The continental shelf is very narrow and steep to the north, and broader to the South. This shelf is structuraly influenced by the Andes. This area is mainly covered with terrigenous deposits, i.e. muds and sands which are recent on the internal shelf and relict on the external shelf. The sediments, supplied by rivers, reflect the intense erosion of the Andean backland. This erosion can only be reduced in situ by the vegetation cover. Clays are the main component of the fine fraction reaching the sea. Three different clay assemblages are observed: 1) an Andean (illite-chlorite) assemblage, reflecting the proximity of the cordillera; 2) a mid-American assemblage (smectite), which supplies the North Pacific Margin through the Choco counter-current; 3) an Equatorial assemblage (smectites) which is brought to the South by the Colombian current.