Cyclic sedimentation in the Cretaceous geosyncline of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32685/0120-1425/bolgeol7.1-3.1959.412Keywords:
Strata, thickness, subsidence, cycles, stratigraphic classification, transgression
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Copyright (c) 1959 Servicio Geológico Colombiano
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Abstract
The strata that make up the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia range from the Precambrian to the Quaternary. Among them, the Cretaceous sediments are the most frequent and thickest, reaching their maximum thickness in the surroundings of Bogotá (Cundinamarca Basin) with 16 000 meters. Towards the north, its thickness is reduced to 2400 m, and towards the southern end of the mountain range, it reaches only a few hundred meters.
In the Cundinamarca Basin, the Cretaceous is predominantly composed of dark, bathyal shales, between which sandstones, limestones, and other littoral deposits interpose at regular distances. The distribution of the fossils, especially of the Ammonites, shows that the littoral intercalations always form the boundary layers between floors and subfloors. Therefore, the subsidence of the Cretaceous geosyncline of the Eastern Cordillera took place in a cyclic manner. At the beginning of each floor (or sub-floor) it subsided rapidly, and bathyal shales were deposited in it. Then the subsidence gradually slowed down, and the littoral deposits advanced into the basin, and in some cases, sedimentation ceased completely. With the new subsidence at the beginning of the next floor, new pelagic faunas immigrated into the geosyncline. In contrast, the littoral fauna retreated to the coastal zones and persisted for several floors.
The very similar lithological composition and the approximate thickness of the floors indicate that they were deposited in equal periods of approximately six million years and the sub-floors in periods of two million years.
Outside of these cycles of floors, major cycles of 18 to 20 million years duration are recognized. Tectonic movements and subsequent extensive transgressions initiated these. Such major cycles begin with the Titonian, Hauterivian, Albian, and Senonian. The cycles of the floors begin simultaneously over large regions of the Earth's surface; the major cycles, in contrast, go over it in waves. Therefore, it is assumed that the floor cycles originate in deeper parts of the Earth than the major cycles.
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