Chibcha Terrane


The Chibcha Terrane, named after Chibcha, is the largest of the geological provinces of Colombia. The terrane, the oldest explored domains of which date to the Meso- to Neoproterozoic, is situated on the North Andes Plate. The megaregional Romeral Fault System forms the contact of the terrane with the Tahamí Terrane. The contact with the Caribbean and La Guajira Terranes is formed by the regional Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault. The northeastern boundary is formed by the regional Oca Fault, bounding the La Guajira Terrane. The terrane is emplaced over the Río Negro-Juruena Province of the Amazonian Craton along the megaregional Eastern Frontal Fault System.

Reinterpretation

A study performed by Mora Bohórquez et al. in 2017 showed no basement variation between the San Lucas basement underlying the Lower Magdalena Valley and the SNSM basement to the east of the Santa Marta Fault. The authors redefined the contacts between the different terranes, using the names Calima Terrane for the coastal portion of the Caribbean Terrane and Tahamí-Panzenú Terrane for the Tahamí Terrane.

Subdivision

Some authors consider the Garzón Complex a separate terrane; the Andaquí Terrane.

Complexes

;SNSM - Early Eocene
;SNSM Paleozoic
;Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
;Perijá
;Santander - Neoproterozoic-Ordovician
;Floresta - Cambro-Ordovician
;Quetame
;La Macarena - Mesoproterozoic
;San Lucas - Cambrian
;Southwestern Chibcha
;Garzón - Neoproterozoic
bounding faults in bold

Terranes