3 Gonalezbonorino1971

MetamorpMsm of the Crystalline Basement
of Central Chile
by FLIX GONZALEZ-BONORINO1
Departamento de Geologla, Universidad de Chile
ABSTRACT
The metamorphic basement of the Cordillera de la Costa, in Central Chile, consists
mainly of slate, meta-sandstone, phyllite, and mica schist but contains small quantities of
greenschist. The greater part of the basement is comprised in the Curepto series, and is
characterized by dynamo-metamorphism whose intensity increases westward. East of this is
the smaller Nirivilo series, characterized by contact metamorphism whose intensity increases
eastward toward a granodiorite batholith. At the northern end of the metamorphic belt lies
the Pichilemu series, in which the metamorphism is dynamo-thermal and increases in intensity to the east. The rocks in the first two areas are divisible into zones that trend northnorth-east, essentially parallel to the margin of the batholith and to the Pacific coast; but
in the Pichilemu area the zoning trends north-west. In the Curepto series three zones were
distinguished; these are, in order from east to west: (1) a muscovite-chlorite(-albite) slate
zone, (2) a muscovite-biotite(-albite) phyllite zone, and (3) a muscovite-chlorite-albite
( garnet) schist zone. The rocks in all three zones belong to the greenschist facies; the
chlorite in the third zone is believed to be a product of H metasomatism. In the much narrower
Nirivilo area no zones were mapped, but the following eastward succession of critical assemblages was recognized: (1) muscovite-biotite-chlorite-albite; (2) muscovite-biotite-chloriteandalusite-albite; (3) biotite-muscovite-andalusite-oligoclase; (4) biotite(muscovite)andalusite-sillimanite (or cordierite). The muscovite in the rocks that have undergone highgrade metamorphism is largely of metasomatic origin. Part of the sillimanite has been
formed at the expense of biotite and andalusite. In most of the Nirivilo area the most strongly
metamorphosed rocks are of the hornblende-hornfels facies, but small parts of that area
may contain rocks of the pyroxene-hornfels facies. The Pichilemu area comprises the following zones and subzones: (1) a biotite zone, which includes (a) a muscovite-chlorite-biotitealbite subzone and (b) a muscovite-biotite-albite subzone; (2) a garnet-oligoclase zone;
(3) a staurolite-andalusite zone; (4) a muscovite-sillimanite zone; and (5) a sillimaniteorthoclase zone which includes (a) a sillimanite-orthoclase subzone and {b) a sillimaniteorthoclase-cordierite-almandine subzone. Some thermal metamorphism is superimposed on
the regional metamorphism. The facies grade from the greenschist to the granulite or intermediate between the granulite and the amphibolite facies. The three series represent different
pressure conditions: the Nirivilo series corresponds to a low-pressure (contact) type, Pichilemu
represents a low-pressure intermediate, dynamo-thermal type, and Curepto is a dynamothermal, high-pressure intermediate type series. The Curepto area was affected first, the Pichilemu area next, and the Nirivilo area last. The metamorphism in all three series is thought to
have occurred during a single tectonic cycle within Late Paleozoic time, but it was probably
interrupted by periods of erosional unloading. The width of the contact aureole is thought to
have been determined by the irregular expansion of the batholith. The analogy between the
metamorphic series of the Cordillera de la Costa and Miyashiro's circum-Pacific paired belts
is briefly discussed.
1
Present address: Fundaci6n Bariloche, Casiila 138, San Carlos de Bariloche, Rf o Negro, Argentina.
[Journal of Petrology, Vol. 12, Part 1, pp. 149-75,1971]
Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at National Chung Hsing University Library on April 12, 2014
{Received 16 June 1969; in revised form 26 February 1970)
FfiLIX GONZALEZ-BONOR1NO
150
INTRODUCTION
ERUi
~\METAMORPH]C
BASEMENT
Fio. 1. Distribution of the pre-Mesozoic metamorphic basement in Chile, indicating the area studied
in this work.
CQ1ST RANGE GRANITE BATOLITH

KMU u Itow Palaozatc
T H E present paper describes the progressive metamorphism of the basement

rocks in the Cordillera de la Costa of
Central Chile, between parallels 34 10' S.
and 36 30' S. (Fig. 1). The metamorphic
rocks of this area constitute the northern
part of a belt extending for more than
1000 km along the Pacific coast between
the city of Valparaiso and the island of
Chiloe. The project, undertaken at the
suggestion of Professor Luis Aguirre,
Director of the Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Chile, was carried
out in the years 1966 to 1968.
In am indebted to Messrs. R. Thiele
and E. Godoy, and to the late R.
Carmona, of this Department, who
assisted me during parts of the field
work; and to Mr. J. Villalobos, of its
rock-analysis laboratory, who made the
chemical analyses presented in this paper.
E. Godoy also gave me a series of
samples that he had collected along the
valley of the Rio Maule.
The laboratory investigations were
made in part at the Department of Geology and Geophysics of the University
of California at Berkeley. I am deeply
indebted to Professor Francis J. Turner,
and to other members of that Department, for enabling me to reside at the
University during two quarters, and to
make free use of its laboratories. I am
especially grateful for the help given me
by Professor B. W. Evans and his collaborators at the electron-probe laboratory.
I am also indebted to Dr. Beatriz Levi
for a critical reading of the manuscript.
METAMORPH1SM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE
151
GEOLOGIC SETTING
The metamorphic basement of Chile

Crystalline rocks of pre-Mesozoic age are relatively abundant in the southern
half of Chile, where they constitute the main body of the low-lying Cordillera
de la Costa south of Santiago (Fig. 1). The coast range is an uplifted peneplain,
between 500 and 1000 m in altitude, separated from the Andes by the Valle
Central; it extends southward, partly below sea level, to the vicinity of the Taitao
Peninsula (46 S.), where it apparently dies out under the sea. South of Puerto
Montt (42 S.) the crystalline basement also appears on the east side of the submerged central valley, or Ancud gulf, and from there to the south end of Tierra
del Fuego it becomes a major component of the western half of the Patagonian
Andes. In the northern half of the territory, the crystalline basement crops out
in isolated areas, mostly along the coast, and it can be said to extend, in this
scattered fashion, into the Peruvian coastal range.
The generally low-grade metamorphic rocks of the Cordillera de la Costa
have generally been regarded as Precambrian, mostly because of their metamorphic character and lack of fossil remains. Recent radiometric dating has
shown, however, that they are at least for the most part Devonian or younger
(Munizaga, 1967; Gonzalez-Bonorino, 1967). Fossiliferous sedimentary rocks
of similar age have been found in Chile, but only in a few isolated areas, and
their relation to the metamorphic complex has not yet been determined.
The relative ages of the metamorphic rocks exposed in other parts of Chile
are likewise uncertain. Some geologists have considered the basement rocks of
Patagonia to be younger than those of central Chile (Ruiz, 1965), but no definite
information is available to decide one way or another.
Lithologically, the metamorphic basement is characterized by the predominance of fine-grained epiclastic rocks, metamorphosed to a grade generally
not higher than the greenschist facies. The structural trends in the Cordillera
de la Costa are predominantly north-south to north-west-south-east.
The metamorphic complex is cut by intrusive bodies of widely varying form,
size, and composition. Those that appear to be the oldest are small bodies of
ultrabasic rocks, mostly serpentinites, which occur near Valdivia and at various
places in the Patagonian metamorphic complex (lilies, 1960; Aguirre, 1965).
Granitic bodies of various sizes are common; the largest of them, a Paleozoic
mesozonal (?) batholith that bounds the area described in this paper on the
east, extends from about 550 km between lat. 34 S. and 38 S. (Fig. 1). Its
petrographic characteristics have been described by Mufioz Cristi (1960, 1964);
Levi, Mehech, & Munizaga (1963); Mehech & Corvalan (1964); its age, according
to radiometric data published by Ruiz (1965, p. 32), is Upper Paleozoic. Other
large plutons, some of them partly bordered by aureoles of migmatite, were
intruded into the metamorphic rocks in the Patagonian and Magellanian areas.
The granitic intrusive rocks of Patagonia are generally believed to be for the
152
FELIX GONZALEZ-BONORINO
most part of Meso-Cenozoic age and are sometimes regarded as parts of the
'Andean batholith', but much of the granite exposed on the west side of the
Southern Andes may be Paleozoic.
z o N E DI
Z ONE II
S0
obliterated
S| - microlithon
(a) S, folded, newly developed S 2
ZONE I
So
folded
A xi al plane S,
Crenulation-Sj
(b)
Flattened out, folded S|
FIG. 3. Relationship between bedding (So), true cleavage or schistosity (SJ, and crenulation cleavage
(S,) in the three zones of the Curepto series.
(Zone 1, Fig. 2) of the Curepto series adjoining the belt of Nirivilo metamorphism. They consist of meta-sandstones and slates in alternating beds about 1 ft in
average thickness. The slates were derived from silty clays and the metasandstones from very fine-grained clayey sands. In the meta-sandstones, the
grain size ranges from about 30 to about 100 fxm, the larger grains being in
the thicker beds; the sand and silt fractions consist mainly of quartz, but
The Coast Range metamorphic complex

General statement. The metamorphic area of the Cordillera de la Costa
consists of three series, each showing progressive metamorphism, and each is
characterized by a different succession of mineral zones and facies or subfacies.
The Curepto series, named after a town in the area (Fig. 2), includes the greater
part of the metamorphic belt. Along the western side of the batholith there is
a belt of thermal metamorphism, here designated the Nirivilo series (Fig. 2).
The third, here called the Pichilemu series, is represented in the bulge north of
the Bucalemu 'bottleneck'. The Curepto and Pichilemu series are, in their
great extent and in the petrographic character of the resulting rocks, more or
less typical of dynamo-thermal (regional) metamorphism, whereas the rocks
produced by the Nirivilo metamorphism are those characteristic of thermal
aureoles. The boundaries between the series are gradational.
Original lithology. The pre-metamorphic lithology appears to have been
similar in all three series. The least metamorphosed rocks are found in a zone
METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE
153
Pichilemu series
Low-pressure intermediate series
0
TO Km
scale
FIG. 4. Map of the Pichilemu metamorphic area showing zones and isograds. This series merges with
the Curepto series through its southern end (Bucalemu bottleneck); the biotite (low-grade) subzone a
grades into the Curepto Zone II.
ZONING IN THE METAMORPHIC BELT OF T H E

COAST RANGE, CENTRAL CHILE
154
CUREPTO METAMORPHIC SERIES
General statement. The Curepto series consists of three parallel zones (Fig. 2),
in which the grade of regional metamorphism increases westward. The zone in
which this metamorphism is of lowest grade (Zone I, Fig. 2) is separated from
in
QUARTZ
MUSCOVITE
CHLORITE
BIOTITE
ALBITE
SPESSARTITE
FIG. 5. Mineral zoning in the Curepto series. Zones arranged with increasing grade from right to left,
as in the field. Zones I, II, and III correspond in the field to the slate, phyllite, and schist zones,
respectively.
detrital albite and mica together make up roughly 30 per cent. Lithic fragments
are scarce. The clayey matrix, now represented by fine-grained quartz and mica,
generally constitutes less than 20 per cent of either rock. Sorting varies from
moderately good in the finer-grained silty beds to rather poor in the coarser
sandy beds.
The meta-sandstone beds are somewhat lenticular and are usually made up
of sandy laminae from less than 1 mm to about 5 mm thick, alternating with
thinner laminae consisting chiefly of mica that is partly detrital and partly
secondary. Slight cross-lamination and ripple cross-bedding are common in these
beds. Slump structures are generally absent, although in places there is distinct
convolute lamination. No graded bedding was detected. Greenschists, probably
derived from basic volcanics, occur in these rocks but are not widespread.
The same alternation of sandy and shaly beds is found not only in the remaining zones of the Curepto belt but also in the other belts, in so far as one can
judge when allowing for the metamorphic changes.
The composition and sedimentary structures suggest a subgraywacke sequence
deposited in a marginal basin. The main source of the sediments was apparently
an area underlain by medium-grade quartz-mica-plagioclase schists.
Age. Nine Rb/Sr radiometric measurements of the Coast Range metamorphic
rocks gave an age of 3425 m.y., whereas one K/Ar gave 245 m.y. (Munizaga,
1967). The former probably corresponds to the age of the sedimentation; the
latter figure may indicate the time of the metamorphism. Another K/Ar value,
furnished by Dr. M. G. Ravich is 210 m.y. (Gonzalez-Bonorino, 1967).
M E T A M O R P H I S M OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE
155
the batholith by the thermally metamorphosed rocks of the Nirivilo series.

Zone I, which may be called the slate zone, is characterized by quartz-muscovitebiotite (Fig. 5). It is separated by the biotite isograd from Zone II, the phyllite
zone, characterized by quartz-muscovite-biotite, which in turn is separated
from Zone III, the schist zone, by the chlorite isograd. Zone III contains a
quartz-muscovite-chlorite-albite( garnet) assemblage that is believed to
indicate a slightly higher metamorphic grade than that of Zone II.
The following description of zones applies only to the predominant sandy
and clayey rocks.
Zone I: Quartz-muscovite-chlorite(~albite) slaty zone. Zone I consists mainly
of slates interstratified with meta-sandstones. The meta-sandstones are partially
recrystallized; the quartz and mica in the matrix are commonly intergrown,
especially in the pressure shadows. Albite shows little evidence of having been
recrystallized. Large flakes of detrital muscovite and largely decomposed biotite are present, and the recrystallized matrix contains secondary muscovite.
Some chlorite is interlaminated with both the biotite and the muscovite. The
most common accessories are magnetite, tourmaline, apatite, and zircon.
The slate is completely recrystallized. About half of it consists of fine-grained
quartz; the only other major constituent is muscovite. Chlorite is about onetenth to one-fifth as abundant as muscovite. Tourmaline is relatively abundant;
carbonaceous material is common.
Zone II: Quartz-muscovite-biotite{-albite) phyllite zone. The sandy beds have
been metamorphosed to fine-grained micaceous quartzite and the pelitic beds
to a strongly oriented quartzose phyllite. The mean grain size is about 0 1 mm,
somewhat greater than in Zone I. The mica is mostly detrital muscovite, much
of which, however, is interleaved with light-colored weakly pleochroic biotite,
and some chlorite is interleaved with both micas. The quartzose rocks contain
5-15 per cent of interstitial unzoned, nearly pure albite.
Zone III: Quartz-muscovite-chlorite-albite(garnet) schist zone. The predominant rock of Zone III is a fine-grained, strongly foliated, and in some
places lineated, nodular mica schist, traversed by numerous quartz veins, and
commonly thrown into folds of very small to moderate size. Nodules of dark
albite, generally 1-2 mm in diameter, are abundant in some layers.
The quartz grains are 0-2-0-3 mm in mean diameter and the texture is somewhat more granoblastic than in Zone If. Muscovite and chlorite plates are
well crystallized; they are in part interleaved, but the chlorite tends to form
clusters of cross-lying plates. The albite is commonly poikiloblastic, with
inclusions of quartz and graphite. Garnet (spessartite) is found in scattered
layers.
Calcium- and iron-rich assemblages. Greenschist rich in calcium and containing epidote and amphibole is a minor constituent of the Curepto series. Most
of it is intercalated with the muscovite-chlorite-albite schist of Zone III. The
greenschist consists of bluish-green amphibole (see 'Mineralogy'), pistacite,
156
chlorite, and albite; quartz, muscovite, and calcite may also be present. The
commonest accessories are sphene, apatite, and ilmenite. Albite veinlets are
common in certain layers.
Some of the greenschist was apparently derived from basic igneous rocks;
unmetamorphosed or weakly metamorphosed diabase sills or lava flows are
common in some parts of Zone I. Other greenschist layers, however, such as
those containing muscovite, quartz, and calcite, were probably derived from
calcareous sedimentary beds.
Iron-rich assemblages consist of thin layers of quartz-magnetite rock exposed near Bucalemu, and layers of quartz-stilpnomelane rock near the mouth
of the Mataquito River. Both rocks appear to have been formed by recrystallization of ferruginous chert.
Structure. Bedding (So) is generally well preserved in Zone I, and in Zone II
it can still be detected in good outcrops of alternating sandy and clayey layers,
but in Zone III it has been totally obliterated. In Zone I the beds are folded into
asymmetrical, overturned mainly to the west, or even recumbent, folds whose
wavelengths range from a few centimeters to several meters (Fig. 3). From the
predominant attitude of the individual folds, it can be tentatively inferred that
the bedding has an over-all gentle dip towards the west.
The fold axes plunge northward in the northern part of the belt, and southward in the southern part, at an angle of about 10. The average strike of the
bedding is between north-south and north-east-south-west.
The strike of the schistosity (SJ varies widely but is predominantly northnorth-east (Fig. 2). In Zone I (Fig. 3) the ^ planes are generally parallel to the
axial planes of the folds and dip predominantly to the east, but vertical and
westward dips are common. In the slate beds there is often a sub-horizontal S2
plane on which strain-slip cleavage has been developed.
In Zone II (Fig. 3) Sx is generally the only self-evident structure; its attitude
is about the same as in Zone I, but it is not accompanied by S2 cleavage. The
St foliation is marked by an alternation of quartzose microlithons and micaceous laminae.
The Sj foliation of Zone III is generally flat-lying and gently undulating, with
south-easterly dips slightly predominant. Microfolding and mesofolding of the
schistosity is commoner in this zone than in Zone II; near the northern end of
the zone they are strong enough to obscure the schistosity.
The nearly horizontal lineation which in Zone I results from fine crenulation
of the Sx cleavage intersected by S2 planes is almost non-existent or very weak
in Zone II, where it gives way to a south-east-dipping lineation of mineral grains.
In Zone III there are two kinds of lineation. One is a 6-lineation, determined
by the axes of micro- and mesofolds; this is very well developed along the seashore north of Llico. The other is an a-lineation due to imbrication and mineral
orientation. The a-lineation strikes predominantly east-south-east, and is more
uniformly oriented than the schistosity.
157
Kink bands are common in the slates of Zone 1; these vary in attitude, but
the axes of the kinks generally cut at a wide angle the strike of the cleavage.
NIRIVILO METAMORPHIC SERIES
1. Quartz-biotite-muscovite-chlorite-albite,
2. Quartz-biotite-muscovite-chlorite-andalusite-albite,
3. Quartz-biotite(ihmuscovite)-andalusite-oligoclase;
or
3. Quartz-biotite-cordierite-oligoclase,
4. Quartz-biotite-muscovite-andalusite-sillimanite-oligoclase-andesineorthoclase.
Southern phase. The southern phase is best exposed along the Itata River
(Fig. 2), where the metamorphic series is about 6 km wide. It differs from the
General statement. The temperature gradient responsible for the Nirivilo series
was much steeper than that of the Curepto series. There is a direct relationship
between the mean metamorphic grade and the width of the series belt. The
following description refers to maximum width cross-sections.
Two petrographic phases can be distinguished within the narrow belt occupied
by the Nirivilo series. One of them, here called the 'northern phase', is best
developed in the northern and main bulge of the contact belt; the other, here
called the 'southern phase', predominates near the southern end (Fig. 2).
Northern phase. The transition from the slate zone of the Curepto series to
the Nirivilo series, which occurs at a maximum distance of about 8 km from
the contact with the batholith, is marked by the appearance of microscopic
metacrysts of biotite and chlorite, which are joined within a short distance by
aggregates of mica, by nodules of altered andalusite, or by both. The 'hornfelsization' of the slates, due to the loss of cleavage produced by the growth of
numerous biotite metacrysts that cut across the cleavage, becomes well marked
towards the middle part of the aureole. The main mineral changes are the substitution of oligoclase for albite and the disappearance of chlorite. Large crystals
of chiastolite are present in some layers of the middle zone; slender fibers of
sillimanite appear in the hornfelsic rock about 3 km from the contact. Cordierite
is also present in scattered layers and is mostly replaced in part by a serpentinelike material, in part by sericite.
About 1 km from the granodiorite, the hornfelsic biotite-quartz rock begins
to show the following changes: (1) orthoclase appears in the form of interstitial
grains; (2) the anorthite content of the plagioclase rises to as much as 35 per
cent; and (3) grains of largely poikilitic muscovite about 0-5 mm in diameter
become relatively abundant. Muscovite is also present there as fine-grained
pseudomorphs (after cordierite?).
The successive assemblages are, from east to west, the following (Fig. 6):
158
northern phase in having, in addition to the assemblages characteristic of this

phase, between 20 and 40 per cent of randomly oriented, poikiloblastic individuals of muscovite, up to 3 mm in mean diameter. The mica is present in the
Ab- Epldoto
homfelt f.
Hornblondo
hofnftl. facie,
Pyrox.
honrf.f..'
QUARTZ
MUSCOVITE
BIOTITE
ANDALUSITE
SILLIMANITE
CORDIERITE
ALBITE
PLAGIOCLASE
ORTHOCLASE
FIG. 6. Mineral zoning in the Nirivilo series, northern phase. The presence of a pyroxene-hornfels
facies is uncertain. At least part of the high-grade muscovite is considered metasomatic.
inner, high-grade half to two-thirds of the aureole; the remaining outer zone is
as in the northern phase. The textural character of the muscovite indicates that
it is late-crystalline and possibly metasomatic.
The composition of the plagioclase ranges from An0 in the western fringe of
the belt to An^ near the contact with the batholith; its anorthite content
suddenly increases from almost zero to about 10 per cent near the western
boundary of the muscovite-rich zone. East of this boundary the anorthite
content of most of the plagioclase in the southern phase is about 10 per cent.
In detail, however, it varies considerably: the crystals are all zoned; in some
places cores of An18_2o are surrounded by narrow sharply delimited rims of
An10, while in others the cores are An10 and the rims nearly pure albite.
The successive assemblages of the southern phase are as follows (Fig. 7):
1.
2.
3.
4.
Quartz-biotite-muscovite-chlorite-albite,
Quartz-biotite-muscovite-chlorite-andalusite-albite,
Quartz-biotite-muscovite-andalusite-oligoclase,
Quartz-biotite-muscovite-andalusite-sillimanite(orcordierite)-oligoclase.
The highest grade assemblage present at any part of the Nirivilo series depends on the zone width. In front of Cauquenes, for example, the highest grade,
which is attained only at the contact, corresponds to the biotite-muscovitechlorite-andalusite (knotted schist) assemblage, while the widest part of the
aureole at Nirivilo is found in the middle of the zone.
CHLORITE
159
Structure. In the low-grade metamorphic western part of the Nirivilo belt,

the structure is essentially the same as in the adjacent Zone I of the Curepto
series. In the central and eastern parts of the belt the structure is obscured by
Ab-EpldoUhomfeli focitt
Hornbland*-hornfel> fades
QUARTZ
MUSCOVITE
ANDALUSITE
SILLIMANITE
CORDIERITE
ALBITE
PLAQ10CLASE
ORTHOCLASE
FIG. 7. Mineral zoning in the Nirivilo series, southern phase. Characterized by the abundance of
metasomatic muscovite.
stronger metamorphism but seems to be essentially the same as in the western

part. The subhorizontal, S2 planes are still preserved in the andalusite-bearing
rocks which are immediately encountered upon entering the zone from the west,
but they disappear near the middle of the belt.
PICHILEMU METAMORPHIC SERIES
General statement. The Pichilemu series (Fig. 4) comprises five north-northwest trending zones in which the grade of metamorphism increases progressively
toward the east-north-east. Zones I and V can each be further divided into two
subzones. An ill-defined aureole of thermal metamorphism is superposed on the
several zones of the Pichilemu series along the granitic contact.
The zones and subzones in the Pichilemu series, with their respective critical
assemblages, are as follows, in order of increasing grade (Fig. 8):
Zone I. Biotite zone (consisting mainly of slate and phyllite).
a. Muscovite-biotite-chlorite subzone (quartz-muscovite-biotite-chloritealbite).
b. Muscovite-biotite subzone (quartz-muscovite-biotite-albite).
Zone II. Garnet-oligoclase zone (mostly phyllite).
(Quartz-muscovite-biotite-almandine-oligoclase).
Zone III. Staurolite-andalusite zone (mostly schist).
(Quartz-muscovite-biotite-staurolite-andalusite-oligoclase).
CHLORITE
BIOTITE
160
Zone IV. Sillimanite-muscovite zone (schist).

(Quartz-muscovite-biotite-sillimanite-oligoclase).
Zone V. Sillimanite-orthoclase zone (mostly schist).
a. Cordierite-free subzone.
(Quartz-biotite-sillimanite-orthoclase-oligoclase).
b. Cordierite subzone.
(Quartz-biotite-sillimanite-cordierite-almandine-orthoclase-oligoclase).
QUARTZ
TJT
Y
b
1
1
MUSCOVITE
CHLORITE
BIOTITE
ALMANOINE
ANDALUSITE
STAUROLITE
i
SILL1MANITE
COROIERITE
ALBITE
i
i
i
PLAGIOCLASE
ORTHOCLASE
i
i
FIG. 8. Mineral zoning in the Pichilemu series. I, Biotite zone, divided into two subzones; II, Garnetoligoclase zone; 111, Andalusite-staurolite zone; IV, Muscovite-sillimanite zone; V, Sillimaniteorthoclase zone, divided into two subzones.
The rock names phyllite and schist in the following zone headings only
indicate the predominant rock in each zone, but the boundaries of a given
textural rock type do not necessarily coincide with those of any particular
mineral assemblage.
Zone I. Biotite slate-phyllite zone. The biotite zone occupies the southwestern part of the Pichilemu series area (Fig. 4), and comprises two subzones,
distinguished by the presence or absence of chlorite, roughly separated by a
narrow strip of greenschist that extends south from the town of Pichilemu. The
westernmost subzone consists of lenses of fine-grained micaceous meta-sandstone
a few centimeters or decimeters thick, interlayered with quartzose slate. It
contains numerous layers of graphite-bearing slate, and a layer of quartzite
containing stilpnomelane and calcite was found near Pichilemu. The rocks in
the chlorite-bearing subzone are strongly sheared; they have micro-gneissic,
granulated, and mortar-like textures, the quartz grains commonly contain
deformation lamellae, and some of the albite has undergone secondary twinning.
161
The chlorite-free subzone of the biotite zone consists, like Zone II of the
Curepto series, of thinly foliated quartzose phyllites and laminated micaceous
quartzites. The rocks show coarser grain and less evidence of mechanical
deformation than those in the chlorite-bearing subzone.
Zone II. Garnet-oligoclase phyllite zone. The rocks of the garnet-oligoclase

zone differ from those of the adjacent biotite zone only in containing crystals of
almandine and oligoclase instead of albite. Oligoclase (An18_20), forms 5-15
per cent of the rock. The garnet and ohgoclase isograds, as far as is known, may
or may not be exactly coincident.
Zone HI. Staurolite-andalnsite schist zone. Andalusite and staurolite are in
places found together, whereas in other outcrops only one of them is present.
Garnet also extends a little way into this zone. The quartz is a little coarser
grained than in previous zones. The anorthite content of plagioclase is between
25 and 28 per cent.
Zone IV. Sillimanite-muscovite schist zone. Sillimanite appears in Zone IV
as fibrolite enclosed in the micas and in quartz. Neither andalusite nor staurolite occurs in this zone. The position of the sillimanite isograd in relation to the
disappearance of andalusite and staurolite has not been studied in detail.
Zone V. Sillimanite-orthoclase schist zone. The rocks of Zone V contain biotite but no muscovite, and they contain orthoclase as well as plagioclase. Sillimanite is more abundant there than in Zone IV. It forms aggregates of fibers
and coarse needles; near the granitic contact it also forms prisms up to 1 cm in
length. Cordierite and almandine are also present for a few hundred meters
from the granodiorite, in a cordierite-almandine-bearing subzone that has been
distinguished on the map (Fig. 4). Granitic injection and quartz veining are
widespread in this subzone, and the texture of the country rock is visibly coarser
than in the rest of Zone V. The percentage of An in the plagioclase ranges from
22 to 25 in most of the zone, but near the batholith it is commonly about 27
or 28 and, in some places, as high as 48.
Thermal aureole. In the vicinity of the granitic contact where it cuts the lowand medium-grade zones of the Pichilemu series, the rocks show mineralogical
and textural changes which can be attributed to thermal metamorphism by the
batholith. They consist of the development of sillimanite in the quartz-phyllites
along the south border of the Pichilemu bulge ('Sillimanite border zone', Fig. 4),
and of biotite and chlorite in the north part of the area (Tanume", Fig. 4).
6233.1
Greenschist zone. About midway between the two subzones is a narrow belt
of epidote-amphibole rock in rather massive beds that alternate with beds of
laminated phyllite (Fig. 4). The rocks in this belt are similar to the greenschists
present in the Curepto series (p. 155-156).
162
Structure. The bedding structure resembles that of the Curepto series. Smallscale folds (from a few centimeters to several meters in longitude) are superposed on a general dip to the south-west or west-south-west.
In the biotite, garnet-oligoclase, and staurolite-andalusite zones it is generally
possible to recognize the So planes and, in good outcrops, to recognize current
lamination in the sandy beds. In the higher grade zones the bedding is hardly
recognizable. The attitude of the main S plane is variable: in some exposures
it is nearly vertical, but in others it is almost horizontal. Wavy flexures of low
amplitude are common, and so are kinks.
Axial-plane schistosity is well developed not only in the pelitic beds but in
the meta-sandstone. The Sx cleavage varies widely in both dip and strike. Its
strike is generally between north-west and north-north-west, and its dip between 20 and 40 north-east, but westward-dipping Sj surfaces are fairly
common.
The lineation generally extends along the axes of crenulations and mesofolds;
its orientation varies widely but is predominantly north-north-west.
PETROLOGY
Mineralogy
Plagioclase. In the Curepto series the only plagioclase is albite,1 which is of
three main types. One is detrital albite, moderately twinned, unzoned, generally
cloudy, often altered. Another is wholly recrystallized, clean, unzoned, and
sparsely twinned. Finally, there is replacement albite, which is in larger grains,
is often nodular and poikiloblastic, has distinct, simple albite twinning, and
contains relict inclusions. The feldspar of all these varieties is practically pure
albite and has the optics of low albite.
In the rocks of the Nirivilo series the plagioclase varies from albite to oligoclase or andesine. Much of it is oligoclase with anorthite content between 10
1
The An content in plagioclase was determined by immersion, U-stage, and electron-probe
methods. The method used in most cases was the immersion, single (wavelength) variation technique,
using a U-stage with a hollow hemisphere. This technique permits the detection of small differences
in indices and proved very useful for the examination of large series of samples across the metamorphic
zones. The refractive indices were determined to plus or minus 0-001.
The sillimanite is fibrolite similar to that of Zones IV and V, zones which

the thermal border zone merge into (Fig. 4). The fibrolite is generally pinitized.
The biotite and chlorite in the north area form randomly oriented, wellshaped metacrysts, clearly different in shape and orientation from the rest of
the mica (no regional-metamorphic chlorite occurs in these zones). The metacrysts contain abundant oriented carbonaceous inclusions which preserve the
schistosity of the rock ('transparent' metacrysts). The chlorite, which is much
less abundant than the biotite, tends to occupy S2 planes formed by crenulation of the Si surfaces.
The higher-grade (IV and V) metamorphic zones near the contact show no
noticeable thermal effects.
METAMORPH1SM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE
163
and 20 per cent. Andesine has been found only in the Maule River area very
near the contact with the batholith.
The most calcic plagioclase (An48) has been found in the Pichilemu series,
close to the contact, but the plagioclase in this series varies widely in composition. It is generally well twinned and has oscillatory and progressive zoning.
Muscovite. The predominant micaceous mineral in the Curepto and Pichilemu

series is muscovite, partly clastic and partly metamorphic. In the clastic grains
of mica, muscovite is often interleaved with biotite. The metamorphic white
mica was found by partial electron-probe analysis to contain 1-0-1-3 per cent
FeO,1 0-4-0-6 per cent MgO, 36-0 per cent A12O3, y = 1-600, a = 1-564. In
poikiloblastic metasomatic muscovite, found near the granodiorite contact and
particularly in the southern part of the Nirivilo series belt, the FeO and the
MgO content are both below 1 per cent. The most phengitic mica is the metamorphic mica of Zone III of the Curepto series, which contains from 3-5 to
7-0 per cent of Fe (as FeO) and 2-5 to 6-5 per cent of MgO. Finally, muscovite
forms fine-grained pseudomorphic and interstitial aggregates near the granitic
contacts.
Biotite. Detrital biotite is common in the psammitic beds in the low-grade
zones; it is yellowish-brown and weakly pleochroic, and it has a fluffy texture
where it has been weathered. It is commonly interleaved with muscovite.
Dynamo-thermal biotite is generally much less abundant in these rocks than
muscovite and forms slightly larger grains. That produced by thermal metamorphism is generally porphyroblastic. The chemical composition of the metamorphic biotite is relatively constant; partial electron-probe analyses of samples
from 10 localities show: Fe as FeO = 20-4-24-0 per cent; MgO = 6-0-9-4 per
cent; A12O3 = 18-0-19-0 per cent; K2O = 8-6-9-7 per cent; and TiO2 = 1-02-7 per cent. Optical properties are: y = 1-650-1-662, a = 1-593-1-600; B =
0-054-0062.
Chlorite. Most of the chlorite in the area here described has been found, by
chemical and optical study, to be near the common point between ripidolite,
pycnochlorite, and brunsvigite as those species are defined by Hey (1954) (Fig.
9). Most of it is negative chlorite showing 'abnormal blue' interference colors
and positive elongation. Positive chlorite, with 'abnormal brown' interference
colors and negative elongation, is also found; in some samples positive and
negative chlorite are interleaved. Refractive indices (y = P) vary from 1-619
1
Total iron calculated as FeO.
Orthoclase. This feldspar is found only in the highest-grade zones of the

Pichilemu and Nirivilo series. Some of it is interstitial and undoubtedly metamorphic, but much of it, especially near the contact, is in granitized layers. In
one specimen, the metamorphic orthoclase was found by probe analysis to
contain between 2 and 12 per cent of Ab and its 2Va is 60-65.
164
to 1-645, with the passage from positive to negative chlorite at approximately

1-626; Albee (1962) reports that it occurred at 1-628 in his samples. Partial
electron-probe analyses of 14 samples showed: SiO2 = 24-6-27-3 per cent with
an average in the 5 samples for which it was determined of 26-1 per cent.
FeO* = 21-2-31-2 per cent (av., 24-6 per cent); MgO = 7-7-19-8 per cent (av.,
Fe/ Fe + Mg.
10
Sherida\
\ l P y cxh o - \ O \ V - N
\
\ \ A
M
O \ % > \ Brunsvigite K\ \
X
\
Penninite
>r \
\ \
/ \
v\ \
_i_ii_VDiabantite s' \
\ // V\ N
\
\
\ \ \
\ \ \
p.\O/ \
\\.
A h yv\ ^y\ \ v c>

Talc-chlonte \
\,-y \
Fe-
\y
\
120
FIG. 9. Position offivechemically analyzed chlorites from the metamorphic rocks from Central Chile
in the classification diagram of Hey (1954). O, positive chlorite; # , negative chlorite. The measured
indices of refraction are between 0-008 and 0-012 (average, 0010) higher than those resulting from
this diagram.
13-3 per cent); A12O3 = 18-6-24-2 per cent (av., 21-2 per cent). Ratio Fe/Mg,
1-13-3-63 (av., 1-85). All the analyzed chlorites are well crystallized and were
taken either from Zone m of the Curepto series or from the contact-metamorphic
belt; no systematic differences in composition were detected between the chlorites
from those two sources.
Amphibole. Light-green hornblende is a minor constituent of the metamorphic
basement rocks. Some rather coarse-grained uralite was found in completely
or partially metamorphosed diabase sills (and lava flows?), but most of the
amphibole forms well-oriented columnar and acicular crystals associated with
chlorite, epidote, and albite in greenschists. The amphibole is weakly to moderately pleochroic, generally giving a distinctly bluish tint parallel to Z. Partial
electron-probe analyses gave the following average percentages for three
individuals: (1) FeO* = 15-2; MgO = 12-9; A12O3 = 5-2; CaO = 9 1 ; and
Na 2 O = 3-3. In some crystals hornblende is surrounded or terminated by
actinolite, from which it is separated by a sharp boundary. (2) FeO* = 20-6;
MgO = 8-8; A12O3 = 9-6; CaO = 10-5; and Na 2 O = 2-2. (3) FeO* = 12-2;
MgO = 150; A12O3 = 5 1 ; CaO undet.; Na 2 O undet. Individual No. 1 has
the following optical properties: y = 1-655; a = 1-634; Z : c = 19. Grains from
different samples may differ noticeably in composition and optical properties.
\
\ \^-\W
\
\ \ Pseudothuringite
Corundophulite -A X
\
\
,
\ \ v \
v \
METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, C H I L E
165
Garnet. Some of the rocks in the crystalline basement contain spessartite or

almandine. Small euhedral crystals of spessartite occur in a few specimens from
the Curepto series of Zone III. One sample of this garnet was shown by partial
electron-probe analysis to contain 25-8-30-0 per cent MnO; 4-0-7-4 per cent
FeO; 0-0-0-8 per cent MgO; 22-0-22-8 per cent A12O3, and 3-7 per cent CaO.
Almandine occurs in the garnet-oligoclase zone (Zone II) of the Pichilemu
series, where it forms zoned crystals, generally between 0-2 and 2 mm in diameter, containing 19-0-34-6 per cent FeO; 3-0-7-1 per cent MnO; 1-5-1-8 per
cent MgO; 20-0-22-5 per cent A12O3; 1-2-2-2 per cent CaO, and < 1-0 per cent
TiO2. One individual showed a variation from border to core as follows: FeO,
from22-9tol9-5percent;MnO,from8-4to9-7percent;MgO,froml-2tol-0per
cent. Almandine that is not perceptibly zoned and is markedly poikiloblastic
occurs in the highest-grade zone of the Pichilemu series. A sample of it was
found to contain 38-0 per cent SiO2, 21-7 per cent AJ2O3, 29-6 per cent Fe as
FeO, 2-7 per cent MnO, 3-7 per cent MgO, and 3-5 per cent CaO.
Metamorphic silicates. Andalusite is the commonest of the exclusively metamorphic silicates. It partly occurs as chiastolitic rods and partly in shapeless
poikiloblasts (y = 1-641-1-646; <x = 1-633-1-637; 2Va = 84). Sillimaniteisnext
in abundance; most of it is fibrolite, but in the zone of highest-grade metamorphism in the Pichilemu series it forms thick needles and prisms. Staurolite
is less abundant than andalusite; it is mostly in small euhedral crystals, commonly
cross-twinned. Cordierite is found only in the vicinity of the contact; it forms
relatively small anhedral crystals, generally cribose, many of which have been
replaced by an isotropic mass of some serpentine-type mineral. The greenschist
beds contain abundant epidote, mostly pistacite with y = 1-764 and <* = 1-718.
Stilpnomelane was found at only two localities, in rocks apparently derived
from iron-rich chemical sediments. Microscopically this mineral is seen to form
thin, straight blades which are strongly pleochroic (y, brownish-black; a,
yellowish-green) with y = 1 -595 and a = 1-554. Its ion content, related to Si = 8,
is as follows: Al = 1-527; Fe 3+ = 0-691; Fe 2+ = 3039; Mn = 0-214; Mg =
1-465; Na = 0-285; K = 0-457; and Ti = 0049 (total, 7-89). These data show
it to be ferrostilpnomelane, similar to some of that in the Otago schists,
described and analyzed by Hutton (1938).
These data were all obtained from samples from Zone III of the Curepto series,
in which the amphibole is associated with epidote, albite, and chlorite. There
is some question whether these amphiboles should be considered hornblende
or actinolite. Shido & Miyashiro (1959) call the amphibole of the greenschist
facies in general actinolite, but according to Deer, Howie, & Zussman (1964)
and others the percentages of alumina and soda given above are both too high
for ordinary actinolite. The first appearance of hornblende in rocks undergoing
progressive metamorphism must be conditioned by the over-all chemical
composition of the rocks.
166
Accessory minerals. The most abundant accessory is light-green tourmaline

in which to is generally about 1-658 and e about 1-634, though both indices vary
somewhat from zone to zone. This mineral is especially conspicuous in Zone
III of the Curepto series. Apatite is also common, while zircon is relatively
scarce. Sphene is abundant in much of the epidote-hornblende-chlorite-albite
schists. Magnetite is widespread, whereas pyrite and ilmenite are present only
in the contact rocks.
chlorite+/wSiO 2 +KOH = biotite+muscovite+^H 2 O
(1)
the muscovite taking up whatever excess Al there is in the chlorite. Potassium

is usually assumed to be available as a highly mobile component but it may
also have derived from phengite, which changes to muscovite by liberating Fe
and Mg, which go to form biotite as the reaction proceeds to the right (Ernst,
1963).
Whatever reaction takes place, it will be conditioned mainly by the temperature
and the chemical activity of K+ and H+ at that temperature. In a diagram
plotting temperature against [K]/[H], the boundary between chlorite and biotite is a curve with negative slope; the biotite field lies on the high-temperature,
high-[K]/[H] side of the boundary. If biotite were formed in the reaction between
chlorite and phengite, K would be constant and the only variable for a given
rock mass would be [H]. Chlorite may then be formed at the expense of biotite,
either by decrease of temperature or by increase of the activity of H (with or
Metamorphism of the Curepto series

All the assemblages found in the Curepto series belong to the greenschist
facies. Those in Zones I and II are common to most types of regional metamorphism, but they are insufficient to establish the pressure conditions of the
series.
The assemblages in Zones I and II appear to indicate a westward-rising
temperature gradient. This, however, is apparently contradicted by the fact that
Zone III has in part the same assemblages as Zone I. On the other hand, the
rocks in that zone are distinctly more crystalline than those in the other two
zones, and in several places they contain garnet, both of which indicate that the
metamorphism is of higher grade in this zone than in the others. A possible
explanation for the presence of chlorite in Zone III is retrograde metamorphism;
the chlorite may have replaced biotite at a temperature below that of the biotite
isograd. This type of metamorphism generally requires some renewal of deformation; it must pass far enough beyond the energy threshold to break up the metastable biotite, and there is evidence that this has occurred in Zone III, where
there is more deformation than in Zones I and II.
But although this explanation for the chlorite seems possible, another seems
more accordant with the available facts. The reaction chlorite ->- biotite has
been interpreted by various workers in several ways. A reaction that is commonly advocated is the following:
167
Chemical changes
Table 1, 1-15, presents the results of 15 chemical analyses of rock samples
from the three zones of the Curepto series. The columns are arranged from left
to right, in a sequence corresponding, as far as possible, to the sequence of the
rocks in the field. Columns 1-4 represent rocks in Zone LTI, column 5 a rock
from a transitional area between Zones II and III, columns 6 and 7 the samples
from Zone LT, and columns 8-15 those from Zone I. Columns 16, 17, and 18
give the averages for each of the three zones but do not include analysis 5.
The number of analyses is so small that the averages do not have much statistical
value, but the samples are fairly representative petrographically. AH the analyses
taken account of in the averages, except those in columns 2 and 15, were made
on rocks that were, as far as could be determined, pelitic or semipelitic, but in
Zone III, where the bedding is largely obliterated, the samples were taken from
the most micaceous layers. Analysis 2 of a metadiabase, and analysis 15, of a
meta-sandstone, were not included in the averages.
Comparison of columns 16-18 shows that Na 2 O content is higher in the
samples from Zone III. This correlates with the presence of relatively abundant
albite, much of it nodular, in the schists of that zone. The westward increase of
MgOfrom 1 -78 per cent in Zone I to 2-26 per cent in Zone IIImay be due
to increasing abundance of chlorite and phengitic muscovite. In the analyses of
phyllites from Zone II, the large quantity of Fe2O3 indicates considerable
weathering, further evidence of which, seen under the microscope, is a partial
bleaching of biotite and a segregation of iron oxide. Weathering has probably
without a decrease of the activity of K), or both. Given an increase of activity

of H, it is possible for the reaction (1) to proceed to the left even under a moderate
increase of temperature, if the chemical effect overbalances the temperature
effect. In the muscovite-chlorite schists of Zone III, a decrease in the ratio
between potassium content and activity of hydrogen is suggested by such
evidences of hydrothermal activity as albite metasomatism and veining with
quartz. An increase in the activity of magnesium would enlarge the equilibrium
field of chlorite relative to biotite; in fact the Mg content of the muscovite, as
well as that of the whole rock, is greater (from 7 to 15 times) in Zone III than
in Zone II.
Another fact bearing on this problem is that the chlorite in Zone III shows
no textural indications of having been formed by replacement of biotite: it
forms well-crystallized individuals and no partially chloritized biotite was
found.
The strong deformation which characterizes the schists of Zone III seems unlikely to have been accompanied by retrogressive metamorphism. It may be
closely associated with a metasomatic process, not due to westward increase of
tectonic pressure but rather to diminution of the strength of the rocks resulting
from permeation by liquids, facilitated by the opening of pores by dilatancy.
168
TABLE 1
Chemical analyses of rocks from Curepto and Nirivilo series
Total
6010
1912
102
5-25
218
0-53
100
5-57
0-64
008
0-26
004
4-71
100-50
38-64
11-65
4-14
7-57
805
14-32
2-22
107
1-56
015
0-60
0-05
10-29
54-49
2206
111
6-75
2-27
0-48
1-50
4-55
100
0-09
0-24
008
5-49
10011
59-09
19-47
0-43
6-77
2-35
0-55
2-39
3-44
0-54
0-06
000
005
4-65
69-66
15-37
203
2-81
1-22
0-43
103
3-21
0-46
003
014
0-19
3-46
66-52
17-29
5-93
0-76
0-71
0-24
0-40
316
0-58
001
007
0-21
4-63
100-33
10O04
100-51
41-90
30-71
10-41
0-81
0-87
0-57
0-93
600
0-48
003
0-23
0-28
7-47
100-69
49-61
26-24
3-65
300
1-75
0-31
1-38
6-30
0-57
002
015
0-31
6-49
99-78
100-31
9
53-93
2311
4-47
313
1-59
0-32
0-67
3-67
0-99
009
007
0-43
712
99-59
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
SiO,
Al.O,
Fe.O,
FeO
MgO
CaO
Na,O
K.O
TiO,
MnO
P.O.
H,OIgn. loss
59-13
21-44
1-89
405
1-67
0-43
0-40
3-67
0-72
005
013
0-30
5-74
55-21
23-38
5-64
1-38
0-85
0-32
0-37
4-40
0-99
0-07
009
019
6-78
5601
2206
1-43
5-49
2-47
0-38
0-36
4-33
0-95
006
013
011
616
5317
22-78
2-45
5-57
2-58
0-41
0-79
5-28
0-73
005
0-20
0-21
5-78
46-42
27-47
2-41
5-89
2-62
0-46
0-38
6 15
116
0-05
015
014
6-78
69-44
15-23
0-51
4-41
1-41
0-44
1-28
2-98
0-85
003
015
010
3-28
57-89
20-21
0-85
6-25
2-26
0-52
1-63
4-52
0-72
007
016
006
4-95
54-21
2400
817
0-78
0-79
0-40
0-66
4-58
0-53
002
015
0-25
605
53-35
23-78
3-13
407
1-78
0-37
0-62
4-82
0-87
006
013
0-24
6-40
Total
99-62
99-67
99-94
10000
10008
10011
10009
100-59
99-62
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
59-81
1916
1-64
5-26
1-88
0-43
3-50
3-58
0-86
007
0-08
014
3-31
99-72
62-76
17-81
1-63
5-97
1-92
0-5!
1-79
4-26
0-88
0-06
0-27
010
2-46
68-86
15-76
0-78
3-26
105
1-57
417
200
0-58
0-05
0-33
008
1-33
99-82
55-24
22-64
6-90
0-65
101
019
0-49
404
0-85
009
0-21
0-74
6-93
58-85
20-37
1-39
5-93
1-75
0-50
200
411
102
014
0-27
007
3-66
66-61
1561
319
3-43
1-72
0-26
119
302
0-98
006
019
0-21
3-59
73-19
13-95
0-81
3-85
109
0-24
1-53
2-74
0-62
0-04
015
019
1-64
63-61
17-90
2-33
405
1-48
0-53
210
3-40
0-82
007
0-21
0-21
3-27
46-70
7-58
5-38
21-21
5-70
0-93
0-86
209
0-38
1-48
0-30
1-86
5-51
99-98
100-06
100-06
10004
99-98
99-98
SiO,
Al.O,
Fe,O,
FeO
MgO
CaO
Na.O
K.O
TiO,
MnO
P.O.
H,OIgn. loss
Total
100-42
E X P L A N A T I O N OF TABLE 1
1. Muscovite-chlorite-albite schist. Zone ITT. Locality 66, shoreline road leading north from Constituci6n, 2 km south of DoUimo.
2. Amphibole-epidote-chlorite-albite schist. Zone ITT. L. 67, El Junquillar, 10 km north of Constitucidn. Massive rock derived from basaltic sill or flow.
3. Nodular albite schist. Zone III. L. 77, Las Caflas. 20 km south-west of Constitution.
SiO,
AI.O,
Fe.O,
FeO
MgO
CaO
Na.O
K.O
TiO,
MnO
P.O.
H.OIgn. loss
deprived the biotite of part of its magnesium, as shown by the percentages of

MgO in the analyses for Zone II.
The analyses for Zone III show a higher Si/Al ratio than those for the other
two zones, probably due to secondary silica.
Metamorphism of the Nirivilo series
The mineralogical and textural characteristics of the Nirivilo series as well
as its restricted areal distribution, indicate that it is a product of low-pressure
metamorphism, accompanied by some degree of metasomatism. According to
the assemblages given above (Figs. 6 and 7), it contains rocks of the albiteepidote-hornfelsfacies (assemblages 1 and 2, p. 157) and the hornblende-hornfels
facies (assemblages 3 and 4, p. 157).
Columns 19-26, Table 1, give chemical analyses of seven samples of the
contact rocks and show their average composition.
The rocks next to the contact may represent the pyroxene-hornfels facies,
if the pair sillimanite-orthoclase is taken as representative of such facies and
M E T A M O R P H I S M OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, C H I L E
169
4. Muscovite-chlorite-albite schist. Zone III. L. 183, north side of the mouth of Bio Bio River,
Concepci6n.
5. Muscovite-chlorite(-biotite)-albite phyllite. Zones IIIII. L. 102, Maule River, midstream outcrop
3-5 km west of Constituribn (0-5 km upstream from Piedra de los Lobos).
6. Muscovite-biotite{-albite) phyllite. Zone II. L. 63, Los Espinos, 20 km north-east of Constituci6n.
7. Muscovite-biotite(-albite) phyllite. Zone II. L. 74, 23 km south-east of Constitucibn.
8. Muscovite-chlorite slate, Zone I. L. 51, Paso de las Lajas, small quarry 1 km west of Aquelarre,
south end of Lake Vichuqu^n (10 km south-west of Llico).
9. Muscovite-chlorite slate. Zone I. L. 84, road cut 16 km north-west of Cauquenes.
10. Muscovite-chlorite slate. Zone I. L. 93, road cut 36 km south-east of Constituci6n, main road to
San Javier.
11. Muscovite-chlorite slate. Zone I. L. 94, road cut 28 km south-east of Constitucidn, main road.
12. Muscovite-chlorite slate. Zone I. L. 131, 17 km north-west of Quirihue, road to Pelluhue.
13. Muscovite-chlorite slate. Zone I. L. 150, Itata River, just west of Paso Hondo, about 3 km from
river mouth.
14. Muscovite-chlorite slate, somewhat hornfelsic. Zone I, grading into the contact aureole. L. 130,
16 km north-west of Quirihue, south-west of Cauquenes.
15. Meta-sandstone. Zone I. L. 130, same as No. 14.
16. AvetQte of analyses from Zone III.
17. Average of analyses from Zone II.
18. Average of analyses from Zone I.
19. Quartz-biotite-andalusite rock, Nirivilo series. L. 91, road cut between San Javier and Constituci6n, 39 km from the latter town.
20. Quartz-biotite-andalusite contact rock, Nirivilo series. L. 90, road cut 3 km east of loc. 91.
21. Quartz-biotite-andalusite-sillimanite-plagioclase banded rock, Nirivilo series. L. 89, Tutuv6n
River, 2 km east of loc. 90.
22. Nodular (andalusite) slaty hornfels, Nirivilo series. L. 114, 1 km west of L. 115; weathered roadcut outcrop.
23. Nodular biotite-muscovite-chlorite-andalusite hornfels, Nirivilo series. L. 115, small quarry
near road bridge (km 408), 1 km west of batholith contact. Coarser-grained and more massive
than L. 114.
24. Muscovite-chlorite-quartz contact rock. Southern phase, Nirivilo series. L. 129,10 km north-west
of Quirihue, 20 km north of Itata River, near the batholith contact.
25. Quartz-muscovite-biotite-andalusite-sillimanite contact rock. Southern phase, Nirivilo series.
L. 147, road cut, north shore of Itata River, near batholith contact.
26. Average chemical composition of the rocks from the Nirivilo series (analyses No. 19 through 25).
27. Stilpnomelane from banded rock, Zone III, Curepto series. L. 56, Punta Rocosa, by the sea-shore
road near the mouth of the Mataquito River.
170
FELIX GONZALEZ-BONOR1NO
Metamorphism of the Pichilemu series

The following facies can be recognized in the Pichilemu series: greenschist,
amphibolite, and granulite (or amphibolite-granulite transitional). The greenschist facies is represented by the assemblages of Zone I (p. 159), including the
greenschist belt (p. 161). The amphibole facies is represented by the assemblages
of Zones IT, III, IV, and Va; and the higher-grade facies by the assemblages of
Zone yb. The Pichilemu series represents a dynamo-thermal metamorphism
that resembles the Buchan type in Scotland (Read, 1952), in containing the lowpressure mineral cordierite, and particularly, the pair andalusite-staurolite.
The presence of sillimanite in the vicinity of the granite in the thermal border
zone (Fig. 4), raises the question whether the sillimanite in Zones IV and V
was also produced by thermal metamorphism superimposed upon regional
metamorphism. This appears improbable because of the 'rational' distribution
of sillimanite in the zones and its occurring in relatively large crystals in
the easternmost zone; that in the contact aureole is sparsely distributed
fibrolite. Further evidence pointing in the same direction is that no sillimanitic
aureole was formed in the northern part of the metamorphic area (Tanume;
Fig. 4).
the muscovite is excluded from the assemblage because of its presumed metasomatic origin. Of the white mica present in the inner zone, the large, poikiloblastic individuals were apparently formed during and/or immediately after the
climax of the contact metamorphism, whereas the fine-grained aggregates were
probably produced during the cooling-off stage.
The coexistence of andalusite and sillimanite is clear evidence of disequilibrium. Only a little of the sillimanite, however, was formed by inversion of
andalusite, which has only begun; part of it was derived from biotite. This
relation between the two aluminum silicates suggests that the sillimanite may
have been formed in a rather late phase of temperature increase, after the rocks
had reached equilibrium with the temperature.
The main difference between the metamorphism in the Northern phase and
that in the Southern phase is that metasomatic muscovite is much more widely
distributed in the latter than in the former. Another difference is that the plagioclase is more calcic, on the average, in the Northern than in the Southern phase.
Since the range of metamorphic grade is essentially the same in both, this must
be due to a larger proportion of available calcium in the north. Another noteworthy fact is that whereas in the Curepto and Pichilemu zones, characterized
by dynamo-thermal metamorphism, the oligoclase isograd marks a sudden increase of anorthite content, from nearly zero to over 20 per cent, in the Nirivilo
aureole the plagioclase above the oligoclase isograd contains from 10 to 20
per cent anorthite. The presence in the Nirivilo series of plagioclase having a
composition within the peristerite gap may be related to the non-deformational
nature of its metamorphism.
171
Comparison of the metamorphism in the three series. The Curepto series represents so small a range of temperature that it is difficult to determine which, if
any, of the type series it corresponds to. However, the metamorphism in the
Curepto belt may have taken place under relatively high pressure. This is suggested particularly by the recently reported finding of lawsonite (F. Herve,
personal communication, 1969) and glaucophane (O. Alvarez, personal communication, 1969) in the metamorphic belt between Conception and Valdivia,
in rocks belonging to Zone III of the Curepto series (Gonzalez-Bonorino, 1970).
Saliot (1968) arrived at a similar conclusion when studying rocks from the
island of Chiloe, which correspond to the same metamorphic zone (GonzalezBonorino, 1970; Aguirre, 1965).
The Nirivilo series must have been formed under much lower pressure than
the Curepto series, for its mineral assemblages and hornfelsic texture are characteristic of low-pressure facies. The uncommon width of the thermal aureole
(south of the area of this study, at latitude 38 00', the aureole is nearly 15 km
wide) suggests, however, that the metamorphism was relatively deep seated.
The stability fields of the coexisting pair sillimanite-andalusite (see, for instance,
Fyfe & Turner, 1966) could be used to place a maximum depth for the Nirivilo
metamorphism; unfortunately, the latest pressure estimates of the aluminum
silicate triple point differ from each other by amounts equivalent to depths of
10 km (Fyfe & Turner, 1966) to 22 km (E. AJthaus, cited by Winkler, 1967,
p. 182).
If one considers the Curepto series to represent pressure conditions intermediate between those of the Dalradian (Barrovian) and the glaucophanelawsonite-schist metamorphisms, the level of its metamorphism would be of the
Development of the metamorphic series, and their relation with the batholith
General statement. The progressive metamorphism in each one of the three
series, expressed in a zonal arrangement of assemblages, may be considered as
'normal', for it is similar to that found in several other well-known areas, and
as such it can as a whole be explained in terms of a certain temperature gradient.
It is much more difficult to interpret the interrelations of the three series and
their relations in time and space to the batholith. Some of the problems that
deserve special attention are the following:
(1) Comparison of the temperatures and pressures that produced the different
kinds of metamorphism in the three series: relations, in time and space, between
the Curepto and Pichilemu series; significance of the opposite metamorphic
gradients and divergent structural trends.
(2) Relations between the batholith and the aureole of contact metamorphism;
significance of the variable intensity of metamorphic action along the contact
belt.
(3) Relations between metamorphism and tectonics.
172
F L I X GONZALEZ-BONORINO
order of 7 km deeper than the Nirivilo metamorphism (Turner, 1968, Figs. 8-4).
This difference of depth cannot be explained stratigraphically, for the eastern
part of the metamorphic belt is, if anything, lower in stratigraphic position
than the western part (p. 156). Nor could the present position of the two series
be accounted for by any reasonable amount of tilting.
The most likely explanation is that the Nirivilo metamorphism took place
after erosion had partially unloaded the area that had undergone Curepto metamorphism. Unfortunately, no K/Ar ages of rocks from the different metamorphic
series are available which might give a clue to the time relationships. That the
Nirivilo metamorphism is younger than the Curepto metamorphism is, however, substantiated by the fact that the latter is synkinematic whereas the former
is postkinematic, as well as by the clear mineralogical evidence to the effect
that the thermal metamorphic action by the batholith was superimposed on
dynamothermal metamorphic rocks.
In the Pichilemu series, the mineral zoning is very much as it is in the Buchan
type of metamorphism (Read, 1952), so that this series could be regarded as
what Miyashiro (1961) has called an intermediate low-pressure series. The
pressure in the Pichilemu series was thus intermediate between that in the other
two series of the Chilean coast range. The age of the Pichilemu metamorphism
must also be intermediate between that of the Curepto and Nirivilo metamorphisms, not only because of the pressure relationships, but also on account of
the fact that the Pichilemu series shares in part the characteristics of the other
two. In effect, Pichilemu is essentially synkinematic like Curepto, but its
temperature gradient is oriented like that of Nirivilo.
One of the questions that calls for an answer is why the gradients in the
Pichilemu and Nirivilo series rise eastward whereas that in the Curepto series
rises westward. The eastward rise may have been determined, directly or indirectly, by the proximity of the batholith. The westward rise of the Curepto
gradient, on the other hand, must have been determined by a source of heat
lying west of the present coastline.
Influence of the batholith on the metamorphism. The Nirivilo contact zone is
clearly related to the granodiorite batholith. Its width is so variable, however,
as to show that the relations between the batholith and the metamorphism are
far from simple. If the batholithic rocks along the present boundary had all
been emplaced during a single episode, the zone would have been of nearly
uniform width. The observed variations of width suggest that after the main
body was emplaced, magma continued to advance, in an irregular, piecemeal
fashion, in some areas, whereas in others it remained stable to the end of the
cooling-off period. The width of the aureole in a given place would depend on
the way in which the magma was being intruded there. If the magma was advancing piecemeal, periods of intrusion being separated by periods of partial cooling,
the width of the aureole would be roughly proportional to that of the largest
individual intrusion, so that the widest aureole would form where the wall of
173
the batholith was stationary and allowed free circulation of the magma. If the
emplacement of the batholith began when tectonic activity was waning, only
the later intrusive episodes would be post-kinematic. Although tectonic pressure
has little effect on grade of metamorphism, it may greatly flatten the temperature
gradient, and the width of the aureole would tend to be small where the contact
metamorphism was post-kinematic.
The relations between batholithic intrusion and metamorphism are even more
complex in the Pichilemu series. This series, like the Buchan-type metamorphism,
appears to be closely related to the batholith, but in the northern and southern
parts of the area in which it is exposed its zoning is quite unrelated to the
contact. The explanation for this could be similar to that suggested for the
variable width of the Nirivilo series; namely, that the series was developed during
the late-kinematic phase of batholith emplacement, during which the granodiorite contact as a whole had about the same north-north-westerly trend that
it now has just north of the Alcones reservoir (Fig. 4). Post-kinematic intrusions
of granodiorite then moved the contact to its present position, but produced
only a narrow thermal aureole. The satellite pluton south of Pichilemu is probably one of these post-kinematic intrusions.
A few words ought to be said in regard to the mechanics of the lateral advance
of the batholith contact. The presence of elongate satellitic bodies parallel to
that contact suggests that the lateral spreading was effected by successive
emplacement of roughly conformable intrusive bodies fed from below. Tf this
is true, a vertical cross-section would probably show that the batholith spreads
downward 'en echelon', each step being represented by a vertical body of
granitic rock more or less broadly connected with the main body of the batholith. This in my opinion is a very general mechanism of batholith emplacement
at deep and moderate levels in the crust.
Metamorphism and tectonics. The fact that the Curepto and Pichilemu series
are apparently quite similar in general structure suggest that they have a common
origin. On the other hand, their difference in trend, together with a difference in the age of their metamorphism, indicates that they have been deformed
at different times.
There is no clear evidence that the deformation which accompanied the
Pichilemu metamorphism affected rocks already deformed by the Curepto
metamorphism, nor is there any clear evidence that the Pichilemu rocks
were deformed during two periods, but if the two cycles were similar in
structural style they might be hard to distinguish. The difference in trend would
seem to provide a clue, but no firm conclusions were drawn from it in the field.
There is need of more detailed structural study in the biotite zone near
Pichilemu.
It is, of course, possible that the Curepto and the Pichilemu rocks were
deposited at different times and metamorphosed at different times, but they are
lithologically so much alike that this seems unlikely.
174
F t L I X GONZALEZ-BONORINO
Sequence of the metamorphic processes. The above considerations indicate

the following probable sequence of events:
(1) Sediments deposited in the Early-to-Middle Paleozoic marginal basin of
the Cordillera de la Costa were first deformed and metamorphosed during the
Middle or Late Paleozoic, under a temperature gradient determined by an unknown source of heat lying to the west. The Curepto metamorphic series was
thus formed, at moderate or perhaps relatively great depth.
(2) Uplift and erosion raised the rocks through a vertical distance of the
order of 5 km.
(3) The next event, which probably took place in Late Paleozoic time, was
the emplacement of the Cordillera de la Costa batholith. The first stage of the
magmatic rise was accompanied by deformation and dynamothermal metamorphism of the eastern part of the basin, left largely unmetamorphosed (and
partly undeformed?) by the Curepto metamorphism. The Pichilemu series was
formed at this stage, at lesser depth than was the Curepto series. A strip of lowgrade rocks (mostly slates and meta-sandstones), several kilometers in width,
lay between the two series.
(4) The synkinematic phase of the batholithic intrusion was succeeded by
a late- and postkinematic phase in which took place the emplacement of
satellitic plutons and the lateral adjustment of the main body, which expanded
westward in a somewhat irregular fashion. The westward movement of the
granodiorite contact ate away most of the rocks affected by the Pichilemu
metamorphism, while producing the Nirivilo series by thermal metamorphism
of the low-grade, slaty strip that divided the two older series. It seems likely
that, at this stage, further uplift and erosion had brought the rocks up to a
level in the crust some 3 km higher than that of the Pichilemu metamorphism.
The above inferences about the absolute difference of depth between the
three metamorphic series are based on the assumption that the mineral assemblages represent equilibrium conditions. The difference in degree of deformation,
particularly between the regional Curepto and Pichilemu series on the one hand
and the thermal Nirivilo series on the other, would not ordinarily be considered
a significant factor in the equilibrium, according to current opinion about the
role of tectonic overpressure in metamorphism. Deformation must strongly
influence the kinetics of the metamorphic reactions, but its catalytic effect should
not modify the end product as long as equilibrium is attained. There are indications, however, that in the Chilean metamorphic series equilibrium is not always
reached, as witnessed by the coexistence of andalusite and sillimanite in rocks
of the Nirivilo series. For this reason, the possibility that the degree of tectonic
deformation may have been a contributing factor in determining the mineral
assemblages cannot be ruled out altogether. If such was the case, the difference
in depth between the series would be less than that suggested above, and consequently the amount of uplifting and erosion called for by each stage would
be correspondingly reduced.
M E T A M O R P H I S M O F C R Y S T A L L I N E B A S E M E N T , CHILE
175
REFERENCES
AGUIRRE, L., 1965. Basamento Cristalino Precambrico, In Ruiz, C , Geologfa y Yacimientos metalfferos de Chile. Inst. Invest. Geol., Santiago.
ALBEE, A. L., 1962. Relationships between the mineral association, chemical composition and
physical properties of the chlorite series. Am. Miner. 47, 851-70.
DEER, W. A., HOWIE, R. A., & ZUSSMAN, J., 1964. Rock-forming minerals. New York: John Wiley &
Sons, 5 vols.
ERNST, W. G., 1963. Significance of phengite micas from low-grade schists. Am. Miner. 48, 1357-73.
FYFE, W. S., & TURNER, F. J., 1966. Reappraisal of the metamorphic facies concept. Contr. Miner.
Petrol. 12, 354-64.
GoNZALEZ-BoNORiNO, F., 1967. Nuevos datos de edad absoluta del basamento cristalino de la
Cordillera de la Costa, Chile Central. Ser. Not. Coment Dep. Geol., Univ. Chile, 1, 1-7.
1970. Series metam6rficas del basamento cristalino de la Cordillera de la Costa, Chile Central.
Publicacidn No. 37, Dep. Geol., Fac. Cien. FIs. Mat. Univ. Chile.
HEY, M. H., 1954. A new review of the chlorites. Mineralog. Mag. 30, 277-92.
HUTTON, C. O., 1938. The stilpnomelane group of minerals. Ibid. 25, 172-206.
ILUES, H., 1960. Geologie der Gegend von Valdivia (Chile). Neues Jb. Geol. Paldont. Abh. I l l , 30-110.
LEVI, B., MEHECH, S., & MUNIZAGA, F., 1963. Edades radiometricas y petrografia de granitos chilenos.
Inst. Invest. Geol., Santiago, 12-42.
MEHECH, S., & CORVALAN, J., 1964. Undulatory extinction in quartz grains of some Chilean granitic
rocks of different ages. Bull. geol. Soc. Am. 75, 363-6.
MIYASHIRO, A., 1961. Evolution of metamorphic belts. / . Petrology, 2, 277-311.
MUNIZAGA, F., 1967. Geocronologfa de los esquistos del sur de Chile. Resum. Jornadas Trabajo,
Inst. Invest. Geol., X Aniv. 36-7.
MuRoz CRISTI, J., 1960. Contribucibn al conocimiento geoldgico de la Cordillera de la Costa de la
zona central. Rev. Miner. 69, 28-47, Santiago.
1964. Estudios petrograficos y petrol6gicos sobre el batolito de la Costa de las provincias de
Santiago y Valparaiso. Inst. Geol. Univ. Chile, 25, 1-93.
READ, H. H., 1952. Metamorphism and migmatization in the Ythan Valley, Aberdeenshire. Trans.
Edinb. geol. Soc. 15, 265-79.
Ruiz, C , et al., 1965. Geologia y Yacimientos Metaliferos de Chile. Inst. Invest. Geol., Santiago,
1-305.
SAUOT, P., 1968. Sur la presence et la signification de la lawsonite dans la Cordillera cotiere du Chili
(lie de Chiloe). C. r. hebd. Sianc. Acad. Sci., Paris, 267, 1183-5.
SHIDO, F., & MIYASHIRO, A., 1959. Hornblendes of basic metamorphic rocks. / . geol. Soc. Japan,
65, 701-6.
TURNER, F. J., 1968. Metamorphic petrology. McGraw-Hill Co.
WINKLER, H. G. F., 1967. Petrogenesis of metamorphic rocks. Springer-Verlag, 2nd ed.
Comparison with other metamorphic series. Miyashiro (1961) has pointed

out that the metamorphic series belts in the circum-Pacific region are generally
in parallel pairs, each made up of an intermediate or low-pressure series on the
landward side and a high-pressure series on the seaward side. In Japan, where
this phenomenon is best displayed, it is exemplified by the Mesozoic RyokeAbukuma and Sanbagawa belts, and by the Paleozoic Hida and Sangun belts.
If one regards the Pichilemu rocks as a remnant of a much more extensive
belt running along the east side of the Curepto belt, the Pichilemu and Curepto
belts would constitute a pair having the characteristics of Miyashiro's circumPacific pairs. Further considerations about the real tectonic significance of the
Chilean metamorphic pair must wait until a much larger proportion of the
crystalline basement of this region is studied, particularly along the Patagonian
Andes of Chile and Argentina.

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MetamorpMsm of the Crystalline Basement

[Journal of Petrology, Vol. 12, Part 1, pp. 149-75,1971]

{Received 16 June 1969; in revised form 26 February 1970)

CQ1ST RANGE GRANITE BATOLITH

T H E present paper describes the progressive metamorphism of the basement

METAMORPH1SM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

The metamorphic basement of Chile

Flattened out, folded S|

The Coast Range metamorphic complex

METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

ZONING IN THE METAMORPHIC BELT OF T H E

CUREPTO METAMORPHIC SERIES

M E T A M O R P H I S M OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

the batholith by the thermally metamorphosed rocks of the Nirivilo series.

METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

northern phase in having, in addition to the assemblages characteristic of this

METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

Structure. In the low-grade metamorphic western part of the Nirivilo belt,

stronger metamorphism but seems to be essentially the same as in the western

Zone IV. Sillimanite-muscovite zone (schist).

METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

Zone II. Garnet-oligoclase phyllite zone. The rocks of the garnet-oligoclase

The sillimanite is fibrolite similar to that of Zones IV and V, zones which

METAMORPH1SM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

Muscovite. The predominant micaceous mineral in the Curepto and Pichilemu

Total iron calculated as FeO.

Orthoclase. This feldspar is found only in the highest-grade zones of the

to 1-645, with the passage from positive to negative chlorite at approximately

A h yv\ ^y\ \ v c>

METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, C H I L E

Garnet. Some of the rocks in the crystalline basement contain spessartite or

Accessory minerals. The most abundant accessory is light-green tourmaline

chlorite+/wSiO 2 +KOH = biotite+muscovite+^H 2 O

the muscovite taking up whatever excess Al there is in the chlorite. Potassium

Metamorphism of the Curepto series

METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

without a decrease of the activity of K), or both. Given an increase of activity

Chemical analyses of rocks from Curepto and Nirivilo series

deprived the biotite of part of its magnesium, as shown by the percentages of

Metamorphism of the Pichilemu series

METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

METAMORPHISM OF CRYSTALLINE BASEMENT, CHILE

Sequence of the metamorphic processes. The above considerations indicate

Comparison with other metamorphic series. Miyashiro (1961) has pointed

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