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65-605: The fault system is a major bounding fault for various sedimentary basins and igneous and metamorphic complexes. The northern Santa Marta Fault segment separates the Sinú-San Jacinto Basin and Lower Magdalena Valley in the west from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to the east. The buried Algarrobo Fault segment forms the boundary between the Lower Magdalena Valley and northern Middle Magdalena Valley to

130-422: A convergent plate tectonic boundary in the gap between an active volcanic arc and the associated trench , thus above the subducting oceanic plate. The formation of a forearc basin is often created by the vertical growth of an accretionary wedge that acts as a linear dam, parallel to the volcanic arc, creating a depression in which sediments can accumulate. Trench basins are deep linear depressions formed where

195-509: A high probability of preservation. In contrast, sedimentary basins formed on oceanic crust are likely to be destroyed by subduction . Continental margins formed when new ocean basins like the Atlantic are created as continents rift apart are likely to have lifespans of hundreds of millions of years, but may be only partially preserved when those ocean basins close as continents collide. Sedimentary basins are of great economic importance. Almost all

260-648: A horizontal part for about 50 kilometres (31 mi), and a farther descending section to reach a depth of around 200 kilometres (120 mi). The slab section, called Bucaramanga slab, here has a dip that continues to the oceanic crust of the Caribbean seafloor. Towards the north of the Bucaramanga Nest or Swarm , in a north–south area approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) in length, a well-defined Wadati-Benioff Zone extending to 175 kilometres (109 mi) depth has been identified. A study published in 2009 about

325-445: A load is placed on the lithosphere, it will tend to flex in the manner of an elastic plate. The magnitude of the lithospheric flexure is a function of the imposed load and the flexural rigidity of the lithosphere, and the wavelength of flexure is a function of flexural rigidity of the lithospheric plate. Flexural rigidity is in itself, a function of the lithospheric mineral composition, thermal regime, and effective elastic thickness of

390-606: A million, and their sedimentary fills range from one to almost twenty kilometers in thickness. A dozen or so common types of sedimentary basins are widely recognized and several classification schemes are proposed, however no single classification scheme is recognized as the standard. Most sedimentary basin classification schemes are based on one or more of these interrelated criteria: Although no one basin classification scheme has been widely adopted, several common types of sedimentary basins are widely accepted and well understood as distinct types. Over its complete lifespan

455-665: A result of isostasy . The long-term preserved geologic record of a sedimentary basin is a large scale contiguous three-dimensional package of sedimentary rocks created during a particular period of geologic time, a 'stratigraphic succession', that geologists continue to refer to as a sedimentary basin even if it is no longer a bathymetric or topographic depression. The Williston Basin , Molasse basin and Magallanes Basin are examples of sedimentary basins that are no longer depressions. Basins formed in different tectonic regimes vary in their preservation potential . Intracratonic basins, which form on highly-stable continental interiors, have

520-650: A result of the closing of a major ocean through continental collision resulting from plate tectonics. As a result the sedimentary record of inactive passive margins often are found as thick sedimentary sequences in mountain belts. For example the passive margins of the ancient Tethys Ocean are found in the mountain belts of the Alps and Himalayas that formed when the Tethys closed. Many authors recognize two subtypes of foreland basins: Peripheral foreland basins Retroarc foreland basins A sedimentary basin formed in association with

585-575: A single sedimentary basin can go through multiple phases and evolve from one of these types to another, such as a rift process going to completion to form a passive margin. In this case the sedimentary rocks of the rift basin phase are overlain by those rocks deposited during the passive margin phase. Hybrid basins where a single regional basin results from the processes that are characteristic of multiple of these types are also possible. Terrestrial rift valleys Proto-oceanic rift troughs Passive margins are long-lived and generally become inactive only as

650-404: A subducting oceanic plate descends into the mantle, beneath the overriding continental (Andean type) or oceanic plate (Mariana type). Trenches form in the deep ocean but, particularly where the overriding plate is continental crust they can accumulate thick sequences of sediments from eroding coastal mountains. Smaller 'trench slope basins' can form in association with a trench can form directly atop

715-665: A total area of 22,905 km . The majority of the Department is flat in 57% of the total area and 43% mountainous mainly in the Serranía del Perijá and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain ranges. The Department of Cesar contains five Ecoregions ; the Serranía del Perijá mountain range, the valley of the Cesar River , the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, the valley of

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780-597: A year. The mountainous regions are characterized by low temperatures with snow on high altitude peaks and precipitation reaching more than 2,000 millimetres or 79 inches a year. The region was first inhabited by indigenous peoples known as Euparíes in the Valley of Upar and Guatapuríes in the Valley of the Cesar river, among these were the Orejones pertaining to the Tupe, Acanayutos pertaining to

845-626: Is Valledupar . The region was first inhabited by indigenous peoples known as Euparis in the Valley of Upar and Guatapuris in the Valley of the Cesar river, among these were the Orejones pertaining to the Toupeh, Acanayutos pertaining to the Motilon and Alcoholades pertaining to the Chimila . The first European to explore the area was Spanish Captain Peter Vadillo, but German Ambrose Alfinger savagely conquered

910-533: Is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region , bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira , to the west with the Department of Magdalena and Department of Bolivar , to the south with Department of Santander , to the east with the Department of North Santander , and further to the east with the country of Venezuela ( Zulia State ). The department capital city

975-516: Is a piece of rubber, which thins in the middle when stretched.) An example of a basin caused by lithospheric stretching is the North Sea – also an important location for significant hydrocarbon reserves. Another such feature is the Basin and Range Province which covers most of Nevada, forming a series of horst and graben structures. Tectonic extension at divergent boundaries where continental rifting

1040-451: Is born on the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, including the Guatapuri , Badillo, Ariguani , Cesarito, Los Clavos, Garupal and Rio Seco rivers. The mountains are within the boundaries of the municipalities of Pueblo Bello, Valledupar, El Copey and Bosconia. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta was declared by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve on October 29, 1993. Ciénaga de Zapatosa Climate in

1105-703: Is formed by 25 municipalities, some 171 corregimientos, 990 veredas and 10 indigenous reserves. For administrative reasons the Department of Cesar is subdivided into 4 strategic regions : The economy of the César Department is sustained by the agricultural sector, secondly by a services industry following with commercial industry and mining. Cattle raising is exploited extensively (using large farms), and for this reason large portions of forests have been chopped off to create corrals . In agriculture , plantations of cotton , rice , sugar cane , oil palm , cassava and plantain . Services are centered on commerce and

1170-572: Is large enough and long-lived enough to create a sedimentary basin often called a pull-apart basin or strike-slip basin. These basins are often roughly rhombohedral in shape and may be called a rhombochasm . A classic rhombochasm is illustrated by the Dead Sea rift, where northward movement of the Arabian Plate relative to the Anatolian Plate has created a strike slip basin. The opposite effect

1235-540: Is occurring can create a nascent ocean basin leading to either an ocean or the failure of the rift zone . Another expression of lithospheric stretching results in the formation of ocean basins with central ridges. The Red Sea is in fact an incipient ocean, in a plate tectonic context. The mouth of the Red Sea is also a tectonic triple junction where the Indian Ocean Ridge, Red Sea Rift and East African Rift meet. This

1300-458: Is particularly measurable and observable with oceanic crust, as there is a well-established correlation between the age of the underlying crust and depth of the ocean . As newly-formed oceanic crust cools over a period of tens of millions of years. This is an important contribution to subsidence in rift basins, backarc basins and passive margins where they are underlain by newly-formed oceanic crust. In strike-slip tectonic settings, deformation of

1365-535: Is that of transpression , where converging movement of a curved fault plane causes collision of the opposing sides of the fault. An example is the San Bernardino Mountains north of Los Angeles, which result from convergence along a curve in the San Andreas Fault system. The Northridge earthquake was caused by vertical movement along local thrust and reverse faults "bunching up" against the bend in

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1430-416: Is the only place on the planet where such a triple junction in oceanic crust is exposed subaerially . This is due to a high thermal buoyancy ( thermal subsidence ) of the junction, and also to a local crumpled zone of seafloor crust acting as a dam against the Red Sea. Lithospheric flexure is another geodynamic mechanism that can cause regional subsidence resulting in the creation of a sedimentary basin. If

1495-466: Is thus an important area of study for purely scientific and academic reasons. There are however important economic incentives as well for understanding the processes of sedimentary basin formation and evolution because almost all of the world's fossil fuel reserves were formed in sedimentary basins. All of these perspectives on the history of a particular region are based on the study of a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rocks that resulted from

1560-546: The Altiplano Cundiboyacense . The Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault system is located in northwestern South America, on the North Andes Plate , where the 20 ± 2 millimetres (0.787 ± 0.079 in)/yr east to southeastward moving Caribbean , 60 mm (2.4 in)/yr eastward subducting Malpelo , and South American Plates converge. Since Early Mesozoic times, the western portion of Colombia

1625-520: The Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock . They form when long-term subsidence creates a regional depression that provides accommodation space for accumulation of sediments. Over millions or tens or hundreds of millions of years the deposition of sediment , primarily gravity-driven transportation of water-borne eroded material, acts to fill

1690-551: The Magdalena River and the Cienaga de Zapatosa marshes complex. The Serranía del Perijá mountain range covers most of the eastern side of the Department of Cesar between its border with Venezuela and the Department of North Santander , approximately 300 km in length penetrating into the Department of La Guajira to the north and covering 27% of the total area of Cesar. The Serranía del Perijá covers, partially or totally

1755-549: The Motilon and Alcoholados pertaining to the Chimila . Spanish chronicles describe the tribes as being part of a federation of tribes led by a single chief ( Cacique ), with the village of Eupari as the largest and central to the other villages. These tribes are believed to be related to the Mesoamerican culture, the Caribs and Arawaks , directly associated to the Muisca culture in

1820-1069: The Bucaramanga segment of the fault system revealed that the fault had eight episodes of activity during the late Holocene . The most recent activity has been inferred to have been around the year 1020. During this pre-Columbian era , the area around Bucaramanga was inhabited by the indigenous Guane . The authors consider the Bucaramanga Fault therefore as active. Other faults in the seismically active zone, named Bucaramanga Nest , produced 27 earthquakes of magnitudes 4.0 to 5.3 between May 2012 and January 2013.       Gómez Tapias, Jorge; Montes Ramírez, Nohora E.; Almanza Meléndez, María F.; Alcárcel Gutiérrez, Fernando A.; Madrid Montoya, César A.; Diederix, Hans (2015). Geological Map of Colombia . Servicio Geológico Colombiano . pp. 1–212 . Retrieved 2019-10-29 . Sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of

1885-645: The Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault separating the Central Continental Sub-plate Realm in the west from the Maracaibo Sub-plate Realm in the east. It has been suggested that these two realms are dominated by respectively Nazca and Caribbean Plate subduction. The compressional stress regime caused the formation of the oblique sinistral Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault and dextral Oca and Boconó Faults . The interplay between

1950-637: The Colombian Caribbean coast to the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes to as far as about 6.5° N, south of the capital of Santander , Bucaramanga . The fault system, with an average strike of 341 ± 23 degrees, is a major wrench fault with a sinistral (left-lateral) displacement ranging from 45 to 110 kilometres (28 to 68 mi) and a fault slip rate of 0.01 to 0.2 millimetres (0.00039 to 0.00787 in) per year. The Santa Marta Fault forms

2015-559: The Colombian eastern branch of the Andes . Archeological findings has shown that the indigenous in the area worked with stones and wood, including a boomerang shaped weapon found in a cemetery at Los Robles La Paz . The first European to explore the area was Spanish Captain Pedro de Vadillo, but German Ambrosio Alfínger savagely conquered the region in 1531. In 1550 the village of Valle de Upar

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2080-486: The Department of Cesar presents variations in climate depending on altitude, as well as rainfall precipitations. Mountain climate in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía del Perijá become cooler with higher altitude, reaching freezing low temperatures on the snowy peaks. Lowlands average a temperature throughout the year of 28 °C or 82.4 °F. These lower lands present a hot and drier climate, with annual precipitation less than 1,300 millimetres or 51 inches

2145-507: The Department of Valledupar pertaining to State of Magdalena. On December 21, 1967 the Department of Cesar was created officially. From 1996 to 2006 paramilitary groups committed gross human rights violations affecting tens of thousands of victims in the Cesar mining region. Prodeco, a subsidiary of Glencore , and the US Drummond Company collaborated with the paramilitaries in order to continue coal mining. The Department of Cesar

2210-733: The Santa Marta and Oca Faults produced offshore Caribbean platforms and valleys north of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta near Taganga . Uplift along the western margin of the Santa Marta Fault probably commenced in the Pliocene . The Bucaramanga Fault intersects with the Boconó Fault at the Santander Massif. In this area, the top of the subducting slab has been estimated at an initial depth of approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi), then

2275-585: The area of 17 municipalities in the Department of Cesar; Aguachica, Codazzi, Becerril, Chimichagua, Chiriguana, Curumani, Gonzalez, La Gloria, La Jagua de Ibirico, Los Robles La Paz, Manaure, Pailitas, Pelaya, Rio de Oro, San Alberto, San Diego and San Martin. There are also the indigenous reserves pertaining to the Yukpas people; Iroka, Socorpa and Menkue-Misaya-La Pista; and to the Wiwas people; Caño Padilla, El Rosario-Bella Vista-Yucatán and Campoalegre. Approximately 70% of

2340-482: The associated accretionary prism as it grows and changes shape creating ponded basins. Pull-apart basins is are created along major strike-slip faults where a bend in the fault geometry or the splitting of the fault into two or more faults creates tensional forces that cause crustal thinning or stretching due to extension, creating a regional depression. Frequently, the basins are rhombic, S-like or Z-like in shape. A broad comparatively shallow basin formed far from

2405-676: The boundary between several distinct geological provinces: it is the western limit of the Santa Marta Massif with the Sinú-San Jacinto Basin , farther to the south the fault separates the Lower Magdalena Valley and northern Middle Magdalena Valley from the Cesar-Ranchería Basin . The Santander Massif is separated from the central part of the Middle Magdalena Valley along the southern Bucaramanga Fault segment of

2470-521: The department. The department of Cesar was created in 1967 by decree and the name officially adopted. The department of Cesar is located in northern Colombia bordering to the north with the department of La Guajira , to the east with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , to the west with the department of Magdalena , to the southwest with the Department of Bolivar and to the south with the departments of North Santander and Santander covering

2535-443: The depression. As the sediments are buried, they are subject to increasing pressure and begin the processes of compaction and lithification that transform them into sedimentary rock . Sedimentary basins are created by deformation of Earth's lithosphere in diverse geological settings, usually as a result of plate tectonic activity. Mechanisms of crustal deformation that lead to subsidence and sedimentary basin formation include

2600-401: The earth's surface over time. Regional study of these rocks can be used as the primary record for different kinds of scientific investigation aimed at understanding and reconstructing the earth's past plate tectonics (paleotectonics), geography ( paleogeography , climate ( paleoclimatology ), oceans ( paleoceanography ), habitats ( paleoecology and paleobiogeography ). Sedimentary basin analysis

2665-425: The edge of a continental craton as a result of prolonged, broadly distributed but slow subsidence of the continental lithosphere relative to the surrounding area. They are sometimes referred to as intracratonic sag basins. They tend to be subcircular in shape and are commonly filled with shallow water marine or terrestrial sedimentary rocks that remain flat-lying and relatively undeformed over long periods of time due to

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2730-439: The effect is believed to be twofold. The lower, hotter part of the lithosphere will "flow" slowly away from the main area being stretched, whilst the upper, cooler and more brittle crust will tend to fault (crack) and fracture. The combined effect of these two mechanisms is for Earth's surface in the area of extension to subside, creating a geographical depression which is then often infilled with water and/or sediments. (An analogy

2795-563: The fault is partially covered by Quaternary deposits in the Cesar and Magdalena valleys . The fault is divided into three segments; the main Bucaramanga fault segment in the south, the Algarrobo Fault in the central section, and the main Santa Marta fault segment in the northern part of the fault system. Between the two main outcropping segments, the Algarrobo Fault is present in the subsurface, overlain by Quaternary sediments. The urban centre of

2860-534: The fault segments have shown the fault was active in the pre-Columbian era , around the year 1020, when the area around Bucaramanga was inhabited by the Guane . Various seismic events analysed to have occurred during the Holocene of the Bucaramanga Fault segment lead to the conclusion the fault is active. The Bucaramanga–Santa Marta is a major fault system which extends for a total distance of 674 kilometres (419 mi) from

2925-576: The fault system. The fault divides the northern part of the Eastern Ranges in two structurally distinct regions. The Andean uplifted eastern block mainly comprises crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks of Paleozoic and pre-Cambrian age, with lesser amounts of Jurassic , Triassic , and Tertiary sedimentary rocks. In the western downthrown block, predominately sedimentary rocks of Quaternary and Tertiary age are found, with lesser amounts of Cretaceous and Jurassic rocks. The northern half of

2990-405: The fill of one or more sedimentary basins over time. The scientific studies of stratigraphy and in recent decades sequence stratigraphy are focused on understanding the three-dimensional architecture, packaging and layering of this body of sedimentary rocks as a record resulting from sedimentary processes acting over time, influenced by global sea level change and regional plate tectonics. Where

3055-419: The industry is represented by oil products , fats and milk derived products. As one of the biggest water resources areas of Colombia , if not America, part of the Magdalena River crosses the Department and helps create the Cienaga de Zapatosa (Zapatosa Marsh ) along with the Cesar river. It has a great potential to develop a fishing industry also. The area between La Loma and La Jagua de Ibirico

3120-425: The lithosphere occurs primarily in the plane of Earth as a result of near horizontal maximum and minimum principal stresses . Faults associated with these plate boundaries are primarily vertical. Wherever these vertical fault planes encounter bends, movement along the fault can create local areas of compression or tension. When the curve in the fault plane moves apart, a region of transtension occurs and sometimes

3185-405: The lithosphere. Plate tectonic processes that can create sufficient loads on the lithosphere to induce basin-forming processes include: After any kind of sedimentary basin has begun to form, the load created by the water and sediments filling the basin creates additional load, thus causing additional lithospheric flexure and amplifying the original subsidence that created the basin, regardless of

3250-478: The long-lived tectonic stability of the underlying craton. The geodynamic forces that create them remain poorly understood. Sedimentary basins form as a result of regional subsidence of the lithosphere, mostly as a result of a few geodynamic processes. If the lithosphere is caused to stretch horizontally, by mechanisms such as rifting (which is associated with divergent plate boundaries) or ridge-push or trench-pull (associated with convergent boundaries),

3315-424: The major coal producing municipality El Paso , Cesar is located right above the fault. The fault reappears at surface east of Tamalameque , Cesar , where it continues south-southeastward into the Eastern Ranges in the departments of Norte de Santander and Santander. The fault can be traced until San Andrés , Santander . The Bucaramanga Fault possibly continues as the compressional Boyacá and Soapaga Faults on

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3380-509: The mountain range preserves unique flora and fauna and some 20 rivers are born in the mountain range among other minor streams, flowing into the Department of Cesar and feeding the Magdalena and Cesar river basins and the Cienaga de Zapatosa marshes. The Colombian government declared it a National Forest Reserve. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range is an isolated mountain range located in

3445-416: The northwestern region of the Department of Cesar. The mountain range is shared with by Department of La Guajira, which covers the northern area, the Department of Magdalena to the western side and the Department of Cesar which covers the southern face, covering a total area of 16,615 km (1'661,500 ha) of which 380,000 ha pertain to the Department of Cesar. The Cesar River and the western side of its basin

3510-471: The original cause of basin inception. Cooling of a lithospheric plate, particularly young oceanic crust or recently stretched continental crust, causes thermal subsidence . As the plate cools it shrinks and becomes denser through thermal contraction . Analogous to a solid floating in a liquid, as the lithospheric plate gets denser it sinks because it displaces more of the underlying mantle through an equilibrium process known as isostasy . Thermal subsidence

3575-413: The otherwise strike-slip fault environment. The study of sedimentary basins as entities unto themselves is often referred to as sedimentary basin analysis . Study involving quantitative modeling of the dynamic geologic processes by which they evolved is called basin modelling . The sedimentary rocks comprising the fill of sedimentary basins hold the most complete historical record of the evolution of

3640-417: The region in 1532. From 1996 to 2006 paramilitary groups committed gross human rights violations affecting tens of thousands of victims in the Cesar mining region. The "Cesar" name is an adaptation from the Chimila indigenous word Chet-tzar or Zazare ("calm water") into Spanish, in reference to the Cesar River . The valley that its basin covers is also named after the river and extends through most of

3705-429: The rocks directly and also very importantly allow paleontologists to study the microfossils they contain ( micropaleontology ). At the time they are being drilled, boreholes are also surveyed by pulling electronic instruments along the length of the borehole in a process known as well logging . Well logging, which is sometimes appropriately called borehole geophysics , uses electromagnetic and radioactive properties of

3770-578: The rocks surrounding the borehole, as well as their interaction with the fluids used in the process of drilling the borehole, to create a continuous record of the rocks along the length of the borehole, displayed as of a family of curves. Comparison of well log curves between multiple boreholes can be used to understand the stratigraphy of a sedimentary basin, particularly if used in conjunction with seismic stratigraphy. Cesar Department Cesar Department (Spanish: Departamento del Cesar ) or simply Cesar ( Spanish pronunciation: [seˈsaɾ] )

3835-486: The sedimentary rocks comprising a sedimentary basin's fill are exposed at the earth's surface, traditional field geology and aerial photography techniques as well as satellite imagery can be used in the study of sedimentary basins. Much of a sedimentary basin's fill often remains buried below the surface, often submerged in the ocean, and thus cannot be studied directly. Acoustic imaging using seismic reflection acquired through seismic data acquisition and studied through

3900-400: The specific sub-discipline of seismic stratigraphy is the primary means of understanding the three-dimensional architecture of the basin's fill through remote sensing . Direct sampling of the rocks themselves is accomplished via the drilling of boreholes and the retrieval of rock samples in the form of both core samples and drill cuttings . These allow geologists to study small samples of

3965-402: The thinning of underlying crust; depression of the crust by sedimentary, tectonic or volcanic loading; or changes in the thickness or density of underlying or adjacent lithosphere . Once the process of basin formation has begun, the weight of the sediments being deposited in the basin adds a further load on the underlying crust that accentuates subsidence and thus amplifies basin development as

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4030-617: The west and the Cesar-Ranchería Basin in the east. The Bucaramanga Fault segment separates the middle part of the Middle Magdalena Valley in the west from the Santander Massif in the east. The fault system bounds and cuts the four largest terranes of the North Andes Plate ; the La Guajira , Caribbean and Tahamí Terranes along the Santa Marta section and intraterrane movement in the Andean Chibcha Terrane . Studies of

4095-546: The world's natural gas and petroleum and all of its coal are found in sedimentary rock. Many metal ores are found in sedimentary rocks formed in particular sedimentary environments. Sedimentary basins are also important from a purely scientific perspective because their sedimentary fill provides a record of Earth's history during the time in which the basin was actively receiving sediment. More than six hundred sedimentary basins have been identified worldwide. They range in areal size from tens of square kilometers to well over

4160-606: Was founded by Hernando de Santana and Juan de Castellanos .< In 1813, María de la Concepción Loperena proclaimed the independence of Valledupar and donated 300 horses to Simón Bolívar . In 1829 Valledupar became a Cantón of the Province of Santa Marta . By Law 15 of 1850, Valledupar was segregated from Santa Marta becoming the Province of Valledupar. In 1857 became a province of the State of Magdalena and by Law of December 29, 1864 became

4225-607: Was subjected to different episodes of subduction, accretion and collision, at the boundaries of the South America continental and the oceanic Farallon , Nazca, and Caribbean Plates and various island arcs. The interaction of the plate tectonic movements formed the Northern Andean Block, separated from the Maracaibo Block by the Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault. The Northern Andean Block is subdivided into tectonic realms, with

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