Close this window to return to the Tectonic Analysis Limited website Title Mesozoic-Cenozoic Andean paleogeography and regional controls on hydrocarbon systems Authors James Pindell & Ken Tabbutt Source Tankard, A. J., Suarez, R. & Welsink, H. J. (eds), 1995, Petroleum basins of South America, AAPG Memoir 62, 101-128. Abstract Palinspastic paleogeographic maps of western and northern South America, including the entire 8500-km "Andean system" from Trinidad to Cape Horn, are presented for nine Mesozoic-Cenozoic time intervals. The maps show (1) the spatial record of formational lithostratigraphic units; (2) continental, shallow marine, and deeper marine paleoenvironments and the location of active magmatic arcs through time; (3) progressive structural and tectonic development; (4) relative motions of adjacent plates affecting the Andes; and (5) paleolatitude. Phases and causes of geologic development are summarized from the maps and other information. Depositional systems are related to tectonic evolution, with implications drawn for hydrocarbon systems and history. It is shown that tectonic, depositional, and hydrocarbon histories are closely interrelated, having occurred in fairly discrete pulses through time, each with its own significance to hydrocarbon potential. PDF Full Text and Figures, 10 Mb Contact Please email if you would like to know more about this work and associated projects.

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