# Evolving Strain Partitioning Driven by Multiple Plate Interaction-Paleotectonic Reconstruction of Northwestern South America During the Cenozoic

Román González, Sabrina Metzger, Eline Le Breton, Germán Bayona, Andrés

Mora, Josué Alejandro Mora-bohórquez, Iván Camilo Higuera, Claudio

Faccenna, Onno Oncken

► To cite this version:

Román González, Sabrina Metzger, Eline Le Breton, Germán Bayona, Andrés Mora, et al. "Evolving Strain Partitioning Driven by Multiple Plate Interaction-Paleotectonic Reconstruction of Northwestern South America During the Cenozoic." Tectonics, 2025, 44 (12), pp.e2025TC008883. 10.1029/2025TC008883. insu-05412940

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
RESEARCH ARTICLE

10.1029/2025TC008883

**Key Points:**

* Margins where multiple tectonic elements interact could produce atypical strain partitioning, as seen in Northwestern South America

* Changes in plate-convergence and upper-plate heterogeneity are essential in the distribution of deformation in oblique convergent margins

* Kinematic plate models can be calibrated by matching their calculated strain-rate evolution and the geological record of deformation

**Supporting Information:**

Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.

**Correspondence to:**

R. González,
rgonzal@gfz.de;
romangonzar@gmail.com

**Citation:**

González, R., Metzger, S., Le Breton, E., Bayona, G., Mora, A., Mora-Bohórquez, J. A., et al. (2025). Evolving strain partitioning driven by multiple plate interaction—Paleotectonic reconstruction of Northwestern South America during the Cenozoic. *Tectonics*, *44*, e2025TC008883. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025TC008883

Received 24 FEB 2025
Accepted 16 OCT 2025

**Author Contributions:**

**Formal analysis:** Román González, Germán Bayona, Andrés Mora, Josué Alejandro Mora-Bohórquez, Iván Camilo Higuera, Claudio Faccenna, Onno Oncken

**Methodology:** Eline Le Breton

**Software:** Sabrina Metzger, Eline Le Breton

**Supervision:** Claudio Faccenna, Onno Oncken

**Writing – original draft:**

Román González

© 2025. The Author(s).
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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# Evolving Strain Partitioning Driven by Multiple Plate Interaction—Paleotectonic Reconstruction of Northwestern South America During the Cenozoic

Román González¹,²,³ ID, Sabrina Metzger¹ ID, Eline Le Breton⁴, Germán Bayona⁵ ID, Andrés Mora³ ID, Josué Alejandro Mora-Bohórquez⁶ ID, Iván Camilo Higuera³, Claudio Faccenna¹,⁷ ID, and Onno Oncken¹,²

¹GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Lithosphere Dynamics, Potsdam, Germany, ²Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, ³Ecopetrol, Bogotá, Colombia, ⁴Université de Rennes, CNRS, Geosciences Rennes—UMR 6118, Rennes, France, ⁵Corporación Geológica ARES, Bogotá, Colombia, ⁶Hocol, Bogotá, Colombia, ⁷Department of Sciences, Roma Tre University, Roma, Italy

**Abstract** In Northwestern South America (NWSA) geodetic observations point to a consistent northeastward displacement of blocks, while the geological record shows a predominant shortening in NW-SE direction. Such clear evidence of strain partitioning has been extensively studied in the context of two convergent plates, but not in complex tectonic area involving several plates or tectonic blocks, such as in the northern Andes, where NWSA interacts with the Caribbean and Farallon/Nazca plates and the Panama-Choco Arc. We propose a new deforming plate reconstruction for the region that integrates crustal deformation along the NWSA margin into a recent kinematic plate motion model in the Cenozoic. This approach enables a qualitative analysis of strain partitioning over time. Our results indicate that deformation was neither spatially homogeneous nor did it occur continuously. The main drivers of the distribution of deformation were variations of convergence obliquity, heterogeneous lithospheric strength, geometry of the subducting slabs and the transition from subduction to collisional tectonics of the Panama-Choco Arc against NWSA. Our deforming plate model reproduces a strain-rate evolution consistent with the different episodes of deformation reported in the region. Beyond accounting for cumulative deformation, the present-day reconstructed velocity and strain vectors show strong agreement with modern geodetic data and earthquake focal mechanism solutions. Moreover, by integrating our reconstruction with paleoenvironmental interpretations, we propose a paleogeographic evolution of the region for the Cenozoic that closely aligns with the deformation and exhumation history of the northern Andes.

**Plain Language Summary** In Northwestern South America (NWSA), the deformation experienced by the rocks is heterogeneously distributed in terms of intensity and type of deformation throughout the region. This process, called strain partitioning, has been well studied where two tectonic plates converge. However, it is less understood in more complex regions like the NWSA, where several tectonic plates and arcs collide. To better understand this, we created a model that shows how the region's tectonic plates have moved and deformed over the Cenozoic. The model was constrained with published observations to end up with a reasonable geological evolution. Results indicate that the distribution of deformation during the Cenozoic was greatly controlled by variations in convergence parameters, the varying lithospheric strength and the influence of collisional tectonics. Our model also predicts today's plate motion very well. Additionally, the integration of our reconstruction with existing paleoenvironmental interpretations, allowed us to construct a restored paleogeographic model.

## 1. Introduction

At convergent margins, plate kinematic models should integrate the distribution of deformation through time. This is now possible thanks to recent developments in tools, such as GPlates and network topologies (Gurnis et al., 2018; Müller et al., 2018; https://www.gplates.org). Deformation in convergent margins is controlled by the plate-interface strength and the strain weakening evolution of the upper-plate (Oncken et al., 2012), which, in turn, are conditioned by relative plate motion (Ramos, 2010; Somoza & Ghidella, 2012), subduction parameters, distance from the trench, along-strike heterogeneity and preexisting weakness zones (Chemenda et al., 2000; Oncken et al., 2012), as well as slab and mantle dynamics (Faccenna et al., 2017). Moreover, oblique convergence partitions the strain into trench-parallel shear and trench-perpendicular shortening (Beck, 1983; McCaffrey
**Writing – review & editing:**

Román González, Sabrina Metzger,
Eline Le Breton, Germán Bayona,
Andrés Mora, Josué Alejandro Mora-
Bohórquez, Iván Camilo Higuera,
Claudio Faccenna, Onno Oncken

et al., 2000). Strain partitioning has been widely studied in relation to the interaction of two convergent plates (e.g., Chemenda et al., 2000; Ramos, 2010), but in settings where multiple plates interact, it is unclear how deformation is distributed.

The northwestern margin of South America (NWSA; Figure 1), a deformation zone that encompasses the northern Andes and results from the interaction among the South American, Nazca (originating from the former Farallon Plate), and Caribbean plates (González et al., 2023; Kellogg et al., 2019; Pennington, 1981), is the perfect place to study the evolution of strain partitioning in a complex margin. Factors affecting the tectonic development of the region are Late Cretaceous accretion of oceanic terrains in the western Ecuadorian-Colombian margin (e.g., Pindell & Kennan, 2009), Late Oligocene-Miocene accretion of the Panama-Choco Arc (PCA) (Farris et al., 2011; González et al., 2023; Montes et al., 2019), as well as fluctuating plate boundaries and different changes in subduction parameters of the Caribbean and Farallon/Nazca plates (González et al., 2023). Here, strain partitioning (Figure 2) is an important factor that accommodates the northeastward escape of the northern Andes and the NW-SE contractional deformation in the region (Alvarado et al., 2016; Egbue & Kellogg, 2010; Kellogg and Vega, 1995; Mora-Paez et al., 2019; Pennington, 1981; Schütt & Whipp, 2020). But the driving mechanism during the Cenozoic and the cumulative deformation are poorly understood. For instance, Egbue and Kellogg (2010) proposed that strain partitioning in the northern Andes during the Pleistocene (1.8 Ma) was triggered by the oblique subduction of the Carnegie Ridge (Figure 1). Similarly, Kobayashi et al. (2014) proposed that collision of the Cocos Ridge against Panama was a determinant factor in the regional deformation since at least 0.5 Ma. However, no previous studies have explicitly linked the evolution of strain partitioning in the northern Andes to the region's complex plate-tectonic history over geological timescales.

We present a tectonic reconstruction of NWSA (excluding the province located north of the Oca Fault; Figure 1) that takes into account the evolution of the Caribbean and Farallon/Nazca plates during the Cenozoic and the consequent changes in plate boundaries and deformation distribution in the overriding-plate. To do so, we use the software GPlates (Boyden et al., 2011; Müller et al., 2018), which allows to incorporate deforming region into plate kinematic models and analyze the strain history through time (Gurnis et al., 2018). We integrate published plate-motion rotation-poles and convergence history of the Caribbean and Farallon/Nazca slabs relative to South America (González et al., 2023) with relative strength heterogeneity in the upper-plate. The model is validated by comparing the predicted evolution of the strain-rate distribution resulting from our model with published deformation ages along the northern Andes, as well as with modern geodetic observations and slip vectors from earthquake focal mechanism solutions. Additionally, our reconstruction integrates published depositional and provenance studies to propose a simplified but robust paleogeographic reconstruction of NWSA since 60 Ma. This contribution surpasses previous kinematic plate reconstructions, that simplify the deformation in the continent (Escalona & Mann, 2011), or postulate tectonic deformation primarily characterized by continuous strike-slip displacement of blocks (Montes et al., 2019). Our model goes beyond homogeneous, continuous deformation throughout the Cenozoic by hypothesizing that the observed variation in cumulative deformation can be attributed to the superposition of multiple diachronic episodes, dictated by the evolution of convergent plate tectonics (Figure 3).

## 2. Geological Setting of Northwestern South America (NWSA)

The northern Andes comprises three orogenic belts separated by along-strike valleys (Figure 1), which are the result of multiple diachronic and heterogeneous deformation events (Bayona et al., 2013, 2020; Mora et al., 2010, 2020; Parra et al., 2009). This region can be considered in terms of two broad domains separated by the Romeral and Pallatanga fault systems (Figure 1), which extends from the Guayaquil Gulf and continues along the western flank of the Central Cordillera of Colombia (Figures 1 and 4a).

East of the Romeral Fault System, the crustal basement is constituted by Precambrian to Paleozoic continental igneous and metamorphic rocks (Cediel et al., 2003) (Figure 1), including the basement in the Eastern Cordillera, an inverted Lower Cretaceous rift basin (Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006). In contrast, the terrane to the west of the Romeral Fault System is made up of oceanic plateau rocks from the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP in Figure 1) (Kerr et al., 1997; Sinton et al., 1998), accreted during the Late Cretaceous to the continental Ecuadorian-Colombian margin. Besides that, the terrain west of the Uramita Fault System and Istmina Deformed Belt (UFS and IDB in Figure 1) corresponds to the oceanic Panama-Choco Arc (PCA; Figure 1) (Duque-Caro, 1990) accreted after the Late Oligocene (Farris et al., 2011; Gonzalez et al., 2023; Montes et al., 2012).
<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 1.** Geological map of Northwestern South America (NWSA) modified after Gómez et al. (2019) showing the main tectonic elements under discussions. Plate boundaries and convergence directions relative to South America (large arrows) taken from González et al. (2023), main faults (red lines) in the northern Andes (NA) modified after Veloza et al. (2012). Active volcanoes (red triangles) taken from Siebert et al. (2011). AB, Antioquia Batholith; CC, Central Cordillera; CV, Cauca Valley; EC, Eastern Cordillera; GG, Guayaquil Gulf; GM, Garzón Massif; GUY, Guayana Craton; IDB, Istmina Deformed Belt; LLA, Llanos Basin; LMV, Lower Magdalena Valley; MA, Merida Andes; MB, Maracaibo Basin; MMV, Middle Magdalena Valley; OF, Oca Fault; PFS, Pallatanga Fault System; PCA, Panama-Choco Arc; RC, Real Cordillera; RFS, Romeral Fault System; SAP, Sinú Accretionary Prism; SJR, San Jacinto Range; SM, Santander Massif; SMM, Santa Marta Massif; PR, Perija Range; PUT, Putumayo Basin; SLR, San Lucas Range; TB, Tumaco basin; UFS, Uramita Fault System; UMV, Upper Magdalena Valley; WC, Western Cordillera.</figcaption></figure>

Based on tomographic images and earthquake hypocenters (Figure 4), several competing plate geometry models of the subducting slabs of the northern Nazca and southwestern Caribbean plates beneath South America, and the accreted PCA have been proposed (e.g., Sun et al., 2022; Syracuse et al., 2016; Taboada et al., 2000). However, these models do not consider the geodynamic system in the past. The model by González et al. (2023) builds an exception, as it also evaluates the present geometry of the subducting slabs and plate boundaries (Figure 3e) as a result of a changing kinematic and tectonic history (Figure 4). According to that model, the northern Nazca slab (including the former Malpelo and Coiba slabs, see Figure 1) can be divided into two main domains separated by the Caldas tear (Figure 3e; Vargas & Mann, 2013). While south of the Caldas tear, the Nazca slab subducts steeply
<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 2.** Simplified cartoon showing the main elements of a subduction margin with oblique convergence causing strain partitioning in the overriding plate.</figcaption></figure>

(>25°), supported by the trend of the Andean magmatic arc (Andean Volcanic Zone) (Pennington, 1981; Vargas & Mann, 2013; Wagner et al., 2017), north of the Caldas tear, the slab subducts at a low angle and flexes connecting the subduction zones of northern Colombia and eastern Panama. However, next to the Cocos Plate, there is a slab window in the Nazca slab (McGirr et al., 2021). Regarding the Caribbean slab, it shallowly subducts below Panamá (Camacho et al., 2010) and the northwestern margin of Colombia (Sinu Accretionary prism; Figure 1). Beneath Colombia, the Caribbean plate sinks at about 73.5°W and it is ruptured in three distinct segments (Sun et al., 2022). It is important to note that González et al. (2023) do not interpret the Caribbean slab

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 3.** (a–d) Reconstructed convergence model relative to South America, fixed after González et al. (2023), showing the main changes in plate convergence directions and the accretion of the Panama-Choco Arc against NWSA. Large arrows indicate the direction of plate motion relative to stable South America. Dashed blue lines correspond to the present-day coastline. O-FS: onset of flat-slab; M-FS: mature flat-slab. TJ: triple plate junction. e) Cartoon modified after González et al. (2023), showing the current configuration of the Nazca and Caribbean plates subducting beneath South America.</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 4.** (a) Main faults in the northern Andes, modified after Veloza et al. (2012). Red faults indicate dominant thrust behavior, green ones show dominant strike-slip component. 1) Oca; 2) Santa Marta; 3) Bucaramanga; 4) Bocono-Ancón-El Pilar; 5) Uramita; 6) Guayaquil; 7) Cimitarra; 8) Palestina; 9) Ibague; 10) Romeral-Pallatanga; 11) Istmina Deformed Belt; 12) Algeciras; 13) Mocoa; 14) Otu-Pericos. (b) Upper-plate seismicity (above 50 km) from the RSNC catalog for the period between 1993 and 2018 [https://www2.sgc.gov.co/Paginas/aplicaciones-sismos.aspx]. (c) Crustal thickness (Moho depth) estimation from receiver functions by Mojica Boada et al. (2022). (d) Earthquake focal mechanisms from Arcila and Muñoz (2020), calculated for seismic events higher than 4.7 moment magnitude and above 50 km. (e) Geodetic (GNSS) velocity field relative to stable South America from Mora-Páez et al. (2019) (orange arrows from Nocquet et al. (2014)). (f) Strain-axis analysis calculated in this study by using the least-square algorithm and a scale factor of 100 km in the Grid Strain software (Teza et al., 2008). Stations located outside the South American plate were omitted in order to obtain only internal deformation.</figcaption></figure>

east of the accreted PCA (Figure 3e), as without an active trench, Caribbean subduction is kinematically impossible beneath South America.

The current plate configuration in NWSA results from the continuous migration of the triple junction and the Caribbean plate between the Americas since the Cretaceous, which has led to an increasing influence of the Farallon-related plates on the NWSA margin (Figure 3). This setting controlled many subduction parameters, such as multiple changes of convergence obliquity and subduction angle, as well as slab bending, tearing and plate fragmentation of both Caribbean and Farallon plates (González et al., 2023). The triple junction migration determined the accretion of the PCA to South America after the Late Oligocene had an initial phase of subduction erosion of the forearc, followed by collisional tectonics after the Middle Miocene (González et al., 2023).

# 3. Deformation in Northwestern South America (NWSA)

## 3.1. Cumulative Deformation

The highly variable structural style of the northern Andes is a result of its complex tectonic history. For instance, in western Colombia most of the deformation is related to transpressive and strike-slip deformation, mostly
associated with activity of the RFS, while in southwestern Ecuador there is transtensional and extensional tec-
tonics (e.g., Alvarado et al., 2016). Conversely, the Eastern Cordillera (EC in Figure 1) is a typical fold-and-thrust
belt associated with NW-SE contractional deformation that corresponds to a Lower Cretaceous rift-basin inverted
in multiple phases during the Cenozoic (Bayona et al., 2013, 2020; Mora et al., 2010, 2020; Parra et al., 2009). The
Eastern Cordillera changes to its northern and southern ends (the Santander and Garzón massifs respectively),
where outcropping Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks reveal higher amounts of exhumation influenced by strike-
slip displacement. The Magdalena Valley, on the other hand, is characterized by the superposition of contractional
and transpressional structures (Vargas-Vargas, 2021), with an important phase of uplift and exhumation prior to
the Middle Eocene (Gomez et al., 2005; Parra et al., 2012) associated with SW-NE strike-slip faulting (e.g.,
Ibague and Casabe faults; labeled in Figure 4a; Diederix et al., 2006; Vargas-Vargas, 2021). On the other hand,
reflection seismic lines at the Lower Magdalena Valley (northern termination of the Central Cordillera) suggest
that Cenozoic cumulative deformation is characterized by extensional and transtensional tectonics
(Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2018). In contrast, the Colombian Caribbean margin is dominated by the presence of the
Sinu accretionary prism (SAP in Figure 1) associated with the subduction of the Caribbean plate.

## 3.2. Present-Day Deformation

Earthquake focal mechanisms and locations, as well as geodetically derived surface velocity fields constrain present deformation at crustal scale in NWSA (Arcila & Muñoz, 2020). We use the earthquake catalog from the Seismological Network of Colombia (RSNC) that comprises 177,000 seismic events (moment magnitude >1.1) during the period 2003–2018 (Figures 4b and 4d). The RSNC used the software Earthworm1 to acquire these events and SEISAN2 to relocate them. We excluded events below 50 km because they are not associated with upper-plate deformation (Figure 4b). We incorporated earthquake focal mechanisms published by Arcila and Muñoz (2020) (Figure 4d) to understand the present-day deformation types in different tectonic provinces. We use the surface velocity field database compiled by Mora-Páez et al. (2019) that integrates the rates of 53 permanent geodetic (GNSS) stations in Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador derived from 2.5 years-long time-series and velocities reported by Nocquet et al. (2014) in Ecuador (Figure 4e), all relative to stable South America.

Figure 4b shows that seismicity is more frequent at the Nazca plate subduction zone, particularly west of the Romeral Fault System and Magdalena Valley, than near the Caribbean subduction. The Eastern Cordillera and the Antioquia Batholith exhibit a significant drop in seismicity (EC and AB in Figure 4b). Earthquake focal mechanisms (Figure 4d) suggest predominant strike-slip deformation in western Colombia and the Caribbean region and contractional deformation in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and partially in the Real Cordillera of Ecuador (Arcila & Muñoz, 2020). Shear deformation in the western and northern coasts is also supported by GNSS data that indicate northeastward motion (e.g., Kobayashi et al., 2014; Mora-Páez et al., 2019; Nocquet et al., 2014). An unresolved problem is the apparent inconsistency between the cumulative NW-SE contractional deformation in the Eastern Cordillera fold-and-thrust belt (Arcila & Muñoz, 2020; Mora et al., 2013; Parra et al., 2009) and the northeastward motion (Mora-Páez et al., 2019).

Given that the northern Andes show overall northeastward motion relative to South America, previous studies have employed the concept of a “Northern Andean Block” (e.g., Kellogg & Dixon, 1990; Mora-Páez et al., 2019). However, our reconstruction considers that this area does not behave as a single kinematic block, owing to the presence of significant internal variations.

## 3.3. Strain Partitioning

Previous studies have proposed that strain partitioning is the primary mechanism responsible for the complex present-day and cumulative deformation observed in NWSA (e.g., Egbue & Kellogg, 2010). The increased northeastward motion detected by geodetic data along the western margin of NWSA (Figure 4e) aligns with the prevalence of strike-slip faulting in that region and extensional tectonics in the Gulf of Guayaquil (Figures 4a and 4d). Moving inland, these deformation patterns transition into predominantly NW-SE contractional structures, characteristic of the Eastern Cordillera fold-and-thrust belt (Figure 4d). However, the deformation observed in NWSA deviates from typical strain partitioning settings. In most subduction zones, partitioned deformation is commonly concentrated in the forearc region (McCaffrey et al., 2000; Morell et al., 2025), and in some cases, it is localized near the volcanic arc (Schütt & Whipp, 2020). In contrast, north of 3°N, strain partitioning extends far inland in the Eastern Cordillera, in the back-arc (up to 800 km from the trench).
We agree with Schütt and Whipp (2020) that the dominant control on strain partitioning in NWSA are the convergence angle and the structural weaknesses within the upper-plate. As these factors are time-variable, our reconstruction incorporates the evolving obliquity of convergence between the Farallon/Nazca and Caribbean plates after González et al. (2023), and the heterogeneous nature of the continental margin. Although also the subduction of ridges and seamounts likely contributes to the present strain-partitioning (Kobayashi et al., 2014; Mora-Paez et al., 2019), we have decided not to interpret these features in detail due to the limited evidence for the Cenozoic period.

### 3.4. Heterogeneity Along the Margin

Lithospheric heterogeneity is a crucial factor in determining the localization of deformation in the overriding-plate (Chemenda et al., 2000), but is uncertain for the case of NWSA. A simple approach to qualitatively estimate the strength variability includes the identification of known zones of weakness and bodies of higher crustal strength. The presence of volcanic arcs may weaken the lithosphere (Schütt & Whipp, 2020), but we do not consider this feature as determinant, given that most examples of strain partitioning do not occur in the arc position (McCaffrey, 1992).

The best documented weakness zone in NWSA is the Romeral Fault System (RFS in Figures 1 and 4a), which represents the suture between the accreted oceanic Caribbean Large igneous province and continental basement (Restrepo & Toussaint, 2020). Although most authors agree that the Romeral Fault System exhibits dominant strike slip behavior, its total amount of lateral slip and sense of motion remains controversial (Ego et al., 1995; MacDonald et al., 1996). For instance, Restrepo and Toussaint (2020) consider that the sense of motion of this fault system has changed through the tectonic evolution of the region. Similarly, Vinasco (2019) proposes that units within the tectonic melange of this fault system correspond to autochthonous and para-autochthonous units that have experienced repeated episodes of block detachment and re-docking. Finally, Kammer (1993) argues that the Romeral Fault System has a dominant inverse behavior.

The Eastern Cordillera fold-and-thrust belt is an important preexisting weakness zone that evolved from a Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rift basin, with stretching values lower than 2 (Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006). The rifting, associated with a weakened lithosphere, may have controlled the subsequent Paleogene deformation. This indicates that, despite its current high crustal thickness (Figure 4c), the Eastern Cordillera developed on a thinner and weaker lithosphere during the Paleogene than observed today.

Geological evidence indicates that the Antioquia Batholith (AB in Figure 1) is a good candidate for a high-strength body that controls the strain-rate distribution in NWSA. Major faults do not intersect the Antioquia Batholith, but surround it, including the Romeral Fault System, which delineates a regional bend around its western flank (Figures 1 and 4a). This is further supported by the absence of shallow earthquakes in the internal part of the batholith (Figure 4b). While the present crustal thickness below the Antioquia Batholith is rather low (Figure 4c), this was not the case in the past. León et al. (2021) and Zapata et al. (2021) argue that the highest topography in the northern Central Cordillera occurred during the Paleocene, which is isostatically consistent with the interpretation of coeval maximum crustal thickness (Bustamante et al., 2017; Jaramillo et al., 2017), possibly due to long lasting magmatic growth (Duque-Trujillo et al., 2019; Valencia-Gómez et al., 2020). Conversely, in the southern Central Cordillera, the reduced Cretaceous-Paleocene magmatic growth (Leal-Mejia et al., 2019) and the slower exhumation events during the Paleocene (Villamizar-Escalante et al., 2021) do not support the development of high crustal thickness. Therefore, we consider the Antioquia Batholith as a body with higher crustal strength along the heterogeneous margin of NWSA during the Paleogene. This is relevant because during the Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene the Colombian margin experienced convergence with maximum obliquity, and according to Ye and Liu (2017), the presence of high-strength bodies, under conditions of high oblique convergence, controls strain partitioning and localize deformation.

## 4. Methods

To unravel the complex tectonic interactions that shaped the northern Andes throughout the Cenozoic, we define blocks delimited by faults and examine major convergence episodes in NWSA with particular attention to the geodynamic interpretation presented by González et al. (2023). These tectonic events are integrated with the pronounced heterogeneity along the margin to construct a preliminary block motion model. This model serves as the foundation for generating strain-rate maps based on the relative motions between the tectonic blocks to study
spatio-temporal variations in deformation. By validating these maps against geological observables, we iteratively calibrate the deforming plate model to achieve a geodynamical-consistent Cenozoic reconstruction.

## 4.1. Deforming Plate Reconstruction Using GPlates

Kinematic plate models are based on backward reconstructions of the approximate positions of tectonic blocks across key time steps. Using Euler's rotation theorem, the motions of rigid plates or blocks on a sphere can be calculated by means of rotation poles and used to build kinematic reconstructions of plate/block motion (e.g., Gurnis et al., 2012; Müller et al., 2018).

We use the GPlates open-source software (Boyden et al., 2011; Müller et al., 2018; Gurnis et al., 2018; https://www.gplates.org) and consider the global hierarchy of plate motions and mantle reference frame proposed by Müller et al. (2019). However, for displaying purposes we anchor our model to stable South America (the Guayana Craton, GUY in Figure 1). We use the changing plate boundaries and plate-convergence parameters proposed by González et al. (2023) for the Cenozoic, which also include global (Müller et al., 2019) and regional kinematic models for the northern Nazca Plate (Barckhausen et al., 2001; Lonsdale, 2005; Werner et al., 2003), the Caribbean Plate and the PCA (Boschman et al., 2014; Di Marco et al., 1995; Farris et al., 2011; Montes et al., 2012, 2019). The recent block motion model results are constrained by global (DeMets et al., 2010) and regional (Mora-Paez et al., 2019) geodetic estimates.

Our regional deforming plate model reconstructs 50 rigid blocks (Figure 5a) in eight Cenozoic time-steps (60, 50, 40, 25, 20, 15, 9, and 3 Ma; Figure S1, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399__;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$). The relative motions between these rigid blocks represent the crustal deformation of the region since 60 Ma. This deformation is then visualized and analyzed on GPlates by building a deforming mesh (Figures 5b, Section 4.3). These blocks are bounded by mapped faults that define first-order kinematic units (Table S1, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399__;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$). Rotation poles and other GPlates input and output files from our reconstruction are provided in the https://url-defense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399__;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$.

## 4.2. Model Inputs and Assumptions

Typical inputs for kinematic plate reconstructions within continental areas are strain data sets such as shortening estimates, paleomagnetic data and fault slip rates (Montes et al., 2019). We also consider structural-stratigraphic relationships and chronology of deformation from thermochronology. However, all these inputs need to be carefully considered. For instance, only for the Colombian Eastern Cordillera, total (Colletta et al., 1990; Cooper et al., 1995; Dengo & Covey, 1993; Mora et al., 2008; Roeder & Chamberlain, 1995; Siravo et al., 2018; Tesón et al., 2013) and partial shortening values (e.g., Jimenez et al., 2013; Mora et al., 2008; Mora et al., 2013; Moreno et al., 2013) have been calculated, while these values are missing in the Central and Western Cordilleras. Table S3, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399__;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$ summarizes the evidence considered in the estimation of the primary deformation events.

Although piercing points provide valuable insight into total fault displacement (Montes et al., 2019), these estimates should not be used to calculate slip-rates through the Cenozoic because the total cumulative deformation in the northern Andes has not been the result of a continuous process, but the superposition of several deformation episodes (Parra et al., 2009) with different orders of magnitude and areas of influence (see analogue material experiments by Rosenau et al. (2019) on the episodic behavior of faults). For this reason, on top of published deformation data sets (e.g., shortening rates, paleomagnetic data, fault displacement estimates, and provenance analysis), we also explore viable deformation pulses and strain partitioning distribution according to the evolution of plate convergence. Similarly, rotation of block estimated from paleomagnetic data (Bayona et al., 2010; Montes et al., 2010) is not modeled as a continuous process over the Cenozoic.

Due to software limitations and the regional scope of our study, we consider rigid block motion. GPlates estimates strain-rates from the change in relative position between rigid blocks across time by using resolved topological
<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 5.** (a) Tectonic blocks used in the deforming plate reconstruction of NWSA (without the Guajira province in northernmost Colombia). Blocks are colored according to their geographic location. Light gray lines show the deformation mesh. Dark orange for the Panamá-Choco Arc; light red for the Pacific blocks; light green for the Central Cordillera, Lower Magdalena Valley and Santa Marta Massif; yellow for the Middle and Upper Magdalena valleys; blue for the Maracaibo basin, Perija range and Santander Massif; and dark green for the EC and Merida Andes. 1) Maracaibo; 2) Perija; 3) Santa Marta Massif; 4) Santander Massif; 5) Merida; 6) Llanos foothills; 7) Cocuy-Guayabetal; 8) Malaga; 9) Bogotá-Tunja; 10) Floresta Massif; 11) Quetame; 12) Garzón Massif; 13) Magdalena foothills; 14) Sabana; 15) Cantagallo; 16) Cagui; 17) Middle Magdalena; 18) San Lucas; 19) Antioquia; 20) San Jorge; 21) Plato; 22) Sinú; 23) La Cira; 24) Girardot; 25) Ibague; 26) Neiva; 27) San Agustin; 28) Colon; 29) Ambato; 30) Guayaquil-Buenaventura; 31) Babahoyo; 32) Colorados; 33) Piedrancha; 34) Dagua; 35) Garrapatas; 36) Cauca-Urrao; 37) Cauca-Urrao South; 38) Colorados North; 39) Azufral; 40) Caldono; 41) Palestina; 42) Cartago; 43) Amaga; 44) San Jacinto North; 45) San Jacinto South; 46) San Jacinto Center; 47) Costa Rica; 48) Western Panama; 49) Eastern Panama; 50) Choco. (b) Deformation mesh built with the vertex points of tectonic blocks. This deformation mesh allows one to calculate the evolution of the total strain-rate distribution.</figcaption></figure>

networks (Gurnis et al., 2018). The assumption of rigid blocks simplifies computational reconstruction in GPlates, enabling effective modeling of large-scale tectonic motions and strain partitioning across major block boundaries, as well as their temporal evolution. If there is no relative motion between blocks (neither deformation along block boundaries nor internal deformation), the calculated strain-rate is zero. This is critical for modeling boundaries with periods of inactivity or reduced tectonic deformation.

### 4.3. Strain-Rate Analysis

GPlates uses the relative motion of reference points in the rigid blocks/polygons to estimate paleo strain-rate maps (Gurnis et al., 2018). This is achieved by building a deforming mesh on GPlates derived from the triangulation of reference points (Figure 5b). In our model, most of these points correspond to polygon vertices and are associated with the rotation poles of their parent polygons. As the strain-rate is dependent on the relative motion of blocks in the deforming plate reconstruction, the comparison between these strain-rate maps and the actual deformation record can be qualitatively used for validating the modeled reconstruction. We interactively modified the rotation poles of blocks to improve the obtained strain-rate maps and satisfy geological observations. For the present-day time-step we checked the match with geodetic and seismological deformation data (Figures S2 and S3, https://urldefense.com/v3/_https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_!!N11eV2iwtfslpMdtnjk1ve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HcIKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$). Nevertheless,
our assumption of rigid blocks has inherent implications in the deformation analysis because most of the deformation localizes along boundaries, underestimating block-internal strain. The aim of our analysis is only the qualitative evaluation of the regional and temporal variations in deformation, the magnitudes reported by GPlates are not a fundamental to our study.

## 4.4. Paleogeographic Reconstruction

Most of the previously published paleogeographic maps of NWSA are based on paleo-environments of sedimentation represented at their present-day geographic location and do not account for past motion of the tectonic units. We overlay these paleogeographic interpretations on our kinematic model throughout the Cenozoic (60, 50, 40, 25, 15, and 9 Ma). This allows us to better approximate of the real paleogeographic history. We consider the works by Ayala-Calvo et al. (2012), Escalona and Mann (2011) and Mora-Bohórquez et al. (2018) for the Caribbean region; Caballero et al. (2013), Bayona et al. (2020), Gómez et al. (2003, 2005), Parra et al. (2012), Reyes-Harker et al. (2015) for the Magdalena Valley, Eastern Cordillera and Llanos basin; Bermudez et al. (2016), Pardo-Trujillo et al. (2020), Vallejo-Hincapié et al. (2024) for the Colombian Pacific; and Anderson et al. (2016), Louterbach et al. (2014), Hoorn et al. (2010), Wesselingh and Macsotay (2006) for southeastern Colombia and Ecuador.

# 5. Deforming Plate Model and Strain-Rate Distribution Through Time

## 5.1. Generalized Deformation Pattern

Given that oblique plate convergence was dominant throughout most of the Cenozoic (González et al., 2023), our model indicates that the strain-rate distribution follows a pattern similar to other oblique convergence margins like Sumatra, Kurile, or southern Alaska (Beck, 1983; Chemenda et al., 2000; McCaffrey et al., 2000), where strike-slip deformation dominates, but it is more important in the forearc and decreases gradually toward the hinterland (Beck, 1983; McCaffrey, 1992, 1996) (Figure 2). Additionally, considering that strain partitioning tends to be focused in areas of high interplate coupling and preexisting crustal weaknesses (Schütt & Whipp, 2020), the western blocks will undergo higher strike-slip deformation (Figure 6a), particularly along the Romeral Fault System, a previous suture zone (RFS in Figure 1 and #10 in Figure 4a; Restrepo & Toussaint, 2020)) and extensional tectonics at the Golf of Guayaquil, starting point of this strike-slip deformation. In a similar way, the present southern Caribbean region will experience dominant strike-slip deformation due to the shallow eastward subduction of the Caribbean Plate. In contrast, the Eastern Cordillera (a former rift basin) at a greater distance from the trench, experiences dominant contractional deformation.

Figure 6a provides an overall picture of the cumulative displacement during the Cenozoic. The block with the highest total trench-parallel displacement corresponds to the Guayaquil-Buenaventura (GUB block, #30 in Figure 5). In practice, the 262 km of displacement of this block from the southwest relative to stable South America corresponds to the accumulated slip of all the faults in easterly positions within the Andean region. However, the Romeral Fault System (RFS in Figures 6a), a suture between oceanic and continental basements (Restrepo & Toussaint, 2020), may have absorbed the majority of this displacement. This suggests that most of the 262 Km of motion of the GUB is reflected in extensional tectonics in southwestern Ecuador and transferred to other blocks west of the Romeral Fault System until reaching the Antioquia Batholith (AB in Figures 6a), a semi-rigid block that very likely accommodates most of the relative motion as transpressive deformation.

In northernmost Colombia, Figure 6a shows that block displacement is preferentially eastward, consistent with the direction of plate convergence of the Caribbean Plate after Middle Eocene (Figure 6c). The counterclockwise rotation of the Santa Marta Massif (SMM in Figure 6a; Bayona et al., 2010; Montes et al., 2010) indicates that the effect of strain partitioning caused by the shallow subduction of the Caribbean Plate was progressively greater to the north, closer to the trench.

In terms of margin-perpendicular deformation, our reconstruction indicates considerable cumulative shortening from the Paleocene to the present distributed heterogeneously across the northern Andes. Nevertheless, reconstructed shortening can only be verified in the Eastern Cordillera (Colletta et al., 1990; Cooper et al., 1995; Dengo & Covey, 1993; Mora et al., 2008; Roeder & Chamberlain, 1995; Siravo et al., 2018; Tesón et al., 2013). We constrain our model with the shortening values published by Tesón et al. (2013), who carried out several cross-section restorations across the eastern Middle Magdalena Valley and the Eastern Cordillera using detailed
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 6.** (a) Estimated cumulative displacement through the Cenozoic for three reference blocks. Gray polygons correspond to the present-day position and the black contour lines represent the restored Paleocene position. Blue/Red numbers indicate the total displacement partitioned into trench-parallel and trench-orthogonal direction. Degrees of rotation in red indicate the rotation of blocks relative to stable South America resulting from this reconstruction. Note that these values do not correspond to movement along a single fault system but are the result of the accumulated movement in the block network. (b, c) Cartoons showing the subducting Caribbean and Farallon plates beneath South America. (b) During the Late Cretaceous-Early Eocene the convergence obliquity of the Farallon and Caribbean plates against the continent worked in conjunction to produce a continuous strain partitioning along the Ecuadorian-Colombian margin. (c) After the Middle Miocene, the change in Caribbean plate motion restricted the strain partitioning to the Ecuadorian and most southern Colombian margin.</figcaption></figure>

geologic mapping and interpreted seismic lines. Given this, the total shortening during the Cenozoic in the Eastern Cordillera ranges between 60 and 70 km. Due to the absence of estimated shortening rates in the Western and Central Cordilleras, we assume that the total shortening is comparable to the one of the Eastern Cordillera.

## 5.2. Plate Tectonic Evolution and Strain-Rate Distribution Through Time

Given that NWSA has undergone substantial changes in plate convergence over the Cenozoic, it can be deduced that deformation and block motion have evolved accordingly. Below we summarize the main patterns of block motion and deformation resulting from our model and its relationship with plate tectonics. For a more detailed description of this evolution, see Text S4, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_;!! N11eV2iwtfspMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1Hcl Kz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$.

During the Paleogene-Early Eocene, deformation was located preferentially in western Colombia and Ecuador, mainly along the Romeral Fault System (a preexisting weak zone; Figure 7b), defining a predominant northward blocks motion. This pattern of motion favored transtensional faulting in western Ecuador (Carrillo et al., 2022). However, the higher concentration of strain-rate was focused mainly south of the Antioquia Batholith (block 19 in Figure 7b). This is because the buttressing high strength of this batholith restrained the motion associated with the highly oblique convergence of both Caribbean and Farallon plates against South America during the Late Cretaceous to Early Paleogene (Figure 6b). Hence, the deformation associated with the migration of forearc blocks was mainly accommodated at the southern end of the Antioquia Batholith (Figure 8a), accounting for important Paleocene shortening and exhumation in the northern Central Cordillera (Leon et al., 2021;
<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 7.** (a–f) Deforming plate reconstruction of the northwestern corner of South America for different time-steps during the Cenozoic (60, 50, 40, 25, 9, and 0 Ma) relative to stable South America. The plate boundaries and the relative motion of the oceanic plates and the PCA are taken from González et al. (2023). Black triangles show paleo-active magmatism. Number of reference blocks as indicated in Figure 5a. Insets show the resulting total strain rates. Note: the strain rate east of the suture between PCA and NWSA is more uncertain because most of this terrain was dragged into the mantle.</figcaption></figure>

Restrepo-Moreno et al., 2009; Villagómez et al., 2011) and San Lucas range (SLR in Figure 8a; Bernet et al., 2025) and simultaneous transpressional deformation (Vargas-Vargas, 2021) and uplifting in the Middle Magdalena Valley and western flank of the Eastern Cordillera (Figures 8b and 8c; Cortés et al., 2022), as well as extensional tectonics to the north, in the present San Jacinto range (Figure 8d; Mora-Bohorquez et al., 2017).

Caribbean Plate motion changed abruptly after the Early Eocene (Figure 7c), diminishing the deformation in the Middle Magdalena Valley, as evidenced by an angular unconformity (Figure 8c) (Gómez et al., 2005; Parra et al., 2012). Conversely, the strain-rate in the Upper Magdalena Valley (Rosero et al., 2022) and the Real Cordillera of Ecuador (Baby et al., 2013) accelerated in this timespan. Additionally, the Santa Marta Massif and adjacent blocks began a slow but continuous process of rotation and progressive separation from the northern Central Cordillera (Bayona et al., 2010; Montes et al., 2010) that favored the extensional tectonics in the Lower Magdalena Valley (Duque-Caro, 1979; Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2017; Reyes et al., 2004) and contractional deformation in the Perija range after the Late Eocene (Ayala-Calvo et al., 2012). This complexity could be associated with the Caribbean Plate motion change from SW-NE to W-E direction, accompanied by a reduction in the plate rate motion from 38 to 22 mm/yr (González et al., 2023; Müller et al., 2019; Seton et al., 2012). Since the Caribbean Plate convergence was no longer oblique in its southern segment, the strain partitioning was constrained to the area of influence of the Farallon Plate convergence (Figure 6c), reducing the existing deformation in the northern part of the Central Cordillera and Middle Magdalena Valley. However, given the shape of the northwestern corner of South America, convergence obliquity and strain partitioning exhibited an increase in the present Colombian Caribbean region (Figure 7b).
<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 8.** (a) Map of NWSA highlighting the Upper Cretaceous-Eocene arc-related magmatic rocks. The crustal thickening associated with this long-lasting magmatism (Bustamante et al., 2017; Duque-Trujillo et al., 2019; León et al., 2021) may have increased the crustal strength along the margin. (b) Cartoon showing the role of the Antioquia Batholith (AB) in the strain partitioning distribution during the Early Paleogene. (c) Cross section AA' across the Middle Magdalena Valley (see subfigure a for location) showing the Middle Eocene regional angular unconformity that fossilized the Early Paleogene transpressive deformation in the basin. (d) Cross section BB' across the San Jacinto range (SJR; see subfigure a for location) showing the Paleocene sequence deposited in an extensional setting.</figcaption></figure>

Figure 7d shows widespread deformation across the present Eastern Cordillera during the Oligocene. This early deformation in the present Eastern Cordillera may be associated with the Late Eocene-Oligocene shallow subduction of the Farallon Plate (González et al., 2023), that may have increased intraplate coupling (Espurt et al., 2008) and facilitated the migration of the deformation front toward the present Eastern Cordillera, with the inversion of Early Cretaceous rift faults during the Oligocene (Mora et al., 2006, 2020; Silva et al., 2013).

During the Early Miocene, there was a slight movement of blocks in the NWSA (Figure S1, https://urldefense.com/v3/_https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpH VbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$), which is supported by low exhumation rates in the northern Central Cordillera (Restrepo-Moreno et al., 2009) and Eastern Cordillera (Parra et al., 2009). Nevertheless, this slight deformation is lower than expected after initial contact between the PCA and South
<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 9.** Schematic evolution of the PCA accretion to South America, from normal subduction in the Oligocene (a), to severe subduction erosion in the Earliest Middle Miocene (d) and collisional tectonics in the Middle Miocene (e). Beige color refers to continental crust material, while lilac color refers to oceanic crust, conforming the Paleogene forearc. CC: Central Cordillera; CLIP: Caribbean Large Igneous Province; EC: Eastern Cordillera; PCA: Panama-Choco Arc.</figcaption></figure>

America (Boschman et al., 2014; Farris et al., 2011) and the breakup of the Farallon Plate (Barckhausen et al., 2001; Lonsdale, 2005; Werner et al., 2003). This paradox is explained by the severe subduction erosion in the Early Miocene (subduction erosion was not impacted at this time by the present high rainfall climate, which is operating in the region since the Pliocene; Hoorn et al., 2022) associated with the advancing PCA that removed up to 200 km of the South American forearc into the mantle (Figure 9; Figure S1, https://url-defense.com/v3/_/https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_;;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McT rh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$: González et al., 2023), similarly to other subduction-erosion settings (Kukowski & Oncken, 2006; Ranero & von Huene, 2000; von Huene et al., 2004). Furthermore, this setting creates space for sediments along localized basins around the suture zone during the Early Miocene (Lara et al., 2018; León et al., 2024) (Figure 9c). Besides that, in the Early Miocene the deformation front in the Santa Marta Massif and Perija broadened toward the southeast (Figure S1, https://urldefense.com/v3/_/https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_;;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$), inverting Lower Cretaceous rift faults in the Merida Andes (Montes et al., 2019). This condition, together with the ongoing extensional tectonics in the Lower Magdalena Valley (Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2018), support the sustained rotation of the Maracaibo and Santa Marta Massif blocks (Bayona et al., 2010; Montes et al., 2010; Reyes et al., 2004). On the other hand, although strain accumulation was not particularly high in the Colombian Andes in the Early Miocene, there was a locus of modest exhumation rates in the southern Central Cordillera and Upper Magdalena Valley (Ramon & Rosero, 2006) and moderate deformation (<0.5 mm/yr) in the Eastern Cordillera of Ecuador (Mora et al., 2020). It is likely that this strain-rate was the result of the Nazca convergence rather than the PCA accretion.

During the Middle Miocene, deformation across the northern Andes increased (Figure S1, https://urldefense.com/v3/_/https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_;;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$). This is compatible with the onset of the collisional phase of the PCA against NWSA (Figure 9e), which accelerated deformation and triggered the Caribbean slab breakoff (González et al., 2023) and the consequent Nazca related magmatism north of 5°N in the Middle Miocene (Villalba et al., 2023; Weber et al., 2020). Additionally, the transition from marine to coarse continental sedimentation in the suture zone during the Middle Miocene (León et al., 2018, 2024) supports the transition of subduction-erosion to collisional accretion (Figures 9d and 9e).

Our deforming plate reconstruction shows that since the Late Miocene strain rates accelerated in the northern Andes until today (Figures 7e and 7f), which agrees with the main phase of Andean orogeny (e.g., Kellogg et al., 2019; Mora et al., 2006, 2013; Parra et al., 2009) and increased opening of pull-apart basins in the Golf of Guayaquil (Aizprua et al., 2022) that took place during this timespan. This widespread acceleration of deformation and orogeny in

the Late Miocene to recent involved a series of tectonic events, including the continued collision of the PCA against South America (Figure 9e), the shift to a more orthogonal convergence of the Nazca Plate (González et al., 2023) accompanied by the shallow subduction of its northern segment (Chiarabba et al., 2015; Siravo et al., 2019), the cumulative flat subduction of the Caribbean slab (Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2017) and the
<figure><img src="image_12.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 10.** (a) Today's surface velocities and (b) today's principal-strain axes predicted by our model. Note the degree of similarity to instrumental observations (Figures S2 and S3, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_;!!N11eV2iwtfspmDtnjkIve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$).</figcaption></figure>

subduction of the Carnegie Ridge (Kobayashi et al., 2014). These factors collectively contributed to the significant shortening in the northern Andes since the Late Miocene (Mora et al., 2013; Parra et al., 2009).

### 5.3. Model Prediction Versus Modern Deformation

We constrained the proposed reconstruction by matching the present-day strain vectors of the model with earthquake focal mechanisms and geodetic strain rates (Figure 10; Figures S2 and S3, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_;!!N11eV2iwtfspmDtnjkIve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$). Our model is a regional first-order approximation, yet the results show a remarkable coincidence with the recent kinematics. Modeled strain-axes clearly show a regional in NW-SE direction, roughly orthogonal to the subduction margin (Figure 10). In the Gulf of Guayaquil, the model predicts deformation dominated by transtension (#1 in Figure 10b). Toward the north, along the Romeral Fault System (#2 and #3 in Figure 10b), deformation transitions to transpressive-contractional. East of the PCA, the modeled strain axes are clearly more erratic, with transpressive and trans-tensional components (#4 in Figure 10b), which we believe is due to block rotation and deformation accommodation between the PCA and the Antioquia Batholith.

While in the Sinu area (#5 in Figure 10b) there is contractional deformation that aligns with the accretionary prism, our reconstruction shows transtension in the Lower Magdalena Valley (#6 in Figure 10b). This may be the result of clockwise rotation and eastward displacement of blocks, which also accounts for the left-lateral behavior of the Santa Marta fault (#7 in Figure 10b). The continued clockwise rotation and translation of the Santa Marta Massif generates the dominant contractional deformation in the Perija range (#8 in Figure 10b).
The strain axes in the Eastern Cordillera show contraction on the deformation front (#9 and #10 in Figure 10b), which aligns perfectly with the cumulative shortening observed since the Late Miocene (e.g., Mora et al., 2013; Parra et al., 2009; Tesón et al., 2013). Our model predicts a dominant strike-slip deformation in the Garzón Massif (#11 in Figure 10b), in agreement with the recent activity of the Algeciras fault system.

In general, the areas of active deformation (inset in Figure 7f) agree well with the distribution of shallow earthquakes (Figure 4b) and with recent erosion rates (Ott et al., 2023). Furthermore, the strain-rate clearly correlates with today's earthquake focal mechanisms (Figure S3, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399__;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$; Arcila & Muñoz, 2020), demonstrating that deformation in the frontal edge of the northern Andes is predominantly contraction in NW-SE direction, while in the Central Cordillera and northern Colombia, the deformation style is more ambiguous or related to strike-slip deformation.

## 6. Implications for the Regional Paleogeography

We integrate paleogeographic interpretations in our block motion model for different time-steps to propose a restored paleogeographic reconstruction throughout the Cenozoic. Given the wide extent of our model, we simplify the paleogeography to exhumed eroding areas and areas of sedimentation as continental, shallow marine/coastal plain and deep marine environments. We now discuss only the maps for 60, 40, 25 and 9 Ma (Figure 11), additional maps are provided in Figure S4, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zenodo.org/records/14882399__;!!N11eV2iwtfS!pMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ-iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrq1HclKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$.

The paleogeographic maps show the transition from a typical magmatic arc in the Paleocene into a more complex orogenic system in the Late Miocene (Figure 11). This evolution indicates that during the Early Paleogene (Figure 11a), the present-day Central Cordillera and the Santa Marta Massif constituted a continuous magmatic arc (Ayala-Calvo et al., 2012; Bayona et al., 2013; Cardona et al., 2011; Montes et al., 2019), which ran parallel to the trench against the Caribbean Plate, defining an early foreland basin to the east (Caballero et al., 2013; Cooper et al., 1995; Gómez et al., 2003; Horton et al., 2010). Before the Middle Eocene the strain localization east of the Antioquia Batholith allowed the development of structural highs in the Middle Magdalena Valley (Caballero et al., 2013; Parra et al., 2012) and western flank of the Eastern Cordillera (Bayona et al., 2013). The foreland basin's sedimentation was marked by the gradual retreat of Cretaceous marine conditions (Figures 11a and 11b), which conditioned the fluvial system to drain toward the present Maracaibo basin (Reyes-Harker et al., 2015). Conversely, the present San Jacinto range and Tumaco basin were in forearc position (Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2018; Pardo-Trujillo et al., 2020). The tectonic reorganization in the Middle Eocene ended the magmatic activity (Bayona et al., 2012) and renewed sedimentation over previously deformed and exhumed areas throughout the Late Eocene-Oligocene (Figure 11c), such as the Middle, Upper (Gómez et al., 2003, 2005; Parra et al., 2012) and Lower Magdalena Valley (Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2018) and the Tumaco basin (Pardo-Trujillo et al., 2020). Additionally, rotation of the Santa Marta Massif opened accommodation space in the Lower Magdalena Valley, allowing deposition of thick marine sequences (Duque-Caro, 1979; Montes et al., 2019; Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2018).

Despite the initial contact between the PCA and South America in the Late Oligocene, marine sedimentation continued in the suture zone during Early Miocene (González et al., 2023; León et al., 2018, 2024). The regional flexural subsidence due to the early accretion mechanisms (Figures 9c and 9d; González et al., 2023) could be associated with the transgressive events that deposited marine-influenced coastal plain or lacustrine sediments in the Early Middle Miocene in the PCA suture zone, the Magdalena Valley (Santa Teresa and La Cira Shale Fms; Gomez et al., 2005) and Llanos basin (Upper Carbonera and León Fms.; Bayona et al., 2006; Reyes-Harker et al., 2015), which has been regarded as part of the “Pebas” system (Hoorn et al., 2010; Wesselingh & Macsotay, 2006). In contrast, the transition from subduction erosion to collisional tectonics between the PCA and NWSA in the Middle Miocene resulted in a widespread acceleration of deformation and exhumation in the northern Andes, initiating the deposition of molassic sediments in the Atrato, Magdalena and Llanos basins (Caballero et al., 2013; León et al., 2024; Reyes-Harker et al., 2015). The counterclockwise rotation of the Santa Marta Massif, along with the enhanced exhumation of the Santander Massif and the Perija range led the Magdalena river to drain toward the Lower Magdalena Valley, west of the Santa Marta Massif after the Middle Miocene (Figure 11d), contributing a
<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 11.** (a–d) Restored paleogeographic maps for 60, 40, 25, and 9 Ma interpreted from a combination of the deforming plate reconstruction and static paleogeographic models in NWSA (Anderson et al., 2016; Ayala-Calvo et al., 2012; Bayona et al., 2020; Bermudez et al., 2016; Caballero et al., 2013; Escalona & Mann, 2011; Gómez et al., 2003, 2005; Hoorn et al., 2010; Louterbach et al., 2014; Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2018; Pardo-Trujillo et al., 2020; Parra et al., 2012; Reyes-Harker et al., 2015; Vallejo-Hincapié et al., 2024; Wesselingh & Macsotay, 2006).</figcaption></figure>

significant amount of sediment to its delta (Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2018). The amount of sediments reaching the trench may have triggered the formation and growth of the Sinu accretionary prism.

Since the Late Miocene, the high exhumation rates across the northern Andes controlled important changes in the sedimentary basin systems (Figure 11d). Deformation in the Eastern Cordillera was accompanied by significant topographic growth (Mora et al., 2008), which supplied coarse molassic sediments to both, the Magdalena and Llanos basins (Cooper et al., 1995; Reyes-Harker et al., 2015). The uplift of the Garzon Massif (Anderson et al., 2016; Saeid et al., 2017; Velandia et al., 2005) represented the definitive interruption of drainage connection between the Upper Magdalena Valley and Putumayo basin (Figure 11d). Additionally, a new phase of uplift and exhumation of the Central Cordillera (Pérez-Consuegra et al., 2021) and Western Cordillera formed the Cauca Valley (Bermudez et al., 2016). Furthermore, the enhanced deformation and exhumation in both sides of the
suture zone between the PCA and South America fed coarse continental detritus in the new basin (Atrato basin) draining toward the Caribbean coast (Coates et al., 2004). The interpreted exhumation areas are further supported by the erosion rate inferred by Ott et al. (2023) and by the high sedimentation-rates in the Lower Magdalena Valley, which led to the northward migration of the coastal line (Mora-Bohórquez et al., 2018). In summary, the intense motion of tectonic blocks during and after the Late Miocene shaped the current geography in NWSA.

## 7. Influence of Multiple Subducting Plates on the Upper-Plate Deformation

Strain partitioning in NWSA is confirmed by a consistent northeastward displacement of blocks (Mora-Páez et al., 2019) and a significant shortening in NW-SE direction (e.g., Mora et al., 2008; Parra et al., 2009). Previous studies identified individual factors that may have triggered and dominated the deformation and growth of the northern Andes. In this study, we propose that the distribution of deformation in NWSA during the Cenozoic was driven by a combination of external factors including the presence of lithospheric weak zones, variations in convergence obliquity, changes in subducting slab geometry, and arc-continent accretion. In addition, strain accumulation, which is recognized as an important factor weakening the lithosphere, for example, in the Central Andes (Oncken et al., 2012), could be another factor in NWSA.

Chemenda et al. (2000) recognized that strain partitioning is favored in weak zones that facilitate and localize upper-plate deformation. The main weak zones in NWSA are the Romeral Fault System and the inverted Lower Cretaceous rift basin in the present Eastern Cordillera. However, according to McCaffrey et al. (2000), strain partitioning tends to localize in the area of higher intraplate coupling in the forearc-arc region (western side of the Central Cordillera). During the Paleocene-Early Eocene, when deformation was mainly distributed in the forearc-arc region in the Ecuadorian Colombian margin, both the Caribbean and Farallon plates were subducting at similarly oblique angles against NWSA (Figure 7a). This resulted in a predominant strike-slip deformation along the Romeral Fault System from the Ecuadorian margin northward. However, the heterogeneous lithospheric weakness along the margin was another important factor in the strain-rate distribution. We propose that the higher crustal strength around the Antioquia Batholith may have triggered the early migration of the deformation front toward the east through SW-NE faults, with intense contraction-transpression in the Middle Magdalena Valley during the Paleocene-Early Eocene.

Depending on the convergence obliquity, multiple subducting slabs may interact and produce a continuous partitioning of deformation along the margin or, conversely, they may counteract each other to limit the partitioning of deformation in the upper-plate. Therefore, the change in the Caribbean Plate motion between the latest Early Eocene and the Middle Eocene reduced the partition of deformation in the northern NWSA. Evidence for this includes the Eocene sedimentation that fossilized the strike-slip activity of the Romeral Fault System in the Lower Magdalena Valley and renewal of sedimentation over the Eocene regional unconformity in the Middle Magdalena Valley. As consequence, the strain partitioning restricted to the Farallon Plate in the southern NWSA, as supported by the Late Eocene-Oligocene shortening/exhumation episodes in the Ecuadorian and southern Colombian Andes (Villagómez et al., 2011; Villamizar-Escalante et al., 2021), including the Upper Magdalena Valley (Rosero et al., 2022).

The combination of shallow subduction and almost orthogonal convergence after the Late Miocene resulted in a predominant NW-SE contraction in the Eastern Cordillera, extending up to 800 km from the trench (#9 and #10 in Figure 10b). Interestingly, strike-slip deformation is insignificant in this Andean region (with the exception of the Algeciras fault and the Bucaramanga fault system in the southern and northern terminations of the Eastern Cordillera), which agrees with several findings that strain partitioning tends to be concentrated in forearc regions (Chemenda et al., 2000; McCaffrey et al., 2000). Based on the temporal coincidence between deformation events and changes in the subduction geometry, we propose that flat-slab subduction episodes of the Farallon/Nazca Plate (first in the Oligocene, later in the Late Miocene to recent; Chiarabba et al., 2015; González et al., 2023; Wagner et al., 2017) played an important role in the eastward migration of the deformation that shaped the Eastern Cordillera. Some authors (e.g., Gutscher et al., 2000; Jordan et al., 1983; Ramos, 1999; Ramos et al., 2002; Siame et al., 2005) propose that flat-slab subduction is associated with enhanced coupling and deformation transfer in the overriding-plate, which together with the thermal weakness caused by the inland migration of the arc, favors the displacement of deformation toward the hinterland. Additionally, the Lower Cretaceous rift faults in the Eastern Cordillera, representing weak lithosphere, may have localized strain during episodes of flat-subduction.
An additional factor that impacted the deformation in NWSA during the Pliocene-Pleistocene are the subduction of the Carnegie Ridge (Egbue & Kellogg, 2010; Kobayashi et al., 2014). Although the influence of subducting bathymetric highs is important in the overriding plate deformation, based on the available information, we are unable to track the presence of these anomalies during the Cenozoic. Therefore, we do not consider the rather speculative influence of these subducting bodies in the long term deformation.

A comprehensive review of the external factors influencing deformation in the northern Andes indicates that the acceleration observed after the Late Miocene reflects the effect of multiple interacting processes. The widespread increase of active faults indicates the reaching of a critical strain-threshold triggered by the strain weakening of the lithosphere in the Late Miocene-Pliocene, similarly to the Central Andes (Oncken et al., 2012).

## 8. Conclusions

The deformation at the NWSA margin reflects the complex strain-rate distribution resulting from its interaction with multiple tectonic plates, including the Caribbean and Farallon/Nazca Plates and the accretion of the Panama-Choco Arc. The interaction is complicated by the dynamic plate boundaries and convergence parameters that have undergone continuous change throughout the Cenozoic.

This study provides critical insights into the strain evolution of the northwestern South American margin (NWSA). By integrating the plate kinematic framework of González et al. (2023) with stratigraphic, structural, geophysical and geodetic data sets, we present a deforming plate and paleogeographic reconstruction that outlines the spatio-temporal dynamics of Cenozoic strain partitioning along the continental margin. We find that block displacement in NWSA does not occur in a continuous and homogeneous manner, but on the contrary, deformation is dynamically partitioned during the Cenozoic. The variations were driven by the strength heterogeneity along the margin, changes in plate-convergence obliquity, and the evolving geometry of the subducting slabs and collision, leading to multiple phases of diachronic deformation. For instance, the onset of the main Andean orogeny was not triggered by the early accretion of the Panama-Choco Arc to South America in the Late Oligocene, as often thought, due to extensive subduction erosion that removed the forearc. Instead, deformation accelerated in the Late Miocene, driven by (a) the onset of collisional tectonics, (b) a shift in the Nazca Plate's convergence direction toward a more perpendicular angle, (c) renewed shallow subduction of the Nazca Plate, (d) continued shallow subduction of the Caribbean Plate and (e) subduction of the Carnegie Ridge. The integration of the proposed deforming plate model with existing paleoenvironmental models, allowed us to construct paleogeographic maps that agree well with the deformation and exhumation history of the Northern Andean orogen.

This article presents the first integrated attempt to correlate the kinematic evolution of plate convergence with both cumulative and present-day deformation in NWSA, using a regional deforming plate and strain-rate reconstruction. The broad agreement between observed and modeled deformation suggests that the proposed reconstruction offers a plausible approximation of NWSA's tectonic evolution. To improve our understanding of the deformation history of the northern Andes, future work should focus on isostatic balance, the influence of mantle dynamics, and changes in the thermal regime.

The calibration method we've developed for deforming plate models demonstrates broad applicability to other kinematic reconstructions in tectonically complex regions.

## Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this study.

## Data Availability Statement

The GPlates input and output files from the paleotectonic reconstruction presented in this research, as well as tables with the blocks and block boundaries used in the GPlates reconstruction (Table S1), detailed kinematics of reference points (Table S2), compilation of different regional indicators of deformation (Table S3), full resolution maps of the total strain-rate distribution (Figure S1), comparison between actual and modeled velocity vectors (Figure S2) and modeled strain vectors (Figure S3), and additional paleogeographic maps (Figure S4), as well as
detailed descriptions of results (Text S1–S4) are available at the Zenodo repository [https://urldefense.com/v3/ https://zenodo.org/records/14882399_];!!N11eV2iwtfslpMdtnjklve9VQZCxXTUm-qZLrw24UhBbJLpHVbcJ- iJrrZmWSAD8McTrh8d7_qAQFrqI1HcIKz8ZWf4GozJPdCQ$] (González et al., 2025).

Acknowledgments

This manuscript is part of the PhD research of RG at the Freie Universität Berlin and the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geoscience. RG is especially grateful to Ecopetrol for funding his studies in Germany and the GFZ for funding the publication of this paper. The regional view of the data sets and results does not pose any conflict-of- interests with Ecopetrol. We acknowledge the GFZ Lithospheric Dynamics section for ongoing discussions. RG thanks Eliseo Tesón, Elias Gómez and Luis Quiroz for clarifications on the regional geology. We also thank two anonymous reviewers and the Editors Dr. Margaret Rusmore and Dr. Laura Giambiagi for their constructive insights that have substantially improved the manuscript. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

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