The Andean geosyncline in Peru, and its distinction from Alpine geosynclines

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Abstract
The Andean geosyncline in Peru is divided into faulted strips of crust. This has resulted in the isolation of basins of deposition which have both subsided and deformed independently. Five basins were formed, two of which were filled with sediments and pertain to the miogeosyncline, two with volcanics form the eugoesyncline, and a fifth composed of both volcanics and sediments forms a miogeanticlinal horst between the two. A volcano-plutonic chain was superimposed upon the fractured continental crust and the eugeosyncline was filled with material derived from the volcanoes and also from plutons of the rising batholith. The miogeosynclinal basins were filled with material derived from the continental hinterland. The eugeosyncline was deformed during the Upper Albian and the Coastal Batholith was emplaced during the Upper Cretaceous while sedimentation continued in the miogeosyncline. Deformation of the miogeosyncline occurred during the Palaeocene. Aubouin's distinction of Andean from Alpine chains is confirmed. Andean chains are characterised by andesite volcanics and tonalite batholiths, whereas Alpine chains contain ophiolite belts and sedimentary flysch. The differences may reflect their different tectonic setting, the Andes having developed under a convergent regime between a continent and a large ocean while the. Alpine chains may have evolved under a regime involving the opening and closing of small ocean basins between continents. It is suggested that andesite volcanics and tonalite batholiths are characteristic indicators of the subduction process at continental margins.