Apatite and zircon fission–track data from crystalline rocks collected along an east–to–west elevational profile across the Bucaramanga strike–slip fault in the Cepitá area and thermal history modeling show the four–stage thermal history of the southwestern Santander Massif of the northern Andes in Colombia. A 60 my phase of burial heating from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous was followed by three cooling phases beginning in approximately 65–60 Ma, which were related to regional tectonic events. The Late Cretaceous – early Paleocene accretion of an island arc and interactions of the Caribbean Plate with the northwestern South America plate first triggered the surface uplift and erosional exhumation of the Santander Massif. During the late Oligocene – early Miocene, the collision of the Panamá–Chocó Block with northwestern South America caused an acceleration in the cooling and exhumation of the Santander Massif and differential surface uplift to the east and west of the Bucaramanga Fault in the Cepitá area. The present–day topography of the Santander Massif probably formed at that time. Locally recorded late Miocene cooling may be related to movement on the secondary fault pattern in the study area or minor magmatic activity.

Keywords: exhumation, fission–track analysis, Santander Massif, Bucaramanga Fault, thermal modeling.

Datos de huellas de fisión en apatito y zircón de rocas cristalinas colectadas a lo largo de un perfil de elevación este–oeste a través de la Falla de Bucaramanga, falla de rumbo, en el área de Cepitá y el modelamiento de la historia termal muestran una historia termal en cuatro etapas para el suroeste del Macizo de Santander de los Andes del norte en Colombia. A los 60 millones de años, una fase de calentamiento por enterramiento desde el Jurásico Tardío al Cretácico Tardío fue seguida por tres fases de enfriamiento que comenzaron aproximadamente a los 65–60 Ma, y están relacionadas con eventos tectónicos regionales. En el Cretácico Tardío–Paleoceno temprano, la acreción de un arco de islas y las interacciones de la Placa del Caribe con el noroccidente de la Placa de Suramérica desencadenaron el primer levantamiento de superficie y la exhumación erosiva del Macizo de Santander. Durante el final del Oligoceno y el Mioceno temprano, la colisión del Bloque Panamá–Chocó con el noroeste de Suramérica provocó la aceleración del enfriamiento y de la exhumación del Macizo de Santander y la elevación diferencial de la superficie al este y al oeste de la Falla de Bucaramanga en el área de Cepitá. Probablemente, la topografía actual del Macizo de Santander se formó en ese momento. El enfriamiento del Mioceno tardío registrado localmente puede estar relacionado con el movimiento en el patrón de falla secundaria en el área de estudio o con la actividad magmática menor.

Palabras clave: exhumación, análisis de huellas de fisión, Macizo de Santander, Falla de Bucaramanga, modelamiento termal.

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AFT                                          Apatite fission track

PAZ                                          Partial annealing zone

ZFT                                         Zircon fission track

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