A revised age for the granites of the central Somuncura Batholith, North Patagonian Massif

The age of the granites of the La Esperanza region of the Somuncura Batholith, North Patagonian Massif has been revised, based in part on RbSr whole-rock data obtained by reanalyzing samples from a previous study. The new ages are 258 ± 15 Ma for the Prieto Granodiorite and 259 ± 16 Ma for the Donosa Granite, both from the older La Esperanza plutonic complex, and 239 ± 4 Ma for the Calvo Granite, from the younger volcano-plutonic Dos Lomas complex. The initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios are all in the range 0.7070–0.7076. The ages probably correspond stratigraphically to Late Permian and Early Triassic for the two complexes, respectively, consistent with traditional geologic interpretation. Together with recently published Triassic ages from the Batholith of Central Patagonia, it is clear that the acidic volcano-plutonic associations of northern Patagonia are very latest Paleozoic and Mesozoic in age. They are not obviously related to terrane collision but are part of a Permo-Triassic acid magmatic province that extends throughout the central Andes and that preceded, or was associated with, the early rifting of Gondwana.

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