Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins

of Southern and Central South America

N. Eyles A. B. França
Department of Geology Nexpar, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.
University of Toronto Curitiba, Brazil
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
C. H. Eyles
G. Gonzalez Bonorino Department of Geography
Department of Geology McMaster University
Conicet–University of Buenos Aires Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Buenos Aires, Argentina

O. López Paulsen
YPFB, Gerencia de Exploración
Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Abstract

A lthough glaciated basins are usually associated with nonproductive, poorly sorted strata, hydrocarbons
occur in several late Paleozoic glaciated basins of central and southern South America. In Bolivia, the
Chaco-Tarija basin has commercial production from more than 30 fields in glacially influenced submarine
channel systems (Palmar, Santa Cruz, and Bermejo fields) that accounts for about 60% of current national
reserves. Correlative deposits in Argentina host the Campo Durán and Madrejones oil fields. In Brazil, the
Paraná basin has significant but as yet subcommercial gas shows in thick marine turbidite sandstones of the
glacially influenced Itararé Group. The Chaco-Paraná basin of Argentina is one of the largest onshore targets
for exploration in South America, but it is virtually untested.
Glacially influenced foreland basins of Argentina (Tepuel and Paganzo-Maliman) contain complex
glacigenic stratigraphies of interbedded tillites and poorly prospective sandstones. In contrast, the glacially
influenced marine infills of intracratonic basins in Brazil (Paraná), Bolivia, and Argentina (Chaco-Tarija and
Chaco-Paraná) contain thick sequences of pebbly mudstones and regionally extensive reservoir quality sand-
stones. The key to the occurrence of good reservoirs and associated trapping mechanisms in these intracratonic
basins is the interplay of sediment supply, regional tectonics, and relative sea level changes. Glacial scouring of
extensive cratons by ice sheets resulted in the delivery of huge volumes of glaciofluvial sand to deltas. Struc-
tural control of drainage patterns on the craton by basement lineaments resulted in persistent sediment sources
and depocenters. Frequent earthquake activity along reactivated basement lineaments resulted in downslope
mass flow of deltaic sediments and the deposition of thick, amalgamated sand turbidites (reservoirs). Pebbly
mudstone seals most likely record higher relative sea levels, resulting from basin subsidence, and deposition
from suspended sediment plumes and icebergs. Source rocks are provided by Devonian and Permian shales.
This model may be applicable to other parts of Gondwana that contain thick, prospective sandstones in
glacially influenced intracratonic basins.

Resumen

L as cuencas glaciares estan usualmente asociadas a estratos pobremente escogidos y carentes de atractivo
comercial desde el punto de vista de hidrocarburos, sin embargo en varias cuencas glaciares del Paleo-
zoico tardio en el sur y centro de Suramerica, se ha probado la existencia de petroleo. En Bolivia, la cuenca
Charco-Tarija tiene produccion comercial en mas de 30 campos ubicados en sistemas de canales submarinos
con influencia glacial (e.j., campos Palmar, Santa Cruz, y Barmejo), que representan aproximadamente el 60%
de las reservas nacionales. Depositos correlativos en Argentina corresponden a los campos petroliferos de
Duran y Madrejones. En Brasil, la cuenca Paraná tiene cantidades significativas de gas (en condiciones
subcomerciales) en las espesas areniscas marinas turbiditicas con influencia glacial del grupo Itarare. La
Cuenca Chaco-Paraná de Argentina es uno de los objetivos costeros mas grandes para la exploracion en
Suramerica pero virtualemente no ha sido probada.

Eyles, N., G. Gonzalez Bonorino, A. B. França, C. H. Eyles, and O. López Paulsen, 1995, 165
Hydrocarbon-bearing late Paleozoic glaciated basins of southern and central South
America, in A. J. Tankard, R. Suárez S., and H. J. Welsink, Petroleum basins of South
America: AAPG Memoir 62, p. 165–183.
166 Eyles et al.

Las cuencas foreland con influencia glacial ubicadas en Argentina (Tepuel y Paganzo-Maliman), contienen
complejas estratigrafias glaciogenicas de tilitas interestratificadas con areniscas pobremente prospectivas. En
contraste, los rellenos marinos con influencia glacial de las cuencas intracratonicas de Brasil (Paraná), Bolivia y
Argentina (Chaco-Tarija), Charco-Paraná), contienen gruesas secuencias de lodolitas gravosas (diamictitas,
sellos) y areniscas con calidad de yacimientos de extension regional. La clave para la formacion de buenos
yaciementos y mecanismos de entrampamiento asociados en estas cuencas intracratonica es las interaccion
entre el aporte de sedimentos, la tectonica regional y los cambios relativos en el nivel del mar. La socavamienta
glacial de extensos cratones por la accione las acumulaciones de hielo, resulta en el transporte de volumenes
muy grandes de arenas glaciofluviales hacia los deltas: el control estructural sobre los patrones de drenaje del
craton, ejercido por las alineaciones en el basamento, resulta en fuentes de sedimento y depocentros persis-
tentes. La actividad frecuente de terremotos a lo largo de las alineaciones reactivadas del basamento, ocasionan
flujos masivos descendentes de sedimentos deltaicos y la sedimentacion de grueasa aremas turbiditicas amal-
gamadas (yaciementos). Los lodolitas gravosas que actuan como sellos muy problemente registran niveles del
mar relativamente mas altos, resultantes de la subsidencia de la cuenca, y de la depositacion por corrientes de
sedimentos suspendidos y tempanos de hielo. Las rocas generadoras son lutitas de edad Devonico y Permico.
Este modelo puede ser aplicable a otras partes de Gondwana que contiene areniscas espesas y prosectivas en
cuencas intracratonicas con influencia glacial.

INTRODUCTION depositional environments and the stratigraphy of

Late Paleozoic glacioclastic strata occur in many sedi-
mentary basins in South America, southern Africa, India,
the Arabian Peninsula, Australia, Antarctica, and
Malaysia (Hambrey and Harland, 1981). Glaciation of the
southern continents between about 360 and 250 Ma
coincided with the greatest episode of coal deposition in
earth’s history (Langford, 1991). Late Paleozoic glacio-
clastic strata are associated with significant hydrocarbon
resources in Australia (Youngs, 1975; Williams et al.,
1985; Goldstein, 1989; Redfern, 1991), Oman (Levell et al.,
1988), and South America (Montes de Oca, 1989; França
and Potter, 1991). Many basins, particularly in Australia
and parts of South America, contain thick, prospective
sandstone intervals in otherwise poorly sorted glacially
influenced strata (e.g., O’Brien et al., 1992). The origin of
these sandstones is not well understood.
In South America, the presence of late Paleozoic glacial
deposits was first recognized in the closing decades of the
nineteenth century. Extensive outcrops in Brazil were the
first to be documented (Derby, 1888; Coleman, 1926), and
late Paleozoic glacial horizons were of central importance
in Du Toit’s (1927) and Wegener’s (1929) correlations
across the South Atlantic. Details of the glacial record in
South America and elsewhere in Gondwana have been
presented by Frakes and Crowell (1969), Crowell (1983),
Caputo and Crowell (1985), Dickins (1985, 1993), and
contributors to the compilation of Hambrey and Harland
(1981). Renewed economic interest in hydrocarbons in
glaciated basins in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and
Brazil has promoted the study of facies, sequence strati-
graphy, and age relationships across the continent. A
major focus of this work is identification of glacial deposi-
tional environments, better understanding of tectonic
setting, and closer resolution of the controls on deposi-
tional sequences, such as climate and eustatic sea level
changes. Unfortunately, many data are proprietary and
there is a dearth of published literature.
This paper reviews what is currently understood of
the depositional fills in late Paleozoic glaciated basins in
southern and central South America and relates this to
exploration for hydrocarbons. Selected aspects of glacial
glaciated basins are first discussed, stressing the signifi-
cance of regional tectonics and the selective preservation
of glacially infuenced marine sediments. Reworking of
glacioclastic sediment in marine settings is the key to the
occurrence of hydrocarbons in the late Paleozoic
glaciated basins discussed here.
The Chaco-Tarija basin is the most important since it
has commercial production in Bolivia and Argentina.
Glacially influenced strata of the Bermejo, Palmar, and
Santa Cruz fields are important oil producers in Bolivia,
where about 60% of current reserves occur in glacially
influenced deposits. Correlative deposits in Argentina
host the Tranquitas, Campo Durán, Icua, and Madre-
jones oil fields and about 80% of national reserves. The
Paraná basin in Brazil has significant but as yet subcom-
mercial gas shows in the glacigenic Itararé Group, and
important coal deposits also occur in early postglacial
strata of the Rio Bonito Formation. The Chaco-Paraná
basin of northeastern Argentina is one of the largest
onshore targets for exploration in South America that is
virtually untested. In western Argentina, the Paganzo-
Maliman and Tepuel basins are nonproductive, high risk
areas but are of considerable interest because their
extensive outcrops yield valuable information about
facies and geometries of glacial deposits in the subsurface.
SELECTIVE PRESERVATION OF
GLACIALLY INFLUENCED MARINE
SEDIMENTS IN GLACIATED BASINS
Ancient glacial strata are commonly interpreted in
terms of what is understood of deposits at the margins of
modern and Pleistocene continental ice masses. These
deposits are usually dominated by poorly sorted, often
bouldery sedimentary facies referred to as “tills” and are
associated with complexly structured ice contact strati-
graphies and glaciotectonically deformed substrates
recording the subglacial bulldozing and deformation of
preexisting strata (e.g., Brodzikowski and Van Loon,
 Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America 167

1991; Eyles and Eyles, 1992). Correspondingly, pre-Pleis-

tocene stratigraphic intervals containing multiple tillite
horizons are often interpreted in terms of climatically
driven advances and retreats of grounded terrestrial ice
margins (Hambrey and Harland, 1981).
Other investigators of earth’s long glacial record
instead stress a history of selective preservation of
glacially influenced strata in marine basins (e.g., Frakes
and Crowell, 1969). Using Pleistocene basins as analogs,
Eyles (1993) estimated that less than 6% by volume of the
pre-Pleistocene glacigenic rock record consists of conti-
nental glacial deposits. The primary record of glaciation
is stored in marine basins that developed in a wide range
of tectonic settings adjacent to glaciated areas. The direct
role of ice was limited in most cases to the areal scour of
continental surfaces and the production and delivery of
considerable volumes of glaciofluvial sand and mud to
basin margins where it was then reworked and depo-
sited by normal marine processes. The term glacially
influenced has been used to describe such basins (Eyles et
al., 1985) in recognition of the indirect depositional role
played by glaciers. Basin fills are distinguished by
marine strata dominated by thick sandstones associated
with complexes of pebbly mudstone (diamictite) facies,
emplaced by ice rafting of coarse debris into glacially
derived marine muds (“rain-out” diamictite) and re-
deposition as debris flows. These ideas are particularly
appropriate to understanding the infills of late Paleozoic Figure 1—Late Paleozoic sedimentary basins discussed in
glaciated basins in central and southern South America. this paper. Superimposed are dominant detrital sources
and paleocurrents (arrows). Note structural compartmen-
talization of the intracratonic Chaco-Tarija, Paraná, and
Chaco-Paraná basins by continent-crossing late Protero-
LATE PALEOZOIC GLACIAL RECORD IN zoic lineaments, arches, terrane boundaries, and Trans-
SOUTH AMERICA brasiliano fold belt.

Caputo and Crowell (1985) showed that the timing of

late Paleozoic glaciation across Gondwana is diachro-
nous and proposed that this could be explained by the
migration of Gondwana across the south pole. Veevers
and Powell (1987) argued that continental-scale glacia-
tion was initiated by strong Namurian uplift along the
western collisional margin of South America. They
envisaged separate ice centers located on pericratonic
mountain ranges. Recent data suggest, however, that
glaciation in Andean South America started as early as
the latest Devonian (Diaz and Lema, 1991; Grahn and
Caputo, 1992) and that the principal ice centers were
located not along the active plate margin but inboard
along interior basement highs, such as the Sierras
Pampeanas and North Patagonia massif (Figure 1)
(González Bonorino, 1991). A major complication is that
the different ages of glacial strata from basin to basin
may reflect not only possible migration of ice centers and
changing climate across the continent but also the
relative timing of basin subsidence and sediment preser-
vation.
The onset of glaciation in central and southern South
America in general appears to have coincided with conti-
nental uplift along the Pacific margin of Gondwana
during the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous Chanica
orogeny. In addition, the presence in polar Gondwana of
emergent landmasses presently underlying Patagonia
and the Antarctic Peninsula, either through collisional
accretion (Ramos, 1989) or tectonic uplift during the
Chanica orogeny, may have had the effect of bringing
extensive land areas into high latitudes and thus fostering
regional glaciation. The first definite record of glaciation
in southwestern Gondwana appears about Tournaisian
time in the northern Chaco-Tarija basin of Bolivia and
Peru (Diaz and Lema, 1991; López Paulsen et al., 1992).
Older glacioclastic strata of Late Ordovician–Early
Silurian (early late Llandovery–earliest Wenlockian) time
are present in Bolivia and Brazil and are attributed to the
polar positioning of Gondwana (see Grahn and Caputo,
1992).
Subsequent late Paleozoic glaciation of southern South
America affected foreland basins in western Argentina
(Tepuel and Paganzo-Maliman) and intracratonic basins in
eastern Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay (Paraná and Chaco-
Paraná; Figure 1). Following the Chanica orogeny, subsi-
dence and deposition started earlier (Early Carbonif-
erous) in the western basins than in the eastern basins,
where preservation of a glacial record did not begin until
the Late Carboniferous (Figure 2).
168 Eyles et al.
Tectonic Controls on Glacially Influenced
Sedimentation and Hydrocarbon Potential
All the basins considered here, with the possible
exception of Tepuel, had a protracted early Paleozoic
sedimentation history that was interrupted by Chanica
compression and uplift of the continent, the withdrawal
of epeiric Devonian seas, and widespread subaerial and
shallow marine erosion. Along the paleo-Pacific margin
of Gondwana, early Paleozoic continental margin
deposits were thrust onto the foreland, which subsided,
allowing Early Carboniferous transgression and sedi-
mentation in the Paganzo-Maliman and Tepuel basins.
The hinterland remained largely submerged until the
late Early Permian San Rafael diastrophic phase (Fig-
ure 2). At this time, the major influx of sediment was
derived from crystalline terranes in the Pampeanas and
Patagonia highlands (Figure 2) (González Bonorino,
1991). Subsequent intracratonic subsidence within the
continental interior, possibly in response to the clockwise
rotation of Gondwana against Eurasia (see Figure 3), led
to renewed flooding of the Paraná and Chaco-Paraná
basins. These intracratonic basins were strongly influ-
enced by basement faulting along late Proterozoic linea-
ments (Tankard et al., 1995). They received detritus from
surrounding shield areas, including those of southern
Africa and marginal uplifts underlain by Proterozoic–
lower Paleozoic crystalline and sedimentary rocks
(Figure 1) (Frakes and Crowell, 1972).
Starting possibly in the latest Devonian or earliest
Carboniferous, ice caps grew on the elevated interior of
Gondwana and by the early Late Carboniferous had
Figure 2—Stratigraphic correla-
tion chart for basins discussed
in this paper based on recent
biostratigraphy and the identifi-
cation of major transgressions
(indicated by wedges). Conflict
exists over the age of the
Tupambi Formation, which
some workers consider entirely
Pennsylvanian (Late Carbonif-
erous). On the right, the
approximate time of two major
diastrophic and orogenic
phases are shown, separated
by protracted extensional
phases that favored preserva-
tion of glacial deposits.
developed into a large ice sheet, perhaps similar in extent
to that on modern Antarctica (González Bonorino, 1992).
The sedimentary record of this ice sheet has been
preserved on shallow marine foreland basins such as the
Paganzo-Maliman and Tepuel basins of Argentina.
These areas contain complex and poorly sorted glacial
deposits with limited potential for hydrocarbons.
In contrast, within the interior of southwestern
Gondwana, widespread erosion below a continental-
scale ice cover resulted in the development of a strati-
graphic gap spanning the Late Devonian–Late Carbonif-
erous. These conditions were terminated when
tectonically driven subsidence, reflecting changing
stresses along the compressional and transpressional
Laurussian margin of Gondwana (Figure 3), resulted in
basin subsidence, marine incursion, development of
separate ice centers, and deposition of glacially influ-
enced sediments in the intracratonic Chaco-Tarija,
Paraná, and Chaco-Paraná basins (Figure 2). The record
of direct sedimentation by ice is restricted in these basins
and is preserved in marine strata.
FORELAND BASINS
Paganzo-Maliman Basin of Argentina
The Paganzo-Maliman basin contains up to 3 km of
Lower Carboniferous–middle Permian strata in central
western Argentina, cropping out in the Cuyo pre-
Cordillera foreland thrust belt and in the block-faulted
Sierras Pampeanas (Figures 1, 4a). Strata in the central
Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America 169

Figure 3—Early Mississip-

pian–Pennsylvanian
(Early–Late Carboniferous)
clockwise rotation of
Gondwana against Laurussia
(after Leighton and Kolata,
1990), and subsidence of
intracratonic basins allowing
preservation of a glacially
influenced marine strati-
graphic interval containing
prospective reservoir-quality
sandstones (see Figures 7, 8).
Extent of ice cover is
schematic and approximate.

Figure 4—Stratigraphic
framework for (a) Paganzo-
Maliman and (b) Tepuel basins
in depth-distance plots. For
clarity, Andean deformation
has been removed, but struc-
tural shortening, which could
extend the Paganzo-Maliman
section by 60–90 km, has not
been compensated for. Inset
shows an outcrop map for the
Tepuel basin (basin boundary
is dashed line) and major
roads. Precambrian basement
is exposed in the east and
north. Stratigraphic section
goes from Esquel to Cerro
Catreleo. Abbreviations: C,
Cerro Catreleo; E, Esquel; Tk,
Tecka Range; Tp, Tepuel
Range; NPM, northern
Patagonia massif.
170 Eyles et al.
and eastern parts of the basin constitute the Guandacol,
Tupe, and Patquia formations and those in the west
occur in the Hoyada Verde, Maliman, and other forma-
tions (Figure 2). Stratigraphic details are summarized in
Archangelsky et al. (1987), Azcuy et al. (1987), López
Gamundi et al. (1987), and González Bonorino (1991).
The basin fill essentially comprises one major unconfor-
mity-bounded unit that onlaps a tilted and erosionally
beveled lower Paleozoic substrate and oversteps crys-
talline basement in the Sierrras Pampeanas (Figure 4a).
The unit is divisible into three subunits: lower (Lower
Carboniferous, which includes the El Paso and Maliman
formations), middle (Upper Carboniferous, approximately
Namurian–Westphalian and which includes the Hoyada
Verde, Guandacol, and Tupe formations), and upper
(Upper Carboniferous, approximately Stephanian–Lower
Permian, which includes the Tres Saltos and Patquia
formations). Overall, nonmarine deposits intertongue
westward with shallow marine strata (Figure 4a). Western
sections expose deltaic and offshore strata (El Paso and
Hoyada Verde formations) that are overlain by littoral and
terrestrial rocks (Tres Saltos Formation). Eastern sections
show an upward passage from lacustrine (Guandacol
Formation) to alluvial plain (Tupe Formation) to eolian
(Patquia Formation) strata (Figures 2, 4a). Glacial and
glacially influenced deposits are mostly restricted to the
middle subunit in two major settings: lacustrine in the east
and coastal plain and estuarine to open marine shelf in the
west (these facies are described later). Dropstones occur
locally in the upper subunit, but may reflect seasonal ice
cover in lakes. González (1990) has reported lower
Carboniferous tillites and dropstones in the area, but this
requires confirmation.
Sedimentary Facies
In the Early Carboniferous, a wide coastal plain
connected the Pampeanas highlands with a western shelf
margin. In the early Late Carboniferous, an ice cap
centered on the Pampeanas highlands episodically
expanded onto the coastal plain and shelf. Upper
Carboniferous lacustrine deposits in the eastern Cuyo
pre-Cordillera delineate a foreland lacustrine system that
occupied the Zonda-Villicum trough (Figure 4a). The
trough must have been at least sporadically connected to
the open sea during highstands to account for fossil-
iferous marine intercalations. Overall, the trough fill
constitutes a coarsening-upward deltaic succession
(Guandacol Formation) with thin diamictites containing
striated clasts resting on supposedly glacially striated
pavements (Bossi and Andreis, 1985). Diamictites are
intercalated with mudstone intervals containing drop-
stones and slump structures and may represent the
downslope mass flow of glacioclastic debris in a fan delta
setting. These strata are poorly prospective because sand-
stones are limited to occasional, thin (1 m) storm deposits
reworked from underlying glacial sediment.
In the western part of the basin, sedimentary succes-
sions are also diamictite dominated and poorly prospec-
tive. Diamictites rest on deformed early Paleozoic
substrates and are overlain by thick rain-out diamictites
(González, 1981; López Gamundi, 1983; Milana and
Bercowski, 1987). In the Hoyada Verde Formation, rain-
out diamictites are capped by a boulder pavement that
records winnowing of the diamictites and are blanketed
by basinal mudstones. Shallow marine and terrestrial
beds in the Tres Saltos Formation complete the sequence
(Figures 3, 5a).
Tepuel Basin
The Tepuel basin contains as much as 5 km of Lower
Carboniferous–Lower Permian sedimentary rocks
(Tepuel Group and Jaramillo, Pampa de Tepuel, Rio
Genoa formations) (Figures 2, 4b) that are well exposed
in the sub-Andean foothills. Much of the Carboniferous
dips into the subsurface south of the Tepuel Ranges so
that the southern half of the basin exposes only latest
Carboniferous–Lower Permian sections (Figure 4b,
inset). Cenozoic compression, superimposed on
Mesozoic extension, resulted in block faulting and gentle
folding of the Tepuel Group strata over much of the
basin (Andreis et al., 1987; Archangelsky et al., 1987;
González Bonorino, 1991).
The Tepuel Group was deposited on a westward-
facing shallow marine shelf and is dominated by wave-
worked sandstones interbedded with bioturbated
mudstones (Figure 4b) (Page et al., 1984; González
Bonorino and González Bonorino, 1988). Petrographic
data reveal a persistent source area in the Patagonia
highlands, then underlain by crystalline rocks similar to
those of the North Patagonia massif (Figure 4b, inset)
(Frakes and Crowell, 1969; González Bonorino, 1992).
Higher subsidence rates in the Tepuel compared to the
Paganzo-Miliman basin favored the preservation of a
thicker marine succession. Because of the more open
marine setting, there was greater opportunity for
reworking of glacioclastic sediment into shallow marine
sand bodies across the postglacial shelf.
Sedimentary Facies
The lower part of the Pampa de Tepuel Formation
contains three intervals of glacial and glacially influenced
deposits (G1, G2, and G3) (Figure 5). Chaotically bedded
diamictites are characterized by exotic striated boulders
of granite in an argillaceous sandstone matrix and rest on
severely deformed shelf deposits. These beds are most
easily interpreted as mass flows accompanying the
downslope movement and deformation of underlying
sediment, although a direct glacial origin as tillites cannot
as yet be discounted. Overlying massive diamictites, up to
60 m thick, show clasts dispersed in a mudstone matrix
that is transitional to shelf mudstones and are interpreted
as rain-out deposits. These facies are truncated by well-
sorted wave-worked sandstone bodies up to 10 m thick
and 2 km long, elongated in the direction of dominant
sediment transport (González Bonorino et al., 1988). Slatt
(1984) has described the development of Holocene sand
bodies on the outer Canadian Atlantic shelf as a result of
postglacial reworking of glacial sediments. The same
model can be applied to the sandstone bodies of the
Tepuel basin.
 Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America
Figure 5—Stratigraphic column for the middle part of the
Tepuel Group in the Tecka Range. G1–G3 are prominent
glacial intervals; see text for details. See Figure 4 for
location.
INTRACRATONIC BASINS
Paraná Basin of Brazil
The Paraná basin of southern Brazil is the largest
(1.6 × 106 km2) late Paleozoic basin in southern South
America (Figure 2). It contains a thick (1400-m) predomi-
nantly marine glacial succession, the Itararé Group (dos
Santos, 1987; França and Potter 1991), which has strong
similarities to strata in the Chaco-Tarija basin of Bolivia
and Argentina. Three depositional successions (Silurian–
Devonian, Upper Carboniferous–Jurassic, and Creta-
ceous) record repeated phases of subsidence and
sediment accommodation in the Paraná basin (Oliveira,
171
1989). Devonian and Permian shales of the Ponta Grossa
and Irati formations, respectively, are source rocks for
hydrocarbons in sandstones of the Itararé Group. Core
and downhole geophysical data are available from about
100 wells, but the collection of high-resolution seismic
studies is prevented by a thick cover of Late Jurassic
flood basalts (França and Potter, 1991). The Itararé Group
spans the latest Westphalian–earliest Stephanian (about
300 Ma) to latest Artinskian–earliest Kungurian (about
260 Ma) and is comparable in age to the glacigenic
Dwyka Formation of the Karoo basin in southern Africa
(Visser, 1990). Marine microflora are present throughout
the Itararé Group, including the genera Baltisphaeridium,
Micrhystridium, Veryhachium, Leiosphaeridia, Navifusa,
Cymatiosphaera, and Tasmanites (Daemon et al., 1992).
Three formations (Lagoe Azul, Campo Mourao, and
Taciba) can be recognized within the Itararé Group
(Figure 6), each overstepping the underlying formation
and recording renewed basin subsidence by faulting
along steeply dipping basement lineaments (see Eyles et
al., 1993). Subsidence and expansion of the basin was
strongly asymmetric to either side of a broad, northwest-
trending structural belt along the trend of the Guapiara
lineament, which is interpreted as a major intraplate
boundary in South America (Eyles and Eyles, 1993;
Tankard et al., 1995).
Sedimentary Facies
Each formation of the Itararé Group is composed of a
lowermost member of thickly bedded, amalgamated
turbidite sandstones (e.g., Cuiaba Paulista Member)
overlain by a fine-grained member dominated by shales,
muddy debris flows, and rain-out diamictites (e.g.,
Chapeu do Sol Member) (Figures 6, 7, 8).
The most striking characteristics of the sandstones in
the Itararé Group are their thickness, massive character,
and textural homogeneity. The sandstones are predomi-
nantly fine to medium in texture and are lithologically
immature, containing large quantities of lithic fragments.
A well-defined secondary porosity can be identified
(Figure 9). The sandstones consist of massive, graded,
and deformed facies emplaced by turbidity currents.
Homogeneous sandstone bodies are as thick as 200 m,
suggesting that they are the product of the repeated
stacking and amalgamation of Bouma A turbidite beds.
These facies (e.g., Cuiaba Paulista Member) have a well-
defined cylindrical gamma ray signature and give rise to
remarkably consistent dipmeter patterns (Figure 8a).
Chaotically deformed facies are locally present and
record postdepositional downslope slumping; liquefac-
tion structures are common. Other thick sandstone
bodies (e.g., Campo Mourao Member) show well-defined
fining-upward sequences 10–30 m thick composed of
graded sandstones facies (Figure 8b). These facies
contain appreciable muddy matrix material that severely
restricts their reservoir potential.
Recent outcrop studies along the margins of the basin
have identified large glaciofluvial feeder channels, the
locations of which are controlled by basement structures
(Figure 10)‚ but a channeled geometry has so far not been
172 Eyles et al.
recognized in the subsurface given the dearth of high-
quality seismic coverage. Initial interpretations of the
thick sandstones of the Itararé Group indicate deposition
within large submarine channels and associated lobe
systems controlled by reactivated basement structures
(see Figure 11).
Diamictite beds consist of scattered clasts in a clayey
silt to muddy sand matrix. Massive facies were
deposited by the rain-out of mud from suspended
sediment plumes together with ice-rafted debris. Strati-
fied and locally laminated facies record postdepositional
downslope redeposition as debris flows. These form
blanket-like deposits in the Itararé Group and consist of
millimeter- to boulder-sized fragments set in an argilla-
ceous matrix. Clast content varies widely; diamictites
pass laterally and vertically into marine shales. In many
cases, discrimination of rain-out and resedimented
components in many diamictite units is not possible and
the term rain-out complex is used. Similar stratigraphic
complexes composed of in situ rain-out and slumped
facies dominate the correlative Dwyka Formation of
southern Africa (Visser, 1989) and are also reported from
many other glaciated basins (e.g., Young and Gostin,
1991; Eyles, 1993). Typical gamma ray, resistivity, and
dipmeter logs of diamictites are shown in Figure 8c.
Dipmeter logs are patternless, probably as a result of
extensive resedimentation, whereas other geophysical
logs show a fairly uniform pattern reflecting a fine-
grained, shale-like matrix.
Shales form massive blanket-like units across the
basin and accumulated by the settling of fines from
Figure 6—Paraná basin of Brazil showing
location of wells used in this study and
representative stratigraphic and resistivity
logs through the Itararé Group in the central
part of the Paraná basin at well 3. Inset
shows the location of Figure 10 in the state
of Mato Grosso.
suspended sediment plumes; laminated facies were
deposited from turbidity currents. Shales in general have
low total organic carbon content, but form excellent seal
rocks.
Depositional Setting
Primary glacial deposits such as tillites, boulder
pavements, and ice proximal conglomerates and sand-
stones, together with erosional bedforms such as
glacially scoured basement highs, are well exposed
around the main outcrop belt of the eastern Paraná basin
between Curitiba and São Paulo (see Rocha-Campos and
dos Santos, 1981; dos Santos, 1987). It is probable that this
zone of ice contact deposits and landforms marks the
westward limit of ice flowing out of southern Africa
during basin filling (Kaokoveld ice lobe of Franca and
Potter, 1991). However, as recognized in southern Africa
by Visser (1989), basin filling may have followed a long
period (20 Ma) of extensive glaciation, uplift, and erosion
across the Paraná and Karoo basins for which no sedi-
mentary record survives.
During filling, the Paraná basin acted as a steep-sided
trap for prolific volumes of glacially produced sediment,
primarily sand and mud, delivered by glacial meltwaters
(Figure 11). The alternation of sandstone and shale
members in each formation most likely records an
overall long-term tectonic control rather than any alter-
nation of climate (glacial–interglacial cycles) or climati-
cally driven glacioeustatic or glacioisostatic changes.
Stratigraphic cross sections show that shales overstep
sandstones (see Eyles et al., 1993), which indicates basin
 Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America 173

Figure 7—Representative sedi-

mentologic logs of cores
through diamictites (seals) and
turbidite sandstones (reser-
voirs) of the Itararé Group. (a)
Well #2, Cahpeu do Sol
Member. (b) Well #2, Rio
Segredo Member. (c) Well #1,
Cuiba Paulista Member. See
Figure 6 for well locations.
Lithofacies codes are after
Eyles et al. (1983); numbers on
left are depths in meters. Strati-
graphic position of log (c) is
shown on Figure 8a.

subsidence and transgression of the coastline. Short-term Chaco-Paraná Basin of Argentina

climate and sea level changes are beyond the resolving
power of the large-scale basinwide work conducted to
date, but given the relatively steep margins of the Paraná
basin, the sedimentary effects of such sea level changes
are probably slight. This situation can be contrasted with
that obtained in the foreland basins of Argentina, where
a high-resolution sea level and climate record may ulti-
mately be resolvable from shallow water, glacially influ-
enced shelf strata. Drawing on a wide range of data,
Eyles (1993) reviewed the available database and
suggested that the maximum glacioeustatic sea level
drawdown resulting from late Paleozoic glaciation was
unlikely to have been much greater than 70 m.
The Chaco-Paraná basin contains at least a 2.2-km
thickness of Late Carboniferous–Late(?) Permian strata
present in the subsurface of the Chaco-Paraná plains in
central and northern Argentina (Figures 1, 12a). Basin
structure and stratigraphy are poorly known from
wildcat drilling and low-density seismic coverage. Mild
flexural deformation and tilted fault blocks can be seen in
seismic sections (Pezzi and Mozetic, 1989). The thickest
measured section is 2200 m in the Ordoñez stratigraphic
well (Figure 12b).
Late Paleozoic sections in wells in the northern Chaco-
Paraná basin are subdivided into three conformable
174 Eyles et al.

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 8—Stratigraphic and geophysical logs. (a) Sand-

stones of the Cuiaba Paulista Member, well #1. Black bar
indicates cored interval shown in detail in Figure 7c. Note
distinct cylindrical gamma ray pattern between shale
intervals and consistent dipmeter values. Sandstones are
fine to medium grained and texturally mature and record
repeated stacking of Bouma A turbidites, which have
excellent reservoir potential. (b) Campo Mourao Member,
well #5. Fining-upward (FU) cycles identify thick, graded
sandstone units; these are less texturally mature than
those in part (a) and are less attractive exploration targets.
Note greater scatter of dipmeter values compared to part
(a). (c) Diamictites of the Chapeu do Sol Member, well #5.
Note wider scatter of dipmeter values reflecting wide-
spread debris flow during deposition of rain-out diamictite
complexes and shale-like gamma ray log pattern reflecting
fine-grained muddy matrix. See Figure 6 for well locations.

formations (from the bottom up): Sachayoj, Charata, and
Chacabuco. In contrast, correlative strata in the south are
grouped into the Ordoñez and the conformably overlying
Victoriano and Rodriguez formations (Mingramm et al.,
1979; Russo et al., 1979) (Figures 2, 12b). Well logs show
alternating packets of mudstone, sandstone, and diamic-
tite containing marine faunas. Stratigraphic, sedimento-
logic, and structural similarities with the Paraná basin fill
suggest that the same depositional systems developed in
both basins. Nevertheless, both basins appear to have
been separated by the Asunción arch and likely reflect
subsidence of independent fault-bounded subbasins
controlled by late Proterozoic lineaments (F. Wiens,
personal communication, 1992).
Chaco-Tarija Basin of Bolivia and
Argentina
The Chaco-Tarija basin is an asymmetric intracratonic
basin that extends more than 1000 km from Peru in the
north to Argentina in the south (Figures 1, 13, 14). Figure
1 shows a much simplified assessment of the structural
setting of the basin emphasizing the first-order control by
late Proterozoic terranes (see Tankard et al., 1995). The
northern boundary of the Chaco is defined by the linear,
lineament-defined margin of the Guapore shield of
Brazil; to the south, the basin is closed by the Puna and
Michicola arches in northwestern Argentina.
In the Chaco-Traija basin, strata deformed during the
 Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America
Figure 9—Secondary moldic porosity resulting from
dissolution of feldspar grains in reservoir sandstones of
the Rio Segredo Member of the Itararé Group. Molds are
identifiable by remnant rims of feldspar overgrowth which
are more stable than original detrital grains. P, porosity; Q,
quartz; F, feldspar. Scale bar in upper left is 0.1 mm long.
Chanica orogeny are overlain by a thick Carboniferous
sequence, which commenced deposition in the Early
Carboniferous (Salfity et al., 1987; Suarez, 1989) (Figure 2).
Carboniferous strata are well exposed along the sub-
Andean foothills. Outcrops show muddy diamictite
facies and large sandstone-filled channels up to several
tens of kilometers wide and several hundred kilometers
long (Figure 13), commonly showing large-scale defor-
mation structures and chaotic bedding. In the past, these
channels have been interpreted as continental tillites and
subaerial meltwater channels, respectively, deposited by
ice margins advancing and retreating across the Chaco
basin from ice centers to the south and east (Helwig,
1972; Salinas et al., 1978). New work (discussed below)
stresses instead the importance of marine sedimentation
and the paucity of evidence for any direct glacial
influence on sedimentation.
Facies and Depositional Setting
Generalized stratigraphic columns based on outcrops
in the sub-Andean foothills near Santa Cruz, Bolivia
(Figure 15), show thick, channeled sandstones (e.g.,
Itacua and Chorro formations) separated by fine-grained
facies including pebbly mudstones and shales (e.g., Tarija
and Taiguati formations). The Tupambi and Tarija sand-
stones form prominent escarpments along the foothills
belt; shales form recessive units along valley floors.
Sandstones are dominated by thick, amalgamated
sections of turbidite facies commonly deformed by
slumping. Conglomerates are a minor component.
Amalgamated turbidite sandstones fill the large channels
discussed in the previous section (Figures 13, 16). The
regional depositional setting appears to have consisted of
sand-rich deltas around the basin margin in Argentina
funneling large volumes of sediment to a system of
channels along the basin axis (Figure 17a). The great
thickness of individual channel fills suggests repeated
stacking and amalgamation of turbidites and rapid subsi-
175
Figure 10—Generalized outcrop map near Cuiaba, Mato
Grosso, along the northwestern margin of Paraná basin
(see inset in Figure 6 for location) showing basement
structural control on location of sandstone-filled feeder
channels (see Figure 11). (From N. Eyles, unpublished
data, 1991.)
dence. Slope failure along the frontal margins of deltas
may have been the principal mechanism for generating
thick, sandy turbidites. Seismic lines and outcrops show
chaotically deformed masses (olistostromes) resulting
from downslope collapse of channel walls or the upslope
basin margin, most likely in response to large-magnitude
earthquakes.
Fine-grained intervals that separate sandstones (e.g.,
Taiguati Formation) (Figure 15) appear to have been
deposited in interchannel settings. These facies
commonly contain rafts and pillows of displaced
sandstone and muddy diamictite. The latter may record
the “spilling” of coarse-grained turbidites from large
channels which, as a consequence of being rapidly
dumped on a muddy substrate, underwent downslope
mass flow and mixing with mud. The generation of
pebbly muds in this fashion is well known (e.g., Crowell,
1957; Eyles and Eyles, 1989; Eyles, 1990) and has previ-
ously been suggested for the diamictites of the Chaco
basin (Frakes and Crowell, 1969).
The same basic stratigraphy of large feeder channels
separated by muddy mass flow deposits can be recog-
nized in the southern part of the basin in Argentina
176 Eyles et al.

Figure 11—From glacial source to reservoir rock: depositional model for glacially influenced sandstone turbidites of the late
Paleozoic Itararé Group of Brazil. The key to deposition of thick sandstone members (Figures 7, 8) is the occurrence of a
major influx of glaciofluvial sediment and repeated downslope resedimentation by slumps and slump-triggered turbidites.
Position of major feeder channels is controlled by basement faults (Figure 10). Correlative channels are preserved along the
Namibian coastline of southern Africa. Slumps may be generated by earthquakes recording intracratonic faulting during
basin subsidence. Source rocks are Devonian and Permian shales; areally extensive blankets of shales and diamictites (not
shown) form seals. Alternation of sandstone and muddy members in the Itararé Group (Figure 6) may reflect low relative sea
level and progradation of braid deltas, followed by highstands of relative sea level and deposition of transgressive muds.

(Lopez Gamundi, 1986; Starck et al., 1992). There, the
base of the succession (Tupambi Formation) contains
shallow water indicators and striated boulder pavements;
available data suggest a large deltaic system in close
proximity to ice and meltwaters. It is likely that this area
represents the source area for the channeled sandstones
deposited to the north in Bolivia (Figures 13, 17a).
It is not yet possible to reconstruct the larger deposi-
tional system or water depths within the Chaco-Tarija
basin. The orientation and distribution of channels in the
basin (Figure 13) suggests that the term fan is not appro-
priate because the characteristic diverging pattern of
distributary channels and a single source typical of
classic fan bodies cannot be identified. “Classic” fans
develop on simple, unconfined basin floors with a single
feeder channel (e.g., Walker, 1992) in contrast to other
fans that occupy confined basins and do not show a
simple diverging network of channels.
A useful morphologic analog for the channel system of
the Chaco-Tarija basin is provided by the eastern
Canadian continental slope and basin plain, which has
experienced repeated Pleistocene glaciation. Hesse and
Rakofsky (1992) have described a basin-wide network of
converging and subparallel (“Yazoo type”) submarine
channels cut on the floor of the Labrador Sea (Figure
17b). Thick, massive turbidite sands comprise the
dominant in-channel facies and interfinger with chaoti-
cally bedded slump facies resulting from the collapse of
channel walls. Fine-grained, muddy turbidite facies
comprise typical overbank facies. Inactive channels are
buried below thick, mud-rich debris flow deposits origi-
nating from the downslope collapse of glacial sediments
dumped along the upper continental slope. These facies
are comparable to those of the Chaco-Tarija basin.
Rocha-Campos et al. (1977) described marine fossils,
including Levipustula levis Maxwell and Limipecten cf. L.
burnettensis Maxwell, from the Taiguati and San Telmo
formations (Figure 16) (see also Sempere, 1995). These
authors summarize previous work, arguing for a marine
connection to the Chaco-Tarija basin and discuss a range
of paleogeographic settings. The considerable thickness
(hundreds of meters) of sandstone-filled channels in the
Chaco-Traija basin suggests rapid subsidence. Deposi-
tion occurred within an extensional tectonic regime
involving rapid basement subsidence in response to
transpressional movements along the nearby Pacific
plate margin. A marine connection to the northwest to
the paleo-Pacific Ocean appears likely, but the basin
proper may have had a restricted (brackish) circulation
system dominated by freshwater input from terrestrial
ice centers to large deltas (Figure 17a).
HYDROCARBONS AND RESERVOIR
CHARACTERISTICS
Foreland basins
In the foreland basins of Argentina, stratigraphically
complex glacial deposits are poorly prospective because
of a dearth of reservoir quality sandstones and appro-
priate source and seal rocks. In addition, as a conse-
quence of Andean tectonics, most potential reservoirs
have been breached by erosion. Secondary high-risk
targets for exploration probably occur in the Andean
foredeep and in footwall basins where upper Paleozoic
sandstones lie adjacent to Triassic source shales. Only in
 Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America
Figure 13—Distribution of Carboniferous strata in the
Chaco basin of Bolivia and schematic distribution of large-
scale submarine channels. (After Salinas et al., 1978;
Tankard et al., 1995. See also Eyles, 1993.)
177
Figure 12—(a) Chaco-Paraná
basin of Argentina showing
isopachs for upper Paleozoic
fill and principal structural
elements that controlled sedi-
mentation. Open circles
indicate position of exploration
wells. Solid triangles show
presence of diamictite in
subsurface. (b) Stratigraphy for
southern Chaco-Paraná basin
at a YPFB exploration well.
(After Russo et al., 1980.)
the southern Tepuel basin is there some potential for
exploration in postglacial, shallow marine sandstones
winnowed from underlying glacial strata. Porosity is
low, however, ranging from 3 to 8% due to cementation
by silica and micaceous minerals.
Intracratonic Basins
In the intracratonic basins of Argentina, Brazil, and
Bolivia, the principal role of late Paleozoic glaciers has
been to scour surrounding highlands and cratons and to
furnish large volumes of glaciofluvial sand and mud to
rivers feeding coastal deltas and their channelized
submarine equivalents (Figures 11, 17a). Repeated
sediment instability was caused by faulting (earth-
quakes?) and downslope reworking of glaciofluvial
sediment by sediment gravity flows along steep fault-
controlled basin margins. These processes resulted in the
focusing of sand along structural lineaments and the
formation of thick, prospective sandstone bodies.
Chaco-Tarija Basin
In the Chaco-Tarija basin, the Bolivian National Oil
Company (Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos,
or YPFB) recovers hydrocarbons from glacially influ-
enced submarine channel fills (Figures 13, 16, 17a). These
strata host significant reservoirs in about 30 oil fields
(e.g., McCaslin, 1979; Montes de Oca, 1989) and are
sourced from Devonian shales. Oil fields are located in
thrust sheets with diamictites as seals. Westward tilting
178 Eyles et al.
Figure 14—(a) Chaco-Tarija basin of Argentina and Bolivia
showing isopachs for Carboniferous fill and principal
structural elements that controlled sedimentation. The
basin boundary in the northwest is ill defined. Horizontal
ruling shows distribution of thermally mature Devonian
seals. Black ovals show approximate extent of principal oil
and gas fields in Carboniferous. (b) Thermal gradients in
Chaco-Tarija basin. Present oil window (65–100˚C) includes
shaly Devonian sections. Position of reconstructed Late
Cretaceous 100˚C isotherm suggests maturation
throughout the Cenozoic. (After Salinas et al., 1978.)
of the basin during late Cenozoic Andean deformation
led to migration of hydrocarbons to higher stratigraphic
levels within thrust sheets. Thermal conditions in the
basin throughout the Cenozoic have been favorable for
maturation of Devonian source rocks (Figure 14b).
Because of repeated cutting and filling and the evolution
of multistory channels fills, stratigraphic correlations
from sub-Andean outcrops to seismic sections within the
basin are difficult. Most oil finds were made in the course
of drilling to deeper Devonian targets.
Paraná Basin
In Brazil, more than 110 exploration holes have been
completed to date in the Paraná basin, with the most
important reservoir targets being the thick, amalgamated
Figure 15—Representative stratigraphic columns for the
late Paleozoic in the Argentinian (after Starck et al., 1992)
and Bolivian sectors (Santa Cruz district; after López
Paulsen et al., 1992) of the Chaco-Tarija basin. Note
differing use of formation names in Bolivia and Argentina.
Devonian shales are source rocks (see Figure 14b). The
Tupambi Formation is productive in the Campo Durán-
Madrejones oil field in Argentina. Note coarsening-upward
trend from the Itacua to Escarpment Formation probably
recording progradation of shoreline. Marine fossils are
reported from the Taiguati and San Telmos formations
(Rocha-Campos et al., 1977).
turbidite sandstones within the Cuiaba Paulista, Campo
Mourao, and Rio Segredo members of the Itararé Group.
In general, reservoir quality is fair to poor because of sili-
cification and mechanical compaction. Along the central
parts of the basin, sandstones are present at depths as
great as 4600 m. Thick, texturally mature sandstone
bodies having cylindrical gamma ray logs (Figure 8a) are
the best targets; other sandstones showing well-defined
fining-upward characteristics (Figure 8b) offer less attrac-
tive targets because of their higher matrix content.
The Campo Mourao Formation (Figure 6) contains the
majority of potential reservoirs. This is related to the
development of secondary porosity caused by dissolu-
tion of early calcite and anhydrite cements and, to a
lesser extent, dissolution of feldspars and unstable lithics
during intrusion of Jurassic–Cretaceous dikes and sills
(Figure 9). Large volumes of carboxylic acids and
groundwater rich in carbon dioxide were released from
the intrusives as a result of the maturation of organic
matter (França and Potter, 1991). The best reservoirs of
the Itararé Group occur in the uppermost sandstones of
 Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 16—(a) Base of turbidite-filled channel cutting
across slumped sandstones and diamictites (Tarija
Formation, near Samaipata, Bolivia). Section is 30 m high.
(b) Olistostromes of turbidite sandstone and diamictite,
Tarija Formation. Section is 15 m high. (c) Pebbly
mudstone debris flow of the Tupambi Formation with bed
base identified by clasts and interbedded graded (turbidite)
sandstones.
the Rio Segredo Member (Figure 6). Because of their
shallow depth, these show the least mechanical
compaction of all the Itararé sandstones and also have
little clay matrix. The cleanliness of the sandstones is the
result of elutriation of fines by repeated downslope
turbidity flow. Rio Segredo sandstones are sealed by
thick (10 m average), extensive (>600 km2) diamictites.
Devonian shales of the Ponta Grossa Formation are
the principal source rocks for gas and condensate shows
in the Itararé Group (Zalán et al., 1990). Local oil finds in
the overlying postglacial Rio Bonito Formation are
sourced from the Upper Permian Irati Shale. Geohistory
179
plots show that the Ponta Grossa Formation entered the
oil window at about 200 Ma and remained there until
about 135 Ma; the Irati Shale entered the oil generation
window at about this time (Oliveira, 1989). Intrusion of
the Serra Geral lavas played a major role in elevating
maturation levels by direct thermal heating and by accel-
erating basin subsidence. The base of the Itararé Group is
beyond the preservation limit for wet gas, but several
holes show dry gas composed largely of methane
(typically about 85%), with less than 5% of ethane,
propane, isobutane, and normal butane. The most
promising test to date shows a gas flow rate of 51,000
m3/day in sandstones of the Campo Mourao Formation,
where a diabase sill forms a seal (Zalán et al., 1990).
Exploration in the Paraná basin is complicated by the
thick cover of Upper Jurassic Serra Geral lavas, but
underlying upper Proterozoic basement structures
appear to have dictated the geometry of successive
phases of late Paleozoic extension and basin expansion
(Eyles and Eyles, 1993). Oliveira (1989) presented the
results of backstripping analyses and showed that the
greatest amount of subsidence between the Silurian and
the Cretaceous occurred during deposition of the
Permian–Carboniferous Itararé Group. Hercynian oroge-
nesis along the paleo-Pacific margin of southern South
America resulted in the “far-field” reactivation of the
Curibita-Guapiara structural zone and associated linea-
ments (Figure 3). The changing state of stress within the
interior of the continent as Gondwana underwent a
clockwise rotation may have controlled renewed
intracratonic subsidence.
In the Paraná basin, thickness isopachs for successive
stratigraphic members show a strong basement control
on both depocenters and sediment sources during depo-
sition of the Itararé Group (see Eyles et al., 1993, for
details). The models of Prior and Bornhold (1986) and
Syvitski and Farrow (1989) describe strongly focused
sedimentation dominated by mass flow within the
confines of steep-sided glaciated fiord basins. These
models may be appropriate for sandstones of the Itararé
Group in the Paraná basin (Figure 11). The same reacti-
vation processes on a different scale have probably
controlled fluid migration along structural lineaments.
Faulting also results in abrupt juxtaposition of sandstone
against fine-grained facies.
A clear relationship among basement lineaments,
paleocurrents, and sandstone body geometry is evident
in outcrops along the northwestern outcrop belt of the
Itararé Group near Rondonopolis (Figure 10). The
positions of large sandstone-filled feeder channels are
controlled by grabens in the underlying basement
(Figure 11). Similar structural relationships between
basement and so-called preglacial valleys crop out along
the southeastern basin margin south of São Paulo (e.g.,
Martin, 1953, 1964; Martin et al., 1958; Mau, 1960). These
preserve coarse-grained, subaqueous mass flow and
subaerial outwash facies and, most significantly, can be
correlated with other paleovalleys exposed in north-
western Damaraland, Namibia (Horsthemke et al., 1990).
Valleys are structurally controlled by northwest-trending
late Proterozoic basement lineaments parallel to the
180 Eyles et al.
(a)
Figure 17—(a) Generalized depositional setting for the
glacially influenced strata of the Chaco-Tarija basin. (b)
Yazoo-type channels on the floor of the Labrador Sea (after
Hesse and Rakofsky, 1992). Compare with channel
systems shown in Figure 13. The tectonic and bathymetric
setting is different from the Chaco-Tarija basin and only the
gross disposition of channels is compared here.
Guapiara lineament in Brazil and the trend of the
Damara belt in southern Africa (see Tankard et al., 1995,
and figure 16.9 in Eyles, 1993). In the Paraná basin, they
contain significant postglacial coal deposits.
With only about 30 wildcat wells, the Chaco-Paraná
basin of Argentina is the least studied of all the glacially
influenced basins in southern South America. As a result
of lithostratigraphic similarities and lack of independent
detailed information, exploration targets and inferred
reservoir charactistics are likely to be similar to those
described for the Paraná basin of Brazil.
DISCUSSION
The tectonostratigraphic model established here for
prospective glacigenic sandstones in intracratonic basins
in central and southern South America may be of wider
application. Broadly similar tectonic controls on the
formation of glaciated intracratonic basins in Australia
can be identified (Eyles, 1993), and a common character-
istic of several of these basins is the presence of thick,
prospective sandstones (e.g., Grant Group of the
Canning basin; O’Brien, 1992). In contrast, other late
Paleozoic glacially influenced basins are dominated by
muddy facies, such as shales and rain-out diamictite
complexes, with an absence of thick sandstones (e.g.,
Karoo basin; Visser, 1989). This contrast can be argued to
be a direct result of regional basement structure and the
presence or absence of major lineament systems that
controlled drainage patterns, sediment sources, and
depocenters. Eyles et al. (1993) showed that basement
lineaments play a fundamental role in basin filling by
capturing meltwater runoff from glacially scoured
(b)
cratons, thereby focusing glacial meltwaters and
sediments into structurally controlled depocenters. Other
basins lacking any basement control on drainage appear
to lack the means of focusing sediment and water,
resulting in dispersal of coarse sediment around the
basin margins. Structurally controlled sources and
depocenters appear to be persistent through time and
may promote basin subsidence as a result of rapid
sediment loading adjacent to faulted basement. In turn,
this may enhance sediment instability and downslope
mass flow by earthquakes, leading to the accumulation
of thick turbidite sandstones. The axiomatic assumption
made by many petroleum geologists that the terms
glaciated basin and poorly prospective are synonomous is
clearly misplaced.
Acknowledgments N. Eyles and C. H. Eyles thank the
Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada
for funding fieldwork in South America and for providing an
International Scientific Exchange award to support G.
González Bonorino’s sabbatical leave at the University of
Toronto. González Bonorino thanks NSERC for making this
collaborative work possible and the Eyles for their hospitality.
França’s stay at Toronto was funded by Conselho Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologo, Petrobras, and
NSERC. We thank Tony Tankard, Edison Milani, Paul Potter,
Paulo dos Santos, Tony Rocha-Campos, and Fernando Wiens
for discussions. The ideas presented herein are those of the
authors. The manuscript was reviewed by Johan Visser, Tony
Tankard, and Barend van Hoorn, whom we thank for their
valuable comments.
 Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America
REFERENCES CITED
Andreis, R. R., Archangelsky, S., González, C. R., López
Gamundi, O., and N. Sabattini, 1987, Cuenca Tepuel-
Genoa, in S. Archangelsky, ed., El sistema Carbonifero en
la República Argentina: Academia Nacional de Ciencias,
Córdoba, p. 166–196.
Archangelsky, S., C. L. Azcuy, C. R. González, and N.
Sabattini, 1987, Correlacion general de biozonas, in S.
Archangelsky, ed., El sistema Carbonifero en la República
Argentina: Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Córdoba,
p. 281–292.
Azcuy, C. L., R. R. Andreis, A. Cuerda, M. A. Hunicken, M. V.
Pensa, D. A. Valencio, and J. F. Vilas, 1987, Cuenca
Paganzo, in S. Archangelsky, ed., El sistema Carbonifero
en la República Argentina: Academia Nacional de
Ciencias, Córdoba, p. 41–99.
Bossi, G., and R. R. Andreis, 1985, Secuencias delteaicas y
lacustres del Carbonifero del centro-oeste Argentino, X:
Congreso International de Estratigrafia y Geologia del
Carbonifero, Madrid, v. 3, p. 285–309.
Brodzikowski, K. and A. J. Van Loon, 1991, Glacigenic
sediments, in Developments in Sedimentology, Elsevier,
v. 49, 674 p.
Caputo, M. V., and J. C. Crowell, 1985, Migration of glacier
centers across Gondwana during Paleozoic era: GSA
Bulletin, v. 96, p. 1020–1036.
Coleman, A. P., 1926, Ice Ages: Recent and Ancient: New
York, MacMillan, 296 p.
Crowell, J. C., 1957, Origin of pebbly mudstone: GSA Bulletin,
v. 68, p. 993–1010.
Crowell, J. C., 1983, Ice ages recorded on Gondwanan conti-
nents: Transactions of the Geological Society of South
Africa, v. 86, p. 237–262.
Daemon, R. F., L. P. Quadros, A. T. Picarelli, M. M. Toigo, and
M. C. Klepzig, 1992, Arcabouco Bioestratigrafico da Bacia
do Paraná-Grupo Itararé: Petrobras Report Projeto 01. 02.
42, 110 p.
Derby, O. A., 1888, Spuren einer Carbonen eiszeit in
Sudamerika: Neues Jahrbuch fur Min., v. 2, p. 172–176.
Diaz, E., and J. C. Lema, 1991, Diamictitas Glaciomarinas en el
Carbonifero del Altiplano norte de Bolivia: sedimentología
e interpretación de ambientes sedimentarios, 6to: Congreso
Geológico Chileno, Viña del Mar.
Dickins, J. M., 1985, Late Paleozoic glaciation: Bureau of
Mineral Resources Journal of Australian Geology and
Geophysics, v. 9, p. 163–169.
Dickins, J. M., 1993, Climate of the Late Devonian to Triassic:
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,
v. 100, 89–97.
dos Santos, P. R., 1987, Facies e evolucao paleogeografica do
subgrupo Itararé/grupo aquidauana (Neopaleozoico) na
Bacia do Paraná, Brasil: Ph.D. dissertation, University of
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, two volumes.
Du Toit, A. L., 1927, A geological comparison of South
America with South Africa: Carnegie Institution, Publica-
tion 381, Washington, D.C., 128 p.
Eyles, C. H., N. Eyles, and A. D. Miall, 1985, Models of
glaciomarine deposition and their applications to ancient
glacial sequences: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology, v. 51, p. 15–84.
Eyles, C. H., N. Eyles, and A. B. França, 1993, Late Paleozoic
glaciation in an active intracratonic basin—Itararé Group,
Paraná basin, Brazil: Sedimentology, v. 40, p. 1–25.
Eyles, N., 1990, Late Precambrian “tillites” of the Avalonian-
Cadomian belt; marine debris flows in an active tectonic
181
setting: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoe-
cology, v. 79, p. 73–98.
Eyles, N., 1993, Earth’s glacial record and its tectonic setting:
Earth Science Reviews, v. 35, p. 1–248.
Eyles, N., and C. H. Eyles, 1989, Glacially influenced deep
marine sedimentation of the late Precambrian Gaskiers
Formation, Newfoundland, Canada: Sedimentology, v. 36,
p. 601–620.
Eyles, N., and C. H. Eyles, 1992, Glacial depositional systems,
in R. G.Walker and N. P. James, eds., Facies models:
response to sea-level change: Geological Association of
Canada Special Publication, p. 73–100.
Eyles, N., and C. H. Eyles, 1993, Glacial geologic confirmation
of an intraplate boundary crossing the Paraná basin of
Brazil: Geology, v. 21, p. 459–462.
Eyles, N., C. H. Eyles, and A. D. Miall, 1983, Lithofacies types
and vertical profile modes: an alternative approach to the
description and environmental interpretation of glacial
diamict sequences: Sedimentology, v. 30, p. 393–410.
Frakes, L. A., and J. C. Crowell, 1969, Late Paleozoic glacia-
tion: I, South America: GSA Bulletin, v. 80, p. 1007–1042.
Frakes, L. A., and J. C. Crowell, 1972, Late Paleozoic glacial
geography between the Paraná basin and the Andean
geosyncline: Anales Academie Brasileira Ciencias, v. 44,
p. 139–145.
França, A. B., and P. E. Potter, 1991, Stratigraphy and
reservoir potential of glacial deposits of the Itararé Group
(Carboniferous–Permian), Paraná basin, Brazil: AAPG
Bulletin, v. 75, p. 62–85.
Goldstein, B. A., 1989, Waxing and waning in stratigraphy,
play concepts and prospectivity in the Canning basin:
Australian Petroleum Exploration Association Journal, v.
29, p. 466–508.
González, C. R., 1981, Pavimento glaciario en el Carbónico de
la Precordillera: Revista de la Asociación Geológica
Argentina, v. 36, p. 262–266.
González, C. R, 1990, Development of the late Paleozoic
glaciations of the South American Gondwana in western
Argentina: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoe-
cology, v. 79, p. 275–287.
González Bonorino, F., and G. González Bonorino, 1988, La
base del Grupo Tepuel en las cercanias de Esquel, Chubut:
Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina, v. 43,
p. 518–528.
González Bonorino, G., 1991, Late Paleozoic orogeny in the
northwestern Gondwana continental margin, western
Argentina and Chile: Journal of South American Earth
Sciences, v. 4, p. 131–144.
González Bonorino, G., 1992, Carboniferous glaciation in
Gondwana: evidence for grounded marine ice and conti-
nental glaciation in southwestern Argentina: Palaeogeog-
raphy, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 91, p. 363–375.
González Bonorino, G., G. Rafine, V. Vega, and D. Guerin,
1988, Ambientes de plataforma neritica dominada por
tormentas en la sección glacigénica del Grupo Tepuel
(Paleozoico superior), en las sierras de Tepuel y de Tecka,
Chubut noroccidental, Argentina: Revista de la Asociación
Geológica Argentina, v. 43, p. 239–252.
Grahn, Y., and Caputo, M. V., 1992, Early Silurian glaciations
in Brazil: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoe-
cology, v. 99, p. 9–15.
Hambrey, M. J., and W. B. Harland, eds., 1981, Earth’s Pre-
Pleistocene Glacial Record: Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press, 1004 p.
Helwig, J., 1972, Stratigraphy, sedimentation, paleogeog-
raphy, and paleoclimates of Carboniferous (“Gondwana”)
182 Eyles et al.
and Permian of Bolivia: AAPG Bulletin, v. 56,
p. 1008–1033.
Hesse, R., and A. Rakofsky, 1992, Deep-sea
channel/submarine Yazoo system of the Labrador Sea: A
new deep-water facies model: AAPG Bulletin, v. 76,
p. 680–707.
Horsthemke, E., S. Ledendecker, and H. Porada, 1990, Deposi-
tional environments and stratigraphic correlation of the
Karoo Sequence in northwestern Damaraland: Communi-
cations of the Geological Survey of Namibia, v. 6, p. 63–73.
Langford, R. P., 1991, Permian coal and paleogeography of
Gondwana: Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources
Record, 1991/95, p. 136.
Leighton, M. W., and D. R. Kolata, 1990, Selected interior
cratonic basins and their place in the scheme of global
tectonics: a synthesis, in M. W. Leighton, D. R. Kolata, D. F.
Oltz, and J. J. Eidel, eds., Interior cratonic basins: AAPG
Memoir 51, 729–799.
Levell, B. K., J. H. Braakman, and K. W. Rutten, 1988, Oil-
bearing sediments of Gondwana glaciation in Oman:
AAPG Bulletin, v. 72, p. 775–796.
López Gamundi, O., 1983, Modelo de sedimentación glacima-
rina para la Formación Hoyada Verde, Paleozoico superior
de la provincia de San Juan: Revista de la Asociación
Geológia Argentina, v. 38, p. 60–72.
López Gamundi, O., 1986, Sedimentologia de la Formación
Tarija, carbonifero de la Siera de Aguarague, Provincia de
la Salta, Argentina: Revista Asociación Geológia
Argentina, v. 41, p. 334–355.
López Gamundi, O., C. L. Azcuy, A. Cuerda, D. A. Valencio,
and J. F. Vilas, 1987, Cuencas Río Blanco y Calingasta-
Uspallata, in S. Archangelsky, ed., El Sistema Carbonifero
en la República Argentina: Academia Nacional de
Ciencias, Córdoba, p. 101–132.
López Paulsen, O., M. López Pugliesi, R. Suárez Soruco, and J.
Oler Veramendi, 1992, Estratigrafía, facies, ambientes y
tectónicas fan erozoicas en un sector de la Cordillera de los
Andes, Sucre, Chuquisaca (abs.): I Conferencia Interna-
cional de las Cuencas Fanerozoicas del Gondwana sudoc-
cidental, Santa Cruz, p. 56.
Martin, H., 1953, Notes on the Dwyka succession and some
pre-Dwyka valleys in South West Africa: Transactions,
Geological Society of South Africa, v. LVI, p. 37–41.
Martin, H., 1964, The directions of flow of the Itarare ice
sheets in the Paraná basin: Boletin Paranaense de
Geografia, v. 12, p. 25–79.
Martin, H., H. Mau, and A. J. S. Bjornberg, 1958, Vale pre-
glacial a nordeste de Jundial, São Paulo: Boletin Societe
Brasilero Geologica, v. 8, p. 35–39.
Mau, H., 1960, Vale pre-glacial ao norte de Lavras do Sul, Rio
Grande do Sul: Boletin Societe Brasilero Geologica v. 9,
p. 79–82.
McCaslin, J. C., 1979, Eastern Bolivia’s Carboniferous system
draws interest: Oil and Gas Journal, v. 77, p. 199.
Milana, J. P., and F. Bercowski, 1987, Rasgos erosivos y
depositacionales glaciales en el neopaleozoico de
Precordillera Central, San Juan, Argentina, in late
Paleozoic of South America: IUGS-UNESCO Proy eto 211
Annual Meeting Abstracts, p. 56–59.
Mingramm, A., A. Russo, A. Pozzo, and L. Cazau, 1979,
Sierras Subandinas, in Segundo Simposio de Geología
Regional de Argentina: Academia Nacional de Ciencias,
Cordoba, v. I, p. 95–137.
Montes, de Oca, I. M., 1989, Geografia y. Recursos Naturales
de Bolivia: La Paz, Bolivia, Academia Nacional de Ciencias
de Bolivia, 574 p.
O’Brien, P. E., J. F. Lindsay, P. N. Southgate, M. J. Jackson, J.
M. Rennard, and M. J. Sexton, 1992, Sequence stratigraphy
of glacial sediments in an intracratonic basin—Grant
Group, Canning basin, Western Australia: AAPG Bulletin,
v. 76, p. 1120.
Oliveira, L. O. A., 1989, Aspectos da evoluçao termomecanica
da bacia do Paraná no Brasil: Revista Brasileira de Geocien-
cias, v. 19, p. 330–342.
Page, R. F. N., C. O. Limarino, O. López Gamundi, and S.
Page, 1984, Estratigrafia del Grupo Tepuel en su perfil tipo
y en la región El Molle, provincia del Chubot: IX Congr.
Geol. Argentino, Bariloche, v. I, p. 619–632.
Pezzi, E. E., and M. E. Mozetic, 1989, Cuencas sedimentarias
de la región Chaco, in G. Chebli and L. A. Spalletti, eds.,
Cuencas Sedimentarias Argentinas: Universidade
Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina, p. 65–78.
Prior, D. B., and B. D. Bornhold, 1986, Sediment transport on
subaqueous fan delta slopes, Britannia Beach, British
Columbia: Geo-Marine Letters, v. 5, p. 217–224.
Ramos, V. A., 1989, The birth of southern South America:
American Scientist, v. 77, p. 444–450.
Redfern, J., 1991, Subsurface facies analysis of Permo-
carboniferous glacigenic sediments, Canning basin,
Western Australia, in H. Ulbrich and A. C. Rocha-Campos,
eds., Gondwana Seven Proceedings: Instituto de Geoscien-
cias, Universidade de São Paulo, p. 349–363.
Rocha-Campos, A. C., R. G. de Carvalho, and A. J. Amos,
1977, A Carboniferous (Gondwana) fauna from subandean
Bolivia: Revista Brasileira de Geociencias, v. 7, p. 287–304.
Rocha-Campos, A. C., and P. R. dos Santos, 1981, The Itararé
Subgroup, Aquidauana Group, and San Gregorio
Formation, Paraná basin, southeastern South America, in
M. J. Hambrey and W. B. Harland, eds., Earth’s Pre-Pleis-
tocene Glacial Record: Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press, p. 842–852.
Russo, A., R. Ferello, and G. Chebli, 1979, Llanura Chaco
Pampeana, in Segundo Simposio de Geología Regional de
Argentina: Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Córdoba, v. 1,
p. 139–183.
Russo, A., S. Archangelsky, and J. C. Gamerro, 1980, Los
depósitos suprapaleozoicos en el subsuelo de la Ilanura
Chaco-Pampeana, Argentina: 2° Congr. Argentino Paleon-
tologie, y Bioestratigraphie, v. 4, p. 157–173.
Salfity, J., C. L. Azcuy, O. López Gamundi, D. A. Valencio,
and J. F. Vilas, 1987, Cuenca Tarija, in S. Archangelsky, ed.,
El Sistema Carbonifero en la Republica Argentina:
Academica Nacional de Ciencias, Córdoba, p. 15–39.
Salinas, C., J. Oblitas, and C. Vargas, 1978, Exploración del
Sistema Carbonifero en la Cuenca Oriental de Bolivia:
Revista Técnica Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Boli-
vianos, v. 7, p. 5–49.
Sempere, T., 1995, Phanerozoic evolution of Bolivia and
Adjacent regions, in A. J. Tankard, R. Suarez, and H. J.
Welsink, Petroleum basins of South America: AAPG
Memoir 62, this volume.
Slatt, R. M., 1984, Continental shelf topography: key to under-
standing distribution of shelf sand-ridge deposits from
Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway: AAPG Bulletin, v. 68,
p. 1107–1120.
Starck, D, E. Gallardo, and A. E. Schulz, 1992, La cuenca de
Tarija: Estratigrafia de la proción Argentina: Boletin de
informaciones Petroleras, Ano IX, no. 30, p. 2–14.
Suarez, R., 1989, El ciclo cordillerano (Siluro-Carbonifero
interior) en Bolivia y su relación con passes limitrofes:
Revista Technica de Yaciementos Petrolíferos Fiscales
olivianos, v. 10, p. 233–243.
 Hydrocarbon-Bearing Late Paleozoic Glaciated Basins of Southern and Central South America 183

Syvitski, J. P. M., and G. E. Farrow, 1989, Fjord sedimentation Authors’ Mailing Addresses
as an analogue for small hydrocarbon-bearing fan deltas,
in M. K. G. Whateley and K. T. Pickering, eds., Deltas: sites N. Eyles
and traps for fossil fuels: Geological Society of London,
Glaciated Basin Research Group
Special Publication 23, p. 21–43.
Tankard, A. J., M. A. Uliana, H. J. Welsink, V. A. Ramos, M. Department of Geology
Turic, A. B. Franca, E. J. Milani, B. B. de Brito Neves, N. Scarborough Campus
Eyles, H. de Santa Ana et al., 1995, Tectonic controls of University of Toronto
basin evolution in southwestern Gondwana, in A. J. Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4
Tankard, R. Suarez, and H. J. Welsink, Petroleum basins of Canada
South America: AAPG Memoir 62, this volume.
Veevers, J. J., and C. Mc.A. Powell, 1987, Late Paleozoic glacial G. Gonzalez Bonorino
episodes in Gondwanaland reflected in transgressive-
Department of Geology
regressive depositional sequences in Euramerica: GSA
Bulletin, v. 98, p. 475–487. Conicet-University of Buenos Aires
Visser, J. N. J., 1989, Episodic Palaeozoic glaciation in the Buenos Aires 1428
Cape-Karoo basin, South Africa: in J. Oerlemans, ed., Argentina
Glacier Fluctuations and Climate Change: Boston, Kluwer,
p. 1–12. A. B. França
Visser, T., 1990, The age of the late Palaeozoic glacigene Petrobras/Nexpar
deposits in southern Africa: South African Journal of Rua Padre Camargo 285
Geology, v. 93, p. 361–375.
80060 Curitiba, PR
Walker, R. G., 1992, Turbidites and submarine fans, in R. G.
Walker and N. P. James, eds., Facies models—response to Brazil
sea level change: Geological Association of Canada Special
Publication, p. 239–264. C. H. Eyles
Wegener, A., 1929, The Origin of Continents and Oceans: Department of Geography
New York, Dover Publications, 260 p. McMaster University
Williams, B. P. J., E. K. Wild, and R. J. Suttill, 1985, Paraglacial Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1
aeolianites: potential new hydrocarbon reservoirs, Canada
Gidgealpa Group, southern Cooper basin: Australian
Petroleum Exploration Association Journal, v. 25,
p. 291–310. O. López Paulsen
Young, G. M., and V. A. Gostin, 1991, Late Proterozoic YPFB, Gerencia de Exploración
(Sturtian) succession of the North Flinders basin, South Santa Cruz
Australia: an example of temperate glaciation in an active Bolivia
rift setting, in J. B. Anderson and G. M. Ashley, eds.,
Glacial marine sedimentation: paleoclimatic significance:
GSA Special Paper 261, p. 207–223.
Youngs, B. C., 1975, The geology and hydrocarbon potential
of the Pedirka basin: Department of Mines, Geological
Survey of South Australia, Report of Investigations, v. 44,
p. 41.
Zalán, P. V., S. Wolff, M. A. M. Astolfi, I. S. Viera, J. C. J.
Concelçao, V. T. Appi, E. V. S. Neto, J. R. Cerqueria, and A.
Margues, 1990, The Paraná basin, Brazil, in M. W.
Leighton, D. R. Kolata, D. F. Oltz, and J. J. Eidel, eds.,
Interior cratonic basins: AAPG Memoir 51, p. 681–708.