More than 100 years of research on the origin of Patagonia

Abstract

This work traces the historical development of ideas concerning the origin of Patagonia, considering alternative models and interpretations, and a discussion on the tectonic significance of the North Patagonian and Deseado massifs during the Paleozoic. Evidence indicates a common Paleozoic tectonomagmatic and metamorphic evolution for both the North Patagonian and Deseado massifs, which achieved their present-day configuration as the result of mainly Cenozoic tectonomagmatic processes that triggered uplift. On the other hand, these crustal domains were likely part of a rather large continental block, together with the Antarctic Peninsula, the Malvinas/Falkland Plateau, and the Maurice Ewing Bank, which was part of the western Kalahari Craton prior to Brasiliano–Pan-African collisions. Therefore, the late collision of the Kalahari Craton with the already amalgamated Western Gondwana was the most likely trigger of the juxtaposition of these African domains along the southern margin of the Río de la Plata Craton.