Late Cenozoic tectonism, collapse caldera and plateau formation in the central Andes

The evolution of Andean volcanism including the formation of late Miocene to Recent collapse calderas on the Puna plateau is generally interpreted in terms of the kinematic framework of the Nazca and South American Plates. We present evidence that caldera dynamics and associated ignimbrite volcanism are genetically linked to the activity of first-order NW–SE-striking zones of left-lateral transtension on the local and regional scales. …