Tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Morichito piggyback basin, Eastern Venezuelan Basin

Abstract

The Morichito piggyback basin (MPB) is a SW–NE-oriented depocenter in the Eastern Venezuelan Foreland Basin (EVFB). This piggyback basin formed by overlying the Pirital thrust during the middle to late Miocene as a result of oblique collision between the Caribbean and South-American Plates. The MPB covers an area encompassing approximately 1000 km 2 between the Serrania del Interior range and the Pirital high, which is a hanging wall uplift along the Pirital thrust that acts as a confining barrier on the southern boundary of the MPB. Previous studies have tried to address the tectonostratigraphic significance of the MPB, but new biostratigraphic information and recently acquired 3D seismic data have allowed us to expand the understanding of this basin. The MPB occupies a relatively small area of the EVFB; however, the MPB contains a valuable stratigraphic record that can be used to unveil the timing of the main deformational events that took place in the EVFB. This work presents the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the MPB by defining four tectonostratigraphic sequences (T1–T4). Each sequence was defined on the basis of integration of well logs, biostratigraphy, and seismic geomorphological interpretations. T1 (24–16 Ma) (late Oligocene to middle Miocene), which was deposited in shallow-marine environments, extends to the south of the Pirital high beyond the boundaries of the MPB. T1 is equivalent to the early foredeep stage of the EVFB, having been formed when structural deformation and uplifting were already occurring to the north on the proto-Serrania del Interior range (∼24–16 Ma) and the Pirital thrust was active (∼22 Ma). T2 (16–11 Ma) (middle to late Miocene) is composed of alluvial-fan deposits derived from the proto-Serrania del Interior range. The geometry and internal configuration of T2 indicate that during this time the basin was transitioning from an open-foreland basin to a confined piggyback basin. During deposition of T2, the Pirital fault was active as an out-of-sequence thrusting event (16–∼11 ma). T3 (late Miocene) and T4 (early Pliocene to Recent), composed of shallow-marine and fluvial deposits, were deposited in an already restricted piggyback basin. The Pirital high was already in place during deposition of T3 (∼11–9.3 ma). T3 and T4 represent the final phases of MPB infilling, when tectonic activity and subsidence were at their lowest rates. MPB sedimentary infilling dates the activity of thrusting events in the proto-Serrania del Interior (∼24–16 Ma), timing of maximum deformation associated with the Pirital out-of-sequence thrusting event (16–∼11 Ma), timing of final emplacement of the Pirital high (∼11–9.3 Ma), and the beginning of tectonic quiescence (<5.2 Ma).