Review of the geodynamic evolution of the SW margin of Gondwana preserved in the Central Andes of Argentina and Chile (28°-38° S latitude)

Abstract

In the southwestern margin of Gondwana, preserved in the Argentinean-Chilean Andes (28-38° S latitude), three subduction events, Famatinian, Chanic and Gondwanan, took place from the Ordovician to the middle Permian. The first two culminate in collisional orogens in Middle Ordovician and Late Devonian times respectively, while the Gondwanan is a subduction-related orogen, developed in late Carboniferous-middle Permian times. This model is only valid for these latitudes, which coincide with the N and S limits of the Chi-Cu continental fragment (Chilenia + Cuyania subplates). Northern and southern limits of this continental fragment coincide with two major Andean lineaments, Valle Ancho and Huincul respectively.