Cretaceous tectonics of the Andes [IGCP, IUGS UNESCO 242

In 1822, J.J. d'Omalius d'Halloy used the word Cretaceous to define the terrane known as "creta", "craie", "chalk" and "Kreide" in Latin, French, English and German, respectively. In the geologic map which accompanied a new edition of his work, published in 1823, he considered the Cretaceous terranes to be those lying between the ammonitic sediments -including Jurassic limestones-below and the Tertiary terranes above. The history of scientific knowledge of the Cretaceous in the Andes began shortly afterwards, with the celebrated journeys of two learned investigators, Alcide d'Orbigny (1826-1833, published in 1842) and Charles Darwin (1832-1836, published in 1846). In his work d'Orbigny gave his attention to the Cretaceous terranes of the Andes, which "are very extensive in the New World, as they are found mainly along the Cordillera, from Colombia down to the Straits of Magellan" (1842, p. 238). He also mentioned a series of fossils, some of which -those of Colombia-he considered Neocomian. The outstanding capability of the French savant enabled him to announce in 1842 that five of the fossil species from Colombia were identical to those known in the Paris basin. He concluded from this that "the seas of Europe and America must have been interconnected, and that the Atlantic Ocean must already have existed at that time as a single basin, stretching from Europe to America" (1842, p. 244). From the time in which the term Cretaceous was put forward (1822) until the time d' Orbigny (1826Orbigny ( -1833) ) and Darwin (1832-1836) made their journeys, not many years went by. Therefore, the widespread use of this term in Europe and the characterization of the outcrops discovered by these travellers in the "New World" as Cretaceous came about almost simultaneously. From that time on, studies of the Cretaceous System in the Andes have been carried out in almost uninterrupted fashion. In this century, prior to 1970, the evolution of the South American Cretaceous System, especially in the Andes, was researched by several outstanding authors; among whom were Steinmann (1929), Weaver (1942), Weeks (1947), Groeber (1953) and Harrington (1962). The information published during the last thirty years or so has been very abundant, and covers almost all the Cretaceous sedimentary basins and Cretaceous plutonic and volcanic processes in the Andes. This circumstance led us to prepare the present volume, with the idea of publishing a work which would summarize all the available information and interpretations concerning Cretaceous tectonic evolution in the Andean Front Matter....Pages I-VIII The Mesozoic Passive Margin of Northern South America....Pages 1-60 The Colombian Andes During Cretaceous Times....Pages 61-100 Kimmeridgian to Paleocene Tectonic and Geodynamic Evolution of the Peruvian (and Ecuadorian) Margin....Pages 101-167 Kimmeridgian? to Paleocene Tectonic Evolution of Bolivia....Pages 168-212 Tectono-Sedimentary Evolution of the Cretaceous-Early Tertiary and Metallogenic Scheme of Northern Chile, Between 20° S and 26° S....Pages 213-265 Tectonic and Sedimentary Evolution of the Cretaceous-Eocene Salta Group Basin, Argentina....Pages 266-315 Cretaceous Evolution of the Magallanes Basin....Pages 316-345 Back Matter....Pages 347-348 Explores the Cretaceous tectonics of the South American Andes region. The book is not only of academic interest, but also because of the economic importance conferred on this portion of the Earth's crust by the hydrocarbon, and other metallic and non-metallic ore resources contained there. José A. Salfity (ed.). Includes Bibliographical References.