[7] Late Pliocene and Pleistocene uplift of the basin may be consequence of the subduction of Nazca Ridge.

[2][8] Sedimentary strata of the basin shows evidence for a series of marine transgressions during the last 50 million years.

[9] The end of most of the marine transgressions is thought to be associated either with global sea level falls or compressional events in the Andes.

[10] Within the Andean margin contemporary marine transgressions are also known from southern Chile, Patagonia and Colombia.

[10] As such the marine transgression is thought to represent a regional phenomenon with the steadily rising central Andes being an exception.