METAMORPHIC PETROGRAPHY, ESSAY NAMED: IMPACT, EVOLUTION AND STUDY OF

THE TECTONIC PROCESSES THAT COVERED THE MACUIRA NEIS, THE PREDOMINANT
METAMORPHIC UNIT IN ALTA GUAJIRA, COLOMBIA

Date: 11 de october
FUNDACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA DEL AREANDINA 11/10/2022
4:09 p. m.

IMPACT, EVOLUTION AND STUDY OF THE TECTONIC PROCESSES THAT

COVERED THE MACUIRA NEIS, THE PREDOMINANT METAMORPHIC UNIT
IN ALTA GUAJIRA, COLOMBIA

JENNY GARCÍA GONZÁLEZ

NATALIA ANDREA PARRA CORTÉS

FUNDACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA DEL AREANDINA

METAMORPHIC PETROGRAPHY
INGENIERÍA GEOLÓGICA
VALLEDUPAR/CESAR
2022
 METAMORPHIC PETROGRAPHY, ESSAY NAMED: IMPACT, EVOLUTION AND STUDY OF
THE TECTONIC PROCESSES THAT COVERED THE MACUIRA NEIS, THE PREDOMINANT
METAMORPHIC UNIT IN ALTA GUAJIRA, COLOMBIA

Date: 11 de october
FUNDACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA DEL AREANDINA 11/10/2022
4:09 p. m.

Impact, evolution and study of the tectonic processes that encompassed

the Neis de Macuira, the predominant metamorphic unit in Alta
Guajira, Colombia

Since the 1960, the rocks that make up the Macuira Neis, the Paleozoic
metamorphic unit that outcrops in the Simarua, Jarara and Macuira
mountains of Alta Guajira, with an estimated “Precambrian” age, have been
of great interest. , which is why it has been studied and transported over the
years by various researchers trying to determine its petrographic
characteristics and its genesis. Keep in mind that this metamorphic unit is
located in the Guajira Peninsula, a sector where a complex interaction
between the Caribbean, South American and Nazca plates takes place, where
the blocks move, thus evidencing the effects of the convergence of plates
with different relative displacements, producing a set of blocks, limited by
strike-slip faults, which play an important role in the development of the
metamorphic rocks of the Neis de Macuira, being the ones mentioned, the
Simarua Fault together with the Cuiza Fault.

Through different geological factors that directly affected the rocks of the
Neis de Macaria, it was determined according to Álvarez (1967) that the
rocks belonging to this metamorphic unit reached their peak of
metamorphism in the amphibolite and possibly granulite metamorphic
facies, also in some sectors it has been reported retrograde metamorphism in
green schist facies, but this was not the only researcher, we have pioneers
who differentiated the most predominant lithologies such as granites, schists
(micaceous-amphibole), neises (micaceous, quartz-feldspathic and
hornblende-plagioclase), quartzites and to a lesser extent marbles
(According to Rollins, 1960; MacDonald, 1964; Lockwood, 1965).
Additionally, packages of “homogeneous migmatites” and “heterogeneous
migmatites” were described, dividing the former into “granitized neises”,
“scalloped embrequitas”, and “amigdaloides embrequitas” (According to
Radelli, 1960). From this group, the lithological varieties of the Neis de
Macuira were grouped into three units: 1) Neis de Uray: which corresponds
to medium-grained hornblende-plagioclase neises with banding, with wide
felsic bands and bands rich in hornblende-plagioclase; in addition, with
biotitic, chloritic, and tremolite-graphite schists, amphibolites and diopsidic
 METAMORPHIC PETROGRAPHY, ESSAY NAMED: IMPACT, EVOLUTION AND STUDY OF
THE TECTONIC PROCESSES THAT COVERED THE MACUIRA NEIS, THE PREDOMINANT
METAMORPHIC UNIT IN ALTA GUAJIRA, COLOMBIA

Date: 11 de october
FUNDACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA DEL AREANDINA 11/10/2022
4:09 p. m.

marble; 2) Jutúruhu Schists: which are composed of almandine-plagioclase-

quartz-biotite schists. These schists present intercalations of quartz and
plagioclase lenses and compositional variation between almandine-
plagioclase-quartz-biotite, muscovite-biotite, staurolite and hornblende-
plagioclase schists, neisses, amphibolites, marbles: 3) Undifferentiated
Macuira Formation: composed of pelitic rocks metamorphosed and
amphibolites (Álvarez, 1967).

It is determined through the pretrographic, geochemical, structural and

tectonic study that the Neis de Macuira is originally interpreted as a well-
stratified sedimentary sequence affected by metamorphism, where the Neis
de Macuira has a lithology that is mainly made up of Gneiss, amphibolites
and locally migmatites, schists, marbles and to a lesser extent calc-silicate
rocks. allowing to interpret that the metamorphism suffered by the unit is of
the Barrovian type and the peak of metamorphism was reached in the High
Amphibolite Facies, in the range between 6 Kbar and 9 Kbar of pressure and
500° and 550°C of temperature, recognizing that This unit was subject to
several deformation events, especially because it is in an active fault zone
and subduction processes, which even caused some of the belonging schists
to have a lenticular texture, which helps us to identify that these rocks were
affected. by a dynamic metamorphism, together with regional
metamorphism, where we also see a transition from shale to gneiss with
intense foliation and bands of centimeter scales up to tens of meters thick,
including the presence of migmatites, determined a high degree of
metamorphism and even a metamorphism contact.