Chapter 7 - Thrust sequence in the Sinú Fold Belt (South Caribbean Deformed Belt), offshore northwestern Colombia

Abstract

The Sinú Fold Belt, located in northwest offshore Colombia, is the frontal part of the southwestern edge of the South Caribbean Deformed Belt, which has been interpreted as an accretionary wedge resulting from the subduction of the Caribbean Plate underneath the South American Plate. The geological interpretation of a two-dimensional time seismic line has allowed us to identify the structural style and evolution of a small portion of the belt. It consists of thrust imbricates and related ramp folds that show associated growth beds deposited in small basins in between them. These structures followed a forward (piggyback) sequence of thrust propagation; thus, deformation started in the trailing part of the belt and propagated seawards to the northwest, so that the structures developed in the leading part of the belt are still active today.