IPA18-27-G
PROCEEDINGS, INDONESIAN PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION
Forty-Second Annual Convention and Exhibition, May 2018
LATE CENOZOIC HISTORY OF SULAWESI
A. M. Surya Nugraha*
Robert Hall**
ABSTRACT
Collision between an Australian continental
promontory, the Sula Spur, and the SE Asian margin
North Sulawesi volcanic arc began in the Early
Miocene. Over the past century, poorly-dated
Neogene sediments that unconformably overlie pre-
Neogene rocks were assigned to the Celebes
Molasse, and were commonly interpreted as the
result of this collision. The Celebes Molasse was
often considered to be of similar age and lithology
across Sulawesi. However, new data from fieldwork
and laboratory work with mineralogical,
palaeontological and zircon geochronological
analyses in this project have shown that Celebes
Molasse sediments have significant variations in
timing of deposition and composition.
We present a revised Neogene stratigraphy for
Sulawesi based on these new observations and
synthesis of previous studies including some
offshore data from wells providing, for the first time,
a detailed picture of the island’s Late Cenozoic
evolution. Regionally, the Neogene stratigraphy of
Sulawesi can be divided into Lower Miocene,
Middle to Upper Miocene, Pliocene, and Lower and
Upper Pleistocene mega-sequences that are
separated by five regional unconformities at (1)
Early Miocene (c. 23 Ma), (2) Middle Miocene (c. 15
Ma), (3) Latest Miocene-Earliest Pliocene (c. 6-5.3
Ma), (4) Early (c. 1.8 Ma), and (5) Middle
Pleistocene (c. 1 Ma). A Middle Pliocene
unconformity was observed in some areas of
northern Sulawesi and separates Lower and Upper
Pliocene sequences.
Ten palaeogeographic maps are presented for
intervals from the Early Miocene to Pleistocene at
20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 Ma to give a better
understanding of the complex geology and new
insights into the similarities and differences between
different formations included in the Celebes
Molasse. The Neogene sediments were deposited in
various depositional environments from terrestrial to
deep marine and reflect hinterland-to-basin
* University of Pertamina
** Royal Holloway University of London
sediment-routing systems. This study also reveals the
importance of extension-related uplift and
subsidence in the Neogene following the Early
Miocene collision.
INTRODUCTION
Sulawesi (formerly called “Celebes”) is situated
close to the triple junction of the Eurasian, Australian
and Pacific plates (Fig. 1). The complex interaction
of small plates and multiple subduction zones in the
Sulawesi region was often simplified as a convergent
arc-ophiolite-continent tectonic setting following a
single arc-continent collision (e.g. Silver et al.,
1983a). However, more recent field studies suggest
that Sulawesi’s geology is a consequence of multiple
tectonic events, including rifting and accretion,
opening and closing of basins, subduction and
extension (e.g. Hall and Wilson, 2000; Spakman and
Hall, 2010; Hall, 2011; Hennig et al., 2016).
The timing of the initial collision of Australia and SE
Asia has long been the subject of controversy (e.g.
Audley-Charles, 1974; Hamilton, 1979; Davidson,
1991; Parkinson, 1998a; Hall, 1996, 2002; Hall and
Wilson, 2000; Cottam et al., 2011). This collision
caused emplacement of the ophiolite in the East Arm
of Sulawesi and addition of more continental crust to
the Sundaland margin. Dating of the post-orogenic
Celebes Molasse was proposed to determine the age
of collision (Hall and Wilson, 2000; Cottam et al.,
2011). This study presents a revised Late Cenozoic
history of Sulawesi, based on new field and
laboratory data collected during this study, and
synthesized with existing data (published papers and
unpublished reports).
REGIONAL SETTING AND PREVIOUS
WORK
Over the past few decades, researchers in Sulawesi
have emphasized the use of tectonostratigraphic
provinces to simplify its complex geology. These
provinces are the Western Sulawesi Plutono-
volcanic province which formed part of the Cenozoic
Sundaland margin, the Northern Sulawesi volcanic
arc, the Central Sulawesi Metamorphic Belt, the
East Sulawesi Ophiolite and micro-continental
fragments (Fig. 2, Sukamto, 1973; Hamilton,
1979; Hall and Wilson, 2000; van Leeuwen and
Muhardjo, 2005; van Leeuwen et al., 2007). The
‘tectono-stratigraphic provinces’ concept led to an
interpretation of predominantly accretion and
convergence mechanisms for its geological history
(e.g., Hamilton, 1979; Silver et al., 1983a). This
overlooks the role of extension as a mechanism
which is now thought to have also played a vital
role in Sulawesi’s subsequent Neogene
development (e.g., Pownall et al., 2013, 2014;
Hennig et al., 2014, 2016; Hennig, 2015;
Advokaat, 2016).
Most of the young Neogene and Quaternary
deposits that unconformably overlie pre-Neogene
rocks have commonly been assigned to the Celebes
Molasse of Sarasin and Sarasin (1901). For many
authors, all the Neogene sediments that
unconformably overlie pre-Neogene rocks (Fig. 3)
were considered to belong to the Celebes Molasse
(e.g. Sarasin and Sarasin, 1901; Wanner, 1910;
Kundig, 1956; Milsom et al., 1999, Hasanusi et al.,
2004). Furthermore, some maps describe new
formations as part of the Celebes Molasse (e.g.
Ratman, 1976; Surono, 1995b; Surono and
Sukarna, 1995; Simandjuntak and Surono, 1997;
Apandi and Bachri, 1997; van Leeuwen and
Muhardjo, 2005; van Leeuwen et al., 1994; 2007).
Revised geological maps of the GRDC (Geological
Research and Development Centre, now the
Geological Survey of Indonesia) introduced
several new formation names for the Neogene and
Quaternary sediments that were all previously
mapped as the Celebes Molasse (Sukamto, 1973,
1982; Ratman, 1976; Sukamto and Supriatna,
1982; Simandjuntak et al., 1991, 1993a,b, 1997;
Ratman and Atmawinata, 1993; Sukido et al.,
1993; Rusmana et al., 1993; Surono et al., 1993;
Sikumbang et al., 1995; Apandi and Bachri, 1997;
Djuri et al., 1998). Despite the subdivision into
different formations, in many areas there are no
precise ages, no comprehensive sedimentary
history, and no explanation about stratigraphic
relationships. In this paper we present revised
Upper Cenozoic stratigraphy and Late Cenozoic
palaeogeographic maps to illustrate the tectonic
and stratigraphic evolution of Sulawesi. The maps
are based predominantly on field observations. We
summarise the Late Cenozoic evolution of the
island and its adjacent basins, the timing and
consequences of deformation, and sedimentary
provenance in Sulawesi.
METHODOLOGY
This work is based on results of several months’
fieldwork in Buton Island, throughout SE, Central
and East Sulawesi, in the Togian Islands, and in parts
of the South Arm and Neck. Western Sulawesi, the
North Arm, and most of the South Arm of Sulawesi
were not visited during this study. Therefore
syntheses were made using existing data (published
papers, unpublished reports and SEARG data
collection). Four field seasons between 2012 and
2016 were conducted, and samples processed in the
laboratory including studies of light and heavy
minerals, U-Pb dating of detrital zircons, and
biostratigraphic analyses. The palaeogeographic
maps were reconstructed in five steps from (1) a
tectonic base map, (2) a geological map with
distribution of rocks of different ages and types, (3)
georeferenced locations of dated samples, (4)
interpretation of depositional environments, and (5)
distribution of different bathymetric and topographic
intervals.
RESULTS
Revised Stratigraphy
A revised Upper Cenozoic stratigraphy for Sulawesi
is presented (Fig. 4), regionally, the stratigraphy of
Sulawesi can be divided into Lower Miocene,
Middle to Upper Miocene, Pliocene, and Lower and
Upper Pleistocene mega-sequences that are
separated by five regional unconformities at (1)
Early Miocene (c. 23 Ma), (2) Middle Miocene (c. 15
Ma), (3) Latest Miocene-Earliest Pliocene (c. 6-5.3
Ma), (4) Early (c. 1.8 Ma), and (5) Middle
Pleistocene (c. 1 Ma). A Middle Pliocene
unconformity was observed in some areas of
northern Sulawesi and separates Lower and Upper
Pliocene sequences. The Neogene sediments were
deposited in various depositional environments from
terrestrial to deep marine and reflect sediment-
routing systems from hinterlands to basins. Their
sedimentation and tectonic history will be discussed
in the next section.
Sedimentation and Tectonic History
Early Miocene
There was collision between a promontory of the
Sula Spur and the North Sulawesi volcanic arc in the
Early Miocene (Fig. 5a; Hall, 1996, 2002, 2012;
Spakman and Hall, 2012; Pownall, 2014; Hennig et
al., 2016). It caused ophiolite emplacement in East
Sulawesi and formed a major unconformity. The
elevated area become the source for a thick possible
Lower Miocene sequence in Gorontalo Bay which is
interpreted as the fill of a sediment load-related
flexural foreland basin (Pholbud et al., 2012; Pezzati,
2016).
In West Sulawesi, the Lisu Formation was deposited
on a shallow marine shelf from the late Early
Miocene to Early Pliocene (Calvert, 2000; Calvert
and Hall, 2007). Emergent volcanoes in South
Sulawesi are inferred from K-Ar dating of volcanic
rocks (Sukamto, 1990; Polvé et al., 1997; Bergman
et al., 1996; Elburg et al., 2003). Seismic and field
data from Bone Bay (Camplin and Hall, 2014) and
South Sulawesi (Wilson, 1995, 2000; Wilson and
Bosence, 1996) suggest syn-rift carbonate deposition
within narrow extensional zones bounded by tilted
fault blocks. Carbonates were also widely deposited
in eastern Sulawesi prior to major siliciclastic
deposition due to erosion following collision. This is
indicated by limestones that contain serpentine,
olivine and chert grains in the northern SE Arm (van
der Vlerk and Dozy, 1934). Subsequently, ultrabasic-
rich siliciclastics of the Bungku Formation in the
northern SE Arm and Tolo Bay (Unit B3 of
Rudyawan and Hall, 2012) were deposited at about
17 Ma.
To the south, an early phase of rifting was recorded
in the South Arm and Bone Bay which may have
been caused by post-collision orogenic collapse, or
alternatively by the initiation of Banda subduction
rollback. The 16 Ma age of ultra-high-temperature
(UHT) metamorphism in Seram Island suggests that
extension must have initiated earlier than 16 Ma at
which time Seram was closer to the SE Arm
(Pownall et al., 2014, Pownall, 2015).
Middle Miocene
In the Middle Miocene (Fig. 5b), westward
subduction of the Molucca Sea Sangihe slab under
the North Arm possibly caused uplift related
magmatism in northern Sulawesi (Hall and
Spakman, 2015; Rudyawan, 2016). In the southern
part of Sulawesi, uplift and basin subsidence were
driven by eastwards slab rollback of the Banda
subduction zone (Spakman and Hall, 2010; Hall,
2012; Pownall et al., 2013, 2014).
The unconformity surface in eastern Gorontalo Bay
suggests uplift extending north and west from the
East Arm (Pholbud et al., 2012). In contrast, most of
southern Sulawesi (South Sulawesi, Bone Bay, SE
Arm, and Buton Island) records rifting with fine
grained sediments deposited in larger and deeper
basins (wells Benteng-1 and Bulu-1S; Robertson
Indonesia, 1989; Grainge and Davies, 1985;
Davidson, 1991; Wilson, 1995, 2000; Wilson and
Bosence, 1996).
Uplift in West and North Sulawesi was possibly
caused by magmatic activity, as recorded by igneous
rocks (Sukamto, 1990; Bergman et al., 1996; Polvé
et al., 1997; Elburg and Foden, 1999; Elburg et al.,
2003). This is also supported by Middle Miocene
volcaniclastic debris in the Lisu Formation
penetrated by well Tike-1 in West Sulawesi (Calvert,
2000).
There is almost no Middle Miocene record in the SE
Arm, possibly indicating a Middle Miocene
erosional event, or simply lack of deposition. To the
south, Buton Island was a deep marine area, based on
deep water foraminifera and nannofossils recorded in
Middle Miocene sediments (wells Benteng-1 and
Bulu-1S; Robertson Indonesia, 1989; Davidson,
1991).
Late Miocene
At this time (Fig. 6a and Fig. 6b), Banda rollback
caused oceanic crust formation in the North Banda
Sea (c.12-7Ma; Hinschberger et al., 2000), and the
rollback-induced extension in the upper plate caused
further subsidence in Bone Bay, uplift in the SE and
East Arms and magmatism in West and South
Sulawesi (Spakman and Hall, 2010; Hall, 2012). In
the North Arm, magmatism was initiated when the
Sangihe slab subducted beneath the eastern North
Arm, pushing the Sula slab downwards (Hall and
Spakman, 2015; Rudyawan, 2016).
Carbonates were deposited in NW Sulawesi, Tomini
Basin of Gorontalo Bay, the Togian Islands and parts
of the East Arm, suggesting relatively insignificant
amounts of volcanic debris in the area (e.g. unit D of
Pholbud et al., 2012; Peladan, Salodik, and Minahaki
Formations). Renewed carbonate deposition above
older marginal marine sediments in the southern East
Arm suggests basin deepening (Davies, 1990;
Hasanusi et al., 2004) during global sea level fall
(Miller et al., 2005).
Magmatism based on K-Ar and zircon dating (Priadi
et al., 1993; 1994; Bergman et al., 1996; Polvé et al.,
1997; Elburg et al., 2013; Hennig et al., 2016),
increasing proportion of gravity flow deposits and
igneous lithics in the Lisu Formation (Calvert, 2000),
and volcanic detritus deposited in Bone Bay, West
and South Sulawesi (e.g. Lisu, Camba, Sopo, and
Pammesurang Formations; van Leeuwen, 1981;
Grainge and Davies, 1985; Wilson, 1995, 2000;
Calvert, 2000; Sudarmono, 2000) indicate an uplift
in West Sulawesi.
Carbonates were still growing locally on the
structural highs of the South Arm and possibly Bone
Bay despite the active magmatism (e.g. Selayar
Limestone; Grainge and Davies, 1985; Wilson,
1995; Ascaria, 1997; Camplin and Hall, 2014). In the
East Sengkang Basin, Upper Miocene pinnacle reefs
of the Tacipi Formation represent the onset of locally
rapid subsidence (Grainge and Davies, 1985).
In the SE Arm, ultrabasic- and ophiolitic-rich
siliciclastics were deposited in a terrestrial to deep
marine environment. This is supported by the Middle
to Upper Miocene marine sediments in well BBA-1X
well (Sudarmono, 2000) and interpreted Upper
Miocene seismic sequences in Tolo and Bone Bays
(Rudyawan and Hall, 2012; Camplin and Hall,
2014). Bone Bay is thought to have extended further
north separating West and East Sulawesi and was
interpreted from the Upper Miocene Bonebone
Formation which contains abundant nannofossils of
Sphenolithus abies. The Pandua Formation in SE
Sulawesi was deposited in terrestrial (well Abuki-1;
Robertson Indonesia, 1989), through deltaic to
marginal marine (southern SE Arm), and deep
marine environments (Bone Bay, Buton;
Wiryosujono and Hainim, 1975; Smith, 1983;
Davidson, 1991; Fortuin et al., 1990; Smith and
Silver, 1991; Camplin and Hall, 2014). Deltaic
marginal marine sedimentation was occurring along
the basin margins (e.g. western margin of the SE
Arm next to Bone Bay and eastern margin by Tolo
Bay), characterised by prograding clinoforms of Unit
B (Camplin and Hall, 2014) and Unit C1 (Rudyawan
and Hall, 2012) in Bone and Tolo Bays respectively
A deepening succession from sublittoral to upper
bathyal in Buton Island suggests continuous
subsidence during the Middle and Late Miocene
(Wiryosujono and Hainim, 1975; Robertson
Indonesia, 1989; Fortuin et al., 1990; Smith and
Silver, 1991).
Latest Miocene
Continued delamination of the Sula Spur and
subduction rollback into the Banda Embayment still
played important roles in magmatism, uplift and
extension in the northern and southern parts of
Sulawesi respectively. By the end of Late Miocene
(Fig. 7a), there was extensive magmatism in the
North, West and South Arms. In contrast, there was
no significant input of volcanic or clastic debris into
Tomini Basin in western Gorontalo Bay and
carbonates were continuously deposited during this
period (Pholbud et al., 2012; Pezzati, 2016).
Volcanic debris from the SW was probably deposited
in the bordering, and currently undrilled Poso Basin.
Carbonate deposition was widespread from western
Gorontalo Bay (Tomini Basin) and the Togian
Islands, to the southern East Arm. There was minor
uplift in the western East Arm that supplied
ophiolitic-rich sediments to the Bongka Formation in
Central Sulawesi, deposited in a coastal fan delta.
The Larona Formation in southeastern Central
Sulawesi was deposited in an alluvial fan setting
close to an ultrabasic source. A probable latest
Miocene age is based on Simandjuntak (1986), as no
samples suitable for biostratigraphic dating were
found. In northern West Sulawesi, volcaniclastics of
the Tambarana Formation were derived from
reworked magmatic products in West Sulawesi and
were deposited in a coastal-fan setting (Bergman et
al., 1996; Bellier et al., 2006; Hennig et al., 2016).
They are possibly correlated with the steeply-dipping
seismic unit 1 of Pezzati et al., 2014) in the Poso
Basin of southern Gorontalo Bay.
In South Sulawesi, uplifted land is inferred from
volcanic breccias, lavas, and tuffs of Lemo Volcanics
that yield 6.2 Ma K-Ar ages (van Leeuwen, 1981). In
addition, a sedimentation change is recognised in the
SE Arm, Bone Bay, and possibly Tolo Bay at the end
of Late Miocene. In the SE Arm and Bone Bay, the
quartz-rich Langkowala Formation (including Unit
D of Camplin and Hall, 2014) started to be deposited
unconformably over the serpentinite-rich Pandua
Formation. Offshore the time equivalent of the
unconformity is a correlative conformity at the base
of Langkowala Formation. Equivalent diachronous
(unconformable and conformable) contacts can also
be observed above truncated eastwards-prograding
clinoforms in Unit C1 (Rudyawan and Hall, 2012) in
Tolo Bay. An abrupt disappearance of ultrabasic-rich
siliciclastics is also recorded in the Buton Islands at
the same time as the sedimentary change occurred in
the SE Arm between the uppermost Miocene Tondo
and overlying Sampolakosa Formations (Bothé,
1927; Wiryosujono and Hainim, 1975; Smith, 1983;
Fortuin et al., 1990; Davidson, 1991).
Early Pliocene
From the Early Pliocene (Fig. 7b and Fig 8a),
sedimentation, magmatism and structural
deformation in Sulawesi were largely the
consequence of rollback of the North Sulawesi and
the Banda subduction zones (Hall, 2012, Hennig et
al., 2016; Advokaat, 2016; Rudyawan, 2016). This
was a critical time when major uplift began, initiating
major clastic input to the offshore basins,
accompanied by significant subsidence of the inter-
arm basins such as Gorontalo Bay and Bone Bay.
In the Tilamuta Basin (western Gorontalo Bay),
Togian Islands and Poh Head, volcaniclastics were
deposited mainly in a marine environment, sourced
predominantly from the north (e.g. the Lonsio
Formation; Cottam et al., 2011; Rudyawan, 2016).
Subsidence in the Tomini Basin (eastern Gorontalo
Bay) was marked by a change from gradational to
backstpepping patterns at the base of Unit E of
Pholbud et al., 2012). Possible equivalent shallow
marine carbonates were deposited in parts of the
northern East Arm and in the Poso Basin of southern
Gorontalo Bay (Unit 0 of Pezzati et al., 2014).
Lower Pliocene coastal and alluvial plain deposits of
the Bongka Formation in the Togian Islands were
sourced from the East Arm to the south. The distal
equivalent of these sediments might have reached
western Gorontalo Bay. In the southern East Arm,
basin subsidence is inferred from the deepening-up
successions of the Kintom Formation, from outer
neritic to bathyal environments (Davies, 1990). This
formation possibly correlates with the
retrogradational stacking pattern of Unit C2 of
Rudyawan and Hall (2012) in Tolo Bay.
The volcaniclastic Napu Formation may represent a
terrestrial equivalent of the shallow marine Lisu
Formation further east, sourced by magmatism in
West Sulawesi. Fining-up conglomerates to
sandstones and mudstones of the Puna Formation in
the Poso Depression were deposited in a submarine
fan and/or slope apron below the neritic zone (> 200
m). Subsequent carbonates of the Poso Formation
were deposited near the basin margin and fine
grained siliciclastics of the Puna Formation in deeper
water parts of an asymmetric basin.
In the South Arm, the basal Walanae Formation
interfingers with reef talus of the Tacipi Formation in
places. These mark the onset of a rapid transgression
that occurred at the same time as uplift and renewed
volcanic activity to the west and northwest (van
Leeuwen, 1981; Grainge and Davies, 1985).
In northern Bone Bay, Lower Pliocene
conglomerates and sandstones of the Bulupulu
Formation record significant input of volcanic and
metamorphic detritus from West Sulawesi in a
submarine channel and can be correlated with distal
equivalents in unit D of Camplin and Hall (2014) in
the Bulupulu Sub-basin. A fining-up sequence from
conglomerate to sandstones and claystones in well
BBA-1X (Sudarmono, 2000) indicates basin
deepening in northern Bone Bay.
In the SE Arm, carbonates of the Eemoiko Formation
locally overlie thick laterites formed during earlier
prolonged emergence of land. This formation can be
correlated with Unit C carbonates of Camplin and
Hall (2014) which are widespread and were
deposited on a previously eroded shelf margin.
Further south, in the SE Arm, siliciclastics of the
Pliocene Langkowala Formation were
contemporaneously deposited in terrestrial and
marginal marine settings (e.g. shoreface/delta front).
Backstepping Unit C carbonates of Camplin and Hall
(2014) in western Bone Bay and younger-landward
carbonates of the Eemoiko Formation suggest
continuous subsidence in the area. Equivalent
subsidence-related retrogradational stacking patterns
were also observed in Tolo Bay (Unit C2 of
Rudyawan and Hall, 2012).
In Buton Island, basal pinnacle reefs are overlain by
the deep water (middle to bathyal) marls of the
Sampolakosa Formation indicating significant basin
deepening during the Pliocene (Wiryosujono and
Hainim, 1975; Fortuin et al., 1990; Davidson, 1991).
Late Pliocene
In the Late Pliocene (Fig. 8b) Significant clastic
deposits of the Buol Beds and Lokodidi Formation
indicates increasing uplift in the North Arm
(Advokaat, 2016; Rudyawan, 2016). Inception of
rapid deepening of Gorontalo Bay is indicated by the
pinnacle reefs at the top of Unit E of Pholbud et al.
(2012). In the Tilamuta Basin (western Gorontalo
Bay), north-directed mass transport complexes,
south-directed and east-directed prograding
clinoforms within Unit E of Rudyawan, 2016)
suggest uplifted sources in the East Arm, North Arm,
and the Lalanga Ridge respectively.
Widespread clastic deposits of the Bongka
Formation in the northern and southern East Arm
suggest significant uplift of the East Arm. This is
supported by provenance analyses that suggest a
predominantly ultrabasic source with subsidiary
contributions of ophiolitic, volcanic and older
sedimentary rocks. In the northern East Arm,
sediments were deposited mainly in a submarine
deltaic environment, burying the Lower Miocene
carbonates. Coeval clastic deposition also took place
in the eastern Poso Basin where pinnacle reefs of
Unit 0 are overlain by thick clastic strata of Unit 4
(Pezzati et al., 2014). Deepening in this area at this
time may have been responsible for the development
of the Walea Strait that now separates the Togian
Islands and East Arm. Offshore southern East Arm,
deepening-up (from littoral to neritic setting) and
subsequent shallowing-up sequences that consist of
ultrabasic-rich sandstones, conglomerates and
siltstones in well Tolo-1 (Davies, 1990) correlate to
the onshore part, which includes braided fluviatile
clastics overlain by shallow marine carbonates and
subsequent thick coastal to alluvial fan ultrabasic-
rich clastics. Unit C3 of Rudyawan and Hall (2012)
in Tolo Bay possibly correlates with the Upper
Pliocene Bongka Formation in the southern East
Arm which consists of ultrabasic-rich clastics
sourced from uplifted areas in eastern Sulawesi.
U-Pb, Ar-Ar and U/Th-He ages of igneous and
metamorphic rocks (Hennig et al., 2016) in addition
to a change to extensive alluvial fan deposits of the
Pasangkayu Formation (Calvert, 2000; Calvert and
Hall, 2007) collectively suggest rapid uplift in West
Sulawesi. Exhumation of Neogene igneous and
metamorphic rocks in West Central Sulawesi were
then eroded to produce material that was deposited in
adjacent basins (Sukamto, 1973; Ratman, 1976;
Simandjuntak et al., 1991; Ratman and Atmawinata,
1993; Sukido et al., 1993; Simandjuntak et al., 1997;
van Leeuwen and Muhardjo, 2005; Calvert and Hall,
2007; Hennig et al., 2016). The southeast-directed
foresets seen on seismic lines over the top of
carbonates of Tacipi Formation in the East Sengkang
Basin indicates uplift in Central Sulawesi (Grainge
and Davies, 1985).
In SE Sulawesi, there was increasing uplift on land
and subsidence of basins. On land, the Oligo-
Miocene metamorphic (Wijbrans et al., 1994) and
Triassic-Jurassic sedimentary rocks were exhumed
and became the main sediment sources for the
Langkowala Formation. Offshore there are pinnacle
reefs on top of Unit C (Eemoiko Formation
equivalent) that are onlapped and downlapped by the
extensive siliciclastics of Units D and E
(Langkowala Formation equivalents (Camplin and
Hall, 2014). Channel aggradation within Unit D
suggests major clastic input from surrounding
highlands.
Pleistocene
Rise of high mountains and very rapid subsidence in
offshore basins took place across Sulawesi by the
Early Pleistocene (c. 2 Ma; Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b).
Uplift across much of the North Arms is recognised
by deposition of the marginal marine to deep marine
Lokodidi and Randangan Formations which contain
volcanic, granitoid, limestone and coral debris
(Advokaat, 2016; Rudyawan, 2016).
In the Neck, the Palu Formation was deposited in an
alluvial fan to fluviatile setting during the past 2 Ma,
and records the exhumation and uplift of
metamorphic and granitoid rocks in the Neck and
west Central Sulawesi (van Leeuwen and Muhardjo,
2005; Hennig et al., 2014; Hennig et al., 2016).
Unusual garnet peridotite clasts within the Palu
Formation could have been eroded from the East
Arm during the Pliocene and deposited in northern
West Sulawesi and later recycled in the Pleistocene.
Alternatively, garnet peridotites have been reported
in the Palu-Koro fault valley (Tjia and Zakaria, 1974;
Helmers et al., 1990; Kadarusman and Parkinson,
2000) and could be a source.
In eastern Gorontalo Bay, Pleistocene sediments
equivalent of the Lokodidi and Randangan
Formations (Unit F of Rudyawan, 2016) were
deposited in a deep marine environment of the
Tilamuta Basin and suggests sources to the north
(volcanic rocks of the North Arm) and south
(possibly volcanic sources in the Togian Islands). In
western Gorontalo Bay, deeply subsided pinnacle
reefs of seismic Unit E are onlapped by clastic Unit
F (Pholbud et al., 2012) suggesting a source in the
western North Arm or the Neck, and could be
correlated with the Lokodidi and Palu Formations.
Some pinnacle reefs have no clastic sediment cover
suggesting growth as late as the Pleistocene in NW
Tomini Basin and on the Lalanga Ridge.
Large clastic input to the north and south of east Arm
is provided by the significant uplift in the area. In the
northern East Arm, the poorly consolidated Bongka
Formation was deposited in an alluvial fan setting
and correlates with the distal Unit 5 of Pezzati et al.
(2014) in the western Poso basin. In the southern East
Arm, fluviatile sediments unconformably overlie the
Pliocene Bongka Formation. Coeval carbonates of
the Luwuk Formation were deposited on a shallow
marine shelf (Davies, 1990; Sumosusastro et al.,
1989). Unit C4 of Rudyawan and Hall (2014) in Tolo
Bay is possibly correlated with Quaternary deposits
of the Bongka Formation in the East Arm.
Uplift in Central Sulawesi accompanied exhumation
of the Pompangeo Schist Complex (PSC). This event
is recorded in the Lage Formation, deposited on an
unstable slope of an outer neritic shelf that
unconformably overlies the Pliocene sediments. The
equivalent fluviatile and floodplain deposits of the
Tomata Formation (deposited in southeastern
Central Sulawesi) include quartz and metamorphic
rock clasts that were also probably sourced from the
PSC. Subsequent metamorphic-rich coarse-grained
deposits were deposited in alluvial fan and fluvial
settings as deep crust continued to be exhumed in
Central Sulawesi.
In western Sulawesi, the Pasangkayu Formation
includes alluvial fan deposits, sourced in nearby
mountains to the east that interfinger with marine
deposits (Calvert and Hall, 2007) of a narrow shelf.
Deformation and uplift in this area are represented by
the occurrence of uplifted Quaternary limestones, in
addition to folding and tilting of the Pasangkayu
Formation (Calvert, 2000).
Volcanoes in the the southern South Arm suggest an
uplift by the Pleistocene (Sukamto, 1990; Bergman
et al., 1996; Polvé et al., 1997; Elburg and Foden,
1999). However, the northern part of the South Arm
was still a shallow marine area (van den Bergh et al.,
2016). This area probably uplifted very recently
during the Holocene (less than 7 ka; Gremmen,
1990). Gradual uplift in South Sulawesi is indicated
by a change from shallow marine to fluviolacustrine
environments (van den Bergh et al., 2016).
In Bone Bay, the upper part of Unit E of Camplin and
Hall, 2014) includes Quaternary sediments that were
deposited on slopes and in submarine channel-fan
systems. Several drowned pinnacle reefs on
structural highs suggest subsidence in the sub-basins
continued to the present day (Camplin and Hall,
2014).
In the SE Arm, the Langkowala Formation was
deposited until about the Early Pleistocene (1.8-1
Ma) based on foraminifera from well Abuki-1
(Robertson Indonesia, 1989). Sediments were
deposited in a deeper water environment (depths
greater than 200m) than the preceding deposits,
suggesting continued subsidence in parts of the
southern SE Arm until the Early Pleistocene.
The Wapulaka Formation in the Buton Island
unconformably overlies the Sampolakosa Formation
and was deposited in shallow water, inner neritic,
reef or near reef environments (Fortuin et al., 1990;
Davidson, 1991). An angular unconformity between
these formations indicates deformation and uplift
prior to carbonate deposition (Fortuin et al., 1990).
Differential uplift in SE Sulawesi and Buton Island
is recorded by uplifted Quaternary limestone terraces
at the southwestern end of the SE Arm, Muna Island,
south Buton Island, and in the Wakatobi Islands
(Figure 10; Fortuin et al., 1990, Davidson, 1991;
Satyana and Purwaningsih, 2011).
CONCLUSIONS
The Late Cenozoic sedimentation history of
Sulawesi is significant for understanding the regional
tectonics and basin development after Early Miocene
collision, as this was a time interval greatly
influenced by extension. This study shows that
considering all Neogene sediments as simply a
product of collision deposited synchronously across
Sulawesi is an over-simplification. Indeed, the
stratigraphic events interpreted in this study are
consistent with uplift and subsidence that resulted
from extension-related metamorphism, magmatism
and structural and geomorphic events which support
the idea of an Early Miocene collision followed by
subduction rollback to the east in Banda and north in
North Sulawesi, resulting in gradual emergence of
present-day Sulawesi by coalescence of multiple
smaller islands.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank the SE Asia Research Group (SEARG)
and its members at Royal Holloway, supported
over many years by a changing consortium of oil
companies, for support, discussion and assistance.
AMSN’s PhD at Royal Holloway was funded by
the SEARG. We thank D. Ramade, R. Adhitama,
and local guides for field assistance. M.K.
Boudagher-Fadel, J. Young, Eko B. Lelono, J.
Todd, and Christina Ani are gratefully
acknowledged for their palaeontological
contributions. M. Rittner is thanked for assistance
with LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon analysis. We thank
Cambridge Paleomap Services Limited for the use
of PaleoArc software and the Rothwell Group for
providing a license for PaleoGIS plate tectonic
reconstruction software, both of which were used
in plotting the data and producing the maps. We
thank Duncan Witts for helpful comments on the first
version of this paper.
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Figure 1 - The principal tectonic blocks of SE Asia on present day geographic map (modified after Watkinson,
2011; Hall, 2012; Hall and Sevastjanova, 2012). Location of Sulawesi Island is indicated by a black
box. Note that Sulawesi is at the junctions of three major plates and records continent-continent
collision between Sundaland and fragments of the Australian continental margin. SW Borneo and
East Java-West Sulawesi accreted at the Sundaland margin in the Cretaceous. In the Early Miocene,
new continental crust (Sula Spur) was added by collisions in Eastern Indonesia (Hall 2002, 2011,
2012; Hall et al., 2009; Hall and Sevastjanova, 2012). Subsequent subduction rollback initiated
extension through Neogene across the area including Sulawesi (e.g. Polvé et al., 1997; Fortuin et
al., 1997; Hinschberger et al., 2000; van Leeuwen et al., 2007; Spakman and Hall 2010; Cottam et
al., 2011; Hall, 2011; Pholbud et al., 2012; Camplin and Hall, 2014; Hennig et al., 2014; Pownall
et al., 2014; Advokaat, 2015; Hennig et al., 2016).
Figure 2 - Tectono-stratigraphic subdivisions that are commonly used to summarize the geological setting of
Sulawesi. Modified after Katili (1978), Hamilton (1979), Taylor and van Leeuwen (1980),
Sukamto and Simandjuntak (1983), Hall and Wilson (2000), Calvert (2000), van Leeuwen and
Muhardjo (2005), Cottam et al. (2011), and Pholbud et al. (2012).
Figure 3 - Simplified geological map of Sulawesi based on Sukamto (1973, 1982, 1990), Ratman (1976),
Sukamto and Supriatna (1982), Rusmana et al. (1984), Simandjuntak et al. (1991, 1993a,b),
Bachri et al. (1993), Ratman and Atmanwinata (1993), Rusmana et al. (1993), Sukido et al. (1993),
Supandjono and Haryono (1993), Surono et al. (1993), Sukamto et al. (1994), Sikumbang and
Sanyoto (1995), Apandi and Bachri (1997), Effendi and Bawono (1997), Simandjuntak and
Surono (1997), Djuri et al. (1998) and Calvert (2000).
Figure 4 - Compilation of Neogene stratigraphy for different areas of Sulawesi. Information is from new work
by Nugraha (2016) integrated with previous studies by van Leeuwen (1981), Sukamto and
Supriatna (1982), Grainge and Davies (1985), Simandjuntak (1986), Davies (1990), Fortuin et al.
(1990), Davidson (1991), Smith and Silver (1991), Simandjuntak et al. (1991, 1997), Rusmana et
al. (1993), Calvert (2000), Sudarmono (2000), Wilson (2000), Hasanusi et al. (2004), van Leeuwen
and Muhardjo (2005), Calvert and Hall (2007), Bromfield and Renema (2011), Cottam et al.
(2011), Pholbud et al. (2012), Camplin and Hall (2014), Advokaat (2015), Hennig (2015),
Rudyawan (2016) and van den Bergh et al. (2016). For Tolo Bay (1) is from Rudyawan and Hall
(2012) and (2) is alternative proposed by Nugraha (2016).
 a b

Figure 5 - a. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 20 Ma. b. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 15 Ma. Grey outline indicates reconstructed position of different parts of the
present-day Sulawesi as a guide to location. Symbols on map show locations of dated sedimentary rocks with interpreted environment of deposition.
 a a
Figure 6 - a. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 10 Ma. b. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 8 Ma. Symbols and colours as per Figure 5.
 a b
Figure 7 - a. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 6 Ma. b. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 5 Ma. Symbols and colours as per Figure 5.
 a b
Figure 8 - a. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 4 Ma. b. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 3 Ma. Symbols and colours as per Figure 5.
 a b

Figure 9 - a. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 2 Ma. b. Palaeogeography of Sulawesi at 1 Ma. Symbols and colours as per Figure 5.
Figure 10 - Present-day geography of Sulawesi with same colour classification for different bathymetric and
topographic intervals as Figures 5 - 9.