Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85

Sedimentology of the Pliocene Upper Onzole Formation, an

inner-trench slope succession in northwestern Ecuador
K.R. Aalto*, W. Miller III
Department of Geology, Humboldt State University Arcata, California, 95521, USA

Abstract

The Pliocene Upper Onzole Formation exposed in the vicinity of Punta Gorda, near Esmeraldas, Ecuador, is composed
mainly of ®ne-grained mud turbidites, having regular vertical sequences of sedimentary structures associated with a positive
grading, and bioturbation restricted mostly to the tops of beds. The remainder of beds measured consist of volcanic ash, mud
pelagite, and glauconitic silt±sand turbidites. Vertical sequential analysis of stratigraphic sections for the most part show no
pronounced trends in bed thickness or grain size. Volcanic ashes are crystal±vitric tu€s occurring in four bedding styles: (A)
normally-graded ashes with burrowed gradational tops and sharp wavy bases; (B) ashes that form part of a complex
microstratigraphy consisting of thinly-bedded mudstone, silt±sand turbidites, tu€aceous mudstone, and ash beds; (C) less
conspicuous ash laminae and ash-®lled burrows; and (D) a tu€aceous bed with ash and mud swirled together in convolute
layers. Ash chemistry suggests an Andean high-K calc-alkaline provenance. Facies relations, paleontologic data and regional
geologic setting suggest sediment accumulation on an inner trench slope in a basin situated oceanward of the Pliocene trench±
slope break. Faulting is extensive and re¯ects two deformational episodes, the youngest involving Holocene marine and ¯uvial
terraces. Faults group into an older, northerly trending, listric set, and a younger, west±northwest-trending high-angle set. Fault
striations of both sets suggest dominantly dip±slip motion. The faults re¯ect an episode of latest Pliocene through Quaternary
trench-normal extension in the forearc, followed by trench-parallel extension. Both sets of faults crosscut large northeast-
trending regional folds. Post-Pliocene changes in stress regime, from generally northwest±southeast compression, to east±west
tension, to north±northeast±south±southwest tension probably re¯ect change in stress vectors that resulted from the ongoing
collision of the leading edge of the South America plate with the thick oceanic crust of the Carnegie Ridge. # 1999 Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resumen

La formacioÂn de la Onzole Superior (Plioceno) situado cerca de la Punta Gorda (Esmeraldas, Ecuador) consiste
predominantemente de las turbiditas de arcilla limosa que exhõÂ ben sequencias de estructuras sedimentarias regulares,
estrati®cacioÂn gradual normal y bioturbacioÂn en las porcioÂnes altas de las capas. Las otras capas consisten en ceniza, arcilla
pelaÂgica y turbiditas glauconiticas. AnaÂlisis de las sequencias verticales de la seccioÂn estratigra®ca por la mayorõ a no exhiben
tendencias regulares con respecto a espesura o caraterõÂ sticas. Faltan consolidacioÂn en las cenizas. Pueden ser arcillosas, y tienen
composicioÂn de vidrio volcaÂnico y cristales. Hay cuatro formas de tobas: (A) los que tienen estrati®cacioÂn gradual normal,
bioturbacioÂn en las porcioÂnes altas de las capas y contacto inferior bien marcado, (B) capas con mezcla compleja de cenizas y
laminadas delgadas o estrati®cacioÂn gradual normal de limo y arcilla, (C) cenizas laminadas asociado con madrigueras llena de
ceniza, y (D) capas de ceniza, limo y arcilla que exhiben estrato-convoluto. La composicioÂn quõÂ mica de las cenizas (calcoalcalina
potaÂsica) indica origen Andino. Las facies sedimentarias, paleontologõÂ a y geologõÂ a regional indican que estos sedimentos se
acumulaban en una fosa marina de la ladera hacia el arco volaÂnico Plioceno. Hay muchas fallas normales en la seccioÂn que
re¯ejan dos eÂpocas de deformacioÂn. Fallas de la primera eÂpoca son lõÂ stricas y tienen direcioÂnes aproximadamente hacia el norte;
fallas de la segunda eÂpoca tienen direcioÂnes hacia el oeste±noroeste y desplazan las terrazas Holocenas. Los dos grupos de fallas

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +001-707-826-4978; fax: +001-707-826-5241.

E-mail addresses: kral@axe.humboldt.edu (K.R. Aalto), wm1@axe.humboldt.edu (W. Miller III)

0895-9811/99/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 8 9 5 - 9 8 1 1 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 0 5 - X
70 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85

cruzan las pliegues regionales con rumbo al nordeste. Los cambios Pliocene±Cuaternarios desde la contraccioÂn noroeste±sudeste,
hasta la extensioÂn aproximadamente este±oeste, hasta la extensioÂn aproximadamente norte±sur tal vez se re¯ejan la colisioÂn del
continente con la Arista Carnegie. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction 2. Sedimentary sequence

Our purpose is to describe the sedimentology and 2.1. Introduction

structural geology of a portion of the Pliocene
Upper Onzole Formation exposed at Punta Gorda,
near Esmeraldas, Ecuador (Fig. 1). The coast of
Ecuador is an excellent place to see deepsea sedi-
ments exposed on land. Seacli€s reveal thick succes-
sions of mudstone that were deposited for the most
part on the inner trench slope of the continental
margin during the Neogene. Prior to this study,
these deposits were chie¯y the object of micro- and
macropaleontologic study (e.g. Olsson, 1964; Vokes,
1988; Whittaker, 1988). More recently, Miller and
Vokes (1995a,b, 1998) have studied the well-pre-
served ichnofauna of the Upper Onzole Formation.
Our focus in this paper is on the overall geologic
setting of this ichnofauna, particularly on the sedi-
mentology. However, observations on the structural
geology of and tectonic setting for deposition of the
Upper Onzole Formation are also included. The re-
gional stratigraphy and geologic setting of the Upper
Onzole Formation in the Esmeraldas region is
reviewed by Evans and Cervallos (1980) and Evans
and Whittaker (1982).
A total of 308.5 m of stratigraphic section within the
Pliocene Upper Onzole Formation was measured along
coastal seacli€s and abrasion platforms in the vicinity of
Esmeraldas, northwestern Ecuador (Fig. 1). The part of
the section we examined is divided into four segments,
separated by large regional faults across which corre-
lations are uncertain. These include a segment at Punta
Gorda and three segments southwest of Estero Culiba,
herein referred to as the lower, middle and upper south
sections. Within each segment extensive stratigraphic
repetition across pervasive normal faults is common, but
stratigraphic continuity can be established by carefully
noting relative spacing and thickness of the numerous
volcanic ash layers. It appears that the segments are
indeed separate portions of what was once a continuous
stratigraphic section. Because of extensive fault rep-
etition, the overall thickness of the Upper Onzole
Formation in this area is much less than one would esti-
mate based solely upon the fairly constant homoclinal
dip and length of exposure along the coast (cf. Miller and
Vokes, 1998, Fig. 2).

Fig. 1. Location map of study site.

 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85 71

Table 1
Characteristics of 415 beds measured

Bed type % of total Mean thickness Std Dev Range

Ashes 9 9 8 1±18
With basal Bouma division(s) 9 30 37 8±157
With basal E1 division 39 35 16 4±220
With basal E2 division 30 41 6 5±180
With basal E3 division 12 52 32 7±250
Pelagite (F) bed 1 138 103 3±260

2.2. Bedding and sequence characteristics
Thickness, texture and primary structures of over
400 individual beds were noted (Table 1). Most are
greenish±gray to brown mudstones that qualify as ®ne-
grained mud turbidites, having regular vertical
sequences of sedimentary structures associated with a
positive grading and with bioturbation restricted
mostly to the tops of beds (Fig. 2). Restriction of bur-
rows to the uppermost portions of beds is a common
feature among mud turbidites, re¯ecting a widely
recognized maximum thickness for penetration by
most burrowing organisms of about 20 cm (Hesse,
1975). This suggests that the endobenthic trace produ-
cers were eliminated during deposition of thicker turbi-
dite beds and reestablished during relatively quiet
background intervals of pelagic/hemipelagic sedimen-
tation.
Among mud turbidites, bedding features are
recorded following the models of Stow and Piper
(1984, Fig. 3) or Stow (1977), depending upon quality
of exposure (Table 2). The Stow and Piper model can
be applied to nearly all unsheared mud turbidite beds.
It served our purposes better than the revised version
of the model presented by Pickering et al. (1989, Fig.
2.9). Stow's more detailed subdivisions of Piper's E1,
E2 and E3 divisions could be recognized only at the
wave-washed bedding exposures. Elsewhere, mud-
cracking of outcrop surfaces and fracturing obscured
the more subtle bedding features.
The remainder of beds measured consist of light-
gray volcanic ash, greenish±gray to brown mud pela-
gite beds, and turbidites having basal ®ne- to medium-
grained sandy divisions. No channeling exists beneath
these beds and no sole marks were observed. Because
of the coarseness and internal primary sedimentary
structures of the basal turbidite sediments, they could
not be described employing any of the ®ne-grained tur-
bidite models listed above. Basal layers of these beds
are described utilizing the classical Bouma sequence in
combination with the Stow and Piper model, even

Table 2
Mud turbidite facies models after Piper (1978) and Stow (1977)

Piper division Stow division Description

F P Bioturbated, pelagite/hemipelagite
T8 Bioturbated, ungraded turbidite mud
E3 T7 Ungraded turbidite mud
E2 T6 Graded turbidite mud2silt lenses
T5 Wispy silt laminae
T4 Indistinct silt laminae
Fig. 2. Mud turbidites (facies E2) of the lower south section. Scale is E1 T3 Regular parallel silt laminae
marked in cm and dm (painted lines). From base to top (beneath the T2 Irregular, thin lenticular silt laminae
scale), an E1±E2 (T2±6) bed is overlain (at `a') by an E2±E3 (T6±8) T1 Convolute silt laminae
bed. Note the ash-®lled burrows at the top of the second bed (b) and T0 Thick basal lenticular silt laminae
extensive fracturing of outcrop surfaces.
72 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85
Fig. 3. Stratigraphic log of the lower south section depicting successive thickness of beds from base to top. An `A' indicates the position of pro-
minent ash horizons. The arrow indicates an interval of sheared mudstone with approximate interval thickness shown in meters.
though the coarse basal sands in many instances con-
stituted only a small portion of the bed.
Vertical sequential analysis of the sections measured
is presented in Figs. 3, 5, 6 and 7. Data for all sections
are ambiguous. No obvious bed thickness trends exist
in the Punta Gorda and lower south sections, however
the middle and upper south sections display several
poorly developed thickening-upwards cycles. Analysis
of bedding characteristics within these cycles shows no
consistent change in the types of beds within each
cycle.
2.3. Volcanic ash accumulations
Light-colored tu€ layers are common in the Upper
Onzole mudrocks that we examined. These ash ac-
cumulations are light gray and stand out in sharp con-
trast to the surrounding greenish±gray mudrocks. In
general, the ashes are mostly unconsolidated, in some
cases slightly muddy, crystal±vitric tu€s occurring in
four bedding styles. Petrologic characteristics are
described in the next section.
The most conspicuous ash layers are 10±85 mm
thick, normally graded (having crystal-rich basal div-
isions 2±3 mm thick), ®ne-to coarse-grained tu€s that
extend laterally for at least tens of meters (Figs. 8 and
9, style A). These beds have burrowed gradational
tops and sharp wavy bases, and vary in thickness by
as much as 20±30 mm over <1 m lateral distance.
Burrows pipe in mud from above the ashes and pene-
trate completely some of the thinner beds. Trace fossils
containing ash, either as apparently structureless ®ll or
as pellets, are tiered (Fig. 8, style A) and extend for up
to 16 cm below the tu€ beds (Miller and Vokes, 1998).
A related style of ash accumulation occurs in the parts
of the section containing the relatively coarse-grained
turbidite beds (Fig. 8, style B). These ashes are similar
in geometry and thickness, but form part of a complex
microstratigraphy consisting of successions of thinly
bedded mudstone, silt±sand turbidites, tu€aceous mud-
stone, and the ash beds. Less conspicuous ash laminae
also are common, as are isolated ash-®lled burrows
originally located below thin ash layers that have been
obliterated by bioturbation or by physical erosion
(Fig. 8, styles C1 and C2). The ash within laminae
appears to be structureless; many of the isolated bur-
rows contain ash that is distinctly pelleted. One tu€ac-
eous bed was 19±25 cm thick and consisted of light
gray ash, light yellowish±brown sand and greenish±
gray tu€aceous mud swirled together in convolute
layers (Fig. 8, style D).
The thickness, lateral continuity, normal grading,
and relative purity of style A and B ashes strongly
suggest that these layers accumulated from airfalls
reaching the continental margin and that resedimenta-
tion was minimal (Ledbetter and Sparks, 1979; Fisher
and Schmincke, 1984). Style C ash laminae could rep-
resent comparatively smaller airfall events or could be
 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85 73

Fig. 4. Geochemical patterns from XRF analysis of Upper Onzole Formation ashes showing major elements (weight %; recalculated with water
omitted). Sample numbers on abscissa.

resedimented. The convolute bed (style D) is a tu€ac-
eous turbidite. Petrologic properties and the prevailing
east±west ¯owing wind and drainage systems at the
northwestern margin of Ecuador point to volcanic
sources for all the ashes in the Andean massif, some
200 km to the east of our study area.
2.4. Interpretation
The considerable thickness of many mud turbidite
beds (Table 1) suggests that they were deposited by
successive, large muddy turbidity currents. The sec-
tions measured consist of a mix of facies D2 (orga-
nized silts and muddy silts) and E2.1 (graded muds) of
Pickering et al. (1986). Facies D2 consists of abundant
thick siltstones and claystones with both irregular and
regular silt and clay laminae. Facies E2.1 consists of
graded mud beds. Pickering et al. (1986) suggest that
the latter facies (E2.1) is indicative of distal basinal set-
tings. The silt and mud laminae re¯ect regular sedi-
ment in¯ux via low-concentration turbidity currents,
but the regular occurrence of extensive patterns of bio-
turbation at the tops of graded mud beds indicates
that currents were infrequent enough to permit estab-
lishment of complex benthic ecosystems. The sand
component among beds measured that exhibit basal
74 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85

Fig. 5. Stratigraphic log of the Punta Gorda section depicting successive thickness of beds from base to top. An `A' indicates the position of pro-
minent ash horizons. The arrow indicates an interval of sheared mudstone with approximate interval thickness shown in meters.

Fig. 6. Stratigraphic log of the middle south section depicting successive thickness of beds from base to top. An `A' indicates the position of pro-
minent ash horizons. The arrow indicates an interval of sheared mudstone with approximate interval thickness shown in meters.
 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85
Fig. 7. Stratigraphic log of the upper south section depicting successive thickness of beds from base to top. An `A' indicates the position of pro-
minent ash horizons. The arrow indicates an interval of sheared mudstone with approximate interval thickness shown in meters.
Bouma Ta, Tb or Tc divisions is mainly composed of
glauconite pellets. Thus the basin in which these beds
accumulated was either cut o€ or distant from sources
of coarse clastics.
The absence of associated slump deposits at these or
other outcrops of the Upper Onzole Formation in the
Esmeraldas region (Evans and Whittaker, 1982) seems
to preclude deposition on a bathymetric slope.
Although some examples of mud turbidites deposited
on sloping sea¯oors exist (Griggs and Kulm, 1970;
Stanley and Maldonado, 1981), it is dicult to envi-
sion such regionally extensive accumulation of thick
mud turbidites like those in the Upper Onzole
Formation outside of a basinal setting. Deposition in a
trench±slope basin that was largely cut o€ from input
of coarse clastics remains a likely possibility, although
shelly debris-¯ow or turbidite beds have been described
by several workers interested in the rich, transported
molluscan fauna (summarized in Vokes, 1988). The
source of muddy sediments might well have been shelf-
margin or slope muds, and ultimately an ancestral RõÂ o
Esmeraldas. Previous studies on foraminiferids suggest
deposition of this portion of the Upper Onzole
Formation at upper bathyal depths (Whittaker, 1988).
Away from large faults, the mudstones are unsheared
and lack ®ssility suggesting that they were never deeply
buried, because stratal disruption is commonly
observed at depths as shallow as 150 m among modern
trench±slope sediments (Lundberg and Moore, 1986).
75
Regionally, deposition of the Upper Onzole
Formation is thought to record a deepening-upward,
shallow- to deep-marine depositional cycle re¯ecting
Late Neogene (ca. 3±5 Ma) inundation in response to
both eustasy and tectonic subsidence of the northwest
Ecuadorian continental margin (Evans and Whittaker,
1982; Whittaker, 1988). Our study encompasses rocks
in the upper portion of this cycle. A coeval (?), coarse-
grained submarine canyon-®ll deposit is exposed on
the road between Las Palmas and Esmeraldas, ap-
proximately 9 km to the northeast of Punta Gorda
(Evans and Whittaker, 1982; Whittaker, 1988; Miller
and Vokes, 1998). This deposit contains siliciclastic
sediment gravity-¯ow deposits. The absence of similar
deposits in our study area suggests either that this can-
yon system did not connect with the basin in which
our section accumulated, that turbidity currents were
of insucient size to transport coarse clastics over this
9 km distance and/or were directed elsewhere, or that
such sediments simply were not exposed in our study
area. Structural isolation of depositional upper trench±
slope basins is common in sediment-rich forearcs (e.g.,
Underwood, 1984, 1985; Moore and Shipley, 1988;
Underwood and Moore, 1995).
We favor the trench±slope basin setting, rather than
an outer forearc basin setting, for several reasons.
First, most forearc basins are commonly characterized
by coarsening-upwards, rather than ®ning-upwards
deposequences (Dickinson, 1995; Underwood and
76 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85

basin while coeval coarse sediment gravity-¯ows were

excavating canyons in the same area.
The water depths suggested by the basinal fauna
preserved in Punta Gorda rocks exceed those of most
forearc basins, and the character of the mud turbidites
suggests the presence of abundant mud sources (slope
deposits?) upslope of the basin of deposition. Thus we
think the sediments at Punta Gorda accumulated in a
basin situated oceanward of the Pliocene trench±slope
break.

3. Petrology and geochemistry

3.1. Sandstone

Only two of the sandy deposits sampled were coarse

enough to point-count, one from the Punta Gorda sec-

Fig. 8. Styles of volcanic ash accumulation. (Style A) Thick, nor-

mally graded ash having a burrowed top and sharp, wavy base. A
thick crystal layer forms lowest division; above this layer ash is
coarse- to ®ne-grained. Trace fossil tiering occurs below these beds
(ph, Phymatoderma; ch, Chondrites; zo, Zoophycos ). (Style B) Same
kind of ash layer, but here interstrati®ed with silt-sand turbidites
(light gray), tu€aceous mudstone (medium gray), and the typical sur-
rounding mudstone (dark gray). (Style C) Ash laminae (style C1)
and isolated ash-®lled burrows (C2). (Style D) Convolute turbidite
bed containing a deformed ash layer (white), silt±sand (light gray),
and tu€aceous mud (medium gray). (Scales in A and B marked in
10-cm divisions; in C, 1-cm divisions; and in D, 20-cm divisions.)

Moore, 1995) of the kind observed in the Upper

Onzole (although exceptions exist; e.g., Van der
Lingen, 1982). Second, the abundance of thick Upper
Onzole mud turbidite beds suggests fairly regular
occurrence of large-scale muddy turbidity currents,
which requires abundant muddy source material. Such
a source could logically be found at a trench±slope
break or shelf margin and could account for abundant
resedimented glauconitic sands. Third, the bathyal
depth of sediment accumulation of the Punta Gorda
section is more compatible with a trench±slope basin
than with a forearc basin depositional setting. Lastly,
the canyon-®ll deposit near Esmeraldas is channeled
into bathyal mudstones and contains a basal diamictite
composed of mudstone boulders up to 1 m in diameter
set in a muddy matrix, grading upwards into sand-
stones and pebble conglomerates with trains of mud-
stone blocks. Evans and Whittaker (1982) suggest that
these redeposited sediments ¯owed into a deep-water Fig. 9. Ash-bed stratigraphy. (A) Style A ash bed (a) overlying a dis-
tinctly tiered trace fossil assemblage (between arrows). Dominant
basin via a submarine canyon and are preserved as
shallow-tier structure is Phymatoderma; the deepest burrow system is
channel-®ll deposits cut into basin-¯oor mud turbi- Zoophycos. (B) Close view of bed showing irregular burrowed top
dites. It is dicult to envision deposition of the Punta (b), sharp base marked by thin crystal layer (c), and normal grading
Gorda mud turbidites in the outer reaches of a forearc of coarse to ®ne ash (a). (Ruler in B marked in cms and mms.)
 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85
Fig. 10. MORB-normalized trace element patterns for Upper Onzole
Formation ashes. Presented in the order of Pearce (1983), with nor-
malizing values from Pearce (1982, 1983) for Sc, Cr and Ni. MORB
values from Saunders and Tarney (1984) and Sun (1980) are used for
other elements. Because of plot similarities sample numbers are not
provided.
tion and one from the stratigraphically higher upper
south section. Thin sections were stained for K-feld-
spar and plagioclase. Point counts of 300 grains per
section utilizing the Gazzi±Dickinson counting method
(Ingersoll et al., 1984) yielded %QmFLt=7-30-63 and
%Qt-F-L=13-30-57 for the Punta Gorda medium-
grained sandstone sample. For the upper south section
®ne-grained sandstone sample, detrital modes were
%QmFLt=17-63-20 and %Qt-F-L=21-63-16. The
di€erences between the two samples chie¯y re¯ect a
greater abundance of mudstone and greenstone clasts
among the coarser Punta Gorda sands.
Quartzose grains include monocrystalline (some vol-
canic) quartz, with minor proportions of stretched
metamorphic polycrystalline quartz and radiolarian
chert. Feldspars include both twinned and untwinned
plagioclase and minor K-feldspar. Unstable lithic com-
ponents include mudstone and metavolcanic rock and
minor phyllitic clasts. Trace amounts of muscovite,
77
biotite, augite, hornblende, garnet and epidote are pre-
sent, as are scattered foraminiferids.
3.2. Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash deposits are largely crystal±vitric tu€s
composed of glass shards with lesser amounts of crys-
tals and pumice fragments. Most are normally graded
tu€s having crystal-rich zones at their base that grade
up into shard-rich zones. In thin section, some have in-
ternal microlaminae with laminations de®ned by vary-
ing proportions of crystals versus shards within layers.
Trace element analysis of 18 tu€s utilizing X-ray ¯uor-
escence spectrometry shows little compositional vari-
ation throughout the section (Figs. 4 and 10), so we
were unable to use ash chemistry to correlate the stra-
tigraphic sections.
Comparison of our data with those presented by
Condie (1982) and Pearce (1982) for average destruc-
tive-margin volcanic rocks suggests an arc andesite or
high-K andesite source for the ashes, most likely the
Andean stratovolcanoes to the east. This interpretation
is supported by the similarities of our spider plots
(Figs. 4 and 10) to those presented by Pearce (1983,
®g. 8) for continental calc-alkaline basalts.
Comparisons with major element data and K2O vs
SiO2 discrimination diagrams for Pliocene and
Quaternary volcanic rocks from the northern and cen-
tral Ecuadorian Andes (Barberi et al., 1988) support
an Andean high-K calc-alkaline ash provenance.
4. Paleontology
The Upper Onzole is best known to paleontologists
as the source of a rich Late Neogene molluscan fauna
(Olsson, 1964; Vokes, 1988; Dushane, 1988; Pitt and
Pitt, 1992, 1997; Bianucci et al., 1993). Both deep- and
shallow-water taxa have been described from these
deposits, collected mostly near our study site in the
vicinity of Punta Gorda and from the area around the
mouth of Estero Camarones 18 km to the west. The
richest assemblages are contained in sandy turbidites
or debris-¯ow deposits. Vokes (1988, p. 3) described
these shelly concentrations as `` . . . interlayered gravity-
¯ow lenses that are virtually coquinas of benthic for-
ams and mollusks in a coarse sand matrix''. These
sandy beds are the sources of the shallow-water
species; the surrounding mudrocks contain a di€erent,
deep-water fauna. Although we did not observe the
concentrations of transported mollusks near Punta
Gorda, we did note the occurrence of a sparse deep-
water fauna. The dominant mollusks included the
deep-marine snail Dalium ecuadorium (Fig. 11 B) and
the scaphopod Dentalium sp. (Fig. 11 A), occurring in
isolated concentrations that may have been produced
78 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85

Fig. 11. Macrofossils from Upper Onzole mudrocks near Punta Gorda. (A) Dentalium sp. (B) Dalium ecuadorium. (C) Whale bone (between
arrows). (D) Large fragment of carbonized wood. (E) Unidenti®ed echinoid. (F) Unidenti®ed scleractinian coral. (Scales in A and B represent
2 cm; in C, D and E, 5 cm; and in F, 1 cm.)

by the muddy turbidity currents or by ``normal'' bot-
tom currents. Vokes (1988, textЮg. 8) illustrated
snails from the mudrocks at Punta Gorda that were
concentrated in a burrow. Echinoids (Fig. 11 E) and
scleractinian corals (Fig. 11 F) are less common com-
ponents of the indigenous fauna. Wood clasts (Fig. 11
D) and whale bones (Fig. 11 C) are relatively rare in
the deposits we examined.
The diverse foraminiferid assemblages have proven
especially useful in determining the age of the Upper
Onzole and related units in coastal Ecuador, and for
estimating ocean depths at which these deposits accu-
mulated (Evans and Whittaker, 1982; Hasson and
Fischer, 1986; Whittaker, 1988; Bianucci et al., 1993).
Whittaker's (1988) monograph is the latest comprehen-
sive description of the foraminiferids. Based on the
planktic species, he was able to establish that the
Upper Onzole is entirely within the Pliocene (mostly
within foraminiferid zones N19 and 20, or ca. 3±5
Ma). The sections we examined probably are near the
top of the Upper Onzole, well above the basal SuÂa
Member, so would be close to the minimum age for
the formation. Benthic foraminiferids from mudrocks
above the SuÂa indicate deposition on the continental
slope at upper bathyal depths (500±1000 m).
The well-preserved trace fossils have received atten-
tion only recently (Miller and Vokes, 1995a,b, 1998;
Miller, 1996; Miller and Aalto, 1998). Burrow systems
 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85 79

Fig. 12. Trace fossils. (A) Zoophycos ichnosp., showing a large central shaft. (B) Scolicia ichnosp. (C) Rorschachichnus amoeba. (D) Large cluster
of Phymatoderma granulatum, the dominant biogenic structure in this part of the Upper Onzole. (E) Alcyonidiopsis ichnosp. (F) Complex branch-
ing tunnels of P. granulatum containing regularly positioned secondary tunnels indicating trace producer re-entered primary tunnels and repro-
cessed stores of pellets. (G) Chondrites intricatus. (H) Ophiomorpha nodosa. Only A is vertical; the rest are horizontal exposures. (Ruler in A
marked in cms and mms; in B, C, E, G and H, in cms. Scale bar in D represents 5 cm; in F, 2 cm.)
80 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85

Fig. 13. Northerly-trending listric normal fault (a) cross-cut by a west±northwest-trending planar normal fault (b) that places Holocene terrace
sediments (c) against Onzole Formation mudstones (facies E2). An antithetic normal fault is located to the right of the pack, followed by a syn-
thetic listric normal fault (d). An ash bed o€set by small normal faults is present in the middle center of the photo (e). Backpack is scale.

stand out sharply against the green mudrocks of the
Upper Onzole owing to being ®lled with light-gray vol-
canic ash (Fig. 12), and internal structures are made
clearly visible because burrow ®lls consist of mixtures
of dark mud and the light-colored ash. The richest
assemblages appear to be restricted to tops of muddy
turbidites; burrows belonging to di€erent ichnotaxa
are distinctly tiered beneath the thicker ash accumu-
lations (Figs. 8 and 9). Through the series of sections
the overall ichnofauna is zoned possibly according to
ocean water depth (Miller and Vokes, 1998). The low-
est section at Punta Gorda contains abundant
Zoophycos (Fig. 12 A) and Chondrites (Fig. 12 G); the
majority of the exposure to the southwest of Estero
Culiba (located stratigraphically above the Punta
Gorda beds and possibly re¯ecting deeper-water depo-
sition) contains abundant Phymatoderma (Fig. 12 D,
F) and again Chondrites; while the coarser turbidite
intervals have Alcyonidiopsis (Fig. 12 E) as the domi-
nant predepositional burrow and Ophiomorpha (Fig.
12 H) as the dominant postdepositional structure. The
echinoid burrow Scolicia (Fig. 12 B) locally replaces
Phymatoderma as the most obvious shallow-tier bur-
row system. The distinctive, small burrow system
Rorschachichnus (Fig. 12 C) is associated with
Phymatoderma and Scolicia, but has only been
reported previously from bathyal Neogene deposits of
New Zealand (Gregory, 1991). Most trace-fossil
workers would recognize these ichnoassemblages as in-
dicating deposition at depths intermediate between
those of continental shelves and those of abyssal
regions.
Several of these burrow systems contain pellets
made of fairly pure volcanic ash, which was apparently
ingested or collected by trace producers at the sea¯oor
and conveyed to subsurface storage areas.
Phymatoderma is a particularly interesting biogenic
structure because the trace-producing organism bur-
rowed back into its branching tunnel system in order
to revisit the store of pellets (Fig. 12 F). It is clear that
this burrow system does not record a simple deposit-
feeding behavior, but rather an alternation of feeding
strategies involving surface feeding, subsurface pellet
stowage, and reprocessing of the pellets, which may in-
dicate that the trace producer could exploit times of
plenty (associated with major ashfalls) as well as sur-
vive periods of scanty food supply (Miller and Vokes,
1998; Miller and Aalto, 1998). Ichnotaxa such as
Zoophycos and Phymatoderma have been interpreted
traditionally as subsurface deposit-feeding structures,
but it appears that large, complex burrow systems
such as these are more likely the records of long
periods of occupation and signi®cantly more compli-
cated behavior than previously thought (Miller, 1996).
 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85 81

Fig. 14. Lower hemisphere, equal area projections depicting (a) poles to bedding (C.I.=2%/1% area; N=28), (b) poles to fault planes (N=48),
(c) poles to fault-related foliation (C.I.=2%/1% area; N=12), and (d) plunges of fault striations (plusses for west±northwest-trending fault sur-
faces, dots for northerly-trending listric faults; N=10).

5. Structures shortening followed by regionally variable extension.

5.1. Introduction
Pliocene rocks of the Esmeraldas region are folded
into northeast-trending, broad open folds having wave-
lengths upwards of 2 km, which are crosscut by large
north±northwest to west±northwest-trending normal
faults (Evans and Cervallos, 1980; Evans and
Whittaker, 1982). These structures re¯ect intervals of
latest Pliocene±Quaternary northwest±southeast crustal
Previous authors also recognized earlier Miocene±
Pliocene deformational events re¯ected in local basin
inversion to the southwest of SuÂa (Fig. 1). These ear-
lier events are thought to have resulted in block-fault-
ing of older basin-®ll deposits, but actual faults of this
age have not been recognized in surface mapping in
the Esmeraldas region (Evans and Whittaker, 1982).
The Punta Gorda area is considered to be part of a
less deformed, structurally simple tectonic block within
which most beds strike northwest and dip shallowly to
82 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85

Fig. 15. Depositional and tectonic model for the Upper Onzole Formation of the Punta Gorda area. Model based upon that for the Guatemalan
convergent-extensional margin proposed by Aubouin et al. (1985). Location of the study site is shown in two possible locations relative to the
shelf edge (trench±slope break); (a) Neogene inner trench±slope sediments and inboard equivalents, (b) normal faults, (c) Esmeraldas canyon-fan
system, (d) trench ¯oor, (e) oceanic crust, and (f) subduction zone.

the southwest (Evans and Whittaker, 1982). However,
we ®nd that faulting is extensive and re¯ects two
deformational episodes, the youngest involving
Holocene marine and ¯uvial terraces (Fig. 13). The
strain recorded by these structures di€ers somewhat
from that recorded by Evans and Whittaker for the
region as a whole. The southwest-dipping beds we stu-
died near Punta Gorda might constitute the northern
limb of a broad, regional syncline. However, outcrop-
scale evidence for the earlier interval of northwest±
southeast crustal shortening is absent, except perhaps
for minor fracturing and folding associated with ¯ex-
ural slip con®ned to a restricted interval of the lower
south section.
5.2. Fracture analysis
At Punta Gorda, and the coastal section to the
south, the Upper Onzole Formation displays strati-
graphic section repeated along a series of normal
faults. These faults group into an older, approximately
north±south- to north±northeast-trending, listric older
fracture set, and a younger west±northwest-trending
high-angle fracture set (Figs. 13 and 14).
Fault striations on the north±south- to north±north-
east-trending listric fault surfaces suggest dominantly
dip±slip motion (Fig. 14). Associated with this older
set of faults is a spaced fracture cleavage de®ned by
dark, curvilinear to sinuous S-surfaces. These surfaces
are less than 1 mm wide but tens-of-cm long, oriented
subparallel to listric faults (Fig. 14). This cleavage is
pervasive within footwall blocks, and cleavage surfaces
are spaced over distances as great as several meters
from larger faults. Individual surfaces are spaced milli-
meters apart and de®ned in thin section by cataclastic
deformation resulting in grain diminution, commonly
characterized by small amounts of o€set. These faults
re¯ect an episode of Quaternary east±west extension
that may relate to the east±northeast-west±southwest
extension that produced some of the large faults of the
Esmeraldas region.
Listric faults discussed above are at many sites
clearly crosscut by much larger west±northwest-trend-
ing high-angle normal faults (Fig. 13). Fault striations
suggest chie¯y dip±slip motion (Fig. 14). These faults
crosscut ¯ights of uplifted marginal marine terraces.
The basal terrace sequence at Estero Culiba consists of
1.5 m of laminated sandstone containing well-sorted
lenses of rounded pebbles (interpreted as a beach
deposit) overlain by 1.2 m of normally-graded cobble±
pebble conglomerate, containing subangular poorly
sorted clasts, (interpreted as a stream deposit). These
two deposits are separated by a paleosol. Both deposits
contain pre-Columbian pottery fragments and shell
 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85
middens. Thus the faults that crosscut these terraces
are considered active and responsible for Holocene
coastal uplift.
5.3. Neogene to Recent tectonic history
Daly (1989) documented east±west extensional de-
formation among late Oligocene±middle Miocene
rocks in northwest Ecuador, but did not refer to simi-
lar strain recorded among Pliocene rocks. This defor-
mation resulted in uplift of the southern and eastern
margins of the BorboÂn Basin in the middle Miocene,
which resulted in in¯ux of coarse clastics (middle to
late Miocene Angostura Formation) into the basin
from the east (Evans and Whittaker, 1982; MeÂgard,
1989). Evans and Whittaker (1982) recognize succes-
sive episodes of uplift to the south that resulted in the
in¯ux of coarse clastics into the basin during the early
Pliocene (SuÂa Member of the basal Upper Onzole
Formation) and late Pliocene (Estero Platano Member
within the upper half of the Upper Onzole Formation)
(Evans and Whittaker, 1982). In response to this sec-
ond event some 300 m of coarse-grained turbidite
sandstones were transported to the northeast as far as
SuÂa (Fig. 1). Following deposition of these turbidites,
mudstone deposition and basin deepening resumed,
and the portion of the Upper Onzole exposed at Punta
Gorda accumulated (Evans and Whittaker, 1982).
It is possible that the episode of extensional defor-
mation that produced the older, north-trending faults
in our study area re¯ects reactivation of faults in the
accretionary wedge that were responsible for the earlier
episodes of Neogene basin inversion proposed by
Evans and Whittaker (1982). Daly (1989) relates
trench-normal extension in the forearc to decreasing
plate-convergence rates, which resulted in collapse of
the forearc wedge. Although he does not speci®cally
relate a Neogene (ca. 10 Ma; see Daly, 1989, Fig. 2a)
rate decrease to an episode of extensional deformation,
this decrease may help to explain the genesis of the
older, north-trending faults observed in our study.
Along the continental margin of northern Chile and
Peru, subduction of the oceanic plate has resulted in
tectonic erosion of the leading edge of the continent
(Moberly et al., 1982; von Huene et al., 1988). In re-
sponse to such erosion, forearc basins in these regions
are characterized by trench-parallel tensional faulting
(Underwood and Moore, 1995). Lonsdale (1978) pro-
posed that during the Neogene the landward margin
of the Ecuador trench may have also su€ered net tec-
tonic erosion, which is an alternative hypothesis to
explain Neogene east±west extension recorded by the
®rst generation of faults in our study area.
If Neogene basin evolution in the Ecuadorian fore-
arc re¯ects trench-normal extension, the resulting
basins may be structurally and morphologically similar
83
to those of the sediment-rich Central American fore-
arc. That region is characterized by tectonic erosion
that has resulted in forearc collapse, accompanied by
block-faulting re¯ecting extension orthogonal to the
Middle America Trench (Lundberg, 1983; Aubouin et
al., 1985). Our paleogeographic/tectonic model (Fig.
15) for the Upper Onzole Formation is based largely
upon the work of these workers, especially Aubouin et
al. (1985). Another analog for the depositional setting
of the Upper Onzole is the outer deep-marine basin
portion of the terraced ``compound forearc basin'' (cf.
Dickinson, 1995) of the Alaskan±Aleutian Arc,
although these outer basins formed in response to
transpressional and transtensional deformation associ-
ated with strike±slip faulting in the forearc (Ryan and
Scholl, 1989). No concrete evidence of strike±slip fault-
ing exists in either our study area or the Esmeraldas
area as mapped by Evans and Cervallos (1980). All
faults examined by Evans and Whittaker (1982) show
strictly normal displacement. Daly (1989, Fig. 14)
invokes oblique convergence-induced strike±slip-re-
lated deformation in the Ecuadorian forearc during
the late Miocene to Recent to explain a variety of re-
gional structures. However, the stress vectors associ-
ated with his deformational ®elds (resulting in
northeast±southwest crustal shortening and northwest-
southeast extension) are incompatible with what is
recorded in the Esmeraldas region, unless our struc-
tures re¯ect a complex partitioning of strain within a
discrete block.
The younger west±northwest-trending high-angle
normal faults (Figs. 13 and 14) re¯ect north±north-
east±south±southwest extension, with faults oriented
generally orthogonal to the modern Ecuadorian
trench, a deformational ®eld re¯ected in the orien-
tation of some of the large faults on the regional map
(Evans and Cervallos, 1980). Both these faults and the
north-trending set of faults shown on the map truncate
the large regional folds. Following Upper Onzole de-
position, changes in stress regime, from generally
northwest±southeast compression, to east±west ten-
sion, to north±northeast±south±southwest tension are
dicult to explain. Perhaps this progressive defor-
mation re¯ects stress rotation that resulted from the
encroachment and collision of the leading edge of the
continent with the thick crust of the Carnegie Ridge
(Daly, 1989; Lonsdale, 1978; Lonsdale and Klitgord,
1978). This change in stress ®elds would have pro-
duced a ®nal episode of uplift-related deformation, or
basin inversion, in the Esmeraldas region.
6. Conclusions
1. Mud turbidites of the Upper Onzole Formation
near Punta Gorda are uncommonly thick.
84 K.R. Aalto, W. Miller, III / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 69±85
Individual beds consist chie¯y of a mix of facies D2
(organized silts and muddy silts) and E2.1 (graded
muds). The regular occurrence of extensive patterns
of bioturbation at the tops of graded mud beds in-
dicates that currents were infrequent enough to per-
mit establishment of complex benthic ecosystems.
2. Interbedded volcanic ashes are crystal±vitric tu€s
occurring in four bedding styles: (A) normally-
graded ashes with burrowed gradational tops and
sharp wavy bases; (B) ashes that form part of a
complex microstratigraphy of thinly-bedded mud-
stone, silt±sand turbidites, tu€aceous mudstone, and
ash; (C) less conspicuous ash laminae and ash-®lled
burrows originally located below thin ash layers
that have been obliterated by bioturbation or physi-
cal erosion; and (D) a tu€aceous bed with ash and
mud swirled together in convolute layers. Ash chem-
istry suggests an Andean high-K calc-alkaline pro-
venance.
3. Normal faulting is extensive in the Punta Gorda
area and re¯ects two deformational episodes, the
youngest involving Holocene marine and ¯uvial ter-
races. Faults group into an older, approximately
north±south- to north±northeast-trending, listric
older fracture set, and a younger west±northwest-
trending high-angle fracture set.
4. Upper Onzole sediments probably accumulated in a
trench±slope basin that was largely cut o€ from
input of coarse clastics. The source of muddy sedi-
ments was shelf-margin and/or slope muds.
5. Trench-normal extension that produced the older,
north-trending faults in the forearc may relate either
to decreasing plate-convergence rates, which
resulted in collapse of the forearc wedge, or subduc-
tion erosion beneath the accretionary wedge. The
change in stress regime to north±northeast±south±
southwest tension probably resulted from the
encroachment and collision of the leading edge of
the continent with the thick crust of the Carnegie
Ridge.
Acknowledgements
We thank the California State University (through
the Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities
grant program) and the American Philosophical
Society for grant support. Also, we thank Rosemary
Hawkins and Scott North for secretarial and technical
support, and Harold and Emily Vokes, who ®rst intro-
duced us to the Neogene geology of Esmeraldas
Province. Without the moral and ®eld support of
Fausto Cortez, this project could not have been under-
taken.
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