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    This document describes the Neogene tectonic deformation observed in western border of the Altiplano plateau in northern Chile. Relatively tight folds affecting Oligocene-Miocene deposits indicate shallow detachment and growth strata. A west-vergent monoclinal flexure uplifts the deposits up to 100m, above a blind reverse fault displacing the Jurassic basement by 25m. Further east, a long vertical fault cuts Pliocene deposits, reactivating an ancient structure. This contractional deformation style is characteristic of the western border of the Altiplano and must be considered in Andean uplift models.

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    This document describes the Neogene tectonic deformation observed in western border of the Altiplano plateau in northern Chile. Relatively tight folds affecting Oligocene-Miocene deposits indicate shallow detachment and growth strata. A west-vergent monoclinal flexure uplifts the deposits up to 100m, above a blind reverse fault displacing the Jurassic basement by 25m. Further east, a long vertical fault cuts Pliocene deposits, reactivating an ancient structure. This contractional deformation style is characteristic of the western border of the Altiplano and must be considered in Andean uplift models.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    15 views3 pages

    Garcia - Congreso

    Uploaded by

    rigoxmufi
    This document describes the Neogene tectonic deformation observed in western border of the Altiplano plateau in northern Chile. Relatively tight folds affecting Oligocene-Miocene deposits indicate shallow detachment and growth strata. A west-vergent monoclinal flexure uplifts the deposits up to 100m, above a blind reverse fault displacing the Jurassic basement by 25m. Further east, a long vertical fault cuts Pliocene deposits, reactivating an ancient structure. This contractional deformation style is characteristic of the western border of the Altiplano and must be considered in Andean uplift models.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 3

    Neogene folding and basement-involved faulting in the

    western border of the Altiplano, N Chile (Pampa del


    Tamarugal-Sierra Moreno)
    1 2 2 2
    Marcelo García* , Manuel Navarro , Iván Vidal and Constantino Mpodozis
    1 Advanced Mining Technology Center (AMTC), Universidad de Chile, Av. Tupper 2007, Santiago, Chile
    2 Antofagasta Minerals S. A., Av. Apoquindo 4001, piso 18, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile

    *Contact email: mgarciagodoy@ing.uchile.cl

    Abstract. The geometry of the Neogene contractional 2.1 Pre-Oligocene basement


    deformation is described at the transition area between the
    Pampa del Tamarugal basin and the Sierra Moreno, Units forming the basement are exposed in the eastern part
    northern Chile. Structures have N-S to NNE strike.
    of the studied area (Fig. 1). Early Paleozoic gneisses and
    Relatively tight and long folds, with limb dips up to 45°,
    affect Oligocene-Early Miocene deposits, generating growth schists are exposed widely in the Sierra Moreno; its
    strata and are detached at shallow depth. A monoclinal western contact with the Mesozoic rocks is by a regional
    flexure, with up to 100 m of uplift, is formed in the same complex west-vergent high-angle reverse fault system (see
    deposits. Below this, Jurassic basement is in contact with in part Skármeta and Marinovic, 1981). Tightly-folded
    the lower part of the Oligocene-Early Miocene deposits quartz-feldspar sandstones and conglomerates, and dacitic
    across a blind west-vergent reverse fault, displacing up to tuffs, attributed to the Late Paleozoic-Triassic, are overlain
    25 m; upwards this fault terminates subhorizontally. We in gentle angular unconformity by well-stratified
    note that this tectonic style can be generalized at the calcareous sandstones and limestones with Jurassic marine
    western border of the Altiplano plateau and must be
    fossils (Lower Quinchamale Formation). The last unit is
    considered for the Andean uplift models.
    overlain in angular unconformity by subhorizontal to
    Keywords: Altiplano, Neogene, contractional tectonics. gently folded Late Cretaceous red sandstones and
    conglomerates (Tambillo Formation). All these units are
    cut by Late Cretaceous to Tertiary dioritic and dacitic small
    1 Introduction intrusive bodies.

    The Pampa del Tamarugal and Sierra Moreno area is 2.2 Oligocene-Holocene stratigraphy
    located in the southwestern border of the Altiplano of the
    Central Andes, and include the passage from a fore-arc Oligocene to late Middle Miocene alluvial deposits are
    basin to the plateau. The geology of this area has been continuous north of the studied area with the five members
    described at 1:250.000 scale (“Hoja Quillagua”; Skármeta of the Altos de Pica Formation (Galli and Dingman, 1962).
    and Marinovic, 1981). Members 2 and 4 of this formation correspond to
    ignimbritic tuffs that are not present in the studied area.
    The Sierra Moreno forms the hangingwall of a large west- Oligocene-Middle Miocene deposits (OMg) in the area
    vergent basement-involved reverse fault system whose consists of sandstones, siltstones and consolidated gravels.
    main activity has been proposed as Tertiary (Skármeta and The gravels are polimictic, poorly sorted and have 20-60%
    Marinovic, 1981) and middle Cretaceous (Ladino et al., of angular clasts less than 25 cm in diameter. At the
    1997); Neogene activity is not well known. In the Pampa Tambillo valley, a tuff with Ar-Ar sanidine age of
    del Tamarugal basin, recently, geomorphological, 19.77±0.20 Ma has been reported in the middle section and
    stratigraphic, paleoclimatic and tectonic studies, based in a tuff with Ar-Ar biotite minimum age of 11.65±0.10 Ma
    surface and seismic information, have been carried out has been reported in the upper section (Nester, 2008;
    (Nester, 2008; Jordan et al., 2010; Nester and Jordan, Jordan et al., 2010).
    2012). These works have proposed that the formation of
    the western Andean slope was dominated by a monoclinal Late Miocene-Pleistocene deposits (MPg) are formed by
    deformation style since ~11 Ma. Here we presented a semi-consolidated gravels, sandstones and siltstones. The
    geological recognisance (1:25.000 scale) of three transects gravels are polimictic, poorly sorted and have 40-80% of
    between the valleys “de Sama” and “de Tambillo” that angular clasts less than 60 cm in diameter. At the Tambillo
    allow to observe the Neogene structures related to Andean valley, the lower levels of this unit contain a reworked
    uplift. volcanic clast dated by Ar-Ar biotite at 5.60±0.06 Ma
    (Jordan et al., 2010). Oligocene-Miocene deposits are
    dissected in the valleys by Holocene alluvial siltstones and
    2 Lito-stratigraphy of the deformed units gravels.

    218
    3 Neogene deformation

    Structures affecting the Oligocene-Middle Miocene


    deposits correspond to folds, flexures and faults, and have
    N-S to NNE strike (Fig. 1). In the western part of the
    studied area, 3 to 9 km long anticlinal and synclinal folds
    and flexures are relatively tight with limbs dipping up to
    35° (locally 45°). The western limb of the westernmost
    anticline, at the Tambillo valley, contains an intra-
    formational unconformity (see also Nester and Jordan,
    2012), with lower strata dipping 45°W covered by upper
    strata dipping 30°W. This suggests growth strata due to
    folding during at least the Early-Middle Miocene. The
    relatively little sectional area uplifted accompanied by the
    relatively large shortening allow interpreting these folds as
    detached at no more than 300 m in depth.

    In the eastern part of the studied area, the Neogene


    deformation involves the basement (folded and faulted
    Late Paleozoic-Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks). In
    the western margin of the basement, at the Tambillo valley,
    a 4.5 km-long gentle monoclinal flexure is formed in the
    Oligocene-Early Miocene deposits (Figs. 1 and 2). The
    flexure has a ca. 5°W limb and provokes up to 100 m of
    uplift. Bellow this flexure, in the valley bottom, the
    Jurassic subvertical strata are exposed, in contact with the
    lower part of the Oligocene-Early Miocene deposits across
    a blind west-vergent reverse fault, with attitude
    N20°E/40°E. The fault displaces by 25 m the base of these
    deposits (Fig. 2). Upward, the fault movement culminates,
    its dip become subhorizontal and it propagates generating
    the flexure in the cover. Therefore, the flexure is
    interpreted as a basement-involved fault-propagation fold.
    The deformation is Late Miocene-Holocene in age. Figure 2. View to the south, at the Tambillo valley, of the west-
    vergent monoclinal flexure and its lower east-dipping blind
    Eastward, a vertical fault that is at least 15 km long cuts up reverse fault. The Jurassic strata (in blue color) are in contact by
    to the Pliocene deposits. The eastern block of the fault this fault with Oligocene-Early Miocene gravels (in brown color).
    descends up to 60 m. At the Tambillo valley, in the Late
    Paleozoic-Triassic rocks, the fault damage zone has 20 m
    thickness and contains in its central part 60 cm thickness of References
    fault micro-breccia and clays; the Paleozoic-Triassic rocks
    are not apparently considerably displaced by the fault (Fig. Galli, C.; Dingman, R. 1962. Cuadrángulos Pica, Alca, Matilla y
    1). The fault is long and wide respect to its Neogene Chacarilla, con un estudio de aguas subterráneas; Provincia
    displacement, which suggests that this results of de Tarapacá. Instituto de Investigaciones Geológicas, Carta
    reactivation of an ancient fault. This fault belongs probably Geológica de Chile, Nos. 7-10, 123 p., 4 mapas escala
    1:50.000.
    to the Sierra Moreno fault system, which is formed by
    high-angle east-dipping reverse faults that no have Jordan, T.E.; Nester, P. L.; Blanco, N.; Hoke, G. D.; Dávila, F.;
    apparently Neogene activity. Tomlinson, A.; 2010. Uplift of the Altiplano-Puna plateau: A
    view from the west. Tectonics, 29, TC5007,
    doi:10.1029/2010TC002661.
    Acknowledgements Ladino, M.; Tomlinson, A. J.; Blanco, N.; 1997. Nuevos antecedentes
    para la edad de la deformación Cretácica en Sierra de
    This work was realized in the context of a collaboration Moreno, II Región de Antofagasta-Norte de Chile. VIII
    project between AMTC and AMSA. M. Hervé and S. Congreso Geológico Chileno, Antofagasta, p. 103-107.
    Giglio, of the exploration division of the AMSA, are
    acknowledged for supporting this work and for motivating Nester, P.; 2008. Basin and paleoclimate evolution of the Pampa del
    Tamarugal forearc valley, Atacama Desert, northern Chile.
    its publication. T. Jordan made vital comments to the PhD thesis, Cornell University, 253 p.
    manuscript.

    219
    Nester, P.; Jordan, T.; 2012. A forearc basin in northern Chile: the Skármeta, J.; Marinovic, N.; 1981. Hoja Quillagua, Región de
    intersection of tectonics and climate. In Busby, C. & Azor, Antofagasta. Instituto de Investigaciones Geológicas, Carta
    A. (eds): Recent Advances in Tectonics of Sedimentary Geológica de Chile, No. 51, 1 mapa escala 1:250.000, 63.
    Basins, Blackwell Science, p. 369-381.

    Figure 1. Geological map of the studied area at the transition from the Pampa del Tamarugal to the Sierra Moreno, between the valleys
    de Sama and de Tambillo, northern Chile. Location of the Fig. 2 is shown. In legend, Pzm: Early Paleozoic Sierra Moreno Metamorphic
    Complex; Pzv: Late Paleozoic-Triassic dacitic tuffs; Pzs: Late Paleozoic-Triassic sandstones and conglomerates; Jsm: Jurassic limestones
    and sandstones; KSs: Late Cretaceous sandstones and conglomerates; KTmd: Cretaceous-Tertiary dioritic intrusive rocks; OMg:
    Oligocene-Middle Miocene gravels and sandtones; MPg: Late Miocene-Pleistocene gravels; Ha: Holocene alluviums.

    220

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