Late Quaternary glacial and vegetational sequence in Valle de Lagunillas, Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Colombia

In a high Andean valley (6°N. Lat., alt. 3800 to 4400 m) four bodies of glacial drift marked by many end moraines are recognized. Stratigraphically related to the drifts are small bodies of lake sediments, from which core- and outcrop samples were taken. The samples yielded a continuous pollen sequence from which climatic history was derived. The pollen sequence is calibrated by nine C14 dates from organic material in the samples. The dated climatic history permits correlation of the sequence with both Colombian pollen zones and northern European zones. It also permits approximate dating of the drifts, which are in good chronologic agreement with those recognized in North America. The results therefore support the view that major climatic events in high-altitude, tropical South America during at least the last 12,000 years were synchronous with those in mid- and high-latitude North America and Europe.