The Southern Cordillera and Beyond
Prepared in conjunction with the 2012 GSA Cordilleran Section Meeting, Querétaro, Mexico, this volume's eight field guides showcase three aspects of the geology of the southern end of the North America cordillera: Mid-Tertiary and Quaternary volcanology, environmental geology, and Mesozoic tectonics. Field Guide 25 explores the Cenozoic stratigraphy of Sierra de Guanajuato, one of the most important Mexican mining districts, and addresses a controversial topic, the accretion of the Guerrero terrane and its possible role in the Late Cretaceous—Early Tertiary orogeny. Three guides related to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, an active magmatic arc related to subduction of the Rivera and Cocos plates, include new data about the recent volcanic history, physical volcanology, and volcanic hazards in Mexico's most densely populated area. Bringing the geosciences into societal problems, one guide presents data on ground deformation related to water extraction in urbanized areas of the Mexico City basin, and another explores the ghost town of the Mineral de Pozos mining district and the effect of mine tailings on groundwater.
The Late Cretaceous fold-thrust belt in the Peña de Bernal— Tamazunchale area and its possible relationship to the accretion of the Guerrero Terrane
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Published:January 01, 2012
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CiteCitation
Michelangelo Martini, Elisa Fitz, Luigi Solari, Antoni Camprubi, Peter J. Hudleston, Timothy F. Lawton, Gustavo Tolson, Elena Centeno-García, 2012. "The Late Cretaceous fold-thrust belt in the Peña de Bernal— Tamazunchale area and its possible relationship to the accretion of the Guerrero Terrane", The Southern Cordillera and Beyond, José Jorge Aranda-Gómez, Gustavo Tolson, Roberto S. Molina-Garza
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Abstract
The continental interior of Mexico is characterized by a Late Cretaceous prominent fold-thrust belt that shows characteristics of an eastward-tapering orogenic wedge. According to structural data and geothermometry of the deformation, this wedge is the result of horizontal stresses directed from the west (Pacific domain). The orogenic wedge is bounded to the west by the Guerrero Terrane, which is the second largest juvenile terrane accreted to the North American Cordillera. The possible linkage between the accretion of the Guerrero Terrane and the regional shortening in the Mexican interior is examined in detail in the region comprised between the Sierra de Guanajuato and the Peña de Bernal—Tamazunchale areas. In order to test the accretion hypothesis, we present key stratigraphic, structural, and geochronologic data from the Mexican Cordillera in central Mexico, and discuss the problems that exist in connecting the accretion of the Guerrero Terrane to the orogenic deformation of the Mexican continental interior.