Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Glaciation in Bolivia before 3.27 Myr

Nature volume 277, pages 375–377 (1979)Cite this article

Abstract

AN in situ layer of ignimbrite overlies till near the base of a thick sequence of glacial and fluvioglacial sediments at La Paz, Bolivia. Two radiogenic age determinantions on the ignimbrite gave results of 3.27±0.14 and 3.28±0.13 Myr. We show here that this indicates that climatic cooling in the Southern Hemisphere was sufficiently severe to produce a mountain ice cap over part of the tropical Andes before 3.27 Myr and that these mountains had probably become tectonically elevated to about their present altitude by that time.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dobrovolny, E. Bol. Departamento Nacional de Geologia 3 (1962).

  2. Servant, M. Recherches Francaises sur le Quaternaire, INQUA 1977, supplément au Bulletin AFEQ, 1977-1, 50, 323–327 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Evernden, J., Kriz, S. & Cherroni, C. Serv. geol. de Bolivia, Hoja informativa, 1, La Paz (1966).

  4. Steiger, R. H. & Jager, E. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 36, 359–362 (1977).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Petersen, U. Bol. Sociedad Geológica del Perú, 33, 57–129 (1958).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Mercer, J. H. Quat. Res. 6, 125–166 (1976).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Shackleton, N. J. & Opdyke, N. D. Nature 270, 216–219 (1977).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Mercer, J. H. Nature 274, 926 (1978).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kvasov, D. D. & Blazhchishin, A. I. Nature 273, 138–140 (1978).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Mercer, J. H. in Palaeoecology of Africa 8, 87–114.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

    C. M. CLAPPERTON

Authors
  1. C. M. CLAPPERTON
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

CLAPPERTON, C. Glaciation in Bolivia before 3.27 Myr. Nature 277, 375–377 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/277375a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/277375a0

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing