Journal of South American Earth Sciences xxx (2017) 1e8

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Journal of South American Earth Sciences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsames

Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana

preserved in the Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S
latitude)
Nemesio Heredia a, *, Joaquín García-Sansegundo b, Gloria Gallastegui a, Pedro Farias b,
Raúl E. Giacosa c, Laura B. Giambiagi d, Pere Busquets e, Ferra
n Colombo e,
f, g
Reynaldo Charrier , Andre b


s Cuesta , Alvaro Rubio-Ordo
n
~ ez b, Víctor A. Ramos h
a
gico y Minero de Espan
Instituto Geolo ~ a, Unidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
b
Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
c
IGRM-SEGEMAR, Delegacio
n Comahue, General Roca, Argentina
d
Unidad de Tecto
nica, IANIGLA-CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina
e
Facultad de Geología, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
f
Departamento de Geología, FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
g
Universidad Andres Bello, Sazi
e, 2115, Santiago, Chile
h
Instituto de Estudios Andinos, UBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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

Article history: In the southwestern margin of Gondwana, preserved in the Argentinean-Chilean Andes (28-38
S lati-
Received 26 July 2017 tude), three subduction events, Famatinian, Chanic and Gondwanan, took place from the Ordovician to
Received in revised form the middle Permian. The first two culminate in collisional orogens in Middle Ordovician and Late
24 November 2017
Devonian times respectively, while the Gondwanan is a subduction-related orogen, developed in late
Accepted 24 November 2017
Carboniferous-middle Permian times. This model is only valid for these latitudes, which coincide with
Available online xxx
the N and S limits of the Chi-Cu continental fragment (Chilenia þ Cuyania subplates). Northern and
southern limits of this continental fragment coincide with two major Andean lineaments, Valle Ancho
Keywords:
Central Andes
and Huincul respectively.
Paleozoic geodynamics © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Famatinian orogen
Chanic orogen
Gondwanan orogen

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
2. Geodynamic evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
3. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00

1. Introduction

In recent years, a wealth of information on sedimentology,

structure, magmatism and metamorphism of the Paleozoic base-
* Corresponding author. Instituto Geolo
gico y Minero de Espan
~ a, Unidad de ment of the Andes has been produced (see Heredia et al., 2016 and
Oviedo, C/ Matema
tico Pedrayes 25, 33005 Oviedo, Spain. references therein). What is also remarkable is the progress in
E-mail address: n.heredia@igme.es (N. Heredia).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2017.11.019
0895-9811/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Heredia, N., et al., Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the
Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S latitude), Journal of South American Earth Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jsames.2017.11.019
2 N. Heredia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences xxx (2017) 1e8

geochronology and in the knowledge of the environmental condi- units related to the Andean orogen, responsible for the current
tions and geotectonic context in which the Paleozoic deformation architecture of the Andes, mainly developed during the Cenozoic
events took place. In this sense, the belonging of the southern part and strongly controlled by the Paleozoic structure.
of South America to the southwestern margin of Gondwana in the During the late Neoproterozoic and the Paleozoic, the geo-
Paleozoic has been long known and also that several terranes and dynamic evolution of this sector is related to the Famatinian, Chanic
continental fragments were accreted to this margin during this and Gondwanan orogenic cycles, developed in the former SW
time (Fig. 1). The aim of this paper is to propose a new and synthetic Gondwana margin (Fig. 3). These cycles culminate, respectively, in
geodynamic model for the late Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic basement the Famatinian (Early Ordovician-Silurian), Chanic (Middle
of the Andean Cordillera between 28
-38
of S latitude. This model Devonian-early Carboniferous) and Gondwanan (late
arises from the interpretation of previous data provided by Carboniferous-middle Permian) orogenies. The two oldest ones
numerous authors who have worked in the area in recent years and preserve evidences of collisional and pre-collisional (subduction-
the results obtained by our research group (PaleoAndes Group). related) events, produced during the accretion of two small conti-
Thus, the PaleoAndes Group has published recently the works of nental fragments to the southwestern Gondwana margin. The most
Heredia et al. (2016, 2017) on the Paleozoic evolution of the recent one resulted from the subduction of the proto-Pacific
Chilean-Argentinean Andes, which have been taken as a reference oceanic crust beneath this margin of Gondwana.
for the development of this article. In this way, a more precise At the same latitudes of the Cuyo Sector was defined the
Paleozoic geodynamic evolution of the named Cuyo Sector by these Pampean cycle (Ramos, 1988). This cycle is related to the accretion
authors, located between 28 and 38
S, is presented here. of the Pampia terrane to Gondwana in Neoproterozoic-Cambrian
The Cuyo Sector of the Paleozoic basement of the Argentinean- times, but the rocks affected by this orogenic cycle outcrop
Chilean Andes is constituted by four mountain ranges with a sub- outside the Andes (mainly in the Pampean ranges) so they have not
meridian trend that, from W to E, are: Coastal Cordillera, High been studied in this paper.
Cordillera (further divided into Principal and Frontal cordilleras)
and Precordillera (Fig. 2). These ranges constitute morpho-tectonic 2. Geodynamic evolution

The geodynamic evolution described in this paper begins during

the breakup of Rodinia, in the early Ediacaran period (Lo
pez de
Azarevich et al., 2009) of the Neoproterozoic (~630 Ma, age from
Varela et al., 2011) with a rifting event (Davis et al., 2000) that took
place within the Chi-Cu (Chilenia þ Cuyania) continental fragment
(Figs. 3 and 4A). This extensional process resulted in the opening of
an ocean (formation of oceanic crust) to ~575 Ma; age of the oldest
ophiolitic rocks (Davis et al., 2000) in the southern part of the Chi-
Cu continental fragment (Chanic ocean), which allowed the sepa-
ration of two small continental blocks, the Chilenia and Cuyania
subplates (Figs. 2 and 4A). These subplates, were previously defined
as terranes by Ramos et al. (1986) and Ramos (1988, 2004), and
their paleogeographic links and accretion to southwestern Gond-
wana have been the focus of intensive discussion. For some authors,
Chilenia and Cuyania are fragments with Laurentian affinities that
drifted towards Gondwana (Ramos, 1988; Dalla Salda et al., 1992;
Davis et al., 1999, 2000; Thomas and Astini, 2003; Ramos, 2004;
Naipauer et al., 2010; Thomas et al., 2015; and references
therein), whereas others propose a parautochthonous origin
respect to Gondwana (Acen ~ olaza et al., 2002; Finney et al., 2003;
Lo
pez and Gregori, 2004; Gonza
lez-Mene
ndez et al., 2013; and
references therein). However, Gonza
lez-Mene
ndez et al. (2013)
suggest that Chilenia and Cuyania are part of the same continen-
tal fragment, partially rifted in Ordovician times and only separated
by an oceanic crust in the southern part. We have not done new
studies to discern between an allochthonous or parautochthonous
origin for the Cuyania continental fragment regarding Gondwana
and therefore whether it is or not a terrane. We only provide new
data to support the idea of Gonza
lez-Mene
ndez et al. (2013) that
Chilenia and Cuyania are part of the same continental fragment:
Chi-Cu.
The Chi-Cu continental fragment consists of a Grenvillian Mes-
oproterozoic basement (>1.0 Ga), that only outcrops in five local-
ities of the study area (Varela et al., 2011). The westernmost outcrop
of this Grenvillian basement belongs to the Chilenia subplate and is
located in the present Frontal Cordillera (Las Yaretas gneiss) (Figs. 2
and 4A). The rest of the Grenvillian outcrops belong to the Cuyania
subplate and they are located in the northern Precordillera (Río
Fig. 1. Paleozoic terranes and continental fragments present in the Andes of southern Bonete Metamorphic Complex and related rocks; BR, UR and ME in
South America and location of the study area shown in Fig. 2. Modified from Ramos Fig. 2) and in their equivalent to the south, the San Rafael Block
(2009) and Heredia et al. (2017). (Cerro de la Ventana formation; VP in Fig. 2). The Las Yaretas gneiss

Please cite this article in press as: Heredia, N., et al., Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the
Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S latitude), Journal of South American Earth Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jsames.2017.11.019
 N. Heredia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences xxx (2017) 1e8 3

is covered by Carboniferous and Permian-Triassic rocks, while the

Grenvillian outcrops of the Precordillera and San Rafael Block are
covered by Pre-Andean Cambrian to lower Permian sedimentary
rocks (Keller, 1999; Bordonaro, 1999; Baldis and Peralta, 1999;
Azcuy et al., 1999; and references therein). This allows us to
deduce that a large part of the Chilenia subplate remained emerged
up to the Carboniferous (Fig. 4A and B), constituting the main
source area for the pre-orogenic series of the Chanic cycle located
on this subplate. However, a part of the pre-Carboniferous series
could also have been eroded during the Chanic cordillera uplift in
Late Devonian-early Carboniferous times (Fig. 3). The other
emerged zone, located in Cuyania, represents the main source area
for the sediments deposited in both Cuyanian margins in
Ediacaran-Ordovician times, prior to the Famatinian orogeny that
affected its western margin. In the northern part of the Chi-Cu
continental fragment, the rifting process was aborted and the
emerged areas remained separated by an epicontinental sea
located above an extended and thinned continental crust (Kay et al.,
1984; Alonso et al., 2008; Gonz

ndez et al., 2013). The
alez-Mene
sedimentary series deposited on this thinned crust contains
abundant basic igneous rocks, interbedded in the sedimentary se-
ries of Chilenia and Cuyania passive continental margins (Fig. 4A)
(Kay et al., 1984; Keller, 1999; Gonza
lez-Mene

ndez et al., 2013; and
references therein). In the Middle Ordovician, the eastern passive
margin of Chi-Cu (Cuyania subplate) collided with Gondwana
(western margin to the previously accreted Pampia terrane, Figs. 3
and 4A) resulting in the Famatinian orogen (Ramos, 1988) (Fig. 3),
while the oceanic crust between Cuyania and Chilenia continued
developing until the Silurian. The Famatinian orogenic belt shows a
NNW trending and double vergence (Fig. 4B and C). The eastern
branch of this orogen, developed in the Gondwana margin
(Pampean ranges, east of the study area), preserves pre-collisional
structures in its hinterland (Ramos, 2004) related to the Famatinian
subduction event (~515-465 Ma, ages of the arc-related rocks;
Figs. 3 and 4A) (Rapela et al., 2001). Meanwhile, the western branch
of this orogen, developed on the Chi-Cu continental fragment
(Cuyania subplate), is preserved in the Eastern Precordillera and
especially in the northern part of the Precordillera (Figs. 2 and 4B),
where west-vergent structures and Middle Ordovician-Silurian
synorogenic sedimentary rocks (Fig. 3), deposited in a peripheral
foreland basin, are present (Guandacol foreland basin, from
Thomas and Astini, 2003). The eastern border of the northern
Precordillera is located very close to the Famatinian suture (Fig. 2)
and the deformation becomes ductile, allowing the development of
pervasive cleavages and shear zones at the base of the thrusts. The
presence of migmatites and synorogenic granitoids also indicates
the location of this area in the hinterland of the narrower western
branch of the Famatinian orogen. These ductile Famatinian thrusts
involve the Grenvillian Mesoproterozoic basement of Cuyania, and
were reactivated as brittle structures (reverse faults) during the
most recent Gondwanan and Andean orogenies, promoting the
uplift and exposure of this basement in large areas of the north-
eastern Precordillera ranges (BR, UR in Fig. 2).
In the Western Precordillera and in the San Rafael Block (Fig. 2),
Fig. 2. Schematic map showing the location and distribution of the major morpho- there is no evidence of Famatinian deformation, so that we inter-
tectonic units and the main Paleozoic tectonic features of the Andes at 28
-38
S
latitude. SRB- San Rafael Block, APC- Andean Precordillera. CV- Cordillera del Viento.
pret that the old western Famatinian foreland was located in these
Main outcrops of the Mesoproterozoic basement: BR- Bonete river, UR- Umango range, areas (Fig. 4D). The slight disconformity present at the base of the
ME- Maz and Espinal ranges. VP- Southern part of the San Rafael Block, LY- Las Yaretas. Silurian rocks in the Central and Western Precordillera could be
Dotted white line indicates the limit between the Main (to the W) and Frontal Cor- interpreted as a response to the uplift of the Famatinian mountain
dilleras. Green lines show the approximate present location of the boundary between
chain (Fig. 4B), which triggered the sedimentation in the rift of the
the two Chanic orogen branches. Dotted green line marks the location of the ancient
rift axis in the unrifted Chi-Cu continental fragment (area without creation of oceanic Chi-Cu continental fragment and, afterwards, in the western
crust). The solid green line marks the suture between Chilenia (to de W) and Cuyania
subplates of the rifted Chi-Cu fragment. Solid green line with triangles marks the zone
with preserved ophiolitic rocks. Yellow line shows the approximate location of the Chanic orogen. Base Map: NASA (SRTM). (For interpretation of the references to colour
orogenic fronts of the Famatinian orogen and the red lines show the two fronts of the in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Please cite this article in press as: Heredia, N., et al., Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the
Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S latitude), Journal of South American Earth Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jsames.2017.11.019
4 N. Heredia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences xxx (2017) 1e8

Fig. 3. Sketch showing the temporary extension of the late Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic orogenic cycles in the Cuyo Sector of the Argentinean-Chilean Andes. Continental fragments
involved and main geodynamic events are also shown. (1) start of the Gondwana-Cuyania collision during the Famatinian orogeny, (2) start of the Gondwana-Chilenia collision
during the Chanic orogeny. Based in Heredia et al. (2016).

passive margin of Cuyania. The Famatinian orogen also produced klippes of ophiolitic rocks (Davis et al., 2000) (Fig. 4D). Thin marine-
the burial of the emerged part of the Cuyania subplate, which was continental synorogenic deposits crop out mainly in the Pre-
placed under the western Famatinian branch (Fig. 4B). The end of cordillera (Cuyania) (Heredia et al., 2012; Colombo et al., 2014),
the Famatinian orogeny took place in the Silurian-Devonian containing in their basal part abundant clasts of igneous rocks
boundary (~420 Ma, according to Mulcahy et al., 2011), when a coming from the Chanic magmatic arc located in the Frontal
subduction process started in the eastern margin of Chilenia Cordillera (Chilenia) (Gallastegui et al., 2014). The Chanic orogenic
(Fig. 3), which leads the closure of the Chanic ocean and the belt shows a double vergence, to the east in the eastern branch,
beginning of the Chanic cycle only developed in this Andean sector developed on Cuyania, and to the west in the western one devel-
(Fig. 4C). oped on Chilenia (Fig. 4D). To the east of the best-preserved eastern
During the Devonian, the Chanic subduction resulted in an branch, in the undeformed foreland, located to the east of the
incipient magmatic arc (small spaced plutons) developed in the Central Precordillera, the Devonian and Carboniferous series have
eastern margin of Chilenia (Fig. 4C), which includes, among others, been conformably deposited. Furthermore, in the middle part of the
the Pampa de los Avestruces granodiorite (Tickyj et al., 2009). This Central Precordillera (east of the Tambolar dam meridian, Fig. 2) no
incipient magmatic arc, developed in Devonian times and before significant Pre-Gondwanan deformation (Chanic or Famatinian)
the Chanic collision (Late Devonian), implies a short subduction can be observed (Figs. 2 and 4D). The hinterland of the western
process and therefore a small Chanic ocean, probably related with a branch of the Chanic orogen are represented discontinuously in the
little-active mid-oceanic ridge. The effusive terms of this arc pro- High Cordillera, while in the Coastal Cordillera the pre-
vide Devonian age zircons to the contemporaneous sedimentary Carboniferous rocks do not show this deformation and are in
rocks deposited on the southern Chilenia active margin. Detrital stratigraphic continuity with the Carboniferous rocks (Charrier
zircons of this age are absent in the sedimentary series of northern et al., 2015) (Fig. 3). This allows us to deduce that the foreland of
Chilenia, where this arc was not developed. In the Middle Devo- the orogen must be placed in the western part of the High Cordil-
nian, large fragments of sedimentary and igneous rocks of the lera, while the undeformed foreland could correspond to the
Chilenia margin and oceanic crust were subducted and deformed Coastal Cordillera. Thus, the western front of the orogen could
on high-pressure metamorphic conditions, as the Guarguaraz match the western edge of the High Cordillera (Figs. 1 and 4D). The
Complex (Lo
pez and Gregori, 2004; Lo

pez de Azarevich et al., 2009; Chanic orogenic belt is only recognized between 28
and 38
S
Willner et al., 2011; García-Sansegundo et al., 2016). On the other (Cuyo Sector of the Paleozoic basement of the Andes); latitudes that
hand, the existence of Lower Devonian I-type plutonic rocks represent the limits of the Chi-Cu continental fragment (Heredia
deformed during their emplacement (Tickyj et al., 2009), points to et al., 2016, 2017). These limits coincide approximately with two
the incipient development of a pre-collisional orogen (Fig. 3). Andean lineaments: the Valle Ancho (28
S) and the Huincul line-
Meanwhile, in the western passive margin of Cuyania (located in aments (38
S), defined by Ramos (1999) and Ploszkiewicz et al.
the present Precordillera), the pre-Chanic sedimentation was (1984) respectively. According to Heredia et al. (2016) north of
continuous (Fig. 3) until the Late Devonian (Keller, 1999; Alonso 28
S (Puna Sector) the Ocloyic orogeny develope (Late Ordovician-
et al., 2008; Amen
abar and Di Pasquo, 2008; and references Late Devonian), while south of the 38
S (Patagonia Sector) took
therein), except for the aforementioned Silurian disconformity. In place the Gondwanan orogeny (Middle Devonian-early Permian).
Late Devonian times, both the Chilenia-Cuyania collision and the The Chanic orogeny ends at the early Carboniferous (~340 Ma),
inversion of the intracontinental basin of the Chi-Cu continental with the beginning of a new subduction stage (the Gondwanan
fragment in the northern part of the orogen, began. Deformation, subduction; Herve
, 1988) developed in the western margin of
metamorphism and magmatism were more intense towards the Chilenia (Figs. 3, 4D and 4E). A rapid erosion of the Chanic orogen,
south, where the hinterland of this orogen is well developed related to an extensional event, occurred from this moment on-
(García-Sansegundo et al., 2014b). During the Chanic collisional ward, while several isolated sedimentary basins with local depo-
orogeny, the emplacement of the high-pressure (HP) metamorphic centers were formed in the inner/eastern part of the new
rocks over the Chilenia margin took place (Guarguaraz Complex, Gondwana margin. Volcano-sedimentary series were deposited in
Frontal Cordillera; GC in Fig. 4D). The eastern continental margin of the initial infill stages of the pre-orogenic San Rafael and Paganzo
Chilenia was also overthrusted Cuyania (Giambiagi et al., 2014; basins (~337-326 Ma, ages of interbedded volcanic rocks), as
Farias et al., 2016), giving rise to a suture zone whose existence observed in the Cordillera del Viento (CV in Fig. 2) (Herve
et al.,
can be deduced in the Southern Precordillera by the presence of 2013; Giacosa et al., 2014) and in the northern part of the

Please cite this article in press as: Heredia, N., et al., Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the
Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S latitude), Journal of South American Earth Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jsames.2017.11.019
 N. Heredia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences xxx (2017) 1e8 5

Fig. 4. Sketch showing the Paleozoic geodynamic evolution of the Andes and its foreland between 28
and 38
S latitude. Figure not-to-scale, the relative position of the different
components is only shown. Lineaments: HL- Huincul, VAL- Valle Ancho. Retrowedge basins: 1-Arraya
n, 2- Río Blanco, 3- Paganzo, 4- Chaco-Parana
, 5- San Rafael. The arrows point
to the vergence of the main structures: Famatinian in black, Chanic in red and Gondwanan in blue. GC- high-pressure Guarguaraz Metamorphic Complex. Ages of igneous rocks from
Rapela et al. (2001), Ramos (2004), Ramos and Folguera (2009), Varela et al. (2011), Herve
et al. (2014) and Sato et al. (2015). See text for explanation. (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Please cite this article in press as: Heredia, N., et al., Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the
Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S latitude), Journal of South American Earth Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jsames.2017.11.019
6 N. Heredia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences xxx (2017) 1e8

Precordillera (Astini et al., 2011) (Fig. 4D). The pre-orogenic emplaced over the fore-arc basin, close to the volcanic arc. The
Gondwanan magmatism is more common within the limits of the rocks of the basal accretionary prism were strongly deformed un-
old Chanic orogen and it also includes some small plutons (~330- der ductile/metamorphic conditions, in contrast to the fore-arc and
326 Ma), similar to those described by Herve
et al. (2014) and Sato the rest of the Gondwanan orogenic belt, deformed in brittle con-
et al. (2015) in the northern part of the eastern High Cordillera ditions (García-Sansegundo et al., 2014a). The exhumed basal
(Fig. 4E). prism, previously deformed under high-pressure metamorphic
Afterward, during the late Carboniferous, the pre-orogenic ba- conditions inside the Gondwanan subduction zone (Willner et al.,
sins expanded (Fig. 4E), while the volcanic contribution decreased 2004), outcrop discontinuously in the Coastal Cordillera. These
(Giacosa et al., 2014). The lateral continuity of these retrowedge rocks, known as “Western Series” in the geological literature of the
basins was occasionally interrupted by the formation of horsts Chilean Andes (see Charrier et al., 2015 and references therein),
(Limarino and Spalletti, 2006), like the Pampean high (remnant of represent the narrow hinterland of the Gondwanan orogen.
the Famatinian orogen) or the Protoprecordillera high (remnant of Synorogenic deposits related to the Gondwanan orogeny are
the Chanic orogen according to Heredia et al., 2012), where the preserved in the retroarc, located in the current Argentine Frontal
Carboniferous pre-orogenic deposits are very scarce (Fig. 4E). The Cordillera (Busquets et al., 2005) and Precordillera (Colombo et al.,
Pampean high was the main detrital source at that time, with some 2014) and also in the fore-arc, which outcrops in the Coastal
little contributions from the Protoprecordillera (Spalletti et al., Cordillera (Charrier et al., 2007). The Gondwanan synorogenic
2012). rocks rest both over the non-deformed pre-orogenic series as over
The Gondwanan orogeny started in the late Carboniferous (~320 the ancient extensional reliefs of the Protoprecordillera (Heredia
Ma) related to a mature subduction in the western margin of Chi- et al., 2012). The retroarc foreland basin was filled by continental
lenia (Fig. 3), after a long period of platformal sedimentation on this deposits with abundant interbedded volcanic rocks (Busquets et al.,
ancient passive margin during the Paleozoic (Charrier et al., 2007, 2013) and retains the only preserved Carboniferous paleo-forest of
2015). The deformation associated with this orogen started close South America (Ce
sari et al., 2010, 2012). This basin was filled until
to the accretionary prism and coevally with the formation of the the early Permian and migrated to the east together with the
first Gondwanan magmatic arc (Coastal batholith), located in the deformation. In the fore-arc, the synorogenic basin shows a marine
current Coastal Cordillera (Figs. 2 and 4E) and intruded between character (Rivano and Sepúlveda, 1985) and goes up to the middle
320 and 300 Ma (Deckart et al., 2014). This orogen shows a N trend, Permian in its northern part.
eastern vergence and narrow hinterland, as it is common in the In the middle Permian (~265 Ma), the Gondwanan subduction
Andean type orogens. Furthermore, to the south, the Gondwanan ends and a new stage of low velocities subducting plate start (Rey
deformation was less intense, which resulted in a narrower et al., 2016). This low velocity subduction resulted in the forma-
orogenic belt (Fig. 4F). During the early Permian, the northern part tion of subsiding extensional continental basins that were filled
of this orogen developed as a flat-slab subduction type (Ramos and with thick volcano-sedimentary successions of the upper Choiyoi
Folguera, 2009), so that the deformation quickly migrated east- Group (Permian-Triassic). Coeval calc-alkaline to transitional A-
ward. The magmatism migrated in the same direction and resulted type granitic intrusions took place linked to this process, mainly
in the calc-alkaline and peraluminous intrusive units (Herve
et al., represented in the Elqui-Limarí (Herve
et al., 2014) and Colangüil
2014) of the Elqui-Limarí batholith (~301-284 Ma, according to batholiths (Sato et al., 2015), which outcrop in the Chilean and
Herve
et al., 2014) and reached the actual Precordillera (Ramos and Argentine Frontal Cordillera respectively. The Choiyoi rocks rest
Folguera, 2009 and references therein) (Fig. 4F). In the southern uncomformably over the Paleozoic and mark the beginning of the
part of the Gondwanan orogen the flat-slab subduction did not Andean cycle.
occur. This fact is evidenced because (i) the southern orogenic front
of the Gondwanan orogen did not migrate eastward and (ii) the 3. Conclusions
deformation reached the Coastal batholith (Fig. 4F) in late
Carboniferous times (~300 Ma) and this batholith remained inac- The geological evolution of the Andean basement between 28
-
tive until the end of the orogeny in the early Permian (~280 Ma). 38
S latitude here proposed, is based on a set of structural,
This part of the Gondwanan orogen is likely related to the arrival of metamorphic, sedimentological, geochemical and geochronolog-
oceanic islands to the trench (Hyppolito et al., 2014), blocking the ical data. These data allow us to reconstruct the geodynamic pro-
subduction and allowing the exhumation and the emplacement of cesses that took place during the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic and
the basal accretionary prism on the fore-arc basin. South of the to establish a new evolutionary model. This model explains the
Huincul lineament (Fig. 4), outside the studied sector and in the geodynamic evolution of the different margins of the Chi-Cu con-
Patagonian Andes Sector, this orogen changed to a collisional type, tinental fragment during its accretion to Gondwana.
as proposed by García-Sansegundo et al. (2009). Heredia et al. The major milestones of this evolutionary model are:
(2016) propose the collision of the Western Antarctica terrane for
the origin of this collisional orogeny. - The Chi-Cu continental fragment began to split into the Chilenia
During the early-middle Permian, in the northern part of this and Cuyania subplates in Ediacaran times. This rifting process
Andean sector, the Gondwanan orogeny developed close to the allowed the development of an oceanic crust in the southern
trench, while in the rest of the study area the orogeny ended in the part of the Chi-Cu continental fragment until the Silurian.
early Permian (~280 Ma) (Fig. 3), age of the first post-orogenic - In the middle Ordovician, the collision of the Cuyania subplate
deposits and volcanic rocks of the lower Choiyoi Group (Rocha- with Gondwana, result in the Famatinian orogeny. At the same
Campos et al., 2011) as well as the coeval plutons in the Colangüil time, Chilenia was still separating from Cuyania. The western
batholith (calc-alkaline Choiyoi of Sato et al (2015).,). The west- branch of the Famatinian orogen is preserved in the Eastern
wards migration of the Gondwanan magmatism and the defor- Precordillera, although is possible to recognize it in most of the
mation towards the trench could be related to the accretion of an northern end of the Precordillera, where the Famatinian suture
oceanic plateau (Fig. 4F), which produces a steepening and finally is very close. Furthermore, in the hinterland of this branch of the
the blocking of the subduction (García-Sansegundo et al., 2014a). In Famatinian belt, mainly preserved in the eastern part of the
this context, remains of the Gondwanan basal accretionary prism northern Precordillera, the deformation involves the Grenvillian
and fragments of the subducted oceanic crust were exhumed and Mesoproterozoic basement.

Please cite this article in press as: Heredia, N., et al., Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the
Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S latitude), Journal of South American Earth Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jsames.2017.11.019
 N. Heredia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences xxx (2017) 1e8 7

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Spanish I þ D þ i Plan with FEDER Funds of the European Union. We Ordo
n~ ez, A., Cuesta, A., 2014a. Structure of the Andean Palaeozoic basement in
are especially grateful to Romina Sulla for reviewing the English the Chilean coast at 31
30' S: geodynamic evolution of a subduction margin.
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n~ ez, A., Heredia, N., 2014b. The
García-Sansegundo, J., Farias, P., Rubio-Ordo
mous reviewer for their suggestions and valuable comments.

Please cite this article in press as: Heredia, N., et al., Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the
Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S latitude), Journal of South American Earth Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jsames.2017.11.019
8 N. Heredia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences xxx (2017) 1e8

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Please cite this article in press as: Heredia, N., et al., Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the
Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28
-38
S latitude), Journal of South American Earth Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jsames.2017.11.019