Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 9, pp. 123-135, 1990. 0277-3791/90 $0.00 + .

50
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QUATERNARY GLACIATIONS IN THE NORTHERN ANDES

(VENEZUELA, COLOMBIA AND ECUADOR)

Carlos Schubert* and Chalmers M. C l a p p e r t o n t

*lnstituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Apartado 21827, Caracas 1020,4, Venezuela
t Department of Geography, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen A B9 2 UF, Scotland, U.K.

The nature and distribution of glacial drift in the high Andes of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador suggest that deposits of only
the last two Quaternary glaciations (Isotope Stages 6 and 4 + 2) are present.
The Penultimate Glaciation in Ecuador may be represented by deeply weathered drift that is beyond the range of radiocarbon
dating; in Colombia and Venezuela subdued moraines covered with loess may be of equivalent age. In places, this drift extends
1000 m lower in altitude than the limits of the Last Glaciation, which commonly reach 3400-3600 m.
Radiocarbon dated organic deposits (33->43 ka BP) lying between tills composing superposed terminal moraines suggest that
Andean glaciers may have been as extensive during Isotope Stage 4 as during Isotope Stage 2.
A relatively long interstadial, from >43->33 ka BP preceded the glacier advance that culminated during the interval ca.
28-15 ka BP. Two late-glacial stadials are marked by moraine complexes at 3900--4200 m altitude; they are partly constrained by
radiocarbon ages of >12.9 ka BP and 12-10 ka BP.
Moraines apparently deposited during Neoglacial advances of the last ca. 5 ka lie in front of most of the glaciers remaining in
the northern Andes.

INTRODUCTION the cordilleras have evolved in response to tectonic

One of the most important facts about late Cainozoic
glaciation in the northern Andes is that despite more
than 100 years of observations, no evidence has been
found of glacial features older than the late Quater-
nary. This was attributed initially to the geologically
recent upheaval of these mountains (Heim, 1951;
Petersen, 1958), which began sometime in the late
Eocene (Shagam, 1975). Rapid Pliocene-Pleistocene
uplift has been inferred from fission-track ages in the
Venezuelan Andes (Kohn et al., 1984), and Clapperton
(1989) has cited the evidence from fault-displaced
moraines as support for recent uplift in the Andes of
Ecuador and Peru. On the other hand, palynological
research (van der Hammen et al., 1973; Hooghiemstra,
1984, 1988) suggests that the eastern Cordillera of
Colombia had reached its present elevation before the
Pleistocene. In spite of this, there is still very little
evidence of glacial deposition prior to that of the last
glaciation. Only two reports of older till exist in the
literature: one is of a lateral moraine in the Cordillera
Central of Colombia (Herd and Naeser, 1974), the
other is of oxidised till in central and southern Ecuador
(Clapperton, 1987). Other than these, all glacial de-
posits have been judged by relative dating and
radiocarbon dating to be of last glaciation age. In this
report, we shall concentrate mainly on radiocarbon
dated glacial sequences in order to make meaningful
correlations across the whole region. The locations of
the main study areas are shown in Fig. 1, and a
correlation chart is given as Fig. 2.
Physiographically, the northern Andes consist of two
cordilleras in Ecuador, three in Colombia and two in
Venezuela. Composed of rocks varying from Precam-
brian metamorphosed basement to Hoiocene voicanics,
processes associated with the collision of three crustal
plates, the South American, Pacific and Caribbean.
Subduction of the Carnegie Ridge beneath parts of
Ecuador and Colombia at ca. 3 Ma initiated a zone of
active volcanism which extends between latitudes 2°S
and 5°N (Hall and Wood, 1985). This has created rows
of andesitic magmatic centres in the western and
eastern cordilleras of Ecuador and in the central
cordillera of Colombia; volcanism is absent from the
other ranges.
Large parts of most cordilleras in the northern Andes
rise to over 4000 m a.s.1. The highest summits are
generally formed by the volcanic complexes and
commonly exceed 5000 m; Chimborazo (6310 m) is the
highest mountain. Massifs that are presently rising
rapidly, such as the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
(5700 m) and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (5493 m)
also exceed 5000 m, even though they are not volcanic
in origin.
The climate of the northern Andes is typically that of
tropical mountains. For example, temperature has little
seasonal variation but may show large diurnal fluctua-
tions; it is controlled mainly by altitude and cloudiness.
The amount and incidence of precipitation varies. In
Venezuela and Colombia there is a wet season from
April to November and a dry season from December to
March. In Ecuador, rainfall maxima occur in April and
November, while minima are in July and January.
Precipitation totals depend on altitude and rain-shadow
effects, but commonly range from >2000 mm in wetter
parts to <800 mm in drier areas (Fig. 3). Good reviews
of the climates of these regions are given by Johnson
(1976) and Snow (1976).
The modern snowline altitude for the entire Andes
was estimated by Nogami (1976) but more detailed

123
124 C. Schubert and C.M. Clapperton

Son/o I~r/o J • .t~Slarr 0 , peru o

CA RISBEAN
CARACAS
ij
(-~ ~090~
",. MERIDA• • _~/0

;~e, ~e k. Ix0 VENEZUELA

PACIFIC i ~tx
-
~ • Sierra N~wodo "~',~
.....
....
,

" / ,1/ A Poromo de Sumopoz \

Nevodo del Ruiz-Tol/mo "x
f

t I"

".~' .~ COLOMBIA !-. i.j,..

:' :
,G QUITO ~-'-' ".
',-, ~"

•..3 ~ALogo P/Sayombo "'x "~'

[ Ch;mbo~ozo-• E l AI/or / "~\. I1"
Carihuoirozo ./ i i BRAZIL
• CUEN .... "" PERU "~ iI
r" l
ECUADOR : .,' .
"" l" 0 500krn .~ . . . . . "tJ

IBOOW~ ' - ' 1 760 .~" 72a 68 °

FIG. 1. Map of the northern Andes showing areas mentioned in the text.

information was derived for local areas by Herd (1982), in the soil. It is colonised primarily by tussock-type
Hastenrath (1981) and Clapperton (1987); a summary grasses and cushions of rosette plants; peat bogs are
of these data is given in Table 1. Clapperton (1987) common. This is the typical paramo of the northern
found that the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) on Andes, and it extends to the treeline at ca. 2800-
present glaciers in Ecuador varies from 4600 m on 3000 m. In the Venezuelan Andes the paramo ap-
the wet eastern flanks of the eastern cordillera, to pears to coincide with the periglacial zone (Schubert,
>5000 m on the dry western slopes of the western 1975, 1979).
cordillera and of individual massifs like Chimborazo Palynoiogical studies have shown that the lower
(Fig. 1). Estimates of former ELAs for the glacial limits of the paramo were depressed by up to 1000 m
intervals show a similar rise from east to west, during the last glaciation. Glaciers also expanded
indicating that precipitation came predominantly from greatly during cold intervals of the late Quaternary and
easterly sources then, as now. plateau ice caps became widespread above 4000 m
As a consequence of the relatively high ELAs in altitude on ground that is presently ice-free (Clapper-
equatorial latitudes, modern glaciers and permanent ton, 1983, 1987). The former ice extent on these
snowfields in the northern Andes are restricted to plateaux is commonly marked by bedrock that has been
massifs that rise above 5000 m. On the large volcanoes, ice-scoured into hummocky relief and by thin deposits
ice caps discharge outlet glaciers radially down the of glacial till. Outlet glaciers that terminated in valleys
principal valleys. Elsewhere, glaciers exist in cirques leading from the plateaux deposited series of terminal
and beneath 'snowfence' crests wherever the ground is moraines varying in size from 10 to 200 m. Where
high enough, as in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta moraines are absent, because of the narrowness of the
and Sierra Nevada del Cocuy in Colombia and in the valleys, glacial drift survives in patches along the steep
M6rida Andes of Venezuela (Table 2). slopes and valley floors. Studies of these glacial
Below the permanent snowline, wide areas of dis- features in the northern Andes, together with palyno-
sected plateau lie above 3000 m altitude. This zone is logical analyses, from which past vegetation limits can
characterised by high humidity, a diurnal temperature be inferred, form the foundation for the following
range of up to 20°C, and frequent freeze-thaw cycles synthesis of late Quaternary glacier fluctuations.
 Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Andes 125

m m m
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 126 c. Schubert and C.M. Clapperton

(A) J
PRE-LATE PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION
MaracoibOBasin /.~ \LLan°s II
Pica BoLivar / L
2ooo~, /
~ 5002,. / \\
',i 500o There is no unequivocal evidence that glacial de-
posits earlier than those of the last glaciation exist in
the northern Andes. Nevertheless, descriptions of
E arina
subdued moraines and weathered till have been made
by Raasveldt (1957), Tricart (1966), Schubert (1970,
1974, 1979) and Clapperton (1987); only Tricart and
Clapperton have suggested that these might pre-date
the last glaciation.
(B) In the Venezuelan cordilleras of Santo Domingo,
I CordiLLera CordiLLera I M6rida and Perij~i, and in the Colombian massifs of the
4OOO ~- Occidental R~at -/1" "" \ t
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Sierra Nevada
E del Cocuy, the denuded moraines extend to altitudinal
E
limits of ca. 1600-2900 m (Schubert, 1974; Oppenheim,
1940; Raasveldt, 1957: van de Hammen et al., 1981).
79 ° W "?'8* In Ecuador, till that is oxidised to depths >8 m is
present to altitudinal limits of 2700 m in the eastern and
FIG. 3. A. Section across the Merida Andes (Venezuela), showing
variations in rainfall (dashed line: simplified after Flohn, 1968). southern cordilleras (Clapperton, 1987). The subdued
B. Schematic section across the Ecuadorian Andes at latitude 1° S., morphology of these deposits contrasts dramatically
showing variations in precipitation (dashed line: after Hastenrath, with the larger sharp-crested moraines that commonly
1981).
terminate at 3000-3600 m in the same areas. Raasveldt

TABLE 1. Modern snowline of the northern Andes

Locality Altitude (m) Source

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia)

(N. slope) ca. 5000 Nogami(1976)
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia)
(S. slope) ca. 5400 Nogami (1976)
Venezuelan Andes 4700 Nogami (1976)
Cordillera Oriental (Colombia) 4500-4700 Nogami (1976)
Cordillera Central (Colombia) 4700--4900 (E-W) Herd (1982)
Cordillera Occidental (Ecuador) 4800-4900 (E-W) Clapperton (1987)
Cordillera Oriental (Ecuador) 4600-4850 (E-W) Clapperton (1987)

TABLE 2. Estimates of ice-covered areas during the last glaciation maximum

(LGM) ( - 18 ka BP)

LGM Present
ice extent ice extent
(kin 2) (km 2) % reduction

Venezuela*
Sierra Nevada de M~rida 200 3 (1952) 98
P~iramo El Batali6n 20 0 100
Colombia
Sierra Nevada del Cocuyt 122 23 (1959) 82
Nevado del Rulz-Tolima~ 860 5 (1973) 99
Sierra Nevada de Santa Maria§ 856 39 (1957) 95
Ecuadorll
Cordillera Occidental 987 38 (1950) 96
Cordillera Oriental 1063 208 (1970s) 80

Sources of data: Hastenrath (1981), Herd (1982), Raasveldt (1957), Schubert

(1982, 1984), van der Hammen et al. (1980-81).
*Relative weight of paper cut-outs.
*Western flank only.
:~Determined by an unknown method.
§Projection on a plane (planimeter).
IIBy planimeter.
 Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Andes
(1957) referred to a loess-like capping on the subdued
moraines in the Santa Marta massif, suggesting that
cold and dry glacial conditions had reoccurred some-
time after the moraines had been deposited.
Radiocarbon dates obtained from peats and
palaeosols overlying the weathered tills in Colombia
and Ecuador are commonly >43ka BP in age and are
beyond the range of the conventional dating technique.
This may be taken as relatively sound evidence that the
lower moraines pre-date the last glaciation maximum,
but it does not confirm that they were deposited during
the penultimate glaciation. The moraines may mark
limits reached by glaciers during the cold interval of
Oxygen Isotope Stage 4, at ca. 70 ka BP (Clapperton,
in press).
Fission track dates from tephra covering moraines on
the east flank of Nevado del Ruiz in the Cordillera
Central of Colombia, have been quoted as evidence of
glaciation before ca. 100 ka BP. Herd and Naeser
(1974) sampled tephra that caps only the outermost of
four nested moraines lying at 3450 m altitude; the ages
obtained were 0.110 +_ 0.45 Ma and 0.092 + 0.35 Ma,
from which these authors inferred that the moraines
had been deposited during the penultimate glaciation.
However, the standard errors are so large that the dates
are virtually meaningless and should not be taken as
evidence of an ancient glaciation.
In Ecuador, a very marked weathering difference
occurs between tills in large morainic complexes de-
posited before and after ca. 34-43 ka BP, and till that
crops out at a lower stratigraphic level. The lower till is
oxidised to at least 8 m depth and, although many fine-
grained volcanic clasts retain striations and a glacial
polish, coarse crystalline rocks and much of the matrix
have been altered to a silt-clay residue (Clapperton, in
press). This is very different from the shallower
oxidation and less intense clast weathering of the
morainic tills. Sites exposing these relationships occur
in the western cordillera (northern flanks of the
Carihuairazo massif) and near Cuenca in the southern
cordillera (Rio Tomebamba valley). Such a weathering
difference implies a substantial age gap between the
two sets of deposits. However, until more radiometric
dating can be obtained, particularly from tephras
overlying the weathered and subdued glacial deposits in
Colombia and Ecuador, it is not possible to conclude
that unequivocal evidence of the penultimate glaciation
exists in the northern Andes.
THE LAST GLACIATION
Striking moraines marking various limits reached by
glaciers during the last glaciation are present in all
cordilleras in the northern Andes that rise above ca.
4000 m altitude. As a substantial amount of informa-
tion about these deposits is available in the literature,
the glacial features identified in the cordilleras of
Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador will be discussed
separately.
127
Venezuela
In the M6rida Andes, two main morainic complexes
have been recognised: one at 2600-2800 m altitude, and
another at 2900-3500 m. These two levels have been
considered as Early and Late Stades, respectively, of
the Late Pleistocene M6rida Glaciation (Schubert,
1974). The Early Stade moraines have been found in
three valleys in the central M6rida Andes, and consist
of remnants of possible till with no clear morainic
morphology, and scarce sedlmentological and textural
evidence. The Late Stade moraines are well developed
topographically, and there are several nested and
superimposed morainic complexes (Schubert, 1979,
1982). Some radiometric dating has been obtained for
moraines of the Late Stade in the Mucubaji Valley,
where a sequence of peat layers is interbedded with
contiguous fluvio-glacial deposits exposed by a normal
fault. The oldest peat yielded a radiocarbon age of
12,650 _+_130 BP (Salgado-Labouriau et al., 1977), and
provides a minimum age for the Late Stade moraines
which lie further down-valley.
A fluvio-glacial sequence ca. 30 m thick, lying just
outside the moraine limits, covers peat with a radio-
carbon age of 19,080 _+ 820 BP~ and is capped by peat
with an age of 16,500 +_ 290 BP. These dates suggest
that during this time interval, there was active glacial
erosion and deposition near the lower end of the
morainic complex (Schubert and Rinaidi, 1987).
In the Sierra de Perijfi (Fig. 1), remnants of moraines
have been observed at altitudes of 2700-3100 m. In the
absence of more detailed data however, these are only
tentatively assigned to the Late Stade of the M6rida
Glaciation (Schubert, 1976).
The extent of glaciers in the Sierra Nevada de M6rida
(south-central M6rida Andes) during the Late Stade of
the M6rida Glaciation was estimated as ca. 200 km 2
(Table 1); at present, glaciers cover <3 km 2 (Schubert,
1984).
Colombia
Four main regions of Pleistocene glaciation have
been described in Colombia: the eastern Cordillera
(Sierra Nevada del Cocuy and the High Plain of Bogot~
area), the central Cordillera (Nevado Ruiz-Tolima
volcanic complex), the western Cordillera and the
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
In the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (Fig. 1), six glacial
drifts of different relative age and different altitudinal
extent were described by van der Hammen et al.
(1981). The oldest drift (Drift 1), is present in the form
of remnants located at 2200-2700 m altitude, but its
glacial origin has not been demonstrated with certainty.
Drift 2 (Rio Negro Stade) is located at 2600-2800 m,
where some morainic morphology such as ramparts and
end moraines have been preserved. Their age was
estimated as greater than ca. 30 ka BP. Drift 3 (Rio
Nevado Stade) consists of morainic ramparts and end
moraines at 3000-3400 m. A minimum age for these
was derived from a radiocarbon age of 20,840 + 1-.t0
BP, determined on the lower sediments of a core taken
128 c. Schubert and C.M. Clapperton
in Laguna Ciega (3510 m), which lies inside the drift
limit. Drift 4 (Lagunillas Stade) consists of conspicuous
lateral and terminal moraines located at 3300-4000 m
(Fig. 4). It was divided into a lower group (3300-3700
m) and an upper group (4000 m). As the earliest
sediments deposited in a lake behind the upper group
yielded a radiocarbon age of 12,320 _+ 100 BP, both
moraines are older than ca. 12.3 ka BP, but younger
than ca. 21 ka BP. Drift 5 (Bocatoma Stade) is
formed by abrupt, high lateral moraines situated at
390(0-4200 m; as these are younger than 12,320 _+
100 BP, but older than 10,000 BP, van der Hammen
et al. (1981) assigned them to the late-glacial (El
Abra Stadial) interval.
During the Lagunillas Stade, the glacier-covered
area in the western flank of the Sierra Nevada del
Cocuy was approximately I22 km2; at present, it is only
about 23 km 2 (Table I). This Stade can be correlated
FIG. 4. Morainicstages in the Rio Lagunillasvalley,Sierra Nevadadel Cocuy,distinguishedby van der Hammenet al. (1981).
with the Late Stade of the M6rida Glaciation in
Venezuela.
In the High Plain of Bogotli (Pfiramos de Sumapaz,
Guerrero, Pefia Negra and Palacio), Helmens (1988)
distinguished four morainic complexes which she num-
bered 1-4, oldest to youngest. They were correlated
with the four Stades identified by van der Hammen et
al. (1981) in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. Nine
radiocarbon dates obtained from organic-rich lacus-
trine sediments in glacial basins and from palaeosols
allowed the assignment of maximum and minimum
ages to the moraines (Fig. 2). The oldest and outermost
drift is beyond the range of conventional radiocarbon
dating, and was suggested to be of "Middle Last Glacial
age or of Penultimate Glacial age" (Helmens, 1988,
p. 263). The next was bracketed by ages of ca. 22.5-
19.5 ka BP, while the following stage lies between
radiocarbon dates of ca. 18 and 14 ka BP.
 Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Andes 129

In the Nevado del Ruiz-Tolima volcanic massif, Herd Mamancanaca Stade probably corresponds to the
(1982) described lateral moraines within a complex in Fuqu6ne Stadial of the Sabana de Bogotfi which
which the outermost is overlain with tephra inferred to culminated sometime in the interval 21-14 ka BP (van
be of pre-last glaciation age. The younger moraines are der Hammen and Gonzalez, 1960). During the
overlain by peat which gave a radiocarbon age of Mamancanaca Stade, glaciers covered ca. 856 km 2
13,760 +_ 150 BP. Thus, these moraines were tenta- (Table 1); at present they cover less than 40 km 2
tively correlated with the Lagunillas Stade (Sierra (Raasveldt, 1957).
Nevada del Cocuy) and the Late Stade of the M6rida
Glaciation (Venezuela). Thouret and van der Hammen
(1981) described lateral and end moraines several Ecuador
kilometres long and 100-200 m high at an altitude of A sequence of Quaternary glaciations and inter-
3400-3600 m ; they named this the Murillo Stade and glaciations in Ecuador was proposed by Sauer (1971).
recognised two substades: an early one consisting of the He investigated sediments exposed at ca. 2000-2500 m
long moraines, and a late one composed of glacial altitude near Quito, lying in the central valley flanked
retreat moraines. On the basis of drift morphology, by the eastern and western cordilleras. Sauer believed
stratigraphy and position, the Murillo Stade was cor- that these indicated four glacial/pluvioglacial intervals
related with the Mamancanaca Stade (Sierra Nevada de separated by interglaciations. Clapperton and Vera
Santa Marta) and Lagunillas Stade (Sierra Nevada del (1986) challenged Sauer's interpretation of the sedi-
Cocuy). The same authors also recognised moraines ments, however, and demonstrated that they are all of
belonging to two late-glacial stades, named the Early volcanic and volcanic-related origin (e.g. lahars). Clap-
and Late Otun Stades. The Early Otun Stade moraines perton (1987) also showed that the sediments studied
lie at 3800-4000 m; two radiocarbon dates from the top by Sauer all lie well below the lowest limit of glaciation,
and bottom of a peat layer overlying proglacial sand which in this area is at 3000-3600 m.
which covers till, gave ages of 11.5 (top) and 12.2 Clapperton (1987) established a broad pattern of
(bottom) ka BP (no standard errors were given). The Quaternary glaciation in the Ecuadorian Andes by
significance of these dates is difficult to assess in the making transects across the eastern, western and
absence of stricter stratigraphical relationships. One southern cordilleras to map and differentiate the glacial
possibility is that they imply that the Early Otun Stade drifts. Detailed studies were made at key sites, such as
occurred before ca. 12.2 ka BP, unless the outwash was in the Pisayambo and El Altar valleys of the eastern
derived from the Early Otun glaciers. cordillera, in the Chimborazo-Carihuairazo area of the
The extent of ice during the formation of the main western cordillera and in the Rio Tomebamba valley,
morainic level (Murillo Stade) was ca. 860 km 2 (Table near Cuenca, in the southern cordillera (Fig. 1).
1); at present it is about 5 km 2 (Herd, 1982). This work concluded that the last glaciation was
In the western Cordillera, Zulaga and Mattson characterised by the deposition of multiple end
(1981) described evidence from ground at an altitude of moraines, some of which are superimposed one upon
270(04000 m for two glacial events, based on striation the other. At Lago Pisayambo, organic sediments lying
directions and the existence of two superposed in situ between tills composing a 200 m-high terminal
moraines; but no absolute dating has been reported. moraine gave a radiocarbon age of 34,200 + 1080/
The glacial sequence of the Sierra Nevada de Santa - 9 5 0 BP; peats lying between tills in the Carihuairazo
Marta was described by Gansser (1955), Raasveldt massif yielded radiocarbon ages of ca. 33 to >43 ka BP
(1957) and Bartels (1970). It consists mainly of a lower (Ciapperton, 1987). This has encouraged the conclu-
morainic level at ca. 2800 m, called the Adurameina sion that during the last glaciation, glaciers in Ecuador
Stade, with extensive ground moraines covei'ed by advanced to their maximum limits sometime before ca.
aeolian sand. These glacial deposits appear to be 43 ka BP, and reached similar positions sometime after
similar to those of the Early Stade of the M6rida ca. 33 ka BP. Outwash from a complex of much smaller
Glaciation in Venezuela and the Rio Negro Stade in the moraines lying only a few hundred metres farther up-
Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. The most conspicuous and valley, buries peat with a radiocarbon age of 14,770 +
massive moraines are situated at an altitude of 3300- 60 BP (Clapperton, in press).
3800 m, and are called the Mamancanaca Stade. It In a study of the volcanic deposits of Chimborazo
consists of a broad belt of lateral and terminal moraines (western cordillera), Killian (1987) estimated that the
as well as ground moraines, and is characterised by very lowest moraines were formed at ca. 28 ka BP. It is not
sharp, fresh morphology. These characteristics suggest clear how this estimation was derived, however, for he
that this stade could be equivalent to the Late Stade of obtained radiocarbon ages of 35-38 ka BP from wood
the M6rida Glaciation (Venezuela). In his recent incorporated in pyroclastic deposits that lie inside the
Ecoandes project in the Santa Marta massif (Col- moraine limits.
ombia), van der Hammen (1984) correlated the The ice-covered area in Ecuador during the last
Mamancanaca Stade with the Lagunillas and Murillo glaciation was ca. 987 km 2 in the western cordillera and
stades of the eastern and central cordilleras, respec- ca. 1063 km 2 in the eastern cordillera (Table 1); at
tively. Although he had no age control from radio- present it is about 96 km 2 and 80 km 2 respectively
carbon dates, van der Hammen concluded that the (Hastenrath, 1981).
130 C. Schubert and C.M. Clapperton

OCATION OF THE COLORADO

AND BOCA GRANDE SITES
CORDILLERA DE SUMAPAZ
has Orhfoh??s Ez 3500 - 4000m
~C~LOMBIA ? m 2600m 0 km 15
L ,

Poromo de Guerrero
‘\ _ 4. Srro Nev de Sonto Ma&
5. Rulr/Tolimo complex

I (’
A ‘%a
,-*
‘-’
-(,
:
/‘h;omo de\ /
CL.J ‘__>
‘I
I”. ,’
c’Aguo Blonco’

I -12,760 f 160 --3-14,660 tneo

P-14,400* 170 4-13,710 + SO
CUCHILLA BOCA GRANDE

LAGUNA COLORADO
--- COMPLEX 2 LIMIT
--COMPLEX 3 LIYIT MORAINE STASES
‘.‘... COMPLEX 4 LIMIT

FIG. 5. Map of massifs around the High Plain of Bogoti. showing sites inferred as late-glacial in age by Helmens (1988).
 Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Andes
LATE-GLACIAL INTERVAL: 12--10 ka BP
One of the most interesting problems concerning late
Quaternary glaciation in the Andes is the controversy
about late-glacial cooling in southern South America
(Clapperton, 1983, 1985; Heusser, 1984). This is dis-
cussed more fully by Rabassa and Clapperton (this
issue). The debate focusses on the apparent absence
of glacial geological evidence that glaciers around the
Patagonian icefields advanced during the late-glacial
interval (Mercer, 1976). It is therefore important to
examine the evidence for or against late-glacial cooling
in the northern Andes.
Venezuela
There has been no suggestion in any literature on the
Venezuelan Andes that glaciers advanced during the
late-glacial interval. Schubert (1974) mapped what he
called "recessional moraines" in the M6rida Andes at
altitudes of 360(L4200 m, but these appear to be older
than 12,650 BP in the Mucubaji valley. This age comes
from basal peat exposed in a river terrace upstream
from the highest "recessional moraine" (Salgado-
Labouriau et al., 1977; Salgado-Labouriau, 1984).
Glaciers probably did not develop in the Mucubaji
valley during the late-glacial interval because the
catchment ground at the valley head rises to only ca.
4200 m altitude (the highest peak reaches slightly over
4600 m). Similarly, in the Paramo Miranda area of the
M6rida Andes, the age of basal peat occupying a cirque
floor is 11,470 BP (Salgado-Labouriau et al., 1988),
suggesting that this basin was ice-free during late-
glacial times. Again, the surrounding ground rises only
to ca. 4200 m altitude.
Although studies of the glacial geology of the
Venezuelan Andes have not yet indicated evidence
of late-glacial cooling, palynologicai investigations
strongly imply that a pronounced climatic reversal
occurred soon after ca. 11,960 BP (Saigado-Labouriau,
1980). This followed an interval from 12,250 to 11,960
BP when climate had apparently become similar to that
of the present. As such conditions would have caused
complete deglaciation in areas where glaciers do not
presently exist, it is not surprising that glaciers did not
re-develop during the late-glacial interval when tem-
peratures lowered only by an estimated 2-3"C
(Salgado-Labouriau, 1980). Evidence of this cold
interval in the Mucubaji valley is probably the coarse
gravel deposits which overlie peat with a radiocarbon
age of 11,470 BP; these deposits may indicate a regime
with more rigorous run-off (possibly from greater snow
melt).
Although moraines indicative of a late-glacial re-
advance have not yet been identified in the Venezuelan
Andes, it seems possible that they may well exist only
in those areas high enough to support glaciers at
present (e.g. Pico Bolivar and Pico Humboldt-Bonplan
massifs). The palynological data are consistent in
implying that a significant cooling, accompanied by
more humid conditions, occurred sometime after
131
11,960 BP, most probably during the period inter-
polated by Salgado-Labouriau (1984) as enduring from
11.7 to 11 ka BP.
Colombia
The group of Quaternary palynologists led by
Thomas van der Hammen has consistently interpreted
pollen data from the Colombian Andes as indicating
late-glacial cooling. Initial work by van der Hammen
and Gonzalez (1960a,b) in the Sabana de Bogotfi area,
suggested that Andean vegetation belts had fluctuated
in altitude sometime during the' late-glacial interval.
Subsequent studies by van Geel and van der Hammen
(1973) farther north, in the Fuqu6ne area, supported
this interpretation. However, the Fuqu6ne evidence is
based on only one radiocarbon date (10,620 + 60 BP)
and extrapolation from estimated rates of sedimenta-
tion; these form the only age constraint on the
depression of the Andean forest limit indicated by the
fossil pollen. These authors inferred that the cooling
occurred at 10.8-9.5 ka BP.
Detailed studies at the El Abra cave shelters (also
located lower than the glaciation limits), appeared to
confirm that a sharp climatic reversal had begun by ca.
11 ka BP, following a warmer interval (Guantiva
interstadial) that lasted from ca. 12.1-11.9 ka BP (van
der Hammen, 1978).
A study of glacial drifts in the Sierra Nevada del
Cocuy (van der Hammen et al., 1981) identified a
prominent morainic stage (Bocatoma) younger than
12.3 ka BP, but older than 8190 BP; this was based on
radiocarbon dates from basal peats outside and inside
the morainic limits (Fig. 4). The Bocatoma moraines
were tentatively assigned to the interval 11-10 ka BP on
the basis of these broad bracketing dates and on
correlation with pollen data from the Sabana de
Bogot~i, Fuqu6ne and El Abra. Although the Boca-
toma stage is present in most valleys of the Sierra
Nevada del Cocuy, it has not yet been bracketed closely
with radiocarbon dates. However, as the morainic
limits lie at ca. 3950 m, some 550-6~ m lower than the
present ice margin, they indicate an ELA lowering of
about 350-380 m, and hence a temperature drop of ca.
2-2.5°C (assuming no change in precipitation). These
values are not inconsistent with those generally associ-
ated with late-glacial cooling in other mountainous
regions of the southern hemisphere (see Clapperton,
this issue).
Helmens (1988) also identified moraines of apparent
late-glacial age in Colombia, mainly in the massifs
around the Sabana de Bogotrl (Fig. 5). The moraines
(complex 4 of Helmens) lie at 3250-3500 m in the
Paramo de Palacio and the Paramo de Sumapaz (Fig.
5), where most of the ground is below 4000 m altitude
and is completely ice-free at present. Helmens (1988)
claimed to have bracketed the moraine stage closely by
obtaining radiocarbon dates from inside and outside
the limit. Close inspection of the data suggests that they
may be equivocal, however. For example, at the Boca
Grande site (Fig. 5), dates of 14,660 + 170 BP and
132 c . Schubert and C.M. Clapperton
12,760 + 160 BP were obtained from inside the
moraine limit; this could imply that the stage is even
older than ca. 14.6 ka BP. At another site (Rio
Colorado, Fig. 5), a radiocarbon date of 12,990 + 190
BP was obtained from organic sediment in a bog
situated between moraines only a few tens of metres
apart, but distinguished by Helmens as representing
glacial stages 3 and 4. Helmens (1988, p. 272) inferred
that lacustrine sediments overlying the organic material
represent "glacial phase 4". Thus it was concluded that
the complex 3 stage is older than ca. 13 ka BP while the
complex 4 stage is younger. It is quite possible,
however, that the complex 4 moraine may also be older
than ca. 13 ka BP if the lacustrine sediments are not
directly related to the presence of ice at the so-called
complex 4 moraine limit. These data from the
Colombian Andes are best regarded as equivocal until
more rigorous testing of the stratigraphy and chronol-
ogy can be made.
As glaciers do not exist in the area at present, and in
view of the relatively low altitude of the catchments, it
seems likely that glaciers had disappeared completely
during the early late-glacial (Guantiva) interstadial
centred at ca. 13 ka BP. Glaciers were unable to form
again on this relatively low terrain during the small-
scale reversal of temperature after ca. 12 ka BP because
the ELA did not descend low enough.
The Ruiz-Tolima volcanic massif of the central
cordillera contains conspicuous moraines at 3800-
4000 m altitude, which Thouret and van der Hammen
FIG. 6. Chimborazo (Ecuador) viewed from the east. Reschreiter Glacier descends towards the Rio Mocha valley (foreground)
where a glacial lake was impounded in the upper reaches (extreme right) during the interval ca. 12-10 ka BP.
(1981) identified as late-glacial in age (Early Otun).
The moraines are not dated directly, but on the basis of
palaeosols and tephras, they were assigned an age of
>10 ka BP and <11 ka BP, and were uncritically
correlated with the El Abra stadial of van der Hammen
(1978). This method unfortunately perpetuates a ruling
hypothesis based on highly equivocal data. It is
probable that moraines lying at these altitudes in
presently glacierised areas do mark a late-glacial re-
advance, but there is insufficient dating evidence to
confirm that this took place at 11-10 ka BP; it may have
begun earlier.
Ecuador
Evidence of a late-glacial advance of glaciers in the
Ecuadorian Andes was described by Clapperton and
McEwen (1985) and Clapperton (1987). Groups of
three to four closely spaced terminal moraines at 3900--
4000 m altitude are consistently present in all massifs
currently bearing glaciers (other than the active vol-
cano, Cotopaxi). In the Chimborazo-Carihuairazo
massif, these moraines are also distinguished from
older groups by the depth of overlying 'cangagua' (a
loess-like volcanic silt). A relatively close radiometric
age for the advance was obtained from the upper
Mocha valley which occupies the depression between
Chimborazo and Carihuairazo (Fig. 6). An advance of
Reschreiter Glacier from the northern flank of Chim°
borazo terminated across the Mocha valley, blocking its
uppermost part to form an ice-dammed lake. After an
 Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Andes
interval when 8 m of laminated lacustrine clays, silts
and sands had accumulated, the lake drained away,
probably as a result of glacier recession, and a peat
deposit formed on the former lake floor. As the
radiocarbon age of the thin (4 cm) peat layer is 11,370
•+ 60 BP, the glacier advance that caused the lake to
form must have occurred a little earlier. A second
advance of the glacier is implied by the presence of a
further 1.8 m of lacustrine deposits overlying the peat.
In turn, these are capped by a second thin layer of peat
which gave a radiocarbon age of 10,650 + 60 BP, and
indicate a second withdrawal of the glacier. A final
advance of Reschreiter Glacier is suggested by a
diamicton and fluvio-glacial sands and gravels overlying
the upper peat.
A complex of three to four moraines lying at a similar
altitude in the E1 Altar massif is older than a
radiocarbon date of 9310 + 60 BP obtained from peat
immediately inside their limits (Clapperton, unpub-
lished data).
The Ecuadorian evidence thus implies that glaciers
advanced sometime before about 11.4 ka BP and
fluctuated back and forth to similar limits two or three
more times, until after ca. 10,650 BP; withdrawal from
the morainic limits had certainly occurred by ca. 9310
BP, and probably began sometime earlier.
In summary, a combination of evidence from pollen
analyses and glacial geology in the northern Andes
suggests that a late-glacial cooling probably occurred
sometime in the interval ca. 12-10 ka BP, and caused a
depression of the Andean forest line and of the regional
ELA on glaciers. Only massifs high enough to support
glaciers at the present day contain evidence of a late-
glacial glacier advance. This is probably because the
ELA did not descend low enough to produce new
glaciers in massifs rising to only ca. 4200 m altitude, and
from which glaciers had disappeared completely during
the previous interstadial interval.
HOLOCENEGLACIATION
Almost all of the glaciers in the northern Andes have
receded from morainic complexes delimiting their
maximal extent during the Holocene. In places, as in
the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy and in the Sierra Nevada
de Santa Marta, the complexes consist of small terminal
moraines only a few metres high, commonly arranged
in a chevron pattern defining the receding glacier
termini (Fig. 4); the outermost (end) moraine is
sometimes very large, exceeding 100 m in places. In the
M6rida Andes, small moraines a few metres in height
and composed of bare rock fragments, close the outlets
of the upper cirques. Whereas the innermost ridges are
bare, the outer ones may be partly covered by lichens
and sparse vegetation. In other parts of the northern
Andes, as around Chimborazo and other Ecuadorian
volcanic massifs, the moraines rise over 150 m in
height, and appear to be partly ice-cored; they have
been formed by repeated advances of the glaciers to
similar limits, as indicated by cross-cutting relationships
133
between some of the morainic ridges (Clapperton, in
press).
While it is known from historical records that
Andean glaciers were more advanced during the last
few centuries, the extent to which they expanded
during the global cooling of the Neoglacial interval,
beginning at ca. 5 ka BP, remains uncertain.
Venezuela
Above the main morainic complex (Late Stade of the
M6rida Glaciation), there are several levels of reces-
sional (or readvance) moraines. The most important
ones are at 3600-3800 m elevation, and between 3800-
4200 m. No absolute dates have been obtained for these
moraines, however.
There is evidence for Late Holocene moraine deposi-
tion around existing glaciers in the Venezuelan Andes.
Rull et al. (1987) have established from pollen analyses
and radiocarbon dating that a cold phase occurred
between the 15th and mid-19th centuries (correlated
with the Little Ice Age by Rull and Schubert, 1989).
The moraines associated with this phase are most
probably those situated at ca. 4700 m (Schubert, 1984),
lying 100-200 m lower than the terminal zone of-
present-day glaciers. Whether or not glaciers advanced
earlier in the Holocene remains uncertain.
Colombia
Very conspicuous morainic ramparts lie close to
existing glaciers in the three glacier-bearing massifs of
the Colombian Andes: the Sierra Nevada de Santa
Marta, the Sierra Nevada dei Cocuy, and the Ruiz-
Tolima volcanic massif. In the Sierra Nevada de Santa
Marta, the youngest morainic complex was named the
Bolivar stage by Raasveldt (1957), who noted that the
moraines seldom lie more than 500 m from existing
glaciers, and more than 100-200 m lower in altitude.
The lowest moraine is probably that in the Rio Cataca
valley, at 4400 m, some 350 m lower than the present
glacier. An uncorrected radiocarbon age of 1320 + 70
BP was obtained from basal peat sampled from a pond
lying behind the terminal moraine (van der Hammen,
1984). This suggests that the moraine may have been
deposited sometime before ca. AD 600. Radiocarbon
dates from peats associated with other fresh moraines
in the area suggested ages of AD 1650 for moraines at
4700 m, and of AD 1700 for moraines at 4750 m
altitude (van der Hammen, 1984). According to Raas-
veldt (1957), the Bolivar stage moraines indicate a
former ice cover in the Santa Marta massif approxi-
mately 2.7 times greater than that of the present day
(39 km2). Van der Hammen (1984) concluded that the
stage corresponds closely to the Little Ice Age of the
European Aips.
Glaciers in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy have
receded from moraines which Gonzalez et al. (1965)
and van der Hammen et al. (1981) named as the
Coralitos Stade, and both inner and outer moraines
were distinguished. The lower limit of the drift is at
4300--4500 m altitude, some 200-400 m lower than the
134 c. Schubert and C.M. Ciapperton
existing glaciers. There are no direct dates available for
these moraines, but Gonzalez et al. (1965) estimated an
age of 2 ka BP for the base of sediments that had
accumulated behind one of the end moraines. Van der
Hammen et al. (1981) assumed that much of the
complex is associated with glacier fluctuations of the
last 500 years corresponding to the Little Ice Age.
In the Ruiz-Tolima massif, Late Pleistocene tephras
are absent from the complex of fresh moraines that
border the existing icefields. Herd (1982) concluded
from this that the drift must represent a Holocene
advance which culminated after AD 1595, the date of
the last eruption of tephras from Nevado del Ruiz
(prior to that of 1985). The corrected radiocarbon age
of a peat at the base of the outermost moraine is 470
_+ 75 BP, suggesting that the advance began after
about AD 1420 (Herd, 1982).
In the same massif, more detailed studies of
palaeosois and tephras, together with pollen analyses,
led Thouret and van der Hammen (1981) to construct a
more complete sequence of climatic changes for the
Holocene. Cold and humid conditions in the early
Hoiocene culminated in a glacier advance of unknown
extent just before 6050 BP. This was followed immedi-
ately by a warm climatic 'optimum' when the high
Andean forest line rose by 300 m. Brief but very cold
intervals caused glaciers to advance at ca. 4750 BP and
at ca. 2690 BP. The latest climatic reversal occurred
between the 17th and mid-19th centuries. As this
sequence is based primarily on interpretations of
changing pollen percentages, supported by uncorrected
radiocarbon dates, the assignment of glacial advances
to the inferred cold intervals should be regarded as
equivocal. None of the Holocene moraines are brac-
keted by radiocarbon dates. Nevertheless, the inferred
cold intervals correspond remarkably closely to those
identified by Mercer (1976) in Patagonia.
Ecuador
Hastenrath (1981) drew attention to the greater
extent of ice and permanent snow in the Ecuadorian
Andes during the last few centuries. His study of
historical documents since the Spanish conquest in the
16th century, concluded that the moraines lying
between 4300 m altitude and the existing glaciers had
formed during the Little Ice Age.
Clapperton (1987) suspected that some of the
moraines might be composite, and may have formed
during intervals of earlier Neoglacial cooling. The only
support for this at the moment is a radiocarbon date of
2170 + 50 BP for basal peat overlying a morainic
deposit immediately in front of Little Ice Age moraines
in the caidera of El Altar massif (eastern cordillera).
The implication is that glaciers advanced to this limit
(3800 m) sometime before 2170 BP as well as during the
last few centuries.
CONCLUSIONS
The following sequence of Quaternary glaciations in
the northern Andes may be concluded from this brief
review of the available data.
(1) No evidence has been found of drift from
glaciations earlier than that of Oxygen Isotope Stage 6,
that is, earlier than the penultimate glaciation. This
may be due to rapid denudation rates accompanying
Late Pleistocene uplift of parts of the cordilleras and/or
because the ranges were lower earlier in the Quater-
nary, thereby supporting smaller glaciers whose drift is
either buried or removed.
(2) The penultimate glaciation may be represented
by deeply weathered drift in Ecuador and the subdued
morainic forms in Venezuela and Colombia, but this
will remain uncertain until radiometric dates can be
obtained. In some places the limits of this drift are up to
1000 m lower in altitude than the drift of the last
glaciation.
(3) It is possible that glaciers in the northern Andes
expanded during Oxygen Isotope Stage 4 (i.e. at ca. 70
ka BP), to limits that were slightly more extensive than,
or were similar to, those reached during the later part
of the last glaciation (at ca. 20-18 ka BP).
(4) A relatively long interstadial interval, enduring
from before 43 ka BP to after 33 ka BP, appears to have
preceded the glacier advance that probably culminated
during the interval 28-18 ka BP.
(5) Tenuous evidence that the glaciers advanced
prior to ca. 13 ka BP includes the so-called 'recessional'
moraines in Venezuela and those pre-dating 12,900 BP
in Colombia. In Ecuador, clusters of small moraines
only a few tens of metres up-valley from those of the
late last glaciation maximum (20-18 ka BP), may also
date to this interval.
(6) Late-glacial moraines, most probably dating to
the interval 12-10 ka BP, appear to exist in most
massifs that presently support glaciers; they indicate a
depression of the ELA by about 350 m.
(7) All of the present glaciers in the northern Andes
were more extensive during the last few centuries, and
help confirm the global nature of the Little Ice Age
interval of cooling. There is some evidence that these
glaciers were also more extensive during an earlier part
of the Neoglacial interval, possibly between 5 and 4 ka
BP and between 3 and 2 ka BP.
We emphasise that these conclusions are very pre-
liminary because of the lack of detailed stratigraphical
and geochronological studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dr Clapperton gratefullyacknowledgesthe support of The Royal
Society,The OiruegieTrust and Aberdeen Universityfor fieldwork
costs in the northern Andes.
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