean foreland. Most of them were
created as a result of deformation progressing toward the continent
(Ramos and Folguera, 2009). Evaluating the processes through
which such systems emerged in far foreland positions, requires
a precise definition of the chronology of uplift, the mechanisms of
deformation, and their relation with arc behavior.
The foreland area located between 38
300 and 40
300 S is occu-
pied by an eastern mountain system known as the Southern
Neuquén Precordillera (Ramos et al., 2011), which is more impor-
tant in topographic terms than the main Andean chain. This belt,
developed more than 400 km away from the trench, produces
* Corresponding author. Laboratorio de Tectónica Andina del, Instituto de Estu-
dios Andinos, “Don Pablo Groeber”, Departamento de Cs. Geológicas, Facultad de
Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
E-mail address: eze_gm@yahoo.com.ar (E. García Morabito).
amplitude of the orogen (Fig. 1). It integrates the external portion of
the Aluminé fold and thrust belt, which is the southern expression
of the Agrio fold and thrust belt located north of 38
300 S. In contrast
to the segment located north of this latitude, where the timing of
deformation is relatively well constrained (Zapata et al., 1999;
Cobbold and Rossello, 2003; Zamora Valcarce et al., 2006), there
is a lack of information concerning the deformational history of the
Andean segment located to the south. Several characteristics
related to the last deformational phase were recently described by
García Morabito et al. (2011), but many unsolved aspects still
persist. The existence, and eventually the age of an initial defor-
mation phase is unknown, and the occurrence of a period of
orogenic relaxation and basin formation is still debated.
The purpose of this paper is to delimit and characterize the
different stages which led to the present configuration of this
segment of the Andean retro-arc since the early Mesozoic, and to
evaluate the possible factors that could have intervened in the
creation of a specific morphology on the Andean foreland. Through
an integrated study which is focused on temporal and spatial
aspects of a series of igneous rocks and synorogenic deposits, and

0895-9811/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2012.03.005
14 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30

Fig. 1. Regional location map of the Northern Patagonian Andes and Southern Central Andes between 37
and 41
S and main morphotectonic features. The eastern ranges
(particularly the Cordillera de Catan Lil and Cordillera del Chachil), define the Southern Neuquén Precordillera, developed within the external portion of the Aluminé fold and thrust
belt. Distribution of outcrops of the Malargüe Group taken from Aguirre-Urreta et al. (2010).

their relationships to structures, we describe the growth of this
Andean segment through time by the incorporation of several
portions of the foreland during temporally delimited events.
New field evidences allowed us to consider timing and styles of
deformation. These include unconformities, thicknesses variations
across structures, intrusive relationships, and growth strata. New
structural sections are also provided. We review existing radio-
metric ages for igneous rocks, and present 2 new KeAr data to
unravel the history of this Andean segment.
2. The Aluminé fold and thrust belt
This belt, developed south of 38
300 S, extends from the peaks of
the main cordillera to the foreland, involving rift systems and post-
rift deposits accumulated within the southwestern Neuquén basin
during the Mesozoic (Fig. 2). It includes the eastern slope of the
Patagonian Cordillera and the Southern Neuquén Precordillera to
the east. A NNW-trending depression, occupied by the Bio Bio
Aluminé valley and the Collón Cura basin, separates both mor-
photectonic units developed in the western and eastern sectors of
the fold and thrust belt respectively (Fig. 1).
The main axis of the Andes falls within its internal portion. It is
characterized by a series of exhumed Middle Jurassic to Late
Miocene batholiths which are west bounded by the Holocene
volcanic front. The maximum topographic highs are restricted to
the Southern Neuquén Precordillera across the external retro-arc
zone, whose most prominent features are the Cordillera de Catan
Lil, Cordillera del Chachil, and Sierra de Chacaico (Fig. 1). This
 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30
Fig. 2. Stratigraphic column of the southwestern Neuquén Basin and adjacent sectors
divided into inner and outer retro-arc.
system gradually looses expression to the north, where it is
replaced by a series of gently inverted basement cored structures of
the inner Agrio fold and thrust belt (Fig. 1) (Zapata et al., 2002;
Zamora Valcarce et al., 2006), and by the Copahue Pino Hachado
High, a west-verging uplifted block located immediately west
(García Morabito and Folguera, 2005). It can be recognized until the
40
300 S, where several basement uplifts define the Sañico massif
(Fig. 3). On its eastern slope, the central portion of the Southern
Neuquén Precordillera interferes with a pre-Andean feature known
as the Huincul High (De Ferraris, 1947) (Fig. 1). This is an eastewest
oriented positive element formed between Early Jurassic and Early
Cretaceous times within the Neuquén basin (Vergani et al., 1995;
Mosquera and Ramos, 2006; Silvestro and Zubiri, 2008), that
exerted a strong influence in the subsequent evolution of the fold
and thrust belt.
The analysis of this segment shows a difference in structural
styles between the western and eastern parts of the fold and thrust
belt. The contrast between both sectors is partially related to
a heterogeneous distribution of a suite of fault bounded
15
depocenters, which mostly developed east of the course of the
Aluminé river in the early stages of the Neuquén basin (García
Morabito et al., 2011). In the areas where they developed, subse-
quent shortening resulted in a typical thick-skinned fold and thrust
belt with a complex structural framework. The structural configu-
ration is relative simpler where these systems are absent.
2.1. Patagonian Cordillera (internal domain)
The Patagonian Cordillera falls within the internal (western)
portion of the fold and thrust belt. It is characterized by a series of
N- and NNE-trending structures which involve the basement
without inversion. Along the drainage divide area, a continuous
volcanic arc is emplaced over a series of NE-trending margin scale
faults that cut the western portion of the orogen.
The structural analysis of the internal portion of the fold and
thrust belt through a series of WeE oriented transects and struc-
tural cross-sections located along the main fluvial valleys, allowed
the recognition of a suite of structures that define the eastern
deformational front of the northernmost Patagonian Andes. They
consist in a series of east-verging faults that involve the igneous
rocks of the Northern Patagonian Batholith, delineating a contin-
uous arc-shaped topographic break that extends for tens of kilo-
meters west of the Bio Bio, Aluminé, and Chimehuin valleys (Fig. 1).
The most representative of these structures are from north to
south: the Río Pedregoso (Rosenau, 2004; Melnick et al., 2006), the
Relém, and the Piedras Paradas faults (Figs. 5 and 6). These faults
incorporate the basement in the deformation, transposing it on top
of the Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary successions accumulated
at the Andean foothills, or simply truncating these sequences along
its trace (Fig. 5b). Most of these structures transfer horizontal
shortening to the east through a series of lower angle faults
inserted into the Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary cover (Fig. 4).
Deformation was more effective in progressing toward the east at
the northern and southern segments, where large thicknesses of
Tertiary volcanosedimentary successions hosted in the Cura Mallín
and Collón Cura basin are present. There, several north-trending
folds linked to a series of blind faults developed in the Tertiary
sedimentary cover as deformation propagated toward the east
(Fig. 6).
2.2. Southern Neuquén Precordillera (external domain)
The external portion of the fold and thrust belt is located east of
the course of the Aluminé river. It involves the Southern Neuquén
Precordillera, an eastern independent mountain system integrated
by several denuded basement uplifts that conform the main topo-
graphic features of the region. Their elevation range between 1500
and 2900 m, exceeding those of the Patagonian Cordillera along its
drainage divide area, and delineating a particularly broad mountain
system. This system exhibits the deepest levels of exposure of the
entire fold and thrust belt, providing good exposures of the base-
ment, the synrift, and the early post-rift successions as the result of
Andean inversion and uplift. To the north and to the southeast,
these sequences are buried below high thicknesses of Mesozoic
successions, documenting a significant change in the structural
relief as a consequence of differential regional uplift.
Geological mapping of outcropping structures, integrated with
previously published information (Leanza et al., 2003; Franzese
et al., 2006; García Morabito et al., 2011), and the construction of
detailed structural cross-sections east of the Aluminé river (Fig. 7),
indicate that structures developed during the Andean cycle are
predominantly associated with a west-verging fold and thrust belt
which was controlled geometrically by preexisting normal faults of
the Mesozoic rift phase. Overprinting relationships become
16 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30

Fig. 3. Geological map of the retro-arc area between 38
300 and 40
300 S (modified from Cucchi et al., 2005; Melnick et al., 2006; García Morabito et al., 2011). Cross-sections in
figures are shown.
 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30 17

Fig. 4. Internal domain. Geological cross-sections across the internal portion of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt at a) 39
000 S (modificated from García Morabito et al., 2011), and b)
39
150 S, constructed on the basis of surface geology. Locations in Fig. 3.

particularly evident along a series of NW- to NNW-trending reac-
tivated rift-related normal faults that produce thickness and facies
variations of the rift sequences, and pronounced topographic and
structural changes.
Even though there is a clear west-verging geometry of the
structure, and a well defined topographic break delineating the
western boundary of the Southern Neuquén Precordillera, there is
no direct evidence of a single continuous fault running through its
western slope. Instead, we recognize a series of fragmentary
structures that uplifted discrete portions of this mountain system
(Fig. 3). They consist of NNW-trending faults and their intersection
with complementary northesouth oriented faults. From north to
south they are referred as: Litrán, Trocoquén, Limenco, Lonqueo,
Rahue, Bandurial, Manzano, and Alicura faults (Fig. 3). As a whole,
they define the western deformational front of the Southern Neu-
quén Precordillera.
The structural framework becomes dramatically more complex
where the fold and thrust belt interferes with the westernmost
portion of a pre-Andean system known as the Huincul arch. This
occurs at the eastern border of the Cordillera del Chachil and
around the Sierra de Chacaico (Fig. 3). Here NNW-trending inverted
normal faults coexist with a series of eastewest and NE-oriented
structural features with evidences of a persistent Jurassic activity
(Naipauer et al., 2012). Interference between both systems resulted
in an extremely complex structural framework, given highly scat-
tered structures of variable vergence with abrupt orientation
changes.
Southwards the structural framework is defined through
a series of NNW and northesouth asymmetric folds developed in
the Mesozoic successions. Most of these anticlines constitute west-
verging fault-propagation folds formed by contractional reac-
tivation of rift-related normal faults (García Morabito et al., 2011)

Fig. 5. East-verging front of the Northern Patagonian Andes between 38
300 and 39
300 S, inner portion of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt. a. Frontal monocline located
immediately south of Lago Aluminé. b. East-verging fault overlapping the basement over the Miocene volcanosedimentary successions of the Chimehuin Formation. c and d.
Western portion of the Collón Cura basin. The Curruhue fault reaches the surface a few kilometers east of the Piedras Paradas fault, putting the westward dipping volcanic sequences
of the Auca Pan Formation over the Miocene sedimentary deposits along its trace.
18 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30

Fig. 6. East-verging front of the Northern Patagonian Andes between 39
300 and 40
300 S, inner portion of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt. a. Structural map of the Collón Cura
basin. b and c. Geological cross-sections across the internal portion of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt at 39
500 S and 39
580 S.

(Fig. 7). Basement and synrift successions re-emerge at the south-
ernmost Neuquén Precordillera through a series of NNW and NeS-
trending high angle and west-verging faults that delineate its
boundary with the Collón Cura basin. In addition, two east-directed
basement faults run throughout its eastern border (Fig. 3).
3. Spatial and temporal variation of magmatism and its
linkage with deformation
Late Cretaceous to Oligocene igneous rocks distributed across
the Andean foreland between 38
300 and 40
300 S show systematic
variations in space and time. Its occurrence has been historically
restricted to the innermost retro-arc region, where they have been
assigned to the Auca Pan Formation without major differentiations
(Turner, 1973, 1976; Cucchi et al., 2005). Only a few isolated
outcrops were reported to the east. We identified a series of
intrusions that occur along the external portion of the fold and
thrust belt, addressing a striking change in the distribution of
igneous rocks at these latitudes. These eastern outcrops are key in
constraining a first Andean stage of deformation. They also allowed
us to reevaluate previous considerations about the existence of
a long-lasting narrow volcanic front restricted to the axis of the
Patagonian Andes (González Bonorino, 1979; Mpodozis and Ramos,
1989).
The analysis of the igneous outcrops across the region through
the revision of existing radiometric data, new KeAr ages (Table 1),
the evaluation of its spatial distribution and field relationships, and
its linkage with Andean structures, support dividing them into two
different belts closely linked to distinct deformational stages.
3.1. Outer volcanic belt
East of the course of the Aluminé river, we have recognized
a suite of volcanic and subvolcanic rocks consisting in a series of

Fig. 7. Geological cross section across the southernmost Southern Neuquén Precordillera at 39
280 S. The section was constructed on the basis of surface geology and subsurface
information. The trace of the cross section is indicated in Fig. 3.
 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30
Table 1
Whole rock K/Ar ages for two samples from Cerro Chachil Chico volcanic rocks. Ages
were obtained at SERNAGEOMIN, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
40
Sample Igneous Analyzed %K Ar rad %40Ar air
rock Material (nl/g) %
H1987 .MO Andesite Whole rock 1.66 4.691 48
P1190 .MO Andesite Whole rock 1.66 4.951 19
porphyritic intrusive bodies of andesiticerhyodacitic composition
and associated extrusive series. Intrusive series were emplaced as
laccoliths and associated sills in the deformed Mesozoic strata.
Volcanic rocks consist of extrusive domes, breccias, volcanic
agglometares, and massive lava flows covering the basement and
the Mesozoic successions. They range in composition from basal-
ticeandesitic to rhyodacitic.
Traditionally volcanism is thought to require an extensional
state of stress in the crust (Cas and Wright, 1987; Watanabe et al.,
1999). Recent studies show however that there is a growing
evidence for volcanism occurring in the context of contractional
and transpessional settings (Tibaldi et al., 2010). Igneous outcrops
distributed along the Southern Neuquén Precordillera, occur locally
along active to recently active contractional fault systems, implying
a genetic relation between magma emplacement and faulting.
Across the eastern belt, field mapping and structural data show that
the spatial distribution of the subvolcanic bodies and associated
extrusions is structurally controlled by a series of NNW-trending
faults and their intersection with NE and northesouth oriented
structures (Figs. 9 and 10). This geometric control by the substrate
structures on the magma emplacement becomes particularly
evident along the Cordillera de Catan Lil and Chachil. Here, intru-
sions and domes are clearly situated over a series of NNW-trending
faults that uplifted the main topographic features of the region.
Volcanism particularly concentrates where the NNW-trending
Rahue, Lonqueo, and Casa Mayor faults, intercept conjugated
northesouth and NE-trending structures (Fig. 9). To the south,
several andesitic high level intrusions form erosional remnants
which pierce the preexisting folds. Within the Sañico massif,
andesites erupted through a series of vents whose remnants lie
mainly along a series of NNW and northesouth oriented faults or
close to them (Fig. 9). Volcanic rocks are also preserved along the
main fold axes with an unconformable relationship (Parker, 1973).
Field relationships show that magmatism occurred along active
to recently active fault systems. Besides, extrusive rocks cover the
previously deformed Mesozoic units, but are themselves no
significantly deformed. Thus, igneous sequences can be interpreted
as emplaced under structural control during the last pulses of
deformation, or just after deformation took place. Ages of these
outcrops are therefore important in constraining the uppermost
age of a Cretaceous phase of contractional deformation in the area.
Moreover, they are key in establishing the age of a volcanic episode
developed several kilometers east of the JurassiceLate early
Cretaceous arc front (Munizaga et al., 1988; Ramos and Folguera,
2005) (Fig. 8). New KeAr whole rock analyses for a suite of
aligned extrusions of andesitic to rhyodacitic composition of the
Cerro Chachil Chico area, indicate ages of 75  3 Ma and 71  3 Ma
(see Table 1, analytical data), delimiting the uppermost age of
deformation. Similar outcrops located a few kilometers west were
dated by Lagorio et al. (1998) in 61  2 Ma and 62  3 Ma. Within
the Sañico massif, Linares et al. (1991) also reported a KeAr age of
64  3 Ma for the andesitic intrusive rocks of the Cerro Feo, and
KeAr ages that range between 44 and 39 Ma for adjacent basalts
(Fig. 8).
Geochemical data from outcrops of the Aluminé valley, show
typical volcanic arc-like features indicated by trace elements ratios
19
(La/Ta (33), Ba/La (20.35)). In the Pearce (1982), Pearce et al. (1984)
and Meschede (1986) discrimination diagrams, they plot in the
field of the volcanic arc (Lagorio et al., 1998; Vattuone and Latorre,
Age (Ma) 1998), Nb negative anomalies, and a K, Rb, and Th enrichment with
respect to N-MORB further confirm an arc signal (Lagorio et al.,
71  3 1998). These chemical features fit with advanced differentiation
75  3
processes in a volcanic arc field (Lagorio et al., 1998).
As a whole, outcrops of the Southern Neuquén Precordillera are
indicating an eastern volcanic arc front of Late Cretaceous to
Eocene age which occurred in the foreland region contempora-
neously with the last pulses of a first Andean deformational phase.
They show robust relationships in space and time with Late
Cretaceous to Eocene igneous rocks of the Naunauco Group
occurring between 36
150 and 38
150 S along the Agrio fold and
thrust belt (Fig. 8), whose main aspects have been summarized by
Llambías and Rapela (1989), Franchini et al. (2003), Kay et al.
(2006), and Zamora Valcarce et al. (2006). Ages range between
74.2  1.4 Ma and 56  1.7 Ma (Domínguez et al., 1984; Llambías
and Rapela, 1989; Linares and González, 1990; Jordan et al.,
2001; Franchini et al., 2003; Zamora Valcarce et al., 2006), with
a few Eocene ages (Llambías and Rapela, 1989; Cobbold and
Rossello, 2003). Chemical analyses show arc-like features indi-
cated by HFSE depletion (La/Ta > 28; Ta/Hf < 0,15) and fluid mobile
element enrichment (Ba/La > 20) (Kay et al., 2006; Zamora
Valcarce et al., 2006).
The correlation between outcrops of the Agrio and the Alu-
miné fold and thrust belt implies a long-lasting igneous cycle
reported for the Andean foreland between 36
150 and 38
150 S
(Llambías and Rapela, 1989; Franchini et al., 2003; Kay et al.,
2006; Zamora Valcarce et al., 2006), that can be extended for
hundreds of kilometers to the south until 40
300 S approximately
(Fig. 8). Distribution and age of this entire magmatic belt is in
accord with a Late CretaceousePaleogene arc front having been
several kilometers east of the JurassiceLate early Cretaceous arc
front of the main Andean axis (Munizaga et al., 1988; Ramos and
Folguera, 2005).
3.2. Inner volcanic belt
Volcanic rocks from the eastern flank of the Andes between
38
300 and 40
300 S, address important changes in space, time, and
nature respect the easternmost outcrops of the Southern Neuquen
Precordillera. They are commonly known as the Serie Andesitica
(Feruglio, 1927; Groeber, 1954), and they represent the northern-
most exposures of the El Maiten belt (34e21 Ma), extensively
developed south of the study area, and separated temporally and
spatially from an eastern belt known as the Pilcaniyeu belt
(60e42 Ma) (Rapela et al., 1988). The Auca Pan and the Ventana
Formations are the most used formal denominations within this
complex. The Auca Pan Formation includes a volcanic association
composed of basalts, andesites, tuffs, and volcaniclastic succes-
sions, gathered in the Collón Cura basin. In several places, there are
sedimentary packages integrated by shales and conglomerates
within the volcanic rocks. Geochronological data of outcrops from
the northern Collón Cura basin, indicate ages of 33  2 Ma,
24  2 Ma, and 20  3 Ma (Rapela et al., 1983; Uliana, 1978) (Fig. 8).
More recently, Franzese et al. (2011) also reported two 39Are40Ar
ages of 26  1.5 and 25  1.4 for basalts of the Alumine valley.
Chemical analyses of the Late EoceneeOligocene sequences indi-
cate calc-alkaline rocks with arc characteristics occurred in
a context of progressively crustal thinning linked to extensional
tectonics (Rapela et al., 1983, 1988).
The compilation of previously published ages, together with the
structural analysis of key areas of the Collón Cura basin, shed light
on the linkage between large volumes of igneous rocks erupted in
20 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30

Fig. 8. Distribution of the Late CretaceousePaleogene igneous rocks between 37
and 41
S. Segment located north of 38
S modified from Ramos and Folguera (2005). See text for
sources of age dates. Ages in red: present contribution.
 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30 21

Fig. 9. Digital elevation models illustrating relationships between upper CretaceousePaleogene magmatic rocks and Andean structures across the external (eastern) portion of the
fold and thrust belt. Note that the spatial distribution of the subvolcanic bodies and associated extrusions is structurally controlled by a series of NNW-trending faults and their
intersection with NE and northesouth oriented structures. a. Andesitic intrusions of Cerro La Atravesada situated over the trace of the NE-trending Curumil fault. b. Domes
emplaced at the intersection of two regional lineaments east of Mallín de Ibañez. c. Extrusive domes and associated breccias situated over the trace of the NNW-trending Rahue
fault. d. Geometric control by the substrate structures on the magmatic outcrops distributed across the northern portion of the Sañico massif. e. Remnant vents, andesitic outcrops
and structural features of the northern portion of the Cordillera de Catan Lil. f. Andesitic outcrops of the Sañico massif preserved along a fold axis and the trace of the NNW to N-
trending Manzano fault.

the context of a retreating arc and concurrent faulting. Surface
observations allowed the recognition of half-graben systems
controlling the accumulation of variable volumes of lava associated
with alluvial and lacustrine sediments. Evidence of synextensional
deposition comes from lateral thickness variations and progressive
unconformities in the sedimentary intercalations and volcaniclastic
sequences of the Auca Pan Formation, in association with normal
faults and lineaments of NNE and NW orientation (Fig. 12).
Evidences of lateral thickness variations across normal faults are
conspicuous in the area located north of Lago Huechulaufquen.
Here, the sedimentary intercalations show internal unconformities
interpreted as syngrowth strata because of their linkage to a series
of NNE-trending and west-dipping normal faults that define
a series of downstepping blocks (Fig. 12). Kinematic data provide
evidence for dip-slip normal displacement and minor strikeeslip
components along NE- to NNE-oriented faults. They indicate
a EeW (Az: 272
) extension (Fig. 12). Immediately west,
volcaniclastic strata define a wedge geometry against a NNE-
trending lineament in the Mamuil Malal range. Successions show
lateral thickness variations and progressive upward decrease in dip,
suggesting a progressive tilting related to displacement on a west-
dipping fault (Fig. 12). Internally, minor west-dipping normal faults
are recognized. Similar evidences can be recognized in the eastern
slope of the Cerro Auca Pan, where strata thicken against a NNW-
trending lineament of regional extension. Recently, Franzese et al.
(2011) also reported rapid thickness variations across two NNW
and northesouth oriented normal faults that define the western
and eastern limits of a northern depocenter of the Collón Cura basin
respectively, further constraining Oligocene extension.
These are the first surface evidences along this Andean segment
of a structural control in the accumulation of the Oligocene
successions. They indicate extension occurring in the arc and
innermost retro-arc region contemporaneously with a westward
shift of the magmatic activity after the Late Eocene. Moreover, they
22 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30

Fig. 10. Outcrops of the Naunauco igneous rocks along the external portion of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt. Location of field examples indicated in Figure 9. Abbreviations: PrCy:
Precuyano cycle. Jmo: Los Molles Fm. Jla: Lajas Fm. K-Tv: latest CretaceousePaleogene volcanic rocks. a. Laccolith of andesitic composition emplaced in the Jurassic successions.
b. Andesitic intrusions emplaced in the folded Mesozoic successions in the northwestern slope of the Cerro La Atravesada under the control of a NE-trending fault. c. Extrusions of
andesitic to rhyodacitic composition exposed in the northern portion of the Cordillera de Catan Lil and KeAr whole rock ages obtained for these rocks. d. Extrusive domes and
associated breccias of andesitic composition emplaced in the Jurassic sequences of the Cuyo Group along the southern segment of the Rahue fault.

point out that the Collón Cura basin probably originated as an
extensional intra-arc basin during early Oligocene times.
4. Neogene volcanic and sedimentary rocks
Between the Patagonian Cordillera and the Southern Neuquén
Precordillera, a series of small intermontane basins are preserved
along the main valleys of the region. South of 40
S, Neogene
successions are widely distributed across the foreland, where they
constitute the superficial infill of the Collón Cura basin. The genesis
of these basins and the final uplift of the main structural features of
the area, are closely linked through the last deformational pulse
that affected this Andean segment (García Morabito, 2010; García
Morabito et al., 2011). Their infill is mostly composed of ignim-
brites, andesitic and basaltic lavas, and alluvial conglomerates.
Radiometric ages from interbedded ignimbrites and lavas range
between 10 and 8.6 Ma in the northern depocenters (Valencio et al.,
1970; Muñoz, 1988; Linares and González, 1990; Suárez and
Emparán, 1997; Vattuone and Latorre, 1998), and between 14 and
7.4 Ma within the Collón Cura basin (Marshall et al., 1977; Cazau
et al., 1989; Mazzoni and Rapela, 1991).
Field work in these depocenters shows onlapping sequences
drowning contractional structures reactivated during the youn-
gest event of deformation (Fig. 11). In the northern depocenters
Neogene successions show progressive upward sequence
decrease in dip and growth strata related to faults and west-
verging anticline structures (García Morabito et al., 2011). A
series of minor piggy back basins hosted in the Late Cretaceous
structures south of the Catan Lil valley confirm mildly Miocene
reactivation due to the identification of onlapping successions
 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30 23

Fig. 11. Field evidences of a Late MioceneePliocene deformational pulse. a and b. Tertiary growth strata associated to the western limb of a west-verging anticline at the eastern
margin of the Catan Lil valley. Note how dips of strata decrease from steeply overturned to subhorizontal. c and d. Miocene sequences onlapping the synextensional Oligocene
successions of the Auca Pan Formation in the northern Collón Cura basin, which are interpreted as partially inverted through a west-dipping fault during the last pulse of
deformation. e. Pliocene basalts affected by the last phase of deformation along the external fold and thrust belt south of Las Coloradas town. Note how the growth of the La
Esperanza anticline affected the basaltic levels which unconformable cover the mesozoic successions.

drowning northesouth oriented anticlines. Basaltic lavas dated in
neighboring areas between 7.6 and 3 Ma (González Díaz et al.,
1990; Linares et al., 1991) that seal the compressional deforma-
tion farther north, are involved in the deformation (Fig. 11). They
are affected by the growth of two west-verging fault-propagation
folds, and by NNW-trending faulting, indicating that deformation
continued into the Pliocene. In the northern Collón Cura basin,
Miocene sequences onlap the synextensional Oligocene succes-
sions. They can be interpreted as growth strata deposited during
the contractional reactivation of a normal west-dipping fault
(Fig. 11c).
New evidences presented here reinforce previous observations
constraining an Upper MioceneePliocene deformational phase that
reshaped the main topographic features along the innermost retro-
arc region.
5. Uplift and temporal constraints
The beginning of Andean deformation is constrained through
field relationships between upper CretaceousePaleogene
magmatic rocks and Andean structures. These relations show
that magmas intruded active to recently active fault systems
along the external portion of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt.
They also cover the deformed Mesozoic successions, but are
themselves no significantly deformed, suggesting that this area
was partially uplifted just before or at last contemporaneously
with their occurrence. New ages from these rocks (75  3 and
71  3 Ma) therefore constrain a minimum Late Cretaceous age of
deformation in the area. Apatite (UeTh)/He ages and apatite
fission track (AFT) ages from samples of the northernmost
Southern Neuquén Precordillera, further indicate important
exhumation processes and uplift around 67 Ma (Thomson et al.,
2010).
According to these data, a first Andean orogenic phase, con-
sisting in one or more pulses of deformation, should have started
around 105 Ma in the Chilean side of the Cordillera (Cembrano
et al., 2000; Rosenau, 2004), reaching the Southern Neuquén Pre-
cordillera prior to 75 Ma. These ages are consistent with recent
studies of detrital zircons in Late Cretaceous synorogenic deposits
of the adjacent northern segment, which constrained the defor-
mation to younger than 99 Ma (Tunik et al., 2010), with a last pulse
around 70 Ma (Aguirre-Urreta et al., 2010).
Miocene synorogenic deposits hosted in a series of small
intermontane basins constrain a younger mountain-building
24 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30

Fig. 12. Field examples of a structural control in the deposition of the OligoceneeEarly Miocene sequences of the Auca Pan Formation in the Collón Cura basin. a. Lateral thickness
variation and progressive unconformities in association with normal faults in the northern Collón Cura basin. b. Synextensional growth strata developed in the sedimentary and
volcaniclastic successions of the Auca Pan Formation. c. Kinematic analysis of minor faults. Stereoplot 1: Great circles represent minor fault planes and striae arrows. Stereoplot 2:
P and T-axis. Stereoplot 3: Results of fault kinematic analysis by beachballs. d. Structural cross-sections summarizing the Tertiary evolution of the Collón Cura basin. Early Oli-
goceneeEarly Miocene: structural control in the accumulation of the volcanosedimentary sequences of the Auca Pan Formation. Late Miocene: Contractional activity and
contemporaneous deposition of the Miocene successions. Closure of the Collón Cura basin.

phase through growth strata geometries, confirming an Upper
MioceneePliocene episode of deformation (García Morabito et al.,
2011). Apatite fission track data and cooling ages from the main
Andean axis range between 12.5 and 5.8 Ma (Gräfe et al., 2002;
Thomson et al., 2010), further constraining this age of
deformation.
6. Tectonic evolution of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt
The integrated structural and stratigraphic data allowed the
recognition of several stages of deformation that determined the
final configuration of the foreland at 38
300 e40
300 S. At these
latitudes, the fold and thrust belt records a complex evolution
 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30
Fig. 13. Maps summarizing three main phases in the tectonic evolution of the Northern Patagonian Andes between 38
300 and 40
300 S, and behavior of the volcanic front through
time. The green line represents the position of the volcanic front at each stage, illustrating that igneous activity shifted positions with time. Dashed lines in b indicate the location of
the Cura Mallín and the Collón Cura basins. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
characterized by two stages of eastward progression of deforma-
tion separated by a period of extensional tectonics and basin
formation (Figs. 13 and 14).
6.1. Late Cretaceous deformation (ca 105e65 Ma)
Data presented here confirms a Late Cretaceous mountain-
building phase. Deformation started in the intra-arc region around
105 Ma (Cembrano et al., 2000; Rosenau, 2004). After that, a Late
Cretaceous belt of deformation expanded through the foreland
where it produced the Southern Neuquén Precordillera through
a combination of inversion of the rift systems and interaction with
a pre-Andean belt which acted as a foreland obstacle. The Latest
Cretaceous to Eocene igneous series, intruded the already formed
structures just after, or coevally to the last deformation peak,
recording at the same time a contemporary eastward shifting of the
volcanic arc front in the order of tens of kilometers (w80 km). This
orogenic phase was accompanied by the deposition of synorogenic
deposits of the Neuquén and Malargüe Groups in a foreland basin
(Vergani et al., 1995; Howell et al., 2005; Aguirre-Urreta et al., 2010;
Tunik et al., 2010). The absence of exposures of the Malargüe Group
at these latitudes contrast with the northern segments, indicating
that this foreland area was already emerged by the end of the
Cretaceous. This would suggest that this first Andean mountain-
building phase was significant enough to generate a structural relief
affected by erosion. Therefore, deposits of the Malargüe Group
were not deposited in the area, although hundreds of kilometers to
the east of this eastern mountain system (Figs. 1 and 13).
6.2. OligoceneeEarly Miocene deformation (ca 34e18 Ma)
The arc activity remained at the external portion of the Aluminé
fold and thrust belt until the Lower Eocene, when it retracted
several kilometers to the west redefining the volcanic front at these
latitudes. At the eastern slope of the Northern Patagonian Andes,
the poorly evolved arc-related sequences interfingered with vol-
caniclastic sequences and sedimentary strata accumulated within
25
the Collón Cura basin (Fig. 13). Here, up to 700 m of volcanosedi-
mentary successions of the Auca Pan Formation accumulated
between 33 and 18 Ma contemporaneously with the extensional
activity, as revealed by lateral variations in thickness and progres-
sive unconformities linked to NNW and NNE to NE-oriented normal
faults (Figs. 12 and 13).
6.3. Late MioceneePliocene deformation (ca 11e3 Ma)
The last event of deformation induced the reactivation of both
sectors of the fold and thrust belt, leading to the uplift of the
Patagonian Andes through the activity of an east-verging defor-
mational front, and reshaping the innermost Southern Neuquén
Precordillera since w11 Ma (García Morabito et al., 2011). Between
both morphotectonic units, a series of small intermontane basins
developed. There, variable thicknesses of synorogenic Miocene
deposits accumulated as a consequence of thrust and belt loading.
To the south, the closure of the Collón Cura basin and its transition
to an intermontane foreland basin took place. Shortening was
transferred to the Neogene cover, generating new northesouth
trending structures. In the southern segment, deformation
continued into the Pliocene. This event was restricted to the intra-
arc and inner retro-arc region, with minor propagation toward the
foreland, explaining the lack of a significant Neogene foreland
basin. Between 7.6 and 3 Ma deformation migrated to the intra-arc
region, associated with onset of the Liquiñe-Ofqui fault zone
(Rosenau et al., 2006).
7. Discussion
From the established chronology of deformation and its rela-
tionship with magmatism through time, it becomes evident that
the main mountain-building phase that started in the intra-arc
region since 105 Ma, reaching the external foreland prior to
75 Ma, coexisted in space and time with an eastward arc-migration
(Fig. 13). Consequently, arc-related sequences occurred since 75 Ma
hundreds of kilometers away from the trench, within an eastern
26 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30

Fig. 14. Evolution of the Aluminé fold and thrust belt since the early Mesozoic. The present configuration of this andean segment is the result of a complex evolution that involves
two principal events of thrusting and uplift occurred during the Late CretaceousePaleocene, and the Late Miocenee Pliocene. Both events are separated by a period of basin
formation and relaxation of the fold and thrust belt and, expressed in the development of the Cura Mallín and Collón Cura basins. See text for discussion.

independent mountain system that grew separately from the main
Andean chain. This implies a migration of the volcanic front toward
the east, from the western slope of the Andes where the Late early
Cretaceous front was located (Munizaga et al., 1988; Ramos and
Folguera, 2005), to far foreland positions (Figs. 8, 12 and 13). This
eastern volcanic front lasted until the Lower Eocene, when it
retracted to the west parallel with the transition to an extensional
phase that originated the Collón Cura basin since w34 Ma in the
study region, and a series of sedimentary-volcanic forearc and
intra-arc basins in neighboring segments (Muñoz et al., 2000;
Jordan et al., 2001; Charrier et al., 2002; Burns et al., 2006; Kay
and Copeland, 2006; Radic, 2010). After and contemporaneously
with arc-retreatment and onset of localized extension, the forma-
tion of large volumes of mafic flows occurred in the foreland region
and in the Pacific continental margin (Linares et al., 1988, 1991; Kay
et al., 1992, 2006; Muñoz et al., 2000; De Ignacio et al., 2001; Kay
and Copeland, 2006).
This linkage between arc-foreland shifting, progression of
deformation toward the continent, and far foreland basement
uplifts, can be interpreted as potentially connected to a subduction
slab shallowing process. Moreover, subsequent redefinition of the
volcanic front expressed through the retreat of the magmatic
 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30
activity toward the trench, parallel with the cessation of shortening
and the onset of localized extension, concurrent basin formation,
and mafic eruptions, is proposed to be driven by the subsequent
steepening of the slab.
The case for Late Cretaceous transient shallowing of the Nazca
plate beneath the Northern Patagonian Andes seems to fit into
a larger framework. The described geological processes, show
robust relationships in space and time with patterns described in
two neighboring segments located north (36
e39
S) and south
(41
e46
S) of the study area (Folguera and Ramos, 2011). In both
regions, Late Cretaceous to Eocene shallowings followed by
subsequent steepenings have been proposed due to eastward arc
expansions coexisting with foreland mountain-building processes,
followed by asthenospheric injection, mafic extrusions and local-
ized extension (Ramos and Folguera, 2005; Kay and Copeland,
2006; Melnick et al., 2006; Ramos and Kay, 2006; Zamora
Valcarce et al., 2006; Folguera and Ramos, 2011). Therefore, it is
probable that both proposed transient shallowings were not
disconnected, but linked through the Andean segment located
between 38
300 and 40
300 S.
Slab shallowing processes are commonly explained to be driven
by the approach and entry of a buoyant lithosphere to a subduction
zone (Guetscher et al., 2000; Yañez et al., 2001). According to this
model, subduction of variable-buoyancy lithosphere is accompa-
nied by changes in dip with depth and through time. The subduc-
tion of progressively younger, and therefore hotter and buoyant
oceanic crust adhered to the Aluk/Farellones ridge along the
southern Pacific margin during latest Cretaceous to Paleocene
times (Cande and Leslie, 1986), could therefore provide a mecha-
nism to explain slab shallowing beneath the Patagonian Andes
(Folguera and Ramos, 2011).
Models of oceanic subduction suggest alternatively that slab dip
variations frequently result from the resistance to slab descent into
the higher viscosity lower mantle (Billen and Hirth, 2007;
Guillaume et al., 2009). Adversity of the subducted slab to pene-
trate the upperelower mantle boundary beneath some segments,
favors periods of transient shallowing followed by slab steepening
episodes (Guillaume et al., 2009). Moreover, models show that
when the subducted slab is locked, its dip diminishes, further
favoring shortening within the upper-plate (Jarrard, 1986;
Guetscher et al., 2000; Lallemand et al., 2005; Guillaume et al.,
2009).
Transient shallowing of the slab under the Northern Patagonian
Andes can be considered as the main driving factor in producing
a specific morphology within the Andean foreland. Nevertheless,
along-strike variations in the degree of exhumation along the retro-
arc region seem to reflect the influence of complementary mech-
anisms controlling basement uplifts in far foreland positions. The
Southern Neuquén Precordillera gradually looses expression north
and southwards from its central segment, where basement uplifts
are replaced by partially inverted half-grabens preserved in
subsurface, documenting a significant change in the structural
relief as a consequence of differential regional uplift. This lat-
itudinal variation in the degree of exhumation is accompanied by
significant topographic and structural changes. The central
segment of the Neuquén Precordillera exhibits the deepest levels of
exposure of the entire fold and thrust belt. It is defined by the Catan
Lil, Chachil, and Chacaico ranges, and it is bounded to the east by
a pre-Andean regional feature known as the Huincul High (Fig. 1),
which has been extensively studied by the oil industry during the
last decades (Ploszkiewicz et al., 1984; Vergani et al., 1995;
Mosquera and Ramos, 2006; Silvestro and Zubiri, 2008; Pángaro
et al., 2009; Grimaldi and Dorobek, 2011). Recently, Naipauer
et al. (2012) demonstrated through the integration of structural
data and detrital zircon ages of its exposed portion, that the Huincul
27
High was already uplifted by the time of inception of Andean
deformation, confirming previous hypothesis of a Late Jurassic
structural and stratigraphic barrier dividing the basin in two
depocenters (Vergani et al., 1995; Spalletti et al., 2008; Zavala et al.,
2008). The presence of this positive element developed within the
southern Neuquén basin, would have acted as a transverse foreland
obstacle that limited the progression of deformation toward farther
eastern positions, increasing the deformation and uplift where the
Andean belt and the Huincul system interacted. Thus, interaction
between both systems may be considered as a complementary
process in controlling the emergence of the Southern Neuquén
Precordillera within the foreland.
There seems to be no straightforward explanation for Late
MioceneeLower Pliocene thrusting from plate kinematic parame-
ters (convergence rate and obliquity) derived from plate recon-
structions (Pardo-Casas and Molnar, 1987; Somoza, 1998).
Therefore, it is probable that other possible controlling factors may
have intervened. Miocene thrusting occurred in the Northern
Patagonian Andes after a period of extension that affected the
forearc, intra-arc and innermost retro-arc region during Oligocene
times. Jordan et al. (2001) documented this phase in the south-
ernmost Central Andes, suggesting a consequent weakening of the
lithosphere that could have enabled the intervals of compression
that followed. Therefore, Oligocene extension was probably
a necessary condition to subsequent building of the modern
Northern Patagonian Andes. This short-lived orogenic phase lasted
until Pliocene times. Cessation of shortening and transition to
a “neutral” phase in the retro-arc coincides temporally with a major
climate change documented by the spreading of ice sheets on the
uplifted topography after 7 Ma (Mercer and Suter, 1982). The
consequent enhanced erosion favored the increase of sediment
influx to the trench (Gräfe et al., 2002; Vietor and Echtler, 2006;
Thomson et al., 2010). This should have caused a reduction of the
plate interface strength (Lamb and Davis, 2003), explaining waning
of shortening in the retro-arc area and localization of deformation
along the forearc and intra-arc region (Rosenau et al., 2006; García
Morabito et al., 2011).
8. Concluding remarks
The Aluminé fold and thrust belt on the eastern flank of the
Northern Patagonian Andes (38
300 S and 40
300 S) is the result of
two periods of progression of deformation toward the foreland
during the (1) Late Cretaceous as revealed by field relationships
between latest CretaceousePaleogene igneous rocks and Andean
structures, and (2) Late MioceneePliocene as determined from
structural relationships and synorogenic deposits. Both mountain-
building phases are separated by an interval of localized extension
that resulted in the development of the Collón Cura basin since
w34 Ma.
The established chronology of deformation and its relationship
with magmatism through time show spatially and temporally
separated magmatic events closely linked to distinct deformational
stages. The Late Cretaceous mountain-building phase coexisted in
space and time with an eastward arc-migration evidenced by the
occurrence of arc-related sequences within the Southern Neuquén
Precordillera since 75 Ma. Subsequent arc retraction coincides with
onset of extension in the innermost retro-arc region.
The established linkage between Late Cretaceous eastward arc-
migration, landward progression of deformation, and far foreland
basement uplifts, supports the hypothesis of a transient shallow
subduction zone beneath the Northern Patagonian Andes.
A Late MioceneePliocene event of deformation induced reac-
tivation in the intra-arc and inner retro-arc region with minor
28 E. García Morabito, V.A. Ramos / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 38 (2012) 13e30
propagation toward the continent, explaining the lack of a signifi-
cant Neogene foreland basin.
Finally, the Southern Neuquén Precordillera has been con-
structed mainly through (1) strong inversion and uplift at the
foreland area favored by shallow subduction configuration and (2)
interference of the fold and thrust belt with a transverse foreland
obstacle that increased uplift and compression at its adjacent back
zone.
Acknowledgments
These studies were supported by grants from the Consejo
Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and
the Universidad de Buenos Aires to Víctor A. Ramos. Suzanne M.
Kay and an anonymous reviewer are thanked for helpful reviews
that improved the quality of the paper. This is the contribution R-65
of the Instituto de Estudios Andinos Don Pablo Groeber (UBA-
CONICET).
Appendix 1. Sample descriptions and localities
H1987 .MO. Fine-grained andesite with less than 5% of quartz,
plagioclase, and sanidine present as phenocrysts. Groundmass
formed by potassic feldspar, quartz, and plagioclase. 39
000 26.800 S,
70
420 33.300 W.
P1190 .MO. Aphanitic andesite with less than 5% quartz, minor
plagioclase, potassic feldspar, and ferromagnesian minerals present
as phenocrysts. Groundmass formed by potassic feldspar, quartz,
and plagioclase. 39
000 26.800 S, 70
420 33.300 W.
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