Cretaceous and Tertiary terrane accretion in the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes of Ecuador

Abstract

New field, geochronological, geochemical and biostratigraphical data indicate that the central and northern parts of the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes of Ecuador comprise two terranes. The older (Pallatanga) terrane consists of an early to late (?) Cretaceous oceanic plateau suite, late Cretaceous marine turbidites derived from an unknown basaltic to andesitic volcanic source, and a tectonic mélange of probable late Cretaceous age. The younger (Macuchi) terrane consists of a volcanosedimentary island arc sequence, derived from a basaltic to andesitic source. A previously unidentified, regionally important dextral shear zone named the Chimbo-Toachi shear zone separates the two terranes. Regional evidence suggests that the Pallatanga terrane was accreted to the continental margin (the already accreted Cordillera Real) in Campanian times, producing a tectonic mélange in the suture zone. The Macuchi terrane was accreted to the Pallatanga terrane along the Chimbo-Toachi shear zone during the late Eocene, probably in a dextral shear regime. The correlation of Cretaceous rocks and accretionary events in the Cordillera Occidental of Ecuador and Colombia remains problematical, but the late Eocene event is recognised along the northern Andean margin.