680 Fourth /5AG, Goettingen (Germany), 04-06/10/1999

LATE PERMIAN-EARLY MESOZOIC RIFTS IN PERU AND BOLIVIA,

AND THEIR BEARING ON ANDEAN-AGE TECTONICS

Thierry Sempere( 1), Gabriel Carlier( 1), Victor Carlottor Z), Javier Jacay( 3), Nestor Jimén ez(4),
Silvia Rosas(5), Pierre Soler(6), José Cardenasr z ), Nicolas Boudesseu/( l)

(1) IRD (ex-ORSTOM), apartad o postal 18-1209. Lima 18, Peru (ird @chavin.rcp.neLpe )
(2) Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad dei Cusco, Cusco, Peru (carlo!to@chaski.unsaac.edu.pe)
(3) Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, apartado postal 3973, Lima 100, Peru
(4) Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, casilla 6568, La Paz, Bolivia (nesj im@ kolla.net)
(5) Sociedad Geol6gica dei Per ü, Arnaldo Marquez 2277, Lima Il , Peru
(6) IRD (ex-ORSTOM), 211 rue Lafayette, 75480 Paris cedex 10, France (soler @paris.orstom.fr)

KEY WüRDS: Rifting, Perrno-Triassic. Peru, Bolivia, Andean tectonics,

Rifting in Peru and Bolivia

Late Permian-Tri assic rifting (Fig. 1) is recogn ized in the Eastern Cordillera of Peru (La ubacher,
1978; Noble et al., 1978 ; Mégard, 1978 ; Dalmayrac et al., 1980; Rosas and Fontboté, 1995; Rosas et al.,
1997; Jacay et al., 1999) and proved to have extended into Bolivia in the Jurassic (Sempere et al., 1998).
The rifting zone appears to coincid e with the axis of the Eastern Cordillera in both cou ntries. Rifting
produced subsident grabens in which the Mitu Group red alluvial deposits and volcanics acc umu1ated
over preserved Late Paleozoic strata, and generated a thermal sag thar progressively expanded the basin.
Predorninantly alkalin e volcanic rocks were erupted, in relation with pluton emplacement at de pth.
Plutons from the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru have a signature similar to those in the Oslo grabe n,
an aborted rift system in Norway (Kontak et al., 1985). Most plutons are eut by younger basic dykes.
South of 1T'S , the rifting zone is characterized by elongated swarms of basic dykes and sills that intrude
mainly Paleozoic rocks. When Mesozoi c strata occur in such areas, basaltic flows, sills and/or dykes are
generally also observed in the Mesozoic. In Bolivia, a basanite dyke intruding Ordov ieian rocks
(Tawackoli, 1997 ) and a tholeiitic sill of large areal extension intruding Mesozoi c strata (Sempere et al.,
1998) were respective ly dated 184 ± 4.9 Ma and 17IA ± 4 .2 Ma.
Mitu paJ eoenvironm ents include alluvial fans, rivers and (playa-)Iakes. In southern areas, red
continental strata overlie volcanic flows that in turn ove rlie the Late Perrnian-Tr iassic Ene (=Vitiacua,
=Chutani) Fm. In Boli via, infills of coeva l grabens characteristically include a basal unit, generally no
 Fourth /SAC, Goettingen (Germany), 04-061/01/999 681

more than scveral tens of m thick, consisting of alluvial pale sandstones and/or reddish conglomerates,
which is transitionally overlain by a thick red mudstone unit of alluvial to lacustrine origin. This
succession is postdated by the fluvio-eolian Ravelo Fm. Eolian sandstones, locally associated with basalts. :
are also round in the Lower Huancan é Fm northwest of Lake Titicaca (Newell, 1949) and in the Caycay
Fm or the Cusco area (Carlotto, 1998). In the Peruvian Oriente, red alluvial and eolian strata
(Sarayaquillo Fm) grade westwards into the Pueara Group carbonates, which reflect a transgression that
initiated in the Norian and progressed From north to south following the Mitu rift axis (M égard, 1978;
Rosas et al., 1997; Sempere et al., 1998). Basalts with within-plate signature commonly occur in the
Pucara Group (Rosas et al., 1997).
In southern Peru , the Yura basin apparently originated by rifting in the Liassic (Marocco and Delfaud,
1986). The succession in the Arequipa area begins with thick lavas and subordinate continental deposits
(Chocolate Fm) thal resemble those of the Mitu Group, suggesting development of similar processes.
Transgressive shallow-rnarine limestones of Toarcian-Bajocian age (Socosani Fm) overlie the Chocolate
Fm (Vicente et al., 1982), Just as the Norian-Liassic Pucara Group overlies the Mitu Group in the Eastern
Cordillera of central Peru. These reiationships and the occurrence of Sinernurian marine intercalations in
the upper Chocolate Fm suggest that rifting developed in this area later than in the East-vern Cordillera.
Rifting culminated in the lare Bajocian-Bathonian with considerable downwarp of the Arequipa region
(Vicente et al., 1982).
Deposits typical of the Yura basin are known in the Lagunillas area (ISOSO'S, 70 0 3 0 ' W ) , i.e. at the
Western Cordillera-Altiplano transition. To the NE, outcrops at Las Huertas and Cerro Sipïn (Newell,
1949), and at Yanaoco on the NW corner of Lake Titicaca (Sempere and Carlotto, unpublished), form a
series of localities where a lirnestone-bearing unit overlies the Paleozoic base ment, documenting a
transgression thar developed in a NE shallow-marine extension of the Yura basin.
682 Fourth /SAG, Goettingeu (G ennanv). 04-061/01/999

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Figure 1: Principa l Ea rly Mesozoic geo logie elemen ts of central Peru and Bolivia, Th e axis of the eas tern, Late
Per mian-Mi dd le Jur assic, rift system is defined by the Mitu group, coeval gra nitoids, and basic dyke swa rrns, and
approximately co incides with the axis of the Eastern Cor di llera of Pe ru and Bol ivia. Ci ties : C: Coch abamb a, Cu :
Cusco, L: Lima , P: Po tosï. SC : Sa nta Cruz, Tu: Tupiza.
 F OI/rift /SA C . Goe ttinge n (Genna nv}. 04-061/ 0//999 683

Latest Jurassic - ea r liest Cretac eous tectonics

T he Eastern Cordi llera o f central Peru is rraditionall y bclicved 10 have behavcd as a structural high
since the Lare T riassic (Mégard, 1978. 1987; Dalrnayrac ct al., 1980 ; Jai llard. 1994 ), in pan because in
this area the onlapp ing Cretac eous de posits are much thinner than to the west. T he reconstruction of a
Lare Perrnian - Middle Jur assic rift system along the same area implies instead that absence of Late
Triassic - Jurassic deposits re flec ts uplilt a nd erosio n during the latest Jur assic-e arliest Cre taceous. In
central Peru, this upli tt is doc urnented hy the Cop uma (Jac ay, unpublished ) and Upper Sa rayaquillo
conglornerates thar overlie Lower to Middle Jur assic strata respectively west and eas t of the "Marafi ôn
geanticline": the former unit underlies the Lowe r Cretaceous Goy llarisquizga Fm with an angul ar
unconfor mity. Uplift of this previously riftcd area points to coeval incipient rift inversion.
At the Altiplano-Wes tern Co rdillera transit ion (l 5°47' S, 70 0 36' W), a locally angular unconformity
separates the Sa racocha co nglornerates and ove rlying transgressive Cretaceo us strata l'rom underlying
marine strata of Jurassic age (Newell, 1949; Carlotto and Semp ere, unpublished ). A post-Dogger, pre-
T ithonian. unconforrnity was a1so identifïed in coastal south ern Peru (Rüegg, 1961 ). Reliable data
docum ent thar the Ti thonian-Berr iasian interval was a period of marked tecton ic instab ility (M égard,
1978; La urent, 1985 ; Jaillard, 1994) that was postda ted by northeasterl y onlap of lare Early Cretaceo us
strata.
In Bol ivia, a tectonic eve nt was assigned to the Kimmerid gian on the basis of tent ative correl ation
with the Kimrneridgian-age Araucan event known in the greater Neuquén basin of Arge ntina and Chile
(Sempere, 1994). However, current research defi nitely shows that Mesozo ic Bolivia was co nnected to
eastern Peru, and not to south ern basins. The late Early Cretaceo us onlap deve loped on the erosio nal
surface that sepa rates the Serer e Group l'rom the overlying Puca Group. Evident correlation with Peru
shows thar this unconformity must be of latest Jura ssic-earliest Cretaceous age .

Influence on Andean tectonics

Reconstruction of rifted areas in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia sheds se me light on the struc ture a nd
building history of the Ande s at these latitude s. In the Yura basin, Late Cretaceous-Early Paleogene
co mpressio nal tecionics (Vicente, 1989) probably resulted from inversion of the southwestern Jurassic
rift. The Eastern Co rdillera of Peru and Bolivia appears to result l'rom inversion of the eas tern rift.
Co mpressio nal failure of this rift system in the late Oligoce ne explai ns the apparent jump in shorte ning
location observed by Sempere et al. (1990). The Altiplano, which underwent little Ce nozo ic surface
s horte ning, ap pears as a paleogeographie block that was limited by 2 rift system s dur ing most of the
Mesozo ic (Fig. 1). In the ce ntral and northern Oriente region of Peru, Ce nozo ic structur es proceed l'rom
reacti vation of preexistent faults (Laurent, 1985). In the Eastern Cordi llera of ce ntral Peru, ultrarnafic
rocks, includ ing peridotites , occ ur rnainly within locally high-grade Preca rnbrian rnetarnorphics but are
possibly of Early Mesozoic age (Se mpere et al., 1998; Jacay et al., 1999); in any case, these occ urrences
suggest that rift inversion uplifted relatively deep ievels of the lithosphere in this area.
684 Fourth /5AG, Goettingen (German y), 04-061/01/999

Bec au se rift inversions can affect different stru ctural depths, the amount of inversion-derived uplift
can also be perceived l'rom the distribution of Late Paleozoic-Tri assic granito ids . E xposed granitoids
nearly di sappear north of 6 0 S , although the rift sys te m continues into the Ecu ad orian l'orel and basin (P .
Bab y. per s. co m .), suggesting thar shortening in the Eastern CordilJera co nsidera bly decreases north o f
this latitude. S ho rte ning and/or depth of rift invers ion in the Eastern Cordillera apparentl y als o decrease
southe ast of 17-1 8°S . where e xpo sed g ranitoids d isapp ear a nd o nly basic d yke sw arrns crop out , bec ause
this seg me nt o f the Eastern Cordillera, although o f tectonic origi n. is geo rnorphically not a true, high and
narr o w, cordi l lera but a bread highland region affec ted by large-seule erosional surfaces.

Man y thrusts in the Eastern Cordillera probably originated by co rnpress ional reactivation of earlier
norm al faults. T he geo me try of the Lare Permian-Jurassic rift Iaults presurnably determined the vergence
of man y And ean- age thrusts, as SW(resp. NE)-vergent thrusts are predominant southwest (resp. northeast)
of the rift ax is. ln the N-trending segment of the Eastern Cordi llera, so uth o f 19°5. tectonic displacements
were possi bly more transpressional, reactivating ancient wren ch faults,

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