The Origin and Evolution of the Caribbean Plate The Geological Society of London Books Editorial Committee Chief Editor BOB PANKHURST (UK) Society Books Editors JOHN GREGORY (UK) JIM GRIFFITHS (UK) JOHN HOWE (UK) PHIL LEAT (UK) NICK ROBINS (UK) JONATHAN TURNER (UK) Society Books Advisors MIKE BROWN (USA) ERIC BUFFETAUT (FRANCE) JONATHAN CRAIG (ITALY) RETO GIERE´ (GERMANY) TOM MCCANN (GERMANY) DOUG STEAD (CANADA) RANDELL STEPHENSON (UK) Geological Society books refereeing procedures The Society makes every effort to ensure that the scientific and production quality of its books matches that of its journals. Since 1997, all book proposals have been refereed by specialist reviewers as well as by the Society’s Books Editorial Committee. If the referees identify weaknesses in the proposal, these must be addressed before the proposal is accepted. Once the book is accepted, the Society Book Editors ensure that the volume editors follow strict guidelines on refereeing and quality control. We insist that individual papers can only be accepted after satisfactory review by two independent referees. The questions on the review forms are similar to those for Journal of the Geological Society. The referees’ forms and comments must be available to the Society’s Book Editors on request. Although many of the books result from meetings, the editors are expected to commission papers that were not presented at the meeting to ensure that the book provides a balanced coverage of the subject. Being accepted for presentation at the meeting does not guarantee inclusion in the book. More information about submitting a proposal and producing a book for the Society can be found on its web site: www.geolsoc.org.uk. It is recommended that reference to all or part of this book should be made in one of the following ways: JAMES, K. H., LORENTE, M. A. & PINDELL, J. L. (eds) 2009. The Origin and Evolution of the Caribbean Plate. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 328. STANEK, K. P., MARESCH, W. V. & PINDELL, J. L. 2009. The geotectonic story of the northwestern branch of the Caribbean Arc: implications from structural and geochronological data of Cuba. In: JAMES, K. H., LORENTE, M. A. & PINDELL, J. L. (eds) The Origin and Evolution of the Caribbean Plate. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 328, 361–398. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 328 The Origin and Evolution of the Caribbean Plate EDITED BY K. H. JAMES Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK M. A. LORENTE Central University of Venezuela, Venezuela and J. L. PINDELL Tectonic Analysis Ltd, West Sussex, UK Rice University, Texas, USA 2009 Published by The Geological Society London THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY The Geological Society of London (GSL) was founded in 1807. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe. It was incorporated under Royal Charter in 1825 and is Registered Charity 210161. 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Additional papers provide new data. if revisited by studies designed to distinguish The book follows the structure of the conference, between different ideas. beginning with papers that describe different under- Milsom compares the Caribbean with basin/ standings of the plate origins, continuing with a orocline pairs in the Mediterranean area and the geological tour of the Caribbean and ending in the Banda Sea. Giner-Robles et al. describe the struc- plate interior. ture of the Atlantic Plate as it descends below the The papers express a wide variety of understand- Scotia Plate, using earthquake focal mechanism ing of Caribbean geology. They cannot all be solutions. This offers an analogue for the Lesser correct. We, and the Geological Society, hope that Antilles subduction zone of the eastern Caribbean. a book that brings them together will facilitate Keppie et al. discuss Oligocene–Miocene debate and help readers to make their own analyses. events in southwestern Mexico. Instead of being The first four papers in particular describe consider- influenced by movements of the Chort´ıs Block, the ably different visions of Caribbean Plate origins geology results from forearc subduction resulting and make-up. from collision of an oceanic plateau with the Caribbean geology is complicated by wide dis- trench and change of plate relative motion associ- persal over many geographic elements, some with ated with the breakup of the Farallon Plate. Cerca poor accessibility, tropical weathering and/or et al. describe analogue models that reproduce the young volcanic cover and some just poorly studied. tectonic evolution of SW Mexico and the Xolapa Much of the plate interior lies below deep water complex related to oblique sinistral transpressional and is directly sampled only by a few cores. movement of the Chort´ıs Block. Guzma´n-Speziale Literature is spread over many sources, some inter- uses earthquake data to suggest that the Chort´ıs national but many local, in English, French, Block is extruding to the SE in response to interaction German and Spanish. Given its location between with the North American and Cocos Plates andValls the Gulf Mexico and northern South America, both Alvarez details geological history recorded in well-explored places where surprises continue to Guatemala in similar terms. Ratschbacher et al. surface, it is obvious that a lot remains to be provide new data relevant to plate history in Guate- learned about the Caribbean. mala and Honduras, while Solari et al. focus upon Prevailing understanding is that the Caribbean zircon data to unravel the Palaeozoic history of Plate formed in the Pacific Ocean and migrated the area. between the Americas. It is built, therefore, of Cobiella-Reguera details the record of volcanic oceanic and intra-oceanic volcanic arc rocks. Alter- arc activity and Late Cretaceous–Middle Eocene natively, it could have formed in place by extension emplacement of ophiolites in Cuba. Volcanic between separating North and South America. It activity ceased from the Late Campanian to the could include continental crust. Some models are Danian when a new arc with north-dipping sub- hybrids of these possibilities. duction formed. This is not consistent with the Pindell & Kennan provide an update on Carib- concept of a coeval and continuous north-facing bean evolution in which the Americas engulf a Great Arc of the Caribbean. In western and central swath of Pacific-origin oceanic lithosphere during Cuba, the Northern Ophiolite Belt and Cretaceous their westward drift from Africa, from Early Creta- volcanic arc rocks were thrust several tens of ceous to Present, after a period of Jurassic passive kilometres to the north by the Middle Eocene. In margin formation around the Gulf of Mexico and contrast, Stanek et al. suggest that volcanic Proto-Caribbean Sea. References, frames, origins activity moved southwards to the Cayman Ridge of arcs, arc-continent interactions, mantle plume with south-dipping subduction. This, plus history exrusion, back arc spreading events and neotectonic of HP metamorphic rocks on Cuba, derived from settings are integrated to form an intrinsically con- the southern Yucata´n, supports the development of sistent evolutionary model. Giunta & Oliveri also the Caribbean Great Arc in the Pacific. suggest oceanic spreading and formation of an Hastie et al. describe the geochemistry and oceanic plateau but between the Americas. James significance of Cretaceous island arc tholeiites and synthesizes data that indicate an in situ origin of calc-alkaline rocks on Jamaica. Both occur before the plate by extreme continental extension and and after the Aptian/Albian, thus commonly seen viii PREFACE volcanic arc subduction polarity reversal at this time Higgs proposes a radical change of timing of is not supported. In a separate paper, Hastie shows Caribbean evolution, with rifting ending in the that Caribbean primitive island arc (PIA) rocks are Coniacian instead of the Jurassic, and with chemically indistinguishable from modern island Santonian–Campanian spreading lasting only arc tholeiites (IAT) and recommends abandonment 10–15Ma instead of 140Ma, followed by sub- of PIA usage. duction of the Caribbean below northern South Buchs et al. report on detailed field studies of the America. Entry of the Caribbean arc occurred in Osa and Burica Peninsulas (Costa Rica) that the Oligocene, not in the Palaeocene, and Caribbean recorded a long-term history of accretion alternating relative motion became eastward in the Pliocene, with subduction erosion. An igneous complex not in the Middle Miocene. Higgs also pre- includes a Coniacian–Santonian oceanic plateau sents indirect evidence of a former Berriasian– and Coniacian–Santonian to Middle Eocene sea- Valanginian Carib Halite Formation, formed in a mounts that accreted along the Caribbean Plate graben extending from Colombia to Trinidad and between the Paleocene and the Late Eocene. A seen today only in Colombia. Indications include me´lange formed along the Igneous Complex in solution subsidence, saline springs, heat-flow and the Late Eocene by accretion of mass wasting gravity anomalies, and thrust belt structural style. deposits reworked from the igneous complex and Cooney & Lorente present data that show an the Central American Arc. The study suggests unrecognized Campanian structural event and that some sequences of Late Cretaceous oceanic resultant unconformity in the Maracaibo Basin plateau(s) in Central America are unrelated to the that could be related to changes in Caribbean Plate Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP) and tectonics. formed in the Pacific before being accreted along Maresch et al. discuss HP/LT metamorphic the Caribbean Plate. rocks of Margarita, overlain by greenschists. HP/ Montgomery & Kerr reinterpret red cherts on LT protoliths were both oceanic and continental La De´sirade, Lesser Antilles, relating them to (Palaeozoic and Mesozoic) and metamorphism is hydrothermal sedimentation at an Upper Jurassic, seen to have occurred to the west, in accord with Pacific spreading ridge. Pacific models for the Caribbean. Jaillard et al. relate upper Cretaceous ocean Pindell et al. discuss heavy mineral content plateau rocks of western Ecuador to the of rocks from eastern Venezuela, Trinidad and Caribbean Oceanic Plateau by their similar evol- Barbados, and outline a history of Cretaceous utions. If correct, the latter formed on the Farallon passive margin, Palaeogene subduction below Plate and not above the Galapagos hot spot. Simi- South America, Eocene–Miocene foredeep devel- larly, Kennan & Pindell relate the history of opment related to passage of the Caribbean western rocks from northern Peru to Colombia to Plate and Miocene–Recent sedimentation of the migration of the Caribbean Plate and arcs at its Orinoco River. leading and trailing margins. Diebold presents seismic data over the Carib- Grande & Urbani report the first findings of bean Plateau of the western Venezuela Basin. Two Grenvillian basement or derived rocks in northwest- separate sequences, possibly coeval lower intru- ern Venezuela. Their data will help to complete sions and upper extrusions, were folded during ancient palaeogeography of Pangaea. Weber et al. emplacement of the upper sequence, prior to uplift describe new data on serpentinites, gabbros and of the Beata Ridge. This could have occurred as andesites from the Guajira Peninsula, relating these the Caribbean Plate was entering the Caribbean to a surfacing supra-subduction zone. This paper area in the Late Cretaceous. Kerr et al. discuss also supports migration of the Caribbean Plate. chemistry of basalts drilled at DSDP Site 1001 and Audemard details the progressive collision of a conclude that they are most likely derived from migrating Caribbean volcanic arc along northern depleted mantle plume, possibly mixed with Venezuela and proposes that the Falco´n, Bonaire, depleted upper mantle source. Blanquilla and Grenada Basins of northern Vene- Drs A. W. Bally, M. A. Lorente and D. Roberts zuela and the eastern Caribbean began life as a chaired the 2006 meeting. The conference conve- single, back-arc basin. Baquero et al. describe nors, Keith James and Maria Antonieta Lorente, Late Cretaceous–Middle Eocene nappe emplace- gratefully acknowledge financial support for the ment in the Falco´n area of Venezuela, followed meeting from BP, Repsol, SEPM, Shell and Statoil by Late Eocene–Early Miocene graben formation and the support of the Spanish Asociacio´n de Geo´- and then Middle Miocene inversion. The classic logos y Geof´ısicos Espan˜oles del Petro´leo, especi- Upper Cretaceous petroleum source overmatured ally President Wenceslao Mart´ınez, Vice-President during graben formation and oils of this region are Susanna Torrescusa Villaverde and Secretary sourced by Cenozoic rocks. Aurelio Jime´nez Ferna´ndez. We also wish to thank PREFACE ix Cristina Rzepka de Lombas, Lorenzo Villalobos, facilities. Lorenzo Villalobos and Ramo´n Mas led Natalia Villalobos Vencela´ and Amparo Donderis a field trip to excellent local outcrops and places for their enthusiastic energy in the organization of historic interest. and running of the conference. The Town Hall K. H. JAMES of Sigu¨enza and the Sigu¨enza Parador Hotel M. A. LORENTE generously provided transport, tours and meeting J. L. PINDELL Contents Preface vii PINDELL, J. L. & KENNAN, L. Tectonic evolution of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and northern 1 South America in the mantle reference frame: an update GIUNTA, G. & OLIVERI, E. Some remarks on the Caribbean Plate kinematics: facts and remaining 57 problems JAMES, K. H. In situ origin of the Caribbean: discussion of data 77 JAMES, K. H. Evolution of Middle America and the in situ Caribbean Plate model 127 MILSOM, J. The Caribbean: an oroclinal basin? 139 GINER-ROBLES, J. L., PE´ REZ-LO´ PEZ, R., RODRI´GUEZ-PASCUA, M. A., MARTI´NEZ-D´IAZ, J. J. & 155 GONZA´ LEZ-CASADO, J. M. Present-day strain field on the South American slab underneath the Sandwich Plate (Southern Atlantic Ocean): a kinematic model KEPPIE, J. D., MORA´ N-ZENTENO, D. J., MARTINY, B. & GONZA´ LEZ-TORRES, E. Synchronous 169 29–19Ma arc hiatus, exhumation and subduction of forearc in southwestern Mexico CERCA, M., FERRARI, L., TOLSON, G., CORTI, G., BONINI, M. & MANETTI, P. Analogue models 181 of an Early Cenozoic transpressive regime in southern Mexico: implications on the evolution of the Xolapa complex and the North American–Caribbean Plate boundary GUZMA´ N-SPEZIALE, M. A seismotectonic model for the Chort´ıs Block 197 VALLS ALVAREZ, R. A. Geological evolution of the NW corner of the Caribbean Plate 205 RATSCHBACHER, L., FRANZ, L., MIN, M., BACHMANN, R., MARTENS, U., STANEK, K., 219 STU¨ BNER, K., NELSON, B. K., HERRMANN, U., WEBER, B., LO´ PEZ-MARTI´NEZ, M., JONCKHEERE, R., SPERNER, B., TICHOMIROWA, M., MCWILLIAMS, M. O., GORDON, M., MESCHEDE, M. & BOCK, P. The North American–Caribbean Plate boundary in Mexico– Guatemala–Honduras SOLARI, L. A., ORTEGA-GUTIE´ RREZ, F., ELI´AS-HERRERA, M., SCHAAF, P., NORMAN, M., 295 TORRES DE LEO´ N, R., ORTEGA-OBREGO´ N, C., CHIQUI´N, M. & MORA´ N ICAL, S. U–Pb zircon geochronology of Palaeozoic units in Western and Central Guatemala: insights into the tectonic evolution of Middle America COBIELLA-REGUERA, J. L. Emplacement of the northern ophiolites of Cuba and the Campanian– 315 Eocene geological history of the northwestern Caribbean–SE Gulf of Mexico region HASTIE, A. R., KERR, A. C., MITCHELL, S. F. & MILLAR, I. L. Geochemistry and 339 tectonomagmatic significance of Lower Cretaceous island arc lavas from the Devil’s Racecourse Formation, eastern Jamaica STANEK, K. P., MARESCH, W. V. & PINDELL, J. L. The geotectonic story of the northwestern 361 branch of the Caribbean Arc: implications from structural and geochronological data of Cuba HASTIE, A. R. Is the Cretaceous primitive island arc series in the circum-Caribbean region 399 geochemically analogous to the modern island arc tholeiite series? BUCHS, D. M., BAUMGARTNER, P. O., BAUMGARTNER-MORA, C., BANDINI, A. N., JACKETT, 411 S.-J., DISERENS, M.-O. & STUCKI, J. Late Cretaceous to Miocene seamount accretion and me´lange formation in the Osa and Burica Peninsulas (Southern Costa Rica): episodic growth of a convergent margin MONTGOMERY, H. & KERR, A. C. Rethinking the origins of the red chert at La De´sirade, French 457 West Indies JAILLARD, E., LAPIERRE, H., ORDON˜ EZ, M., A´ LAVA, J. T., AMO´ RTEGUI, A. & VANMELLE, J. 469 Accreted oceanic terranes in Ecuador: southern edge of the Caribbean Plate? vi CONTENTS KENNAN, L. & PINDELL, J. L. Dextral shear, terrane accretion and basin formation in the 487 Northern Andes: best explained by interaction with a Pacific-derived Caribbean Plate? GRANDE, S. & URBANI, F. Presence of high-grade rocks in NW Venezuela of possible 533 Grenvillian affinity WEBER, M. B. I., CARDONA, A., PANIAGUA, F., CORDANI, U., SEPU´ LVEDA, L. & WILSON, R. 549 The Cabo de la Vela Mafic–Ultramafic Complex, Northeastern Colombian Caribbean region: a record of multistage evolution of a Late Cretaceous intra-oceanic arc AUDEMARD, F. A. Key issues on the post-Mesozoic Southern Caribbean Plate boundary 569 BAQUERO, M., ACOSTA, J., KASSABJI, E., ZAMORA, J., SOUSA, J. C., RODRI´GUEZ, J., 587 GROBAS, J., MELO, L. & SCHNEIDER, F. Polyphase development of the Falco´n Basin in northwestern Venezuela: implications for oil generation HIGGS, R. Caribbean–South America oblique collision model revised 613 HIGGS, R. The vanishing Carib Halite Formation (Neocomian), Colombia–Venezuela–Trinidad 659 prolific petroleum province COONEY, P. M. & LORENTE, M. A. A structuring event of Campanian age in western Venezuela, 687 interpreted from seismic and palaeontological data MARESCH, W. V., KLUGE, R., BAUMANN, A., PINDELL, J. L., KRU¨ CKHANS-LUEDER, G. & 705 STANEK, K. The occurrence and timing of high-pressure metamorphism on Margarita Island, Venezuela: a constraint on Caribbean–South America interaction PINDELL, J. L., KENNAN, L., WRIGHT, D. & ERIKSON, J. Clastic domains of sandstones in 743 central/eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, and Barbados: heavy mineral and tectonic constraints on provenance and palaeogeography DIEBOLD, J. Submarine volcanic stratigraphy and the Caribbean LIP’s formational environment 799 KERR, A. C., PEARSON, D. G. & NOWELL, G. M. Magma source evolution beneath the Caribbean 809 oceanic plateau: new insights from elemental and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotopic studies of ODP Leg 165 Site 1001 basalts Index 829