Tectonic controls on sedimentation in an intermontane hinterland basin adjacent to inversion structures: the Nuevo Mundo syncline, Middle Magdalena Valley, Colombia

<p>A combination of new surface and subsurface structural data, new stratigraphic data on conventional provenance, facies and palaeocurrents, low-temperature thermochronology and detrital zircon U–Pb provenance data provides a comprehensive account of the timing of deformation in the intermountane Middle Magdalena basin of the Central Colombian Andes, and allows evaluation of the style of foreland basin deformation associated with tectonic inversion. This robust dataset enabled documentation of focused tectonic activity in two competing low-relief basement structures to the east and west of the present Middle Magdalena Valley during the Palaeogene, earlier than previously recognized. Cenozoic sediment accumulation of a sedimentary pile up to 7 km thick in the Middle Magdalena Basin created a large original taper angle in this part of the north Andes. At that time, when the detachment rocks were deeply buried, the original larger taper angle facilitated the forelandward advance of deformation instead of promoting its stagnation. </p>