Landscape evolution and origin of Lake Fúquene (Colombia): Tectonics, erosion and sedimentation processes during the Pleistocene

Abstract

Abstract The Basin of Ubate–Chichinquira (5°28′N, 73°45′ W, c. 2580 m altitude) includes the Fuquene Valley and is located in the central part of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. Rocks and sediments were folded and faulted during the Miocene, uplifted during the (late) Pliocene, and affected by glaciers during the Pleistocene. Successive glacial and interglacial periods left significant marks in the landscape which were used to reconstruct six stages in the development of the landscape along a relative chronology. During early Pleistocene episode 1 glaciers formed U-shape valleys. Evidence of the impact of ice sheets has been found as far downslope as ca. 2900 m elevation. During episode 2 moraines developed which were cut by the present San Jose River. During episode 3 abundant sediment was produced by glacial erosion. It accentuated the sculpturing of hard rock and deepening of the drainage basin. The ancestral Ubate–Suarez River constituted a dynamic erosive system that gave rise to deep V-shaped valleys and progressively formed a set of intricate valleys with a high sediment production. Finally, intense glacial and fluvio-glacial erosion led to a geomorphological system with high energy levels and intensive sediment transport leading to wide valleys. During episode 4 the Ubate–Suarez River eroded and deepened its valley until it captured the old El Hato–San Jose Valley. It caused intense erosion of the moraine and the fluvio-glacial gravels. Deep V-shaped valleys stabilized in the high areas of the main drainage system and these valleys form the present-day fluvial sub-basins. During episode 5 the deep valley in the northern part of the Basin of Ubate–Chichinquira developed. During middle Pleistocene episode 6 colluvial sediments formed the Saboya dam and a lake was formed in the river valley of which the present Lake Fuquene is only a small remnant. Lithological changes indicate fluctuating water levels and Lake Fuquene must have expanded periodically up to an area 5 to 10 times the present-day surface.