Pampia
Encyclopedia
Pampia was an ancient microcontinent or terrane
that collided with Rio de la Plata Craton
and Río Apas Craton during the Pampean orogeny of late Proterozoic
and early Cambrian
. It was one of the first terranes to be amalgamated to the old craton
s of the east, and was followed by the suturing of Cuyania
and Chilenia
terranes into the young South American Plate
.
Terrane
A terrane in geology is short-hand term for a tectonostratigraphic terrane, which is a fragment of crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and accreted or "sutured" to crust lying on another plate...
that collided with Rio de la Plata Craton
Rio de la Plata Craton
The Río de la Plata craton is one of the five cratons of the South American continent. The other four cratons are: Amazonian, São Francisco, Río Apa and Arequipa–Antofalla.It crops out in southern Uruguay and parts of Argentina...
and Río Apas Craton during the Pampean orogeny of late Proterozoic
Proterozoic
The Proterozoic is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The name Proterozoic comes from the Greek "earlier life"...
and early Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
. It was one of the first terranes to be amalgamated to the old craton
Craton
A craton is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere. Having often survived cycles of merging and rifting of continents, cratons are generally found in the interiors of tectonic plates. They are characteristically composed of ancient crystalline basement rock, which may be covered by...
s of the east, and was followed by the suturing of Cuyania
Cuyania
The Precordillera Terrane or Cuyania was an ancient microcontinent or terrane whose history affected many of the older rocks of Cuyo in Argentina. It was separated by oceanic crust from the Chilenia terrane which accreted into it at ~420-390 Ma when Cuyania was already amalgamated with Gondwana...
and Chilenia
Chilenia
Chilenia was an ancient microcontinent or terrane whose history affected many of the older rocks of central Chile and western Argentina. It was once separated by oceanic crust from the Cuyania terrane to which it accreted at ~420-390 Ma when Cuyania was already amalgamated with Gondwana.-Sources:*...
terranes into the young South American Plate
South American Plate
The South American Plate is a continental tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America and also a sizeable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge....
.