Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

www.elsevier.com/locate/jsames

The Quebradagrande Complex: A Lower Cretaceous ensialic

marginal basin in the Central Cordillera of the Colombian Andes
Alvaro Nivia

a,*

, Giselle F. Marriner b, Andrew C. Kerr c, John Tarney

Instituto Colombiano de Geologa y Minera INGEOMINAS, Unidad Operativa Cali, A.A. 9724, Cali, Colombia
b
Department of Geology, Royal Halloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardi University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardi CF1 3YE, UK
d
University of Leicester, Department of Geology, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
Received 1 October 2004; accepted 1 January 2006

Abstract
The Quebradagrande Complex of Western Colombia consists of volcanic and AlbianAptian sedimentary rocks of oceanic anity
and outcrops in a highly deformed zone where spatial relationships are dicult to unravel. BerriasianAptian sediments that display
continental to shallow marine sedimentary facies and mac and ultramac plutonic rocks are associated with the Quebradagrande Complex. Geochemically, the basalts and andesites of the Quebradagrande Complex mostly display calc-alkaline anities, are enriched in
large-ion lithophile elements relative to high eld strength elements, and thus are typical of volcanic rocks generated in supra-subduction
zone mantle wedges. The Quebradagrande Complex parallels the western margin of the Colombian Andes Central Cordillera, forming a
narrow, discontinuous strip fault-bounded on both sides by metamorphic rocks. The age of the metamorphic rocks east of the Quebradagrande Complex is well established as Neoproterozoic. However, the age of the metamorphics to the west the Arqua Complex is
poorly constrained; they may have formed during either the Neoproterozoic or Lower Cretaceous. A Neoproterozoic age for the Arqua
Complex is favored by both its close proximity to sedimentary rocks mapped as Paleozoic and its intrusion by Triassic plutons. Thus, the
Quebradagrande Complex could represent an intracratonic marginal basin produced by spreading-subsidence, where the progressive
thinning of the lithosphere generated gradually deeper sedimentary environments, eventually resulting in the generation of oceanic crust.
This phenomenon was common in the Peruvian and Chilean Andes during the Uppermost Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous. The marginal
basin was trapped during the collision of the CaribbeanColombian Cretaceous oceanic plateau, which accreted west of the Arqua Complex in the Early Eocene. Dierences in the geochemical characteristics of basalts of the oceanic plateau and those of the Quebradagrande
Complex indicate these units were generated in very dierent tectonic settings.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Continental active margin; Back arc basin; Extensional tectonics; Ophiolitic complexes

1. Introduction
A characteristic feature of many convergent plate margins, especially those aected by the subduction of old,
dense, oceanic lithosphere, is the development of backarc
basins resulting from extensional tectonics (Molnar and
Atwater, 1978; Tarney et al., 1981; Saunders and Tarney,
1982). Such basins commonly occur in intra-oceanic settings, but examples also are associated with continental*

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: anivia@ingeominas.gov.co (A. Nivia).

0895-9811/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2006.07.002

based magmatic arcs. Throughout the Mesozoic and probably much of the Paleozoic, the western side of South
America and the Antarctic Peninsula formed a semicontinuous magmatic arc along the margin of Gondwana, where
the formation of volcanic arcs and marginal basins clearly
played an important evolutionary role (Dalziel et al., 1974;
Dalziel, 1981; Atherton et al., 1983; Saunders and Tarney,
1984; Miller et al., 1994). During the Uppermost Jurassic
Lower Cretaceous, the continental margin was on the brink
of splitting from the continent, and basin formation with
the eruption of mantle-derived basalts was an outstanding
feature. A rosary of NS-elongated, ensialic marginal

424

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

basins along the Northern Andes, according to the geochemical results we present herein, is represented by the
Quebradagrande Complex that outcrops east of the accreted plateau in a more ensialic position and has been erroneously considered part of the latter (Bourgois et al., 1982,
1985, 1987; Toussaint and Restrepo, 1993; Kammer,
1995; Kammer and Mojica, 1996).

basins of Tithonian to Albian age from Cape Horn and

South Georgia Island to southwestern Mexico the latter
continuous with South America in most TriassicJurassic
Pangea reconstructions (Coney and Evenchick, 1994)
remain as scars of a generalized extensional episode.
In Colombia, a sequence of pillow lavas, diabases, and
associated volcaniclastic materials, the Diabase and Dagua
groups (Nelson, 1957; Barrero, 1979) is postulated to con berg et al.,
tinue this belt of marginal basins northward (A
1984; Aguirre, 1987; Aguirre and Atherton, 1987). However, these materials correspond to younger (Upper Cretaceous) accreted terranes of oceanic plateau anity
(Millward et al., 1984; Nivia, 1987; Kerr et al., 1996,
1997a,b, 2001). The missing link in the chain of marginal

2. Regional geology and stratigraphic nomenclature

On the western ank of the Central Cordillera of the
Colombian Andes, a sequence of intermediate to basic volcanic and sedimentary rocks of lower Cretaceous age
appears. In northern Colombia, this sequence was originally
76 o W

78 oW

Atlantic
Ocean

PANAMA

SOUTH AMERICA
Pacific
Ocean

20S

40S

AN1416

AN1417

80W

60W

40W

Medelln
6 oN
AN1419
QBG95-2
QBG95-3
QBG95-7

3
Manizales
2

QBG95-10
QBG95-11

1
Armenia

PACIFIC
OCEAN

AN1412
AN1410
AN1410A

4 oN

LEGEND

Cenozoic rocks and deposits

Western Lithospheric Oceanic
Cretaceous Province

Cali
3

Triassic plutons

Popayn
2 oN

Quebradagrande Complex - QGC

Arqua Complex

Cajamarca Complex

1
Pasto

ECUADOR

AN1425
AN1426

50

MAIN STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

1 San Jernimo Fault
2 Silvia-Pijao Fault
100 Km
3 Cauca-Almaguer Fault

Fig. 1. Geological sketch map of western Colombia to show the distribution, spatial relationships of the Lower Cretaceous Quebradagrande Complex,
and location of samples listed in Table 2.

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

described as the Quebradagrande Formation (Botero,

1963). Although regionally exposed (Fig. 1), it is covered
in places by recent volcanic and volcanoclastic deposits that
make correlations dicult. Parts of this sequence have been
mapped as the Aranzazu-Manizales sedimentary Complex
(Gomez et al., 1995) and the Aranzazu-Manizales metasedimentary volcanic Complex (Mosquera, 1978); in other locations, it was mapped (Paris and Marn, 1979) within the
Diabase Group (Nelson, 1957, 1962). The Quebradagrande
rocks consist of imbricated slices of strongly deformed
dynamometamorphic rocks, with crenulation cleavage and
Andean milonitic foliation that bears NNE and dips 50
70 to the east (Lozano et al., 1984a; Kammer, 1995; Gomez
et al., 1995). Deformation in these rocks has caused them to
be described erroneously as schists and included within the
Cajamarca belt of metamorphic rocks (Nelson, 1957, 1962;
Mosquera, 1978). Moreover, deformation has prevented
the identication of sedimentary sequences within the
Quebradagrande rocks (Rodrguez and Rojas, 1985);
though they were originally dened as a formation with distinct sedimentary and volcanic members, these lithostratigraphic units lack precisely dened limits.
To solve the problem of stratigraphic nomenclature
caused by the deformation of the Quebradagrande rocks,
Maya and Gonzalez (1996) propose a stratigraphic scheme
based on lithodemic units (North American Commission on
Stratigraphic Nomenclature, 1983). They assign the rank of
structural complexes to the former Cajamarca, Quebradagrande, and Arqua units (Table 1). Because the names of
the regional faults that bound these complexes also vary
along their length, new names for the faults have been proposed. Thus, the fault separating the Cajamarca Complex
to the east and the Quebradagrande Complex to the west
has become known as the San Jeronimo fault, whereas that
which separates the Quebradagrande Complex to the east
and the Arqua Complex to the west is called the Silvia
Pijao fault (Fig. 1, Table 1). Another important fault is
the CaucaAlmaguer fault that bounds the Arqua Complex to the west and, according to some petrogenetic models
(McCourt et al., 1984; Aspden and McCourt, 1986; Aspden
et al., 1987), marks the limit between Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks of continental anity and Cretaceous accreted
terranes of oceanic character. The latter include the Canasgordas, Diabase, and Dagua groups, the Amaime and Volcanic formations, and so forth. For these, Nivia (1997) uses
the term Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province (Fig. 1, Table 1), which corresponds to the southern
extreme of the CaribbeanColombian Cretaceous Igneous
Province (Kerr et al., 1996, 1997a,b) that has been accreted
onto the Northern Andes.
The Quebradagrande Complex is composed of an
assemblage of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks.
The protoliths of the metavolcanic rocks were basaltic to
andesitic lavas and pyroclastics aected by the metamorphism of zeolite, prhenitepumpellyite, and greenschist
facies. The metasedimentary rocks display a wide variation
in grain size, from breccias and conglomerates to coarse

425

sandstones with clasts of cobbles and pebbles of both volcanic rocks and chert (Gomez et al., 1995). The presence of
these rocks suggests underwater volcanoclastic sedimentation produced by mass movements. The metasedimentary
horizons also contain lithic sandstones and volcanoclastic
arkoses. In the lithic sandstones, Gonzalez (1980a) reports
basic volcanic rock fragments as the main components,
with smaller quantities of mudstones and chert fragments,
whereas the clastic arkoses are dominated by plagioclase.
Lozano et al. (1984b) report black and grey graphitic metagreywackes. Milonite slices, up to 1 km thick, formed from
clay-rich carbonaceous mudstones, intercalated with thin
beds of limestone and cherts (Gonzalez, 1980a).
Marine fossils found in these metasedimentary rocks
include ammonites, gastropods, bivalves, radiolarians, brachiopods, and residues of plants (Gomez et al., 1995).
According to Gonzalez (1980a), faunas within the Quebradagrande Complex would have lived in epineritic to brackish
waters. However, Gonzalez (1980a) interprets these rocks as
part of a turbiditic sequence, whereas Lozano et al. (1984a),
on the basis of the lack of maturity of the sedimentary components, suggest they accumulated in deep trenches. The fossils range in age from Valanginian to Albian (14097 Ma)
(Gonzalez, 1980a; Gomez et al., 1995). Toussaint and Restrepo (1978) report a KAr (whole-rock) age of 105 10 Ma
from a basalt of the Quebradagrande Complex. Although
KAr dating is notoriously unreliable in volcanic rocks as
altered as those of the Quebradagrande Complex, the age
reported by Toussaint and Restrepo (1978) nonetheless
agrees well with paleontological ages.
Areno-rudaceous clastic sequences also are associated
with the Quebradagrande Complex. In northern Colombia,
these rocks are known as the Abejorral (Burgl and Radelli,
1962), Valle Alto (Gonzalez, 1980a), and La Soledad (Hall
et al., 1972) formations; to the south, they are known as the
San Francisco (Orrego et al., 1976) and Rojiza (Orrego,
1993) sedimentary sequences (Table 1). The stratigraphic
relationships among these units are dicult to establish,
but their discordant deposition on top of the Cajamarca
Complex and general transgressive character have been
described in several localities (Burgl and Radelli, 1962; Hall
et al., 1972; Gonzalez, 1980a). Within the Valle Alto and
Abejorral formations, Rodrguez and Rojas (1985) recognize sedimentary facies that vary with time from continental to oshore marine to brackish, marine-brackish, and
littoral-marine. The fossils in these rocks indicate they
are not older than Berriasianmiddle Albian (Etayo, 1985).
Imbricated slices of gabbro and ultramac rocks are
closely associated with the Quebradagrande Complex in
several localities and often show the same degree of deformation. The most studied outcrops are the Liborina and
Sucre peridotites, the Pereira gabbro, the Pacora and Cordoba complexes, and a series of small bodies mapped as the
Romeral gabbros (Calle et al., 1980; Gonzalez, 1980b,c;
Meja et al., 1983a,b). Toussaint and Restrepo (1974)
group some of these intrusive rocks and volcanic rocks of
the Quebradagrande Complex within the Cauca ophiolitic

426

Table 1
Stratigraphic units of western Colombia

Arquia Complex

CaucaAlmaguer
Fault

(Neoproterozoic - ?)

Marine sediments
Penderisco Fm.:
Urrao Member
Nutibara Member
Dagua Group:
Cisneros Fm.
Espinal Fm.
Rio Piedras Fm.
Ampudia Fm.
Marilopito Fm.
Aguaclara Fm.

Quebradagrande Complex

SilviaPijao
Fault

(Berriasian to middle Albian)

Areno-rudaceous clastic sequences
Abejorral Fm.
Valle Alto Fm.
La Soledad Fm.
San Francisco sed. sequence
Rojiza sedimentary sequence

Plateau volcanics
Barroso Fm.
Diabase Group
Amaime Fm.
Volcanic Fm.
Mac-ultramac rocks
Bolivar Ultramac Complex
Ginebra Ophiolitic Massif

Mainly meta-volcanics and meta-sediments

Arquia Group
Bugalagrande Schists

Lavas and pyroclastics

Quebradagrande Fm.
Aranzazu-Manizales
(meta)-Sedimentary Complex

La Mina Greenschists
Metamorphic basic plutonics
Rosario Amphibolites
Bolo Azul Metagabbroids
San Antonio Amphibolites
and Metagabbroids

Mac- ultramac rocks

Liborina peridotite
Sucre peridotite
Pacora Complex
Romeral Gabbros
Pereira gabbro

Cajamarca Complex

San Jeronimo
Fault

(Neoproterozoic)

Cajamarca Series
Cajamarca Group

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

Western Oceanic
Cretaceous Lithospheric
Province
(Upper Cretaceous)

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

Complex and suggest a possible cogenetic relationship

between them (see also Gonzalez, 1980a).
3. Geochemistry
3.1. Sampling localities
The volcanic rocks of the Quebradagrande Complex
were sampled on a regional basis (Fig. 1) between latitudes
635 0 N (Santa Fe de Antioquia) and 145 0 N (El Rosal
Cauca). Sampling was performed along main roads that
cut the Quebradagrande Complex outcrop areas, such as
Santa Fe de AntioquiaPlanadas (635 N), MedellnEbejico (622 0 N), ItaguHeliconia (613 0 N), FredoniaSanta
Barbara (555 0 N), ArmaAguadas (537 0 N), Aguadas
Pacora (535 0 N), PacoraSan Bartolome (533 0 N), PacoraSalamina (527 0 N), SalaminaLa Merced (524 0 N),
ArmeniaCajamarca (430 0 N), PijaoCordoba (420 0 N),
and BolvarEl Rosal (145 0 N).

427

as Th. The scatter of the Quebradagrande Complex samples on a variation diagram (Fig. 2) suggests that the alkalis
have been relatively mobile in the rocks, which might have
displaced some samples to the mugearite eld in the total
alkali-silica diagram (Fig. 3). Similarly, the only sample
that contains greater than 62 wt% SiO2 is petrographically
identical to the andesites but looks far more altered in thin
section. It is generally considered that large-ion lithophile
elements (LILE), such as K, Ba, Sr, and Rb, are relatively
more mobile during low-grade metamorphism than high
eld strength elements (HFSE), such as Ti, P, Nb, Y, Zr,
and rare earth elements (REE) (Wood et al., 1979; Pearce,
1983). Consequently, we place more emphasis on the geochemical behavior of the relatively immobile, trace HFSE.
Five samples that show petrographical evidence of alteration and scatter on variation diagrams that include the

3.2. Analytical methods

Twenty-six samples from the Quebradagrande Complex
were analyzed for major and trace elements at the geochemistry laboratories of Royal Halloway University of
London and University of Leicester. Samples were broken
into chips using manual and hydraulic jaw splinters to
remove weathered surfaces and thin veins of altered material. The samples were further crushed using a ypress of a
steel die and shoe. Some 150 g of the coarse material was
ground into a ne powder (<240 mesh) in an agate tema
swing mill. Pressed pellets were made from the ne powders
by adding 1520 drops of an aqueous solution of polyvinyl
alcohol (Mowiol) al 15 tonnes/in.2 pressure in a steel die.
These pellets were analyzed for trace elements on Phillips
PW1400 X-ray spectrometers using Rh and W radiations.
Major elements were analyzed on the same spectrometers using fusion discs for which the samples were prepared
according to the technique of Marsh et al. (1980). The ne
powder was ignited at 950 C, then mixed with a ux of
lithium metaborate/lithium tetraborate (Johnson Mattey
Spectroux 100B) at a 1:5 ratio. After fusion at 1250 C,
the melt was pressed into an aluminium mould. The discs
were transferred to heated insulating blocks for annealing
at 200 C overnight and kept in polypropylene bags.

Fig. 2. Th versus K2O diagram for Quebradagrande Complex volcanic

rocks. Solid triangles, Group 1; stars, Group 2; solid circles, Group 3;
solid diamonds, Group 4.

3.3. Alteration
Given the altered nature of the rocks (by ocean oor
hydrothermal uids and/or dynamic metamorphism), the
subsolidus mobility of the elements must be established
before any petrological inferences can be made from their
composition. Silica and alkalis (Na2O, K2O, Rb, and Ba)
are notoriously mobile during ocean oor metamorphism
(Stern and Elthon, 1979). The extent of mobility of the
alkalis in relation to other less mobile elements can be
ascertained by plotting a relatively immobile element such

Fig. 3. Total alkali versus silica diagram (Le Bas et al., 1986) for
Quebradagrande volcanic rocks. Symbols as in Fig. 2. Shaded eld dened
by 186 samples of volcanic rocks from the Western Oceanic Cretaceous
Lithospheric Province (Nivia, 1987; Kerr et al., 1997a,b).

428

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

latter elements
considerations.

were

discarded

for

geochemical

3.4. Major and trace element geochemistry

Representative major and trace elements analysis of the
Quebradagrande Complex samples appear in Table 2. Analyzed samples were separated into four groups on the basis
of their trace element characteristics. On a total alkali-silica
diagram (Le Bas et al., 1986), most samples plot in the
basaltic andesite eld, but some also fall in the basalt,
mugearite, and andesite elds (SiO2 = 48.2561.7 wt%),
and one sample is a dacite (Fig. 3) whose SiO2 content
(66.35 wt%) might be modied by alteration, as indicated
previously. The diagram suggests the eld dened by 186
samples from the Amaime and Volcanic formations of
the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province
reported by Nivia (1987) and Kerr et al. (1997b, 2001).

Compared with these samples, the Quebradagrande Complex rocks display a greater range in SiO2 contents.
In an AFM diagram (Fig. 4), the Quebradagrande Complex samples straddle the tholeiiticcalk-alkaline boundary;
most follow a calk-alkaline dierentiation trend, but some
evolved along a tholeiitic trend, as indicated by iron enrichment. The eld dened by the samples from the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province also indicates a
dierence in the geochemical evolution of the two provinces.
In a variation diagram including Ti (Fig. 5), the higher degree
of dierentiation compared with the eld dened by the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Provinces samples
contrast with the low TiO2 (1.30.42 wt%) concentration,
which shows that the Quebradagrande Complex samples
are not dierentiated components of tholeiitic mid-ocean
ridge or plateau series, which show higher Ti contents.
Fig. 6 shows primordial mantle-normalized multielement
diagrams (Sun and McDonough, 1989) for representative

Table 2
Representative XRF analyses of Quebradagrande Complex volcanic rocks
Sample
SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3a
MgO
CaO
Na2O
K2O
TiO2
MnO
P2O5
Total
LOI%

QBG95-1

QBG95-3

AN1410A

AN1425

AN1426

AN1409

AN1414

AN1412

AN1416

52.03
20.77
9.33
3.33
10.83
2.96
0.3
0.66
0.18
0.29

52.48
17.11
11.52
5.13
8.57
3.04
1.29
0.78
0.16
0.25

49.29
19.59
13.07
7.16
8.33
0.74
0.38
1.05
0.08
0.1

53.54
16.8
11.7
7.93
7.31
1.33
0.4
0.6
0.14
0.08

48.25
18.42
13.16
7.97
9.79
1.02
0.35
0.74
0.19
0.08

57.64
16
11.91
5.22
2.07
4.08
1.46
0.96
0.18
0.14

61.72
16.53
7.76
2.77
6.06
3.26
0.7
0.82
0.18
0.16

52.04
15.67
8.01
10.54
9.73
2.01
0.39
1.03
0.13
0.14

54.11
18.13
10.07
4.02
9.15
2.49
0.81
0.85
0.21
0.12

100.67

100.34

99.94

100.02

100.12

99.94

100.07

100.01

100.14

3.2

4.54

2.14

6.2

3.11

2.26

3.93

2.42

4.38

Trace elements in ppm

Ni
1.9
Cr
8
V
210.4
Sc
27.4
Cu
Zn
Ga
19
Pb
8.5
Sr
268.5
Rb
7
Ba
212
Zr
63.1
Nb
0.7
Th
4.2
Y
17.6
La
8.6
Ce
18.7
Nd
13
Interelement selected ratios
La/Nb
12.3
Ba/Zr
3.4
CeN/YNb
2.9

2.2
23.4
336
33.5

17.2
4.7
483.5
28.2
553.8
86.7
1
3.3
17.3
9.4
22.8
15.1

18.5
35.4
399.5
39.9
88.7
90.8
17.6
3.1
261.6
4
122.5
46
1
0.4
17.9
1.9
8.7
6.5

28.9
39.2
315.5
39.6
114.3
77.4
14.2
4.4
336.5
8.3
209.2
19.4
2.5
0.4
11.4
2.2
7.9
4.6

21.1
28.8
398
41
147.5
94.9
16.2
3.3
189.3
6.8
143.1
27.7
0.9
1.1
12.4
2.9
10.7
6.3

3.1
4
266.5
37.9
29.4
112.5
17.9
2.6
125.7
11.6
1658.7
67.8
1.3
1.8
29
6
16.4
11.8

4.9
5.8
214
26.8
91.5
116.2
14.3
6.1
242.5
12.2
175.8
71.8
4.7
1.9
24
5.7
15.1
10.7

295.1
851.8
239.5
36.8
53.3
60.2
13.5
0.8
445.3
5.2
199.2
72.6
2
0.8
23.2
2.6
9.3
10.7

7.2
13.7
271
38.8
71.8
112.9
18.2
6.6
325.7
15.1
443.3
64.3
1.4
1
26.7
3.6
11.7
9.3

9.4
6.4
3.7

1.9
2.7
1.3

0.9
10.8
1.9

3.2
5.2
2.4

4.6
24.5
1.6

1.2
2.4
1.7

1.3
2.7
1.1

2.6
6.9
1.2

Major elements recalculated to a volatile-free total.

a
Total iron reported as Fe2O3. LOI Losses on ignition.
b
Chondrite-normalized values.

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

Fig. 4. AFM diagram for Quebradagrande Complex volcanic rocks.

Symbols as in Figs. 2 and 3.

429

Group 1 possesses the highest LILE enrichments relative

to HFSE, as indicated by their highest Th contents (2.6
4.2 ppm) and La/Nb ratio values (112.3) compared with
the other dened groups (Group 2: Th = 0.42.7, La/
Nb = 0.93.8; Group 3: Th = 1.31.9, La/Nb = 0.74.6;
Group 4: Th = 0.51.4, La/Nb = 0.84.4). Fig. 7 suggests
that Group 1 also displays the most enriched LREE patterns and a general intergroup trend of increasing CeN/
YN ratios with increasing fractionation (Group 1 = 2.6
3.8; Group 2 = 12.7; Group 3 = 1.41.7; Group 4 = 0.6
1.3). According to the FeO* and TiO2 contents, Group 1
exhibits the most calc-alkaline behavior, as also is indicated
by its position on the AFM diagram (Fig. 4) and the
decreasing TiO2 content with increasing fractionation
(Group 1 = 0.420.78; Group 2 = 0.61.3; Group
3 = 0.70.9; Group 4 = 0.61.3 wt%).
4. Petrogenesis
4.1. Fractional crystallization FeTi oxide arguments

Fig. 5. Th versus TiO2 diagram for Quebradagrande Complex volcanic

rocks. Symbols as in Figs. 2 and 3.

samples of the Quebradagrande Complex. All the diagrams

display LILE enrichment relative to HFSE, particularly
Nb. Also, Ba, K, and Sr enrichments are conspicuous by
their pronounced peaks in the diagrams that may reach,
as in the case of Ba and Sr, up to 237 and 58 times the
mantle-normalized concentrations (1659 ppm Ba and
1228 ppm Sr). Conversely, the depletion in Nb is outstanding by the throat it displays in all diagrams. The LILE
enrichment relative to HFSE is usually coupled with LREE
enrichment relative to HREE. The degree of enrichment in
LREE can be monitored using the chondrite-normalized
(Nakamura, 1974) CeN/YN ratio that, in the Quebradagrande Complex, varies between 1 and 4 times the chondritic values, suggesting at to enriched REE patterns
(Fig. 7).
According to the shape of their multielement-normalized pattern, the samples can be divided into four dierent
groups (Fig. 6). This separation is based mainly on interHFSE ratios, which we believe represent inherited features
from the source of the magmas. For example, Group 1 is
characterized by its low Y/P ratio values (Group 1 = 0.2
0.5; Group 2 = 0.30.9; Group 3 = 0.71; Group 4 = 0.6
1.1), and Group 2 is distinguished by its high Ti/Zr ratios
(Group 1 = 0.30.7; Group 2 = 12.1; Group 3 = 0.71;
Group 4 = 0.71.2). However, groups are also homogeneous in their LILE and major element characteristics.

Most of the analyzed Quebradagrande Complex samples seem to have evolved along two crystallization
trends: a calc-alkaline and a more tholeiitic (Fig. 4).
The occurrence of calc-alkaline characteristics supports
a supra-subduction zone environment of origin for the
Quebradagrande Complex. Although tholeiitic crystallization trends are present in most environments where basic
volcanic igneous rocks are generated, calc-alkaline trends
are exclusive to magmatic environments with a convergent margin (Wilson, 1987). Both trends are interpreted
as the result of fractional crystallization of olivine, plagioclase, and clinopyroxene. The main dierence between
the two trends is the control exerted over the FeTi oxides during crystallization (Gill, 1981). Experimental evidence (Grove and Baker, 1984) shows that subalkaline,
anhydrous magmas crystallizing in the crust under geologically reasonable oxygen fugacity follow tholeiitic differentiation trends. In hydrated basaltic magmas,
dissolved water reduces olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase stability without aecting the thermal stability of
FeTi oxides (Sisson and Grove, 1993), which results in
the early crystallization of FeTi oxides from a calc-alkaline magmatic system and lower Fe and Ti contents in
the resultant magmas than in a tholeiitic crystallization
sequence where the fractionation of FeTi oxide is
delayed, which increases the Fe and Ti contents of the
magma. Thus, water activity inuences the early or late
crystallization of titaniferous magnetite, and subalkaline
magmas with high water contents follow calc-alkaline
dierentiation trends, whereas those with low water contents display tholeiitic trends.
4.2. Trace element arguments
The LILE enrichment in volcanic rocks can be produced
by several processes, such as oceanic mantle contaminated

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A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

Fig. 6. Normalized multielement plot of Quebradagrande Complex volcanic rocks. Normalizing values from Sun and McDonough (1989).

Fig. 7. CeN/YN versus Th diagram for Quebradagrande Complex

volcanic rocks. Symbols as in Fig. 2.

by deeper, uncirculated mantle plumes; low percentages of

fusion in the source; mantle metasomatism by subducting
plate-derived uids; or contamination. The characteristic
feature of magmas originated from supra-subduction zone
mantle wedges is the LILE enrichment relative to HFSE
(Saunders et al., 1980; Tarney et al., 1981; Saunders and
Tarney, 1982; Pearce, 1983). This feature, produced by
chemical fractionation between LILE and HFSE in the
hydrous environment associated with subduction zones, is
outstanding in the pronounced Nb negative anomaly displayed by the Quebradagrande Complex in the spidergrams. The strong chemical behavior anity (i.e., similar
incompatibility with the original mantle and basic volcanic
rocks mineralogies) of elements like La (LILE), Nb, and Ta
(HFSE) is well known, such that these elements usually are
placed at adjacent positions in multielement-normalized

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

diagrams (Bougault et al., 1985). These elements are not

fractionated by processes like partial fusion or fractional
crystallization. However, metamorphic processes acting
on the subduction zone produce dehydration of the subducting oceanic crust with consequent production of
hydrous supercritical uids that transport water and soluble LILE (e.g., La) to the supra-subduction zone mantle
wedge (Saunders et al., 1980; Tarney et al., 1981). The
HFSE (e.g., Nb) can be retained by the subducting oceanic
crust (then an eclogitic assemblage) and returned to the
mantle (Saunders and Tarney, 1982). The latter can be
ascribed to the hydrous environment in the subduction
zone, which favors the stability of mineral phases such as
rutile or ilmenite that retain HFSE (Tarney et al., 1981).
Fig. 8 shows a plot of La/Y versus Nb/Y (La and Nb normalized to Y to eliminate the eects of fractional crystallization) for the Quebradagrande Complex samples. This
diagram is useful for separating samples that contain a subduction-related component (low La/Nb ratios) from those
derived from an oceanic mantle source region, far from the
inuence of a subduction zone (e.g., mid-ocean ridge basalts, mantle plume-generated oceanic plateau basalts). This
diagram also shows elds encompassing the basalts from
the Amaime and Volcanic formations of the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province (Nivia, 1987; Kerr
et al., 1997b, 2001) and lavas of the recent Andean volcanoes of Colombia (Marriner and Millward, 1984). The
environment of formation for the former rocks was unrelated to a subduction zone (Millward et al., 1984; Nivia,
1987; Kerr et al., 1996, 1997a,b, 2001), whereas the latter
are modern examples of rocks produced in a destructive
plate margin. In this diagram, the chemical dierences
between the basalts of the Western Oceanic Cretaceous
Lithospheric Province and the subduction-related Quebradagrande Complex are evident. It is thus highly unlikely
that the Quebradagrande Complex lavas and pyroclastics
represent part of the same tectonomagmatic event.

Fig. 8. Nb/Y versus La/Y diagram for Quebradagrande Complex

volcanic rocks. Symbols as in Fig. 2.

431

5. Discussion
On the basis of major element chemical analyses, Gonzalez (1980a) proposes that the Quebradagrande Complex
is composed of tholeiitic rocks generated in an oceanic rift.
Bourgois et al. (1982, 1985, 1987) and Toussaint and Restrepo (1993) propose the same origin but also suggest that
the Quebradagrande Complex had been thrust from the
west onto the continental margin, along with basic rocks
that outcrop west of the Cauca-Almaguer fault (i.e., the
Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province).
According to this model, a single common mantle source
region is responsible for both the Quebradagrande Complex and the volcanic rocks of the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province (Barroso, Amaime, Volcanic
formations, Table 1). Similarly, Kammer (1995) and Kammer and Mojica (1996) consider a close anity between the
rocks of the accreted Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province and the Quebradagrande Complex. The
results presented herein clearly show a subduction zone-derived component in the geochemical composition of the
Quebradagrande Complex. However, the geochemical
characteristics of the Quebradagrande Complex dier fundamentally from those of the basic volcanic rocks of the
Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province
exposed in western Colombia (Millward et al., 1984; Nivia,
1987, 1989; Kerr et al., 1996, 1997a,b). In addition, the
reported ages of the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province indicate these rocks were formed during
the Late Cretaceous, whereas evidence for the Quebradagrande Complex indicates an Early Cretaceous age. Thus,
the volcanic rocks of the Quebradagrande Complex and
the Western Oceanic Cretaceous Lithospheric Province
were generated from two dierent, unrelated mantle source
regions; in turn, the geotectonic models and interpretations
of a common genesis for both are inherently incorrect.
Geochemical data suggest that the volcanic rocks of the
Quebradagrande Complex formed during the Lower Cretaceous in a supra-subduction zone environment, in an island
arc, marginal basin, or active continental margin. To evaluate these possibilities, the regional relationships between
the Quebradagrande Complex and adjacent rocks must
be considered. The Quebradagrande Complex outcrops
are bounded by the metamorphic Cajamarca and Arqua
complexes (Fig. 1, Table 1). The age of the Cajamarca
Complex, to the east, is constrained as Neoproterozoic
(Gomez and Nunez, 2003), but the age of the Arqua Complex to the west is controversial. Some researchers believe
the Arqua Complex was formed during the Lower Cretaceous (Toussaint and Restrepo, 1989, 1993; Restrepo et al.,
1991; Gonzalez and Nunez, 1991; Gonzalez, 1993, 2001),
whereas others think it Paleozoic in age (McCourt and
Aspden, 1983; McCourt et al., 1984; Aspden et al., 1987).
However, both the presence of Triassic granitoid plutons,
such as the Santa Barbara Batholith and Amaga and Cambumbia stocks, intruding schists west of the Quebradagrande Complex (Fig. 1; McCourt et al., 1984; Meja

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A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

et al., 1983b; Restrepo et al., 1991) and the occurrence of

Paleozoic rocks west of the Quebradagrande Complex
(Mosquera, 1978; Calle et al., 1980; Meja et al., 1983a,b;
Gonzalez, 2001) are strong arguments in favor of a Neoproterozoic age for the Arqua Complex. Assuming a
Paleozoic age for the Arqua Complex, McCourt et al.
(1984) present an evolutionary model for the northern
Andes. According to this model, during the Carboniferous, the continental margin of the northern Andes was
composed of an autochthonous block (Cajamarca Complex) and accreted island arc (Bugalagrande schists,
Rosario amphibolites, and Bolo Azul metagabbroids;
Arqua Complex, Table 1). We concur with this model
and believe that the data presented here support a model
in which the Quebradagrande Complex is related to a
magmatic environment associated with a continental
active margin.
Processes operating in subduction zones result in dehydration of the subducting oceanic crust and transport of
generated uids into the overlying mantle wedge. The
inux of such volatile-rich uids into the mantle wedge
lowers the solidus of the mantle, resulting in melting
and the formation of hydrated magmas. However, the
water (volatile) content of the magmas may vary according to the distance between the centers of volcanic eruption and the trench. For marginal basins, it depends on
the degree of evolution, that is, the development of the
basin. As marginal basins (sensu stricto) open and
the expansion center separates from the island arc, the
hydrous (subduction) component becomes less pronounced (Saunders and Tarney, 1984; Atherton and Aguirre, 1992). In this way, the calc-alkaline and tholeiitic
trends and the LILE/HFSE ratio in the Quebradagrande
Complex could be controlled by the preeruptive contents
of the hydrous component in the mantle. As we noted
previously, the samples can be separated into four dierent chemical types (Fig. 6), which may be interpreted as
heterogeneities produced in the mantle during the evolution of the basin. Thus, Group 1 samples, which appear
to contain more of the subduction component(s) (higher
LILE/HFSE ratios), could have been generated during
the initial stages of basin opening. During latter stages
of basin opening, progressive dilution of this component
in the source region, as reected in the lower LILE/HFSE
ratios of Groups 2 and 3, culminates in the Group 4 samples, which display the lowest La/Nb and CeN/YN ratios
(Figs. 7 and 8). Parallel trends between groups in bivariate diagrams for the same degree of dierentiation favor
this hypothesis. Furthermore, increasing values of the
CeN/YN ratios with increasing Th in a Th versus CeN/
YN diagram (Fig. 7) could be related to intersample variation due to dierentiation processes, whereas parallel
intergroup trends suggest dierent LILE enrichment in
the mantle. However, the strong deformation of the
Quebradagrande Complex inhibits any reconstruction of
the basin that might help evaluate this hypothesis in terms
of geochemical characteristics.

To explain the Quebradagrande Complex genesis, we

propose a petrogenetic model in which the rocks formed
berg
during the opening of a marginal ensialic basin. A
et al. (1984) and Aguirre (1987) propose that these basins
might form by ensialic expansion or subsidence mechanisms promoted by the rollback action of the subducting
lithosphere on the active continental margin. These mechanisms may lead to crustal thinning with consequent adiabatic decompression melting of the mantle, which
produced both basins and magmatism. The volcanic products erupt over the continental crust or, in cases of extreme
extension, result in the complete rupture of the continental
berg et al., 1984;
margin and generation of oceanic crust (A
Aguirre, 1987; Atherton and Aguirre, 1992).
Ophiolitic sequences proposed as generated by these
processes are common to the Uppermost Jurassic and
Lower Cretaceous of the South American Pacic margin,
extending from its southernmost extreme in South Georgia Island (Chile) to central-western Mexico; the latter is
continuous with eastern Colombia in most TriassicJurassic Pangea reconstructions (Coney and Evenchick,
1994). Well-documented ensialic marginal basins are
found in the ophiolitic complexes of the Larsen Peninsula, Tortuga and Sarmiento at South Georgia Island,
Tierra de Fuego, and Patagonia (Tarney et al., 1981;
Saunders and Tarney, 1982; Miller et al., 1994; Stern
et al., 1976); the Rocas Verdes of central and southern
berg et al., 1984); the Puente Piedra and Casma
Chile (A
formations in Peru (Atherton et al., 1985; Aguirre and
Oer, 1985; Atherton and Aguirre, 1992); the Celica Formation of southern Ecuador and northern Peru (Aguirre
and Atherton, 1987; Lebras et al., 1987); and the interbedded calc-alkaline volcanics and sedimentary strata
containing shallow marine fauna and imbricated with
serpentinite bodies, ultramac cumulates, and podiform
chromite of the Siuna Terrane of Nicaragua and Honduras, which extends northward into the Guerrero Terrane
of southern Mexico. In the latter, Elias-Herrera and Ortega-Gutierrez (1998) posit the upper volcanoclastic
sequence was generated in a continental margin backarc
basin setting. The spatial, chronological characteristics
and geochemical composition of the Quebradagrande
Complex suggest they belong to this belt.
The petrogenetic model proposed for the origin of the
Quebradagrande Complex is illustrated in Fig. 9. In this
model, subduction along the proto-Pacic Colombian margin produced distension and crustal thinning over the continental margin. The thinning resulted in the formation of a
basin, as evidenced by the accumulation of transgressive
sedimentary sequences (e.g., Valle Alto, Abejorral; Table
1). The genesis of these arenorudaceous clastic sequences
would agree with the ensialic marginal basin model if they
represent and show the rst stages of basin opening. On the
oceanic plate, the progressive increase of temperature and
pressure as subduction processes produced metamorphism
with consequent dehydration. The corresponding subduction-liberated uids moved upward, adding H2O, LILE,

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

433

Fig. 9. Diagrammatic sketch illustrating evolution of the Quebradagrande ComplexQGC marginal ensialic basin. (A) Subduction and consequent
metasomatism of subcontinental mantle under Paleozoic crust of an oceanic crustal block (Arqua Complex) accreted to the continental crustal block
(Cajamarca Complex + shield). (B) Rollback of the continental margin leads to lithospheric thinning and subsequent generation of basins and adiabatic
mantle melting. (C) Formation of marginal basin by generation of oceanic oor in the zone of backarc spreading. (D) Closure of basin, probably due to
forces produced on the continental plate during the aperture of the South Atlantic.

434

A. Nivia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 423436

and LREE to the subcontinental mantle wedge. The addition of these uids lowered the solidus; combined with adiabatic decompression induced by crustal thinning, it
resulted in mantle melting. The magmas produced were
calc-alkaline basalts that dierentiated at crustal levels to
form andesites and dacites (Quebradagrande Complex
Groups 1 and 2). Basin opening culminated in the generation of oceanic crust, represented today by ophiolitic complexes. According to this petrogenetic model, more basic
volcanic rocks (Groups 2 and 3) and sedimentary rocks
of the Quebradagrande Complex accumulated on top of
the basin, whereas the associated mac and ultramac plutonic rocks (Table 1) represent deeper horizons of the
ophiolitic complexes developed by ocean oor formation
during the opening of the basin.
The opening of the basin led to the gradual movement of
the locus of magmatism away from the trench, which may
have resulted in the dilution of the subduction zone-derived
component and a change in the magmatic products from
calc-alkaline to tholeiitic. According to Saunders and Tarney (1984), marginal basins are short-life geotectonic features. Furthermore, Dalziel (1981) suggests that in
marginal basins of southern Chile, collapse or closure coincides with the opening of the South Atlantic. Thus, the
change in the velocity of plate displacement induced by
the South Atlantic opening also may have promoted the
closure of the Quebradagrande Complex marginal basin.
However, the accretion of the CaribbeanColombian oceanic plateau in the late Cretaceousearly Tertiary likely
contributed signicantly to the closure of the basin and
deformation of this unit.
6. Conclusions
Regional sampling of the Quebradagrande Complex
between 635 0 N and 145 0 N in Colombia shows that basaltic andesites and andesites have geochemical characteristics
typical of rocks formed in supra-subduction zone magmatic environments. These rocks follow two contrasting dierentiation trends: One is calc-alkaline, the other tholeiitic.
The geochemical characteristics of the Quebradagrande
Complex rocks and their spatial and chronological relationships with the Cajamarca and Arqua complexes, the
ultramac and mac Cretaceous rocks, and the arenorudaceous Lower Cretaceous related sequences can be integrated into an evolutionary petrogenetic model of ensialic
marginal basin opening.
The model has global tectonic implications, in that it
forms an important link, through the northern Andes, of
the chain of marginal basins that extended from Tierra
de Fuego to Mexico in the Early Cretaceous. During this
stratigraphic interval, subduction was active along the
South American margin.
The results we present clearly demonstrate that there
is no genetic relationship between the Quebradagrande
Complex and the Upper Cretaceous volcanic rocks that
outcrop west of the Cauca-Almaguer fault rocks that

are well documented to have formed in an oceanic plateau setting.

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