Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92

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Journal of South American Earth Sciences

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Tectonostratigraphy of the Cenozoic Tumaco forearc basin (Colombian Pacific)

and its relationship with the northern Andes orogenic build up
Carlos Borrero a, *, Andrés Pardo a, Carlos Marcelo Jaramillo a, Jairo Alonso Osorio a, Agustín Cardona a,
Abel Flores b, Sebastián Echeverri a, Sebastián Rosero a, Jenny García a, Hardany Castillo c
a
Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad de Caldas, Calle 65 No. 26-10, Manizales, Caldas, Colombia
b
Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Geología Universidad de Salamanca, Plaza de la Merced, s/n 37008 Salamanca, Spain
c
Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos, Bogotá, Avenida Calle 26 No. 59 - 65 Piso 2, Bogotá, Colombia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The new tectono-stratigraphic setting of the Tumaco forearc basin based on outcrop logging, cutting
Received 29 April 2011 description from deep oil wells, new biostratigraphy on calcareous nanofossils and sandstone petrog-
Accepted 2 April 2012
raphy allows a margin scale comparison of the basin response to the Caribbean and Farallón/Nazca
subduction under the South American margin. The results are compared to the laterally continuous
Keywords:
Ecuadorian Borbón forearc basin and other southern Colombian basins: Patía sub-basin, Upper Magda-
Tumaco forearc
lena Valley and southern Putumayo-Caguán basins.
Southern Colombia
Basin stratigraphy The proposed basement of the Tumaco basin is a Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau (CCOP) sliver
Tectonic evolution docked with Santonian-Campanian island arcs that was incorporated into the Colombian Pacific forearc
Northern Andes during the Paleocene to Eocene. The filling of the Tumaco basin started with the Oligocene Unidad 1 Sur
and the Early-Middle Miocene Cayapas/Viche/Angostura/Formations in a bathyal depositional setting. At
Late Miocene to Holocene, a succession of volcaniclastic units was deposited in shallower environments:
the Chagüí, San Agustín and Cascajal formations, and the recent volcaniclastic fans.
The Late Cretaceous evolution of Northern Andes in Colombia was influenced by the collision and
fragmentation of the Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau, producing in the west the Tumaco block
basement and an oceanic remnant basin in Patía Valley. The convergence between the Farallón/Nazca
and South American plates since Paleocene allowed the development of the Pacific forearc as well as
shortening leading to the uplift of the Central Cordillera and formation of the foreland basin system,
which later was divided into the Upper Magdalena Valley broken foreland basin and the southern part of
the Putumayo-Caguán foreland basin. Since Miocene, events in addition to plate convergence as the
collision of the Baudó-Panamá Arc and the subduction of Carnegie Ridge perturbed the subduction zone
in southern Colombia. The integration of all of these tectonic events offers a new improved dynamic
framework for the evolution of this region.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

r e s u m e n

Un Nuevo marco tectono-estratigráfico para la cuenca de antearco de Tumaco basado en la descripción

de afloramientos y de ripios de pozos profundos, nueva bioestratigrafía de nanofósiles calcáreos y pet-
rografía de areniscas permite inferir cómo es la respuesta de la cuenca a la subducción de las placas
Caribe y Farallón/Nazca bajo el margen de Suramérica. Los resultados son comparados con la colindante
cuenca de Borbón en Ecuador y otras cuencas del sur de Colombia: sub-cuenca de Patía y las cuencas del
Valle Superior del Magdalena y del Putumayo-Caguán en su parte sur.
El basamento propuesto para la Cuenca de Tumaco es una astilla del Plateau Oceánico Colombo-
Caribeño (CCOP) acoplada con arcos de isla de edad Santoniano-Campaniano que fue incorporada dentro
del antearco Pacífico Colombiano entre el Paleoceno y el Eoceno. El relleno de la cuenca de Tumaco
comenzó con la Formación Unidad 1 Sur en el Oligoceno y las Formaciones Cayapas/Viche/Angostura en
el Mioceno medio-tardío en un ambiente de depósito batial. Entre el Mioceno tardío y el Holoceno, una

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ57 6 8781500; fax: þ57 6 8861529.

E-mail address: borrero_c@yahoo.com (C. Borrero).

0895-9811/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2012.04.004
76 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92

secuencia de unidades volcaniclásticas definidas por las Formaciones Chagüí, San Agustín y Cascajal y los
abanicos volcaniclásticos recientes fue depositada en ambientes más someros.
La evolución de los Andes Norandinos en Colombia durante el Cretácico tardío estuvo influenciada por
la colisión y fragmentación del Plateau Oceánico Colombo-Caribeño que produjo en el oeste el bloque de
basamento de la cuenca de Tumaco y una cuenca oceánica remanente en el valle del Patía. La con-
vergencia de las placas Farallón/Nazca permitieron el desarrollo del antearco Pacífico, así como también
del acortamiento cortical que permitió el levantamiento de la Cordillera Central y el desarrollo del sis-
tema de cuencas antepaís, el cual fue dividido en la cuenca rota de antepaís del valle superior del
Magdalena y la parte sur de la cuenca de antepaís del Putumayo-Caguán. Desde el Mioceno, eventos
adicionales a la convergencia de placas, tales como la colisión del arco de Baudó-Panamá y la subducción
del ridge de Carnegie modificaron la zona de subducción en el sur de Colombia. La integración de todos
estos eventos tectónicos permite establecer un marco dinámico mejorado para entender la evolución en
esta región.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Mafic igneous rocks with oceanic plateau affinities related to the
Late Cretaceous plume are documented in the Western Cordilleras of
Ecuador and Colombia (Reynaud et al., 1999; Lapierre et al., 2000;
Spikings et al., 2001; Kerr et al., 2004) (Fig. 1), the low-lying coastal
forearc regions, Gorgona island, and in the offshore region of Ecuador
and Colombia (Benitez, 1995; Sinton et al., 1998; Kerr et al., 2002;
Marcaillou and Collot, 2008). These mafic igneous rocks, which were
collectively called the Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau (CCOP)
by Kerr et al. (2004), are in suture contact with the South America
continental basement along the Romeral Fault Zone in Colombia, and
the Peltetec Fault Zone in Ecuador (Jaillard et al., 1995) (Fig. 2).
As the w90 Ma mantle plume sourced Colombian Caribbean
Oceanic Plateau was probably wider than the intercontinental gap
between the North and South American plates leading to collision
among these blocks during the Late Cretaceous (Lebras et al., 1987;
Kerr et al., 2002; Spikings et al., 2001, 2005; Jaillard et al., 2004;
Vallejo et al., 2006; Luzieux, 2007) and the accretion of buoyant
fragments of the plateau to the continents (Benitez, 1995; Lapierre
et al., 2000; Spikings et al., 2001; Kerr et al., 2002; Mamberti et al.,
2003; Allibon et al., 2008). At the same time, the leading margin of
the CCOP, which is a LIP (Large Igneous Province) drifted to the NE
and became part of the Caribbean Plate (Cediel et al., 2003; Luzieux
et al., 2006; Schütte et al., 2010).
The post-collisional Early Cenozoic convergence between the
Farallón and the South American plates favored the formation of
a series of forearc basins along the northern Andean margin (e.g.,
Witt et al., 2006; Luzieux et al., 2006; Fildani et al., 2008;
Marcaillou and Collot, 2008; Cediel et al., 2009), whose basements
were formed by isolated blocks of the remnant Caribbean plate
(Luzieux et al., 2006). The Andean margin in this region was further
shaped by the w23 Ma platere-organization (Lonsdale, 2005) that
broke the Farallón plate into the Nazca and Cocos plates, the
subduction of the almost sediment-free rough Nazca Plate, and the
formation and subduction of aseismic ridges like the Carnegie
Ridge (Gutscher et al., 1999). The convergence was always oblique
with obliquity changing with time and latitude (e.g., Somoza, 1998;
Spikings et al., 2010).
In this contribution we present a new tectono-stratigraphic
analysis of the low-lying onshore segment of the Tumaco forearc
basin, whose sedimentary units are exposed in wells and coastal
cliffs along the southwestern Pacific margin of Colombia. This new
interpretation is based on: (1) field exposures and stratigraphic logs
and cuttings from oil wells, (2) new paleontological constraints
(calcareous nanofossils), and (3) sandstone petrography. The
interpreted post-Eocene- Oligocene tectono-stratigraphic setting of
the Tumaco basin is then compared with that for the laterally
continuous forearc basin of Ecuador (Daly, 1989; Benitez, 1995;
Jaillard, 1997; Luzieux, 2007) and the adjacent inland basins of
southern Colombia (Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006). The new data
allow a margin scale comparison of the basin response to the
Caribbean/Pacific subduction under the South American margin.
2. Regional geological setting
The major geologic domains of southern Colombia are the Pacific
forearc basins and the eastern Putumayo-Caguán and Vaupes-
Amazonas retroarc basins that bound the Andean chain (Fig. 2). To
the north of this area, the Colombian Andes splits into the Western,
Central and Eastern Cordilleras which are respectively separated by
the Cauca-Patía and Upper Magdalena Valley basins (see Fig. 2). The
Eastern Cordillera is made up of a wide Cretaceous basin that was
formed in at least two extensional events (Sarmiento-Rojas et al.,
2006) and was tectonically inverted during the Cenozoic (Colletta
et al., 1990). The Central Cordillera is mainly composed of meta-
morphic complexes associated with Permo-Triassic and Cretaceous-
Paleocene granitoids (Villagómez et al., 2011) and is covered by
Neogene volcanic complexes along the crest. The Central Cordillera
units are the main source of the sediments that were deposited in
the adjacent basins during the continuous uplift of the range
(Cooper et al., 1995; Villamil, 1999). The rocks in the Western
Cordillera and surrounding area west of the Romeral Fault System
largely reflect two major collisional stages (see Ramos (2009) and
references therein). The first was related to accretion of island arcs in
the Early Cretaceous and the second to accretion of the Colombian
Caribbean Oceanic Plateau (CCOP) in the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene.
The rocks in the Western Cordillera are mainly the accreted
remnants of the Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau mafic
volcanic and intrusive rocks and tectonically juxtaposed upper
Cretaceous turbiditic deposits (Nivia, 2001 and references therein)
and island arc complexes (Spadea and Espinosa, 1996) that were
intruded by middle Eocene elate Miocene arc plutons.
Among the fundamental physiographic elements of south-
western Colombia are the flat-lying Tumaco basin in the forearc
and the western sector of the Western Cordillera. These two
features are separated by the prominent N to NNE-trending
regional Junín Sambiambí fault (Fig. 3). The basement of both
regions are composed of allochthonous domains that are made up
of oceanic plateau fragments, which were accreted in the Late
Cretaceous, and then partially covered by Late Cretaceous to
Tertiary island-arc rocks (Lebras et al., 1987; Benitez, 1995; Reynaud
et al., 1999; Luzieux, 2007; Allibon et al., 2008). The island-arc
fragments correspond to the Timbiquí arc (Vallejo et al., 2009) and
Ricaurte arc (Spadea and Espinosa, 1996) in Colombia and Naranjal
and Macuchi arcs in Ecuador (Vallejo et al., 2009). These basement
rocks form the present-day forearc and frontal arc regions of
southwestern Colombia and Ecuador (Fig. 3). The flat-lying deposits
 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92 77

Fig. 1. Off-shore and onshore sectors of the Tumaco and Chocó basins based on the official limits from National Hydrocarbons Agency in Barrero et al. (2007). Also shown are
Western Cordillera (WC), Central Cordillera (CC), Eastern Cordillera (EC), the Borbón Basin (Ecuador) and the cities of Cali and Tumaco as geographic references. Base map is a digital
elevation image (DEM) from the National Geophysical Data Center (ETOPO1).

of the Tumaco basin are now extensively covered by Plio-
Pleistocene volcaniclastic fans and the modern delta plains of the
Mira and Patía rivers.
3. Stratigraphy of the onshore sector of Tumaco basin
Along the Pacific coast from northern Peru to Colombia, there are
well-developed forearc basins filled with partially exposed Cenozoic
siliciclastic sediments (e.g., Nygren, 1950; Evans and Whittaker,
1982; Daly, 1989; Benitez, 1995; Jaillard et al., 1995; Luzieux, 2007;
Marcaillou and Collot, 2008). The Tumaco basin is part of this
continuous series of basins in the forearc and itself has been divided
into onshore and offshore sectors by Barrero et al. (2007).
The onshore sector forms a single basin with the onshore Bor-
bón basin in Ecuador (Fig.2). This larger basin is bounded to the
west by the late Miocene-Pliocene Rio Verde and Remolinogrande-
Gorgona paleo-highs, to the east by the Jama-Quininde fault in
Ecuador and by the Junín-Sambianbí Fault in Colombia, and to the
north by the Garrapatas fault (Cediel et al., 2003; Luzieux et al.,
2006; Marcaillou and Collot, 2008; López, 2009). The Garrapatas
fault has probably separated this basin from the Chocó forearc basin
to the north since the late Miocene (see Fig. 1).
The offshore sector of the Tumaco basin forms part of the Pacific
Frontal Basin, which was defined by Bueno Salazar (1989) and
identified by geophysical methods (Marcaillou and Collot, 2008).
This offshore sector of the basin is bounded to the east by the
onshore sector through the Remolinogrande-Gorgona paleo-high,
to the north by the Garrapatas fault system, and to the west by the
Colombian trench, which reaches a depth of approximately 3500 m
(Fig. 2). In this paper, we discuss the stratigraphy of the onshore
sector of Tumaco forearc basin.
3.1. Methodology
The stratigraphy of the unexposed lower and middle parts of the
Tumaco forearc basin discussed below is mainly based on
78 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92

Fig. 2. Geologic map of the central and southern Colombia, northern Ecuador and northeastern Peru compiled from Gómez et al. (2007), Longo and Baldock (1982) and Selvaradjou
et al., 1975. Base is DEM as in Fig. 1. The figure is shown: the Fault Zones: Romeral Fault Zone, Peltetec Fault zone, Cali-Patía Fault, Garrapatas Fault System, Buenaventura Fault,
Junín-Sambianbí Fault, Jama-Quininde Fault; the paleo-highs: Río Verde and Remolinogrande-Gorgona Paleohigh. The island-arcs: Macuchi, Naranjal, Ricaurte y Timbiquí Arcs.
Dashed line connects the stratigraphic sections shown in Fig. 6; Black triangles: active volcanoes.

descriptions of cuttings recovered from the Remolinogrande-1
well, which is located above the Remolinogrande-Gorgona paleo-
high (Fig. 3). The discussion of the upper third of the Tumaco basin
stratigraphic column is also based on cuttings from of the Majagua-
1 well located to the south-east of the basin (Fig. 3). Information on
the Upper Miocene- Quaternary formations is also based on
outcrops exposed around the Tumaco Bay (Fig. 3 A).
The nomenclature for the Cenozoic units of the Tumaco basin
comes from results from oil exploration campaigns developed in
the 1980’sby Ecopetrol (Colombian Petroleum Company) that were
compiled by Suárez (1990). The stratigraphy of the Tumaco forearc
basin has been divided into four tectono-sedimentary sequences
limited by unconformities. The lithostratigraphic units that inte-
grate these sequences are named from the earliest to the latest: (1)
Unidad 1 Sur Formation, (2) Cayapas/Viche/Angostura Formations
(3) Chagüí/San Agustín Formations, and (4) Cascajal Formation/
Volcaniclastic Fans (Fig. 4).
The biostratigraphy is based on studies of calcareous nanofossils
in the well cuttings that were done by Grupo de Geociencias (GGO),
UniversidadCayapas/Viche/Angostura de Salamanca (Spain). The
coccolihs/nanoliths were studied using the smear slide technique
with samples taken directly from rock fragments by careful scarp-
ing or by use of a small spatula in case of unconsolidated sediments.
About 300 to 400 specimens per sample were counted to deter-
mine percentages of species whose abundances statistically
exceeded 1%. A second count was then done to estimate relative
abundance of taxa with percentages below 1%. The identification of
coccolihs/nanoliths is in accord with the taxonomy of Perch-
Nielsen (1985) and Jordan and Kleijn (1994) and the nanofossil
zone and biochronology are based on Martini (1971), Okada and
Bukry (1980), Berggren et al. (1995) and Raffi et al. (2006). Thirty
seven samples were taken from the cutting of Remolinogrande-1
well, of which ten below 6000 feet were sterile. And twenty five
samples were taken from the cuttings of the Majagua-1 well
(Fig. 5).
The sandstone petrography of the outcropping upper Miocene-
Pliocene units in the coastal cliffs (Fig. 4) is based on counting at
least 300 points. The nomenclature of Folk (1974) was followed for
classifying the sandstones. The composition of Miocene units in the
Tumaco forearc was based on 350 grains per sample from the
available cuttings from the Remolinogrande-1 and Majagua-1
wells. The grain counts are shown as compositional pies in Fig. 4.
3.2. Tumaco block basement (Late Cretaceous)
The forearc basement, which is informally called the “Tumaco
block” in this paper is part of the Dagua-Piñon Terrane (Cediel et al.,
2003), which correlates with the Diabásico Group (Nivia, 2001) in
Colombia and the Piñon Formation (Evans and Whittaker, 1982) in
Ecuador. The Piñon Formation has been dated at 88e89 Ma by
Luzieux et al. (2006). The Tumaco block basement can be divided in
two sequences (Figs. 3B and 4). The lower is a volcano-sedimentary
succession composed of silty and sandy packages interbedded with
thin basalt sills. Cuttings from the Remolinogrande-1 well from this
 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92 79

Fig. 3. A. Geologic Map in the Tumaco Forearc area and the western sector of Western Cordillera, showing the localities where stratigraphic logs were surveyed. B. Schematic
structural cross section of southern Colombia modified after López (2009); K2: Tumaco block, E3; Unidad 1 Sur Formation, eN1: Cayapas//Viche/Angostura. Formations, mN1:
Chagüí Formation, uN1: San Agustin Formation, N2: Cascajal Formation, N2-Q1: Distal Volcaniclastic fan deposits. RGPH: Remolinogrande-Gorgona Paleo-high See Fig. 4, strati-
graphic log of Remolinogrande-1 well.

succession contained carbonized organic material, loose forami-
nifera and undifferentiated shell remnants. The upper sequence at
the top of the basement is dominated by basaltic lavas and
gabbroic-like sills with thicknesses ranging from centimeters to
tens of meters. Robertson Research U.S. (1981) report a 39Ar/40Ar
whole rock age of 82.2  8.1 Ma for a basaltic lava at a depth of 7250
feet in the Remolinogrande-1 well.
3.3. Unidad 1 Sur Formation (Oligocene)
The Unidad 1 Sur Formation (Suárez, 1990) discordantly overlies
the basaltic lavas of the upper sequence of Tumaco basement block
and can be partially correlated with the Pacífico Group sensu stricto
of Van der Hammen (1958). This unit mainly consists of successions
of siltstones and sandy siltstones interbedded with sporadic pack-
ages of sandstones, and has foraminifera, algae and radiolarians
fossils. Foraminifera analyses made on the Remolinogrande 1 well
cuttings by Peñaloza and Sánchez (2006) suggest an Oligocene age
for this formation (Biozone P21). The nanofossils assemblage
between 5400 and 4500 feet of the Remolinogrande-1 well can be
placed in the Late Oligocene interval (NN19(?)-NN23). The most
representative taxa are Ismolithus recurvus, Helicosphaera euphratis
and Reticulofenestra bisecta. (Fig. 5). Based on electrofacies of three
drilled wells in the Tumaco onshore basin, López (2009) proposed
that the Unidad 1 Sur unit was deposited by turbiditic currents near
the toe of the continental slope.
A representative compositional pie diagram in Fig. 4 based on
the Remolinogrande-1 well cuttings show the main constituents of
this unit. The Unidad 1 Sur formation is composed of predomi-
nantly aphanitic volcanic grains, metamorphic and sedimentary
lithics with sporadic granitoid grains and fragments of quartz and
feldspars.
3.4. Cayapas/Viche/Angostura Formations (early-middle Miocene)
The overlying tectono-stratigraphic sequence is separated from
the Unidad 1 Sur Formation by an unconformity. This sequence
corresponds to the Cayapas, Viche and Angostura formations of
80 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92

Fig. 4. Representative stratigraphic log of the Tumaco forearc basin, based on the Remolinogrande 1 well description. Compositional pies from the cuttings of the
Remolinogrande-1 and Majagua-1 wells and sandstone petrography from the outcropping units.

Suárez (1990) following the nomenclature of the Colombian Oil
Company (Ecopetrol). These formations are grouped together here
as they could not be distinguished from each other based on the
cuttings from the Remolinogrande-1 well. The sequence is mainly
composed of thick levels of sandy siltstones and siltstones alter-
nating with thinner sandstones. Conspicuous thin chert levels are
commonly interbedded between siltstone and sandstone levels.
High proportions of calcareous sandstones and mudstones occur in
some sectors. Based on calcareous nanofossils from the Majagua-1
well, the Cayapas Formation can be located in the NN1-NN4 bio-
zones (Aquitanian Burdigalian/Langhian) and the Viche and
Angostura formations in the NN5-NN10 biozones (Serravalian-early
Tortonian) according to Martini (1971) (Fig. 4). These assignments
agree with the findings of Jiménez et al. (2007), who defined
a Burdigalian/Langhian age for the Viche Formation based on
radiolaria and foraminifera zones in a section on the Rio Verde
(Ecuador).
A representative compositional pie diagram in Fig. 4 based on
the Remolinogrande-1 and Majagua-1 well cuttings show the
main constituents of the different units. For reference, the Cayapas
Formation should consist predominantly of mudstone lithics with
sporadic chert grains, and the Viche and Angostura formations of
chert and fine sedimentary lithics (mudstone and very fine
sandstones), mafic aphanitic volcanic grains and an important
proportion of calcareous lithics (calcareous sandstones and
mudstones).
 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92 81

Fig. 5. Biostratigraphic correlation between the Remolinogrande-1 and Majagua-1 wells. The nanofossil biozones are after Martini (1971). The interpretation of the lithostrati-
graphic units is based on descriptions of well cuttings. The location of the wells are shown in Fig. 3 A and the key to the lithologies is the same as in Fig. 4.

3.5. Chagüí Formation (middle-late Miocene)
The Chagüí Formation unconformably overlies the tectono-
stratigraphic sequence above and consists predominantly of thick
beds of sandstones and sandy siltstones interbedded with siltstone
packages. The main components in the cuttings of the
Remolinigrande-1 well are fine-grained sedimentary lithic grains
and coarse-grained intermediate to acid plutonic lithic grains. The
first appearance of porphyritic andesitic to dacitic lithic grains
occurs with these grains mainly being concentrated in the middle
and upper segments of the formation. A minor number of milky
quartz grains also appear (see compositional pie in Fig. 4). Other
evidence for synvolcanic detritus comes from sandstones with
embayed quartz, feldspar laths and volcanic lithic grains. In some
levels, scattered calcareous lithic grains occur in a predominantly
terrigenous succession. The nanofossil assemblage in the Chagüí
82 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
Formation at the Majagua-1 well indicates Tortonian to early
Messinian ages (biozones NN10-NN11A-B of Martini (1971)
(Fig. 5)). López (2009) proposed that this unit was deposited in
a hemipelagic setting affected by fine-grained to gravelly debris
flows.
3.6. San Agustín Formation (late Miocene)
The San Agustín Formation conformably overlies the Chagüí
Formation in accordance with the continuity of the nanofossil
zones in the Majagua-1 well (Fig. 5). This unit is dominated by thick
to very thick massive siltstones and claystones, which are rich in
foraminifera, variably bioturbated and interbedded with lesser
amounts of fine- to medium-grained sandstone. The unit contains
meter-thick turbiditic sequences, recumbent folds and intra-
formational breccias associated with syn-sedimentary slides
(slumps). The chronostratigraphic age based on nanofossils is
Messinian to Tortonian (biozones NN10-NN11 of Martini, 1971)
(Fig. 5).
In the outcrops (Fig. 3 A.) of the Llanage sector in the northeast
part of Tumaco Bay, the San Agustín Formation is composed of
a succession of thick muddy beds interbedded with medium to
thick sandy beds. In the La Chorrera sector, the formation consists
of a succession of laminated mudstones interbedded with very
fine to fine-grained sandstones and south of the Tumaco Bay, the
formation consists of a succession of medium to fine-grained
sandstones lenses separated by fining up laminated beds. The
sandstones in these outcrops can be classified as feldspathic lith-
oarenites, lithic arkoses, and lithoarenites (Fig. 4) with total quartz
and plagioclase contents decreasing from base to top in some
areas. The population of porphyritic volcanic lithic grains and
minor amounts of fine- to medium-grained sedimentary lithic
grains also increases from base to top in most sectors. In detail,
each sector shows minor internal changes in the total content of
quartz, plagioclase and porphyritic volcanic lithics. In the Llanage
section the sandstones have macro-foraminifera bioclasts, and in
the La Chorrera section the medium-grained sediments bear
gastropod bioclasts. All of the bioclasts are recrystallized by
carbonates.
3.7. Cascajal Formation (Pliocene)
This unit unconformably overlies the San Augustine Formation
and consists of a succession of sandstones, conglomeratic sand-
stones and polymictic conglomerates. Volcanic lithic fragments
occur in the coarse-grained facies. Plannar laminations, normal
gradations, lateral accretion, amalgamation channelized structures,
clay intraclasts, ferruginous nodules, mollusk (bivalves, gastropods)
fragments, foraminifera, crustaceans and plant debris also occur.
The age of deposition is younger than 4.2 Ma, based on preliminary
detrital zircon U-Pb ages reported by ANH & Universidad de Caldas
(2011).
At the type locality in the northern part of Tumaco Bay, the
formation is composed of thick, very coarse- to medium-grained
sandstones interbedded with mudstone beds, which contain
abundant pollen and spores. Outcrops in the El Morro Sector on the
western beach in the town of Tumaco (Fig. 3) consist of athick
succession of fine- to medium-grained sandstones. The
Remolinogrande-1 well cuttings contain broken quartz, feldspar
laths, amphibole and biotite crystal fragments and porphyritic
andesite- dacite lithic grains. Coarse- to medium-grained granit-
oids lithics, poly- and mono-crystalline quartz grains and minor
sedimentary lithic grains are also present. Sandstones from
outcrops can be mostly classified as feldspathic lithoarenites to
lithoarenites and a few lithic arkoses (Fig. 4).
3.8. Distal volcaniclastic fan deposits (Pleistocene-Holocene)
A succession of volcaniclastic deposits on the southern inner
edge of the Tumaco basin and mark the final stage of basin filling.
The stratigraphic position is above the Cascajal Formation (Fig. 4).
These deposits can be differentiated as secondary volcaniclastic
deposits, mainly lahars.
Three volcaniclastic fan deposits were mapped. The oldest (OVF
in Fig. 3 A.) the most dissected and is controlled by the Junín-
Sambianbí Fault. It covers an area of w1560 km2 (difference in
altitude of w1100 m) and consists of lahar deposits made up of
debris flows with hyperconcentrated facies primarily composed of
andesitic and dacitic fragments. The minimum volume is w30 km3.
The intermediate fan (IVF in Fig. 3A) is the smallest covering an area
of about 160 km2 (difference in altitude of w470 m). The lahar with
dominant debris flow facies has a volume of w2.5 km3 and is
mainly composed of andesitic fragments. The most recent fan (RVF
in Fig. 3A and B) covers an area of 2030 km2 (difference in altitude
of 530 m) and consists of lahar and lahar diluted deposits. These
debris, hyperconcentrated and normal type flows are mainly
composed of dacitic fragments and have a volume of w60 km3. The
distal part of the youngest deposit is interdigitated with recent
coastal and deltaic deposits.
In general, the petrography of sandstones interbedded with the
conglomeratic volcaniclastic deposits are feldspathic lithoarenites,
lithic arkoses and lithoarenites. Chert and siliciclastic sedimentary
and metamorphic lithics are present in smaller proportions (10%).
Some of the sandstones show a significant proportion of mono-
crystalline quartz grains.
4. Late CretaceouseCenozoic chronostratigraphy of
Colombian southern basins
The purpose of this section is to synthesize the Late
CretaceouseCenozoic stratigraphy of the inland basins in southern
Colombia to determine their common tectonic signatures (Fig. 7).
From west to east: Tumaco (this study), Cauca-Patía, Upper Mag-
dalena Valley (UMV) and Putumayo-Caguán basins (Figs. 2and 6).
We then use our synthesis to compare with the recent on explosion
in information on the Cenozoic stratigraphy of Central and Eastern
Colombian basins that has followed the pioneering paleogeo-
graphic work of Sarmiento and Rangel (2004). We cite among
others, Gomez et al. (2005a,b, 2003); Montes et al. (2005); Mora
et al. (2010), and the more recent regional syntheses of the
Northwestern South America by Kennan and Pindell (2009). But all
of these papers are related almost exclusively to the Central and
Eastern Colombian basins. This section, we want to fill the infor-
mation gap on western Colombian basins.
4.1. Tumaco forearc basin
In the Tumaco forearc basin, a w9 km thick Cenozoic sedi-
mentary succession covers a volcanic and sedimentary basement
(Fig. 3 B). The Cenozoic succession can be divided into two mega-
sequences: an Oligocene- middle Miocene sedimentary mega-
sequence and a late Miocene to Holocene volcaniclastic
megasequence (Figs. 4and 5). The thickness of the Cenozoic
succession is based on integrating outcrop descriptions, analyses
from deep wells logs and aeromagnetrometric and seismic reflec-
tion studies (López, 2009; Cediel et al., 2009).
4.1.1. Basement
The basement of the Tumaco basin can be divided into two
sequences (Fig. 4). The lower is composed of fine-grained sedi-
ments interbedded with thin volcanic sills deposited in a probable
 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
Fig. 6. Stratigraphic chart of southern Colombian basins. Location in Fig. 3 A. Sources:
Tumaco forearc: this work. Patía sub-basin: (ANH & Universidad de Caldas, 2009).
Upper Magdalena Valley: Sarmiento and Rangel (2004). Putumayo-Caguán basin,
south area: ANH-UPTC (2009).
83
island arc setting like that proposed by Luzieux et al. (2006). The
upper is a series of stacked thick basic volcanic and sub-volcanic
bodies that is a volcanic sliver of CCOP.
Lithostratigraphic similarities between the Colombo-
Ecuadorian neighboring forearc basins suggest that the base-
ment rocks of the individual blocks could have a common origin
(Daly, 1989; Lebras et al., 1987; Reynaud et al., 1999; Lapierre
et al., 2000; Vallejo et al., 2006; Luzieux et al., 2006). Luzieux
(2007) proposed that the basement of the Borbón and Esmer-
aldas forearc basins are represented by the Coniacian Piñon block
(88  1.6 Ma) and the Campanian e Maastrichtian Cayo and San
Lorenzo Formations are related to an island arc setting. Our upper
basement volcanic sequence would correspond to the Piñon
block, and the lower sequence to the island arc succession, in
which continent-derived lithics were not observed. The elucida-
tion of the stratigraphic position of these units in the Tumaco
forearc basement is too hard because they are not exposed on the
surface.
We did not find nanofossils or foraminifera fossils in the
Remolinogrande-1 cuttings that would allow us to define an age.
Depositional environments of the lower sequence correspond to
hemipelagic deposits with minor effusive volcanic activity, prob-
ably related to an island-arc setting. The upper sequence consti-
tutes a sliver of the CCOP (Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau)
taking into account its Late Turonian to Late Campanian age.
4.1.2. Oligocene to middle Miocene sedimentary megasequence
This megasequence consists of the Oligocene Unidad 1 Sur and
lower to middle Miocene Cayapas/Viche/Angostura Formations.
The Unidad 1 Sur Formation is composed of fine- to medium-
grained sediments, and the Cayapas/Viche/Angostura Formations
are defined by the dominantly medium- to coarse-grained sedi-
mentary succession in the Remolinogrande-1 well (Fig. 4).
Jiménez et al. (2007) proposed that these units were deposited
in an outer shelf to upper slope marine environment with a mixture
of cold and warm waters and discussed the possibility that the top
of the sequence was deposited in an inner shelf. López (2009)
proposed deposition of volcaniclastic fans at the toe of the conti-
nental slope interspersed with fine-grained turbidities. The litho-
logical composition of this megasequence is consistent with the
forearc basin detritus were sourced from the western sector of the
Colombian Western Cordillera basement (Fig. 2).
4.1.3. Late Miocene to Holocene volcaniclastic megasequence
The volcaniclastic megasequence unconformably overlies the
sedimentary megasequence and comprises the lithostratigraphic
units sourced from the volcanic arc in the Western Cordillera. The
lowermost middle to upper Miocene Chagüí Formation is defined
by a predominantly coarse- to medium-grained sedimentary
succession that records the onset of volcanic activity and cessation
of shallow-marine deposition in the forearc. The sediments were
sourced from the Miocene magmatic arc in the Western Cordillera.
The upper Miocene San Agustín Formation, which is dominated by
variably bioturbated fine-grained sedimentary deposits and inter-
bedded with medium- to coarse-grained sediments, records
a decrease in volcanic input. This lithology represents a turbidite
sequence related to the “collapse” of the delta front onto the
external platform, which was probably located on the western
continental margin, which is proximal eastward and more distal
westward.
The paroxysmal explosive volcanic activity impacting the fore-
arc is defined by the Pliocene Cascajal Formation that is composed
by gravelly to medium-grained volcaniclastic deposits that form
part of distal shallow volcaniclastic alluvial fans-deltas? These
sediments are most likely sourced from the explosive activity of the
84 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
Fig. 7. Generalized stratigraphic logs of the Upper Cretaceous to the Pliocene successions of southern Colombian basins. The stratigraphic log for the Upper Magdalena Valley is
modified after Sarmiento and Rangel (2004), that for the Putumayo Basin is after ANH-UPTC (2009).
volcanic arc on the axis of the Western Cordillera, and reworked
grains from the underlying sedimentary and plutonic units.
Finally, the distal Pleistocene to Holocene distal volcaniclastic
fans (OVF, IVF and RVF in Fig. 3A) composed of very coarse-grained
deposits likely indicate a proximal source, with little sediment
transport and residence. The OVF and IVF deposits were generated
by removal of volcaniclastic deposits associated with activity of the
Old Cumbal volcano in the Western Cordillera. A maximum depo-
sition age of w1.4 Ma based on a peak detrital zircon U-Pb age data
(ANH & Universidad de Caldas, 2011) for the most recent fan (RVF)
that can be associated with reworking of ignimbrite and pyroclastic
density current deposits. These deposits are probably related to
activity at the Azufral volcano on top of the Western Cordillera
(González et al., 2002; Pinilla et al., 2008).
4.2. Cauca-Patía valley basin
The intermontane Cauca-Patía basin lies between the Central
and Western Cordilleras and is mapped as an elongated geomor-
phic depression that extends w450 km from north to south and
averages 40 km from east to west (Barrero et al., 2006). The basin is
bounded to the north and south by Late Cretaceous basic igneous
rocks, to the east by the Central Cordillera, which is partially
defined by the Romeral fault system, and to the west by the Cali-
Patía fault along the Western Cordillera. The Cretaceous volcanic
basement-cored Popayán high divides the basin into the northern
Cauca and the southern Patía sub-basins (Fig. 2). Small hypabissal
and intrusive rocks cut the Cretaceous oceanic basement and the
Cenozoic sedimentary sequence in the Patía sub-basin.
Structurally, the Cauca- Patía basin is the product of the collision
and accretion of oceanic terranes against the northwestern margin
of South America during the Late Cretaceous and is classified as an
oceanic remnant basin by Barrero et al. (2006). The Late Cretaceous
e Oligocene evolution of the basin which was converted into an
intermontane basin in the Miocene, is poorly known. Below, we
summarize the stratigraphy of the Patía sub-basin in three tectono-
stratigraphic sequences (Fig. 6).
4.2.1. Basement
The basement of the Cauca-Patía basin is related to the accreted
Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau. The terrain west of the main
trace of the Romeral Fault zone is mapped as the pre-Turonian
Amaime Formation, whose age is constrained byan U-Pb Zircon
age data on the Buga Batholith (92.1  0.8; 90.6  1.3 Ma;
Villagómez et al., 2011). The terrains west of the Cali-Patía Fault
contain of imbricated blocks of volcanic, mafic and ultramafic rocks
that are assigned to the Volcánica Formation, for which Kerr et al.
(1996) proposed a Turonian to Coniacian age. They are correlated
with the Diabásico Group. According to ANH & Universidad de
Caldas (2009), upper Cretaceous sedimentary slivers in or
between the oceanic crustal fragments are mudstones, cherts, fine-
grained sandstones and minor limestones that initially formed in
shallow-marine environments that deepened to bathyal environ-
ments. Their fossil associations indicate a Coniacian to Maas-
trichtian age (e.g., Nogales Formation Pardo et al., 2002).
Deep, narrow subduction related remnant basins that overlie
the oceanic crustal fragments (Einsele, 1991) are considered to have
formed above of the subduction zone developed to the west of the
accreted oceanic crust. These basins were filled by flysch-style
deposits from nearby rising areas. These deposits, which are the
first deposits in the Patía sub-basin, correspond to the
Maastrichtian-Paleocene Rio Guabas sequence, (Figs. 6and 7).
Tectonic slivers of these sequences outcrop on both edges of the
sub-basin (ANH & Universidad de Caldas, 2009).
4.2.2. Eocene-Miocene molassic sedimentary megasequence
The sedimentary megasequence is composed of the Peña Mor-
ada, Mosquera and Esmita Formations (Figs. 6and 7). The middle
 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
Eocene Peña Morada Formation discordantly overlies the basement
and has been informally divided by Geoestudios (2008) into two
members, a predominantly lower wackestone and mudstone
member, and a predominantly upper polymictic conglomeratic
member deposited in an inner and restricted shallow carbonate
platform that graded upward into fan deltas.
The unconformably overlying Oligoceneelower Miocene Mos-
quera Formation (Figs. 6and 7) is composed of conglomerates,
sandstones and mudstones with minor coal beds. This unit is
interpreted as a fan system of braided to meandering rivers and
extensive floodplains, with some punctual marine influence
(Geoestudios, 2008). No precise age data are available. The Miocene
Esmita Formation overlies discordantly the Mosquera Formation
and consists of a lower member of fine-grained heterolithic beds
with gastropods and bivalves, a middle member of massive sand-
stones and minor siltstones, and an upper member of thick poly-
mictic conglomeratic beds (León et al., 1973). The lower member
represents a coastal plain and tidal channel to shallow platform
environment and the middle and upper members represent
a fluvial continental depositional environment (Geoestudios,
2008). Dacitic and andesitic pumice fragments above the upper
member mark the initiation of explosive volcanism with a probable
source in the western part of the Central Cordillera.
The age of the Eocene-Miocene molasse sequence in the Patía
sub-basin is not fully constrained (Geoestudios, 2008), but this
stage marks the transition of the remnant oceanic basin to
a peripheral foreland basin (shift from flysch to molasse in 12.30
aed of Einsele, 1991).
4.2.3. Late Miocene e Pleistocene volcaniclastic megasequence
The Cauca-Patía basin has an extensive cover of Late Miocene?
to Recent volcaniclastic deposits. The upper Miocene to Pleistocene
Galeón Formation is composed of thick secondary volcaniclastic
deposits related to Central Cordilleran volcanism. The Pliocene-
Pleistocene Popayán Formation has huge lahars interbedded with
thick pyroclastic deposits derived from the Caldera Paletará on the
axis of the Central Cordillera. The contact between these units is
often obscure due to the high grade of weathering in both forma-
tions. The volcaniclastic megasequence is topped by the Pleistocene
Mercaderes Formation (Murcia and Pichler, 1987). The lower
pyroclastic member includes the Granatífera Tuff, which contains
crustal (e.g. diorite, granulite, hornblendite) and mantle (e.g.
garnet-bearing peridotites) xenoliths (Rodriguez-Vargas et al.,
2005) as well as w10 Ma corumdum gems (Sutherland et al.,
2008). This unit is composed mainly of reworked volcaniclastic
and minor pyroclastic deposits. The upper epiclastic member
mainly consists of secondary volcaniclastic and epiclastic deposits.
4.3. Upper Magdalena valley (UMV) basin
The Upper Magdalena Valley basin with an area of about
26,200 km2 is a narrow intermontane basin along the southern
upstream portion of the Magdalena River Valley (Fig. 2). It is
bounded to the east and west by the igneous and metamorphic
rocks and locally has Paleozoic sedimentary rockson the sides
(Sarmiento and Rangel, 2004). The Natagaima-El Pata Triassic-
Jurassic basement-cored high divides the basin into the northern
Girardot and southern Neiva sub-basins (Barrero et al., 2007).
Below we compare only the Neiva sub-basin to the southern
Colombian basins.
The CretaceouseCenozoic stratigraphy of the Neiva sub-basin
can be divided into three megasequences that overlie the
Triassic-Jurassic basement (Fig. 6). The first, the Aptian-Paleocene
sedimentary megasequence, is mainly related to Cretaceous sedi-
mentation in an extensional back-arc basin that initially formed in
85
the Jurassic (Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006) and represents the sag
phase (Sarmiento and Rangel, 2004). The other two formed in the
broken foreland system of this part of the Andes that initiated in the
Paleocene (Parra et al., 2009). The deposition of the upper Eocene-
lower Miocene sedimentary megasequence in the western Upper
Magdalena basin was largely controlled by continental tectonic
processes and with little lacustrine or marine influence. The
intermontane Pliocene to Recent volcaniclastic megasequence was
probably mostly derived from the Central Cordillera.
4.3.1. Early Aptian-Paleocene sedimentary megasequence
After a non-depositional period represented by the Jurassic-
Aptian unconformity, a dominantly marine Aptian to lower Paleo-
cene megasequence filled the basin (Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006).
The lower portion of the megasequence starts with the Aptian Yaví
Formation conglomerates and red mudstones and the Middle
Aptian Alpujarra Formation quartzitic sandstones that record the
onset of continental deposition, and continues with the Late
Aptian-early Albian El Ocal Formation dark grey mudstones and the
Middle Albian Caballos Formation quartzitic sandstones that were
deposited in the transition to marine environment (Fig. 6). The
middle portion of this megasequence is dominantly composed of
the upper Albian-Coniacian Villeta Group black shales and lime-
stones (Fig. 7) that were deposited in a deficient-oxygen marine
shelf environment, and the Santonian-Campanian Ollini Group
cherts and shales that were deposited on a deeper middle shelf
(Sarmiento and Rangel, 2004). The upper portion is defined by the
upper Maastrichtian Monserrate Formation sandstones, and the La
Tabla Formation conglomerates and sandstones that record the
shallowing from marine shelf to beach deposits (Sarmiento and
Rangel, 2004); and the upper Maastrichtian-Paleocene Guaduala
Formation mudstones that are related toparalic and fluvial sedi-
mentation and contains abundant representatives of the Paleogene
genus Proxapertites (Osorio et al., 2002). The last unit marks the
change to a continental environment.
4.3.2. Late Eocene- early Miocene molassic megasequence
From the upper Paleocene to middle Eocene, the combined
effects of the uplift of the Upper Magdalena Valley basin and the
continuous Central Cordillera uplift resulted in non-deposition and
erosion (cf. Ramon and Rosero, 2006) as evidenced by the wide-
spread regional unconformity seen in most Colombian basins
(Villamil, 1999). In some places (e.g., Natagaima-El Pata high), the
Cretaceous and lower Paleocene sediments were totally or partially
eroded (Sarmiento and Rangel, 2004).
The upper Eocene-lower Miocene sedimentary megasequence
was deposited in angular unconformity (Ramon and Rosero, 2006)
over the eroded older units (Figs. 6and 7) and was dominantly
formed in a continental environment. The upper Eoceneeupper
Oligocene stratigraphy of the Neiva sub-basin is dominated by
the Chicoral Formation (Nuñez, 2001), which is composed
primarily of very coarse-grained molassic deposits that contain
palynological evidence for a late Eocene age (Osorio et al., 2002).
They are followed by the fine-grained continental facies of the
lower Oligocene Potrerillo Formation or Middle Gualanday
Formation of the Gualanday Group (Nuñez, 2001). The upper
Oligocene coarse-grained Doima Formation marks the end of the
synorogenic cycle. The youngest part of the Gualanday Group is put
in concordant contact with the fine-grained and coaly Barzaloza
Formation, which is dated as early Miocene (Osorio et al., 2002).
4.3.3. Middle Miocene-Pliocene volcaniclastic megasequence
The volcaniclastic megasequence in the Neiva sub-basin ranges
from middle Miocene to Pliocene age. The middle Miocene Honda
Group (Van der Wiel & Van den Bergh, 1992) overlies the Gualanday
86 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
Group in this region The Honda Group was mapped as the lower La
Dorada and upper Villavieja Formations by Wellman (1970) who
argued for accumulation in association with mild tectonism and
episodic volcanism. The age of volcanism is now constrained by
dates of 15.8  0.6 and 14.3  0.5 Ma on andesitic fragments (Van
der Wiel and Van den Bergh, 1992) and a middle Miocene or
younger age is confirmed by palynological analysis (Osorio et al.,
2002) The depositional environment is consistent with alluvial
fan and volcanic aprons systems. The volcaniclastic megasequence
includes the younger primary volcaniclastic deposits of the Gua-
cacallo Formation at the southern part of Neiva sub-basin, which
can have thicknesses up to 200 m were dated by Velandia et al.
(2001) at 7.1  0.3 Ma.
The Pliocene Mesa Formation at the northernmost Upper
Magdalena Valley and the Gigante Formation in the central and
southern sectors of the Neiva sub-basin (Osorio et al., 2002) are
thick primary and secondaryfine-grained volcaniclastic deposits
that discordantly overlie the Honda Group. Thouret et al. (1990)
obtained ages from 4.3  0.4 to 3.5  0.4 Ma for dacitic pumice
at the base of the Mesa Formation and Van der Wiel & Van den
Bergh (1992), used K/Ar ages to argue for a similar age for the
Gigante Formation. The volcanic sedimentation was mainly sourced
from a volcanic arc on top of the Central Cordillera.
4.4. Putumayo e Caguan Basin
The Putumayo-Caguán basin further east is separated from the
Vaupés-Amazonas Basin by the Macarena and Serranía de Chir-
ibiquete basement highs (see Fig. 2). The basin can be divided into
two major structural domains which include the foothills in the
west and the foreland (or platform) region covers most of the
central and eastern sectors (Gonçalves et al., 2002). We focus below
on the stratigraphy of the Cretaceous to Cenozoic megasequences
in the foothills sector (Fig. 2).
The first megasequence in the middle Albian ePaleocene
encompasses the Middle Albian Caballos Formation coastal to
shallow-marine sandstones and shales, the late Albian-Santonian
Villeta Formation marine limestones, shales and sandstones
(Gonçalves et al., 2002), and the lower to middle Paleocene
Rumiyaco Formation shallow- marine to continental fine-grained
succession (Fig. 7), which discordantly overlies the Villeta Forma-
tion (Gonçalves et al., 2002).
The absence of biostratigraphic controls on some of the middle
Eocene to Holocene sequences in this basin could make correla-
tions with the sequences in the other southwestern Colombian
basins speculative. However, the Pepino Formation conglomerates,
sandstones and minor red siltstones and claystones assigned to
the middle-late Eocene are known to discordantly overlie the
Albian to Paleocene megasequence discussed above (Figs. 6and 7)
and to underlie upper Eocene-lower Oligocene Orteguaza Forma-
tion lacustrine/fluvial shales, siltstones, sandstones and thin coal
beds. These lacustrine conditions are considered to have been
dominant until the deposition of the variegated claystones, silt-
stones, minor sandstones and abundant lignite beds in the Late
Oligocene-Pliocene Orito-Belén Group and Ospina Formation
(ANH-UPTC, 2009). From late Pliocene to the Holocene, the uplift
of the Eastern Cordillera supplied a continuous source of molassic
deposits as shown by the Caimán Formation (ANH-UPTC, 2009)
and recent fan deposits with local names like the Guamés
Formation (Cáceres and Teatin, 1985). Late Miocene arc magma-
tism is known to have been occurring in the region as Vásquez
et al. (2009) have recently reported an amphibole K/Ar age of
6.1  0.7 Ma from a gabbro with arc-like chemistry that cuts
Cretaceous sediments in an Orito oil field well in the foothills
sector of the basin.
5. Discussion
The basement of the Tumaco basin is postulated here to be an
allochthonous block of the Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau
that is buried beneath the coastal region of southern Colombia. The
Tumaco block like the Ecuadorian Piñon, San Lorenzo, Pedernales
and Esmeraldas blocks is considered to have been incorporated into
a forearc setting during the Paleocene to Eocene.
The suggested times of accretions of these various plateau
slivers represented by: (1) the Pallatanga Unit in the Ecuadorian
Western Cordillera, (2) the basalts of the Colombian Western
Cordillera (Spikings et al., 2001; Kerr et al., 2002, 2004) and (3) the
Piñon Formation that forms the basement of the Piñon, San Lor-
enzo, Pedernales and Esmeraldas blocks in Ecuador (Luzieux et al.,
2006) and the Tumaco block in Colombia range from Late Creta-
ceous to Eocene. Ages proposed have included the end of the
Paleocene (Benitez, 1995),the Santonian-Early Campanian at
w85e80 Ma (Lebras et al., 1987; Kerr et al., 2002; Spikings et al.,
2005), the Late Campanian-Maastrichtian at w75e65 Ma
(Spikings et al., 2001; Jaillard et al., 2004; Luzieux, 2007) and
a main collision beginning75e73 Ma (Vallejo et al., 2006). There is
no evidence for the accretion of the Macuchi arc (Vallejo et al.,
2009) in the late Eocene (Jaillard, 1997; Spikings et al., 2001;
Hughes and Pilatasig, 2002), because it is currently between the
Piñon Formation and the Pallatanga Unit that amalgamated in the
Late Cretaceous (Fig. 8).
The Late Cretaceous northwestern Andes accretion setting
prevailed until the Maastrichtian (Fig. 8), which is the time of
important deformation in the terranes of the Colombian and
Ecuadorian Western Cordilleras, and other coeval deformation
along the Andes to the south. The main cause of this continuity has
been suggested to be related to the absolute motion of South
America as reviewed by Ramos (2009). Extending the paleomag-
netic results of Roperch et al. (1987) and Luzieux (2007) in Ecuador
to southern Colombia (see Section 4.1.1); most of the coastal blocks,
that define the basement of the Colombo-Ecuadorian forearc were
likely extruded at an equatorial to very low southern latitude
suggesting that all of these mafic forearc basement blocks had
a similar paleo-location. Consistent with this, there is no significant
latitudinal shift observed during the Late Cretaceous in Ecuador
(Luzieux, 2007).
Subsequently, Farallón plate coupled with Colombian Caribbean
Oceanic Plateau slivers began subducting west of southern
Colombia in the middle Eocene marking the beginning of the
forearc in western Colombia. Although the detailed relationship
between relative plate convergence and deformation in the Andes
has yet to be resolved, a general relationship between plate
convergence and uplift is generally accepted. In order to under-
stand how the subduction zone began and the origin of the Tumaco
forearc basin, we look to Stern (2004) who argues for subduction
zone initiation by polarity reversals. Such a polarity reversal trig-
gered in the Andean case by buoyant crust entering the trench. The
previous westward subduction zone could be related to the San-
tonian to Campanian island arcs, which now outcrop in the western
part of Colombian-Ecuadorian western cordilleras and include the
Naranjal arc in Ecuador and the Ricaurte arc in Colombia (Vallejo
et al., 2009).
Between 68 and 49 Ma convergence was almost parallel to the
South American margin (Pardo-Casas and Molnar, 1987). Under
these conditions, the Farallón Plate and coupled slivers of the
Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau docked with island arcs
located at the eastern border and generated strong coupling
relations that favored the transmission of deformation towards
the Central Cordillera and the initial foreland basin system
(Fig. 8).
 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
Fig. 8. Generalized tectonic phases in the southern Colombian basins with an emphasis on the evolution of the Tumaco forearc basin. The detailed basin stratigraphy is shown in
Fig. 6. Plot for Nazca/Farallón plate to south America plate convergence rates is from Pardo-Casas and Molnar (1987).
From Early to Middle Eocene convergence was oblique, between
45 and 35 (Somoza, 1998). At this time, a maturing subduction
zone in western Colombia led to magmatism close to the forearc as
evidenced by Mandé Batholith (43e44 Ma Early Eocene), which
postdatessubduction initiation and is located in the central-
western sector of Western Cordillera. A low convergence rate of
44  26 mm/yr between 37 and 26 Ma (Late Eocene eOligocene;
Pardo-Casas and Molnar, 1987), produced extension (cf. Daly, 1989).
The subduction zone dip then lowered and the arc located in the
Western Cordillera switched off. And the sedimentary filling of the
basin began to a great depth due to the high subsidence with the
Unidad 1 Sur Formation (see Section 3.3). This coincides with the
early stage of the sedimentary filling phase of the Tumaco forearc
with a less significant volcanic arc and plutonic input. The sedi-
ments in this epoch coming probably from the aphanitic volcanic
and sedimentary basement, although is unknown the provenance
of the metamorphic lithics (Fig. 4). However, in the southern
Ecuadorian coastal forearc has received a continuous metamorphic
supply from the Andean continental margin since the Paleocene,
but in the Borbón basin, there are no data to determine the conti-
nuity of this metamorphic input into the northern Ecuadorian
forearc basins (Luzieux, 2007) and thus allow the comparison with
our data in Tumaco basin.
The late Oligocene break-up of the Farallón plate (e.g., Lonsdale,
2005) marked a period of plate reorganization in western Colombia
as the convergence direction again became largely orthogonal after
30 Ma and convergence rates doubled between 28 and 25 Ma
(Somoza, 1998). This is also the time that tectonic collision between
South America and Panamá began at 23e25 Ma as suggested by
Farris et al. (2011). The more orthogonal subduction of the new
Nazca plate caused arc magmatism to initiate in the Western
Cordillera as in the Piedrancha Batholith (24e23 Ma; Fig. 3A).
However, this arc does not seem be the source of the detrital lithic
grains in the early to middle Miocene Cayapas/Viche/Angostura
87
Formations, suggesting those plutonic fragments from an exhumed
continental margin arc of unknown age. During this period, the
crust was probably of normal or slightly attenuated thickness
leading to slow basin subsidence (cf. Ramos, 2009). By at the end of
middle Miocene, forearc sediments were mainly being supplied
from the Western Cordillera, the subduction channel was being fed
and the magmatic switch was turned on helping to raise the
Western Cordillera leading to improved pathways for sediments
into the forearc.
Evidence for late Miocene- Holocene Andean phase compressive
structures can be documented throughout eastern and central
Colombia and the stratovolcanoes of this age were present in the
southern Colombian Central and Western Cordilleras (Fig. 8). At
present, the onshore sector of the Tumaco forearc basin has
components of the Late Miocene to Holocene Volcaniclastic Meg-
asequence. The emerged part is located at the top of the post-
Pliocene Remolinogrande-Gorgona paleo-high, which divides the
onshore and offshore sectors of the Tumaco forearc basin
(Figs. 1and 3B) and was formed by underplating related to Nazca
Plate subduction.
The continuous series of forearc basins that extends through
coastal Ecuador and northwestern Colombia (Nygren, 1950)share
some structural and stratigraphic features based on field geology,
seismic reflection profiles and drilling log wells (Evans and
Whittaker, 1982; Bueno Salazar, 1989; Jaillard et al., 1995;
Marcaillou and Collot, 2008; Luzieux, 2007; Cediel et al., 2009). The
northwestern part of the Borbón Basin contains w5 km of middle
Eocene to Pliocene sediments composed mainly of mudstones
interbedded with sandstones that rest on the upper Cretaceous
Piñon Formation (Evans and Whittaker, 1982; Luzieux et al., 2006).
The middle Miocene change in depth of the depositional setting of
the Borbón basin from bathyal to shallow-marine is similar to the
change in the Tumaco basin. This similarity does not extended into
the upper Miocene-Pliocene as volcaniclastic sequence in the
88 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
Tumaco forearc is not seen in the Borbón basin. The detrital
components of the middle Eocene to Pliocene sandstones in the
Borbón basin were derived from oceanic basement source (Luzieux,
2007), quite similar to the same age sediments of the Tumaco
forearc basin.
Along the strike of the Pacific forearc basins, the northern portion
corresponds to Chocó forearc basin, which contains the Atrato sub-
basin in its northeastern part (Fig. 1). This Atrato sub-basin has up to
w10 km of lower Eocene to Pliocene sedimentary fill, which can be
divided into six lithostratigraphic units, covering an upper Creta-
ceous igneous and sedimentary basement (Cediel et al., 2009). As in
the Tumaco basin, the sediments were mostly deposited in a marine
environment with mild continental influences increasing into the
Pliocene. Their provenance is not yet well studied. Despite being
within the Chocó- Panamá arc block (Cediel et al., 2009), the
structural trend and stratigraphy of the Atrato sub-basin are similar
to those of the southern Tumaco and Borbón basins.
As shown in Fig. 7, the Tumaco forearc basin and basins to the
east can be separated into western and eastern depositional
domains that correlate with the underlying basin type. The western
domain includes the Tumaco forearc basin and the Patía sub-basin
whose basements consist of slivers of the late Cretaceous Colom-
bian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau, whereas the eastern domain
includes the Upper Magdalena Valley and the Putumayo-Caguán
basins, whose basements consist of Proterozoic-Paleozoic meta-
morphic and Triassic-Jurassic rocks (Fig. 8).
Fig. 9. Paleogeographic reconstructions showing distribution of the southern Colombian basins and their changes in configuration during: A. Paleocene-Eocene, and B. Miocene.
The history of the western domain begins in the latest Creta-
ceous when most plate reconstructions indicate a convergent
margin along western Colombia (e.g., Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006
and references therein). The oblique accretion of oceanic rocks in
the area of the Western Cordillera (McCourt et al., 1984; Spikings
et al., 2005) has been suggested to be the driving mechanism for
the Late Cretaceous initiation of shortening and uplift of the Central
Cordillera (Gómez et al., 2005a), and foreland basin development
(Cooper et al., 1995). At about the same time, plateau collision is
considered to have produced the remnant oceanic basin of the Patía
sub-basin. Subsequently, proposed geometries for Paleocene fore-
land basins in this region vary from a single, continuous basin
(Cooper et al., 1995; Villamil, 1999; Gómez et al., 2005a) to a broken
foreland system (Sarmiento and Rangel, 2004)that separates the
broken Upper Magdalena basin from the Putumayo-Caguán basin.
A marine regression related to the uplift of the Central Cordillera is
indicated by the change from the marine Villeta Formation to
continental Rumiyaco Formation in the Putumayo basin (Fig. 7; see
Gonçalves et al., 2002). This is also the time of main erosion, non-
depositional hiatus in the Northern Andes that is marked by the
diachronic late-early Paleocene to middle Eocene unconformity in
all of the southern Colombian basins (Figs. 8and 9).
The Middle and Upper Magdalena Valley Basins, the Eastern
Cordillera area and the Llanos and Putumayo-Caguán basins
constituted a large foreland basin system (Fig. 8) east of the Central
Cordillera (Gómez et al., 2005a) by the Eocene. At this time, the
 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
Central Cordillera was probably beginning to act as a doubly ver-
gent orogen (cf ten Brink et al., 2009) allowing the molasse depo-
sition in the Peña Morada Formation (Fig. 7) to begin in the
peripheral (?) Patía foreland sub-basin. The late Eocene to early
Oligocene foreland basin arrangement highlights the two con-
trasting sedimentation systems (Fig.8). In the west, sedimentation
in the Upper and Middle Magdalena Valley broken foreland basin
was continental, with a large sediment supply from the Central
Cordillera (Sarmiento and Rangel, 2004; Gómez et al., 2005a). In
the east, continental sediments in the Putumayo-Caguán foreland
basin from the Eastern Cordillera were interbedded with minor
marine beds (ANH-UPTC, 2009).
The Miocene Epoch (Fig. 9) was a time of major and rapid
mountain uplift in Colombia and throughout of South America.
Strong middle Miocene to Pliocene basin inversion gave rise to the
modern Eastern Cordillera (Bayona et al., 2008). In northern
Colombia, this inversion can be attributed to collision of the Baudó-
Panama arc (Fig. 8) with the active margin of South America (Cortés
et al., 2006). The period is marked by the continuation of conti-
nental synorogenic deposition that produced the Esmita Formation
in the Patía sub-basin, the Honda Group in the Upper Magdalena
Valley basin and in the Orito-Belén/Ospina Formations in the
Putumayo-Caguán basin (Fig. 7). The uplift of the Eastern and
Central Cordilleras and initiation of volcanism in the Central
Cordillera is recorded in the Miocene strata of the Upper Magdalena
Valley basin.
A shallow subduction zone with an angle <30 is proposed for
southern Colombia (Fig. 9B) to explain the occurrence of Miocene
arc magmatic rocks from the Western Cordillera to the foothills of
Putumayo-Caguán Basin (Fig. 2). Much of the evidence for this
widespread magmatism comes from the Miocene volcaniclastic
rocks in the eastern foreland basin system (Figs. 6and 8). However,
more studies are needed to determine if the explosive acidic
volcanic rocks like those in the Guacacallo Formation in the
southern Upper Magdalena Valley (Velandia et al., 2001) or the
huge undated Popayan Formation volcaniclastic deposits in the
northern Patía sub-basin are actually related to shallow subduction.
As a reference, seems to be common the occurrence of shallow to
flat subduction episodes in the Cenozoic Andes (see review by
Ramos, 2009).
To the south in Ecuador, Spikings et al. (2001) suggested that
high topography developed at w15 Ma and since w9 Ma in the
region north of 1300 S might be related to postulated shallow
subduction attributed to the collision of the aseismic Carnegie
Ridge by Gutscher et al. (1999). This configuration has some simi-
larities to the flat-slab often associated with the subduction of Juan
Fernandez Ridge in Central Chile and Argentina (e.g., Yañez et al.,
2001). The prolongation of the Carnegie Ridge is interpreted to
continue at least 110 km, and possibly up to 500 km from the
Ecuadorian trench, the inferred continuation is in the southwestern
Colombia (Gutscher et al., 1999). Therefore, this could be a major
geodynamic element perturbing the subduction zone at depth
since w15 Ma.
6. Conclusions
A revised stratigraphy of the Tumaco forearc basin is presented
based on stratigraphic logging of accessible outcrops around
Tumaco Bay (Figs. 3and 6) and descriptions of cuttings recovered in
the Remolinogrande-1 and Majagua-1 wells. Petrographic
descriptions and calcareous nanofossil biostratigraphy from the
rocks and preliminary U-Pb ages of detrital zircons reported in ANH
& Universidad de Caldas (2011) provided important constraints.
The Late Cretaceous to Quaternary tectonic history of the Tumaco
basin and southern Colombian basins interpreted from the
89
stratigraphic record and the literature (Fig. 8) is shown to correlate
with the general relative motion between the Farallón and Nazca
plates and South America.
In the Tumaco forearc basin, a w9 km thick Cenozoic sedi-
mentary succession covers a volcanic and sedimentary basement.
The Tumaco block in the forearc basement is postulated to be an
allochthonous block from the Colombian Caribbean Oceanic
Plateau that is currently buried within the flat coastal region of
southern Colombia. Together with the Ecuadorian blocks, this block
was produced by fragmentation of the plateau as it collided with
northwestern South America (Fig. 8) during the Late Cretaceous
(Spikings et al., 2001; Jaillard et al., 2004; Vallejo et al., 2006, 2009;
Luzieux, 2007) and was incorporated into the forearc during the
Paleocene to Eocene (Luzieux, 2007). The stratigraphy of the
Tumaco block can be divided into a lower volcaniclastic to sedi-
mentary (island-arc) sequence and an upper volcanic (plateau
sliver) sequence (Fig. 4).
An Oligocene to middle Miocene sedimentary megasequence in
the Tumaco basin consists of the Oligocene Unidad 1 Sur and the
Early-Middle Miocene Cayapas/Viche/Angostura/Formations
(Fig. 5). Based on nanofossil ages, no pre-Eocene strata are
considered present in the sedimentary forearc succession as been
proposed by various authors (e.g., López, 2009 and references
therein). A bathyal depositional depth for the megasequence indi-
cates a high subsidence rate and a large accommodation space in
the forearc basin. This relation is a consequence of Oligocene to
middle Miocene plate convergence rates (Fig. 8).
A middle-late Miocene to Quaternary volcaniclastic mega-
sequence in the Tumaco forearc basin discordantly overlies the
sedimentary megasequence. The shallowing of deposition is
signaled by the character of the sediments in the middle e late
Miocene Chagüí Formation, the late Miocene San Agustin Forma-
tion and the Pliocene Cascajal Formation as well as by Pleistocene
to Holocene distal volcaniclastic fans (Figs. 3and 4). At the depo-
sition of this sequence was ending, intensification of volcanism in
the Western Cordillera produced huge volumes of secondary vol-
caniclastic deposits that drastically reduced the accommodation
space in the forearc.
The Borbón forearc basin in Ecuador and the Tumaco and Atrato
forearc basins in Colombia share a common N-NE structural trend
and are typical narrow forearc basins in which the sedimentary fill
is only slightly syn-deformed by subsidence (see Fig. 3B). The
depths of all of the basins are of same order of magnitude and all
reach maximum depth near the central axis of the basins. The
basement in all of them is formed by accreted slivers of the
Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau and the forearc sediment
accumulation began in all of them in the middle to late Paleogene
indicative of an approximately synchronic accretion. Subsequent
sedimentation was then dominantly deep-marine in nature until
the middle Miocene when it changed to shallow-marine to then to
continental between the late Miocene to Pliocene. The dominant
detritus in all of the basins is from the adjacent oceanic crust
basement and magmatic arcs in the Colombian and Ecuadorian
Western Cordilleras. Pliocene- Quaternary volcaniclastic deposition
is most abundant in Colombian forearc basins.
In the Late Cretaceous, the evolution of the northern Colombian
Andes (Fig. 8) was influenced by the collision of the Colombian
Caribbean Oceanic Plateau. In the west this collision produced the
Tumaco allochthonous block and an oceanic remnant basin in Patía
Valley; whereas the eastern region responded by shortening
leading to the uplift of the Central Cordillera and formation of the
foreland basin system. In southern Colombia, the foreland basin
system was divided into the Upper Magdalena Valley broken
foreland basin and the southern part of the Putumayo-Caguán
foreland basin (Fig. 9). The convergence between the Farallón plate
90 C. Borrero et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 39 (2012) 75e92
coupled with Colombian Caribbean Oceanic Plateau slivers, the
Nazca and South American plates from the Paleocene (Pardo-Casas
and Molnar, 1987; Somoza, 1998) to the Recent (Norabuena et al.,
1998) produced continental shortening in the Central Cordillera
and aided in the polyphase growth of the Eastern Cordillera
(Bayona et al., 2008) and the development of peripheral (?) fore-
land basin in the Patía Valley. Events since the Miocene include the
collision of the Baudó-Panamá Arc and the Carnegie Ridge that
perturbed subduction zone in southern Colombia, and a possible
shallow subduction zone to explain the wide distribution of arc
volcanic rocks and detritus in southern Colombia (Fig. 9). But, these
events failed to produce significant deformation in the Pacific
forearc.
Acknowledgements
This paper is part of a cooperative project between the IIES
(Instituto de Investigaciones en Estratigrafía) of Caldas University
and ANH (Colombian National Hydrocarbons Agency). The study
was funded by the ANH and Department of Geological Sciences,
Caldas University. We thank Suzanne M. Kay for her constructive
comments and suggestions on improving the paper. The manu-
script was improved by the thorough reviews of three anonymous
reviewers and from the editors of this special issue of JSAES. The
authors are grateful to the IIES administrate staff. A. Arenas
collaborated intensively in the final edition of the paper.
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