JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICALRESEARCH, VOL. 91, NO.

B1, PAGES 471-496,

JANUARY 10,

1986

LATE

CENOZOIC

TECTONICS

OF

THE

SOUTHERN

CHILE

TRENC

Steven C. Candeand Rob B. Ireslie 1

Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Palisades, New York Columbia University
,

Abstract.
shore of interaction

Marine geophysical data from offare used to Chile Ridge define the and Chile

Tucholke, Aleutian
1984].
theoretical

1976;

Barker,

1982],

although

more

southern Chile between the

recent work now suggests that an actively spreading ridge may not have been subducted beneath the

Trench during 'late

three
Between

Cenozoic time.
Ma a

We identify
events.
nearly

Trench (Byrne, 1979; Engebretson et al.,

Several studies have
of

distinct
14 and

ridge-trench
10

collision
700-km-long,

investigated
ridge crest

the
sub-

consequences

continuo. s section of the Chile Ridge was subducted between 55S and 48S. Shorter sections of
the ridge, offset by large transform faults, were subducted at 6 and 3 Ma between 48S and 47S. At

duction. DeLong et al. [1978, 1979] and DeIng and Fox [1977] proposed that the principal consequences should include uplift and subsequent substdence of the forearc and arc region, increased

the present-day triple

the
has

Junction, the subductton of

influence
episode of

thermal gradients accompanied by higher lve/s

regional metamorphism, and a hiatus in arc

of
also

ridge

bas

a
a

strong
recent

on the

Chile

magma-

Trench.
driven

In this region the landward trench slope

subductton-

tiaa.
occur.

Marsbak and Kartg

magmatism and

[1977]

proposed that
may

undergone

near-trench

plutonism

tectonic

erosion:

the

trench

slope

is

Herron et

al.

[1981]

and Barker

[1982]

narrower and steeper than along other sectors of the ,margin and the trench axis has migrated shoreward. Evidence exists for late Neogene and 0uaternary uplift and plutonism on the adjacent continental margin. South of 48S, where collt-

suggested that the landward trench slope is subjected to tectonic erosion during a ridgetrench collision. The southern Chtle margin is an excellent example of ongoing collision between an active

sion took place between 10 and 14 Ma, the effects

of collision are much less pronounced. In patticular, the landward trench slope does not appear to have been subjected to extensive tectonic
erosion. We conclude that the configuration of the spreading centers and transform faults on the Chile Rise is the chief factor controlling ridgetrench tectonic interaction. Tectonic erosion of

spreading center and a trench [Herron et al.,

1981]. The collision along southern Chile involves a relatively simple plate geometry: the approaching segments of spreading centers are
nearly parallel to the t.rench axis, and one section of the rift valley is currently passing beneath the inner trench wall. In other locations where ridge crest subduction is taktng place today

the landward trench slope and tectonic

activity

in

the geometry is more complex.

Menard [1978] has

the adjacent continental margin are much greater when short secttons of ridge, offset hy large transform faults, are subducted. A major submarine channel leads along the trench axis southward from the triple Junction. This channel cuts across the outer trench rtse and tarries sediment

shown that oblique ridge-trench collisions often result in the breakup of the subducting plate into small fragments and the variable rotation (pvottng subductS. on) of Individual sections of the
ridge. of the This process ts observed at the collision Juan de Fuca Ridge wtth North America

westward to the Mornington Abyssal Plain.

Paleogene
Trench trench

The
Chile

[Rtddtbough ]977,
Woodlark Basin,
ridge-trench strikes at

1984; Carlson, 1981].

cited

In the
of a

tectonic
a

history

of

the

southern

a frequently

example

includes collision

southward involving

migrating, ridgethe Farallon-Aluk

collision, the a high angle to

spreading center the trench axis

spreading center in Fcene time.

Introduction
The geologic history of the circum-Pactfic

[Weissel
whether

et
an

al.,
active

1982],
segment

and
of

tt
the

is

not
ridge

clear
or a

transform fault is currently being subducted Taylor, unpublished manuscript, 1985). The simple geometry of plate interactions

(B.
off

region is punctuated by collisions between spreading ridges and trenches. During Cenozoic time, collisions have been inferred from marine magnetic anomaly data to have occurred at the

southern Chile makes it possible to study what happens before, during, and after a ridge-trench collision. Because of the relatively short spacing between transform faults, conclusions can

Japan Trench [Uyeda and Myashtro,

1974],

the

,be drawn about the effects

even though little

of tectonic processes
has been

Aleutian Trench [Grow and Atwater, 1970; PeLonget

geologic investigation

al., 1978, 1979], western North America [Atwater, 1970], and South America [Herron et al., 1977] and along the Antarctic Peninsula [Herron and

carried out in this region. In ths paper, marine geophysical data are used to define the interactton of the Chile Ridge with the Chile Trench for
the past 15 m.y.

1Alsoat Department Geological of Sciences,

Columbia University, New York.

Regional Geology
The principal geological features of southern Chile can be summarized from the geologic maps of the Servicio Naconal de Geologta y Minerta

Copyright

1986 by the American Geophysical

Union.

Paper number 4B5411

0148-0227/86/004B-5411505.00
471

[1982].
of

Coastal basement rock generally consists

Jurassic metamorphic rocks that have

pre-Imte

472

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

!:.

CENOZOIC ALKALi BASALTS

MESOZOIC-CENOZOIC
PATAGONIAN BATHOLITH

MIOCENE PLUTONS
AND SUBVOLCANICS

QUATERNARY CALCALKALINE
ICE-FIELDS

VOLCANOES

Fig.
Rise

1.

Simplified
the

geology of southern Chile [after

to Miocene plutons
at the Tattao fracture Chile Trench

Michael, 1982] showing relavolcanoes. Chile

zone.

tionship

of Paragontan batholtth

and 0uaternary

intersects

been interpreted as a pre-Jurasstc accreted terrane [Mpodozts and Forsythe, 193]. These rocks are intruded by the Patagontan batholith (Fgure 1), a series of calc-alkaltne plutons ranging tn

there is no evidence for the removal of the terrane by strike-slip faulting and suggest that it may have been tectonically eroded during subduction or uplifted and eroded subaerially.

age from Late Jurassic to early Miocene [Halpern,

1972]. East of the Patagonian
of active

Because the Miocene plutons are roughly equtdtsrant from the trench all along the margin, Michael

batholitb

are

series
centers.

of Miocene plutons and Miocene volcanic

A line and dormant volcanoes

[1983]
taken

concludes that
place prior to

the truncation
Miocene time

must have
pre

and thus

lies

approximately

150 km landward of,

and paral-

dates the current

of the triple

episode of ridge crest

ts poorly

subducThe

lel to, the trench. Stern et al. [1976] note that there is a gap in the volcanic chain between 47
and 49S, Just south of the triple
It is notable that the western

tton in this region. The geology of the land areas n the vicinity
Junction known.
Tattao and Tres Montes pen{nsulae, the westernmost

Junction.
margin of the

Patagonian bathol{th

lies closer to the conttnental margin south of the triple junction than to
the north. Although active volcanic centers erupt through the Patagonan bathoItth north of the

projections of mainlapd Chile, are immediately adjacent to the Chile Rise. Dalztel et al. [1975]
found that Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks are exposed on the Tattao Peninsula. Forsythe and

triple

Junction, they lie

landward of the bathoJunction. Based on the

Nelson [1985] report that at least a portion of

the uplifted marine section s latest Miocene in

lt th south of the triple

near absence of an arc-trench gap terrane south of

age.

Forsythe et al.

[1985] determined K-Ar dates

50S, Bruhn and Dalztel

continental marg{n was

[1977] propose that the

truncated after the

of

3.5-4.0

Ma for

two sil!ctc
and discovered

plutons on the
an ophioltte

Taitao

Peninsula

eraplacementof the batboltth.

They note that

complex, dated as Pliocene, on the Tattao Peninsula.

Cande and Leslie:

Late

Cenozoic

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

473

-90 o _40

-85

-80

-75

-70*

_65 o _40

5o 5 4'
.o o

&VOLCANOES !
EPICENTERS
,-..

7...

_45 o

5do

5e 5d . =,GU,=,.,.BL) ! OC6o b :.,,

o ..'

TAITAO PENINSULA BE PENAS

TRES MONTES PEN.

:.......:1.:
,.

i -5o" /
IX.to
o 9

o.O ' .'-.... '......5c . ' Yo'.

.. ,,,

8o '

Io o o o

o.

"

,o ::./' .'

.o- ' ' V ..."'.o.... 'x X. /b ..o '" '.. 9o e , , I . .. " .... % '' ....

o,-.

'

.-

, ....s,

.:..

.i.i'

50"

Xo:.O,
-- .o.

' D,.:
.

'

k o.f.

i o, o...,enf,. -

o,11

...,: X ' '

o.

.-;'

Io%e .....
/

I"

..

.;

/
/
-55

i.. /g P'.' .: .o.O e/......o,/.

./or

. . o

/ /
- o

/.' "o,/ "'/

' o0A/

.,

%z ,

v sz 0.0%:/'so ....',
.. o ..... . 1t

.. ..' ..'
-'"-'"":'
_55 o

,-- . ...o .. '*.

oo'x o u...... :4:";

o9

I.

Io

fi i
U0.

'.

/19. '

'

'

20

o /

'o/ /

13

o 12

o11oll
12

ou ,.

...

b o.

5
.
_60

. ' .
23

J. /

.._. o o 19o .2
'.J o
' ....
22

18.o_
'
'.197
-75 o . 5; /

24.

5
-60

o
-70

o /
-65

-90

-85

_80 o

Fig. 2. Revised marine magnetic anomaly map of the southeast to southern Chile. In addition to Conrad Cruise 21-07 data,

Pacific Basin adjacent identifications include

those of Weissel et al.

[1982].

[1977],

Herron at at.

(1981),

Cande et al.

[1982],

and Barker

Pata Sources
The tectonic based primarily interpretations presented here are on data collected on Conrad cruise

ces for Conrad lines 7-12 were two 466 in. 3 air

guns; a 25 in. 3 air gunwasusedalong lines 26. in The 48-fold multichannel seismic Figures 15-18 were made available lines shown to us by E.

21-07 in 1978 (lines 7-12, Figure 8), and Conrad cruise 18-03 in 1975 (lines 2-6, Figure 8). Other data used to make bathymetry and magnetic maps are from the Lamont marine geophysical library and include information gathered during earlier Conrad and Verna, USNS Eltantn, and Glomar Challenger cruises and data collected by Scripps Institute of Oceano.rapby research vessels. The seismic sour-

Gonzalez of Empresa Nactonal del Petroleo Santiago, Chile.

In 1982 a detailed survey of the region

(ENAP),
of the

collision

zone between 45S and 48S was carried

out on Conrad cruise 23-04. This survey focused on specific tectonic features and problems in the area of the triple Junction. The results of this survey will be presented in a later paper.

474

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern Chile Trench

MORNINGTON
6b

LINEATIONS
6(]

5e

5d

C 2107'
8 7

12: I0 9 II
C2107

6c

6b

6(]

5e

5d

6c

6b

6(]

EL42

PIQR

C 2107'

98 7

6c 6b .

c5o3

nOTO C T Km 1802 50
PIQR$
TRENCH AXIS

Fig. 3.
are

Marine magnetic anomalies off southern Chile.

of anomaly 6 along this entire
Figure 2.

Note that there are only very

Profile locations

small offsets
shown in

section of the trench.

History of Ridge and Transform Fault Subduerion

Herron et al. [1977] proposed that the Chile Ridge initially collided with South America near

In
Nazca

Figure 4,
and

we show motion vectors of

plates relative to a

the

Antarctic

fixed

South Aer{ca plate for several time intervals in the Cenozoic. The relative motion for the last 5

Tierra del Fuegoat approximately 20 Ma and that

since this event the collision zone has migrated

m.y. was taken from Chase [1978].

the Antarctic plate relative to

The mot.onof
South America

northwHd to its

present location

near the Taitao

prior

to 5 Ms was calculated

by summing the cir-

Peninsula at 46S. It is now possible to dscribe more accurately the ridge-trench interaction.
The position of the Chile Ridge relative to the Antarctic plate during the past 20 m.y. can be determined using sea floor spreading anomalies west of the southern Chile margin (Figure 2). The age and distribut{on of these anomalies, originally mappedby Herron [1971], have been revised by
Weissel et al. et al. [1982]. [1977] and most recently by Cande The revised anomaly map shown i

cutt of South America-Africa [Ladd, 1974] and Africa-Antarctica [Fisher and Sclater, 1983]. The
motion of the Nazca plate relative to South America was determined by summingthe additional

motion of Antarctic-Pacific [Molnar et al., 1975] and Pacific-Nazca [Pilger, 1978, 1983]. The indtvdual plate-pair finite rotatioD poles are given in Table 1. The resulting plate-circuit finite
rotation poles that were used to construct Figure 4 are given in Table 2. The magnetic polarity

Figure 2 includes data published by Barker [1982]. The magnetic lineartonS critical for tracking the
collision history of the Chile Ridge and Chile Trench are those in the region of 50-55S..These
south of the Esmeralda fracture zone (Figure 2) is

reversal time scale of Kent and Gradstein [1985] was used to assign absolute ages to the magnetic
anomalies. It is apparent from Figure 4 that the motion of
rate of roughly 20 .mm/yr in the E-W direction.

are the Mornington linearions, which are shownin the Antarctic plate relative to South America has profile form in Figure 3. The youngest anomaly been fairly constant for the past 25 m.y. at the

anomaly5D. The position of the Chile Ridge after

this time is estimated by extrapolating the anomaly pattern landward based on the spreading rates
observed farther north.

This motion is confirmedby direct observation of

Antarctic-South America seafloor spreading magnetic anomalies on the America-Antarctic Ridge
southwest of the Bouvet Triple 3unction by Lawyer

Cande and Ireslie:

Late

Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

475

NAZCA-SOUTH

AMERICA

CONVERGENCE

when tn a TTR configuration and slowly southward (at about 10 mm/yr) during a TTF configuration. The vector velocity triangles that result n this alternating fast and slow motion of the triple Junction are shown tn Fgure 6. These are based on Chase's [1978] worldwide solution for the past
5 m.y. A model
and Chile

2Omm/yr

for

the

interaction
ts shown tn

of

the

Chile

Ridge
cross

Trench

schematic

O
o

section tn Fgure 7. A key element tn gure 7 ts the Interplate gap, or thermal window, between the trailing edge of the Nazca plate and the leading edge of the Antarctica plate. This gap ts the slab-free zone, analogous to the slab-free zone proposed to have formed beneath California by the interaction of the Pacific, Farallon, and North America plates [Atwater, 1970; Dickinson and

Snyder,

1979],

which

upwelling

asthenosphere

may come tn direct contact with the overlying South American plate. The position of the interplate gap ts estimated by assuming that the Nazca and Antarctica plates continue to separate after

the ridge crest bas been subducted.

for the subducted slabs north and

A dip of 20
south of the

ANTARCTICA-SOUTH

AMERICA

CONVERGENCE

triple Junction was calculated by assuming that the slab ts at a depth of 125 km beneath the
active volcanoes. Since the active volcanoes are

the same distance from the trench both north and

of 20 between 47 and 49 , where there
canic gap.

o
Fig. 4. Relative
Nazca-South

south triple ofthe Junction,thea volwe tssame used dip

The relation of the Interplate gap to the
volcanoes Is shown tn that the only place Figure where 7. there It ts ts a

motion of South America to the

America convergence prior to

active notable

Nazca(top) and Antarctic (bottom)plates since

50 Ma.

volcanic gap ts directly above the interplate

Map. The gap tn volcanism, as noted by tern et

25 Ma was northeastward and highly oblique to the margin, while Antarctica-South America
convergence bas remained relatively Jar to the margin since at least
tme. Numbers near arrowheads

perpendtcuearly Eocene
n Ma.

al. [1976] and Herron et al. [1081], s less than 10 m.y. n duration, a period substantially
shorter than the 20 to 30 m.y. MaP predicted by

Mtve ages

DeLong et al. [1979]. The theoretical model of DeLong et al. [1979] assumed subductton rates and spreading rates comparable to those off southern
Chile.

and

Dick

[ 1983].

The

motion

of

the

Nazca

(Farallon) plate relative to South America ts marked by two distinct phases, roufbly N80E since

Bathymetry and Free Air Gravity

anomaly 7 time (25 Ma) and N10E pror

time. The motion of

to this
to South

In

Figures 8 and 0 we present batbymetry and

the Chile

RidMe relative

free air gravity maps, respectively, of the southern Chile Trench. We have given names to fracture

America (Figure 5) was determined by combining the relative motions tn Fgure 4 with the extrapolated position of the spreading center. This ridgetrench geometry suggests that a 700-kin-long segment of the Chie Ridge collided w!tb the Chile Trench west of Tterra del Fego about 14 Ma. The triple junction rapidly mrated northward to a

zones that were only assigned mumbers tn the study by }erron et al. [1981]. These Include the
Guamblin, Irwtn, Tres Montes, and Esmeralda fracture zones. In Figure 10 we show the batbymetry, magnetic, and gravity data along selected tracks projected perpendicular to the trench. The Chile Rise intersects the Chile Trench

position just south of the Golfo de Penas by 10

Ma. Only three minor fracture zones offset the

northwest of the Tattao Peninsula (Figure 8).

rift valley ts crossed progressively closer

The

to the

entire section fracture zone.

of ridge south of the Esmera.da Around 6 Ma a ridge section coltded with the trench adjacent to the Golfo de Penas; about 3 Ma, a short ridge section collided opposite the Tres Montes Peninsula. The section of the ridge between the Tattao and arwin fracture zones arrived at the trench axis about

trench on profiles 3, 4, and 5 respectively (Figure 10). On profile 5 the rift valley abuts the trench inner wall, and the rift valley floor corresponds to the trench axis. A prominent feature of the batbymetrtc profiles ts the vartable width of the landward trench slope, indicated
by the lined pattern tn Figure 8. The landward

100,000 years ago. zone a ridge/trench

North of the arwtn fracture collision will probably occur are near.y parallel junction mgrates

tremcb sope becomes progressively narrower and steeper as the triple junction s approached from

1 m.y. tn the future.

Because the ridge sections to the trench, the triple

the north. approximately 160 mm/yr) junction.

The steepest and narrowest part of the Farther south, the landward trench

landward trench slope ts adjacemt to the Tres Montes Peninsula, Immediately south of the triple

rapidly

northward (at

476

Cande and Leslie:

Late

Cnozotc

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

TABLE

1.

Plate-Pair

Finite

Rotation

Poles

Anomaly
3

Latt rude, deg

50.9

Longt rude, deg

Angle, deg

References

A,
-87.0

Nazca-Pactftc
-7.0

Chase [1978]
t

5 6 7 8 13 18 20 21 22 25
3

58.8 62.2 63.0 64.5 69.4 72.8 73.4 74.0 74.4 75.1
66.2

-89.0 -90.3 -90.6 -93.0 -102.5 -112.6 -115.2 -118.4 -120.5 -125.5

-15.1 -30.7 -39.6 -41.3 -49.8 -57.1 -59.4 -62.3 -64.2 -68.8

Ptlger Ptlger Ptlger Ptlger

t t

[1978] [1978] [1978] [1983]

Ptlger

[1983]
[1975] [1975]

B
-83.5

Pacific-Antarctica
4.2

5 6 7 8 13 18 20 21 22 25

68.7 72.0 73.5 73.8 74.7 75.3 74.8 74.2 73.8 73.0

-79.7 -72.0 -64.9 -63.4 -57.0 -48.5 -49.7 -50.9 -51.6 -53.0

8.9 15.7 20.2 21.4 27.9 33.0 34.8 36.9 38.3 41.8

Chase [1978] Molnar et al. Molnar et al.

Molnar et al. Molnar et al.

[1975] [1975]

Molnar et al.
Chase [1978]

[1975]

C,
3 5 6 7 8 13 18 20 21 22 -6.6 8.4 8.4 5.8 5.3 3.3 2.1 1.7 1.2 1.0 -35.7 -42.2 -42.4 -34.9 -33.5 -28.0 -27.5 -27.3 -27.1
-27.0

Antarctica-Africa
0.7 1.6 3.2 4.1 4.4 5.8 7.4 8.3 9.3 10.0

Fisher
i t

and Sclater

[1983]

Fisher
t t t

and Sclater

[1983]

Fisher and Sclater

[1983]

D
3 5
6 7 8

Africa-South
-1.5 -3.8
-7.6 -9.8 -10.4

America
Chase [1978] Ladd [1974]

63.9 70.0
62.9 61.4 61.1

-34.3 -35.0
-35.0 -35.0 -35.0

13
18

59.9
62.1

-35.0
-35.7

-13.5
-16.4

Ladd [1974] Ladd [1974]

20
21 22

63.0
63.0 63.0

-36.0
-36.0 -36.0

-18.0
-19.3 -20.2

28

63.0

-36.0

-24.3

Ladd [1974]

interpolated.

slope rapidly broadens until it reaches tts greatest width near 49S, near the intersection of the
Esmeralda fracture zone wtth the continental mar-

as the triple junction ts approached from the north, as is expected for the decreasing flexural
rtgtdtty of younger subducting oceanic crust.

gin.

In the area between 48 and 50S the landSetsmtc Profiler Records

ward trench slope ts cut by several large canyons. The most prominent features of the free air

gravity
fracture

field
zones

(Figure 9) are the rift

associated wttb the

valleys
Rise

and
and

A dtsplay of the variable

tton of the Chtle Trench near

in-profile
the trtple

conftguraJunctton

Chtle

the large negattve anomaly associated with the sediment-filled trench. A prominent gravity high is centered along the flexural bulge seaward of the trench axis. The distance separating the

ts presented in the seismic reflection records tn Figures 11, 12, and 13. These profiles were collected with a single-channel setstoic system and recorded as analog records. The rift valley tn

outer gravity high and the trench axts decreases

profile

4 (Figure 11) bas an exaggerated wtdth

CAnde and Leslie:

Late

Cenozoic

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

477

TABLE

2.

Plate-Circuit

Fntte

Rotation

Poles

Age, Ma
5 10 20 25 27 35 42 49

Anomaly
3 5 6 7 8 13 18 21

Lat! rude, deg

A,
48.6 61.1 62.4 60.7 61.9 64.6 65.2 65.5

Longt rude, deg

-90.2
-95.6 -94.3

Angle, deg
-4.1
-9.0 -20.7

Nazca-Sou th America

-95.8 -100.0 -115.6 -132.0 -144.2

-27.3 -28.4 -33.7 -39.5 -43.9

B,
5 10 20 35 45 52 3 5 6 13 20 22

Antarctica-South
87.1 P4.4 83.9 85.1 89.4 87.3

America
132.0 97.0 24.0 -43.0 -172.7 144.5 -1.4 -3.4 -6.3 -11.4
-15.8 -17.9

due, in part,

to a decrease in shtp's speed as the

the inner slope in this area is cut by broad, deep

canyons. However, on several profiles, sediment appears to be accumulating upslope of the strucrural high in a manner consistent with the

rift valley was crossed and, in part, to an abnormal width compared to the rift valley in profiles 3 and 5. These profiles emphasize the dramatic

change in

configuration

of

the landward trench

constructed hastns of Seely [1979].

Because of the migrating nature of ridge sion, we speculate that profiles 6, 7, and 8 represent three stages in the development of a slow convergent rate, high-sediment input, forearc

slope between 43 and 51S. Lines 2, 3, and 4 cross the landward trench slope in the zones where, if plate motions do not change, a ridgetrench collision will take place in 8, 2, and 1

m.y. respectively. Line 5 crosses the landward trench slope at the present-day collision zone.
Lines 6 and 7 cross the trench where collision occurred at 3 and 6 Ma, respectively. Lines 8-12
cross
Ma.

region. In stage 1 (line 6), only a small (10 km wide) accrettonary prism occurs at the foot of a
narrow landward trench slope. In stage 2 (line 7) the accrettonary prism has broadened to about 40
km,
slope

the

sector

of

landward

trench

slope

where

and

clear

geomorpbtc
lower

separation

exists

the migrating spreading ridge collided

The most striking feature north of

at 10-14
the triple

between a
tural high

(presumably) relatively
slope;

rigid
a small

upper
struc-

and a deforming

separates

the upper and lower

slopes.

Junction (lines 2-5) is the progressive narrowing

and steepentng of the landward trench slope as the triple Junction is approached from the north. On line 5, the distance from zero-age crust at the
trench
The

In stage 3 (line

8) the midslope structural

high

has evolved into a large forearc ridge that nearly reaches the sea surface. A prominent accrettonary prism occurs at the foot of the landward trench
slope,
The

axis

to the shelf
of the

break

ts less
fill

than 15 kin,
tn the

and a 20-km-wtde
sediment fill tn

forearc
the

basin

lies
axis

between
south of

corresponding

to a slope of 12.
sediment

the outer arc ridge and the continental

trench

margin.

thickness

trench varies of pelagic

from over 2 s on lines deposits covered by

2 and 3, to 1
floor on 100-200 m

the

triple

junction This

has a

thick probably

(~1 km) beretreflects the

1/2 s on line 4, to a barren rift line 5. The sediment consists of

valley about

pelagic section in contrast layer on the Nazca plate

to the thin pelagic north of the triple

turbidire

beds.

Junction.

variation

The profiler records south of the triple Junction (lines 6-12) reveal a structurally complex landward trench slope. On line 6, in the 3 Ma colltsion zone, the landward trench slope remains narrow, but over 2 s of sediment occurs beneath

much longer residence time of the slower moving Antarctic plate as it moves through the highproductivity zone near the continent. We have made a rough estimate of the potential amount of sediment accreted to the landward trench

the floor
sediment

of
free

the trench compared to the nearly

rift valley floor in line 5. On

slope in the region between 48S and 51S, correspondtng to the sector where the collision took

line 7, adjacent to the 6 Ma collision formal ridges are observed at the

zone, antifoot of the

place at 10 Ma. In Figure 14, two calculations are presented of the volume of sediment that might
have been scraped first calculation, off the Antarctica top profile in plate. Figure The 14,

landward trench slope. A steep escarpment separates the lower trench slope from the upper trench

slope.

On line

8, adjacent to the 10 Ha collision

assumes that

the current

thickness of sediment at

zone, antiformal ridges are again observed at the foot of the landward trench slope. From line 8 southward through line 12, prominent structural highs, similar to those bordering forearc basins

the foot of the inner trench slope, approximately 2 km, has been constant for the last 10 m.y. and has been entirely scraped off. However, the sedtment flux probably has not been constant. The

[Seely, 1979], are common. These features are not laterally continuous over lon. distances, as ts evident in the bathymetrtc map (Figure 8), because

second calculation, bottom profile tn Figure 14, assumes that the sediment thickness tn the trench has varied tn time and, in nonglacial and inter-

478

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

GUBL. N F.'Z.
1' O 'Z.. 1' F.

N F.

ITAO PEN.

MONTES
PEN.

1'E-$ F. WONR'E-$ 7_...

E.$E.R7... L.D/ F.
\B

FO DE PENAS

\B
POSITION OF RIDGE CREST

RELATIVE

TO

SOUTH

AMERICA

18 Ma TO PRESENT

America since 18 Ma. Because of fracture zone offsets, three distinct ridge collision events occurred: between 14 and 10 Ma a 700-km-long section of ridge collided with

Fig. 5.

Reconstructionof the position of the Chile Ridge relative to a fixed South

the trench starting near Tierra del Fuego and migrating northward to the Golfo de Penas, at 6 Ma a 200-kin-long ridge section collided adjacent to the Golfo de Penas,
and at 3 Ma a 50-km-long section collided
pentnsulae.

adjacent to the Taitao and the Tres Montes

glacial
[Scholl

times, was only 1/4 its present thickness

et al., 1970]. A 20% volume loss is

tially

a large percentaloeof the trench slope has

in Just the

been formed by subduction accretion

assumed in both models when the sediments are added to the landward trench slope [Von Huene and

past 10 m.y. (top profile), the more likely amount of sediment accreted would form only the lower

Kulm, 1973]. It is apparent that althoughpoten-

trench slope (lower profile).

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern Chile Trench

479

a)

of

the basin,
at

seaward
the

dipping

layers
the

appear
west

to be
end of

truncated

seafloor.

Toward

TTR

I I

the basin, the sedimentary horizons are laterally discontinuous, probably reflecting tectonic disturbance. Six meters of regional uplift occurred on Guamblin Island, about 50 km north of this basin, during the great Chilean earthquake of

\
\

1960 [Plafker

and Savage, 1970].

the triple of Cenozoic
the Golfo

I J
I

I I I

South of shelf basins

basin underlies

Junction are two other age. The more northerly

de Penas. It is located

\ \

about
cent

50 km landward
to the collision

of

the
zone

shelf
at 6

break
Ma.

and adjaGraben-

\ \

NAZ.
ARC MAGMATISM VS. AGE OF COLLISION

S'A' ANT. \ I
b)
TTF

I
I I

50 mrn/yr
NAZ.

0Ma

TRENCH ?,)

46oS

.fJANT.
Fig. 6. Comparison of the motion of is the triple

Junction
America (bottom).

(solid
when the

circle)
triple

relative
Junction

to
in

South
a TTR

3 Ma

/,

46.5oS

configuration

(top)

and

TTF

configuration

Shelf

Basins

Sedimentary
both
channel

basins
south

are
of

located
the

on
triple

the

shelf

north

and

Junction

[Mordojovtcb,
basins.
drilled

1981].

ENAP has collected

data over

mu]ttthese

seismic

reflection

An
about

exploration
100 km north

well
of the

(Darwin
triple

1)

was

Junction

6 Ma

,q.7S o

by Arco and a second by Phillips

(Phillips

I-A)
the

about 500 km south of the triple junction near western end of the Straits of Magellan. North of the triple junction is a series elongated shelf basins that have been described

of by
and

MordoJovtch
record

[1981].

In

general,
angular

these

basins

a Pltocene-Mtocene

unconformtty

a Mtocene-Pa leogene dtsconformt ty [MordoJovtch, 1981]. The southernmost of these basins, the
Guambltn Basin, lies between Guambltn Island and

the Tattao

Peninsula

(inset,

Figure

15).

A seisshown in on on a r)rtlltng
and

mic profile of the Guambltn basin is Figure 15. Darwin 1 well was drilled dtaptrtc structure crossed by this line.
results indicate about 450 m of

11Ma

50S

Pleistocene

upper Pltocene
overlying 700

clays tone and siltstone

m of
in

(layer
and

A)

early
the

Pltocene

Miocene

claystone
Acoustic

and
basement

siltstone

(layers
seismic

B
record

and

C).

corres-

ponds to an Oltgocene and Miocene conglomerate about 100 m thick (layer D). Below this cong]omerate an additional
sandstone

Fig. 7. Cartoon showing location of active volcanoes (top and bottom profiles) relative to
the
or

700 m of Paleogene or older,

was drilled. The Paleozotc

inferred
"thermal

position
window"

of

the "interplate
the Nazca

hole"
and

tndurated

between

metamorphic basement assumed to underlie this region was not reached. The seismic reflection line in Figure 15 shows
that the axis of this basin lies about 30 km land-

Antarctic plates for four sections of the margin. The ages on the left give time of the ridge-trench collision event for that particular
section of the margin. Numbers on the right

ward of the shelf

break.

Along the eastern side

give latitude

of each cross section.

480

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics, Southern Chile Trench

-74

-82

-80
3700' -... ....

-78

-76

-72

..........
.... ., .......
l.., /',-/

......._-6"

?:...... ,,!
/

',;
-42

-- '-. ......
-42

',

---..
'

.- (

"-3700 -, .......

Uoq .,:;." .... ',

{"-.._.,
; .

[ ..J??'-'
/"'"'"',./ ,/
/.'

y.? /Q)
/'
.-

<.,,.;,/ --44
o

-44

?...'T.;--,,,,
B i

,,

-46

-46

400 000
-48
,/ i
,'
/ /

GOLFO DE PENAS

-48

-50

-5O

-82

-80

-78

-76

-74

-72

07 data. Inner trench wall is shaded. Marked profiles are shownin Figures 10-13. T.M.P. indicates location of Tres Montes Peninsula south of the Tattao Peninsula.

Fig. 8. Bathymetry meters southern in of Chile Trench incorporating Conrad cruise 21-

bounding faults whichoffset the seafloor (Figure 16) indicate that the Golfo de Penasbasin is currently subsiding. Little is known about the age of the sedimentfilling this structure. Forsytheand Nelson [1985] proposethat Its
section is of late Miocene through Holoceneage,

basin strikes NNW/SSE, roughly perpendicular to the Nazca-South America convergence direction. The internal structuresof the Golfo de Penas basin indicatea complex tectonichistory. Along line DB-020, landward dippingreflectors west of
the axis of the basin appear to be truncated at

which would time the origin of the basin with the

the seafloor. Basement either crops out or shal-

ridge/trench collision at 6 Ma. Theaxis of the lowly underliesthe surface near the western ends

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern Chile Trench

481

_82 o
_ 44 o

_80 o
i i

_78 o
i

_76 o

_74 o

_72 o

_70 o _44 o

. ,,z ...5>
3000
400O

4.25 '

5000

-46

Co
+,i ,.,9

FREE AIR

GRAVITY

_48

+16

+20. ..

_50

_50

4000

_52

_52

_54

12

I -80

_78

-76

_74

-72

_54 o _70

Fig.

9.

Free air

gravity
data

map, with depth contours

15-03,

(dashed lines),
18-03, 21-07;

of southern Chile
and IlSNS Eltantn

Trench including leg 42.

from Conrad cruises

18-02,

of the basin (lines

on line D8-022 for

D8-020 and D8-022;

two distinct

Figure 16).
events

junction,
Madre de

whose axes are

landward
by large

of

the

shelf
that

Seaward of the shelf break, evidence is exhibited

erosional

break (e.g.,
Dtos

Figure 15).
Basin is cut

The western side of the

canyons

(indicated
break

by "E" in

Figure 16).

Active faults

have removed strata

We assume that

from the basin (line

during

Fq-032).
Pleisto-

the seafloor

on both profiles.

the canyons evolved

South of 48S, the Madre de Dios basin (Figure

17) can be traced for several hundred kilometers along the upper slope and shelf. The axis of the Madre de Dios Basin is located on the upper slope, approximately 15 km seaward of the shelf break. This contrasts with the basins north of the triple

cene low sea level

stands.

Mass wasting is also

involved in their formation as a large slump (?) occupies the steep upper slope of the Ladrillelo Canyon (Figure 17 and 18, line 9-032). The stratigraphic section of the Madre de Dtos Basin is poorly known. A prominent unconformity

482

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cnozotc

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

BATHYMETRY

FREE AIR GRAVITY

MAGNETICS

50

5b

..

j 2 ' 3 3'

R.V. ,

---'-_

,-F.Z.

2'

/
EZ.

,
o

50KM nT 1

, 500 7

Fig. 10.

Bathymetry, magnetic, and free air

Location of profiles
of rift valley.

gravity profiles

across the southern

3, 4, and 5

Chile Trench.
marks position

given in Figure 8.

R.V. on profiles

occurs about 1/2 s below the seafloor along the

north-south tie line PP-003. Based on the

and pinch out.

layers thin more

Older (pre-Pltocene)
gradually and appear

underlying
to cover

Phillips 1-A well at the western end of the straits of Magellan, this unconformtty is dated by ENAP geologists (E. Gonzalez, personal coremunica-

basement westward to the edge of line F9-028. The entire offshore sequence is covered by a seaward thickening surftctal layer that has the appearance

tton,

1983) as Mtocene-Pltocene in

age.

The

of a bottom simulating reflector

(BSR) or tt

may

section penetrated by the Phillips 1-A well also suggests that the acoustic basement, Indicated by "B" in Figure 18, is composed of rocks of Oligocene or older age. Seaward, beneath the slope, the sedimentary sequences separated by the Mtocene-Pltocene unconformtty are conformable (line F9-028, Figure 17). Pltocene and younger sediment thicken seaward reaching a maximum thickness in about 600 m of water. Farther seaward, these upper layers thin

represent Pleistocene and Holocene sediment. Although we have designated the prominent reflector labeled "B" in Figure 18 acoustic basement, deeper reflectors are observed. One of these deep reflectors, labeled "X," is parttcularly intriguing because it underlies the inner shelf where a thin sedimentary cover overlies Paleozotc metamorphic basement. The implication of the recording of reflector X is not understood; it may be only an artifact of the processing.

Cande and Leslie:

Late

Cenozoic

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

483

e- O
seconds

rift

valley

",,

,,,,

....... ,!: '

,:4

'

volley :''' ':

"

'" "';

:; '
rift

valley

km
(approx)

5-6-

4 ,, -
-, ,x .'
records across Chile

:;' -4
Ridge and Chile Trench
of the

Fig.

11.

Single-channel

seismic

profiler

north of the triple junction. trench inner wall. Rift valley

Note the southward narrowing and steepentng floor on profile 5 doubles as the trench axis.

Interpretation

Geophysical data demonstrate that ridge colltsion has had a major structural effect on the landward trench slope and probably also on the adjacent continental margin. Narrowing and steepentng of the landward trench slope occurs as the triple junction is approached from the north, suggesting that as the Chile Ridge moves northward, it truncates the landward trench slope. A similar time-progressive steepentng of a trench

slope

occurs

on the Antarctic

Peninsula

[Barker,

Data south of the Golfo de Penas, however, suggest that ridge collision does not always have a destructive effect. If the Mtocene-Pltocene unconformtty is correctly identified, then apparently the ridge crest collision with the section of the Chile Trench south of the Esmeralda fracture zone caused relatively little tectonic erosion of the continental margin. In fact this unconformtty may be the only event that can be related to the collision. Collision took place along this section of the margin about 10 Ma and, therefore, could be responsible for the late

1982], and this phenomenon bas been Interpreted

as

Miocene through early

ttcularly tf years before on the shelf.

Pltocene unconformtty,

par-

evidence of tectonic erosion commensurate with ridge subductfon. On land, adjacent to the Chile Trench, plutonism, volcanism, and uplift have been

there is a hiatus of a few million subsidence and sedimentation resumed

documented on the Tattao Peninsula [Forsythe and Nelson, 1985; Forsythe et al., 1985]. Complex
tectonism occurring appears to be related n the Golfo to ridge-trench de Penas also collision.

Another indication that collision had little effect south of the Golfo de Penas is the absence
of coeval plutons along thts section of the margin and structural embayments smtlar to the Golfo de

484

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

-o

seconds

4-

channel

-o

Fig. 12. Single-channel seismic reflection profile across Chile Trench south of the triple Junction. Note rapid southward widening of trench inner wall. Profiles 6, 7, and 8 may represent progressive stages in development of an outer arc high.

Penas. If ridge collision had affected this part of the margin to the extent ascribed near the Tattao Peninsula, we wouldexpect similar structural features south of the Golfo de Penas. We conclude that the effects of the ridge collision have varied with time and, in fact, that

the Esmeraldafracture zone only a few, short offsets occur along the Chile Rise. The entire collision event between52S and 48S must have
taken place rapidly. North of the Esmeralda fracture zone, the Chile Rise is offset several hundred kilometers by a series of transform faults

the on-going collision is muchmore active than

that of late Miocene time. The reason for the
South of

both the Golfo de Penas and Tattao Peninsula was

(Figure 5).

The continental margin adjacent to

time-varying effects of ridge collision can be related to the geometryof the spreading centers
and transform faults on the Chile Rise.

underthrustby lengthy active transformfaults for several million years. Thus the subductton of
lengthy transform faults appears to be the crtti-

Cande and Leslie:

Late

Cenozoic

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

485

-o

-2

-3

Fig.

13.

Continuation

of

Figure

12.

cal element in determining the degree of interaction between a ridge and trench and, in particular, contributes to the truncation of the landward trench slope.

plate was suggested by Muraucht and Ludwig [1980]

for the .Japan Trench. They proposed a continuous process of subduction erosion in which the decollement gradually migrates upward, leading to

the southernChile margindiffers in significant landwardtrench slope. Von Huene and Lee [1983] ways from that along manyother active margins. describe a similar processof subductton erosion
Tectonic erosion ts generally associated with sediment-starved trenches [e.g., chweller and Kulm, 1978; Hussong al., 1976]. It has been et proposed that tn areas of low trench sedimentation the rough relief of the oceanic crust will abrade
the base of the continental
about 35S to 55S the

The tectonic erosion that ts occurring along

detachment and subductfon of

the base of

the

tn which a zone of low shear strength and low friction develops above a subduction zone,

followed by the upward migration of the decoliement. The subductton young,oceanic of crust may accelerate suchprocesses.
However, an erosiona
erosion of the trench

margin and physically

Chile trench ts

process only related

slope at

to

remove material [Lister, 1971; Hilde and arman, 1978; Schweller and Kulm, 1978]. However, from
southern

the decreasing age of the oceanic crust cannot explain the difference between the extensive
inner the present-

filled
sector

with more than 2 s of sediment.

of the trench that is not filled

The only
with sedt-

day triple
erosion

Junction

and the

relatively

little

that appears to have taken place south of

ment ts the north end of the rift

collision zone at 46S (line 5).

valley in the
The observed

50S-

Therefore we will

propose mn alternate

method for truncating

the landward trench slope.

basement relief can trap only a small percentage of the sediment underlying the trench floor and

We attribute the greater amount of tectonic erosion near the present-day triple Junction to

of the landward trench slope. Someother mecha- with the trench slope. The basementrelief assonism for removing large volumesof material from c]ated with young fracture zones and transform

cannot begin to account for the tectonic erosion the inner trench slope mustbe involved.
One mechanism for eroding the landward trench

the interaction of the lengthy transform faults

faults will act as sediment traps and will also

abrade the base of the continental margin. The

slope in the presenceof sedimentson the incoming abrasive effect

of

these subducting transform

486

camde CenOZOiC Trench and late TectoniCS, Leslie: Southern Chile

AccRETED SEDIMENTS
SEALEVEL

(,.) FLUX CONSTANT

I0 TO Mo _P

KM

KM
0

VARIABLE FLUX

2O

shows convergence volume sedimentsto wall. sccreted inner 14. toline Both s sccreted20 for Shadedmodels trenchmm/yr area when is the tothetrench present 10. of potentiallyinner assumeequal the rate trench oftothe wsl adjacent loss material volume hickmess Fig in
last n.Y. a co sediment Premsindertime thatthemodel 10 and natantB.assume=s_.th. thethickness 20% . f for trench the t resent sediment ollOwtng last ModelassumesModel A of the
sediment thickneSS.

750,000and this years1/4 thickness Lu .....

collision.

usedetouterhavesince by of [1970]. model ridge-tren Scholl The sccreted sl. arc more B wall the highbeen the seaward realistic mightIndicates
the valleyatypical rift is nsof theoceanic st ridge depth crust

1 but motion (~10 u-_"-. 1500 ..rth faultsaccentuated to . m),andse st ]more will ts ,!.ent ofconditionswhile ..... anthe threeo..% trenchdepth. utsouj, a . cooling re _ %o v{rst.be _s by significant /9500 them there eep=l3 P
/ '' ---m _ . etrlc the thwsrd trd, effectclosel Inthis be spaced. trenchu tntersec - - o tramstormcurve the will particularly trsn relict 4). us theo.,,]m

faultsfracture mlgrste the faults (and the along zoneS)trench theof landward basewlll sou transform slope. are
Mornington snnel

pendtng a cse, landward uponAt across by toes theoceanicrepeatedly agethe struck transf of be s happened thepresent-daY crustsection thedowneitherssthetrench transform be hasmtgrstln fault,fracturefaults, slope therestep of adjacent willasteppeninsula.the upzonethe zone Montes orouth, fracture a the has step in basement. colllston Esrwt. zone Tsttao while
hanne], called here the ..... to thes to theu .h %en thesouthward A largesubmarine ..... ..... in step-down c .... m _ theaxial ...... 1 one viciuv-.. s. u- . basement re-- of the ---- [ Channel, can e has s
-ect of the ....... be thougn

conftgurstlon- er willactms rbull- Morningtonthe Trench from the ..... fsults slope thes g ' Chile m of triple southward t Junction. the The of location mtgr sting transfor low ..... the floor indicated ur$atehewnn of nt of is ty Futrge channel on_. . wo,, * _ .... bathymetrc - of SS tectOnZ
seismic 6-9tn_=Shge trench lines landward slope
channel thefooto and
tS te o

riffling,appliedof The ofthe9 a tothe andKulm aterm McCarthy profilesturbidItc Scholl 8 isthick [1985]bylandwardandb turbidItc to up-and-down described_ ofchannel the the andof shape channelSchweller The actionon wedgessimilarwed_g basementand-' 40"S'on structurestheshallow twoChile passingmigrating is beneath .these Trench wedg turbtdtte cuttanosthe slope profiles the .... trenc_h_. A1 etect southwardforthe - ., [1978]

Pmetrtcthatforlar_g_e__tceP are of steps thethe c wedges 9 ormed occu.raCrason Sand terrion profiles young
the collison

trench-aXis small channels or have very absent Based on examples Schweller leveeslikelybythick. [Schweller and the Kulmthe Kulm, trench [1978], shown and itis 1978]. that

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern Chile

Trench

487

DARWIN

NO. 1

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,' ' ...........

........ '

--

' ' ' ' ,.'' ' '==' ' O

.... .''.-1

D8-014 E

SEC. 0
!

o
I

KM

5
I

DARWIN

NO. 1
PLEIS. L.PLIO.
E.PLIO. L. MIO. MIO.

MIO.-OLIG.

PALEOGENE ?
2286M

Fig. 15. north of indicated.

rate.

Multichannel Seismic (MCS) profile across the continental shelf about 100 km the triple Junction. Arco Earwin 1 well was located on this line, as Acoustic basement (B) corresponds to a Miocene and Oltgocene conglomemetamorphic basement was not reached.

Paleozotc

genous material overflowing the channel to the

east. Samples have not been taken from the channel south of the triple Junction. However,
the echo character of 3.5-kHz records across the broad channel and turbidtte wedge on profiles 8

trench the channelhas well-developedlevees, the

highest levee is the right facing upstream as is theoretically expected in the southern hemisphere
(Figure 21). The channe] appears to be the prtnctpal conduit of sediment to the Mornington

and 9 (very prolongedbottom echos with no subbottom reflections) are similar to those described

Abyssal Plain.
Antarctica

Sedimentdeposited northward from

by

is blocked from reaching the plain

areas with a high abundanceof coarse material fracture zone, Figure 22) and sediment movement within the upper few meters of the seafloor. We from other parts of South America are blocked by conclude that this channel is either active or the outer rise of the Chile Trench (Figure 20). very recently active. South of the Esmeralda fracture zone, a channel The Mornington Channel cuts across the trench is not observed in the floor of the Chile Trench.
outer rise near 40S along the strike of the Esmeralda fracture zone near (Figure 20). The channel can be traced seaward of the outer rise The sediment deposits that fill the trench here are apparently the result of sheet flows [Schweller and Kulm, 1978] that either overflow

by Damuth Hayes[1977] and Damuth and [1978] for

roughtopography the south (e.g., the Humboldt to

for a distance of nearly 1000 km where it terrain-

the left

level,of Mornington Channel farther north

488

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

Cande and Leslie:

Late

Cenozoic

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

489

ares n the Mornington Abyssal Plain.

or are derived from local sources along

West of the
the adJa-

relative
America

motions between oceanic plates

are undetermtned.

and South

cent margin. The Mornington Channel ts fed by sediment contributed by canyons on the inner trench slope near the present-day triple Junction. The Tat tao and Tres Montes pentnsulae are probably the
principal entry areas of turbidity currents along

Oblique plate convergence during Paleogene time might explain one of the more enigmatic features of the southern Chile margin, the "missing" forearc terrane south of 48S [Bruhn and Ilztel, 1977]. The Paragontan batbolttb lies closer to
the trench south of the Golfo de Penas than north

this sector of the trench. Because this channel feeds the Mornington Abyssal Plain, the strattgraphy of the abyssal plain most likely records the migration history of the triple Junction and
the periodic collisions between spreading centers

of it, while Miocene and younger volcanics are equidistant from the trench (Figure 1). Therefore it appears that the margin was truncated sometime before the Miocene [Michael, 1983]. Truncation by
lateral transport of allochtbonous convergence
stripped

terranes before
off of

could

and the trench.

Paleogene Tectonics Ths paper has focused on the Neogene and Quaternary interaction between the Chile Ridge and Chile Trench, but some aspects of the earlier Paleogene interaction deserve some speculative remarks. Perhaps the most Important Paleogene
tectonic event was a southward migrating, ridgetrench collision inferred from offshore magnetic

have occurred during the period of highly

Farallon-South
Allochtbonous

oblique
anomaly
the out-

America
terranes

7 time (25 Ma) when the Farallon

plate

broke up.

board section of the margin between early Eocene and early Miocene would have been transported northward. However, no evidence has been found for such terranes along the margin to the north [Bruhn and Ilztel, 1977]. We note here, from preliminary interpretation of Landsat data (R. B. Leslie and S.C. Cande, manuscript in preparation, 1985),

anomaly patterns [Barker, 1982; Cande et al., 1982]. In Figure 23 we show a series of reconstructtons
America. Farallon,

that numerous fault-bounded terranes may occur in Chile and Argentina between 39S and 49S. Ages
on the faults,
well

of

oceanic

plates

relative

to

South

which generally
and

trend N-S, are not

field work from

The relative postton Aluk, and Antarctic

of the Pacific, plates are taken

established. Geometric considerations

from Cande et al.

plates relative relative plate

[1982].

The position of these

[1979]. The
Is

western North America [Coney et al.,

ward edge of
mapped geology

1980] suggest

to South America is based on the motion of Antarctic to South

that terranes transported during times of oblique convergence are not necessarily added to the sea-

America given by Norton and Sclater

the northeast extension of the

the
of

margin but
southern Cbt]e

may be eraplaced
The poorly
for the allows

major unknown boundary in these reconstructions

Farallon-Aluk

between previously

docked terranes.

spreading center. If this spreading center conttnued In a straight line toward the continent, the spreading center would have intersected the Chile Trench tn northern Chile in early Cenozoic time
and the Farallon-Aluk-South America triple Junction would have migrated southward during the Eocene. By 40 Ma the triple Junction would have been near Tterra del Fuego.

possibility that the missing forearc terrane may tn fact exist well tnboard of the margin [R. B. Leslie and S. C. Cande, manuscript tn preparation, 1985].
Summary and Cnclustons

The geometry of the Eocene collision is substanttally different from that of late Cenozoic time. Most important, the ridge axis was probably much more oblique to the margin. The fracture zone intersections would have moved much faster relative to the continent then they do now. Figure 23 shows that major, abrupt changes tn the configuration of the offshore plate boundaries occurred during the Eocene. These changes tncluded at least one large ridge crest Jump [Cande et

The Chile Ridge first co]1fded with the Chile Trench at approximately 14 Ma near Tterra de! Fuego. Since this time, the triple Junction bas migrated northward to the Tattao Peninsula. Between 14 and 10 Ma a nearly continuous, 700-kmlong section of ridge collided w!th the trench. At 6 Ma a section of the ridge collided with the margin adjacent to the Golfo de Penas, and at 3 Ma a section collided 8t the Tres Montes Peninsula. A ridge crest segment is presently underthrusting the landward trench slope northwest of the Tattao

al.,

1982].

Similar

ridge

crest

jumps may have

Peninsula.
At the triple Junction, evidence exists for a strong interaction between the ridge and the continental margin. The landward trench slope narrows and steepens in the vicinity of the trtple Junction, suggesting that the slope ts being severely tectonically eroded. On the Tattao Peninsula, the effects of collision may be neartrench plutonism and late Cenozotc uplift. Setsmtc reflection data in the Golfo de Penas indicate a complex pattern of differential uplift and substdence that is still active today.
South of the Golfo de Penas, where the colitsion took place at 14-10 Ma, the effects of the collision are much less pronounced. The Inner

taken place on the Farallon-Aluk boundary which would have resulted tn sudden shifts tn the post-

tton of the ridge-trench collision zone. Thus not all sections of the trench were necessarily affected by an Eocene ridge-trench collision. In Paleogene time the relative motion between the Farallon plate (the predecessor to the Nazca plate) and South America was highly oblique (Figure 4). Oblique convergence would have occurred from anomaly 7 time (25 Ma) at least back until about anomaly 18 time (42 Ma) when the FarallonAluk-Soutb America triple Junction reached the southern tip of South America. Prior to anomaly

18 (late mddle Eocene) time, when the Aluk plate may have been subducting beneath southern Chile,

trench

slope

does not

appear

to have been sub-

490

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern Chile Trench

(M

I'

Cande and Leslie:

Late

Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

491

,0

0 -,,-I
0
I:i

bO

ml 0

O03

,l o

z: o

z 0
z (.3

oo o
o o

492

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics, Southern Chile Trench

2 -

CHILE

TRENCH

AXIS
....... OBSERVED DEPTH COOLING CURVE TO BASEMENT

3:4-

5-

15 M.Y. 10 BASEMENT AGE

B-

I ! I

a3

_1

o
_
I

03

18M.Y.

ILl
LdZ
I I I I

n-

400

::500

200

100

100

200

;500

400

DISTANCE

(KM)

Fig. 19. south of

Depth to the triple

basement at the trench axis Junction. Sound velocities

as a function in the trench

of distance north and fill are based on the

Chile

Trench velocities
the Taitao

reported

by Houtz

[1977].

Eashed line

is

the

theoretical
than the

cooling
step

curve of Parsons and Sclater

by the cooling curve.

[1977].

Note that

the height of the step in

basement across
predicted

and Earwin fracture

zones is about 1500 m greater

_40 100

-90

_80 o

-70_40o

FZ

'.

GUA

TA

TRE$

-50

-50

I I

,
< ..
'.

,11
/

5l
\ .

-90

-80

-58 o -70 o

Fig. 20. Tectonic map of the southeast Pacific showing the trace of the Mornington Channel and the location of the Mornington Abyssal Plain. The primary source of sediments to the Mornington Abyssal Plain appears to be the region of the triple
Junction.

Cande and Leslie:

Late

Cnozoic

Tectonics,

Southern

Chile

Trench

493

MORNINGTON 6) F,o
CHANNEL
DEPTH
....

Direction

I0 Km

Fig. 21. Seismic reflection profiles made by R/V Conrad across the Mornington Channel. See Figure 20 for location of profile.

Jected to appreciable tectonic eroston. A Miocene-Pltocene unconformity attesting to uplift in the Madre de Dios Basin may be the principal consequence of collision. We conclude that the configuration of the spreadLng centers and transform faults on the Chile Rise primarily controlled the nature of the interaction between the Chile Ridge and Chile
Trench. Tectonic erosion of the landward trench

slope, and tectonic activity on the adjacent continental margin, ts much greater when short ridge sections, offset by long transform faults, collide with the margin. This circumstance is probably a function of the large offsets in
basement across the the active transform faults as

they
where

are

subducted and
transform

the

fact with

that respect

the
the

place
trench

faults

intersect

migrates
continental

slowly
margin.

southward

to
along

the
the
rise

The Mornington
trench
tion.

Channel can be traced

away from
the

floor
This

southward
channel

the
trench

triple
outer

junc-

crosses

along
and

the
can

strike
be

of

the

Esmeralda
to

fracture
the

zone

followed

westward

Mornington

Abyssal Plain. The continental margin adjacent to the triple Junction and the adjacent Andean ranges are the primary source of material being deposited In this major southeast Pacific Abyssal Plain. Paleogene ridge-trench collisions are deduced from the magnetic anomaly pattern. Plate reconstructions suggest that an Eocene collision
occurred between the Farallon-Aluk spreading center and the Chile Trench; the collision zone

migrated
America relative at

southward arriving
around motion 40 Ma. between

at

the

tip

of

South

Between 49 and 25 Ma the the Farallon and South

America plates

was highly

oblique.

494

Cande and Leslie:

Late Cenozoic Tectonics, Southern Chile Trench

Cande and Leslie:

late

Cenozoic Tectonics,

Southern Chile Trench

495

Acknowledgments.
studies started

The

southern

Chile
a

marine

DeLong, S.

E.,

P.

J.

Fox, and F. W. McDowell,

reported here grew at Iamont by Ellen

out of Herron.

project We thank

Subduction of the Kula Ridge at the Aleutian Trench, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 89, 83-95, 1978.

DeLong, E., W. M. Schwarz, S. and R. N. Anderson, Thermal effects of ridge subductton, Fmrth assistanceduring often difficult weathercondtPlanet. Sci. Lett., 44___, 239-246, !979.
available to us and assisted when we were in

Captain Peter Olander, officers, crew, and scientific staff of the Conradfor their willing

ttons. Eduardo Gonzalez kindlymade ENAP the data Dickinson, R., andW. S. Snyder, W. Geometry of
subductedslab related to San Andreastrans-

others. Steve Lewis, John ladd,andSteve DeLong Pacific Basin,J. Geophys. Res., 89__, 10291and B. Hautau for preparing the manuscript. The work was supported by National Science Foudation grants 0CE-76-01811, OCE-79-25354, and 0CE-8310820. Iamon t-Doher ty Geological Observatory
contribution 3902.
Refer eric es

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Rtpponand B. Batchelder for drafting the figures

reviewedthe manuscript. The comments Ive' of 10310,1984. Scholl were particularly helpful. We thank V. Fisher, R. L., andJ. G. Sclater, Tectonic evolumid-Cretaceous: Plate motions the pole of Antarctica/Africa
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