Geochemistry of tholeiites of the Basic Igneous Complex

of northwestern South America

P. J. GOOSSENS"
W. 1. ROSE, JR.
DEClO FLORES*
l Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan
49931

ABSTRACT

Chemical analyses of basaltic rocks from the Basic Igneous

Complex of the Pacific coastal areas of northern South America
clearly demonstrate a consistent tholeiitic affinity for this belt and a
geochemical similarity of samples from Ecuador, Colombia, and
Panama. The rocks are more like ocean-ridge tholeiites than other
varieties, but they have higher than expected K, Sr, and Rb con-
tents. Most probably, alteration has caused these anomalies, but a
firm conclusion has been frustrated by the lack of correlation of
concentration of these elements with the degree of three types of
microscopically observable secondary mineralogic changes in the
rocks. The rocks form a bimodal geochemical population, about
two-thirds basalt and one-third basaltic andesite; both groups are ~
geographically widespread. The increased geochemical information "=t
confirms the correlation of this complex with similar rocks in the llJ
(.) BRAZILIAN
Cordillera Occidental of Colombia and Ecuador and the Nicoya Cl
Peninsula of Costa Rica. SHIELD

INTRODUCTION (.)

#
......
lI...
Recent studies (Gansser, 1973; Goossens, 1973; Butterlin, 1973; ...... ,,0
Aubouin, 1973) have shown that the Andes may in fact be com- (.) 0-';
~
posed of several segments (Fig. 1) with fundamentally different <:{

identities. Among the criteria suggested for this segmentation is the Cl

presence or absence of ophiolites (Gansser, 1973) on the western
margin of the Cordillera. In the northern Andes, a probable
ophiolite assemblage is found along the coast of Ecuador, Colom-
bia, and Panama and may well extend northward to Costa Rica.
This mafic rock assemblage has been called the Basic Igneous Q/q// COASTAL MAFIC
Complex (Goossens and Rose, 1973). Its age is, at least in part, VOLCANIC BELTS
I
Late Cretaceous, but a few volcanic rocks have been determined to I EASTERN BOUNDARY
I
be as young as 50 m.y. I OF THE ANDES
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the chemical composi- MAJOR STRIKE- SLIP
tion of rocks of the Basic Igneous Complex in further detail.

SAMPLE LOCATIONS
I FAULTS IN THE CARIBBEAN
AND NORTHERN ANDES \Jl
o
I TRENCH "V S \
~~\
Thirty-five samples of mafic igneous rocks were chemically ~ I" \
analyzed, and more than 50 were petrographically examined in this \Jl~
study. Samples from Ecuador came from the Cordillera de
Chongon-Colonche and along the Manta-Portoviejo horst (Figs. 2, Figure 1. The South American continent and the Andean segments
3). The samples from Sequita and San Lorenzo are basalts of the (northern, central, and southern). Location of places in text: 1, Cordillera
de Chongon-Colonche, Ecuador; 2, Manta-Portoviejo horst, Ecuador; 3,
* Present addresses: (Goossens) Department of Geology, Rangoon Arts Gorgona Island, Colombia; 4, Serrania de Baudo, Colombia; 5, Gulf of San
and Sciences University, UNDP, Box 650, Rangoon, Burma. (Flores) De- Miguel, Panama; 6, Azuero Peninsula, Panama; 7, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa
partmento de Petroleo, Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela. Rica.

Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 88, p. 1711-1720, 10 figs., 5 tables, December 1977, Doc. no. 71202.

1711
 1712 GOOSENS AND OlBERS

upper unit of the Basic Igneous Complex (Goossens, 1973), prob-

0 CENOZOIC SEDIMENT ably middle Eocene in age. Other samples, in particular those from
Barranco Pietro and from north of Guayaquil, are probably from
rnxxx HARZBURGITE the lower unit of the Basic Igneous Complex and thus are consid-
erably older. This lower unit includes harzburgite bodies, diabase,
1!+!3 GRANODIORITE and gabbro, as well as basalt, in a thick assemblage. Some details of
the geologic relationships in this part of Ecuador are already avail-
0. . CALLO FORMATION able (Faucher and Savoyat, 1973; Goossens, 1973) .
Colombian samples came from the Serrania de Baudo, along the
[Z3
v v BASIC IGNEOUS COMPLEX Pacific Coast (Fig. 4). In this area the rocks include gabbro, basalt,
diabase, and rare ultramafic bodies, along with the tuffaceous sed-
/' PRINCIPAL FAULT
iments of Late Cretaceous age. That volcanism continued here until
0 PILLOW }
TEXTURE
middle Eocene time, as was the case in Ecuador, is shown by basalt
flows that enclose middle Eocene reef limestones (Gansser, 1973).
0 COLUMNAR
North toward Panama and to the south on Gorgona Island (Gans-
0, 10
I
20
I , '
30 40
I
50
I
ser, 1950), the same rock series appears.
Kilometer Samples taken in Panama were from the shores of the Gulf of San
Miguel (Fig. 5). Here, the basement rock, well-preserved pillow
basalt and diabase, is overlain by chert and thinly bedded siliceous
sediments that contain microfossils of probable Campanian age
(Bandy and Casey, 1973; Case, 1974). Eocene marine sediments
with intercalations of basalt, agglomerate, and tuffs have also been
reported from this area.
It is the strong similarities of the lithologies and their strati-
graphic relationships (Fig. 6) along the coasts of Ecuador, Colom-
bia, and Panama that indicate that the mafic igneous basements in
these areas should be correlated (Goossens and Rose, 1973).

PETROGRAPHY

The rock samples show primary textures ranging from porphyrit-

Figure 2. Cordillera de Chongon-Colonche and the Manta-Portoviejo
horst in Ecuador (modified after Goossens and Rose, 1973), with the loca-
tion of the analyzed samples.
ic to equigranular, with mineralogy dominated by plagioclase and
one or more pyroxenes (Table 1). Olivine is almost always absent,
and quartz appears only as an alteration mineral. Individual pet-
rographic descriptions of the samples analyzed are available from
us on request.
Although the samples selected for analyses were considered rela-
tively fresh, they were affected by a variety of secondary alteration
types, which differ substantially in individual samples. Because we
are concerned about how alteration might affect the geochemical
results, we paid particular attention to the alteration, and we rec-
ognized three distinct varieties under the microscope: (1) siliceous
veinlet, (2) propylitic, and (3) amygdule-filling (Table 2). There is
evidence that all three alteration types acted independently; spe-
cifically, although many samples showed more than one type of
alteration, there were individual samples that were uniquely af-
fected by one of these types.

4,5
SEQUITA

Figure 3. Block diagram of the Manta-Portoviejo horst, viewed from the

E S
northwest, showing the structural control for the basaltic submarine effu-
sions (upper unit of the Basic Igneous Complex) invading the lowe.. unit of
the complex and the Upper Cretaceous and lower Eocene sedimentary
rocks (modified after Goossens, 1968). Basaltic dike in the Manta basin is
surrounded by the San Eduardo coral-reef limestone formation; this occur-
rence has been recognized by Goossens and is reported on the geological
map of Ecuador (Manta sheet, scale 1:100,000). In black are dikes and pil-
lowed flows of the Basic Igneous Complex upper unit; small "v" is the
lower unit. Black dots represent the Callo Formation. Faults are shown
with their relative movement.

BARRANCO PIETRO
9 CABO de SAN LORENZO
6,7,8.
 GEOCHEMISTRY OF THOLEIITES OF THE BASIC IGNEOUS COMPLEX, SOUTH AMERICA 1713

~,
0,
'<./;-...
BAHIA -,/1
de '(.
AGUACATE ~
BAHIA
de
OCTAVIA

GOLFO
DE
SAN MIGUEL

GOLFO
de
CUPICA D SEDIMENTS
BASIC
Iv:v~ IGNEOUS
COMPLEX

0, 5 km
.....................->......'

PA CIFIC
OCEAN Figure 5. Sketch map of the Gulf of San Miguel, Panama O. E. Case,
1975, written commun.) showing the location of the analyzed samples.

selection process was sufficiently careful that severely altered

examples of each type of alteration (which really would have af-
fected the geochemistry) were excluded. Some samples (for exam-
ple, sample 11 in Table 3) appear to be altered chemically but show
little petrographic evidence for alteration.
TERTIARY In particular, we were concerned about the alteration of these pil-
SEDIMENTS
low basalts by sea water (Hart, 1970). Major-element trends such
BASIC IGNEOUS
as those suggested by Hart (1970) and Hart and others (1974),
GOLFO which are indicative of increasing degree of sea-water alteration,
COMPLEX de
T RIBUGA are not detectable in these rocks. It is possible, perhaps even likely,
that some addition of K and Rb did occur as a result of a minor
degree of sea-water alteration. However, we do not suggest any
correlation between any of the alteration types we described and
sea-water alteration.
Because of problems in interpreting the geochemical data (see be-
low), we suggest that additional field studies of the Basic Igneous
Complex attempt to find samples that are either unaltered or less
altered. Because these areas are little known geologically, we don't
know if this can be accomplished easily.
Figure 4. Sketch map of the Serrania de Baudo, Colombia, showing the
location of the analyzed samples (after J. E. Case, 1975, written commun.). ANALYTICAL METHODS

Major-element analyses of half of the samples (see Table 3) were

Although we looked for a correlation between alteration type
and degree in the geochemical data, we did not find one. Samples
taken where siliceous veinlet alteration was most prevalent did not
have noticeably higher Si0 2 than other samples. Ca and Na values
determined in samples taken where amygdule filling was most ob-
vious are not anomalous in general. A few samples may have high
sodium content due to sodium metasomatism or spilitization,
which may sometimes be signaled by vesicle filling, however.
Propylitized samples were not geochemically anomalous either.
Perhaps this lack of correlation simply indicates that the sample
made by "wet" gravimetric methods at the Institute of Mineral Re-
search at Michigan Technological University.
Analyses of other samples were performed using "rapid" tech-
niques. Si, AI, Na, Mg, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, and Cr were deter-
mined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) after
LiB0 2-HN0 3 fusion (Suhr and Ingamells, 1966). K, Ca, Fe (total),
and Ti were determined by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) using La203 as
a heavy absorber and LiB 40 7 as a flux (Rose and others, 1962).
Iron is represented as FeO in all of the new analyses. H 20 was de-
termined by the "modified Penfield" method (Schapiro and Bran-
 ECUADOR COLOMBIA EASTERN PANM1A
( after Faucher & Savoyat, 1973) (after Duque, 1972 (after Bandy & Casey, 1973)
and Bandy, 1970)

San Hateo Fm.

~ ..
UPPER deltaic at the No recorded sedi No recorded sedi-
& bottom, marine mentary section mentary section
MIDDLE at the top

~
EOCENE 500 to 1,000 m
•• •ooo
.:,
~----+~~~~~~~~.~.~.~,'~,r'
....... - - - - - -i'V'.;v..,"""JVVV\Arvvvv...""".;v..,t- - - - - - -t"JVV'VV'IJVVV\ANVVV\.N'V'V\j
Cerro Fm, marine ,': :" ~ Morti tuffs (tuffa-
600 m sand- rr:-"'.;,:.j Barrial Group
MIDDLE (bathyal facies) ceous sandstone,
stone and micro- . ·0· c; c;"
EOCENE
b:e~c~a with . ?,/,,' ~ n with limestone limestone, shale,
tuff, agglomerate,
s111C10US breccla V(O~b:O~( _____ +---------,,.----1 basalts 2,000 m
I.CXVER MIDDLE San Eduardo Fm. Vt:t::t:::]"}2;r;i) Sautata Group (deep
EOCENE 0-100 m vJJ water facies) ?
~ - - - - - -fV\I'VV\/\r./V\J'VVVVV\/\roAAlVVV"!vVV\NV... -
Cayo Fm. ~
~ Unname dG,roup V~
V ",:,:,~ Basement Complex
MAESTRICH- volcano-s edi- (deformed chert,
deep water sediments '~""'...:'..3..
TIAN mentary 0-1,000 m (radiolarians, cherts V V V V OJ) thin-bedded silici-
with basaltic
to flows and dikes
with pillow lava vf':':':; ../ ous sediments,
basalts, agglomer-
(upper unit, V
=:; !~:e~~:~~:d d!l~:~d!n V ":",':d. ate and tuffs)
DANIAN Basic Igneous V{ • • • ~ VVVVV~
Complex)
vvvv'vvA v~-'-~~
I -_ _ _ _ _+-_______ --lv~~~~,@·~~,- - - - ? - ? - ? - 1_ 1 - V ? ? ?

~
~\ V V V
PRE- Basic Igneous 1 V V V V
Complex (lower V V V V V V Basic Igneous Complex V V V
MAESTRICH- ? (lower unit) with
TIAN unit) with .
V V V V V V V V
dioritic intrusions
dioritic intrus. VVVVV V V V
Iv V vi
Basaltic andesite, gabbro,
ultramafic rocks . .. .
E3 Chert and silicious sediments
~... Sandstone
Glauconitic tuffaceous
Ivvvvvvi Tholeiitic basalts and
andesite ~ Argillite
~ material

E:2I9 Limestone 1·,-,1 Volcanic agglomerate vvvvvv Unconformity

Figure 6. Mesozoic and lower Cenozoic stratigraphic sections of the coastal Cordillera of Ecuador, Colombia, and eastern Panama,

TABLE 1. PETROGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF BASIC IGNEOUS COMPLEX ROCKS

Location Subtypes Texture Primary mineralogy Alteration pattern

Ecuador Porphyritic, Labradorite, augite phenocrysts; ± mag- Amygdules filled with chlorite and (or)
hypocrystalline netite (large grains), hypersthene pheno- calcite
crysts; glassy to cryptocrystalline
groundmass composed of acicular hyper-
sthene, plagioclase laths, and iron oxides
II Hoiocrystalline Labradorite, augite ± magnetite,
hypersthene
Colombia Holocrystalline, Pyroxene, as phenocrysts in porphyritic Amygdules and veinlets filled with
porphyritic, types, and plagioclase (andesine to chlorite, sodic plagioclase, and
ophitic, or labradorite); augite is principal zeolites
equigranular pyroxene in holocrystalline rocks
(diabasic)
Panama Holocrystalline Plagioclase, as phenocrysts in porphyritic Intersertal chlorite in groundmass with
(diabasic) to types, with pilotaxitic groundmass of other alteration minerals; amygdules
porphyritic, plagioclase microliths, granular pyroxene, and veinlets filled with calcite,
hypocrystalline Fe oxides, and intersertal transparent to zeolite, sodic plagioclase, quartz,
brownish glass serpentine, iron oxide, and chlorite
II Porphyritic Pyroxene and plagioclase phenocrysts;
crypto- groundmass of plagioclase laths, inter-
crystalline granular pyroxene, and Fe oxides
 GEOCHEMISTRY OF THOLEIITES OF THE BASIC IGNEOUS COMPLEX, SOUTH AMERICA 1715
TABLE 2. ALTERATION TYPES AFFECTING SAMPLES OF (Fig. 7) and only a slight calc-alkalic tendency. The method of
THE BAS IC IGNEOUS COMPLEX, Miyashiro (1974), designed to test transitional suites, shows this
NORTHWESTERN SOUTH AMERICA group to be only 14% calc-alkalic. The suite is bimodal, consisting
of about two-thirds basalt and one-third basaltic andesites (Fig. 8),
Type Alteration minerals Description with the division of the groups possibly at 53.5% Si0 2 or 9.5%
Siliceous Quartz (locally Pb, Zn Veinlets of variegated CaO.
vein let sulfides, fluorite, and cryptocrystalline quartz The tholeiitic affinity of the Basic Igneous Complex indicates that
native Ag) these lavas may have been formed at an oceanic ridge or in an im-
Propylitic Carbonate, serpentine Saussuritized plagioclase, mature island-arc environment. Both kinds of tectonic sites are
chlorite, sodic plagio- uralitized pyroxene known to be producing tholeiites today, and both could be incor-
clase, zeolite, clay, porated into paleotectonic models for Central and South America.
Fe-oxide, biotite Table 4 shows a statistical comparison of geographic and
Filling of fractures and geochemical subsets of the Basic Igneous Complex and averages of
Amygdule- Sodic plagioclase,
filling quartz, zeolite, car- vesicles other suites of interest. The data show the close chemical similarity
bonate, Fe-oxide, of geographic subsets of the suite. The table shows that the chemi-
serpentine cal distinction of the basalt (high CaO) and basaltic andesite (low
CaO) subgroups is reinforced by almost all of the elements. The
basalt subgroup is higher in CaO, MgO, Cr, Ni, and Co and lower
nock, 1955). Analyses listed in Table 3 are recalculated on a in Si0 2, K 20, Na20, total Fe, Ti0 2, Cu, Zn, Sr, Zr, V, Ba, and
water-free basis for comparison. Water contents of these rocks probably Rb. These differences are what would be expected for
were generally 1 % to 2%. tholeiitic basalt and basaltic andesite. Thus, we believe this is a
Rb, Sr, and Zr were determined by XRF on pressed pellets using primary bimodality.
Mo radiation and Compton scattering measurements as a mass ab- Although mixing calculations using major elements (Table 5)
sorption estimate (Reynolds, 1963). Ba was also determined by show that Basic Igneous Complex basaltic andesite could be
XRF, following the method of Hahn-Weinheimer and Ackerman created from the basalt by fractional crystallization of about 50%,
(1963). Results listed for V were determined by AAS after HF- trace-element data applied to Rayleigh calculations for those sub-
HCI0 3 fusion by Barringer Research. sets appear to rule out this relationship. None of the trace elements
really behaves as predicted, but the grossly inappropriate values
RESULTS predicted for Cr and Ni seem sufficiently definitive to negate the
hypothesis.
Table 3 shows the results of geochemical determinations. The Trace-element discrimination tests proposed by Pearce and Cann
data describe a basaltic suite, with a generally tholeiitic character (1973; Fig. 9) do not produce unequivocable results, but in general

t
/
CA /
·• I/ ••.
Figure 7. Variation diagrams demonstrating
the tholeiitic affinity of the Basic Igneous Com- 56
plex. Diagram at left after Irvine and Baragar
(1971); diagram at right after Miyashiro (1974).
_....

a
Samples of Table 3 plotted. Histogram in right Si0 2
t·
diagram demonstrates bimodality of FeO*/MgO
ratio in the series; bimodality is caused by gener-
ally higher Fe/Mg ratios in the low-CaO subset of
Table 4 (shaded in the histogram).
/'
/,""'" ··',i(
/' • • .,. I
,- CA • \!
\
53
·r··..••
TH
.
~

I. 1 3 5
50 •/ :: 2·
I
· a
A M FeO*/MgO

CaO
cr~ ~~
I
1 ,0 0,
• 1
1
6 8 10 12 14
12 • •• I
•• • .... I

CaO .:. • • I •

10 .. ~ •
---------,-------------
Figure 8. CaO-Si0 2 variation diagram for Basic Igneous Complex suite
of Table 3. Dashed lines drawn at 9.5% CaO and 53.5% Si0 2 to show con-
I·. ...
1 •
centration of samples in the upper left and lower right quadrants. Bimodal- 8 • .,1
ity of suite is shown best by CaO; see histogram inset. I
50 154 60
Si02
 TABLE 3. CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF SAMPLES OF THE BASIC IGNEOUS COMPLEX

Western Ecuador (Figs. 2, 3) Northwestern Colombia (Fig. 4)

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Major oxides (wt %

Si0 2 50.0 54.8 54.3 55.6 55.9 51.0 51.3 59.0 50.3 52.3 52.5 53.0 50.5 52.8 52.6 53.8 53.5 50.8
Ti0 2 1.2 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.8 1.1 0.7 1.2 3.5 1.0 1.0 2.2 0.6 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.7 1.1
AI 20 3 14.9 16.5 15.5 14.2 14.7 14.8 15.0 10.7 14.6 13.9 15.1 12.3 17.7 12.3 14.5 12.4 14.6 13.2
FeO* 11.5 10.7 12.2 12.2 11.9 10.8 12.8 12.7 13.0 8.6 9.3 14.3 6.9 8.7 9.7 12.5 10.6 11.2
MnO 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1
MgO 8.2 4.2 4.6 4.5 4.0 7.2 7.1 5.4 5.3 8.6 7.9 6.4 to.2 9.9 8.0 7.6 7.6 8.5
CaO 11.4 8.0 8.3 8.1 8.6 11.9 10.8 8.4 8.0 12.0 10.2 7.5 11.4 13.3 11.3 8.9 10.2 10.6
Na20 2.0 3.1 2.5 3.5 3.2 2.6 2.4 2.3 4.0 2.9 3.2 3.0 1.7 1.7 2.4 3.9 2.7 3.0
K20 0.2 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.2 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.8 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.2
P20 5 0.2 0.4

Elements (ppm)
Cu 325 360 325 270 230 160 210 240 205 110 140 205 200 310 175 250
Zn 130 135 130 90 105 100 140 70 85 105 65 70 90 110 95 110
Ni 40 60 50 140 45 60 135 115 160 105 190 145 170 115 130 145
Co 60 60 60 80 80 70 05 90 95 60 85 95 75 70 110 70
Cr 100 250 100 250 100 50 175 100 250 150 650 175 350 275 300 325
V 290 350 330 280 290 280 250 150 310 260
Rb 21 29 23 <15 <15 20 17 23 26 <15 <15 <15 23
Sr 556 410 161 136 149 290 164 133 134 133 147 150 275
Zr 214 160 58 94 53 266 58 45 106 44 46 78 98
Ba 325 325 75 <50 <50 75 <50 <50 <50 <50 <50 <50 <50

Note: All analyses recalculated to 100% H 2O-free. 14, Subophitic basalt from Golfo de Tribuga (PC-21).
Columns: 15, Porphyritic basalt from Golfo de Tribuga (PC-23).
4, Porphyritic basalt from Sequita (7-122), Basic Igneous Complex. 16, Equigranular basalt from northern Golfo de Tribuga (PC-28).
5, Porphyritic andesite from Sequita (PG 2002), upper Basic Igneous Complex. 17, Ophitic basalt from EI Valle (PC-31).
6, Porphyritic andesite from Cabo San Lorenzo (7-742), upper Basic Igneous Complex. 18, Porphyritic basalt from Bahia de Solano (PC-37).
7, Porphyritic andesite from Cabo San Lorenzo (PG 2001), upper Basic Igneous Complex. 19, Equigranular basalt from Golfo de Cupica (PC-40).
8, Porphyritic andesite from Cabo San Lorenzo (PG 2006), upper Basic Igneous Complex. 20, Subophitic basalt for Golfo de Cupica (PC-41).
9, Porphyritic basalt from Barranco Pietro (PG 2000), lower Basic Igneous Complex. 21, Subophitic andesite from Golfo de Cupica (PC-20).
10, Porphyritic basalt from northern Cordillera de Chongon-Colonche (PG 2003), upper 22, Equigranular andesite from northern Golfo de Cupica (PC-18).
Basic Igneous Complex. 23, Porphyritic basalt from Punta Cruces (PC-14).
11, Equigranular andesite from north of Guayaquil (PG 2009), lower Basic Igneous Complex. • Total Fe as FeO.
 TABLE 3. (Continued)

Northwestern Colombia (Fig. 4) Southeastern Panama (Fig. 5)

(wt. %) 24 25 26 27 28 29 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51
Major oxides
Si0 2 51.6 50.7 54.1 54.1 57.1 54.9 58.3 53.0 55.6 53.7 52.1 52.0 52.8 52.4 52.0 50.6 52.7 52.3
Ti0 2 0.6 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.5 1.0 1.2 2.2 1.2 1.2 0.8 1.1 1.2 2.4 0.9 1.7
Al 20 a 13.8 13.7 13.8 14.0 14.3 13.1 16.7 18.1 18.4 14.1 14.9 14.6 13.9 14.9 13.5 12.5 14.8 14.7
FeO* 10.0 11.4 10.0 10.2 11.0 9.3 7.5 8.0 5.9 12.1 9.5 9.9 10.6 10.6 11.5 15.7 10.1 10.2
MnO 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2
MgO 8.9 8.3 8.0 7.7 4.0 9.3 3.3 5.2 4.4 4.6 7.8 7.7 6.8 6.0 7.1 3.9 5.1 7.0
CaO 11.5 11.1 10.8 10.2 7.9 8.4 6.5 11.9 10.3 8.9 11.5 11.3 11.7 11.6 11.0 10.8 10.5 10.6
Na20 3.2 3.4 2.4 2.4 3.2 2.9 4.4 2.2 3.1 3.1 2.0 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.8 3.7 2.7
K20 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.9 0.4 1.1 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 1.4 0.3
P20 5

Elements (ppm)
Cu 220 250 215 195 175 210 135 215 135 260 215 240 245 250 220 230 200 240
Zn 100 100 95 110 95 100 90 85 65 105 90 75 75 95 100 140 95 93
Ni 190 170 115 130 105 145 90 115 100 95 110 105 85 75 80 70 105 110
Co 80 80 70 90 65 85 45 80 80 70 60 80 85 85 85 90 85 90
Cr 125 250 300 250 100 250 250 125 100 75 250 175 200 275 200 200 115 350
V 220 240
Rb <15 <15 28 <15 39 <15 <15 <15 24 <15 <15 <15 <15 23 177 <15
Sr 165 149 144 213 195 232 253 143 138 148 82 111 111 153 224 53
Zr 78 75 159 98 231 94 149 103 57 72 47 60 48 122 98 32
Ba <50 <50 75 <50 650 150 350 <50 <50 <50 <50 <50 <50 75 <50 525
Note: All analyses recalculated to 100% H 2O-free.
Columns: 43, Porphyritic andesite from Punta Virago west of La Palma (C-72-1).
24, Subophitic basalt from north of Punta Cruces (PC-13). 44, Subophitic basalt from Punta Sabana (C-72-5).
25, Subophitic basalt from Bahia de Octavia (PC-10). 45, Holocrystalline basalt from Punta Sabana (C-72-6).
26, Equigranular andesite from Bahia de Aguacate (PC-9). 46, Porphyritic basalt from Punta Sabana (C-72-11).
27, Equigranular andesite from Bahia de Aguacate (PC-8). 47, Holocrystalline basalt from mainland north of Isla San Carlos (C-72-19).
28, Equigranular andesite from Bahia de Humboldt near Jurado (PC-6). 48, Holocrystalline basalt from mainland north of Isla San Carlos (C-72-20).
29, Porphyritic andesite from Bahia de Humboldt near Jurado (PC-4A). 49, Vitrophyric basalt from mainland north of Isla San Carlos (C-72-22).
40, Hypocrystalline andesite from point west of Punta Alegre (C-72-47). 50, Porphyritic basalt from island east of Isla San Carlos (C-72-26).
41, Porphyritic basalt from point west of Punta Alegre (C-72-46). 51, Holocrystalline basalt from island northeast of Isla San Carlos (C-72-41).
42, Porphyritic andesite from point west of Punta Alegre (C-72-45). * Total Fe as FeO.
 1718 GOOSENS AND OTHERS

TABLE 4. STATISTICAL COMPARISON OF GEOCHEMISTRY OF SELECTED GROUPS OF THOLEIITIC ROCKS

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Oxides (wt. %)
Si0 2 53.0 53.1 52.8 53.3 52.2 54.7 49.8 51.2 51.6 49.6
AbO. 14.6 15.1 14.0 15.1 14.7 14.4 14.9 14.8 15.9 16.0
FeO" 10.6 10.1 10.4 11.7 10.2 11.5 11.8 11.0 9.5 11.5
MgO 7.0 5.7 8.5 5.7 7.4 6.2 7.7 8.4 6.7 7.8
CaO 10.2 10.6 10.2 9.6 11.2 8.1 10.9 9.5 11.7 11.3
Na 20 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.8 2.6 3.4 2.5 2.7 2.4 2.8
K2 0 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.2
Ti0 2 1.2 1.4 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.5 1.2 1.1 0.8 1.4

Elements (ppm)
Cu 223 215 206 278 214 242 133 116 77
Zn 100 92 96 123 93 114 121 94
Ni 112 95 141 66 119 94 54 80 30 97
Co 78 78 82 68 83 67 43 35 32
Cr 215 202 252 142 232 173 51 161 50 297
Rb 21 30 13 20 21 22 38 33 5 10
Sr 185 154 175 282 155 261 113 86 200 130
Zr 98 93 96 116 71 167 116 91 70 95
V 285 258 303 258 312 270 292
Ba 79 145 145 181 75 14

No. of 35 12 16 6 24 11 9 7
analyses

Note: Column headings are as follows: 1, average of all Basic Igneous Complex data in Table 3; 2, average of Panamanian Basic Igneous Complex
samples of Table 3; 3, average of Colombian Basic Igneous Complex samples of Table 3; 4, average of Ecuadorian Basic Igneous Complex samples of
Table 3; 5, average of high-CaO subset of Basic Igneous Complex (CaO > 9.5%) of Table 3; 6, average of low-CaO subset of Basic Igneous Complex
(CaO < 9.5%) of Table 3; 7, average of data available from basaltic rocks of the Nicoya Complex, Costa Rica (Pichler and others, 1974, p. 108); 8, aver-
age of data available from basaltic rocks of the Cordillera Occidental, Colombia (Pichler and others, 1974, p. 108-109); 9, average island-arc tholeiitic
basalt Oakes and White, 1972, p. 32-33); and 10, average ocean-floor tholeiite [from Cann, 1971 (major elements); Engel and others, 1965].
* Total Fe as FeO.

TABLE 5. CALCULATIONS TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS OF support an ocean-floor tholeiite analogy. The plot that best expres-
FRACTIONAL CRYSTALLIZATION OF BASALTS (HIGH-Ca) ses this analogy is the Ti-Zr-Sr ternary. Abundances of MgO,
OF THE BASIC IGNEOUS COMPLEX TO PRODUCE A1 2 0 3, total Fe, Cr, and Ni in the Basic Igneous Complex rocks are
ANDESITIC (LOW-Ca) ROCKS OF THE SAME GROUP also more suggestive of ocean-floor values (Table 4). However, the
Basic Igneous Complex rocks have higher concentrations of Si0 2,
High-Ca* Low-Ca
(Table 4, col. 5) (Table 4, col. 6)
K2 0, Cu, Sr, Ba, and Rb than is usual for ocean-floor tholeiites. The
basaltic subset is noticeably closer to the ocean-ridge average than
Observed" Calculated
the basaltic andesite group but is still anomalous with respect to
Least-squares mixing calculation (Wright and Doherty, 1970) t these elements.
Oxides (%) Although this would offer a convenient explanation, we cannot
SiO. 52.3 54.4 54.48 unequivocably conclude that alteration is the cause of the added
Ti0 2 1.1 1.5 1.50 amounts of the cited elements for the following reasons: (1) The
AbO. 14.8 14.3 14.32 concentration of Si0 2, K2 0, Cu, Sr, Ba, and Rb does not correlate
FeO# 10.2 11.4 11.41 with the degree of alteration as established by petrographic criteria
MgO 7.4 6.2 6.21 in these rocks. (2) The samples with high concentrations of these
CaO 11.2 8.0 8.01
Na 20 2.6 3.4
elements are mainly in the andesite subset, and their enrichment
3.36
K 20 0.4 0.8 0.71 seems likely to be associated with the primary differences of the
geochemical subsets. (3) The pattern of chemical differences does
Rayleigh calculation (Shaw, 1970) not seem to conform with chemical changes resulting from altera-
Elements (ppm) tion by sea water (Hart and others, 1974).
Ni 119 94 34 If these chemical differences can be proved to be primary, they
Co 83 67 86 would pose a problem for interpreting the tectonic site for the
Cr 232 173 6 genesis of these rocks. With respect to Si0 2, K 20, Sr, Zr, V, and Ba,
Rb 21 22 39 the Basic Igneous Complex suite (particularly the basaltic andesite
Sr 155 261 160
V 258 312 357
subset) is closer to averages quoted from some "youthful" island
K 20 (%) 0.4 0.8 0.75 arcs, like Tonga (Table 4). The concentrations of these elements are
also close to abundances listed for island-arc tholeiites by JakeS and
Note: Partition coefficients for trace elements in the Raleigh calcula- White (1972). The fact that there appears to be a significant frac-
tions are taken from Jensen (1973), Arth (1976), Gill (1974), Philports and tion of basaltic andesite in the Basic Igneous Complex might also be
Schnetzler (1970), and Condie and Hayslip (1975). cited as support for island-arc genesis.
" Recalculated to 100% after FeO adjustment. Taken together, the data seem to clearly favor an ocean-ridge
t Phases fractionated: labradorite, 22%; clinopyroxene, 20%; olivine,
tholeiite analogy for the Basic Igneous Complex suite. If they repre-
5%; ilmenite, 0.3%.
# Total Fe as FeO. sent lavas of an ocean ridge that have been obducted, and even if
their elevated Sr, Ba, and K2 0 contents are the result of minor
 GEOCHEMISTRY OF THOLEIITES OF THE BASIC IGNEOUS COMPLEX, SOUTH AMERICA
20000
ppm
Ti
ZrL-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _----"Sr/2
"" 0 0
" "
8 0
0 0 00 0
0
0000?' 0 0 0
• • •
.....
4
2
.
~~.
eI • 10
50 60 70
Si02
sea-water alteration, they are a more diverse group of lavas than
usually described (see Cann, 1971). Particularly notable is the oc-
currence of basaltic andesite lavas in all three countries - basaltic
andesites are a significant fraction of the Basic Igneous Complex. At
least at one locality along the East Pacific Rise, apparently the
nearest active ocean ridge, andesitic rocks have been described that
are similar in composition to the Basic Igneous Complex andesite
subset. (Amphitrite 3 site; Hart, 1971).
COMPARISON WITH OTHER VOLCANIC ROCK GROUPS
OF THE REGION
Similar associations of mafic volcanic rocks occur to the north of
the study area on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica and to the
east on the western slopes of the Cordillera Occidental of Colom-
bia. Fortunately, there is some geochemical data available on these
rocks for comparison (summarized in Table 4). In general, there is a
reasonable geochemical agreement for these rock suites and the
Basic Igneous Complex, and we see no reason to dispute earlier
suggestions that both the Nicoya Complex (Dengo, 1962) and the
Cordillera Occidental (Case and others, 1971) are portions of the
same mafic belt of rocks as the Basic Igneous Complex. Authors
who originally determined the geochemistry of these rocks have
already suggested that the Nicoya Complex is probably obducted
oceanic crust (Henningsen and Weyl, 1967) and that the rocks of
the western slope of the Cordillera Occidental are geochemically
correlative with the Basic Igneous Complex (Pichler and others,
1974).
Although data are also very limited for the younger volcanic
rocks of northwestern South America, we were able to assemble
enough published (Hantke and Parodi, 1966) and unpublished data
(our own work on Tungurahua, Reventador, and Quilotoa vol-
canoes, Ecuador) to show that the modem rocks are demonstrably
very different from the Basic Igneous Complex (Fig. 10). They
show a strong calcalkalic affinity and are generally more silicic.
1719
Figure 9. Variation diagrams after Pearce and
Cann (1973) for distinction of tectonic setting of
mafic volcanic rocks. Left: A, Iow-K tholeiites; B,
calc-alkalic basalts; and C, ocean-floor basalts.
Right: A, low-K basalts; B, field of overlap of all
three types; C, calc-alkalic basalts; and D,
ocean-floor tholeiites.
m Zr
50 150
22 Figure 10. Variation diagrams after Irvine
and Baragar (1971) for distinguishing alkalic and
subalkalic rocks (left) and for distinguishing
tholeiitic and calc-alkalic affinities of subalkalic
rocks. Solid points represent Basic Igneous
Complex samples (Table 3); open circles repre-
sent recent volcanic rocks of the northern Andes
(Hantke and Parodi, 1966; our unpubl. data);
and triangles represent the recent alkalic suite of
80 40 0 Sumaco, Ecuador (Colony and Sinclair, 1928).
Norm Plag
CONCLUSIONS
The Basic Igneous Complex of northwestern South America is a
tholeiitic volcanic association of rocks of Cretaceous to Eocene age.
It is found on the coast of Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama and is
probably directly correlative with rocks in Costa Rica and on the
western slope of the Cordillera Occidental in Colombia. Thus, the
extent of this association is elongate, more or less parallel to the
Pacific Coast and to the Cordillera.
Geochemical data seem in general to support an ocean-floor
tholeiite interpretation for the rocks, but the higher concentrations
of K20 and Sr and the relative prominence of andesites are features
of the chemistry that are not consistent with this conclusion.
Alteration of more typical ocean-floor tholeiites may account for
the compositional peculiarities of the Basic Igneous Complex, but
the proof of this is so far elusive. Such alteration, if it occurs, must
not be petrographically recognizable and must be of a different na-
ture than so far described. Perhaps ocean-floor tholeiite suites are
sometimes more diverse than usually reported, or perhaps there is
not a sharp distinction between ocean-floor tholeiites and these
tholeiites developed in the "youthful" island arcs. If the latter sup-
position gains support, the possibility of early Andean island-arc
magmatism may be revived.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Jim Case provided the samples from Panama and Colombia, as
well as encouragement and editorial suggestions. Don Rose of the
Institute of Mineral Research kindly provided some of the chemical
analyses. Bill Bryan courageously reviewed an early draft of the
manuscript. Tim Manzagol and Bob McCarthy aided with analyses
and thin-section preparation.
The University of Guayaquil Geology Department, especially
Dra. Mercedes de Hernandez, was very helpful while Goossens and
Rose were in Ecuador.
 1720 GOOSENS AND OTHERS
REFERENCES CITED
Arth, ]. G., 1976, Behavior of trace elements during magmatic processes
-A summary of theoretical models and their applications: U.S. Geol.
Survey Jour. Research, v. 4, p. 41-47.
Aubouin, J., 1973, Reflexion sur I'organisation des cordilleres sud-
americaines: Congo Latinoamericano de Geologia, 2nd, Caracas, Re-
sumens, p. 111-112.
Bandy, O. L., 1970, Upper Cretaceous-Cenozoic paleobathymetric cycles,
eastern Panama and northern Colombia: Gulf Coast Assoc. Geol.
Socs. Trans., V. 20. p. 181-193.
Bandy, O. L., and Casey, R. E., 1973, Reflector horizons and
paleobathymetric history, eastern Panama: Geol. Soc. America Bull.,
v. 84, p. 3081-3086.
Butterlin, ]., 1973, Comparaison des caracteres structuraux des cordilleres
sud-americaines extra-andines des andes centrales et des andes septen-
trionales: Congo Latinoamericano de Geologia, 2nd, Caracas, Re-
sumenes, p. 18-19.
Cann, J. R., 1971, Major element variations in ocean-floor basalts: Royal
Soc. London Philos. Trans., ser. A, v. 268, p. 495-505.
Case, ]. E., 1974, Oceanic crust forms basement of eastern Panama: Geol.
Soc. America Bull., V. 85, p. 645 -652.
Case, J. E., Duran S., L. G., Lopez R., A., and Moore, W. R., 1971,
Tectonic investigations in western Colombia and eastern Panama:
Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 82, p. 2685-2712.
Colony, R. ]., and Sinclair, J. H., 1928, The lavas of the Volcano Surnaco,
eastern Ecuador: Am. Jour. Sci., V. 16, p. 299-312.
Condie, K. c., and Hayslip, D. L., 1975, Young bimodal volcanism at
Medicine Lake volcanic center, northern California: Geochim. et
Cosmochim. Acta, v. 39, p. 1165-1178.
Dengo, G., 1962, Estudio geologico de la region de Guanacaste, Costa
Rica: San Jose, Costa Rica Ministero de Obras Publicas, Inst. Geog-
rafico Nacional.
Duque, c., H., 1972, Relaciones entre la bioestratigrafia y la cronoestrati-
grafia en eI lIamado geosynclinal de Bolivar: Colombia Bol.
Geologico, v. 19, no. 3, p. 25-68.
Engel, A.E.]., Engel, C. G., and Havens, R. G., 1965, Chemical characteris-
tics of oceanic basalts and the upper mantle: Geol. Soc. America Bull.,
v. 76, p. 719.
Faucher, B., and Savoy at, E., 1973, Esquisse geologique des Andes de
l'Equateru: Rev. Geographie Phys. et Geologie Dynam., V. 15, p.
115-142.
Gansser, A., 1950, Geological and petrographical notes on Gorgona Island
in relation to northwestern S. America: Schweizer. Mineralog. u. Pet-
rog. Mitt., v. 30, p. 219-236.
--1973, Facts and theories on the Andes: Geol. Soc. London Jour., v.
129, p. 93-13l.
Gill, J. B., 1974, Role of underthrust oceanic crust in the genesis of a Fijian
calc-alkaline suite: Contr. Mineralogy and Petrology, v. 42, p. 29-45.
Goossens, P. J., 1968, Geologia y metalogenis de la costa ecuatoriana entre
Manta y Guayaquil: Ecuador Bol. Estudios Geologicos (Quito), no. 1,
p.5-17.
--1973, Arco de islas volcanicas durante el Mesozoico superior al Ter-
ciario inferior a 10 largo del margen continental noroccidental de la
America del Sur: Congo Latinoamericano de Geologia, 2nd, Caracas,
Resumenes, p. 67 -68.
Goossens, P. J., and Rose, W. I., Jr., 1973, Chemical composition and age
determination of tholeiitic rocks in the Basic Igneous Complex,
Ecuador: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 84, p. 1043-1052.
Hahn-Weinheimen, P., and Ackermann, H., 1963, Rontgenspektralanalyse
von K, Rb, Sr, Ba, Ti, Zr, and P: Zeitschr. Anal. Chemie, V. 194,
p.88-106.
Hantke, G., and Parodi I., A., 1966, Catalogue of the active volcanoes of
the world including solfatara fields. Pt. 19, Colombia, Ecuador and
Peru: Naples, Italy, Internat. Assoc. Volcanology, 73 p.
Hart, S. R., 1970, Chemical exchange between sea water and deep ocean
basalts: Earth and Planetary Sci. Lerters, V. 9, p. 269-279.
--1971, K, Rb, Cs, Sr and Ba contents and Sr isotope ratios of ocean floor
basalts: Royal Soc. London Philos. Trans., ser. A., v. 269, p. 573-
587.
Hart, S. R., Erlank, A. ]., and Kable, E.].D., 1974, Sea floor basalt altera-
tion: Some chemical and Sr isotopic effects: Contr. Mineralogy and
Petrology, V. 44, p. 219-230.
Henningsen, D., and Weyl, R., 1967, Ozeanische Kruste in Nicoya-
Komplex von Costa Rica (Mittelamerika): Geol. Rundschau, v. 57,
p.33-47.
Irvine, T. N., and Barager, W. R., 1971, A guide to the chemical classifica-
tion of the common volcanic rocks: Canadian Jour. Earth Sci., v. 8,
p.523-548.
Jakes, P., and White, A.J.R., 1972, Major and trace element abundances in
volcanic rocks of orogenic areas: Geol. Soc. America Bull., V. 83,
p.29-40.
Jensen, B. B., 1973, Patterns of trace element partitioning: Geochim. et
Cosmochim. Acta, v. 37, p. 2227-2242.
Miyashiro, A., 1974, Volcanic rock series in island arcs and active continen-
tal margins: Am. Jour. Sci., V. 274, p. 321-355.
Pearce, ]. A., and Cann, J. R., 1973, Tectonic setting of basic volcanic rocks
determined using trace element analyses: Earth and Planetary Sci. Let-
ters, v. 19, p. 290-300.
Philpotts, J. A., and Schnetzler, C. c., 1970, Phenocryst-matrix partition
coefficients for K, Rb, Sr, and Ba, with applications to anorthosite and
basalt genesis: Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 34, p. 307-372.
Pichler, H., Stibane, F. R., and Weyl, R., 1974, Basicher Magmatismus und
Krustenbau im sudlichen Mittelamerika, Kolumbien and Ecuador:
Neves Jahrb. Geologie u. Palaontologie Monatsh., V. 2, p. 102-126.
Reynolds, R. c., Jr., 1963, Matrix corrections in trace element analysis by
x-ray fluorescence: Am. Mineralogist, V. 48, p. 1133.
Rose, H. ]., Adler, I., and Flanagan, F. ]., 1962, Use of La 20 as a heavy
absorber in the x-ray fluorescence analyses of silicate rocks: U.S. Geol.
Survey Prof. Paper 450-B, p. 3l.
Schapiro, L., and Brannock, W. W., 1955, Rapid determination of water in
silicate rocks: Anal. Chemistry, v. 27, p. 560-562.
Shaw, D. M., 1970, Trace element fractionating during anatexis: Geochim.
et Cosmochim. Acta, V. 34, p. 237-243.
Suhr, N. H., and Ingamells, C. 0., 1966, Solution technique for analysis of
silicates: Anal. Chemistry, v. 38, p. 730.
Wright, T. L., and Doherty, P. c., 1970, A linear programming and least
squares computer method for solving petrologic mixing problems:
Geol. Soc. America Bull., V. 81, p. 1995-2008.
MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED BY THE SOCIETY JULY 24, 1975
REVISED MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED JANUARY 3, 1977
MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED FEBRUARY 24, 1977
Printed in U.S.A.