Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 412422 www.elsevier.

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Early Jurassic rift structures associated with the Soapaga and Boyaca faults of the Eastern Cordillera, Colombia: Sedimentological inferences and regional implications
Andreas Kammer *, Javier Sanchez
Departamento de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Apartado Aereo, 14490 Bogota, Colombia Received 1 October 2004; accepted 1 February 2006

Abstract The NW-trending Bucaramanga fault links, at its southern termination, with the Soapaga and Boyaca faults, which by their NW trend dene an ample horsetail structure. As a result of their Neogene reactivation as reverse faults, they bound fault-related anticlines that expose the sedimentary ll of two Early Jurassic rift basins. These sediments exhibit the wedge-like geometry of rift lls related to west-facing normal faults. Their structural setting was controlled further by segmentation of the bounding faults at approximately 10 km intervals, in which each segment is separated by a transverse basement high. Isopach contours and dierent facies associations suggest these transverse anticlines may have separated depocenters of their adjacent subbasins, which were shaped by a slightly dierent subsidence history and thereby decoupled. The basin ll of the relatively narrow basin associated with the Soapaga fault is dominated by fanglomeratic successions organized in two coarsening-upward cycles. In the larger basin linked to the Boyaca fault, the sedimentary ll consists of two coarsening-upward sequences that, when fully developed, vary from oodplain to alluvial fan deposits. These Early Jurassic rift lls temporally constrain the evolution of the Bucaramanga fault, which accommodated right-lateral displacement during the early Mesozoic rift event. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Early Jurassic rift structures; Bucaramanga fault; Giron Formation; Horsetail structure; Transverse basement high

1. Introduction The Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, through its foreland position and separation from the rest of the North Andean mountain system by the Magalena Valley, forms a distinct physiographic feature that shares the characteristics of a bivergent structure, elevated basement-cored axial zone, and moderate deformations with other intracontinental chains (e.g., Rodgers, 1987; Teixell et al., 2003). Geologists attempting to synthesize its structural evolution repeatedly have emphasized the importance of inherited faults for controlling Andean structures. In studying the importance of marginal faults for Mesozoic basin evolu-

Corresponding author. E-mail address: akammer@unal.edu.co (A. Kammer).

tion, some researchers view the Eastern Cordillera as a giant inverted rift structure (Cooper et al., 1995; Roeder and Chamberlain, 1995; Villamil, 1999), whereas others dierentiate individual grabens or blocks in an Early Mesozoic rift phase (Fabre, 1983). Two major rift events have been postulated as initiators of Mesozoic basin evolution: a Late TriassicMiddle Jurassic event associated with rift basins (Mojica and Kammer, 1995) and a Tithonian/ Neocomian event that established the conditions for an extensive marine Cretaceous backarc basin until the Maastrichthian (Dorado, 1984; Mojica et al., 1996). The Early Mesozoic evolution of the North Andean realm is closely related to an active continental margin, as evidenced by an extensive magmatic arc and a corresponding volcanic roof complex, the remnants of which occupy the western ank of the Central Cordillera, including the San Lucas Range and Sierra Nevada de Santa

0895-9811/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2006.07.006

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Fig. 1. Synoptic map view of the Bucaramanga fault, including the Boyaca and Soapaga splay faults, at its southern termination. Geographic inset locates this gure and Fig. 3.

Marta (Fig. 1; Tschanz et al., 1974). This intrusive-volcanic complex contains intercalations of sedimentary sequences, among which the Late Triassic Payande Formation (Cediel et al., 1980) and the Early Jurassic Morrocoyal and Los Indios formations (Geyer, 1973) provide a chronostratigraphic framework for regional evolution (Figs. 1 and 2). By their position east of the magmatic arc and their marine fossil content, they designate a backarc setting (Bayona et al., 1994). In its more continental position, the Bucaramanga fault plays a crucial role in the Early Mesozoic rifting of the North Andean basement, as evidenced by the many small rift basins that straddle its western hangingwall block (Ward et al., 1973). These basins are partially lled or overlain by continental redbeds of the Giron Formation (Cediel, 1968), from which plants and ostracodes of JurassicEarly Cretaceous age have been retrieved (Remy et al.,

1975; Rabe, 1977). North of Bucaramanga City at Bocas (Fig. 1), the Giron Formation overlies a lacustrine to uvial sequence related to a small rift structure bounded by a splay of the Bucaramanga fault (Figs. 1 and 2). The mainly lacustrine Bocas has yielded a pre-Toarcian age (Remy et al., 1975; Rabe, 1977), so far the most precisely dated Early Jurassic rift ll of the Eastern Cordillera. Late TriassicEarly Jurassic activity of the Bucaramanga fault also may be inferred from the structural relations and age data of the intrusive suite of the Santander Massif (Fig. 1). This igneous suite consists of elongated batholiths and stocks that occupy the eastern footwall domain of the Bucaramanga fault and attest to a synkinematic origin through an elongate apophysis emplaced along the fault trace (Ward et al., 1973). Late TriassicLower Jurassic age data have been obtained for this suite (Dorr et al.,

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Lower Magdalena Sierra Nevada Va lley & de Santa Marta San Lucas Range

Eastern Cordillera Boyaca

Arcabuco

Santander Massif

Tablazo

Cogollo Group

Los Santos

Golero

Girn La Rusia

Floresta and Arcabuco-Guantiva basement highs. An adequate understanding of the evolution of these rift structures will help establish a framework for other, poorly exposed Late TriassicEarly Jurassic rock units of the Eastern Cordillera and, at the regional scale, oer a scenario for intracontinental rifting that preceded the Middle Jurassic breakup of Pangea (Pindell, 1985). This analysis is limited by decient knowledge about a chronostratigraphic frame. Ages are assessed from published data or regional inference. 2. Geologic setting of the Floresta and Guantiva anticlines The Neogene reactivation of the Boyaca and Soapaga faults gave rise to open folds in their hangingwall blocks, which expose the inherited structures in detail. Deformed fossils indicate a shortening that did not exceed 10% in gently inclined anks (Kammer, 1996), so the present-day tectonic frame represents a valid proxy for paleotectonic considerations. The asymmetric Floresta anticline in the hangingwall block of the Soapaga fault displays a vertical to overturned eastern ank and exposes Devonian sedimentary units, as well as a low-grade metasedimentary basement in its core (Fig. 3). Jurassic redbeds of the Giron Formation overlay the pre-Mesozoic basement in both anks, displaying a pronounced wedge, with thicknesses ranging from a few meters near their western pinch out below the Cretaceous cover to more than 500 m at the Soapaga fault that delimits them to the east (Figs. 3 and 5a). The ancestral Soapaga fault was therefore a W-facing plane. At Nobsa, the Floresta anticline ends in a periclinal structure as the Soapaga fault assumes an EW trend (Fig. 3). The hangingwall domain of the Boyaca fault is divided by the transverse Rio Negro syncline into the Arcabuco and the Guantiva anticlines (Fig. 3). The Guantiva anticline core contains a southern extension of the Late TriassicEarly Jurassic Mogotes Batholith, which is linked to the igneous suite of the Santander Massif farther north (Figs. 1 and 3). North of the study area, this batholith intrudes the Boyaca fault and forms a sheet-like geometry through its emplacement along the disconformity between the metamorphic basement and Upper Paleozoic sediments (Fig. 3). Jurassic sediments are exposed all over the Arcabuco and in the southern part of the Guantiva anticline. They also display a wedge-shaped geometry and pinch out in the western ank of the Guantiva anticline. Accord ingly, the Boyaca fault represents a W-facing normal fault. The Arcabuco anticline ends in a periclinal termination west of the town of Duitama, similar to the Floresta Massif farther east (Fig. 3). A particular feature of this geologic setting refers to a Late Paleozoic rift event, the faults from which are masked by elongate intrusive stocks and plugs dated at 471 and 394 Ma (Ulloa and Rodrguez, 1982; Cordani, in Etayo et al., 1983). The Soiqua fault east of the culmination of the Floresta anticline has the same polarity as the Soapaga fault and displays a slice of high-grade metamorphic

Middle to Late

Cretaceous

Jurassic

Guatapuri La Mojana Noren

Early

Montebel Morrocoyal El Sudan Corual Los Indios Palermo

Jordan Bocas

Tiburn

Trias

Mogotes

Pescadero

Limestone Pyroclastic deposit

Shales

Sandstone Conglomerate

Subaqueous Acid flow Intermediate to acid igneous rock flow

Fig. 2. Stratigraphic correlation chart of units deposited in rift basins along the Bucaramanga fault (Eastern Cordillera and Santander Massif) and close to an early Mesozoic magmatic arc or its adjacent backarc basin (Lower Magdalena Valley, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta).

1995; Ward et al., 1973). The rift structures examined in this article occur at the southern termination of the Bucaramanga fault; according to the regional ndings, they likely have an Early Jurassic origin. They branch from a rectilinear, NNW-trending fault segment into the western (or footwall) block; dene splay faults of a major horsetail; and indicate, according to a NNE-trending fracture array of the magmatic arc (Fig. 1), a regional NWSE extension for the Late TriassicEarly Jurassic rift phase. The Bucaramanga fault displays the characteristics of an oblique-slip fault with an important right-lateral component. Among the formations that constitute the rift ll of the basins at the southern termination, only the lacustrine Montebel (Fig. 2) yields fauna of a RhaetianEarly Jurassic age (Geyer, 1973; Trumpy, 1943). This article analyzes the structural framework of the two rift structures located at the southern termination of the Bucaramanga fault and examines whether their sedimentary ll compares to rift-related depositional systems (Prosser, 1993). The two rift lls supply complementary information because of their dierent sizes: A relatively narrow basin related to the Soapaga fault, referred to as the Floresta rift, n contains redbeds associated with the Giro Group, whereas a larger basin (the Arcabuco-Guantiva rift) subsided along the Boyaca fault displays a uviolacustrine succession in its lower part (Fig. 2). Both faults underwent Neogene inversion that controlled the formation of the

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Fig. 3. Geologic setting of the Arcabuco-Guantiva and Floresta anticlines with the Soapaga and Boyaca faults deduced from present-day fault arrays.

basement in its footwall (designated Bunta Orthogneiss by Ulloa et al., 1998) in contact with low-grade units of the anticlinal core. Together with the Tutasa fault farther west, the Soiqua fault limits a minor symmetric graben lled with the basal Devonian Tibet Formation (Fig. 4; Mojica and Villarroel, 1984). In the western ank of the Guantiva anticline, a Late Paleozoic fault is sealed by Jurassic sediments, which suggests a lack of reactivation during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, despite its favorable attitude and polarity. The Middle Devonian Floresta and Cuche formations recover Upper Paleozoic fault blocks and thereby mark the end of this rift event. 3. Late TriassicEarly Jurassic rift structure settings A W-facing polarity for the Soapaga and Boyaca faults is deduced from the wedge-shaped basin lls of their hangingwall blocks. A uniform structural setting of these faults and a splay fault linked to the Servita fault farther north

(Fig. 3) also is indicated by regular segmentation, 10 40 km long, created by linked, curved fault traces, each of which displays the downthrown block on its concave side. For the Soapaga fault, this segmentation is highlighted by relays spaced at 1222 km. The relays represent sites for a structural reorganization of the eastern ank of the Floresta Massif, as exemplied at Beteitiva (Fig. 5a), where a southern fault-related fold gives way to a northern reverse fault associated with reverse drag folding (Kam mer, 1996). The Boyaca fault displays one of the most prominent relay structures west of Duitama (Figs. 3 and 5a). Relay patterns farther north are speculative, because the Guantiva Massif is deprived of its sedimentary cover. To explore Jurassic fault-related folding and its control on the depositional history further, we compiled an iso pach map for the Giron Formation of the Floresta and the Rusia Formation of the Arcabuco-Guantiva rift structures (Fig. 5a). Thicknesses were taken from measured columns (Figs. 6 and 7) and complemented with data

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meters

Fig. 4. Transverse section through the Arcabuco-Guantiva and Floresta rift structures, as restored to a postrift stage. For location, refer to Fig. 5a.

from structural sections drawn at a scale of 1:25,000. Each data set involves inherent uncertainties. On the one hand, stratigraphic columns A, B, C, and G (Fig. 5) extend over much of the eastern ank of the Arcabuco-Guantiva anticline and thus cross isopach contours. On the other hand, outcrop conditions and the preliminary nature of our base map impede precise location of formation boundaries in the Arcabuco-Guantiva anticline. Along the Soapaga fault, however, lithological limits are mapped out accurately enough for this purpose. In each sedimentary wedge, the pinch-out line is constrained by just one point (Figs. 3 and 5a). In the Arcabuco-Guantiva anticline, the base of the Jurassic sediments is exposed only in the northern part, and isopach contours are established for the lithologic break between the Montebel and Rusia formations (Fig. 2). By equating the isopach contours with structural contours of the disconformity between Jurassic sediments and a pre-Mesozoic basement, we develop a fairly simple picture of the structures of Jurassic wedges. Accordingly, we divide the rift structures into dierent subbasins along transverse basement highs tied to fault relays. A prime example of a transverse basement high coincides with the Neogene Rio Negro syncline. It connects to the fault relay west of Duitama and serves, in size and well-constrained outline, as a prototype for interpreting less evolved structures, as displayed at fault relays of the Soapaga fault. A transverse section (Fig. 4) connecting two depocenters of the Floresta and Guantiva subbasins documents uniform block tilting for the pre-Jurassic basement, which evokes domino-style faulting. Considering along-strike thickness and facies variations a fault growth model accounts more appropriately for the segmented geometry of these rift basins however (Schlische, 1991; Gawthorpe and Leeder, 2000).

4. Stratigraphic considerations 4.1. Floresta graben The Floresta graben is composed exclusively of redbeds assigned to the Giron Formation. Despite their uniform appearance, they can be divided into uvial and gravity ow deposits related to alluvial fans or bajadas that straddle the Soapaga fault and alluvial slope deposits that blanket the tilted hangingwall block. Deposits along the trough axis are completely eroded. Four facies types dominate these alluvial fan deposits, as indicated in Table 1. Conglomeratic clasts are composed of ne- to mediumgrained sandstones of the Cuche (3040%), felsic igneous rocks (20%), and metamorphic basement (locally 40%). The felsic igneous components attest to local intrusive activity, as also evidenced by felsic dikes. In one case, a debris ow unit caps a felsic dike. This synsedimentary igneous activity is limited to the fault trace; similar felsic dikes have not been observed in the metamorphic units of the Floresta Massif. In massive redbeds of facies association G4, white, distorted, angular fragments stem from kaolinitized feldspar crystals and attest to the presence of tuaceous material. Lopez and Mesa (1997) present lithologic columns of the central and peripheral parts of the southern subbasin, reproduced here as Fig. 6. The two successions display comparable sequential organizations, despite their dissimilar thickness, and overlie the nonconformity with the metamorphic basement by a massive cobble-pebble conglomerate (facies association G1). This basal unit is succeeded by a coarsening- and thickening-upward sequence, dominated in its lower part by conglomeratic lenses embedded in a sandy matrix (G2/G4) and grading at the top into thick-bedded cobble conglomerates (G3).

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Fig. 6. Two lithologic proles of the southern subbasin of the Floresta rift. (a) Southern termination of the Floresta Massif; (b) central part. Modied from Lopez and Mesa (1997).

Fig. 5. Isopachs and facies associations compiled on a base map of preCretaceous units. (a) Numbers associated with lines refer to thickness estimates of the Rusia Formation in the Arcabuco-Guantiva anticline or Giron Formation in the Floresta anticline. Numbers associated with lled circles indicate thicknesses of measured sections. Contour lines for the Rusia (Arcabuco-Guantiva) or Giron (Floresta) formations are indicated in intervals of 200 m. (bd) Close-ups of (a, rectangle) showing the distribution of facies associations, as determined in measured sections AH (Fig. 7). Abbreviations of facies associations are listed in Table 2. (d) Paleocurrent directions are plotted for four localities.

reaches of an alluvial fan. The succeeding conglomeratic to sandy deposits (G2) are unconned and thereby reveal an elevated aggradation rate; thus, we posit that they represent a depositional environment below the intersection point of the incised feeder channels of an alluvial slope. The thick-bedded cobble conglomerates at the top of this succession record a proximal facies association (G3), dominated by channel deposits above or near the intersection point. Finally, a sequence of sandy to conglomeratic lenses (G2) embedded in a ner-grained matrix (G4) initiates a second coarsening-upward cycle, which displays facies associations G2 and G4 at its base, which we interpret as characteristics of the intermediate reaches of an alluvial fan. This depositional change might reect fault-induced subsidence. Alluvial slope deposits are exposed on the western ank of the Floresta anticline near the pinch-out line of the graben ll. The sequence starts with a pebble conglomerate (G1), which bears lithologic and granulometric similarities to the fan deposits sourced from the Soapaga fault scarp. This conglomerate is overlain by a succession of lenticular, coarse-grained sandstone bodies of less than 1 m and negrained redbeds (G2/G4). This facies association represents a oodplain environment dissected by minor channels, which designates consequent drainage on the tilted hangingwall block of the Floresta graben and has been referred to as an alluvial slope deposit (Smith, 2000). 4.2. Arcabuco-Guantiva graben The sedimentary ll of the southern subbasin discloses a clear tripartite division, according to the lithological suc-

This sequence is interpreted in terms of a prograding fan system (Blair, 1986), with the basal conglomeratic unit designating coarse-grained, possibly uncoalesced talus cones near a fault scarp or mass ows at the very proximal

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A B

Fig. 7. Lithologic proles of the Arcabuco-Guantiva rift. For location, refer to Figs. 5bd. Modied from Baez and Sanchez (2003).

cessions of the Palermo, Montebel, and Rusia formations (Fig. 2). In the northern subbasin, the Palermo was not measured. The Palermo of the southern subbasin contains a basal conglomerate of a few meters, with pebbles derived from redbeds of the Upper Paleozoic Cuche Formation (Renzoni, 1967). Otherwise, the sequence begins with black shales and becomes coarser grained, following a succession of siltstones and ne- to medium-grained sandstones. A conspicuous horizon of black shales at the base of the Montebel initiates a second coarsening-upward cycle, consisting again of a succession of silt- and sandstones that become variegated at higher stratigraphic levels. From its basal part, plant remnants and a freshwater mollusk fauna of probable RhaetianLiassic age were retrieved (Langenheim, 1961; Benedetto and Odreman, 1977; Geyer, 1973). The upper third of this rift ll contains conglomeratic and sandy redbeds assigned to the Rusia Formation. The predominant facies associations of this sequence and their corresponding interpretations appear in Table 2. A lithostratigraphic correlation between the dierent sequences of the two subbasins and their intervening basement high is hampered by the absence of mapable key horizons. The limit between the Montebel and Rusia

formations, regardless of its utility for establishing the ispoach contours of the Rusia Formation, is transitional and should be used with caution for correlative purposes. The Montebel Formation shows dierent stacking patterns in the two subbasins. In the southern, it indicates a coarsening-upward sequence, with shaly lacustrine to oodplain deposits (M1) predominant in its lower part. In its upper part, it includes increasing distributary channel and sandy braidplain deposits (M2 and M3; Fig. 7). Floodplain deposits are silty. In contrast, in the columns of the northern subbasin, braidplain and channel deposits (M3 and M2) and silty oodplain deposits (M1) dominate the lower part and are succeeded by shaly lacustrine to oodplain deposits (M1) below the transitional contact with the Rusia Formation (Fig. 7), dening a ning-upward sequence. Figs. 5b and c contrast these facies associations in a map view. The predominance of ne-grained facies associations likely reects periods of increased subsidence, if the drainage system of the rift structures was relatively closed, whereas coarsening-upward trends record periods of tectonic quiescence (Blair, 1988). Accordingly, these lithological dierences may suggest episodes of fault activity that aected the two subbasins. In support of a fault growth

 A. Kammer, J. Sanchez / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21 (2006) 412422 Table 1 Compilation of facies associations and respective interpretations constituting the Floresta graben Facies association Lithology Interpretation

419

Table 2 Compilation of facies associations and respective interpretations of Arcabuco-Guantiva graben Facies association Lithology Interpretation

Giron Formation G1 Massive, thick to very thick beds of matrix-supported cobble-pebble conglomerates G2 Medium to thick beds of pebble-cobble conglomerates, organized in lenses, with slightly scoured bases and convex-upward forms Massive to horizontally stratied conglomeratic, grain-supported sands G3 Crudely to horizontally stratied conglomerates in planar beds Cross-bedded sandy conglomerates, grading into sand, with convex-up forms Planar horizontally stratied conglomeratic sand, ning upward G4 Horizontally stratied, coarse to ne sand, in thin planar beds Massive sandy mud, with lithic components

Gravity ows associated with proximal fan reaches or talus cones Little channelized debris or sheet ows on proximal fan reaches, grading into lobes of sieve deposits

Palermo and Montebel Formations M1 Massive silty mud or mud Laminated or crosslaminated silt, mud or ne sand Calcrete horizons M2 Planar cross-stratied, coarse to ne sand in isolated lenses M3 Massive or horizontally stratied, medium to ne sand

Standing freshwater bodies and wetlands of adjacent oodplains with incipient soil development Minor channel lls formed by ephemeral streams on alluvial plains Transverse and linguoid bedforms formed on braidplains by unconned ash oods and crevasse splays Channelized or little conned mass ow deposits (sheet oods) of talus cones Longitudinal bedforms and lag deposits; sandy outwashes during waning oods Sinuously crested and linguoid bedforms associated with minor channels

Longitudinal bars and minor channel lls formed by ephemeral streams on middle fan reaches or alluvial plains

Flash ood deposits of ephemeral streams and overbank deposits

Rusia Formation R1 Matrix-supported gravel and coarse sand Massive coarse to ne sand R2 Clast-supported, crudely stratied gravel Horizontally stratied, coarse to ne sand R3 Clast- and matrixsupported gravel Planar and trough cross-stratied, coarse to ne sand R4 Massive or laminated silt or mud

Overbank deposits

model, the transverse anticline at their relay may have acted as a seismogenic barrier during episodic growth, as has been demonstrated for the Wasatch fault zone (Machette et al., 1991). Facies associations of the Rusia Formation show a more homogeneous distribution (Fig. 5d). Proximal mass ow deposits of talus cones (R1) straddle the fault trace in the two subbasins. This fringe is narrower along the transverse anticline. This facies association is succeeded by channel (R2 and R3) and overbank (R4) deposits. Paleocurrent directions are transverse to parallel with respect to the border fault (Fig. 5d). Near the transverse high, they display a NNW trend, possibly mimicking a relay ramp (Gawthorpe and Hurst, 1993). 5. Discussion Current views on the evolution of segmented fault arrays during the early stages of a rift evolution adhere to two models based on displacement length proles and numerical simulation. They involve the formation of (1) isolated faults in a diuse deformation zone and subsequent competitive growth of certain faults through linking (Gupta et al., 1998; Cowie et al., 2000; Gawthorpe and Leeder, 2000) or (2) a coherent segmented fault array, in

which fault segments are linked after their initiation to a single fault at depth (Walsh et al., 2003). For the rift basins examined herein, displacement length proles are constrained only by isopach maps and do not oer sucient resolution to quantify trends and skewness patterns. We favor the model of a coherent fault development (i.e., tied to a single fault), because the fault segments are aligned principally along two strands (Boyaca and Soapaga faults). The only case of a soft-linked synthetic interference zone occurs at the southern termination of the Servita fault, where a segmented fault string cuts into the footwall of the Soapaga fault (north of Sativa Norte in Figs. 5 and 3). The setting of the two major fault strings is independent of the location of Late Paleozoic faults, though some were favorably orientated in their strike and dip for an early Mesozoic reactivation. Tentatively, we explain the locking of the Paleozoic faults during the Early Mesozoic rift event according to their limitation to a shallow crustal level, which implies the Jurassic faults nucleated independently and more deeply. In discussing the depositional patterns of the two rift basins, we follow a conceptual lling model of continental rift basins outlined by Schlische (1991) and Schlische and Olson (1990), who presume a constant volumetric sedimentation and subsidence rate. In a fault growth

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model, which considers both an increase in fault throw and length, the change in accommodation space is positive through time, which predicts evolution from a lled to an undersaturated basin. This tendency is reversed in the postclimax rift stage of waning fault activity (Prosser, 1993), during which the basin ll tends to return to saturated conditions. Cyclic behavior can be traced for each subbasin. In the southern subbasin of the ArcabucoGuantiva rift, the sedimentation pattern displays two coarsening-upward cycles, the lower for the Palermo and the upper for the Montebel and Rusia formations, that were initiated by extensive oodplain deposits. The model conditions outlined previously are satised here by two discrete events followed by a waning fault activity. The evolution of the Montebel in the northern subbasin is contrasted by a ning-upward sequence, presupposing ongoing tectonic activity according to the preceding predictions, though the departure from a saturated basin, as evidenced by a major standing water body, would not have been signicant. In the smaller subbasin of the Floresta rift, two coarsening-upward cycles may be interpreted in terms of prograding fan conditions, which again implies waning fault activity for each cycle. The predominance and lateral continuity of coarse-grained facies associations favors the existence of coalesced fan deposits or bajadas and, thus, oversaturated sedimentary conditions. Transverse paleocurrent directions in both rifts indicate the importance of footwall-derived sedimentary input. Nothing is known about a regional drainage system. The only argument pertaining to a local base level applies to the Arcabuco-Guantiva rift, where the Montebel and Rusia formations extend to a common pinch-out line. This situation may be explained by a xed outlet during the corresponding rift episode. With regard to their regional signicance, the subsidence history of the two examined rift basins constrains ancestral activity of the Bucaramanga fault to the Early Jurassic. The fault accommodates displacement transfer along two fault strings (Fig. 1; Ujueta, 2003), which suggests that fault events would manifest themselves along considerable lengths. An interaction between rifting and magmatic activity may be inferred from the following arguments: North of the city of Bucaramanga, the two rectilinear strands of the Bucaramanga fault are displaced along a right-stepping relay, which should correspond to a releasing relay for a right-lateral displacement. This relay domain is matched by an S-shaped termination of the Rio Negro Batholith (Fig. 1) which resembles a major rhombochastic structure. The emplacement of the batholith was thus concurrent with the displacement transfer on these two fault segments. The longitudinal extension of the Bucaramanga fault also coincides with the presence of the intrusive suite of the Santander Massive in its footwall, evidence of a relationship between faulting and crustal weakening induced by the inltration of magmatic uids (Hollister and Crawford, 1986).

From these regional considerations, we postulate a hard-linked origin of the Soapaga and Boyaca faults to a mid-crustal detachment. In this scenario, the Bucaramanga fault constitutes an oblique ramp that separates an attenuated crust on its western side (including the Early TriassicLower Jurassic backarc basin) from a relatively unaected block on the eastern side. The sedimentary ll of the examined rift structures, together with those located along its eastern hanging block, such as at Bocas (Figs. 1 and 2), provide insight into the evolution of this rst-order crustal discontinuity. 6. Conclusions First, the Soapaga and Boyaca faults branch o of a rectilinear fault strand of the Bucaramanga fault and form the splay faults of a conspicuous horsetail structure. The two faults bound rift basins lled with red fanglomerates (Soapaga fault) or lacustrineuvial sequences (Boyaca fault), which display the wedge-like geometry of a rift-related depositional system. The Early Jurassic age of these sediments documents Early Mesozoic activity of the Bucaramanga fault. The Soapaga and Bucaramanga faults compose a horsetail structure that, in combination with the rhombochastic structure at a right-stepping relay of the Bucaramanga fault, establishes a right-lateral displacement transfer for this crustal-scale discontinuity. Second, the Boyaca and Soapaga faults are divided into curved segments at intervals of 1040 km. Their relay domains dene sites of distinct transverse basement highs that controlled the sedimentation in adjacent subbasins. This segmentation conforms to a fault growth model that combines the accumulation of dip-slip displacements with a longitudinal fault expansion. Third, the sediments of the relatively narrow basin associated with the Soapaga fault are composed of two coarsening-upward cycles that may be accounted for by an alluvial fan progression. These fanglomeratic successions include sheetood to channel deposits. Fourth, in the larger basin linked to the Boyaca fault, a distinct transverse basement high separates two subbasins characterized by dierent sedimentary stacking patterns. The southern subbasin comprises two coarsening-upward cycles, each of which was initiated by lacustrine to oodplain deposits. In the northern subbasin, this stacking pattern is reversed in the basal part by a ning-upward cycle. The subsidence history of these basins therefore was decoupled to some degree, which illustrates that the transverse high acted as a barrier during the seismogenic and geomorphic evolution of adjacent fault segments. Acknowledgements The manuscript beneted greatly from the constructive comments of two anonymous reviewers. We thank Victor

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Ramos and James Kellogg for their editorial eorts and their decisive help in improving the manuscript. References
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