Earth-Science Reviews, 18 (1982) 353-363 353

Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam--Printed in The Netherlands

Geochronology of Mesozoic-Cenozoic
Magmatism in Central Chile, Lat. 31°-36°S

R. Drake ~, M. Vergara ~, F. M u n i z a g a 2 and J.C. Vicente 2

I University of California, Berkeley, California (USA)
2 Department of Geology, University of Chile, Santiago (Chile)

ABSTRACT

Drake, R., Vergara, M., Munizaga, F. and Vicente, J.C., 1982. Geochronology of Mesozoic-
Cenozoic magmatism in central Chile (lat. 31°-36°S). Earth-Sci. Rev., 18: 353-363.

Radioisotope dates indicate magmatism in central Chile (lat. 32°-36°S) has been episodic
and migratory throughout Mesozoic and Cenozoic time. Dated plutonic and metaplutonic
rocks appear to cluster into the following age groups: (1) 415-380 m.y., (2) 310-270 m.y., (3)
230-170 m.y., (4) 170-140 m.y., (5) 120-80 m.y., (6) 63-56 m.y., and (7) 24-7 m.y. Rocks of
Meso- and Cenozoic age are distributed in remarkably well defined, parallel linear belts
which trend N - S and are older away from the Central Andean Cordillera. This pattern
suggests that the continental margin has increased in width by as much as 200 km in the last
200 m.y. by the emplacement of successive plutonic belts.
Volcanic strata of Lower-Middle Jurassic age (7000 m) and Early Cretaceous age
(7000-13000 m) occur on the west side of the present Coastal Cordillera and on both flanks
of the Andean Cordillera. These rocks, mainly andesites, rhyolites, and volcano-clastic
sediments, are intercalated with fossil-bearing marine sediments which provide age control up
until the final emergence of the Andean Cordillera in Late Cretaceous time. K - A t dates
indicate this continental volcanism continued through the Late Cretaceous, then ceased
during the period between 60 and 30 m.y. This hiatus in volcanism coincides with the absence
of plutonic rocks in this age range.
In the central Andean Cordillera, volcanism began again about 25 m.y. ago and has
persisted with variable intensity to the present. Post-Oligocene volcanic strata are generally
nearly conformable above Late Cretaceous volcanic strata, and Miocene regional folding has
deformed the entire stratigraphic sequence into broad N - S trending folds. Volcanic strata
younger than 4 m.y. are undeformed. The presently active chain of strato-volcanoes appears
to be less than 500000 years old and west of older extinct volcanoes 1-2 m.y. old suggesting a
westward shift of the volcanic arc during the Pleistocene.

INTRODUCTION

The Pacific continental margin of South America has probably been a

convergent plate boundary for much of the last 200 m.y. Resulting magmatic

0012-8252/82/0000-0000/$02.75 © 1982 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company

354

and tectonic events have produced a vast igneous rock terrain culminating in
the present Andean Cordillera. Knowledge of the timing of these events and
correlations of major igneous rock units has been greatly advanced in the
last decade by the application of radioisotope dating with consequent
revision of many concepts of Andean evolution.

PLUTONIC GEOCHRONOLOGY OF THE CONTINENTAL MARGIN OF CENTRAL

CHILE AND WESTERN ARGENTINA

Between lat. 31 ° and 36°S, magmatic activity spanning at least 400 m.y.
has been documented. Radio-isotope dates for both plutonic and meta-
plutonic rocks from this region compiled from the work of Corvalan and
Munizaga (1972), Munizaga et al. (1973), Drake (1976), Drake et al. (1976),
Cordani et al. (1976), Herv6 and Munizaga (1978), Vergara and Drake
(1979), Davila et al. (1979) and Caminos et al. (1979) are presented in
Table I. Fig. 1 shows that plutonic rock ages are distributed in N - S belts
which are subparallel to the relatively young morphologic and structural
domains of the Coastal Range mountains, Central Valley, and folded and
uplifted Central Andes. Fig. 2 shows a general space-time pattern of intru-
sive and extrusive events which are successively younger eastward from the
Pacific coast.
The oldest rocks in central Chile lie in a belt along the Pacific Coast
between lat. 33 ° and 36½ °S. Four U / P b dates on zircons from granitoid and
associated high-grade metamorphic rocks from two localities have yield ages
between 383 and 405 m.y. (Corvalan and Munizaga, 1972), a third locality
gave a K - A r date of 415 m.y. (Herv6 and Munizaga, 1978).
Metamorphic structures in these rocks are cut by Carboniferous-Permian
plutons ( K - A r = 310-270 m.y.) (Cordani et al., 1976). Triassic to Middle
Jurassic plutons (K-Ar = 230-170 m.y.) lie in a zone south and east of these
older terrains. Between 33 ° and 31°S lat., Late Jurassic plutons (170-140
m.y.) occur in a belt along the coast. Adjacent belts of mid-Cretaceous
plutons (120-82 m.y.) lie along the western side of the coast range moun-
tains between lat. 31 ° and 34°S and Paleocene plutons (63-56 m.y.) in the
Andean foothills between lat. 32 ° and 32½°S and at 35½°-36°S.
Radio-isotope dates on plutonic rocks in the age range of 56-26 m.y. are
almost non-existent in Central Chile indicating a major hiatus in magmatism
during this period (see Fig. 2). All plutons less than 26 m.y. old lie in the
Andean Cordillera and some have been dated as young as 7 m.y. (Drake,
1976). A group of volcanic intrusive centers appearing as eroded stocks and
dikes in the northern Central Valley dates between 21 and 20 m.y. and
marks the western limit of Tertiary magmatism around lat. 33°S.
The pattern of emplacement of successively younger plutons to the east
 355

TABLE I
Radio-isotope dates of plutonic, metaplutonic and intrusive volcanic rocks in central Chile
and western Argentina, lat. 32°-36°S

Location Rock type Dating Material Age (m.y.)

method dated

After Corvalan and Munizaga (1972):

Coast Ranges,
lat. 33°-33½°S gneissic tonalite U / P b ,I zircon 399, 389
gneissic tonalite U/Pb ,2 zlrcon 386
amphibolite U/Pb ,2 zircon 383
gneissic adamelite U / P b ,2 zircon 405
gneiss U/Pb ,2 zircon 383
granodiorite U/Pb ,2 zircon 165
tonalite K/Ar biotite 287 +20
tonalite K/Ar hornblende 147
granodiorite K/Ar biotite 147
tonalite K/Ar biotite 118
After Cordani et al. (1976)."
Coast Ranges,
lat. 33°-33½°S granitoid K/Ar K-feldspar 191 ± 4
granitoid K/Ar hornblende 288 -+ 7
gabbro K/Ar hornblende 265 ±20
microcline granite Rb/Sr whole rock 330
paragneiss Rb/Sr whole rock 172 ± 2
amphibolite K/Ar hornblenae 167 -+ 8
amphibolite K/Ar hornblende 157 ± 1
amphibolite K/Ar hornblende 167 ± 3
amphibolite K/Ar hornblende 213 +-10
After Drake (1976):
Andes
lat. 36°S granodiorite K/Ar whole rock 62 ± 1
36°S granodiorite K/Ar hornblende 41 -+ 1
33°S granodiorite K/Ar whole rock 20 ± 1
biotite 7 + 0.2
36°S granodiorite K/Ar
hornblende 7 -+ 0.5
After Drake et al. (1976):
Coast Ranges
lat. 33°S granodiorite K/Ar plagioclase 105 --+ 1
Central Valley
lat. 33°S andesite dike K/Ar plagioclase 20 ± I

After Hervb and Munizaga (1978):

Coast Ranges
lat. 35½°S granite K/Ar biotite 416 --+20
179
granodiorite K/Ar biotite
180
356

TABLE I (continued)

Location Rock type Dating Material Age (m.y.)

method dated

granite K/Ar biotite 230 -+ 10

205
gabbro K/Ar whole rock 1 207
tonalite K/Ar biotite 172
tonalite K/Ar hornblende 174
After Davila et al. (1979):
Coast Ranges
lat. 33½°S tonalite K/Ar hornblende 85 + 10
34°C tonalite K/Ar biotite 254 + 10
34°S granite K/Ar biotite 218 -+21
34°S gneissic tonalite K/Ar biotite 208 -+ 10
35½°S ? K/Ar muscovite 270 + 10
After Vergara and Drake (1979)."
Coast Ranges
hornblende 137 ± 1
lat. 32½°S granodiorite K/Ar
l plagioclase 144 -+ 1
34 ° S granodiorite K/Ar biotite 82 -+ !
Andes
lat. 33°S granodiorite K/Ar plagioclase 14 -+ 0.2
33°S plagioclase 8.7-+ 0.1
granodiorite K/Ar
/ plagioclase 8.5-+ 0.2
33°S plagioclase 14 -+ 1
granodiorite K/Ar biotite 11 + 0.3
hornblende 12 -+ 0.1
34 ½oS granodiorite K/Ar biotite 17 + 1
34½ °S diorite K/Ar plagioclase 20 ± 0.1
Central Valley
lat. 34°S diorite K/Ar plagioclase 26 -+ 0.4
After Caminos et al. (1979):
West Argentinian Andes
lat. 33°-34°S tonalite K/Ar biotite 407 +-15
415 -+40
granite Rb/Sr whole rock [ 395 -+40
tonalite K/Ar biotite 397 --+15
K/Ar biotite 337 ± 15
granodiorite
Rb/Sr whole rock 348 -+ 35
syenite K/Ar whole rock 391 -+ 10
granodiorite K/Ar biotite 291 --+10
granodiorite K/Ar biotite 283 ± 15
K/Ar biotite 282 ± 10
granite Rb/Sr whole rock 304 --+15
Rb/Sr whole rock 264 -+ 8
granite K/Ar whole rock 278 -+ 10
 357

TABLE I (continued)

Location Rock type Dating Material Age (m.y.)

method dated

[ 26 1 30
granite Rb/Sr whole rock
[ 275 +35
granite K/Ar biotite 271 + 10
granite K/Ar whole rock 239 + 10
granite K/Ar whole rock 238 + 12
granite K/Ar biotite 237 ÷ 10
tonalite K/Ar ? 236 ± 10
granite K/Ar whole rock 234 + 10
granite K/Ar whole rock 229 -+ 14
granite K/Ar whole rock 209 + 10
After Drake et al. (this work):
Coast Ranges,
lat. 33°S andesite porphyry K/Ar plagioclase 105 + 2
Central Valley
lat. 33°S andesite porphyry K/Ar whole rock 21 + 0.2
andesite porphyry K/Ar whole rock 21 -+ 0.2
Coast Ranges
lat. 33°S granodiorite K/At biotite 151 + l
granodiorite K/Ar biotite 156 + 1
pegmatite K/Ar biotite 177 ÷ 2
After Munizaga and Vicente (in preparation):
Andes
lat. 32½°S monzonite K/Ar biotite 94 ± 3
granitic K/Ar biotite 56 + 3
granitic K/Ar hornblende 65 + 7
granitic K/Ar biotite 16 + 1

,l Ages are 2°6"/238U and z°v*/Z35U ages, respectively.

,z U/Pb ages given are 2°6pb*/238U ages. Ancelytical data and 2°Tpb*/z35U ages are not
given in original publication.

ends a b r u p t l y in the A r g e n t i n a Andes. R e c e n t l y p u b l i s h e d K - A r and R b - S r

dates o n p l u t o n i c rocks f r o m a b r o a d area b e t w e e n 32½ ° a n d 34½°S (Fig. 2)
i n d i c a t e L a t e P a l e o z o i c to Triassic ages. Since these rocks s p a n the same age
r a n g e as the oldest p l u t o n i c terrains along the Chilean coast south of lat.
33°S, they m a y o n c e h a v e f o r m e d a single belt that has b e e n displaced
laterally b y successive e m p l a c e m e n t of y o u n g e r p l u t o n s giving rise to the
generally o b s e r v e d p a t t e r n suggesting the m i g r a t i o n of m a g m a t i c activity
( F a r r a r et al., 1970; H a l p e r n , 1972; Levi, 1973; M u n i z a g a a n d Vicente, 1978;
V e r g a r a a n d D r a k e , 1978, 1979a).
O n e line of e v i d e n c e that the crust c o u l d have g r o w n laterally is the
0"
--k -~~-"-~_ " . ~ " c ~ ~
O
I --~'-'~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~--a
~,. \ :._ . ~ _ -_.----.--~.-.,.,... o
e., ~ ,.-on ; o. ~ ~,,,,,~
} 0 C E AN

<

O ~ .

ety A ~Oss o ,..~:

Y
g
t~

I t " + x I ~\ ~ o o ~- I
o I " \ = ~ = = ..- . /
,~'L o- ... ~- j I ~ = I

~. o
 359

] • INTRUSIVE
= IE X T R U S I V E

Fig. 2. Magmatic events in central Chile and western Argentina, lat. 32-36°S.

observation that the width of the continental margin between the trench axis
and the present crest of the Andes is about 100 km narrower in the zone
between 27½ ° and 33°S, where evidence of Late Cenozoic magmatism is
diminished or absent. Since Early Jurassic, as much as 200 km of crust could
have been added between the now separated Late Paleozoic plutonic rocks.
Thus, it will be important to determine whether continuity exists between
these Late Paleozoic terrains other than their apparent age.

VOLCANIC GEOCHRONOLOGY AND ASSOCIATED TECTONIC EVENTS

Post-Neocomian volcanic strata in central Chile are entirely devoid of

fossiliferous marine sediments which provide age control in the thick se-
quences of Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous strata occurring on the
360

western side of the coast range mountains and on both eastern and western
flanks of the Andean Cordillera. Until the recent application of K - A r dating
these post-Neocomian volcanic strata that make up most of the Central
Andean Cordillera could not be properly differentiated or correlated and
their age remained unknown. Fig. 2 shows several major volcanic age groups
that have been distinguished by K - A r dating in central Chile (Vergara and
Munizaga, 1974; Drake, 1976; Drake et al., 1976; Vergara and Drake, 1976,
1978, 1979b; Vergara, 1978; Munizaga and Vicente, 1978; Charrier and
Munizaga, 1979). At lat. 32½°S rhyolitic ash-flows and andesitic flow se-
quences (Lo Valle Formation) have been dated at 65-78 m.y. by K - A r in
the northern end of the Central Valley (Drake et al., 1976). In the Andes,
along the Rio Maipo (lat. 33½°S), volcanic units lying conformably above
fossil-bearing Neocomian marine sediments have been dated at 62 m.y.
(Vergara and Drake, 1979b). These rocks show no marked discordancy with
overlying Miocene volcanic strata dated between 24 and 16 m.y. (Drake et
al., 1976) that have been folded about N - S fold axes. Further north, along
the Rio Aconcagua (lat. 33°S) volcanic units between 20 and 10 m.y. have
been tilted and folded whereas strata less than about 5 m.y. old have not.
Charrier and Munizaga (1979) obtained K - A r dates for folded volcanic
strata 23-21 m.y. old that are overlain discordantly by volcanics 14-8 m.y.
old. These results indicate folding had begun by Middle Miocene in the
section of the Andean Cordillera, lat. 34 ° 15'S.
Deformed volcanic strata are also found in the Andes between lat. 35½
-36°S (Drake, 1976). Here a thick westward dipping homoclinal sequence of
Lower Cretaceous marine sediments are conformably overlain by Late
Cretaceous continental volcanic strata which become increasingly folded to
the west as they approach an intrusive contact with a large pluton dated at
62 m.y. Folded Miocene pyroclastic strata (Campanario Fm.) dated between
15 and 7 m.y. cover the base of this Cretaceous section to the east, and
exhibit the same degree of deformation as the Cretaceous strata.
Evidence of Middle Miocene folding exists at least as far as 38°S where
strongly folded volcanic strata have been dated between 14 and 18 m.y.
(Drake, 1976). Thus, in several sections of the Andean Cordillera between
33 ° and 38°S, folding of Miocene age is evident whereas earlier deformation
is not.
Throughout central Chile, few volcanic rocks or plutonic rocks have been
dated in the age range of 60-30 m.y., thus a major hiatus in the magmatism
occurred in this region during the Early Tertiary. Volcanic strata younger
than 24 m.y. are abundant in the Andes and numerous K - A r dates show a
nearly continuous record of volcanism through to the present. The onset of
volcanism at the beginning of the Miocene is also well documented in
southern Peru (Noble et al., 1974; Farrar and Noble, 1976), in Bolivia
 361

(Kussmaul et al., 1977), and northern Chile (Mortimer et al., 1974; Francis
and Baker, 1978; Lahsen and Munizaga, 1979) and southern Chile (Vergara
and Munizaga, 1974; Drake 1976).
Locally, volcanic activity appears to have diminished or ceased between 7
and 4 m.y. between 35-36°S and between 10 and 5 m.y. between 33°-34°S,
whereas volcanism has been nearly continuous along the Andes between
33½°-46°S from the Pliocene to the present. Between 34 ° and 36°S, the
presently active strato-volcanos based on several K - A r dates appear to be
less than 500000 years old and lie as much as 50 km west of older andesitic
and dacitic centers dated at 1-2 m.y. Even older, perhaps Pliocene volcanic
stocks and ramparts occur just east of the Andean crest in Argentina. This
suggests that volcanic activity may have shifted westward as much as 100 km
in the last few million years. Pleistocene and Recent bimodal volcanic
provinces and at least one major young ash-flow and caldera complex have
been identified in a zone east of the active strato-volcanos (Drake, 1976;
Munizaga, 1978). Because of the high erosion rates at these latitudes the
volume of ash-flow and pyroclastic volcanism has almost certainly been
underestimated in the central Chilean Andes.

CO NC L US I ONS

Radio-isotope dating has defined several important aspects of the mag-

matic and tectonic history of central Chile which bear on models of
continental margin evolution and subduction related magmatism.
(1) The pattern of distribution of plutonic rock ages in subparallel N - S
trending belts that are progressively younger from the present coast to the
central Andean Cordillera shows that the magmatic arc has migrated east-
ward during Mesozoic and Cenozoic times at an average rate of about 1 km
per million years.
(2) Mid to Late Paleozoic plutonic and metamorphic rocks found along
the Pacific Coast of central Chile and also in western Argentina suggest that
successive emplacement of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic plutonic belts may
have rifted the pre-Mesozoic continental margin in a way analogous to
Mid-Ocean Ridge spreading.
(3) The apparent hiatus in magmatic activity during the entire Early
Tertiary and the lack of evidence for significant pre-Miocene deformation in
the Coast Range mountains and Andean Cordillera imply a different sub-
duction-related tectonic regime during this period.
More dates and field studies are clearly needed to confirm many of the
inferences presented and it is our hope that during the next five years,
research carried out as part of IGCP project 120 will continue to advance
our knowledge of Andean magmatic evolution.
362

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Projects E 410-802 y E 083 del Servicio de Desarrollo Cientifico, Creaci6n

Artistica y Cooperaci6n Internacional de la Univ. de Chile. N S F Grant EAR
8018354.

REFERENCES

Caminos, R., Cordani, U.G. and Lineares, E., 1979. Geologia y geochronologia de las rocas
metamorficas y eruptivas de la precordillera y cordillera frontal de Mendoza, Republica
Argentina. 2nd Congr. Geol. Chileno, 1: F43-F60.
Charrier, R. and Munizaga, F., 1979. Edades K - A r de volcanitas cenozoicas del sector
Cordillerano del Rio Cachapoal, Chile (34 ° 15' de latitud Sur). Rev. Geol. Chile, 7:41--51.
Cordani, U., Munizaga, F., Herve, F. and Herve, M., 1976. Edades radiom6tricas proveni-
entes del Basamenso cristalino de la Cordillera de la Costa de las Provincias de Valparaiso
y Santiago, Chile. Actas 1st Congr. Geol. Chileno, 2: F213-F222.
Corvalan, J. and Munizaga, F., 1972. Edades radiom6tricas de rocas intrusivas y metam6rficas
de la Hoya de Valparaiso-San Antonio. Inst. Invest. Geol. Bol., 27: 40.
Davila, A., Herve, F. and Munizaga, F., 1979, Edades K / A r en granitoides de la cordillera de
la Costa de la provincia de Colchagna, V1 region, Chile Central. 2nd Congr. Geol.
Chileno-Arica, 1: F107-F120.
Drake, R., 1976. Chronology of Cenozoic igneous and tectonic events in the Central Chilean
Andes. Proc. Syrup. Andean Antarct. Volcanol. Probl., IAVCE1, pp. 670-697.
Drake, R., Curtis, G. and Vergara, M., 1976. Potassium-argon dating of igneous activity in
the Central Chilean Andes-latitude 33°S. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 1: 285-295.
Farrar, E., Clark, A.H., Haynes, S.J., Quirt, G.S., Conn, H. and Zentilli, M., 1970. K Ar
evidence for the post-Paleozoic migration of granitic intrusion loci in the Andes of
northern Chile. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 10: 60-66.
Farrar, E. and Noble, D.C., 1976. Timing of Late Tertiary deformation in the Andes of Peru.
Geol. Soc. Bull., 87: 1247-1250.
Francis, P.W. and Baker, M.C.W., 1978. Upper Cenozoic volcanism in the central Andes--ages
and volumes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 41: 175-187.
Halpern, M., 1972. Geochronologic evolution of southern South America. Proc. Int. Symp.
Carboniferous and Permian Systems South America, An. Acad. Bras. Cienc., 44 (Suppl.)
pp. 149-160.
Herv& F. and Munizaga, F., 1978. Evidencias geocronologicas de un magmatismo intrusivo
Triasico superior-Jurasico en la Cordillera de la Costa de Chile, entre los 35030 , y 36030 '
latitud sur. Actas 7th Congr. Geol. Argent.
Kussmaul, S., Hormann, P.K., Ploskonka, E. and Subieta, T., 1977. Volcanism and structure
of southwestern Bolivia. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 2:73-111.
Levi, M.D., 1973. Eastward shift of Mesozoic and Early Tertiary volcanic centers in the Coast
Range of central Chile. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 84: 3901-3910.
Mortimer, C,, Farrar, E. and Saric, N., 1974. K - A t ages from Tertiary lavas of lhe
northernmost Chilean Andes. Geol. Rundsch., 63: 484-489.
Munizaga, F., 1978. Geologia del Complejo volcanico Laguna del Mante. Thesis, Univ. Chile,
157 pp.
Munizaga, F. and Vicente, J.C., 1978. Zonacion plutonica y volcanismo miocenico a la latitud
33°S de los Andes. 7th Congr. Geol. Argent. (resum6).
 363

Munizaga, F., Aguirre, L. and Herve, F., 1973. R b / S r ages from the Chilean metamorphic
basement. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 18: 87-92.
Noble, D.C., McKee, E.H., Farrar, E. and Petersen, U., 1974. Episodic Cenozoic volcanism
and tectonism in the Andes of Peru. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 21: 213-220.
Vergara, M., 1978. Evolucion del volcanismo terciario-cuaternario segun edades K-Ar en los
Andes de Chile Central (34°-42 ° latitud sur). Actas 7th Congr. Geol. Argent.
Vergara, M. and Drake, R., 1976. Evidencias de periodicidad en el volcanismo cenozoico de
los Andes Centrales. Actas 1st Congr. Geol. Chileno, 2: FI53-F161.
Vergara, M. and Munizaga, F., 1974. Age and evolution of the Upper Cenozoic andesitic
volcanism in central-south Chile. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 85: 603-606.
Vergara, M. and Drake, R., 1978. Edades potasio arg6n y su implicancia en la geologia
regional de Chile. Dept. Geol., Univ. Chile Commun., 23:1-11.
Vergara, M. and Drake, R., 1979a. Eventos magmhticos plut6nicos en los Andes de Chile
Central. 2nd Congr. Geol. Chileno-Arica, 1: F I 9 - F 3 0 .
Vergara, M. and Drake, R., 1979b. Edades K / A r en secuencias volcanicas continentales
postneocomianas de Chile Central; su depositacion en cuencas intermontanas restringidas.
Rev. Asoc. Geol. Argent., 34: 42-52.