Geología de la parte sur de la Sierra de San Luis y granitoides asociados, Argentina

Abstract

The lower Palaeozoic basement of the southern part of Sierra de San Luis, Argentina, is made up of metamorphic rocks, granitoids and ultramafic rocks. The metamorphic grade ranges from the lower limit of greenschist facies through the upper limit of amphibolite facies, in apparent transition. The lower grade metamorphic rocks include slates, metavolcanics, metaconglomerates, quartzites and phyllites. Rocks with intermediate metamorphism are biotite-quartz-oligoclase schists with abundant pegmatoid veins. The higher grade metamorphism is represented by gneisses, amphibolites and migmatites, to which mafic and ultramafic bodies are associated. Three deformation phases have been recognized, being the last one (D3), of ordovician age, responsible of the most marked structures.

The granitoids were grouped into pre-, syn- and post-kynematic bodies respect to D3. The pre-kynematic granitoids are located within the belt of lower grade metamorphic rocks and are composed of tonalites, granodiorites and monzogranites, strongly deformed. Their age is unknown. The syn-kynematic bodies are mainly garnet-moscovite-bearing leucogranodiorites. They show low thermal and rheological contrasts respect to the country rocks, and the age is 454 ± 21 m.a. The post-kynematic granitoids are mainly monzogranites with K-feldspar megacrysts and abundant sphene. They are subcircular and discordant, and are associated with an extensional regime. Their age is comprised between 423 and 320 m.a., and corresponds to the end of the Famatinian cycle.