Stratigraphy, foraminiferal assemblages and paleoenvironments in the Late Cretaceous of the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia (part I)

The present work focuses on the Cretaceous record (Middle Albian-Maastrichtian) of the Upper Magdalena Valley (UMV), with a scope that covers facies and biofacies. The nomenclatural scheme previously stated for the Girardot-Guataqui area is here extended and proposed for all the basin, the following fomational units being characterized in detail. The Hondita Formation (Middle Albian-late Turonian), placed on top of the Caballos Formation, is separated from the Lomagorda Formation (late Turonian-early Santonian) by a chert interval within a succession of predominantly dark shales deposited in outer shelf environments. The Olini Group (early Santonian-late Campanian) presents two conspicuous chert units (Lidita Inferior and Superior) overlain by the Nivel de Lutitas y Arenas (early Maastrichtian). The sandstones of La Tabla and finally the mudstones of the Seca Formation (Maastrichtian) represent diverse littoral environments of the end of the Cretaceous. In the UMV, the Cretaceous system attains approximately 1350 m of thickness. Within the paleogeographic scenario, the drowning of the basin and of the adjacent Central Cordillera during most of the Late Cretaceous enabled upwelling currents and the development of widespread pelagic sediments. These sediments graded to shallower water deposits towards the south of the basin. In the Upper Cretaceous, four sequences of second order can be identified. The longer cycle begins at the base of the Hondita Formation and exhibits the maximum flooding in the Cenomanian condensed section of this unit. Following this cycle, three successive sudden sea level drops mark the boundaries of complete sequences, each comprising well developed lowstand, transgressive and highstand system tracts. After the last cycle was completed, the basin was uplifted and rocks of the Seca Formation were cannibalized by fluvial processes during the Tertiary. An angular unconformity that truncates this unit represents the uppermost sequence boundary of the Cretaceous megasequence.