# Deep-seated crustal faults and their role in the thermo-tectonic evolution of an active mountain belt: New evidence from the Northern Andes

Nicolas Villamizar-Escalante, Carlos Augusto Zuluaga, Matthias Bernet, Sergio Amaya, Julián Andrés López-Isaza, Helbert García-Delgado, Francisco Velandia

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## ► To cite this version:

Nicolas Villamizar-Escalante, Carlos Augusto Zuluaga, Matthias Bernet, Sergio Amaya, Julián Andrés López-Isaza, et al.. Deep-seated crustal faults and their role in the thermo-tectonic evolution of an active mountain belt: New evidence from the Northern Andes. Journal of Structural Geology, 2024, 185, pp.105177. 10.1016/j.jsg.2024.105177. insu-04931337

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# Deep-seated crustal faults and their role in the thermo-tectonic evolution of an active mountain belt: New evidence from the Northern Andes

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Nicolas Villamizar-Escalante<sup>a,b,*</sup>, Carlos Augusto Zuluaga<sup>a</sup>, Matthias Bernet<sup>c</sup>, Sergio Amaya<sup>d</sup>, Julián Andrés López-Isaza<sup>e</sup>, Helbert García-Delgado<sup>f</sup>, Francisco Velandia<sup>g</sup>

## ARTICLE INFO

**Keywords:**

Exhumation

Fission tracks

Slickensides

Microtectonics

Active faults

Bucaramanga fault

## ABSTRACT

Deep-seated structures can exhume deep crustal rocks (>20 km), transmitting the signal of geodynamic processes from the subduction zone to the interiors of the continents. The role of deep-seated structures can be analyzed with low-temperature thermochronological dating techniques. However, studies coupling low-temperature thermochronology with structural geological analyses of the deformational style are not common in the Northern Andes. In this contribution, we present new apatite (AFT) and zircon (ZFT) fission-track data coupled with meso- and microstructural analyses to reveal the deformational and exhumation history of the Santander Massif (SM; Northern Andes) and the related cortical Bucaramanga strike-slip fault (BF). Samples for thermochronological analyses were collected along an elevation profile with a significant elevation difference of 2.4 km across the western flank of the SM, crossing the BF. The time-temperature history modeling of ZFT data reveals phases of prolonged residence in the zircon partial annealing zone from ~125 to 94 Ma and a cooling phase related to an exhumation episode at around 25 Ma based on samples collected near the BF. Inverse modeling of AFT data reveals structurally-controlled Pliocene exhumation rates of 0.6–0.7 km/Myr mediated by the action of secondary faults. A shift in the deformation style resulting from the oblique interaction of the SM and Mérida Andes domain is interpreted as the main driver of the Pliocene exhumation. This deformation phase is observed in the fault damage zone, where evidence of brittle-ductile deformation was exhumed. Finally, we discuss the geodynamic implications of our thermochronological and structural analyses, contrasting local and more regional competing hypotheses (Pamplona Indenter vs. slab break-off of the Caribbean plate), which may explain the tectonic evolution of the northern part of the Eastern Cordillera and the SM in the Colombian Northern Andes.

## 1. Introduction

Deep-seated crustal faults, commonly inherited from the assembly of continents, are known for their role in setting the pace for the exhumation of crustal rocks, the build-up of mountains, and their seismic potential. Of these, the exhumation of the crust is of the utmost importance because it helps to determine the thermal structure of the Earth's crust, linking geodynamic processes with the sculpting of the topography. The coupling between structural and low-temperature

thermochronological datasets is key for resolving the links between deformational and exhumation history mediated by the influence of deep-seated crustal faults, as shown by several studies in orogens around the world (Wölfler et al., 2008, 2011, 2012; Campani et al., 2010; Pomella et al., 2012; Cao et al., 2013; van der Beek et al., 2016; Klotz et al., 2019; Wolff et al., 2020; Ghoshal et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020; Milesi et al., 2020).

In the Northern Andes of Colombia, understanding the thermochronological history driven by deep-seated basement faults has been barely

<footnote><sup>a</sup> Departamento de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Cra. 20 N° 45-03, Bogotá D.C., Colombia</footnote>

<footnote><sup>b</sup> Department of Environment & Biodiversity, Division of Geology and Physical Geography, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria</footnote>

<footnote><sup>c</sup> Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble, France</footnote>

<footnote><sup>d</sup> Universidad de Santander, Facultad de Ingenierías y Tecnologías, Instituto de Investigación Xerira, Bucaramanga, Colombia</footnote>

<footnote><sup>e</sup> Servicio Geológico Colombiano, Diagonal 53 No. 34-53, Bogotá, Colombia</footnote>

<footnote><sup>f</sup> Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA</footnote>

<footnote><sup>g</sup> Escuela de Geología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Cra. 27 N° 9, Bucaramanga., Colombia</footnote>

<footnote>* Corresponding author. Departamento de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Cra. 20 N° 45-03, Bogotá D.C., Colombia.</footnote>

<footnote>E-mail addresses: nicolas.villamizarescalante@plus.ac.at, nicolas.villamizar.e@gmail.com (N. Villamizar-Escalante).</footnote>
constrained. Even though we have witnessed a vast number of studies unraveling the exhumation history of the Colombian Andes (e.g., Mora and Parra, 2008; Mora et al., 2008, 2015a; Parra et al., 2009; Siravo et al., 2020; Costantino et al., 2021; Velandia et al., 2021; Villamizar-Escalante et al., 2021), few studies have linked the exhumation of low-level crustal rocks via reactivation of deep-seated crustal faults. The Santander Massif, an igneous-metamorphic complex in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes, is one of the places where deep-seated crustal rocks exhumed by crustal faults have been somewhat constrained. This region has experienced intense deformation and rapid exhumation driven by either the Cenozoic reactivation of the deep-seated crustal Bucaramanga Fault (Boinet et al., 1989; van der Lelij et al., 2016a; Amaya et al., 2017; Siravo et al., 2020; Velandia et al., 2021) and the asynchronous collision of crustal blocks along the western margin (e.g., the accretion of the Panama-Choco Arc) that induced long-distance deformation and exhumation across the Bucaramanga Fault (Amaya et al., 2017; Velandia et al., 2020). The Bucaramanga Fault is a crustal-scale structure of more than 240 km in length that runs along the western flank of the Santander Massif (Fig. 1). This fault was initially described as a single sizeable structure along with the Santa Marta fault (~600 km length in total); however, given the complexity of both structures and a probably different recent tectonic history, Ujueta (2003) proposed their separation as two independent structural domains, a view that we adopt in this study. The Bucaramanga Fault accommodates oblique deformation displaying both left-lateral strike-slip and reverse kinematics (Campbell and Bürgl, 1965; Boinet et al., 1989; Velandia and Bermúdez, 2018; Velandia et al., 2020). The deformational style of the Bucaramanga Fault has been linked to the rapid unroofing of the crystalline Santander Massif during the Oligocene, early Miocene, and Pliocene by the use of several low-temperature thermochronometers (Shagam et al., 1984; Mora et al., 2015b; van der Lelij et al., 2016a; Amaya et al., 2017, 2020; Bermúdez et al., 2021; Velandia et al., 2021). These studies were based on regional sampling that allowed interpretation of the large-scale exhumation history but left questions about the role of the deep-seated Bucaramanga Fault as well as the deformation and dynamics of the internal blocks that generated changes in the thermal structure of the Santander Massif. For example, the Bucaramanga Fault is linked to a pattern of oblique NE-SW striking dextral faults, which in some locations have laterally displaced the Bucaramanga Fault (e.g., Río Perchiquez fault; Fig. 2).

To enrich the debate about the role of deep-seated faults, upper-
crust-scale exhumation, and mountain building, we provide new con-
straints on the thermo-tectonic evolution of the Santander Massif in the
Colombian Northern Andes. This study aims to explain the recent
deformation history of the south-western part of the Santander Massif on
the upthrown faulted block (hanging wall) of the Bucaramanga Fault
and the exhumation associated with the NE striking faults (e.g., Río
Manco fault, Río Umpalá fault, Río Perchiquez fault; Fig. 2). We analyze
the deformation pattern along the NE striking faults through kinematic
analysis of fault-slip data and microtectonics analysis to understand
ductile to brittle-ductile deformation linked to periods of basement
unroofing. Furthermore, we provide new constraints on the tectono-
thermal history of the Santander Massif by analyzing a new set of
thermochronological data, allowing us to estimate the rates of exhu-
mation along an elevation profile (Fig. 2).

## 2. Geodynamic framework

The late Cenozoic tectonic history of the Colombian Andes (north-
western margin of the South American plate) has been ruled by a
complex geodynamic setting involving the Caribbean, Nazca, and the
South American plates. Both the Nazca and Caribbean plates subduct
obliquely beneath the South American plate (Taboada et al., 2000)
(Fig. 1), where the Nazca and Caribbean plates are moving at a rate of 6
cm/yr and 2 cm/yr, respectively, with plate velocities given relative to
the stable South American plate (Trenkamp et al., 2002). However,

recent studies have related a more complex interaction along the west-
ern margin of South America, where the Nazca plate has been divided
into two distinct domains (González et al., 2023). The “northern Nazca
plate” comprised the Coiba and Malpelo microplates (Fig. 1a), charac-
terized by flat-slab subduction that turns horizontally behind the Pan-
ama Block (PB). Meanwhile, the southern Nazca plate presents a steep
angle of subduction (>25°).

In the long-term (10⁸ year timescales), the geodynamic framework
was set by the subduction of the Farallon plate beneath the western
margin of the South American plate, leading to the construction of a
long-lived magmatic arc (Cediel et al., 2003). Remnants of the Jurassic
magmatic arc are exposed in the Central and Eastern Cordillera
(Santander Massif) in the form of batholiths such as the Corcova and
Santa-Barbara monzonites (Ward et al., 1977) (Fig. 2). During the Late
Jurassic to Early Cretaceous an extensional setting was established,
where segmented fault-bound basins were fed by marginal uplifted
blocks such as portions of the Santander Massif (Cooper et al., 1995;
Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006; Horton et al., 2015; Osorio-Afanador and
Velandia, 2021). Evidence of this is the regional unconformity of the
Girón Formation overlying the crystalline basement (Ward et al., 1973),
which has been recently estimated as Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous
(148 to ca. 139 Ma; Jiménez et al., 2021). Continuing during the Eocene
to Pliocene, an event of localized deformation within the Eastern
Cordillera resulted from the switch of convergence from North (N) to
East-Northeast (ENE) of the Farallon plate beneath the South American
plate, leading to the break-up of the Farallon plate into the Nazca and
Cocos plates (~23 Ma; Lonsdale, 2005) and later the Coiba and Malpelo
microplates (~18-15 Ma; González et al., 2023). Closely in time, the
leading edge of the Caribbean plate, also known as the Panama-Choco
block, approached to the western margin of northern South America.
Some authors constrain this event to the Oligocene (~25 Ma; Farris
et al., 2011), while others stretch it until at least the middle Miocene
(~14-12 Ma; León et al., 2018), establishing a transition from a colli-
sional to a subduction-dominated geodynamic setting. Even though the
timing of the Panama-Choco block collision and the closure of the
Panama Isthmus is still a matter of intense debate (e.g., Montes et al.,
2015; O'Dea et al., 2016a), the outcome was far-distance deformation
and exhumation in the Eastern Cordillera. Tectonic inversion and
reactivation of crustal-scale structures such as the Bucaramanga Fault
could be linked to these episodes of dramatic geodynamic changes.

## 2.1. Geology of the study area

Different crystalline massifs are exposed at the surface in the Eastern
Cordillera, including the Garzón, Quetame, Floresta, and Santander
massifs (Fig. 1). The latter, located in the northern segment of the
Eastern Cordillera, is an igneous-metamorphic complex. In terms of li-
thology (Fig. 2), the Santander Massif is composed of Paleozoic meta-
morphic rocks, including pelitic and quartz-feldspathic gneisses (locally
migmaticitic) and schists, amphibolites and calcsilicate sequences as well
as Jurassic igneous rocks (Goldsmith et al., 1971; Ward et al., 1973; Dörr
et al., 1995; García et al., 2005; Ríos-Reyes et al., 2010; Uruena and
Zuluaga, 2011; Amaya, 2012; Mantilla et al., 2013; Castellanos and Ríos,
2015; Castellanos-Alarcón et al., 2016; Mantilla-Figueroa et al., 2016;
van der Lelij et al., 2016b; García-Ramírez et al., 2017; Rodríguez et al.,
2018, 2020; López-Isaza and Zuluaga, 2020). A late Paleozoic low-grade
meta-sedimentary unit known as the Guaca - La Virgen metasedimentary
rock also outcrops in the Santander Massif (Royero et al., 1994; Zuluaga
et al., 2017; Zuluaga and López, 2019) and unmetamorphosed Permian
to Cretaceous sedimentary rocks (Fig. 2). From the structural perspec-
tive, the Santander Massif is fragmented to the west by the deep-crustal
structure Bucaramanga Fault, while other sets of structures trending N-S
(mostly reverse faults) and NE-SW (dextral faults) account for the
structural style and tectonic evolution inside the Santander Massif. The
NE-SW dextral faults, such as the Río Manco, Umpalá, Perchiquez,
Guaca, and Negro faults, exhibit a structural control along several
<figure><img src="image_4.png" /></figure>

(caption on next page)
<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 2.** Geological map of the study area, including the new and published thermochronological samples and the structural stations used in this study. Modified after Ward et al. (1977). Bucaramanga Gneiss metamorphism age is interpreted as Ordovician (van der Lelij et al., 2016b). White circles are the code number of the samples available in the study area.</figcaption></figure>

creeks, leading to an oblique drainage network to the mountain front (Ward et al., 1973; Velandia et al., 2021).

### 2.1.1. *The Bucaramanga Fault*

The Bucaramanga Fault is one of the most conspicuous structures in the Northern Andes. The fault has a trend of approximately N15°W with a linear morphological expression of a continuous system running along the western fragmented boundary of the Santander Massif. The segment of the Bucaramanga Fault at the study area displays a lenticular or braided pattern as well as structural features indicative of late Cenozoic activity, such as pressure ridges (Galvis et al., 2014; Villamizar, 2014; Velandia and Bermúdez, 2018). The fault ends to the south in a trans-pressional system pattern and joins the Boyacá and Soapaga faults (Toro,

1990; Velandia, 2005; Kammer and Sánchez, 2006; Acosta et al., 2007; Velandia and Bermúdez, 2018; Kammer et al., 2020). The age of the Bucaramanga Fault and the different deformational phases related to this structure remains a matter of debate. Some authors have argued that the Bucaramanga Fault was active during the Paleozoic and since then, it has been reactivated at least two times during the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic (Young et al., 1956; Irving, 1971; Tschanz et al., 1974; Cáceres et al., 1980; Cediel et al., 1994, 2003; Cediel and Cáceres, 2000; Kammer and Sánchez, 2006). Kammer et al. (2020) recently proposed a period of fault activity during the Late Triassic when the structure apparently had right-lateral strike-slip kinematics with perhaps a normal component in the dip-slip plane. Later, during the Andean Orogeny, the Bucaramanga Fault has been dominantly a left-lateral strike-slip fault (Julivert, 1958;
Campbell, 1968; Duque-Caro, 1980; Boinet et al., 1989; Paris et al., 1989; Paris and Romero, 1994; Osorio et al., 2008; Diederix et al., 2009; Jiménez et al., 2015; Velandia and Bermúdez, 2018; Velandia et al., 2020), with a reverse component that in turn promoted the topographic build-up of the Santander Massif (García-Delgado et al., 2019, 2020; Siravo et al., 2020; Velandia et al., 2021).

## 2.2. Structural model for the Santander Massif and origin of NE faults

Oligocene to Pliocene exhumation events in the Santander Massif have been associated with the accretion/indentation of the Panamá Arc (or Panamá Chocó-Block) onto the western margin of the South American Plate (van der Lelij et al., 2016a; Amaya et al., 2017). However, at a more local scale, little is known about the interaction between the Santander Massif and the Mérida Andes associated with the northeastward escape of the Northern Andes (Audemard, 1993; Mora-Páez et al., 2019) despite the interaction between these two major tectonic blocks being early recognized through regional structural studies (Boinet et al., 1981; Macellari, 1984; Velandia et al., 2020).

Mapping and structural analysis indicate that the Bucaramanga Fault is a left-lateral strike-slip fault system with NNW trend (Ward et al., 1973; Kammer, 1999; Taboada et al., 2000; Cediel et al., 2003; Ujueta, 2003; Acosta et al., 2007; Velandia and Bermúdez, 2018; Velandia et al., 2020). Several NE faulting patterns in the eastern corner of the Santander Massif have been associated with the Bucaramanga Fault (e. g., Río Manco, Río Umpalá, and Río Perchiquez faults) (Fig. 2). Those structures do not have a clear-cut relationship, leading to a gap in information about their origin and evolution. Several models have been proposed to explain the generation of these NE trending structures. In the model of Restrepo (1995), the eastern part of the Santander Massif is explained as a transpressive domino deformational style with a simple shear mechanism. In this model, the mayor bounding parallel strike-slip structures of the domino blocks generate right-lateral NE-trending faults due to deformation. Later, Velandia et al. (2020) modified this model, changing the east-bounding structure of the Santander Massif, i.e., the “Mercedes thrust” along a regional fault system constituted by the Soapaga, Río Servitá, Mustiscua, and Las Mercedes faults, and separated the Santander Massif into different transpressional dominoes, divided by major longitudinal faults, where the Bucaramanga Fault is the central fault of a positive flower structure. This new model implies that the NE-trending structures within the inner blocks generated a plan-view dominoes pattern, also known as a bookshelf faults system. Velandia et al. (2020) also remarked on the implications of the radial distribution of the stress tensors generated by the convergence of the Mérida Andes (with the Pamplona wedge) and the Santander Massif, which implies compression across the central part and transpressional slip toward the northern and southern Santander Massif. Other models propose the generation of the NE faults as antithetic faults during the dextral displacement of the Bucaramanga Fault in Mesozoic times (Kammer et al., 2020). Thus, these structures may have been pre-existing anisotropic faults, which then underwent tectonic inversion once the Bucaramanga Fault changed to a left-lateral kinematic during the Cenozoic.

# 3. Methods

## 3.1. Sampling and structural data location

To construct the tectono-thermal history of the Santander Massif, we collected 17 rock samples across an E-W trending elevation profile shown in Fig. 2. The elevation profile was selected to analyze exhumation on different structural blocks with believed different deformational and exhumation histories. Accordingly, we sampled both the footwall and hanging wall of the Bucaramanga Fault and crossed the NE-SW structures. Overall, the elevation profile covers an altitude difference of ~2 km in the Santander Massif. We preferably collected samples from apatite- and zircon-rich lithologies like granites (e.g., Pescadero Granite

Unit) or medium to high-grade metamorphic rocks (gneisses and orthogneisses). Given that the footwall of the Bucaramanga Fault experienced less unroofing, we collected samples from Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks.

## 3.2. Structures and microstructures

New structural data were collected to perform a mesoscale kinematic analysis (Marrett and Allmendinger, 1990) of the structures present along the studied profile. This approach seeks to derive the infinitesimal strain tensor, as explained by Cladouhos et al. (1994). For each station, we measured the fault plane (dip direction and dip) and the striae orientation (pitch direction and dip), as well as other available markers providing valuable information about the timing and cross-cutting relationships (see Sperner and Zweigel, 2010). To obtain the sense of movement along the fault plane, we employed several kinematic indicators such as growth fibers, R-R' type faults, tension fractures, and asymmetric elevations (Petit, 1987; Doblas, 1998; Velandia, 2017; Forero-Ortega et al., 2021; López-Isaza et al., 2021). The raw structural data are shown in the Supplementary Table S1.

Processing of fault-slip data was firstly accomplished by using the Win-Tensor software (v5.8.8; Delvaux and Sperner, 2003), which enables statistical analysis to calculate the best-suited orientation of the PBT axes (P (pressure) ≈ σ₁, B (intermediate) ≈ σ₂, T (tension) ≈ σ₃) and reduced until obtaining a 1σ error <30. Then, each subset was plotted using the FaultKin software (v.8.0.7; Allmendinger et al., 2012). This software calculates P (contraction) and T (tension) axes for each structural station and uses Linked Bingham statistics to compute the fault plane solution in a “beach-ball” plot.

Analysis of microstructures and mineral deformation behavior over the XZ-oriented sections (XZ sections are defined as perpendicular to foliation and parallel to lineation) provides evidence of kinematic indicators. We used the oriented samples of sampling stations 15-NJ-08 and 15-NJ-16 for microstructural analysis. Our analysis was oriented to identify grain size variation, microfractures, curved shear planes, and sutured quartz boundaries. Moreover, an overprinted foliation lets us differentiate kinematic and deformational mechanism indicators that could give us an idea about the structural level (depth).

## 3.3. Fission-track analysis

The samples collected in the field were crushed, pulverized, and sieved (200–80 µm fraction). The heavy mineral fraction was concentrated using a Wilfley table, and both apatite and zircon grains were concentrated using a Frantz® Isodynamic Magnetic Separator and heavy liquid separation techniques (Kohn et al., 2019). All the minerals were separated at ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, where apatite aliquots were mounted in epoxy, polished, and etched for 20 s at 21 °C in 5.5 M HNO₃. The grain mounts were covered with U-free mica sheets and irradiated together with Durango and Fish Canyon Tuff age standards and IRMM540R dosimeter glasses with a nominal neutron flux of 8.0 × 10¹⁵ n/cm² at the well-thermalized FRM II research reactor (Garching, Germany).

Similarly, zircon aliquots were mounted in Teflon® sheets (~50–120 grains), polished and etched between 10 and 30 h at 228 °C in a NaOH–KOH solution. All zircon samples were also covered with mica detectors and irradiated with a neutron flux of 0.5 × 10¹⁵ n/cm² at the FRM II research reactor at Garching, Germany, together with Fish Canyon Tuff age standards and IRMM541 dosimeter glasses. After irradiation, all mica detectors were etched for 18 min at 20 °C in 48% HF.

The apatite fission tracks were counted dry at 1250× magnification using an Olympus BX51 optical microscope. Zircon fission tracks were also counted dry at 1250× magnification using an Olympus BH-2 microscope, both equipped with automated Kinetec XY-stages and the FTStage 4.04 system at the Geo-thermochronology laboratory of ISTerre at the Université Grenoble Alpes, France. For apatite, etch pit size (Dpar)
and track lengths of horizontally confined tracks were measured parallel to the crystallographic c-axis (Ketcham et al., 2007). Apatite grain mounts prepared for track-length measurements received a ²⁵²Cf irradiation at the University of Melbourne, Australia. AFT Track-length measurements were done at the ISTerre Geo-thermochronology laboratory. Track length measurements were calibrated to the Ketcham et al. (2015) Durango track length standards.

### 3.4. Time-temperature history modeling

The thermal modeling was carried out using the QTQt program (v.5.7.1 k) of Gallagher (2012) that models a pair of samples using the elevation difference translated as a temperature offset between the uppermost and lowermost samples. The uppermost sample is used as a reference thermal history, with the lower samples being determined by linear interpolation using each sample elevation. Therefore, QTQt is well-suited to model vertical profiles because it allows for simultaneous models of multiple samples with known vertical separation (Gallagher, 2012), yielding information about the thermal evolution of that interval in depth. The cooling histories were drawn from the ZFT and AFT data collected and modeled using a Bayesian transdimensional Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. The QTQt models presented in this study are based on a stable solution obtained after 100,000 model iterations (50, 000 burn-in and 100,000 post-burn-in) with different input settings described in the supplementary table (S2), following the recommendation and strategies of Abbey et al. (2023). Temperature-time (T-t) models were constrained between the Paleozoic and the present day. Furthermore, we used different geological proxies to fit the expected T-t paths, focusing on published sedimentological, petrological and geo-thermochronological evidence. Finally, for modeling purposes, and in lieu of paleo-thermal gradient data, we assume a constant and common upper crustal regional geotherm of ~30 °C/km. The constructed T-t path is used to understand the orogenic processes leading to the present configuration of this portion of the Northern Andes. The final model is provided as individual probability plots for each sample, where the surface temperature has been constrained as 10 ± 10 °C. Additional constraints were included based on well-known geological information, such as the exhumation of the crystalline rocks in the Upper Jurassic (155 ± 10 Ma), justified by the regional unconformity of the Girón Group overlying the crystalline basement (Fig. 2). We also explored alternative models without adding any constraints. Finally, for each of the t-T models, we selected the Ketcham et al. (2007) annealing model for 5.5 M HNO₃ etching conditions, c-axis projected track lengths, and default initial mean track length determined from Dpar.

### 3.5. Exhumation rate estimation

The 1-D thermal advection model age2edot of Brandon (see Ehlers et al., 2005) is used in this study to determine first-order exhumation rate estimates from our AFT and ZFT data. Model input parameters include an assumed pre-exhumation steady-state thermal gradient of 30 °C/km and a mean surface temperature of 10 °C of the Santander Massif during exhumation and surface uplift. Further input parameters include activation energy for 50% annealing of 147.2 (Kj/mol) for apatites of average composition and annealing parameter Beta of 2,050, 000 (s⁻¹) (Ketcham et al., 1999). For radiation-damaged zircons, an activation energy of 208 (Kj/mol) and a normalized frequency factor of 1 × 10⁸ (s⁻¹) were used, whereas for zero damaged zircons, an activation energy of 321 (kJ/mol) and a normalized frequency factor of 5.566 × 10¹³ (s⁻¹) were used (Rahn et al., 2004; Willett and Brandon, 2013).

## 4. Results

### 4.1. Field observations: ductile-brittle deformation in the study area

The southwestern edge of the SM, on the eastern block of the

Bucaramanga Fault, shows remarkable field evidence of ductile, brittle-ductile, and brittle deformation at different scales. For instance, at meso-scale the Río Manco fault (station 15NJ08, Fig. 2) shows brittle shear-sense indicators. The fault zone contains a breccia composed mainly of igneous rock from the Santa Barbara Monzogranite (Fig. 3a) aligned with the NE trending central principal fault plane Y (321/85) and secondary structures such as R (342/75), R' (254/85) and P Riedel structures (122/79) (Fig. 3e). Veins parallel to the Y plane in the damage zone have a variable thickness (1–10 mm) with angular grains absorbed in a red matrix (Fig. 3b and c). The continuous deformation generated σ-objects with a shear-sense indicating left-lateral (or sinistral) movement (Fig. 3d). The orientation of joint planes also follows a NW and SW trend (Fig. 3f). The Río Umpalá fault also expresses a brittle zone with remarkable fault planes of about 15 m in length with large visible slickensides in Fig. 4 (station JL-CSB-020, Fig. 2). In the Río Perchiquez fault, the Guaca–La Virgen metasedimentary rocks have meso-scale folding, faults, and ductile-brittle shear-sense indicators (Fig. 5a and b). Flow channels are observed as shear bands deforming the fractured rock. Cross-cutting relations indicate several overprinting deformation events. The first event is represented by a metamorphic foliation (Sn – 269/16) (Fig. 5c). This event was followed by dynamic tectonism generating a transposition cleavage (Sn + 1–266/57) and overprinting the Sn foliation. Finally, flow channels developed a disjunctive cleavage (Sn + 2–266/54), transposing Sn + 1 and developing a pencil cleavage locally. At a local scale, microfolding seems to be related to kink planes as a crenulation cleavage (Sn + 3–170/61; Fig. 5d). Similar to the Río Manco fault, joint plane orientations follow a NE-SW trend in the Río Perchiquez fault (Fig. 5e). The presence of shear bands, microfolding, and the preservation of shear fractures suggest a continuous deformation from ductile to a brittle state related to a protracted deformation history.

### 4.2. Microstructures

The microstructural analysis performed on two rock samples helps to understand the mesoscale features of ductile-brittle deformation described above. Sample 15-NJ-08 (plutonic rock) comes from a locality near the Río Manco fault damage zone. This sample was identified as a breccia with a fluid texture and injection veins (1–5 mm thick) on a fine cryptocrystalline red matrix. The matrix comprises clay minerals (e.g., kaolin) and oxides that may be genetically linked to some fluid flow (Fig. 6a and b); microscopically, vein contacts are linear and well-defined. Typical microstructures observed as a product of progressive deformation include grain boundary migration, inter-/intra-granular micro-fractures, and cataclastic flow (<300 °C) (Fig. 6c, d). These microstructures indicate brittle deformation (Stipp et al., 2002; Passchier and Trouw, 2005).

Sample 15-NJ-16 (metamorphic rock) comes from a locality near the Río Perchiquez fault. The outcrop shows sectorized microfolding represented by regular sets of kink bands (Fig. 6e). Microscopically, metamorphic foliation (Sn) is observed as longitudinal planes of mica and quartz. This Sn foliation is overprinted by a transposition cleavage (Sn + 1). Progressive deformation forms a differentiated and discrete crenulation cleavage (Sn + 3) that reoriented the quartz and mica minerals in fold limbs concerning maximum shortening axis σ1 (Fig. 6g and h). Here, crenulation cleavage is a product of harmonic or spaced regular microfolding overprinting Sn and Sn + 1 (Fig. 6f). This cleavage also forms dark cracks with a smooth wavy appearance. The microfold limbs are aligned to form a raw or incipient foliation.

In many cases, the process was accompanied by crystallization or recrystallization of oriented grains (see for example, White and Johnston, 1981; Williams and Jiang, 2001; Passchier and Trouw, 2005). However, some of the spaced foliation related to crenulations can also form without folding the older fabric (e.g., Durney, 1972; Engelder and Marshak, 1985). This last brittle-ductile deformation phase overprints deformational events. Anomalously large quartz crystals are observed in
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 3.** (a) The outcrop show the meso-structures of rocks within the Manco fault zone, station 15-NJ-08; (b, c) Breccia zone with veins parallel to Y planes with a thickness of 1–10 mm; (d) σ-objects of quartz; (e) stereographic plots of fault planes; (f) stereographic plots of joint measurements. Note: R' planes were measured outside the photo range.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 4.** (a) Photograph showing the Umpalá fault plane, a large dimension fault plane of ~15 m; (b) schema with slickenside present on the main fault plane—photo from station JL-CSB-020.</figcaption></figure>

isolated lenses dispersed in the matrix with pressure dissolution surface on grain boundaries (Fig. 6d), indicating high differential stress forming these structures.

### 4.3. Fault-slip data analysis

Slickensides from six field stations, mainly located on the upthrown block of the Bucaramanga Fault (Fig. 7), suggest a dominant strike-slip regime with a local compressive component in about 77 fault planes. For
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 5.** (a) Outcrop photo showing meso-structures in meta-sediments of Guaca la Virgen. (b) Schema with different structures and domains (a–b) in station 15-NJ-16. (c) Stereographic plots of structural data. (d) Schematic block diagram of different foliation and cleavage. (e) Stereographic plots of joint measurements.</figcaption></figure>

sites located between Curos and Guaca (Fig. 7), fault data show that NW-dipping faults, such as the Río Perchiquez fault, are characterized by right-lateral kinematics. Data from stations JL-CSB-15 and NV-C02 show an extensional and strike-slip kinematics component, respectively, at the central and south locations associated with the Río Perchiquez fault (Fig. 7b–e), with an average P-axis located to the west (~272°, Table 1).

Only one site (JL-CSB-20) shows a significant reverse component associated with the Río Umpalá fault (Fig. 7d). Fault data from station NV-C01 show clear strike-slip kinematics but slightly rotated from the regional pattern observed towards the North (Fig. 7f). For this site, we calculated an NW-SE oriented P-axis (136°, Table 1), which may suggest a clockwise deflection of the axis near the Bucaramanga Fault of about
<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 6.** Petrographic photos showing microstructures in the Manco zone fault (15-NJ-08). (a) Hand sample showing (b) the different grain sizes and angular shape of grains within the veins, (c, d) suture and grain size variation. (e) Outcrop showing mesostructures in the Perchiquez zone fault (15-NJ-16), including the crosscut plane of the thin section, (f) relation between Sn, Sn + 1 and Sn + 2 (discrete crenulation cleavage), (g) dissolution on quartz grains boundary (pressure solution), (h) crenulation cleavage. Abbreviation: Quartz (Qz), Muscovite (Ms) and Plagioclase (Pl).</figcaption></figure>

40.5°, while fault data of the Río Manco fault (JL-CSB-031) express compressive right lateral strike-slip kinematics component (Fig. 7a). Based on paleomagnetic data Jiménez et al. (2021, 2022) estimated clockwise rotation of around 45° related to Neogene strike-slip along the Bucaramanga Fault and inversion of NE trending faults.

The deformation pattern within the principal displacement zone of the Bucaramanga Fault from station NV-C03 (Figs. 2 and 7c) shows an NNW trending P-axis. This pattern defines a high-angle SW-dipping oblique extensive structure, which may correspond to an R-type shear fracture of the Bucaramanga Fault (Fig. 7), such as those previously

interpreted near the Cepitá area by Velandia and Bermúdez (2018).

### 4.4. Thermochronological data

#### 4.4.1. Curos - Los Santos profile

Three samples of sedimentary and igneous rocks along the Curos-Los Santos profile (profile B–B' on Fig. 2; Table 2) yield ZFT central ages ranging from 354 ± 34 to 150 ± 34.9 Ma (Table 3), with P (χ²) values > 5% defining a single age population (Galbraith, 1981; Green, 1981). The samples 15NJ-10 and 15NJ-11 come from the Pescadero Granite, a body
<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 7.** Location map of PBT solution, blue arrows are compression (σ3), and red arrows Tension (σ1) and beach balls for each of the six (6) deduced stress tensors. Projected coordinates system, MAGNA-SIRGAS/Colombia Bogotá zone. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)</figcaption></figure>

<table><caption>**Table 1**
Stress tensors obtained by slickensides analysis.</caption><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">Site</th><th colspan="2">Coordinates</th><th rowspan="2">Age</th><th rowspan="2">Lithology</th><th rowspan="2">N</th><th rowspan="2">n*</th><th colspan="3">P axis</th><th colspan="3">T axis</th><th rowspan="2">QRt</th><th rowspan="2">Stress Regime</th></tr><tr><th>Longitude</th><th>Latitude</th><th>Trend</th><th>Plunge</th><th>1σ</th><th>Trend</th><th>Plunge</th><th>1σ</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>JL-CSB-015</td><td>-72.8968</td><td>6.9177</td><td>Jurassic</td><td>Quartz monzonite</td><td>12</td><td>8</td><td>272</td><td>3</td><td>11.4</td><td>180</td><td>33</td><td>8.3</td><td>E</td><td>Extensional strike slip</td></tr><tr><td>JL-CSB-020</td><td>-72.9147</td><td>6.9503</td><td>Jurassic</td><td>Quartz monzonite</td><td>9</td><td>9</td><td>297</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>179</td><td>58</td><td>21.3</td><td>E</td><td>Pure Compressive</td></tr><tr><td>JL-CSB-031</td><td>-72.9253</td><td>6.9522</td><td>Jurassic</td><td>Quartz monzonite</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>251</td><td>34</td><td>9.3</td><td>134</td><td>33</td><td>10.1</td><td>E</td><td>Compressive strike slip</td></tr><tr><td>NV-C01</td><td>-72.9227</td><td>6.757</td><td>Jurassic</td><td>Quartz monzonite</td><td>39</td><td>22</td><td>136</td><td>3</td><td>28.3</td><td>228</td><td>12</td><td>28</td><td>E</td><td>Pure strike slip</td></tr><tr><td>NV-C02</td><td>-72.9508</td><td>6.7722</td><td>Paleozoic</td><td>Bucaramanga Gneiss</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>282</td><td>14</td><td>22.4</td><td>167</td><td>43</td><td>33.3</td><td>E</td><td>Pure strike slip</td></tr><tr><td>NV-C03</td><td>-72.9531</td><td>6.7623</td><td>Jurassic</td><td>Quartz monzonite</td><td>7</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>47</td><td>25.5</td><td>242</td><td>31</td><td>21.9</td><td>E</td><td>Pure Compressive</td></tr></tbody></table>

Parameters: N: number of faults measured at the site; n*: number of faults within a subset that give the deduced tensor solution; P axis: mean pressure axis; T axis: mean tensor axis; QRt: stress tensor quality rank in Win-Tensor 5.8 (Delvaux and Sperner, 2003).

with U-Pb zircon ages in the range 209-177 Ma (Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic - Zapata et al., 2016). Our data for these two samples show central ages of 150.2 ± 73.3 Ma and 158.8 ± 45.7 Ma (Table 3), while for sample 15NJ-12 from the Los Santos Formation, the data show a central age of 354 ± 34 Ma; the depositional age of the sequence is reported as ca. 148-139 Ma (Jiménez et al., 2021).

### 4.4.2. Curos - Guaca profile

The fourteen sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rock samples from the Curos-Guaca profile (profile A-A' on Fig. 2; Table 2) yield ZFT central ages ranging from 25.9 to 415 Ma with variable P (χ²) values. The samples 15SACZ-16 B, 15SACZ-15 A and 15SACZ-12 A (Meta-sediments of Guaca la Virgen) show central ages of 168 ± 48 Ma, 191.8 ± 92.5 Ma and 173.9 ± 34.5 Ma (Table 3) respectively, with P (χ²) values > 5%. These data can be related to a Jurassic regional high-temperature thermal anomaly (>250 °C) originating from the emplacement of several large plutons in the area and linked to low-pressure metamorphism (see, for example, Zuluaga et al., 2017). In sedimentary rock

samples (15SACZ-10 A -Girón Formation, 15SACZ-13 and 15SACZ-14 -Los Santos Formation), the ZFT central ages range from 256 to 415 Ma, with P (χ²) values > 5%; depositional ages of these formations are reported to be early Kimmeridgian to early Valanginian (ca. 157-139 Ma; Girón Formation - Cediel, 1968; Ponds, 1982; Royero and Clavijo, 2001; Jiménez et al., 2021) and early Tithonian to early Valanginian (ca. 148-139 Ma; Los Santos Formation - Ward et al., 1973; Jiménez et al., 2021), suggesting that the obtained ZFT ages represent source area cooling ages.

The crystalline samples near the Bucaramanga Fault (15SACZ-01 and 15SACZ-02 A) collected from the Bucaramanga Gneiss and Corcova quartz monzonite show ZFT ages of 26.4 ± 7.4 Ma and 25.9 ± 4.2 Ma, respectively (Table 3; Fig. 8a). In contrast, the reported U-Pb ages from the Corcova and Santa Bárbara Monzogranite range from Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic (191-204 Ma; Rodríguez et al., 2018; 2020), while those from the Bucaramanga Gneiss range from Paleozoic to Precambrian (461-1550 Ma; Cordani et al., 2005; Amaya, 2016; van der Lelij et al., 2016b). The other samples on the profile yield central ZFT ages
<table><caption>**Table 2**
Sample location and lithologies.</caption><thead><tr><th>Sample number</th><th>Latitude<br>(°N)</th><th>Longitude<br>(°W)</th><th>Elevation<br>(m.a.s.l)</th><th>Lithology</th><th>Stratigraphic unit</th><th>Stratigraphic age in Ma (source)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><strong>Hanging wall of Bucaramanga fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 1 Bucaramanga fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-01</td><td>6.91783</td><td>-73.00098</td><td>1460</td><td>quartz monzonite</td><td>Corcova quartz monzonite</td><td>198-205 (8)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-02 A</td><td>6.93361</td><td>-72.99184</td><td>1595</td><td>quartz feldspar gneiss</td><td>Bucaramanga Gneiss</td><td>≈524-410 (7)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 2 Rio Manco fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-04 A</td><td>6.94883</td><td>-72.97473</td><td>1930</td><td>Orthogneiss</td><td>Orthogneiss</td><td>≈495-412 (6)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-05</td><td>6.93817</td><td>-72.96608</td><td>2110</td><td>quartz monzonite</td><td>Santa Barbara quartz monzonite</td><td>204-190 (5)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-06</td><td>6.94644</td><td>-72.95320</td><td>2120</td><td>quartz monzonite</td><td>Santa Barbara quartz monzonite</td><td>204-190 (5)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 3 Rio Umpalá fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-07</td><td>6.92429</td><td>-72.90512</td><td>2325</td><td>quartz monzonite</td><td>Santa Barbara quartz monzonite</td><td>204-190 (5)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-08</td><td>6.90638</td><td>-72.88696</td><td>2690</td><td>quartz monzonite</td><td>Santa Barbara quartz monzonite</td><td>204-190 (5)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 4 Rio Perchiquez fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-09 A</td><td>6.91500</td><td>-72.87190</td><td>2927</td><td>quartz monzonite</td><td>Santa Barbara quartz monzonite</td><td>204-190 (5)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-10 A</td><td>6.84546</td><td>-72.80993</td><td>2572</td><td>quartz sandstone</td><td>Girón Formation</td><td>≈157-139 Ma (4)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-12 A</td><td>6.90519</td><td>-72.86517</td><td>2806</td><td>quartz muscovite metasandstone</td><td>Metasediments Guaca la Virgen</td><td>Devonian? (3.1) or ≈180? (3.2)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-13</td><td>6.92233</td><td>-72.83962</td><td>2430</td><td>quartz sandstone</td><td>Los Santos Formation</td><td>≈148-139 (1)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-14</td><td>6.95152</td><td>-72.82364</td><td>2828</td><td>quartz sandstone</td><td>Los Santos Formation</td><td>≈148-139 (1)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-15 A</td><td>6.97662</td><td>-72.82493</td><td>3194</td><td>quartz muscovite metasandstone</td><td>Metasediments Guaca la Virgen</td><td>Devonian? (3.1) or ≈180? (3.2)</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-16 B</td><td>7.04640</td><td>-72.80736</td><td>3896</td><td>quartz muscovite metasandstone</td><td>Metasediments Guaca la Virgen</td><td>Devonian? (3.1) or ≈180? (3.2)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><strong>Footwall of Bucaramanga fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><strong>Curos-Mesa de los Santos</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15NJ10</td><td>6.91848</td><td>-73.00665</td><td>1293</td><td>quartz feldspar granite</td><td>Pescadero granite</td><td>209-177 (2)</td></tr><tr><td>15NJ11</td><td>6.91898</td><td>-73.01686</td><td>1459</td><td>quartz feldspar granite</td><td>Pescadero granite</td><td>209-177 (2)</td></tr><tr><td>15NJ12</td><td>6.91805</td><td>-73.03418</td><td>1680</td><td>quartz sandstone</td><td>Los Santos Formation</td><td>≈148-139 (1)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Ages constrained by (1) Jiménez et al. (2021). (2) Zapata et al. (2016). (3.1) Ward et al. (1973) and Royero et al. (1994). (3.2) Zuluaga et al. (2017). (4) Cediel (1968). Ponds (1982); Royero and Clavijo (2001); Jiménez et al. (2021). (5) Rodríguez et al. (2018, 2020). (6) Jiménez (2016); van der Lelij et al. (2016b) and García-Ramírez et al. (2017). (7) Mantilla et al. (2012); Amaya (2016) and van der Lelij et al. (2016b). (8) Rodríguez et al. (2016).

<table><caption>**Table 3**
Zircon fission-track data from the two sides of Bucaramanga Fault.</caption><thead><tr><th>Sample</th><th>n</th><th>ρ<sub>s</sub><br>(10<sup>5</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>)</th><th>N<sub>s</sub></th><th>ρ<sub>i</sub><br>(10<sup>5</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>)</th><th>N<sub>i</sub></th><th>ρ<sub>d</sub><br>(10<sup>5</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>)</th><th>P (χ<sup>2</sup>)<br>(%)</th><th>Dispersion<br>(%)</th><th>Age (Ma)*</th><th>±2 σ</th><th>U (ppm)</th><th>±2 σ</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="13"><strong>Hanging wall of the Bucaramanga fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td colspan="13"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 1 Bucaramanga fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-01</td><td>16</td><td>39.8</td><td>787</td><td>24.1</td><td>477</td><td>2.32</td><td>0</td><td>49</td><td>26.4</td><td>7.4</td><td>520</td><td>50</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-02 A</td><td>14</td><td>58.9</td><td>895</td><td>36.5</td><td>555</td><td>2.33</td><td>3.1</td><td>17.6</td><td>25.9</td><td>4.2</td><td>784</td><td>70</td></tr><tr><td colspan="13"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 2 Rio Manco fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-04 A</td><td>14</td><td>129</td><td>1513</td><td>21.0</td><td>246</td><td>2.34</td><td>2.7</td><td>20</td><td>94.9</td><td>14.8</td><td>450</td><td>59</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-05</td><td>18</td><td>108</td><td>1290</td><td>15.2</td><td>182</td><td>2.35</td><td>9.5</td><td>16.2</td><td>113.4</td><td>21.3</td><td>324</td><td>49</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-06</td><td>16</td><td>153</td><td>1165</td><td>24.8</td><td>189</td><td>2.36</td><td>17.5</td><td>1.5</td><td>100.4</td><td>16.3</td><td>525</td><td>78</td></tr><tr><td colspan="13"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 3 Rio Umpalá fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-07</td><td>17</td><td>97.1</td><td>1168</td><td>12.0</td><td>144</td><td>2.37</td><td>22.6</td><td>14.2</td><td>132.4</td><td>26.4</td><td>253</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-08</td><td>15</td><td>120</td><td>1100</td><td>17.2</td><td>157</td><td>2.37</td><td>0.3</td><td>36.4</td><td>114.9</td><td>29.5</td><td>362</td><td>59</td></tr><tr><td colspan="13"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 4 Rio Perchiquez fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-09 A</td><td>20</td><td>108</td><td>1387</td><td>15.7</td><td>202</td><td>2.38</td><td>9.5</td><td>23</td><td>112.9</td><td>22.1</td><td>330</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-10 A</td><td>12</td><td>135</td><td>693</td><td>8.6</td><td>44</td><td>2.39</td><td>98.4</td><td>0.1</td><td>256.4</td><td>79.4</td><td>179</td><td>54</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-12 A</td><td>16</td><td>95.2</td><td>1249</td><td>9.0</td><td>118</td><td>2.39</td><td>80.1</td><td>0.4</td><td>173.9</td><td>34.5</td><td>188</td><td>35</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-13</td><td>17</td><td>99.5</td><td>1387</td><td>3.9</td><td>54</td><td>2.40</td><td>72.4</td><td>1.3</td><td>415.4</td><td>113.2</td><td>81</td><td>22</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-14</td><td>10</td><td>101</td><td>697</td><td>4.4</td><td>30</td><td>2.41</td><td>41.1</td><td>3.8</td><td>378</td><td>139.2</td><td>90</td><td>33</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-15 A</td><td>5</td><td>126</td><td>220</td><td>10.9</td><td>19</td><td>2.42</td><td>50.7</td><td>0.5</td><td>191.8</td><td>92.5</td><td>226</td><td>104</td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-16 B</td><td>14</td><td>76.4</td><td>717</td><td>7.6</td><td>71</td><td>2.42</td><td>81.1</td><td>0.5</td><td>168</td><td>42.3</td><td>156</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td colspan="13"><strong>Footwall of the Bucaramanga fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td colspan="13"><strong>Curos-Mesa de los Santos</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15NJ-10</td><td>6</td><td>99.8</td><td>262</td><td>10.9</td><td>29</td><td>2.43</td><td>10.6</td><td>34.9</td><td>150.2</td><td>73.3</td><td>225</td><td>84</td></tr><tr><td>15NJ-11</td><td>7</td><td>150</td><td>512</td><td>15.9</td><td>54</td><td>2.44</td><td>60.8</td><td>0.3</td><td>158.8</td><td>45.7</td><td>326</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>15NJ-12</td><td>25</td><td>101</td><td>1940</td><td>5.9</td><td>113</td><td>2.44</td><td>52.1</td><td>0.8</td><td>354.0</td><td>34.0</td><td>121</td><td>23</td></tr></tbody></table>

*Note: Fission-track age is given as central age. Samples were counted dry with a BH-2 Olympus microscope at 1250× magnification. Central age was calculated with the Binomfit program of M. Brandon (see Ehlers et al., 2005), using zeta values of 139.15 ± 4.29 (Villamizar-Escalante, N).

ranging from 94.9 Ma to 132.4 Ma (Table 3; Fig. 8a), which are in good agreement with previously reported ages along this profile (Table 5; Shagam et al., 1984; van der Lelij et al., 2016a,b). Within them, two samples showed P (χ²) values below 5%, where the first one (15SACZ-04 A) was obtained from the Berlin Orthogneiss, with a ZFT central age of 94.4 ± 14.8 Ma and a P (χ²) value of 2.7%. The second sample (15SACZ-08) was obtained from the Santa Barbara quartz monzogranite, with a ZFT central age of 114.9 ± 29.5 Ma and a P (χ²)

value of 0.3%. Note that the metamorphic age of the Berlin Orthogneiss is constrained at around ~495-412 Ma (Jiménez, 2016; van der Lelij et al., 2016b; García-Ramírez et al., 2017). In contrast, the crystallization age of the Santa Barbara quartz monzonite is around ~204-190 Ma (Rodríguez et al., 2018, 2020).

AFT ages range between 5 ± 2.6 Ma and 13.8 ± 4 Ma (Table 4; Fig. 8b) with P (χ²) values higher than 15% (Table 4) except for sample 15SACZ-08 (P (χ²) <5%). The χ² and age-dispersion data define these
<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 8.** Distance vs age vs elevation diagram. Lithology of the sampled Los Santos - Curos - Guaca profile (B-B' and A-A') passing through Bucaramanga Fault damage zone, along with a plot of central age for (a) ZFT (diamond shape), (b) AFT (square shape), Zircon (U-Th)/He data (hexagon shape) and Apatite (U-Th)/He data (star marker), and (c) track length (circle shape) in apatite. Data from other studies are shown in different colors. The thermal influence of both the Bucaramanga Fault on the ZFT data and the Río Perchiquez fault on the AFT data is evident. Trace sections A-A' and B-B' are located in Fig. 2. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)</figcaption></figure>

<table><caption>**Table 4**

Apatite fission-track data of the Hanging wall of Bucaramanga fault.</caption><thead><tr><th>Sample</th><th>n</th><th>ρ<sub>s</sub><br>(10<sup>5</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>)</th><th>N<sub>s</sub></th><th>ρ<sub>i</sub><br>(10<sup>5</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>)</th><th>N<sub>i</sub></th><th>ρ<sub>d</sub><br>(10<sup>6</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>)</th><th>P<br>(χ<sup>2</sup>)<br>(%)</th><th>Dispersion<br>(%)</th><th>Age*<br>(Ma)</th><th>±2 s</th><th>U<br>(ppm)</th><th>±2 s</th><th>TL<br>(n)</th><th>MTL**<br>(μm)</th><th>±1 s</th><th>MDpar<br>(μm)</th><th>n</th><th>Dpar</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="20"><strong>Hanging wall of the Bucaramanga fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td colspan="20"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 1 Bucaramanga fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-01</td><td>8</td><td>0.85</td><td>26</td><td>17.2</td><td>528</td><td>0.995</td><td>15</td><td>28.5</td><td>6.6</td><td>3.15</td><td>26</td><td>2</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>1.20</td><td>23</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-02 A</td><td>18</td><td>0.61</td><td>34</td><td>12.7</td><td>704</td><td>0.999</td><td>89.6</td><td>0.5</td><td>6</td><td>2.2</td><td>19</td><td>2</td><td>25</td><td>15.55</td><td>0.81</td><td>3.87</td><td>20</td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="20"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 2 Rio Manco fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-04 A</td><td>25</td><td>0.78</td><td>93</td><td>11.1</td><td>1327</td><td>1.010</td><td>95.3</td><td>0.3</td><td>8.8</td><td>2.1</td><td>17</td><td>1</td><td>96</td><td>14.51</td><td>1.24</td><td>2.52</td><td>101</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-05</td><td>11</td><td>0.15</td><td>4</td><td>3.44</td><td>93</td><td>1.020</td><td>98.2</td><td>0.1</td><td>5.5</td><td>6.5</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>14.2</td><td>0.76</td><td>1.67</td><td>2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-06</td><td>21</td><td>0.97</td><td>51</td><td>13.6</td><td>715</td><td>1.020</td><td>79.8</td><td>0.4</td><td>9.1</td><td>2.8</td><td>20</td><td>2</td><td>47</td><td>14.57</td><td>1.75</td><td>1.34</td><td>35</td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="20"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 3 Rio Umpala fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-07</td><td>23</td><td>1.05</td><td>59</td><td>9.71</td><td>546</td><td>1.030</td><td>87.3</td><td>0.4</td><td>13.8</td><td>4</td><td>14</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>14.17</td><td>0.53</td><td>1.46</td><td>42</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-08</td><td>19</td><td>0.60</td><td>22</td><td>7.65</td><td>282</td><td>1.030</td><td>2</td><td>80.8</td><td>10.6</td><td>6.5</td><td>11</td><td>1</td><td>13</td><td>15.01</td><td>0.89</td><td>1.63</td><td>23</td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="20"><strong>Curos-Guaca Block 4 Rio Perchiquez fault</strong></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-09 A</td><td>19</td><td>0.31</td><td>16</td><td>8.16</td><td>419</td><td>1.040</td><td>40.2</td><td>19.5</td><td>5</td><td>2.6</td><td>12</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>14.43</td><td>0.04</td><td>1.24</td><td>12</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15SACZ-12 A</td><td>25</td><td>1.71</td><td>217</td><td>25.6</td><td>2342</td><td>1.040</td><td>29.9</td><td>12.9</td><td>8.9</td><td>1.6</td><td>37</td><td>2</td><td>24</td><td>14.51</td><td>1.4</td><td>2.11</td><td>114</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

<footnote>*Note: Samples were counted dry with a BX-51 Olympus microscope at 1250× magnification. Central ages were calculated with the Binomfit program of M. Brandon (see Ehlers et al., 2005), using a zeta value of 249.55 ± 12.52 (Villamizar-Escalante, N.). **C-axis projected track lengths of horizontally confined tracks (Ketcham et al., 2007).</footnote>
<table><caption>**Table 5**
Thermochronological data from others authors in the zone.</caption><thead><tr><th>Sample</th><th>Stratigraphic Unit</th><th>Latitude (°N)</th><th>Longitude (°W)</th><th>Elevation (m.a.s.l)</th><th>ZFT Age (ma)</th><th>±2 σ</th><th>AFT Age (ma)</th><th>±2 σ</th><th>Zircon (U-Th)/He age (ma)</th><th>±2 σ</th><th>Apatite (U-Th)/He age (ma)</th><th>±2 σ</th><th>Reference*</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>10VDL23</td><td>Bucaramanga gneiss</td><td>6.9417</td><td>-72.9678</td><td>2055</td><td>124.8</td><td>12.7</td><td>11.1</td><td>1.1</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>BC79-5</td><td>Corcova qt-monzonite</td><td>6.9300</td><td>-72.9944</td><td>1500</td><td>66</td><td>7</td><td>5.5</td><td>1</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>BC79-4</td><td>Bucaramanga gneiss</td><td>6.9428</td><td>-72.9709</td><td>1950</td><td>98</td><td>10</td><td>12.4</td><td>5</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>BC79-3</td><td>Sta. Barbara qt-monzonite</td><td>6.9507</td><td>-72.9504</td><td>2100</td><td>91</td><td>11</td><td>7.3</td><td>1.1</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>CG 36</td><td>Bucaramanga gneiss</td><td>6.9822</td><td>-73.0317</td><td>1228</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>15.72</td><td>1.35</td><td>3.64</td><td>0.75</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>CG 43</td><td>Sta. Barbara qt-monzonite</td><td>6.9190</td><td>-72.9011</td><td>2536</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>21.38</td><td>3.04</td><td>9.14</td><td>0.24</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>CG 67</td><td>Percadero Granite</td><td>6.9464</td><td>-73.0247</td><td>1073</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>67.72</td><td>10.7</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>CG 68</td><td>Corcova qt-monzonite</td><td>6.9340</td><td>-72.9920</td><td>1556</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>14.42</td><td>0.21</td><td>6.64</td><td>1.2</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>CG 69</td><td>Corcova qt-monzonite</td><td>6.9179</td><td>-73.0010</td><td>1364</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>12.45</td><td>0.59</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>3</td></tr></tbody></table>

ages as a single-age population and the central age is reported as the apparent cooling age. Dpar values are generally <1.75 µm, except for samples 15SACZ-02 A, 15SACZ-04 A and 15SACZ-12 A. For our data, this could be related to a lithological variation. Mean track length measurements (c-axis projected; Donelick, 1993; Ketcham et al., 2007) show relatively small variations between 14.20 µm and 15.55 µm (Fig. 8c), with a small population distribution expressing unimodal track lengths.

### 4.5. Thermal history modeling

We present thermal modeling using QTQt program (v.5.7.1 k; Gal-lagher, 2012) for individual tectonic blocks limited by inner NE structures. Block 1 corresponds to the Bucaramanga Fault domain, block 2 is between the Río Manco and Río Umpalá faults, block 3 is between the Río Umpalá and Río Perchiquez faults, and block 4 is to the southeast of the Río Perchiquez fault. Concordantly, each domain was separated into different elevated profiles, which allowed us to observe a clear difference in the cooling history of different blocks between the tectonic domains.

For Block 1 (15SACZ-01 and 15SACZ-02 A; Fig. 9), the T-t models of the ZFT data show a difference between the Observed vs Predicted ages, with observed Central ages of 25–27 Ma and a predicted age of 34–35 Ma (Supplementary Fig. 2). However, the resulting total T-t path at high temperatures (~300 °C) shows a high probability of long-term stationary signal from 30 to 10 Ma, changing dramatically from 300 °C to around 30 °C between 10 and 5 Ma (Miocene-Pliocene), showing rapid cooling rates of ~60 °C/Myr (Fig. 9a and b). Moreover, the probability model of sample 15SACZ-02 A shows a predicted vs observed Mean Track Length (MTL) of 15 µm (Fig. 9c), with a good match of Observed vs predicted AFT ages (Supplementary Fig. 2). The best-fit model indicates a rapid cooling phase between 10 and 6 Ma (from ZFT) and accelerated cooling around 6 to 5 Ma (from AFT), indicating a late Miocene-Pliocene cooling phase. Initiated temperatures higher than 300 °C show that the cooling history points to a Bucaramanga Fault driving exhumation of the western edge of SM.

Blocks 2 (15SACZ-04 A, 15SACZ-05, 15SACZ-06) and 3 (15SACZ-07, 15SACZ-08) share a similar T-t cooling history. The burial path shows monotonic heating, probably due to the absence of more geo-thermochronological constraints. However, the subsequent cooling is well constrained around 20–23 Ma, starting at temperatures around 300–350 °C to temperatures of 30 °C at 8 to 5 Ma at cooling rates of ~22 to 17 °C/Myr (Fig. 9). Moreover, the Predicted vs Observed age of both

models shows a good match in AFT and ZFT, except for the ZFT ages of block 2 (Supplementary Fig. 2). Nevertheless, the predicted vs observed MTL shows a consistency of 14–15 µm (Fig. 9).

Block 4 shows a different thermal history. The T-t models of the ZFT data are not well-constrained. Nevertheless, the AFT path (120-60 °C) shows a clear, rapid cooling rate of 33 °C/Myr from since 120 °C in a time-lapse of 4 Ma between 9 and 6 Ma (Fig. 9) and a good probability prediction of the model (Supplementary Fig. 2). Moreover, the MTL prediction of the models are around ~14–15 µm (Fig. 9). The best-fit model indicates a rapid cooling phase from Miocene to Pliocene that differs from blocks 2 and 3, a change remarkably related to the Río Perchiquez fault.

### 4.6. Exhumation rates

The long-term average exhumation rates based on age2edot modeling for the Curos - Guaca block profile are on the order of 0.7–0.5 km/Myr during the late Miocene to Pliocene (AFT data) and 0.2–0.3 km/Myr during the late Oligocene to early Miocene (ZFT data near the Bucaramanga Fault, Supplementary Fig. 1). However, these rates may have been briefly more rapid during the rapid cooling phase from 11 to 5 Ma.

## 5. Discussion

### 5.1. Deformation transition in fault systems: from brittle to ductile

Meso- and microstructural analyses show differences in deformation patterns with elevation (different structural levels), i.e., from patterns seen at relatively low elevations on the Río Manco Fault (block 1) to patterns seen at higher elevations on the Río Perchiquez Fault (block 3). In block 1, observed mesostructures include brittle deformation indicators, the formation of Y, R, and R' shear faults, and the presence of breccia zone and observed microstructures include inter-/intra-granular micro-fractures and cataclastic flow (<300 °C). The cataclastic flow is associated with strain-rate-dependent abrasion grain-size reduction. This flow is commonly associated with the semi-brittle flow and treated in conjunction with crystal-plastic flow (Chester, 1988). All observed features are consistent with brittle deformation characteristics of upper crustal rocks whose rheological behavior can be described as linear elastic (Pollard and Fletcher, 2005; Turcotte and Schubert, 2014). In block 3, mesostructures and microstructures comprise mesoscale folding and flow channels. The latter occurs as shear bands deforming a volume

<footnote>*note: 1. Van der Lelij et al. (2016a) (location taken from the map); 2. Shagam et al. (1984); 3. Siravo et al. (2020).</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_12.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 9.** Individual Time-Temperature paths and predicted vs observed track-length models obtained for block 1 (a, b, c), block 2 (d, e, f, g, h, i), block 3 (j, k, l, m), and block 4 (n, o, p, q). In these models, we integrated AFT ages, mean track lengths, and ZFT ages. Abbreviations: MTL: Mean track lengths, MTL Op: Mean Track lengths Optimus, LL: likelihood, Kin: Kinetic, O: Observed, P: predicted, SP: Sampled values of the Predicted value, SO: Sampled values of the observed value.</figcaption></figure>

of fractured rock that includes coarse quartz grains with a pressure dissolution surface on grain boundaries. Deformation by pressure solution mechanisms is dominant in diagenetic to low-grade metamorphic conditions where fluids are abundant, and higher temperatures and high differential stress favored the observed deformation mechanism (Passchier and Trouw, 2005). However, this process could also be significant at a high metamorphic grade (Wintsch and Yi, 2002). This type of deformation could mark the transition from ductile to brittle state at high temperatures. We highlight that the ductile deformation event S1 must have occurred prior to Andean orogenesis. Thus, the ZFT ages are not reset in block 4. However, the ductile deformation shown as

crenulation cleavage (S+3) probably was formed during the Andean orogenesis at relatively low-temperature ranges (<300 °C; Vernon, 2004; Passchier and Trouw, 2005), leading to partial annealing of fission tracks in zircon at temperatures of ~180 °C–~240 °C (e.g. Brandon et al., 1998) as shown in block 4 (sample 15SACZ-09 A, Table 3).

Deformation events Sn + 2 and Sn + 3 are related to the initiation of movement along the Río Perchiquez fault and the oblique orientation of preference planes (Sn + 2 and Sn + 3) in reference to the main fault orientation. The relative timing of these events is poorly constrained but they may have been related to the last deformation phase of Santander Massif, linked to the Indentation model during Miocene-
Pliocene times. However, direct age constraints from the damage zone must be obtained to confirm this hypothesis.

## 5.2. Thermochronological constraints

ZFT data of the Curos - Los Santos profile across the Bucaramanga Fault hanging wall in the Pescadero Granite yield central ages from $150.2 \pm 73.3$ Ma to $158.8 \pm 45.7$ Ma, younger than the published zircon U-Pb crystallization ages of ~199 Ma for the Pescadero Granite (van der Lelij et al., 2016b, 2019; Zapata et al., 2016) suggesting that the ZFT data may represent post magmatic cooling ages. ZFT data from the same profile from the Los Santos Formation ($354 \pm 34$ Ma) are older than the

depositional age, which has been recently reassessed as Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous (148 to ca. 139; Jiménez et al., 2021), most likely representing source area cooling ages. Therefore, the Lower Cretaceous strata did not undergo sufficient burial depth to reset pre-depositional zircons. Instead, they preserve evidence of a Devonian-Carboniferous tectonic event (U-Pb; Hortonet al., 2010b). Considering that the SM served as the primary sediment source for the Cretaceous depocenter (Cooper et al., 1995; Horton et al., 2015), these ages suggest a persistent influence of the BF dating back to at least Paleozoic times.

The two lowermost samples from the Curos-Guaca profile (1460–1595 m elevation) yield central ZFT ages ranging from $26.4 \pm 7.4$ Ma.

<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 10.** (a) Geological map sampling location for this study with a cross-section A–A’. (b, c) ZFT and AFT vs Distance from Bucaramanga Fault and Relief swath profile along the same transect location as the cross-section. The blue line shows the mean elevation, orange and green outlines represent maximum and minimum envelopes around a mean (at 10 km), and the dot-line is the ZFT lower partial annealing zone. (d) 3D graphic of the study area with sampling location. The white line represents the lower partial annealing zone proposed in this study (~1850 m. a.s.l). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)</figcaption></figure>
to 25.9 ± 4.2 Ma. Those samples were collected from crystalline rocks and represent a total resetting of the system prior to exhumation. The other six samples collected along the profile (1930–2927 m elevation) yield central ZFT ages ranging from 94.9 ± 14.8 to 132.4 ± 26.4 Ma. Except for the samples 15SACZ-04 A and 15SACZ-08, all other samples have P (χ²) values above 5%. According to the P (χ²) test (Galbraith, 1981; Green, 1981), such values may indicate total reset ages compared to the older protolith age. Nonetheless, P (χ²) are not >23% and we interpret these ages as reflecting partial annealing of the ZFT system due to burial heating associated with the accumulation of the overlying Jurassic and Cretaceous sequences that are in discordance with the basement (cross-section Fig. 1c).

Sediment deposition atop the Santander Massif paleo high basement seems to have been sporadic during the Jurassic but persisted from the Cretaceous to the Paleocene (Fig. 1), resulting in an overall sedimentary cover thickness of around 2500–3000 m (Shagam et al., 1984). The fact that this sedimentary cover was not sufficiently thick to completely reset the ZFT dates (~180 °C–~240 °C; Brandon et al., 1998) supports our interpretation of these ages as partial reset ages associated with periods of subsidence.

In the Curos-Guaca elevation profile, ages appear to increase with rising elevation (Fig. 10a and b), indicating the presence of an exhumed ZFT partial annealing zone (PAZ, see Fig. 10b). The lower boundary of the fossil PAZ is estimated to be approximately 1850 m. a.s.l. (Fig. 10d). Note that ZFT data from Shagam et al. (1984) and van der Lelij et al.

(2016a) are consistent with the interpretation of an exhumed ZFT PAZ exposed near the Bucaramanga Fault (Figs. 8 and 11d). The published lower limit of the exhumed ZFT PAZ in the Bucaramanga – Picacho profile of (Amaya et al., 2017) at 2250 m. a.s.l., and the lower limit of the exhumed ZFT PAZ in the eastern Cepitá profile of Amaya et al. (2020) at 1050 m. a.s.l., have similar age distributions compared to our study. Because of the proximity of both profiles to our profile, we conclude that they represent the same exhumed ZFT PAZ associated with the Bucaramanga Fault. However, ZFT data here indicate that the lower ZFT PAZ is located at an elevation of around 400 m below the exhumed ZFT PAZ reported by Amaya et al. (2017) and 800 m above the exhumed ZFT PAZ reported by Amaya et al. (2020). This variation is probably related to a final Miocene-Pliocene (~5 Ma) deformation phase during continuous exhumation and later tilting of fault blocks in the Santander Massif. The sampling grid employed in this study enables the identification of a “break-in slope,” marking the base of the exhumed PAZ, which represents approximately 90% of annealing and signifies the onset of significant rapid cooling (Gleadow and Fitzgerald, 1987; Fitzgerald and Gleadow, 1988, 1990). The ZFT ages below the “break-in slope” represent an episode of rapid cooling during the Oligocene, probably linked to rapid exhumation and surface uplift driven by the Bucaramanga Fault displacement (Fig. 10 b, d).

In the Curos-Guaca profile (1460–2806 m elevation), AFT data from seven samples yielded central ages ranging from 13.8 to 6 Ma. All samples in the profile show long track lengths in a narrow distribution,

<figure><img src="image_14.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 11.** (a, b) Block diagram showing the indenter model and/or Pamplona wedge for the Santander Massif. The blue arrows show the maximum horizontal stress (SH max) trajectories proposed by Velandia et al. (2020). Thrust faults on the deformation front and later the NE structures with a strike-slip component in a radial pattern from the deformation front, fitting the deformation and truncated the continuous deformation with the Bucaramanga Fault discontinuity. (c) 3D model of the actual configuration of the Bucaramanga Fault main trace, Río Manco, Río Umpalá, and Río Perchiquez faults, and the exhumation rates related to the Bucaramanga Fault (0.2 km/Myr) and Río Perchiquez fault (0.6 km/Myr). Figure modified from Siravo et al. (2020). Abbreviation: Suárez fault (SF), Bucaramanga city (BC), Río Manco fault (RMF), Río Umpalá fault (RUF), Río Perchiquez fault (RPF), Bucaramanga Fault (BF). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)</figcaption></figure>
with a mean track length of ~15 µm, which is characteristic of rapid cooling (Fig. 8). Here, rocks were cooling monotonically, with the lowermost rock sample passing last through the PAZ (Dodson, 1973; Wagner and Haute, 1992; Fitzgerald et al., 1995; Villa, 1998; Gallagher et al., 2005). The AFT ages reported by Shagam et al. (1984) and van der Lelij et al. (2016a) are concordant with the age distribution in this profile (Figs. 8 and 11c). However, two samples (15SACZ-09 A and 15SACZ-12 A, 2806 and 2927 m elevation) show a rejuvenation of the AFT signal with ages of 5 Ma and 8.9 Ma and with exhumation rates of around 0.6 km/Myr. Such a rejuvenation is spatially coincident with the Río Perchiquez. The break of the monotonic cooling with elevation and the influence of the Río Perchiquez fault indicate structure-controlled exhumation during the late Miocene-Pliocene times. Mesoscale fracture analysis revealed composite kinematics for the Río Perchiquez fault, presenting both right-lateral and normal kinematics (see data for JL-CSB-031 in Fig. 7). It is widely known that strike-slip faults with dip-slip components, particularly normal displacements, effectively tectonically exhume the shallowest crustal levels in active orogens (Ring et al., 1999; van Der Beek, 2014; Fitzgerald and Malusà, 2019).

Modeling of sample 15SACZ-02 A indicates a fast-cooling event at 6 Ma, as well as the one reported on the Río Perchiquez fault domain; the fast-cooling event is observed in models from samples 15SACZ-09 A and 15SACZ-12 A (Fig. 9). Multi-sample AFT data modeling indicates rapid cooling rates of ~60 °C/Myr at 10 Ma for block 1 (Fig. 9), slower from 24 to 8 Ma at cooling rates of ~17–21 °C/Myr for the blocks 2 and 3 (Fig. 9), and rapid cooling rates of ~33 °C/Myr for block 4 (<9 Ma; Fig. 9). These cooling paths express continuous exhumation along with the Bucaramanga Fault from Oligocene to early Miocene times. Note that reactivation of secondary faults during the late Miocene plays a role in the late exhumation phase of the southern Santander Massif.

### 5.3. Geomorphological evidence of pliocene rejuvenation

Low-temperature thermochronology can resolve changes in rock cooling rates on million-year timescales and may indirectly constrain topographic evolution (Montgomery and Brandon, 2002). Evaluation of changes in erosion/exhumation rates and rock uplift rates provides an essential tool for geomorphological analysis as long as a good correlation between exhumation, surface uplift, and relief can be made. Thus, combining multiple sets of thermochronological samples coupled with geomorphological field observations could be crucial for deciphering landscape evolution details (Schildgen and van der Beek, 2019). The study area dataset provides an excellent opportunity to compare temperature-time models with different geomorphological studies.

Recent regional studies reported preserved morpho-structural features (Osorio et al., 2008; García-Delgado et al., 2019), suggesting recent surface uplift and topographic rejuvenation associated with both the Bucaramanga Fault and the Río Perchiquez fault. This is consistent with our AFT data indicating that the Río Perchiquez fault controls recent exhumation (~5 Ma). Note that interpretations in the mentioned studies about landscape evolution indicate higher surface uplift rates congruent with the recent activity of the BF and the NE-striking faults, such as the Río Perchiquez fault. Our structural analysis emphasizes the exhumation of brittle and ductile-brittle domains following the fault trace of the Bucaramanga and NW-SE structures. A tectonic weakening and enhanced delivering of material from hillslopes may explain the high erosion rates (0.228 ± 0.032 km/Myr) for the Chicamocha basin, recorded in this area by Struth et al. (2017). These cosmogenic-derived erosion rates are about three times lower than our long-term exhumation rates (0.6–0.7 km/Myr). This would imply that denudation is lagging behind the last pulse of rock uplift and that surface uplift has occurred for the last 5 Ma in our study area. These observations are consistent with other interpretations based on thermochronological data (e.g., Siravo et al., 2020).

### 5.4. The role of deep-seated crustal fault and strike-slip faulting on the Santander Massif

A primary model to explain the observed Bucaramanga Fault and NE-striking structural features is the tectonic indentation. Boinet et al. (1985) proposed the Pamplona Indenter (Fig. 11) to reconcile the structural and stratigraphic differences between faulted blocks within the Santander Massif. In a scenario with a collision of rigid blocks, such as the Merida Andes and the Santander Massif in a W-E direction, an extrusion zone should be expected to the south with oblique structures with a NE and NW trend. This model describes the complex tectonic events during the late Cenozoic in the Santander Massif and explains the kinematics observed in the area associated with a collision between the two mentioned blocks. In an "indenter-type" collision, the stress field at the front of the wedge follows a radial pattern (e.g., Davy and Cobbold, 1988; Marshak, 2004). This radial stress trajectory was recently observed from the analysis of fault-slip data (Velandia et al., 2020). The W-E oriented maximum shortening reported by Velandia et al. (2020) and García-Delgado et al. (2022) could explain the right-lateral kinematics calculated in this contribution for the NE-striking structures like the Río Perchiquez fault (Fig. 11a). Fault plane solutions obtained for some sites (e.g., JL-CSB-31; Fig. 7) seem to support this interpretation. The difference in P-axes orientations for sites could have originated by clockwise rotations associated with block segmentation between the Bucaramanga Fault and the NE-striking structures, as was observed in the NV-C01 site (Fig. 7) and recent paleomagnetic data (Jiménez et al., 2022).

We concur with the "indenter" model based on our mesostructural, microstructural and thermochronological results. As we show in Fig. 11, the W-E shortening direction at the latitude of our study area would result in compression perpendicular to the Bucaramanga Fault and extrusion to the north and south. This change in the tectonic regime would transmit deformation to NE-striking structures such as the Río Perchiquez Fault. The cooling ages on the upthrown block of this fault at ~5 Ma are indicative of the timing of collision between the SM and the Merida Andes as described by the "indenter" model. Finally, the along-strike topographic gradient of the fossil ZFT PAZ suggests block tilting and fault segmentation between the Bucaramanga Fault and the NW-striking structures. This structural configuration resembles indenters worldwide (Ratschbacher et al., 1991; Jacobs and Thomas, 2004; Robl and Stüwe, 2005a,b; Rockwell et al., 2010; Favaro et al., 2017; Reiter et al., 2018), a mechanism corroborated by various analog models (Rosenberg et al., 2004, 2007; Krstekanić et al., 2021).

The Bucaramanga fault stands out as a major structure controlling the internal deformation of the North Andes, similar to deep-crustal faults documented worldwide that influence indenter development (Cao and Neubauer, 2016; Rosenberg et al., 2018). These structures create significant rheological boundaries, confining deformation within the upper crust, facilitating strain partitioning along these boundaries, and promoting indentation (Cao and Neubauer, 2016; Krstekanić et al., 2021). Examples of such faults include the well-studied Periadiatic, the Salzach-Enns-Mariazell-Puchberg (SEMP), and the Brenner faults in the Alps (Rosenberg and Schneider, 2008; Wölfler et al., 2008, 2011, 2012; Pomella et al., 2012; Klotz et al., 2019; Wolff et al., 2020; Ghoshal et al., 2020). The Himalayas also exhibit these deep-crustal fault structures, with the Pamir thrust bounding the western margin and the Ailao-Shan-Red River shear zone on the eastern side (Cao et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2020).

### 5.5. Thermal history for the Santander Massif and tectonic implications

Understanding the latest orogenic processes that affected the Northern Andes also involves the characterization of the long tectonic history of the Santander Massif crystalline core. First, a lower Cambrian to upper Silurian orogenic episode is recorded in published zircon U-Pb ages from migmatites of the Bucaramanga Gneiss (524 - 410 Ma;
Mantilla et al., 2012; Amaya, 2016; van der Lelij et al., 2016b), which could indicate the time of peak metamorphism, resulting in anatexis of the continental crust, coeval with the syntectonic intrusion of orthogneisses in the Santander Massif (495-412 Ma; Restrepo-Pace and Cediel, 2010; Mantilla et al., 2012; Jiménez, 2016; van der Lelij et al., 2016b; García-Ramírez et al., 2017) and the Mérida Andes (van der Lelij et al., 2016b). This orogenic episode is known locally as the Quetame orogeny and is coetaneous with the Famatinian orogeny in the southern Andes (Cediel, 2019; van der Lelij et al., 2019) (Fig. 12). Devonian sedimentary rocks (Floresta Formation; absence of metamorphism) are discordantly overlying the gneisses and other metamorphic rocks (Silgará Schist), thus indicating regional surface uplift and exhumation of the Santander Massif crystalline rocks during the Silurian. Crystalline basement rock zircon U-Pb ages in the Northern Andes evidence a gap between the Devonian and the Carboniferous (415-294 Ma; Horton et al., 2010b), showing dull magmatic activity and no metamorphism during that time. Sediment accumulation resumed during the late Paleozoic (Diamante and Tiburon formations; Fig. 12) until the Triassic with the Bocas formation (Alarcón et al., 2020). Within the Bocas formation, the presence of MORB basalts and intermediate volcanic rocks suggest lithospheric thinning, enabling the upwelling of mantle material to the surface (Toro-Toro et al., 2021). This is consistent with an extensional setting reported for the northwest corner of South America during the Triassic-Jurassic (Mojica et al., 1996; Pindell and Kennan, 2009; van der Lelij, 2013; van der Lelij et al., 2016b). This extension triggered the development of a magmatic arc throughout the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, preserved across most of the Santander Massif (e.g., Pescadero Granite, La Corcova, and Santa Barbara plutons; López-Isaza and Zuluaga, 2020), as evidenced by the coeval volcanic activity documented in the Jordán Formation (Alarcón et al., 2020).

Zuluaga et al. (2015) interpreted this arc as a low-lying magmatic arc. Moreover, Zuluaga et al. (2017) propose that this low-lying magmatic arc altered the regional geotherms, inducing widespread low-pressure metamorphism in Devonian sedimentary rocks (metasediments of Guaca - La Virgen) and partially overprinting the Bucaramanga Gneiss. Our ZFT data (191-168 Ma) from the metasediments of Guaca - La Virgen (15SACZ-12 A, 15 A, 16 B) record the thermal event, supporting this interpretation (Table 3; Fig. 12). However, the low grain count and limited sampling location of the metasediments of Guaca la Virgen might lead to an overestimation of the ages as a result of this metamorphism. Further research is necessary to confirm the spatial distribution, intensity, and timing of this event.

The end of the Jurassic is marked by the accumulation of continental

red beds (Girón Group; Cediel, 1968; Jiménez et al., 2021, 2022) that overlay the Jordán Formation in angular discordance (Ward et al., 1973), implying a deformation of the Santander Massif and adjacent areas during the middle Jurassic. Provenance analysis on this sedimentary unit indicates Jurassic, Ordovician, and Pre-Cambrian source rocks, characteristic of the Santander Massif basement, suggesting that the Santander Massif was likely already exposed at the end of the Jurassic, i.e., likely not a high elevated mountain, but rather a paleo high. The grabens marked by Triassic -Jurassic volcano-sedimentary sequences have horst structures with normal faulting as the main mechanism for differential uplift; this all happens on top of the low-lying magmatic arc (Horton et al., 2010b; Villamizar-Escalante et al., 2019; Bayona et al., 2020; Osorio-Afanador and Velandia, 2021).

A Cretaceous marine transgression in an extensional setting is well known in the Northern Andes, causing the deposition of Cretaceous sedimentary sequences in the Santander Massif area, which eventually filled the proto-Eastern Cordillera basin of Colombia (van der Hammen, 1960; Cooper et al., 1995; Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006; Sarmiento-Rojas, 2019). Part of the Santander Massif was probably buried during this Cretaceous transgression, evidenced by the accumulation of shallow-marine siliciclastic rocks (Los Santos Formation) and limestone (Rosa Blanca Formation) sequences covering part of the Santander Massif. Detrital zircon U-Pb dating provenance analysis of the Early Cretaceous sedimentary rocks (MMV and internal SM Cretaceous sedimentary rocks) shows that clastic sediments originated from the Amazonian craton and the Santander Massif (Ordovician crystalline basement and Jurassic volcanic rocks), indicating that the Santander Massif had a positive relief (Mantilla et al., 2013; Horton et al., 2015; Villamizar-Escalante et al., 2019). Stratigraphic and structural evidence from the end of the Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian) also indicates that a portion of the Santander Massif was exposed at the surface as a source for sediments that accumulated in the Cesar basin (Villamil, 1999; Ayala et al., 2009, 2012; Amaya et al., 2017). During the Cretaceous, this paleo-high (Santander high) separates the Tablazo and Cocuy basins, which was probably controlled by transtension along the Bucaramanga Fault (Cooper et al., 1995; Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006). Furthermore, partially annealed 120 to 90 Ma ZFT ages (this study; Shagam et al., 1984; van der Lelij et al., 2016a,b; Amaya et al., 2017) indicate that burial was insufficient to heat rocks beyond the ZFT PAZ temperature range of commonly ~180-240 °C, depending on hold time (Brandon et al., 1998). In contrast, during the Late Cretaceous west of the Central Cordillera, geological data indicate episodes of contraction and/or extension leading to rock uplift and exhumation of the Central

<figure><img src="image_15.png" /><figcaption>**Fig. 12.** Thermal history of the Santander Massif. The black line represents the suggested path for the basement and the dotted line represents the likely thermal paths. Abbreviation: Bucaramanga gneiss (BN), Silgará Schist (SS), Berlin Orthogneiss (BO), Santander Massif (SM), Central Cordillera (CC).</figcaption></figure>
Cordillera crystalline rocks (Villagómez et al., 2011b; Villagómez and Spikings, 2013; Spikings et al., 2015; Zapata et al., 2019, 2020; Cardona et al., 2020; Villamizar-Escalante et al., 2021). Part of the Central Cordillera was exhumed because of the collision (~90-80 Ma) of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP; Caribbean Plate) along the

western margin of the South American plate, but there is no evidence that the CLIP collision affected the Santander Massif (Fig. 13a).

During the Maastrichtian to Early Paleocene, rapid change in depo- sitional conditions and input of siliciclastic supply into the Cesar- Rancheria and Magdalena basins suggest indirect deformation in the

<figure><img src="image_16.png" /></figure>

**Fig. 13.** Schematic tectonic reconstruction of the North Andes during ~120 to 2 Ma. White arrows indicate exhumation determined from the thermochronological data. (a) Early Cretaceous tectonic reconstruction showing exhumation along the Central Cordillera due to contractional episode. (b) Paleocene tectonic recon- struction showing initiation of the differential exhumation of the Bucaramanga Fault. (c) Oligocene-early Miocene tectonic reconstruction showing the collision of Panama arc and the related active phase of the Bucaramanga Fault. (d) Middle Miocene-Pliocene tectonic reconstruction showing exhumation through secondary structures due to the deformation caused by the Pamplona indenter and the deeper slab break-off process generating uplift of the Santander Massif. Topographic and paleographical reconstructions are modified from (Restrepo-Moreno et al., 2019). Tectonic reconstruction is inspired by several published models (Cortés and Angelier, 2005; Bayona et al., 2012, 2021; Vargas and Mann, 2013; Whattam and Stern, 2015; Amaya et al., 2017; Mora et al., 2017; Horton et al., 2020; Villa- mizar-Escalante et al., 2021; González et al., 2023). Abbreviation: Bucaramanga Fault (BF), Caribbean Plate (CP), Central Cordillera (CC), EC (Eastern Cordillera), Farallon Plate (FP), GM (Gárzón Massif), MA (Merida Andes), MMV (Middle Magdalena Valley), Nazca Plate (NzP), NAB (Northern Andes Block), PCB (Pan- ama-Chocó Block), SL (Serranía de San Lucas), SM (Santander Massif), WC (Western Cordillera), Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM), South American Plate (SAP).
Santander Massif (Bayona et al., 2021; Patarroyo et al., 2022). In turn, thermochronological data from the footwall of the Bucaramanga Fault indicate that the onset of exhumation occurred during the Late Cretaceous, as recorded in the Yarigués Anticlinorium (Cobardes Anticline; Caballero et al., 2013a). Zircon (U–Th)/He ages near the main trace of the BF (~70 Ma; Siravo et al., 2020), coupled with AFT and ZFT QTQt modeling of the western block in the Cepitá area (~65 Ma; Amaya et al., 2020) support this interpretation. Siravo et al. (2020) proposed this as the time when both blocks of the Bucaramanga Fault underwent simultaneous exhumation. This evidence points towards a regional geodynamic change that can be correlated with the onset of flat-slab subduction of the Caribbean plate, where the deformation and possible exhumation far from the trench can be explained (Bayona et al., 2012, 2021) (Fig. 13b).

Eocene exhumation of the Santander Massif (~50 to 40 Ma) is evidenced by AFT, ZFT and zircon (U–Th)/He data (Caballero et al., 2013b; Mora et al., 2015b; van der Lelij et al., 2016a; Bermúdez et al., 2021; Velandia et al., 2021). For example, van der Lelij et al. (2016a,b) proposed asymmetric exhumation of the Santander Massif, suggesting that the BF becomes an active structural feature around ~40 Ma (ZFT data; middle Eocene), and interpreted this as the onset of the Santander Massif. However, the 44 Ma ZFT age of sample 10VDL05 of van der Lelij et al. (2016a,b) falls within the ZFT PAZ documented by Amaya et al. (2017, 2020) and this study. Hence, this age is interpreted as a partial reset age. Siravo et al. (2020) proposed that the Bucaramanga Fault started to cool differentially after ~50 Ma but kept the onset of the Bucaramanga Fault and adjacent areas at around ~70 Ma. The age variation along the trend of the Bucaramanga Fault is similar to its southern termination (Velandia et al., 2021), in which the Bucaramanga Fault is divided into four principal traces that define a positive structure in a restraining bend that captured the Boyacá fault and jointed the Soapaga fault to the south (Velandia and Bermúdez, 2018), showing similar low-temperature thermochronological cooling ages on the hanging wall of the Boyacá Fault (Saylor et al., 2012) and younger ages (~40 Ma) on the hanging wall of the Soapaga fault (Reyes-Harker et al., 2015).

The distribution of fully reset ages and thermochronological models (Caballero et al., 2013a; Mora et al., 2015b; Amaya et al., 2017, 2020; Siravo et al., 2020; Bermúdez et al., 2021; Velandia et al., 2021) suggests that the Bucaramanga Fault exhumed crustal blocks from Late Cretaceous to middle Paleogene times. Provenance signals in Cenozoic deposits over the MMV and the Eastern Cordillera support this interpretation (Horton et al., 2010a, 2015; Nie et al., 2012). Similar cooling ages are observed in the Central Cordillera around the central segment (Restrepo-Moreno et al., 2009; Villagómez and Spikings, 2013; Noriega-Londoño et al., 2020; Villamizar-Escalante et al., 2021), and in the northern corner of the San Lucas Range (Amaya et al., 2019). This exhumation event has been linked to episodes of rapid convergence between the Farallon (Nazca) and South American plates at around ~50-40 Ma (Pardo-Casas and Molnar, 1987; Restrepo-Moreno et al., 2009; Villagómez and Spikings, 2013; Villamizar-Escalante et al., 2021). Mora et al. (2017) also attributed the exhumation to the initiation of flat subduction of the Caribbean plate during the Early to Middle Eocene, which differs from the Paleocene onset proposed by Bayona et al. (2012, 2021) (Fig. 13b).

Thermochronological ages from samples along the Bucaramanga and Surata faults indicate an important event during the Oligocene - early Miocene (~28-20 Ma; Caballero et al., 2013a; Mora et al., 2015b; Amaya et al., 2017; Velandia, 2017; Amaya et al., 2020; Velandia et al., 2021). This more recent exhumation of the Santander Massif is thought to be a consequence of the Panama arc collision pushing against the western margin of the South American plate at around ~25 Ma (Farris et al., 2011). In the collision, part of the deformation was transferred from the collision zone towards the interior mountain ranges. Data shown here indicate that the Bucaramanga Fault records a critical event during the late Oligocene (~25 Ma), been a main shortening episode

over the Santander Massif with long-term average exhumation rates of ~0.2–0.3 km/Myr (Fig. 13c), but probably much more rapid at 25 Ma and slower afterward. Thermochronological ages in the mentioned time interval are observed on a regional scale. This tectonic event is preserved in different parts of the Northern Andes. Some of the areas where a late Oligocene event has been reported include the Perijá Range (Shagam et al., 1984), Mérida Andes (Bermúdez et al., 2010), Western Cordillera (Barbosa-Espitia et al., 2013), Central Cordillera (Restrepo-Moreno et al., 2009; Noriega-Londoño et al., 2020; Duque-Palacio et al., 2021), Middle Magdalena Valley (Parra et al., 2012), Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Cardona et al., 2010; Villagómez et al., 2011a; Parra et al., 2020) and the Eastern Cordillera (Gomez, 2001; Mora et al., 2010; Saylor et al., 2012). The regional tectonic influence of the Panama block collision is visible along the Northern Andes, coinciding with the break-up of the Farallón plate and the onset of Nazca plate subduction around 23 Ma (Lonsdale, 2005). Some studies suggest this influence persisted at least until the middle Miocene (~14-12 Ma; León et al., 2018), marking a transition from a collisional to a subduction-dominated geodynamic setting.

The factors controlling the transfer of stress linked to the exhumation of the interior range, bypassing the exhumation of ranges closer to the subduction zone, are still under debate. For us, the immense force generated during the subduction, coupled with the collision of the Panama arc, was transmitted over a long distance within the continental plate. This far-field stress transfer triggered deformation in the Eastern Cordillera, leading to exhumation.

Examples of this mechanism can be seen in the Canadian Cordillera, affected by far-stress transfer at 600–800 km from the collision zone of the Yakutat block (rigid block) along the continental margin of the North American plate (Phane et al., 2002; Worthington et al., 2012). The Altai Mountains, located 2000 km north of the India-Asia collision, have been argued to be another example of the far-stress transfer deformation effect of the Arabia-Eurasia collision (Yin, 2010; Huangfu et al., 2023). Despite these examples, quantifying the exact contribution of far-stress transfer is challenging; the significant distance between the Panama block and the Eastern Cordillera makes it more difficult to determine. However, a common thread across these examples is that a weakness in the crust tends to localize deformation at the boundary between the weaker and stronger crust (Munteanu et al., 2019).

In the case of the SM, inherited structural weaknesses and the rheological contrast imposed by the Bucaramanga Fault likely focused the far-field stress transfer. This effect is further influenced by the E-W indentation of the Pamplona block. A stress tensor implies a main direction of tectonic transport and a resistance zone, as we explain with the convergence of the SM eastward and the indenting wedge. The orogenic float model provides support for this interpretation, particularly for transpressional orogens. This model proposes that foreland faults merge with a large-scale décollement located either at the upper/lower crust or at the lower crust/upper mantle boundary, allowing the crustal section of the orogen to “float” on its underlying lithosphere (Monod et al., 2010), the Amazonian Craton in this case. The orogenic float model also explains the southern array of the Maracaibo Block and its NNE-directed escape at a large scale (Audemard and Audemard, 2002; Cediel et al., 2003; Monod et al., 2010). Recent geophysical data (Mazuera et al., 2020; Avila-García et al., 2022) supports the orogenic float model, highlighting the significant role of the Pamplona wedge in the deformation of the Northern Andes. A similar tectonic assembly of regional bivergent orogeny growth was described for the Central Andes due to the convergence of a western rigid marginal block and the mantle lithosphere of the Brazilian Shield (Armijo et al., 2015).

Independent of the mechanism, the Oligocene-Miocene event has a significant impact on relief construction and the fault-related exhumation of deep-seated crustal faults, as seen in the Bucaramanga Fault (Fig. 13c). Recently published PECUBE models by Bermúdez et al. (2021) support a significant Oligocene exhumation event accompanied by the reactivation of the Bucaramanga Fault. These authors also
claim that part of the Santander Massif topography was initially formed during this time, providing valuable evidence for the topographic construction of the Northern Andes.

Middle Miocene-Pleistocene (~15-3 Ma), apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He data (Shagam et al., 1984; van der Lelij et al., 2016a; Amaya et al., 2017, 2020; Siravo et al., 2020) from the main trace of the Bucaramanga Fault shows monotonic cooling toward the inner Santander Massif. The cooling path was abruptly disturbed diachronically since the middle Miocene (~15 Ma; Fig. 13) as an effect of movement along different secondary faults within the Santander Massif (van der Lelij et al., 2016a; Amaya et al., 2017). The progressive deformation caused by the indenter/Pamplona wedge is likely linked to surface uplift of the inner blocks separated by NE-striking faults, such as the Río Perchiquez fault (documented in this study). This timing coincides with the onset of young oceanic plate subduction along the western corner of South America, involving the Malpelo and Coiba microplates (González et al., 2023). Velandia et al. (2020) speculated that the E-W compressional stress initiated during this period was linked to the activity of the Pamplona wedge.

Tectonic events recorded within the Santander Massif during this time interval reflect the broader tectonic evolution of the Northern Andes, responding to plate interactions in the northwestern corner of South America. For the Eastern Cordillera, four distinct tectonic models have been proposed: (i) continuous subduction of the shallow eastward-dipping Caribbean and Nazca plates under the South American plate with slab flattening of the Nazca plate and the hydration of the asthenospheric wedge (e.g., Chiarabba et al., 2016; Monsalve et al., 2019; Siravo et al., 2019), (ii) delamination beneath the Eastern Cordillera that could cause shallowing of the asthenosphere along the base of the crust, generating magmatic activity and geothermal anomalies (Lagardere and Vargas, 2021), (iii) Underthrusting beneath the northwestern Eastern Cordillera with addition of magmatism to the base of the crust beneath the Paipa-Iza volcanic complex (Avellaneda-Jiménez et al., 2024), and (iv) a slab-tearing model (Caldas Tear), involving a change on the subduction angle accompanied by thermal weakening and high tensile stresses leading to the necking and slab break-off of the Caribbean plate beneath the Santander Massif (Cortés and Angelier, 2005; Vargas and Mann, 2013; Bernet et al., 2016; Amaya et al., 2017; Vargas, 2020). Rock exhumation and surface uplift arising from slab break-off echoes very well with exhumation episodes, magmatism, and hydrothermal activity across the Santander Massif (Vetas-California gold mineralization) and the Eastern Cordillera (Paipa-Iza volcanic complex) around 10 to 2 Ma. (Mantilla-Figueroa et al., 2009, 2011; Bernet et al., 2016; Amaya et al., 2017; Rojas-Barbosa et al., 2020). Magmatism generated by the break-off event seems to produce thermal anomalies that significantly affect heat flow above continental orogen, as observed today in the Floresta Massif (Alfaro et al., 2009). Our interpretation is supported by the fact that in the Eastern Cordillera, during the cessation of volcanism north 3°N (between 13 and 6 Ma; Wagner et al., 2017), were shallowly emplaced in the Santander Massif intermediate calc-alkaline intrusions (10.9 ± 0.2 and 8.4 ± 0.2 Ma; Mantilla et al., 2013); and the Paipa-Iza volcanic complex, which is the only volcanic edifice in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. This volcanic complex was active between 5.9 Ma in the late Miocene to 1.8 Ma (Pardo et al., 2005; Bernet et al., 2016; Monsalve et al., 2019) during the early Pleistocene, about 2 Ma before the restart of the volcanism (4 Ma) between 3 and 5.5°N (Yarce et al., 2014; Wagner et al., 2017). What remains unclear is if the magma from the calc-alkaline intrusions (Santander Massif) and the volcanic complex chamber of the Paipa-Iza were uplifted passively with the rest of the Cordillera Oriental or if magmatism contributed to surface uplift (Bernet et al., 2016). However, it is clear that in a horizontal subduction setting, this magmatism does not occur. According to Wagner et al. (2017), horizontal subduction started at 6 Ma and volcanic activity in the Paipa-Iza volcanic complex began after 6 Ma. Hydrothermal activity and steep thermal gradients in the study area today indicate that a magma chamber is still present at

depth, possibly related to the break-off of the Caribbean plate beneath the Santander Massif.

## 6. Conclusion

A new dataset of low-temperature thermochronological data gathered from the western flank of the Santander Massif, accompanied by meso- and microstructural analyses, underscores the complex tectonothermal Cenozoic evolution of this area in the Colombian Northern Andes and the relevance of deep-seated structures (Bucaramanga Fault). In the evolution of the Andean orogen. The following conclusions can be reached from this work:

* Thermochronological modeling supports the late Oligocene onset of exhumation along the Bucaramanga Fault, consistent with the timing reported by Amaya et al. (2017).

* A late Oligocene cooling event is observed (ZFT data) along the Bucaramanga Fault, simultaneous with the north-west close/pushing/collision of the Panama block at ~25 to 14 Ma, been one of the main structures that control exhumation in North Andes.

* AFT data show subsequent Miocene monotonic exhumation from the Bucaramanga Fault towards the inner Santander Massif, which is abruptly disturbed diachronically since the middle-late Miocene by NE-striking faults such as the Perchiquez fault (~5 Ma) at exhumation rates ~0.6-0.7 km/Myr. Following the continuous deformation generated by the E-W compression in the Santander Massif is probably related to the Pamplona indenter.

* The W-E-oriented maximum shortening reported by Velandia et al. (2020) and García-Delgado et al. (2022) explains the right-lateral kinematics calculated for the NE-striking structures like the Río Perchiquez fault from fault plane solutions obtained in this study.

* Meso- and microstructures show the different structural levels of the Río Manco fault (brittle) and the Río Perchiquez fault (ductile-brittle), which is consistent with our thermochronological data indicating a notable variation of AFT data with a rejuvenation on the Río Perchiquez fault domains (block 4), showing variable block exhumation. We associate deformation events s + 2 and s + 3 (15-NJ-16) to the Río Perchiquez fault initiation during the Cenozoic.

* Variation in elevation of the exhumed ZFT PAZ from North to South along the western flank of the eastern block (this study) was produced during the final late Miocene-Pliocene (~5 Ma) deformation phase at cooling rates of ~33 °C/Myr, as indicated by AFT data from the Río Perchiquez fault domain. This deformation caused continuous exhumation and later tilting of fault blocks in the Santander Massif, supporting indentation as the principal deformational model. On a regional scale, this last exhumation phase may have been generated by the slab break-off of the Caribbean plate.

* Deep-seated crustal structures such as the Bucaramanga Fault have been playing a key role in controlling the deformation, deposition, and exhumation history of the North Andes since the Late Cretaceous. In this study, we show that the late Oligocene to Pliocene exhumation signal in the Bucaramanga Fault is associated with the constant interaction of the Nazca, Caribbean, South American plates, and the latter addition of the Coiba and Malpelo microplates (18-15 Ma), recording the asymmetric exhumation along the strike of the Bucaramanga Fault acting as a main barrier, displacing the deformation, and shaping the landscape.

## CRediT authorship contribution statement

**Nicolas Villamizar-Escalante:** Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. **Carlos Augusto Zuluaga:** Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Validation, Supervision, Resources, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization. **Matthias**
**Bernet:** Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Supervision, Resources, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. **Sergio Amaya:** Writing – review & editing, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Conceptualization. **Julián Andrés López-Isaza:** Writing – review & editing, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. **Helbert García-Delgado:** Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation. **Francisco Velandia:** Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Validation, Data curation, Conceptualization.

## Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

## Data availability

The FT data set in this study have been uploaded to Geochron Library (http://www.geochron.org/dataset/html/geochron_dataset_2022_08_23_Zy6a9) and the Structural data as Supplementary material.

## Acknowledgments

This work was supported by COLCIENCIAS – Universidad Nacional de Colombia grant 110156933549 awarded to Carlos Zuluaga and an ISTerre BQR SUD grant awarded to Matthias Bernet. We especially acknowledge the help and support of Oscar Castellanos, Mary Luz Peña and Cindy Urueña. We also acknowledged the field trip support of Jennifer Aldana and the ongoing discussion on structural models with Christoph Von Hagke and Franz Neubauer. Francisco Velandia acknowledges the support of the MMV Seismotectonic Model Project (MINCIENCIAS Code 110287780668, UIS Code 9491). Finally, we thank German Bayona and the anonymous reviewer for their careful revisions, which significantly improved the manuscript.

## Appendix A. Supplementary data

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2024.105177.

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