Pisco Basin

Pisco Basin (Spanish: Cuenca de Pisco) is a sedimentary basin extending over 300 kilometres (190 mi) in southwestern Peru. The basin has a 2-kilometre (1.25-mile) thick sedimentary fill, which is about half the thickness of more northern foreland basins in Peru.

The oldest known sediments are the Eocenesandstones of the , while the youngest deposits, the fossiliferous Pisco Formation, date to the Early Pleistocene. In relation to present-day, topography the fill of Pisco Basin makes the upper part of the , the coastal plains, the and the Andean foothills.

The basin is renowned for hosting various highly fossiliferous stratigraphic units; the Pisco Formation has provided a wealth of marine mammals (including sloths), birds, fish and other groups, as have the Chilcatay, and .