Tectonic Evolution and Paleogeography

Tectonic evolution and paleogeography of the
Mesozoic Pucara Basin, central Peru
Abstract
The Pucara Basin of Peru is an elongate trough that subsided landward of a NNW-trending structural high during the Late TriassicEarly
Jurassic. It formed as a postrift regional sag as the earlier Triassic fault-controlled Mitu rifts yoked together. The rift and transitional postrift
basins were associated with a NW-striking sinistral shear zone that controlled isopachs and facies distributions and resulted in magmatism
and mineralization along its trend. A distinct association of later dolomitization and MVT leadzinc mineralization also occurs with these
basin-forming shear zones. Although basaltic and andesitic extrusives are common, there is no evidence that the Pacic margin was a magmatic arc until the upper Pucara, and then only weakly developed in northern Peru. Except in the upper Pucara of northwest Peru, geochemical studies, including whole rock and trace element analyses, indicate that intercalations of volcanic material have intraplate rift anities.
The basin ll has a three-part stratigraphic subdivision, comprising lower and upper carbonate platforms with an intermediate phase of basin
overdeepening and sediment starvation that resulted in a regional, organic-rich argillaceous drape. Stratigraphic accumulation was dominated by axial patterns of onlap and progradation, though facies characteristics show it was augmented by periodic ooding of the western
basin margin high. Marine invertebrate fossils indicate normal marine salinities. The sedimentological interpretation is based on a SWNE
transect in the southern part of the Pucara Basin. The Chambara (NorianRhaetian) and Condorsinga (Toarcian) formations were constructed principally by shallow-water carbonate sedimentation in lagoon-like subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal paleoenvironments. The
subtidal carbonate platform is dominated by oolitic grainstones with subordinate bioclastic packstones. Subordinate open-basin facies
in the Chambara Formation consist principally of crinoidal packstones and bioclastic wackestones. In the intertidal and supratidal facies,
evaporite pseudomorphs are common and generally associated with algal mats and widespread early diagenetic dolomitization. During the
Chambara and Condorsinga, subsidence typically was balanced by carbonate production and shallow-water environments prevailed; the
basin had the characteristics of an overlled basin. Conversely, the intermediate late RhaetianSinemurian stage of basin subsidence was
marked by underlled deep water conditions. This widespread transgressive inundation of the Pucara Basin, recorded in the argillaceous
Aramachay stratigraphy, correlates with similar events in other Andean basins.
2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Triassic; Jurassic; Pucara Group; Central Peru; Paleogeography; Tectonic evolution; Sedimentary facies
1. Introduction
The sedimentary basins of Peru record a long history of
Phanerozoic subsidence by intermittent reactivation of
older fabrics in the continental lithosphere (Tankard

et al., 2006). The principal basin-forming faults are conspicuous and, especially in the eastern sections, well documented by an enormous amount of seismic exploration.
The structural architecture distinguishes a tract of basins
bounded by families of NW- and NE-trending faults; the
former have marked strike-slip anities. For much of their
history, these depocenters were unique but at some points
locally joined together, depending on prevailing stress

elds. This history of basin subsidence and intermittent
deformation is preserved in a sedimentary cover of terrigenous clastic sediments and subordinate carbonates
arranged in a stacked system of unconformity-bounded
sequences.
The Pucara Basin of central and northern Peru is the
Late TriassicEarly Jurassic stage of basin formation
(Fig. 1), characterized by the yoking together of the earlier
Mitu rifts as fault-controlled subsidence was superseded by
postrift regional subsidence and marine inundation during
the Jurassic. This basin complex currently is caught up in
the NNW-striking Andean ranges as a welt of structural
inversion and transpressional uplift. Locally, this transpression has resulted in shortcut faults with low-angle
detachment over short distances (e.g., Tarma; Baudoux
et al., 2001). Pronounced thin-skinned structural telescoping characterizes the EneMadre de Dios mountain belt
of southern Peru. Voluminous literature addresses various
aspects of the Pucara Group, including Megard (1978),
Loughman and Hallam (1982), Rosas (1994), Rosas and
Fontbote (1995), and Moritz et al. (1996). Several paleon-
tological studies interpret ages and paleogeographies (see

Prinz, 1985a,b; Stanley, 1994). We draw on these previous
works.
We investigate the sedimentology and tectonic implications of the southern part of the Pucara Basin using a
detailed study of six measured sections that span the width
of the Pucara depocentre and form a NE-oriented transect.
These sections include Tingocancha in a small valley
incised into the northeastern part of the Yauli dome; Malpaso and Tarmatambo near the town of Tarma; the San
Vicente Mine and Vilcapoma, 2 km NE of the San Vicente
mine location; and Shalipayco, which is located nearly
60 km NW of this general transect but shares the same
fault zone as San Vicente (Figs. 1b and 6; coordinates for
each measured section are documented in Rosas, 1994).
The structural framework and tectonic interpretation are
derived from a large exploration study (Tankard, 2001).
The integration of our results with the data of other
authors extends understanding of the sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the Pucara Group. We reveal that the
mainly shallow-water carbonate platform deposits accumulated in several depocenters formed by early Mesozoic sub-
Fig. 1. Distribution of Upper TriassicLower Jurassic Pucara cover in Peru. (a) Pucara Basin is separated from the plate margin by a basement high.
Pucara distribution is modied after Audebaud et al. (1973), Megard (1978), Fontbote (1990), and Rosas (1994). The tectonic and structural framework is
based on regional exploration data (INGEMMET, 1999; Tankard, 2001; PARSEP, 2002; PeruPetro proprietary les). The left-lateral sense of
displacement on the major NNW-striking faults is interpreted from the overall pattern of subsidence and magmatism at releasing bends, shoaling on
restraining jogs, and regional context. (b) Detail of outcropping Pucara sediments and relationship of outcrop to principal faults. Exploration seismic data
show that these faults were used repeatedly during both basin formation and structural inversion, the most recent of which involved the Andean
deformation. AB, Abancay; AR, Arequipa; AY, Ayacucho; CA, Cajamarca; CP, Cerro de Pasco; HSO, Huallaga stepover jog; HC, Huancayo; HV,
Huancavelica; HU, Huanuco; LO, La Oroya; LI, Lima; LT, Lake Titicaca; OX, Oxapampa; TR, Trujillo.
S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24
sidence along the margin of the Brazilian shield, accompanied locally by volcanism along the steep, basin-forming
faults. Furthermore, the facies tracts that typify the Pucara
Basin ll reect progressive marine ooding and enable us
to correlate this inundation with other Andean basins.
2. Geological setting
Peru is divided into ve tectonic domains that, not surprisingly, parallel the present Andean ranges (Benavides,
1999). The Andes formed by massive structural inversion
and transpressional uplift of preexisting basins along their
basin-forming faults. The upper Amazon Basin or Oriente
region represents a Cenozoic foreland basin sandwiched
between the Guyana-Brazilian shield, which it onlaps,
and the Eastern Cordillera or Maran o n Arch. In south
central Peru, this jungle-covered lowland forms the
EneMadre de Dios foreland basin, which subsided in
front of a thin-skinned, fold-and-thrust belt and continues
into northern Bolivia. Economically, this region is dominated by the giant Camisea gas-condensate eld. The Western Platform spans the Western Cordillera and Altiplano
of southern Peru. West of the cordillera is the topographic
high of coastal Peru, sometimes referred to as the Divisoria
Arch. Finally, the MesozoicCenozoic subduction-related
magmatic belt reveals presently active volcanism in northern and southern Peru. The present continental shelf faces
an active subduction zone characterized by modern subduction earthquakes.
The Late TriassicMiddle Jurassic Pucara Basin of northern and central Peru straddles these NNW-oriented tectonic
belts, from the Western Cordillera to the Oriente, and
denes a pre-Andean landscape. It formed as a successor
basin above a dissected and deformed platform of PermoCarboniferous and Lower Triassic rocks (Fig. 2). The Upper
Carboniferous and Permian TarmaCopacabana succession
consists of sandstones, mudstones, and limestones, the
thickest parts of which were deposited in a suite of rifts
linked to strike-slip fault zones. Fault-controlled subsidence
gradually diminished and ceased by the Late Permian.
Relaxation of the previous extensional basin-forming stresses resulted in widespread regional subsidence and formed
a broad epeiric sea in which the argillaceous, organic-rich
Ene Formation was deposited as a regional blanket or drape.
The locus of postrift Ene subsidence was laterally oset to
the east with respect to the previous fault-controlled phase
of subsidence.
Reection seismic data show that a pronounced unconformity intervenes between the deformed Ene and the overlying Mitu molasses. Fig. 3 shows these relationships, in
which the seismic data have been restored to a prominent
base-Cretaceous reector (base of Sarayaquillo Formation). According to biostratigraphic well control, this preMitu deformation is broadly dated as latest PermianEarly
Triassic (G. Wine, pers. commun.), as is supported by
radiometric dating of synkinematic granitic batholiths in
the eastern Cordillera, with an age range of 255236 Ma
124
(RbSr, KAr; Lancelot et al., 1978; Dalmayrac et al.,

1980; Gunnesch et al., 1990; Soler, 1991). On the basis of
seismic evidence of marked structural inversion in the Oriente region of Peru, Barros and Carneiro (1991) refer this
latest PermianEarly Triassic episode of deformation to
the Jurua orogeny. The Mitu redbeds were deposited in a
suite of rift depocenters above the deformed Ene (Fig. 3)
by a process akin to the orogenic collapse of Dewey
(1988), following the Jurua orogeny.
The rift ll consists of terrigenous clastic molasse sediments, characterized by pronounced variations in thicknesses and facies over short distances, and alkaline
volcanics of the Mitu Group, deformed within the Cenozoic fold-and-thrust belt of Peru and Bolivia (Megard,
1978; Kontak et al., 1985; Mathalone and Montoya,
1995; Sempere et al., 1998, 1999). In the Oriente of Ecuador, reection seismic data show that these depocenters
are fault-bounded half graben structures (Balkwill et al.,
1995). Mitu sedimentation was a response to strike-slip
and associated extensional faulting; local discordances
reect pre-Pucara tilting. U/Pb geochronology of granodiorite batholith and detrital pebbles indicate the close relationship of the Mitu extension to the preceding Jurua
orogeny, which suggests an Early Triassic age for the Mitu;
detrital pebbles in Mitu conglomerates close to the San
Vicente Mine are also Early Triassic (Fontbote and Gorzawski, 1990). Kontak et al. (1985) suggest a Middle Triassic age for the upper Mitu Group.
As fault-controlled subsidence of the Mitu extensional
landscape gradually ceased, the various depocenters yoked
together to form the broad epeiric Pucara Basin, expressed
by widespread transgression of marine sediments that continued into the Late Cretaceous (Megard, 1978; Benavides,
1999). However, the structural framework of the Mitu era
persisted into the Pucara, though intermittently and with
diminished intensity. The thickest parts of the Pucara are
associated with principal NW-striking faults (Fig. 1), which
we attribute to transtensional subsidence. The overall pattern of sedimentation and local volcanism at releasing
bends, with thinning across right-stepping jogs between oset faults, indicate that the sense of displacement in the
NW-trending basement faults was generally left-lateral
(Tankard, 2001). Whereas the Mitu was characterized by
widespread rift subsidence, the Pucara Basin was a regional
sag in which local depocenters formed by intermittent
transtensional subsidence (Fig. 1).
The Pucara cover consists of limestones, ne-grained
organic-rich clastics, and evaporites. It terminates in the
regional Sarayaquillo blanket of terrigenous clastics and
evaporites along the cratonward margin (Figs. 4 and 5).
The western margin of the Pucara Basin was a structural
high (Fig. 1), the Divisoria Arch of Benavides (1999).
The basin was connected to the ocean in the northwest,
where there is some evidence of a volcanic arc. Recent
work (LAGESA-CFGS, 1997) addressed the gradual transition along the eastern margin of Pucara carbonates into
mixed clastic-evaporitic deposits (Lower Sarayaquillo
Fig. 2. Tectonostratigraphic column for the Pucara Basin. The Mitu rift system and postrift Pucara shown in relationship to the overall late Paleozoic
early Mesozoic history of basin evolution. A repetitive pattern of basin development and structural modication involved multiple phases of orogenesis,
fault-controlled extensional subsidence, and decay or relaxation of extensional stresses, with each phase reworking preexisting basement structures to
varying extents (Megard, 1978; Mathalone and Montoya, 1995).
124
Fig. 3. Line drawing of reection seismic data showing (1) EneCopacabana (CE) stratigraphy deformed by the Jurua orogeny, (2) fault-controlled
subsidence of the Mitu (M) rift system due to strike-slip associated extension, and (3) yoking together of the previous rifts to form the broad postrift epeiric
basin of Pucara (P) time. The section is attened at the base of the Sarayaquillo Formation (S). Interpretation courtesy of Gary Wine. Based on PARSEP
(2002). TWT, two-way time.
Formation, Megard, 1978). The ToarcianBathonian limestones of the Socosani Formation in southwestern Peru
(Jenks, 1948; Benavides, 1962; Vicente, 1981) are also
partly of Pucara age, but there is insucient evidence to

determine whether they were always isolated depocenters
or once an integral part of the Pucara paleogeography.
Fig. 4. Pucara succession in the Tingocancha area, site of a measured section. The Aramachay Formation is a ubiquitous drape of argillaceous material
reecting basin overdeepening between carbonate platform sediments below and above. Folding resulted from subsequent Andean deformation.
Fig. 5. Measured sections of the Pucara Group, showing lithologies and interpreted facies (see Rosas, 1994). The Shalipayco, San Vicente, and lower
Tarmatambo sections are extensively dolomitized and have pods of Cenozoic-age MVT lead-zinc mineralisation associated with prominent strike-slip fault
zones (Fig. 6). The western margin is a fault zone, and the Malpaso section is extensively dolomitized with sporadic tuaceous interbeds. A summary of
facies tracts is plotted on the right of each section. The principal facies and their interpreted paleoenvironments are as follows: as, ammonite-bearing, nely
laminated anoxic black shales with high TOC content, interpreted as underlled basin drape; bp, bioclastic packstones and wackestones forming 11.5 m
thick lenses, attributed to traction sedimentation in the outer part of the tidal range as bioclastic shoals and bars; op, oolitic packstones and grainstones
formed as shallow subtidal oolite banks and ats with local spillover lobes; lm, laminated mudstones with interbedded bioclastic wackestones and
packstones and gypsum lenses, attributed to shallow subtidal carbonate ats with periodic desiccation; al, algal-laminated mudstones and evaporites with
birds-eye structures, geopetal structures, and wrinkled algal mats, attributed to intertidal and supratidal deposition.
In the Oriente Basin of Ecuador, seismic and well information record basement, fault-bounded, half-graben structures that contain hundreds of metres of conglomeratic,
nonmarine, terrigenous clastics (Balkwill et al.,1995), a
continuation of the Mitu paleogeography. In the Eastern
Cordillera and Oriente Basin, these isolated rift segments
are succeeded by a regional marine carbonate blanket,
the Santiago Formation, of Pucara anity (Fig. 1) (Geyer,
1980; Baldock, 1982; Balkwill et al., 1995). A marine transgression of Norian age also ooded the basins of Colombia, now recorded in the Payande carbonates and
volcanic-carbonate Saldan a Formation (Geyer, 1979,
1980; Cediel et al., 1981). A Liassic transgression is interpreted from the argillaceous and locally volcanic Morrocoyal and Bata formations. Northern Chile also reveals
evidence of Late Triassic marine inundation as the sea pro-
gressively ooded a coast-parallel basin (Chong and Hillebrandt, 1985; Hillebrandt et al., 1986).
In summary, the western continental margin of South
America has a remarkably similar record of marine inundation and deposition of terrigenous clastics, carbonate
sediments, and associated basic volcanic rocks. Field studies and petroleum exploration show that ooding and sedimentation were accommodated by
fault-controlled
subsidence along the continental margin, and the similar
timing indicates broadscale tectonic linkage of these extensional and strike-slip basin tracts.
In Peru, basic volcanic rocks occur sporadically
throughout the Pucara succession (Rosas, 1994; Kobe,
1995). There is direct evidence of Late Triassic volcanic
activity in the Chambara Formation in the central parts.
These extrusives (Table 1) consist of alkaline olivine basalts
Table 1
Geochemiistry of intercalated volcanics
Unit
Chambara Fm Triassic
Aramachay Fm Hettangian-Sinemurian
Montero Suite in Condorsinga Fm PliensbachianToarcian
Locality
Lircay
Shalipayco
Yauli Dome
Sample
HU-17
HU-23
35196
35197
35198
Extrusives
35234
35235
35258
PB-51
PB-53
PB-54
PB-55
PB-56
43.80
2.22
12.60
9.31
0.09
3.45
13.10
1.24
2.36
0.30
0.06
9.20
97.73
45.60
1.56
15.80
7.44
0.05
5.11
9.95
2.91
1.78
0.37
0.04
9.45
100.06
53.55
2.23
13.94
11.78
0.14
4.12
6.54
3.00
2.21
0.57
na
2.42
100.50
53.71
1.76
10.60
8.37
0.06
0.14
10.26
5.02
1.63
0.40
na
8.11
100.06
51.55
2.26
13.81
15.54
0.18
3.55
5.35
4.04
2.53
0.51
na
1.2
100.52
53.47
2.30
14.10
11.68
0.18
4.10
6.33
3.76
1.78
0.37
na
1.50
99.57
41.78
2.16
13.71
10.36
0.16
2.04
11.37
4.41
1.79
0.31
na
10.64
98.73
172
39
394
158
13
23
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
427
67
200
301
14
59
376
56
11
20
7
95
49
20
56
194
29
96
244
13
47
312
24
bdl
13
22
105
70
13
44
427
54
352
193
8
47
420
65
12
19
6
70
12
15
39
381
46
333
212
9
54
435
59
17
19
4
78
17
10
41
302
30
114
198
bdl
36
422
31
bdl
24
bdl
64
bdl
30
51
Intrusives
47.01
2.19
15.16
10.21
0.15
6.62
9.30
3.02
1.73
0.93
na
2.73
99.05
wt%
45.70
2.64
14.30
9.63
0.06
2.46
12.90
3.25
0.78
0.32
0.03
8.25
100.32
45.60
2.76
14.90
4.70
0.06
0.74
16.10
3.47
1.36
0.30
0.03
10.20
100.22
Ba
Rb
Sr
Zr
Nb
Y
V
Co
Ni
Cr
Pb
Zn
Cu
La
Ce
384
22
157
186
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
732
34
963
217
50
27
188
40
419
294
118
113
49
32
91
ppm
67
17
349
159
12
22
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
108
26
437
164
11
23
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
48.20
2.58
14.00
9.62
0.08
3.83
11.10
3.24
0.56
0.33
0.04
5.55
99.13
125
11
447
165
15
23
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
38.70
3.50
11.10
14.00
0.18
8.79
9.78
1.15
3.75
1.14
0.03
6.10
98.22
388
47
1070
292
74
23
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
72
30
229
117
14
20
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
124
46.36
2.64
14.76
10.88
0.21
6.43
7.90
4.05
2.06
na
na
4.50
99.79
SiO2
TiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
MnO
MgO
CaO
Na2O
K2 O
P2O5
Cr2O3
LOI
TOTAL
Notes: Lircay and Yauli dome samples analysed at Mineralogy Laboratory, University of Geneva; Shalipayco samples at X-Ral, Canada. bdl, below detection limit; na, not analyzed; LOI, lost on
ignition.
at Lircay (Rangel, 1978; Megard et al., 1983; Morche and

Larico, 1996) and local tuaceous layers within the lower
Pucara at the Yauli dome (Dalheimer, 1990). Younger
intercalations of basaltic and andesitic ows occur within
the Aramachay Formation at Shalipayco (Mun oz et al.,
2000) and at the Yauli dome, where a 40 m thick interval
of lava ows (the so-called Montero basalt) intercalates
within the Condorsinga carbonates. The Yauli extrusives
appear to have taken advantage of dilation at a releasing
bend along a NW-oriented shear zone (Fig. 1b). We
encountered thin layers of acid tus in the Malpaso and
Tingocancha sections as well. Geochemical studies of the
Shalipayco (Mun oz et al., 2000) and Montero extrusives,
including whole-rock and trace element analyses, indicate
an alkali to andesitic basalt composition with intraplate
anities (Rosas, 1994; Rosas et al., 1996, 1997), which
may reect transtensional dilation along steep, crustal-scale
faults (see Sempere et al., 2002).
In contrast, the geochemical characterization of Liassic
magmatic rocks in northwestern Peru indicates a volcanic
arc setting (Pardo and Sanz, 1979; Prinz, 1985a; Romeuf,
1994; Romeuf et al., 1995); these are the Colan calc-alkaline
basalts. At the other extreme, Lower Jurassic volcanic rocks
of the Chocolate Formation occur in southern coastal Peru
(Benavides, 1962; James et al., 1975; Vicente et al., 1982;
Boily et al., 1984); they are 9003000 m thick and consist
of andesites, subordinate dacites, volcanic agglomerates,
and breccias attributed to the early stages of volcanic-arc
activity.
The Pucara phase of basin formation and sedimentation
was caught up in the intense Andean (Late Cretaceous and
Cenozoic) deformation, which involved both massive
transpressional inversion driven by left-lateral strike-slip
processes and thin-skinned structural shortening (e.g.,
EneMadre de Dios Andes; Tankard et al., 2006). Flat-slab
subduction of the Nazca plate contributed to this tectonic
behaviour and explains the distribution of younger volcanism (e.g., shoshonites close to the Brazilian border).
(For a discussion of the kinematics of the Nazca plate,
see Pilger, 1981, 1983; Gutscher et al., 1999.) Investigation
of the Pucara requires some pre-Andean reconstruction,
which locally involved seismic restoration of reection seismic data (Fig. 3). Reection seismic data show that the
principal basin-forming structures were repeatedly reactivated and eventually accommodated Andean deformation
itself.
124
consists of dolomite and subordinate limestone. Second,

above it, the Aramachay Formation (upper RhaetianSinemurian) of bituminous calcareous shales indicates an
underlled basin stage and deepening. Third, the Condorsinga Formation (upper SinemurianToarcian) that caps
the succession is again dominated by shallower-water limestone. Megard (1968) and Stanley (1994) discuss the ages of
this stratigraphy in detail. Our eld investigation does not
support an alternative sixfold subdivision of the eastern
Pucara (Palacios, 1980).
The isopach reconstruction of Pucara is relatively well
constrained in the area addressed by Fig. 6 and Table 2.
Elsewhere, eld exposure and well control is too limited
to palinspastically restore the geology to a pre-Andean
state or reconstruct reliable isopachs. The succession generally varies in thickness between 700 and 1500 m, except in
the fault-bounded depocenters Cerro de Pasco, Oxapampa,
and Huancayo, where greater thicknesses vary between
2200 and 2900 m. The elongate isopach distributions and
rapid changes in thickness reect transtensional subsidence
along contemporaneous strike-slip faults.
3.1. Lithology of the Pucara Group
This description addresses the overall lithological
makeup of the Pucara rocks in the various measured sections (Fig. 5) but emphasizes the Malpaso section, which
is the most representative. Fig. 7 and Table 3 show the
3. Pucara : TriassicJurassic subsidence

The Pucara Group is dominated by shallow-water platform carbonates, except for an intermediate unit of bituminous calcareous shales that indicate deeper-water
circulation. This threefold subdivision (Figs. 4 and 5)
(Megard, 1968; Szekely and Grose, 1972; Rosas and Fontbote, 1995) reects intermittent basin subsidence and
clearly facilitates stratigraphic correlation throughout the
basin. First, the Chambara Formation (NorianRhaetian)
Fig. 6. Isopach distribution of the Pucara Group in the study area (see
Table 2 for controls). Subsidence particularly pronounced along NNWtrending, strike-slip faults and NE-striking antithetic faults that form
sidewall faults to local depocenters. Intersecting structures compartmentalized the basin. M, Malpaso; S, Shalipayco; SV, San Vicente; Ti,
Tingocancha; Ta, Tarmatambo; V, Vilcapoma; Y, Yauli. Contours in
meters.
124
Table 2
Localities and measured thicknesses of Pucara units
Locality
Coordinates
Chambara Fm.
thickness (m)
Aramachay Fm.
thickness (m)
Condorsinga Fm.
thickness (m)
Pucara Gr.
thickness (m)
Author
Aramango
520 0 S,
7829 0 W
543 0 S,
7938 0 W
606 0 S,
7752 0 W
627 0 S,
7937 0 W
633 0 S,
7744 0 W
905 0 S,
7653 0 W
916S,
7601W
924 0 S,
7534 0 W
927S,
7557W
937 0 S,
7552 0 W
954 0 S,
7549 0 W
1011 0 S,
7536 0 W
1013 0 S,
7623 0 W
1013 0 S,
7510 0 W
1032 0 S,
7629 0 W
1036 0 S,
7614 0 W
1037 0 S,
7557 0 W
1042S,
7617W
1043 0 S,
7620 0 W
1043 0 S,
7525 0 W
1043 0 S,
7522 0 W
1046 0 S,
7517 0 W
10 50 0 S,
7558 0 W
1053 0 S,
7526 0 W
1054 0 S,
7604 0 W
1054S,
7457W
1056 0 S,
7556 0 W
1058S,
7602W
1100 0 S,
7449 0 W
450
350
200
1000
De la Cruz (1995)
nd
nd
nd
700
350(?)
1390(?)
160(?)
1900
Reyes and Caldas

(1987)
Sanchez (1995)
595
nd
nd
1240
Pardo and Sanz (1979)
450
150
80
680
Prinz (1985a)
>100a
nd
nd
nd
Jacay (1996)
nd
nd
nd
~2200
Davila et al. (1999)
nd
nd
nd
~1200
nd
nd
nd
~2000
nd
nd
nd
~2300
nd
nd
nd
~1720
nd
nd
nd
~1650
nd
nd
nd
~400
nd
nd
nd
700
nd
nd
nd
~480
nd
nd
nd
2100
nd
nd
nd
>700
Szekely and Grose

(1972)
nd
nd
nd
2931
nd
nd
0(?)
627
nd
nd
nd
~1680
Szekely and Grose

(1972)
Szekely and Grose
(1972)
nd
nd
nd
~1700
1600
350
800
2750
Palacios (1980)
622
40
>93
>1050
This work
nd
nd
nd
~2100
nd
nd
nd
~1050
nd
nd
nd
>1500
nd
nd
nd
>1250
S and Z Consultores
(1997)
1700
nd
nd
>1700
nd
nd
nd
>1190
730
1170
10
105
~60
>250
~800
>1550
aupe
N
Levanto
Ro La Leche
Ro Utcubamba
C Calvario
5 km N of Tingo
Mara
40 km S of Aguaytia
16 km SE of Tingo
Mara
38 km SE of Tingo
Mara
Tambo de Vaca
16 km SW of Pozuzo
23 km WSW of
Ambo
Iscozacn (DDH)
10 km WSW of
Goyllarisquizga
Atacocha-Chicrn
area
Huachon
28 km E of C de
Pasco
7 km W and SW of
C de Pasco
6 km W of Tambo
Mara
Tambo Mara
Oxapampa
Shalipayco
5 km WNW of
Raymondi Sur
Carhuamayo
Quebrada Zutziki
6 km WNW of
Pucapaccha
2 km NE of Huaire
Satipo
Vilcapoma
San Vicente
1112 0 S,
7521 0 W
Szekely and Grose

(1972)
LAGESA-CFGS
(1997)
This work
This work
(continued on next page)
1
0
Table 2 (continued)
124
Locality
Coordinates
Chambara Fm.
thickness (m)
Aramachay Fm.
thickness (m)
Condorsinga Fm.
thickness (m)
Pucara Gr.
thickness (m)
Author
7 km WSW of
Ondores
Pin on
1107 0 S,
7612 0 W
1121 0 S,
7521 0 W
1125 0 S,
7601 0 W
1129 0 S,
7540 0 W
1128 0 S
7542 0 W
1131 0 S,
7547 0 W
1131 0 S,
7531 0 W
1137 0 S,
7609 0 W
1137 0 S,
7559 0 W
1140 0 S,
7533 0 W
1142 0 S,
7606 0 W
1143 0 S,
7521 0 W
1148 0 S,
7607 0 W
1203 0 S,
7514 0 W
1211 0 S,
7428 0 W
1258 0 S,
7442 0 W
nd
nd
nd
~350
nd
nd
nd
>1000
319
125
303
747
This work
nd
nd
nd
~1000
557
~90
>50
>900
This work
430
100
270
800
722
391
1200
2313
nd
nd
nd
431
25
73
354
452
Senowbari-Daryan and
Stanley (1986)
Szekely and Grose
(1972)
Szekely and Grose
(1972)
This work
nd
nd
nd
~2100
nd
108
113
221
355
300
>>154
>>800
Szekely and Grose

(1972)
Paredes (1994)
nd
nd
nd
509
600
408
1200
2208
nd
nd
nd
>1467
400
100
500
1000
Malpaso
9 km S of Tarma
Tarmatambo
Huaricolca
E of Inca Tacuna
Morococha
Tingocancha
San Pablo
Yauli-San Cristobal
area
Jauja
8 km S-SW of San
Cristobal
Huancayo
Anticlinal de
Quintojo
Lircay
a
Szekely and Grose

(1972)
Loughman and Hallam
(1982)
Guizado and Landa
(1966)
Rangel (1978)
Strong erosion of upper Pucara; nd, not determined.
results of the petrographic examination of 431 thin sections

and XRF analyses of 157 whole-rock samples (see also
Rosas, 1994; Rosas and Fontbote, 1995).
The Chambara Formation is predominantly dolomitic
(>80%) with locally interbedded calcareous dolomites and
limestones. Although these dolomite-prone lithologies are
widespread, they are particularly associated with outcrops
along the intrabasinal shear zones (Fig. 1b). In contrast,
the Chambara in the Tarmatambo section at mid-basin
consists exclusively of limestone. The detrital content varies
up to 30%, mainly in the lower part of the sequence, with
average values of 12 wt% SiO2 and 2 wt% Al2O3. Detrital
quartz is least abundant at Tarmatambo and Shalipayco.
Chert is ubiquitous in the Chambara Formation and
occurs as centimeter-scale bands and nodules. Other common macroscopic components include carbonate pseudomorphs after gypsum and anhydrite, burrow casts,
macrofossils (bivalves, gastropods, crinoids, ostracods,
and brachiopods), algal mats, and birds-eye textures.
Laminar bedding is common in the mudstones, and
cross-bedding occurs in the grainstones.
In contrast to the other sections, the basal Pucara at San
Vicente shows a gradual transition from clastic red silt and
sandstone facies with evaporite intercalations (Davila et al.,

1999) that resemble the upper Mitu. Megard (1978) and
Fontbote and Gorzawski (1990) refer this Red Sandstone to basal Pucara facies, rather than Mitu, but
acknowledge that the absence of an angular unconformity
and the gradual lithological change makes it dicult to distinguish between the two.
The Aramachay Formation is dominated by black argillaceous limestones and shales, compared with the Chambara below or Condorsinga above, and is thus less well
exposed. However, the Aramachay at Tingocancha and
Malpaso is unique because mild contact metamorphism
and volcaniclastic material has helped lithify the argillaceous sediments (illites, variable amounts of calcite, and
abundant chert), making the sedimentary succession more
robust. There is also less organic material in these outcrops, probably because basin-margin uplift and oxidation
depleted the carbon content. The upper part of Aramachay
at Tingocancha and Malpaso is strongly dolomitized and
includes distinctive recrystallized argillaceous lithologies.
Lithogeochemistry provides an invaluable tool to characterize the Aramachay Formation. In each column, the
lower part of the Aramachay Formation is distinguished
124
11
Fig. 7. Comparison of dolomite type and detrital content of each measured section. fd, nely crystalline dolomite; cd, medium to coarsely crystalline
dolomite.
by higher SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, and K2O contents than the

underlying and overlying Chambara and Condorsinga formations (Fig. 8 and Table 3).
This eld investigation has mapped Aramachay sediments at Shalipayco. In the eastern part of the basin, near
the San Vicente and Pichita Caluga mines, the bituminous
silty limestones of the Aramachay Formation are conspicuous and known locally as the Uncush limestone (Da vila
et al., 1999).
The Condorsinga Formation is limestone dominated but
diers from the Chambara platform succession in that it
has far less dolomitization that, where present, is restricted
to the lower parts of the unit (Fig. 7). Chert is also less
abundant, and the quartz-prone detrital content is less than
3%. However, in the more marginal San Vicente area, there
are conspicuous silty-argillaceous intercalations within the
Condorsinga carbonates (Arcopunco limestone of Da vila
et al., 1999).
3.2. Stratigraphic framework

The six stratigraphic columns examined in detail are
shown in Fig. 5; the total outcrop surveyed exceeds
4800 m. Whereas the Chambara and Aramachay formations are present and fully exposed in all six measured sections, the overlying Condorsinga Formation occurs only in
the Tingocancha and Malpaso columns. Elsewhere,
Andean-age structural inversion and erosion have stripped
the Condorsinga. The Pucara succession has a disconformable to angular unconformable relationship with the underlying Mitu (contact is an angular unconformity at
Tarmatambo) and is separated from the overlying sandstones and siltstones of the Lower Cretaceous Goyllarisquizga Group by sharp contact. Because of their limited
appreciation of the sedimentary facies, previous studies
(e.g., Harrison, 1943; Szekely and Grose, 1972) have failed
to recognize Chambara rocks in the Yauli dome area.
12
Table 3
Geochemical characterization of Pucara succession
Unit
Chambara
Section
Tingocancha
Aramachay
Malpaso
Tarma
Shalipayco
San Vicente
Condorsinga
Malpaso
Tarma
Shalipayco
San Vicente
Tingocancha
Malpaso
Tarma
San Vicente
l.p.
u.p.
l.p.
u.p.
23.26
12.67
21.95
4.76
2.31
33.60
9.38
4.74
61.45
6.70
1.58
14.38
24.32
14.95
20.44
2.78
1.25
35.60
0.89
0.59
77.30
8.92
3.71
3.36
15.68
0.92
48.28
6.43
3.79
19.06
28.28
1.77
35.56
4.32
2.53
24.78
39.93
8.67
7.92
0.88
0.57
40.97
49.84
2.63
3.79
0.59
0.47
41.86
0.36
0.24
96.50
1.30
0.75
1.13
29.00
19.30
9.10
0.73
1.09
39.40
30.70
17.03
7.94
0.76
0.83
42.88
32.01
13.68
12.04
1.34
0.64
39.65
47.94
4.17
4.78
0.35
0.27
42.33
34.01
16.08
4.84
0.40
2.17
40.72
32.75
16.36
3.67
0.82
1.41
43.78
MnO
Na2O
K2 O
TiO2
P2O5
Sr*
Ba*
Rb*
U*
La*
Ce*
Nd*
Y*
Zr*
V*
Cr*
Ni*
Co*
S*
Cu*
Zn*
Pb*
578
2787
212
281
276
153
bdl
1
1
3
26
9
4
12
5
7
bdl
2
1141
bdl
145
41
1955
2540
3021
508
1462
163
150
8
1
7
23
11
8
13
5
18
bdl
3
482
bdl
220
19
99
779
989
227
980
251
35
4
3
4
23
14
3
7
4
7
1
4
430
bdl
27
2
3134
na
1671
518
2465
152
92
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
3
na
503
4
1729
na
1178
na
2093
44
na
123
31
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
ppm
474
1808
1206
1530
732
306
306
4
3
31
62
17
15
151
1
16
bdl
bdl
508
bdl
56
10
305
1394
5957
3312
1036
759
bdl
4
bdl
9
31
14
19
68
29
12
bdl
1
1031
15
58
17
294
2130
9352
3302
3395
397
969
7
5
21
46
8
30
107
12
35
3
bdl
182
bdl
5
14
333
2113
6478
1543
1250
87
bdl
29
1
4
22
8
11
51
15
22
bdl
1
528
bdl
17
4
251
2300
40000
5672
8736
40
108
60
3
24
38
13
45
176
53
65
20
1
271
bdl
16
30
300
600
25500
4600
2100
410
43
54
14
15
28
17
26
124
524
130
161
bdl
5852
29
551
10
620
1640
11600
2700
4840
849
67
38
5
11
31
11
19
85
32
168
13
9
2838
3
27
5
557
977
2189
423
176
124
bdl
3
1
3
19
6
3
bdl
1
7
bdl
2
462
bdl
17
2
147
1101
952
310
166
133
bdl
5
bdl
4
24
12
4
bdl
4
3
1
5
434
bdl
22
1
bdl
266
1473
1077
2481
21
bdl
6
bdl
bdl
bdl
bdl
6
22
bdl
121
bdl
bdl
96
bdl
1
bdl
1343
na
2024
55
na
71
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
na
Total
nwr
ntrace
100.71
13
3
100.41
32
3
100.23
6
6
99.25
34
34
99.14
75
75
wt%
100.58
12
3
99.96
11
2
100.26
6
2
100.59
6
3
100.56
1
1
98.27
1
1
99.80
5
5
99.43
13
3
99.51
16
3
100.84
1
1
98.96
1
1
Notes: Analysed at Mineralogy Laboratory, University of Geneva.

nwr, no. of whole rock samples; ntrace, no. of trace element samples; bdl, below detection limit; na, not analyzed; LOI, lost on ignition.
Whole-rock XRF analyses.
124
CaO
MgO
SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
LOI
wt%
17.46
10.58
36.17
6.83
1.24
27.58
Tingocancha
124
13
were assigned to the Chambara Formation by Megard

(1968). Its contact with the underlying Mitu is generally
disconformable, except where pre-Chambara structural
inversion has resulted in a slight angular discontinuity
(see also Megard, 1979; Szekely and Grose, 1972). The
variation of thickness of this formation from 25 m at
Tingocancha to 1180 m at San Vicente is ascribed to a
structural control that persisted from the earlier Mitu rift
phase. Lithologically, this formation is dominated by limestones and dolomites, and along the margins of the basin,
reworking has resulted in a signicant detrital component,
locally exceeding 40% (Fig. 7).
A NorianRhaetian age for the Chambara Formation is
established by the occurrence of the brachiopod Spondylospira sp. (Megard, 1968), the bivalve Monotis subcircularis
Gabb (Prinz, 1985b), and the microcoprolites Palaxius
salataensis, Parafavreina thoronetensis, and Parafavreina
huaricolcanensis (Senowbari-Daryan and Stanley, 1986).
3.2.2. Aramachay Formation: deep-water stage
However, more recent work by Rosas (1994) on the

Tingocancha column at the Yauli dome documents the
shallow-water Chambara facies as well as the overlying
deeper-water Aramachay facies with their characteristic
lithogeochemistry (e.g., elevated SiO2, Al2O3, and TiO2
contents; Table 3). The marked thinning of the Chambara
stratigraphy and its association with the Yauli volcanic
rocks reects basin-margin structural control; the extrusive
and intrusive magmatism formed at a releasing bend where
uplift caused stratigraphic thinning. The entire Pucara succession is also recognized at Shalipayco, including up to
665 m of typical ammonite-bearing Aramachay lithologies
of early Sinemurian age (e.g., Arnioceras, Rosas, 1994,
quoting Prinz). Aramachay argillites in the Malpaso column are conrmed by the late SinemurianPliensbachian
bivalve Weyla alata (Prinz, in Rosas, 1994) and the
TriassicLiassic microcoprolite Parafavreina thoronetensis
(Blau et al., 1994).
Megard (1968) named the Aramachay Formation to

describe the organic-rich shaly carbonate rock he encountered southwest of the village of Aramachay. The Aramachay succession is dominated by laminated, bituminous
black limestones that contain sporadic shaly and silty intercalations. This unit, which varies in thickness from 100 to
200 m, is more uniform than the underlying Chambara , suggesting it was deposited as a regional drape largely unaected
by fault activity. Together with ammonite and other diagnostic fossils, this argillaceous drape is attributed to deposition in a restricted marine environment. Total organic
carbon (TOC) values range from 0.28 to 4.01 wt% (Spangenberg et al., 1999). The organic-rich sediments have relatively
high phosphate values typical of high biologic productivity
and reducing conditions in the sea-oor sediments. Loughman and Hallam (1982) report values up to 8.6 wt.% P2O5,
and we determine up to 1 wt% P2O5 in the San Vicente column. Other associations include asphaltites that are abnormally high in vanadium (0.150.2% V), and selenium and
uranium have been reported in the Sincos exposures
(Fig. 1) (Larson and Welker, 1947; Szekely and Grose,
1972; Canepa, 1990; Paredes, 1994).
A late RhaetianSinemurian age for the Aramachay
Formation is indicated by the ammonites Vermiceras,
Arnioceras, Eparietites, and Plesechioceras (Megard,
1968); Psiloceras (Prinz, 1985b); Choristoceras cf. nobile
(Prinz, 1985a); and the mollusks Aucella and Cucullaea
(Megard, 1968; see also Stanley, 1994). The presence of
the late Rhaetian ammonite Choristoceras cf. nobile in the
Utcubamba Valley of northern Peru (Prinz, 1985a) shows
accumulation of Aramachay sediments.
3.2.1. Chambara formation: transitional postrift subsidence
3.3.3. Condorsinga Formation: carbonate platform
The Upper Triassic limestones and dolomites exposed

just north of Huancayo, near the village of Chambara,
Carbonate platform sediments above the Aramachay

argillaceous limestones in the Jatunhuasi area are referred
Fig. 8. Comparison of major elements between Tingocancha and Malpaso

(see Table 3). Units at Tingocancha interpreted on the basis of the
lithogeochemical similarities of the Chambara , Aramachay, and Condorsinga formations.
14
to the Condorsinga Formation by McLaughlin (1924).

These strata consist mostly of limestones, but dolomite
occurs locally at the base of the succession in some places.
Together with intraformational gypsum lenses, which have
been exploited commercially in the Yauli and Malpaso
areas, a shoal-water and largely overlled basin setting is
envisaged. The Condorsinga succession is not present
everywhere because subsequent deformation and erosion
stripped it. Thus, regional thickness estimates are largely
unknown, though we measure thicknesses of 300350 m.
The fossil assemblages include Oxynoticeras, Coeloceras,
Androgynoceras, Uptonia, Phymatoceras, Esericeras, Arititidaes,
Pentacrinites sp., Phaenodesmia sp., Weyla alata, Trigonia
inexpectata, Arieticeras sp., and Ctenostreon sp. (Pardo in
Megard, 1968; Palacios, 1980). The presence of the ammonites Phymatoceras and Esericeras (Megard, 1968) in
particular suggest a late Toarcian age, at least for the upper
part of the Condorsinga Formation (see also Stanley,
1994). The new microcoprolite species Favreina peruviensis
has been identied in the Condorsinga Formation at both
Tingocancha and Malpaso (Blau et al., 1994).
4. Pucara paleogeography
4.1. Depositional systems
The Pucara Group generally overlies the Mitu with a
paraconformable contact, although at Tarma and Shalipayco the contact is an angular unconformity. An abrupt
lithological change occurs from purple volcaniclastic sediments below to a gray dolomite above, with detrital content up to 40% (Fig. 7). Fig. 5 displays the lithologies
and sedimentary facies in several measured sections. The
Chambara succession consists of 0.35.0 m thick layers of
dolomite and subordinate marly dolomites with interbedded calcareous dolomite and sparse limestone. A greater
amount of quartz-prone detrital material (up to 30%)
dilutes the carbonate lithologies in the western and eastern
sections. We attribute the greater detrital content in the
west to reworking along the basin margin; that in the east
may be due to local uplift and the proximity of continental
clastic inux from the neighboring GuyanaBrazilian
shield. Bedded and nodular chert, bivalves, and crinoids,
as well as burrows, are abundant. Hard-grounds occur near
the top of this formation. Wavy and horizontal lamination
and carbonate pseudomorphs after gypsum or anhydrite
are observed in the mudstones. The coarser-grained beds
are cross-laminated.
The transition to postrift Chambara subsidence and
deposition is marked by sedimentary facies that appear to
represent the basinward tracts of a tidally inuenced succession. At San Vicente, gypsum and redbeds mark the
MituPucara transition and are interbedded with the overlying carbonates. In the northeastern part of the study
area, the Oxapampa 7-1 exploration well penetrates
1800 m of interbedded carbonates and evaporites. Most
commonly, the sediments near the base of the Chambara
124
are characterized by bioclastic material that diagnoses an

unrestricted, open basin circulation, such as a modern
marine shelf. Above, the Chambara lithofacies are attributed to subtidal processes, as might be encountered in a
more restricted back-barrier or lagoonal setting, whereas
other less common facies have intertidal and supratidal
anities. These lithofacies associations may be grouped
into four distinct sedimentary sequences. The lower three
characteristically have shallowing-upward tendencies with
a preponderance of subtidal facies in the lower parts, and
shallower facies associations become increasingly more
abundant upward. The subtidal to intertidal lagoon-type
facies consist typically of laminated dolomitic mudstones,
bioclastic and peloidal wackestones and packstones, and
grapestones (Fig. 9ad), all of which are commonly rimmed
with early diagenetic submarine cements. Oncolites, pellets,
intraclasts, and bioclasts of bivalves and foraminifers are
common among the agglutinated components of the grapestones. The oolitic and bioclastic grainstones (Fig. 9c) are
diagnostic of traction sedimentation across shoal-water
bars and channelized environments. Locally, they have
early diagenetic submarine cements. In this setting, the subtidal oolitic banks are associated with laminated lagoonal
sediments. Elsewhere, this transition is marked by grapestone facies or a progressive increase in the typical lagoonal
facies components (e.g., pellets, bioclasts, micrite).
Other facies are interpreted as intertidal and supratidal.
They are mainly argillaceous and contain algal mats,
birds-eye structures, and breccias. Furthermore, sabkhatype facies with algal mats and early diagenetic, nely
crystalline dolomite also occur in the upper part of the
shallowing-upward sequences, where they are associated
with intertidal facies that contain desiccation fabrics
(Fig. 9e) and evaporite pseudomorphs. A variant of the
birds-eye fabrics are geopetal features in which the internal
cement recrystallized during diagenesis (Fig. 9f); these
geopetal structures occur in massive (i.e., unstructured)
argillaceous sediments that cap some tidal facies.
The uppermost cycle exposed at Malpaso represents a
return to the open basin circulation that marked the initiation of Chambara deposition. These interpreted depositional banks are composed of strongly dolomitized
crinoid-bioclastic packstones (Fig. 9d) and subordinate,
siliceous sponge, spicule-rich wackestones. Pervasive
dolomitization is accompanied by extensive porosity
development. Later-stage intercrystalline calcite- and kaolinitecement is common. Hard-ground surfaces are abundant at the top of this cycle, capping the succession
of crinoidal banks and the deeper basin facies of chertcemented bioclastic packstones with abundant iron oxide
impregnations. These characteristics are interpreted as a
sedimentary hiatus that may mark the transition to a
new stage of rapid basin deepening of the Aramachay
milieu.
The Aramachay Formation is 125 m thick at Malpaso
(Fig. 5). There and at Tingocancha, it contains two lithological units. The lower 40 m consists of 0.200.5 m thick,
124
15
Fig. 9. Representative microscopic photographs of Chambara facies in Malpaso section. (a) Grain of grapestone, the agglutinated components consisting
of smaller particles and pellets (25 m above Mitu datum). (b) Grapestone, agglutinated components partially dissolved and cemented peloids (25 m above
Mitu). (c) Strongly chertied oolitic grainstone with bioclasts, mainly bivalve fragments, dolomitic early diagenetic cement (dol) at the allochem borders
(138 m above Mitu). (d) Bioclasts from a crinoid bank, dolosparite (dol) and kaolinite (kao) as cement (crossed nicols; 314 m above Mitu). (e) Finely
crystalline dolomite, probably early diagenetic, algal mat with birds-eye porosity, cemented by a rst-generation dolomitic cement; facies occurs directly
on top of subtidal facies (280 m above Mitu). (f) Birds-eye porosity lled with geopetal cement and consisting of nely crystalline sparite (fcs) replacing
internal sediments and coarsely crystalline sparite (ccs) lling empty spaces; the petrographic texture corresponds to a micritized peloidal and oolitic
grainstone; facies overlies subtidal facies (32 m above Mitu).
dark-brown layers of strongly recrystallized argillaceous

carbonate sediments that are locally chert rich. Recrystallization reects weak contact metamorphism that was, in
places, sucient to mask the original facies. High values
of TiO2, Al2O3, K2O, and TiO2 (Fig. 8; Table 3) match
the abundant clay mineral content and probably result
from volcanic activity. This interpretation is supported by
the presence of several beds of volcanic tus in the upper
part of the Aramachay. Overall, the Aramachay Formation is characterized by high organic material contents
(TOC varies between 0.3 and 4.0 wt%; Megard, 1968),
and the lower part of the Aramachay Formation is interpreted as an underlled, deep-water basin. It has the characteristics of an epeiric basin.
The upper Aramachay consists almost exclusively of

0.31.3 m thick layers of dolomite, with marly dolomites
and chert occurring locally, and has interbeds of tus and
limestones near the top. The altered tus and trace element
data indicate an original dacitic to rhyodacitic composition. The predominant facies are bioclastic wackestones
of sponge spicules, crinoids, brachiopods, and bivalves,
as well as subordinate crinoidal bank facies, all of which
resemble modern marine shelf sediments. Bedded and nodular cherts, as well as macrofossils of bivalves and crinoids,
occur sporadically. The transition from the restricted basin
facies of the lower Aramachay to this upper, less restricted,
open basin-type accumulation is relatively sharp. This
subdivision is observed only at Malpaso, and its absence
16
elsewhere may reect poor exposure. However, a broadly

similar, twofold subdivision of Aramachay sediments has
been recognized in northern Peru (Chilingote and Suta
units of Weaver, 1942) and central Peru (Ichpachi and
Alata units of Loughman and Hallam, 1982).
Along the basin margin where the San Vicente and Vilcapoma rocks are associated with a splayed shear zone
(Fig. 1b), sudden changes in thickness of the Aramachay
from 8 to 250 m have been documented (Davila et al.,
1999), in part reecting structurally controlled compartmentalization. According to Hasler (1998), where the Aramachay is extremely thin (i.e., 815 m), the presence of
evaporite pseudomorphs suggests deposition took place
in relatively shallow water, as indicated.
The AramachayCondorsinga contact at Tingocancha
and Malpaso is marked by a decrease in the amount of volcaniclastic components and a sudden reduction in TiO2
(Fig. 8 and Table 3). In the eld, it is expressed as a conspicuous change in the weathering color from brown to
light gray. In contrast, at Tarmatambo, Shalipayco, San
Vicente, and Vilcapoma, the contact superimposes shaly
carbonate rocks, limestones, and dolomites on organic-rich
shaly carbonates. A sill of coarse-grained alkaline basalt
occurs 10 m above the base of the formation at Malpaso.
(Radiometric dating gives a latest Cretaceous Andean age
of intrusion, 65 2.9 to 70.8 2.6 Ma, Rosas, 1994.)
The contact with the overlying Goyllarisquizga Group is
an erosional unconformity.
124
The Condorsinga lithofacies show a return to the type of

paleogeography encountered in the lower part of the
Chambara Formation, especially alternating subtidal,
intertidal, and supratidal lagoonal sediments. However,
dolomitization is less intense in the Condorsinga rocks
compared with the Chambara and represented by isolated
layers of nely crystalline dolomite near the contact with
the underlying Aramachay. It has an early diagenetic origin. Bioclastic packstones at the base of the Condorsinga
are in-facies with the upper Aramachay, suggesting a continuation of the unrestricted open basin setting. At Malpaso, the Condorsinga Formation is 300 m thick and
consists almost exclusively of 0.34 m thick layers of limestone, though near the base, there are local intercalations
of dolomitic limestone and calcareous dolomite. In particular, the Condorsinga has a low detrital content (<3%) and
overall is horizontally laminated with bedded and nodular
cherts and burrows; it contains bivalves, crinoids, and gastropods of marine anity. Layers of gypsum occur locally
near the top of the Condorsinga Formation.
The overall lagoonal succession is characterized by laminated dolomitic mudstones, bioclastic and peloidal wackestones, and packstones (Fig. 10a and b), as well as local
lenses of evaporite that attest to periodic shallowing and
exposure. Mold porosity, which has resulted from the dissolution of various bioclastic components, is commonly
cemented by coarsely crystalline calcite. In the middle of
the Condorsinga, dissolution of ooids, and subsequent
Fig. 10. Representative microscopic photographs of Condorsinga facies in the Malpaso section. (a) Peloidal and bioclastic packstone with abundant
bioclasts of sponge spicules (533 m above Mitu datum). (b) Pellet grainstone with coprolites, pellets consisting of micrite and the cement of nely
crystalline calcite (592 m above Mitu). (c) Intercalation of pellet pack/grainstone with algal laminae (706 m above Mitu). (d) Small planar dolomite
crystals (dol) replacing gypsum (gps) along lamination (sample collected close to Malpaso section).
124
17
cementing with calcite, has occurred. The subtidal facies is

characterized by oolitic and bioclastic grainstones. Chert is
markedly less abundant than in the lower formations.
The intertidal and supratidal lagoonal facies consist of
mudstones with algal laminations and supratidal breccias.
In the upper part of the Condorsinga, algal-laminated sediments are associated with smooth algal mats. These algallaminated sediments have low organic content and are
composed of ne-grained, pelletal sands with interlaminated algal-rich layers (Fig. 10c). In the Paccha area, there are
several gypsum lenses in the middle of the Condorsinga
Formation. The gypsum consists of thick units of laminated gypsum interbedded with intertidal and subtidal dolomites (Fig. 10d); in some places, small idiomorphic
crystals of dolomite replace gypsum along the laminations.
Hypersaline conditions might explain not only the accumulations of gypsum but also other sediments containing
smooth algal mats, which in modern environments are
symptomatic of the outer intertidal zone in sheltered hypersaline embayments (Davies, 1970). Reection seismic
shows that, on a basin scale, hypersaline salt accumulation
has been substantial enough to form diapiric structures (G.
Wine, pers. commun. 2003).
4.2. Tectonostratigraphic reconstruction
The Pucara Basin formed on a platform of deformed
Permo-Carboniferous and Lower Triassic rocks (Figs. 2
and 11). The Upper Carboniferous and Permian Tarma
Copacabana succession of terrigenous clastic sediments
was deposited in a complex of extensional basins associated
with NW- to NNW-directed shear zones (Tankard et al.,
2006). Fault-controlled subsidence gradually diminished
during the Late Permian and was replaced by a phase of
postrift subsidence, forming a broad epeiric sea. The argillaceous, organic-rich Ene Formation was deposited as a
regional blanket or drape. However, there appears to be
a conspicuous lateral oset of the locus of postrift Ene subsidence compared to the preceding rift complex. Kusznir
and Egan (1989) model similar basin characteristics elsewhere and attribute these characteristics to separate
upper-crustal simple-shear and lower-crustal pure-shear
processes. The TarmaCopacabanaEne succession was
deformed by massive structural inversion during the latest
PermianEarly Triassic Jurua (Tankard, 2001).
The Pucara evolved as a post-rift phase of basin subsidence above the previous tract of Mitu rifts (Fig. 11). Similar to its earlier counterpart, fault-controlled subsidence
decreased with progressive relaxation of the extensional
stresses and was replaced by widespread regional subsidence as the various rift depocenters were yoked together.
The transition was gradual, so the lower Pucara in particular remained subject to substantial thickness changes
(Figs. 1, 5, and 6), as well as facies variations along some
still active, preexisting fault trends, as shown by the drastic
thinning of the Chambara section from Malpaso to Tingocancha at the basin edge. The succession expands basin-
Fig. 11. Schematic summary of late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic basin
evolution by persistent reworking of older basement faults (cf. Fig. 2). The
CopacabanaEne landscape of CarboniferousPermian time involved
extension and postrift subsidence; note lateral oset of the postrift prism.
By the end of the Permian and during the Early Triassic, older stratigraphy
was deformed in the Jurua orogeny by massive structural inversion. A new
cycle of fault-controlled extension formed the EarlyMiddle Triassic Mitu
basins through orogenic collapse. The Pucara cover developed above the
Mitu landscape as earlier Mitu depocenters yoked together into a broad
postrift epeiric basin. The transition from rift to postrift is marked by the
Chambara Formation, with substantial thickness variations where some
faulting persisted. The transitional postrift episode consisted of a carbonate
platform that lled the basin to a depositional base level. During the
Aramachay phase of basin overdeepening, sediment starvation and deepwater conditions are reected in the widespread argillaceous drape. Basin
overlling marked the closing episode of the Pucara Basin with the
development of the Condorsinga carbonate platform.
18
ward (Fig. 5). Eustatic processes were important, but we

are unable to separate them from the overriding eects of
tectonic subsidence that are characteristic of the plate
margin.
Figs. 6 and 12 summarize the tectonostratigraphic relationships of the threefold Pucara subdivision. We interpret
the Chambara carbonate platform as the transition from
fault-controlled rift to regional postrift subsidence. Thickness variations are marked, especially along marginal or
intrabasinal shear zones; the signicant changes in thickness from San Vicente to Vilcapoma (Fig. 1a and Fig. 5)
coincide with a fault splay. Nevertheless, a stacked succession of subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal facies associations built a shoal-water carbonate platform as an
overlled basin complex (Ratesubsidence > Ratedeposition).
The Aramachay deep-water drape accumulated during a
protracted phase of basin deepening and inundation, probably unassisted by signicant active faulting, because the
drape does not vary substantially in thickness. The ubiquitous organic-rich argillaceous limestones, shales, and mudstones indicate that the basin was underlled (Rs < Rd),
and that structural or topographic relief was insucient
to contribute signicant diluting terrigenous clastic sediments. Gradual lling of the basin is suggested by the
upward-coarsening upper parts of the Aramachay. The
succeeding Condorsinga carbonate platform is locally infacies as the basin gradually lled to the depositional base
level in the manner of the earlier Chambara platform
(Rs < Rd). Together, these three units sketch the overall
pattern of postrift subsidence and overdeepening marked
by the sediment-starved Aramachay phase.
At Malpaso locality, the stacking of four shallowingupward Chambara sequences and maximum ooding
deposits of the basal Aramachay are similar to the
transgressive parasequence sets of Van Wagoner et al.
(1990), except that we envisage accumulation almost
entirely by tectonic accommodation. Ammonite faunas
in the Aramachay indicate ooding had normal marine
salinities.
124
Each of the rst three shallowing-upward sequences typically consists of subtidal lagoonal facies near the base, and
thin (63 m) intertidal to supratidal facies locally cap them.
These three shallowing-upward sequences are completely
present only at Malpaso (Fig. 5). The fourth shallowingupward sequence has the characteristics of open-marine
sedimentation, including well-developed crinoidal banks
and interngering lagoonal subtidal facies; at Tingocancha,
they consist of intraclastic, bioclastic and peloidal wackestonespackstones, grapestones, and bioclastic to oolitic
grainstones and coprolites. The relatively deeper-water
Aramachay facies heralds the maximum ooding that
drowned the fourth sequence. The hard-grounds in the
Malpaso section mark the transition from marine basinal
deposition to the deeper-water accumulations of the underlled basin. These deep-water facies rest directly on subtidal facies at Tingocancha, suggesting that subsidence was
rapid during the upper Chambara . Furthermore, the Malpaso hard-grounds indicate sedimentation rates decreased
signicantly, resulting in a sediment-starved basin and sedimentary hiatus.
Comparing the facies trends of Malpaso and Tingocancha, it is apparent that marine ooding was from northwest
to southeast. This interpretation is supported by the presence of deeper-water facies at the top of the Chambara succession at Malpaso, whereas peritidal facies persisted at
Tingocancha. On the scale of the entire Pucara basin, we
know that overall inundation progressed from northwest
to southeast along the axis of a fault-controlled trough
(Figs. 1 and 6). Paleontological and sedimentological studies of exposures in the Utcubamba Valley of northern Peru
show that the Aramachay deep-water facies are Rhaetian
in age (Prinz, 1985a), whereas their counterparts in the
southern part of the basin are Hettangian.
The highstand systems tract or regressive regime of the
AramachayCondorsinga transition consists mainly of
lagoonal facies at Tingocancha (bioclastic wackestones,
packstones) and a more basinal carbonate platform at
Malpaso (bioclastic packstones and mudstones, crinoidal
Fig. 12. Interpreted tectonostratigraphic cross-section. Shalipayco column is excluded because it is situated o section, but it samples the same strike-slip
fault zone as San Vicente and Vilcapoma. The SW and NE margins are formed by left-lateral shear zones. Intrusive and extrusive magmas at the Yauli
dome took advantage of dilation at a releasing bend. Magmatism and later weak metamorphism coincide with dolomitization, suggesting fault-controlled
hydrothermal processes. Likewise, Cenozoic-age dolomitization and MVT lead-zinc mineralisation along the NE margin coincide with a shear zone.
banks, other marine invertebrate fauna). A hard-ground

separates the lagoonal facies from the underlying deeperwater facies at Tingocancha. Furthermore, evaporites
occur as pseudomorphs in the lower part of the Condorsinga at Tingocancha and lenses elsewhere, whereas at Malpaso, evaporite minerals are restricted to the top of the
Condorsinga. These observations imply that the upper
Pucara regression proceeded from southeast to northwest,
a reversal of the axial ooding of earlier in the Pucara.
Transgressive ooding was widespread during the Hettangian. Counterparts of the relatively deep-water Aramachay facies of Peru are present in Chile (Hillebrandt, 1973;
Hillebrandt et al., 1986) and Colombia (Geyer, 1979).
These results match the Hettangian transgressive/regressive
switch in the Exxon global sea-level chart, except that in
the Exxon scheme, this Hettangian event is subordinate
to other Late TriassicEarly Jurassic events (e.g., Vail
et al., 1984; Haq et al., 1988). This discrepancy is not surprising because marine inundation in the Peruvian Pucara
Basin was driven primarily by tectonism. We do not discredit eustatic inuences but observe that we are unable
to separate strictly eustatic processes from tectonic ones
in such a dynamic tectonic setting. In his interpretation
of a eustatic curve for the basins along the western margin
of the South American cratons, Hallam (1988, 1991)
assigns maximum ooding to the Sinemurian based on a
misconception that the Aramachay black limestones and
shales were of that age.
5. Discussion
The Pucara succession in central Peru has a threefold
subdivision with distinct lithological, facies, paleontological, and geochemical characteristics. The argillaceous Aramachay sediments with deeper-water facies anities are
conspicuous in each section and provide the basis for the
threefold division into the Chambara , Aramachay, and
Condorsinga formations, which reect unique episodes of
basin subsidence. The Chambara and Condorsinga formations were constructed by shallow-water sedimentation,
mainly carbonate platforms with lagoon-like oolitic
subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal facies. Basinal facies
resembling modern marine shelves (i.e., unrestricted circulation) also occur, albeit less abundantly, at various places
in the Chambara succession. The depositional model
envisaged is in many respects similar to the tidal lagoon
and oolitic shoal environments in the modern era (cf.
Shinn, 1983; Wilson and Jordan, 1983). At Malpaso, the
shallow-water facies form stacked shallowing-upward
sequences due to intermittent fault-controlled subsidence.
The subtidal facies tracts consist typically of oolitic grainstones and subordinate bioclastic packstones. Reef buildups have not been recognized.
In our facies analysis of the Pucara succession, we
repeatedly refer to lagoonal facies tracts and have interpreted them as subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal. Similar
to most facies analyses, our interpretation derives from
124
19
comparison with published models. In this respect, these

facies resemble their counterparts in modern lagoonal
and back-barrier settings, suggesting similar processes of
sedimentation. However, the Late TriassicEarly Jurassic
Pucara Basin was an elongate, NNW-oriented trough with
fault-bounded margins (Fig. 1b and Fig. 6), whose western
margin abuts a basement high described as the Divisoria
Arch (Benavides, 1999). Our stratigraphic analysis shows
westward thinning of the basin ll and facies variations
that imply that this structural high was, if not emergent,
at least able to supply reworked detritus. While it has been
suggested that the basin opened to the ocean only in the
northwest (Szekely and Grose, 1972; Megard, 1978), we
observe that the ammonite faunas and other marine invertebrate biota indicate normal marine salinities and that the
facies characteristics of the carbonate-dominated succession recognizes no abnormal tidal ranges (unusually low
or high). In this respect, we surmise that the western margin of the basin was only partially silled and allowed periodic ooding or that ooding locally used structurally
controlled inlets or passes. The Pucara Basin was a
1000 km long trough, up to 300 km wide in places. Without
direct access to the open ocean, tides would have been
damped (e.g., as in the modern Mediterranean) and salinities far from normal (either diluted by fresh water or hypersaline). At times, parts of the basin were hypersaline, as
shown by local reection seismic evidence of massive evaporites and diapirism (G. Wine, pers. commun., 2003). Sedimentological interpretation generally relies considerably
on modern analogs in reconstructing ancient landscapes,
but it frequently fails to recognize the unique landscapes
with no modern counterparts.
The western and eastern margins of the Chambara
depocenter have higher detrital content than the more basinal parts. In the west, this situation may have resulted from
erosional reworking along the fault-bound structural high
(Divisoria Arch, Benavides, 1999), consistent with periodic
ooding. In other words, the Pucara was a silled basin that
did not rely solely on a distant entrance in the northwest to
maintain its marine circulation. In contrast, the higher
detrital content of the eastern margin of the basin, which
consists of mixed terrigenous clasticevaporitic facies,
reects the inuence of the nearby BrazilianGuyana shield
(Fig. 1a).
The Pucara Basin foundered during the Aramachay,
and the low rates of sediment inux formed an underlled
argillaceous basin. The lithologies and ammonite faunas
are compatible with a relatively deep-water milieu. The vertical transition from shallow-water Chambara sedimentation to deeper-basin Aramachay facies is characterized by
crinoidal banks and biomicrites that resemble modern,
open marine shelf sediments, but we attribute them to
widespread marine inundation of the broad Pucara trough.
We encounter neither slope breccias nor turbidites, which
suggests a general absence of steep gradients. Stratigraphic
relationships show that the basin ll onlapped toward the
southeast along the axis of the basin, but transgression
20
was augmented by ooding over the western structural

high. The Condorsinga carbonate platform documents a
return to shallow-water, Chambara -like deposition, and
overlled basin characteristics.
In the Pucara intertidal and supratidal facies, evaporite
pseudomorphs are commonly associated with algal mats
and extensive early diagenetic dolomitization, suggesting
sedimentation was inuenced by an arid climate in an environment comparable to modern sabkhas of the Persian
Gulf (McKenzie, 1981; Patterson and Kinsman, 1982;
Shinn, 1983). We observe evidence of hypersaline evaporitic conditions in the eastern part of the cross-basin transect (e.g., San Vicente area), where gypsum layers occur
within redbeds. These San Vicente gypsum and redbeds
mark the MituPucara transition and are associated with
some overlying carbonates. In the northeast part of the
study area, the Oxapampa 7-1 exploration well penetrates
1800 m of interbedded carbonates and evaporites.
Regionally, the Pucara Basin was structurally compartmentalized by NNW- and NE-trending basement faults
that controlled the overall isopach distribution (Fig. 6).
However, a secondary scale of compartmentalization
appears due to coalescing depositional systems. In the Condorsinga landscape, it resulted in local hypersaline conditions in the lagoonal environments and deposition of
massive gypsum lenses. Locally exposed earlier dolomites
were reworked into detrital eolian dolomite accumulations
(e.g., Malpaso section). The Chambara succession diers,
in that evaporite minerals are rare and occur mainly as
pseudomorphs disseminated throughout the intertidal and
supratidal sabkha-type facies, except for more prominent
gypsum layers associated with terrigenous clastics at the
MituChambara transition and along the eastern margin.
Whereas we argue that the Pucara succession accumulated in a silled structural trough, the western margin of
which permitted at least periodic spilling over of marine
waters, Loughman and Hallam (1982) and Loughman
(1984) attribute the carbonate prisms to a terrace wedge
setting that faced the open ocean. They also attempt to
explain the phosphorites that occur within the Aramachay
succession. Most accounts follow Kazakovs (1937) model
of direct precipitation of marine apatite from upwelled
phosphate-rich waters, such as along the present Peruvian
margin. In many parts of the world, the major locus of
phosphate accumulation is an embayment or silled basin
with direct access to open-ocean, phosphate-rich waters
but that also has the advantage of organic-rich argillaceous
sediments and anoxic bottom waters (cf. Gulbrandsen,
1969; Heckel, 1977). In this respect, the silled Aramachay
trough is an ideal depository.
A basement-involved fault zone along the western margin not only facilitated subsidence during Aramachay time
but also appears to have been the source of higher heat
ows, probably due to Tertiary magmatism. This nding
may explain lithological dierences between TingocanchaMalpaso and the rest of the basin. Along this structural margin, the Aramachay argillaceous drape is largely
124
siliceous with an abundant chert component and subordinate calcite and is partly volcaniclastic. Illite-dominated
clay minerals are the main detrital component. In contrast,
the eastern Aramachay (e.g., Shalipayco, San Vicente) contains greater amounts of calcite and organic carbon,
involves smaller amounts of chert and clay minerals, and
has not suered any signicant metamorphism.
Szekely and Grose (1972) and Megard (1978) recognize
that the Pucara Basin subsided along the NNW-striking
structural grain but also suggest that the basin ll was
thickest along the central axis, from which it thinned more
or less uniformly to both the east and west. Megard (1979)
and Benavides (1999) go even further, suggesting that the
Pucara Basin was divided longitudinally by a central arch
of Permian origin; this intervening basement high has been
referred to as the Maran o n Arch, supposedly caught up
within the Late CretaceousCenozoic eastern Cordillera.
These interpretations contrast starkly with our structurally
compartmentalized basin model, which is derived from a
network of industry seismic data and eldwork (Fig. 6).
The seismic data show that this structural control involved
reactivation of the earlier Mitu extensional faults (Fig. 3).
During the Cenozoic, these basement-involved faults
appear to have functioned as conduits for basinal brines
that introduced Mississippi Valley-type mineralisation
(Fontbote et al., 1995; Spangenberg et al., 1999; Moritz
et al., 1996; Baudoux et al., 2001). The fault-bounded compartments resulted in marked variations of thickness and
facies of the three units of the Pucara Group, due to variations in the rate of subsidence from compartment to compartment. In some areas, subsidence also involved an
element of block rotation. Carbonate productivity and
accumulation generally kept pace with these various patterns of subsidence, maintaining shallow-water conditions
throughout (e.g., Grayson and Oldham, 1987).
Reection seismic data and the distribution of earthquake epicenters show that the NW- to NNW-trending,
basin-forming shear zones are very steep and indicate crustal-scale dimensions (Bernal et al., 2001, 2002). They not
only participated in accommodating subsidence and accumulation of the Pucara cover but also signicantly modied the lithologies by acting as conduits for basaltic and
andesitic magmatism, as well as the basinal brines that
are believed to have generated the MVT lead-zinc
mineralization.
Audebaud et al. (1973) infer the presence of a volcanic
arc along the western margin of the Pucara Basin. In our
examination of the Pucara lithofacies, we nd no evidence
that the Pacic margin was a magmatic arc at this time, at
least not until the upper Pucara . We examine the volcanic
material in the central part of the basin at Lircay, Tingocancha, and Shalipayco and nd intraplate rift anities
but no obvious volcanic arc signature. The conduits may
have been local areas of dilation along the irregular fault
planes (see Kontak et al., 1985). The volcanic rocks interbedded within the Pucara Group represent the nal phase
of transtensional fault activity (Rosas et al., 1997). How-
ever, convincing occurrences of arc-related volcanic rocks

in northern Peru include late Liassic lava ows and volcaniclastic sediments, whereas Liassic arc volcanics are
exposed in the southern coastal region. The evidence suggests the earliest arc magmatism in Peru dates to the Liassic, approximately the same time as in northern Chile,
where Hillebrandt et al. (1986) date HettangianSinemurian
marine carbonates below the La Negra calc-alkaline basalts and basaltic andesites.
Finally, we show that the Mitu and Pucara basins developed as a riftpostrift pair (Fig. 11). With the relaxation of
extensional stresses and declining fault activity, the various
Mitu rift depocenters were yoked together to form the
regionally subsiding Pucara trough (Fig. 6). In this respect,
we attribute the Chambara phase of subsidence (Fig. 2) to
the riftpostrift transition that mixed local fault-controlled
subsidence with regional downwarping. However, this
interpretation does not entirely negate fault activity during
the younger Pucara . It is necessary to accommodate the
continuing subsidence of the brittle crust with displacement
of the principal basin-bounding faults, such as the shear
zone that marked the western boundary and its association
with later weak metamorphism and mineralisation. The
distinction is between fault-driven subsidence during the
extensional phase and mild, fault-accommodated subsidence during the transitional postrift episode.
The Phanerozoic geology of western South America
comprises a repetitive history of basin development and
structural modication (Tankard et al., 1995, 2006). The
MituPucara riftpostrift basin complex developed above
a deformed CopacabanaEne stratigraphy of Permo-Carboniferous age (Figs. 2 and 11), from which it is separated
by a prominent unconformity in a process reminiscent of
the orogenic collapse of Dewey (1988). The Early Triassic
Jurua orogeny developed through large-scale structural
inversion of the preexisting basin complex, a deformed belt
of 1400 km width (Barros and Carneiro, 1991). This
orogeny is dated on the basis of seismic analysis and biostratigraphic well controls and marked by 255236 Ma
synkinematic emplacement of plutons along its grain
(Lancelot et al., 1978; Dalmayrac et al., 1980; Gunnesch
et al., 1990; Soler, 1991). Whereas we recognize the association of plutons with the Jurua orogeny, Sempere et al. (2002)
attribute them to a protracted episode of crustal thinning.
Transpressional systems such as Jurua are commonly associated with magmatism because of the steep pressure gradients in the shear zones (see Saint Blanquat et al., 1998).
Throughout western Gondwana, the late Hercynian
orogens were generally intracratonic and formed as a set
of isolated or disconnected segments. Because of the dearth
of direct information regarding the age of deformation, the
Jurua orogeny and its well-constrained age are signicant.
An Early Triassic deformational event, interpreted from
reection seismic data and well controls, is also recognized
in the central Congo Basin of western Gondwana (Daly
et al., 1991; Cohydro, undated) and the Cape fold belt of
South Africa.
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21
A repetitive history of basin subsidence and deformation

occurred throughout the Phanerozoic, marked by two
milestones: the mid-Permian Ene and lowermost Jurassic
Aramachay argillaceous drapes, which marked the dying
phases of fault-controlled subsidence and are now important, organic-rich, petroleum source rocks. The various
stages of basin evolution involved persistent reworking of
basement fabrics probably inherited from Neoproterozoic
tectonic events (Balkwill et al., 1995; Tankard et al.,
1995). Accumulations of petroleum commonly occur in
structural traps that developed above these older basement
faults, which emphasizes the importance of understanding
the tectonic and structural framework. This tectonic interpretation is equally pertinent to mineralisation. The basement-involved fault zone along the western margin
facilitated subsidence of the Pucara and other basins and
also may have been the source of higher heat ows, as evidenced by periodic magmatism and polymetallic ore accumulation (see Atlas Mineria, 2001). This pattern of basin
subsidence and structural reworking provides an important
control on Andean deformation. Substantial seismic evidence indicates that much of the Andean fold belt of Peru
developed by basement-rooted transpressional deformation, local areas of thin-skinned thrusting (e.g., Ene, Madre
de Dios) notwithstanding. Furthermore, the western, structurally bound Divisoria high was long lived, and in the
Late CretaceousPaleogene (8234 Ma), it was intruded
by the Coastal Batholith. Neogene shearing resulted in
domino-style rotation and uplift of the structural blocks
that constitute this high (Tankard et al., 2006). We believe
that the Pucara Basin oers important insights into the nature of basin subsidence and deformation, including the
Andean episode, and partly explains the distribution of
petroleum and ore mineral resources.
6. Conclusions
The Pucara Basin is a NNW-elongated trough, a postrift
basin complex that formed as the earlier Mitu fault-controlled rifts yoked together. The three-part stratigraphic subdivision comprises lower and upper carbonate platforms
with an intermediate phase of basin overdeepening and sediment starvation that resulted in a regional, organic-rich
argillaceous drape. The Pucara Basin is bound both west
and east by NNW-trending shear zones. There is no evidence
that this paleo-Pacic margin was a magmatic arc, at least
not until upper Pucara time when it was only weakly developed in northern Peru. On the basis of geochemical studies
(e.g., absence of calc-alkaline lithologies), the intercalations
of volcanic material throughout the Pucara succession have
intraplate rift anities. We attribute this intraplate magmatism not to rifting processes but to transtensional dilation
along the planes of strike-slip faults.
Although the overall stratigraphic architecture reects
axial patterns of onlap and progradation, substantial evidence suggests ooding of the fringing high along the western margin was ubiquitous. The basin is approximately
22
1000 km long, and yet the ammonite faunas and other

biota indicate normal marine salinities. The Chambara
and Condorsinga formations consist mainly of shallowwater carbonate sediments interpreted as lagoon-like
subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal deposits. We nd no
evidence of abnormal tidal ranges (i.e. high or low), which
suggests tidal circulation was largely controlled by direct
access to the open ocean, either through regular ooding
of the basement high along the western margin or tidal
passes. The distribution of sedimentary facies, indicative
of reworking from the west, and the phosphorite occurrences in the Aramachay argillaceous ll argue compellingly for marine inundation along this margin.
The subtidal carbonate platform consists mainly of oolitic
grainstones with subordinate bioclastic packstones. Reef
buildups have not been recognized. Open basin facies are less
abundant and consist principally of crinoidal packstones
and bioclastic wackestones in the Chambara Formation.
In the intertidal and supratidal facies, evaporite pseudomorphs are common, generally associated with algal mats
and widespread early diagenetic dolomitization. Generally,
the basin was overlled during Chambara and Condorsinga
times, so subsidence was balanced by carbonate production
(Rs < Rd), and shallow environments prevailed. Conversely,
the intermediate HettangianSinemurian stage of basin subsidence was marked by underlled conditions and deep
water (Rs < Rd). The deeper-water Aramachay argillaceous
drape is an important hydrocarbon source rock.
Facies interpretation of ancient basin lls generally
relies on comparison with modern analogs and their apparent eustatic context. However, this approach frequently
fails to recognize unique tectonic landscapes with no modern counterparts. We document the role of the crustal-scale
shear zones in driving development of the Pucara Basin
and, in this context, attempt to integrate the tectonic,
stratigraphic, and sedimentological facets of basin
formation.
Acknowledgments
This paper beneted immensely from discussions, at various stages of the work, with Rolando Bolan os, Juan Carlos Braga, Huldrych Kobe, Jose Martn, Rossana Martini,
Jorge Merino, Robert Moritz, Les Oldham, and Gary
Wine. A previous draft was reviewed by Ricardo Astini,
Dave Barbeau, Vctor Benavides, Brian Darby, and Thierry Sempere, for which we are very grateful. We also are
grateful for the willing cooperation of the Peruvian resource companies CENTROMIN, PeruPetro, and SIMSA.
Finally, the project received nancial support from the
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Swiss
National Science Foundation (FNRS).
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Tectonic Evolution and Paleogeography

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Tectonic evolution and paleogeography of the

Mesozoic Pucara Basin, central Peru

older fabrics in the continental lithosphere (Tankard

locally joined together, depending on prevailing stress

tological studies interpret ages and paleogeographies (see

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

(RbSr, KAr; Lancelot et al., 1978; Dalmayrac et al.,

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

partly of Pucara age, but there is insucient evidence to

Montero Suite in Condorsinga Fm PliensbachianToarcian

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

at Lircay (Rangel, 1978; Megard et al., 1983; Morche and

consists of dolomite and subordinate limestone. Second,

3. Pucara : TriassicJurassic subsidence

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

Reyes and Caldas

Pardo and Sanz (1979)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Szekely and Grose

Szekely and Grose

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Szekely and Grose

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Davila et al. (1999)

Szekely and Grose

Szekely and Grose

Strong erosion of upper Pucara; nd, not determined.

results of the petrographic examination of 431 thin sections

sandstone facies with evaporite intercalations (Davila et al.,

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

by higher SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, and K2O contents than the

3.2. Stratigraphic framework

Notes: Analysed at Mineralogy Laboratory, University of Geneva.

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24

were assigned to the Chambara Formation by Megard

However, more recent work by Rosas (1994) on the

Megard (1968) named the Aramachay Formation to

3.2.1. Chambara formation: transitional postrift subsidence

3.3.3. Condorsinga Formation: carbonate platform

The Upper Triassic limestones and dolomites exposed

Carbonate platform sediments above the Aramachay

Fig. 8. Comparison of major elements between Tingocancha and Malpaso

S. Rosas et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 24