Early and middle Miocene depositional history of the Maracaibo Basin, western Venezuela

Guzmán, José I.; Fisher, William L.

doi:10.1306/10110505035

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Their data also showed that mangrove pollen intervals occur similarly in Oligocene and Eocene sediments. During the Early-Middle Miocene, marine infl uence may have reached the Llanos Basin from the proto-Caribbean Sea through the Maturin and Barinas Basins (Guzman & Fisher 2006). The presence of lowland aquatic connections between the Barinas-Apure area and the northern Venezuelan coast is still the subject of research (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine influence in Amazonia: Evidence from the Geological Record

Hovikoski

Wesselingh

Räsänen

et al. 2009

Amazonia: Landscape and Species Evolution

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Marine infl uence in Amazonia during the Miocene is a controversial issue, one about which nearly opposite theories (continental vs marine) have been proposed. Increasing multidisciplinary palaeoenvironmental data sets from various Miocene stratigraphic levels and parts of Amazonia have revealed depositional complexities triggered by repeated, high-frequency base-level changes and a very low depositional gradient. As a result, Early-Middle Miocene strata (Pebas phase) are organized into recurring 3-10 m-thick transgressive-regressive bay-margin successions. An array of evidence indicates some sort of marine infl uence in these deposits. This evidence includes mangrove pollen, foraminifers, rare brackish-water mollusc species, barnacles, common brackish-water trace fossil assemblages and tidal sediments. The ongoing debate now focuses on the degree of saltwater infl uence in the Pebas phase strata. The Late Miocene (Acre phase) stratigraphic record comprises mainly channelized deposits, and fossil faunas are dominated by terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates. The evidence for marginal marine infl uence in these strata is mainly confi ned to inclined heterolithic stratifi cation (IHS)-bearing channels and includes tidal sediments, restricted brackish-water ichnofossil assemblages, and locally teeth of euryhaline sharks and mangrove pollen (Nauta and Madre de Dios Formations). In particular, the tidal signature in these deposits is well developed, pointing to local development of deltaic/estuarine settings. There are also suggestions of marine infl uence on other stratigraphic intervals throughout Amazonia, particularly in Pliocene and Quaternary strata. The allegedly marine conditions have been proposed based on purported global sea-level highstands, the low altitude of the Amazon region and supposed coastal geomorphological features such as deltas. We conclude that these suggestions are misconceptions and that geological data to support such marine settings during the Late Neogene are lacking.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine influence in Amazonia: Evidence from the Geological Record

Hovikoski

Wesselingh

Räsänen

et al. 2009

Amazonia: Landscape and Species Evolution

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“…In the Maracaibo basin, the proto-Maracaibo River re-started in the middle Miocene as an active fluvial system (Guzman and Fisher, 2006). This paleodrainage was limited in extension and sourced by the surrounding mountain belts (Sierra de Perija and Santander massif to the west, Merida Andes to the south and Lara nappes to the east).…”

Section: Late Cretaceous W80mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paleodrainage was limited in extension and sourced by the surrounding mountain belts (Sierra de Perija and Santander massif to the west, Merida Andes to the south and Lara nappes to the east). To the northeast, the proto-Maracaibo River was connected to the Falcon basin by a low relief, incised valley-network (Falcon channel; Boesi and Goddard, 1991;Guzman and Fisher, 2006). In the Falcon basin, sedimentation occurred in the southwestern part of the basin from the Maracaibo basin, and a small deltaic system prograded northwards in the central Falcon basin (Socorro Formation;Lexico Estratigrafico de Venezuela, 2008).…”

Section: Late Cretaceous W80mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18G). Main paleogeographic changes in the early Pliocene include: 1) final uplift of the Merida Andes and blockage of the proto-Maracaibo River; the Maracaibo basin became an enclosed basin with mostly lagoonal and shallow marine sedimentation (Guzman and Fisher, 2006); 2) inversion of the Falcon basin and formation of the La Vela thrust-and-fold-belt offshore eastern Falcon; inversion produced good structural trap structures for hydrocarbons (Fault Family 7) (Audemard, 1995;Gorney et al, 2007) (Fig. 15A); 3) final collision of the Panama arc induced tectonic escape and strike-slip displacement along the Boconó fault and connected the Bocono fault with the San Sebastian-El Pilar fault system (Schubert,1972(Schubert, ,1984Audemard et al,1999); 4) formation of the Cariaco and Gulf of Paria pull-apart basins along the El Pilar fault system (Fault Family 1) (Schubert, 1984;Babb and Mann, 1999;Flinch et al, 1999;Escalona et al, 2010); 4) the eastern Columbus basin became the main foreland basin and was sourced mainly by the proto-Orinoco River (Sydow et al, 2003;Wood, 2000;Garciacaro et al, 2010, in press).…”

Section: Late Cretaceous W80mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tectonics, basin subsidence mechanisms, and paleogeography of the Caribbean-South American plate boundary zone

Escalona

Mann

2011

Marine and Petroleum Geology

169

145

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“…Furthermore, Guzman and Fisher (2006) propose that the Maracaibo Basin has been isolated from extrabasinal drainage systems since the Late Oligocene, and sediments derived from the surrounding highlands were either deposited in the basin or delivered into the neighboring Falcón Basin through a narrow marine passage. So the Oligocene-Miocene intrabasinal drainage systems in the Maracaibo and Falcón Basins support that the course of the 'Proto-Orinoco' River must have been permanently shifted away from the Maracaibo Basin since the Oligocene or earlier.…”

Section: Implications Of the 'Orinoco River Shifting' Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Cronología y geología de una asociación de mamíferos del Mioceno Temprano en el Norte de América del Sur, cerro La Cruz (Formación Castillo), Estado Lara, Venezuela: implicaciones para las hipótesis del ‘cambio del curso del río Orinoco’.

Rincón

Solórzano

Benammi

et al. 2014

Andgeo

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ABSTRACT.In general the geology of paleontological sites in Venezuela is poorly known. With the purpose of improving this knowledge we describe the geology of the Castillo Formation (Late Oligocene to Early Miocene) at Cerro La Cruz locality, in Lara state, Venezuela, that contains several records of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna. Lithologically, the Cerro La Cruz sequence is composed by alternating packages of siliciclastic and carbonate sediments, with a predominance of mudstone. The paleoenvironment is inferred as a mainly near-shore marine complex that could be associated with regressive and transgressive phases. Nevertheless, into the middle part of the Cerro La Cruz outcrops two levels containing at least six mammalian remains were found, confirming the early continental mammal assemblage in Venezuela. The continental vertebrate assemblage includes Xenarthra, Notoungulata and Litopterna mammals, fresh water fishes, the turtle Chelus, wood and leaves, allows us to interpret the paleoenvironment of the continental episodes of this locality as a mosaic composed of an humid forest and lowland savanna. Four isotopic dates using Strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr), from the Cerro La Cruz locality were obtained, which bracket of the sediments to between 17.21 to 19.27 Ma, confirming an Early Miocene age for this locality. Biochronologically, the mammalian assemblage so far recovered does not permit to assign this fauna to any of the recognized South American Land Mammal Ages, however the isotopic ages suggest affinities with a Pansantacrucian mammalian sub-cycle. Our interpretation of the geology at Cerro La Cruz shows no evidence for the presence of a major river system crossing over that zone during the Early Miocene and does not support the hypothesis of the possible draining of a 'Proto-Orinoco' river into Maracaibo or Falcón basin during the Early Miocene. Keywords: Early Miocene, Pansantacrucian, Castillo Formation, Venezuela. 508 Chronology and geology of an early MioCene MaMMalian asseMblage in north of south aMeriCa... RESUMEN. Cronología y geología de una asociación de mamíferos del MiocenoTemprano en el Norte de América del Sur, cerro La Cruz (Formación Castillo), estado Lara, Venezuela: implicaciones para las hipótesis del 'cambio del curso del río Orinoco'. En general los estudios geológicos detallados de las localidades paleontológicas de Venezuela son escasos. Con la finalidad de mejorar este conocimiento, se describe la geología de la Formación Castillo (Oligoceno Tardío a Mioceno Temprano) en afloramientos localizados en cerro La Cruz, estado Lara, Venezuela, la cual contiene reportes de una diversa fauna de vertebrados e invertebrados. Litológicamente la secuencia observada en cerro La Cruz está compuesta por una intercalación de paquetes siliciclásticos y carbonáticos, con predominio de lutita. El paleoambiente inferido para esta localidad es principalmente de un complejo marino-costero asociado a fases transgresivas y regresivas. Sin embargo, hacia la parte media de la sección del cerro La Cruz...

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Early and middle Miocene depositional history of the Maracaibo Basin, western Venezuela

Cited by 19 publications

References 23 publications

Marine influence in Amazonia: Evidence from the Geological Record

Marine influence in Amazonia: Evidence from the Geological Record

Tectonics, basin subsidence mechanisms, and paleogeography of the Caribbean-South American plate boundary zone

Cronología y geología de una asociación de mamíferos del Mioceno Temprano en el Norte de América del Sur, cerro La Cruz (Formación Castillo), Estado Lara, Venezuela: implicaciones para las hipótesis del ‘cambio del curso del río Orinoco’.

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