Abstract
ABSTRACT We present a new geological map of the Mexico Basin (Mexico City) based on field descriptions, a compilation of data from previous publications, and new 40Ar/39Ar geochronology data. The oldest rocks described in the Mexico Basin are Cretaceous limestones, overlaid by Oligocene (26.0 Ma) and Miocene (22.8–5.0 Ma) volcanic successions, followed by Pliocene-Pleistocene (3.7–1.2 Ma) to Recent volcanic rocks around the basin. The Mexico basin is surrounded by volcanic ranges mainly andesitic and dacitic in composition: Sierra de Guadalupe (∼20 to ∼13 Ma), Sierra de las Cruces (3.7–0.03 Ma), Sierra Nevada (1.4 Ma to Recent), and Sierra de Chichinautzin (1.2 Ma to Recent). The basin has formed and evolved through complex tectonic and volcanic events: A NNW and NNE-Cañón de Lobos trending reverse fault affected the Cretaceous basement, the NW-SE Mixhuca normal fault displaced Oligocene-Miocene volcanics, the NE-SW Tenochtitlan fault system displaced Plio-Pleistocene rocks, and finally E-W normal faults affected the most recent volcanic rocks, paleosols, and lacustrine sediments.
Highlights
The Mexico Basin holds the Mexico City metropolitan area (> 20 million inhabitants; INEGI, 2010) and contains the remnants of the Chalco and Texcoco lakes, which were essential for the development of the Aztec civilization
The Mexico Basin is located in the eastern sector of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB; Figure 1(A)), a 1000 km long, E-W oriented continental volcanic arc that transects Mexico from Veracruz State in the east, to Nayarit State in the west (Ferrari, López-Martínez, Aguirre-Díaz, & Carrasco-Núñez, 1999)
During the last decades of the XX century several studies attempted to establish the geology of the Mexico Basin and its stratigraphy (De Cserna, ArandaGómez, & Mitre-Salazar, 1988; Enciso-de la Vega, 1992; Vázquez-Sánchez & Jaimes-Palomera, 1989)
Summary
The Mexico Basin holds the Mexico City metropolitan area (> 20 million inhabitants; INEGI, 2010) and contains the remnants of the Chalco and Texcoco lakes, which were essential for the development of the Aztec civilization. The southern portion of the studied area includes the City of Cuernavaca (Morelos State) and surrounding areas In this region are exposed the oldest rocks described in the geologic map (Figure 2 and Main Map). The morphology of the Mexico Basin includes three main types of landforms: (1) Volcanic ranges, composed of either polygenetic or monogenetic volcanoes; (2) A series of knolls (fan-like) located at the base of each volcanic range, made of an intercalation of pyroclastic and epiclastic deposits; (3) Flat-land areas resulting from the accumulation of lacustrine sediments of variable thicknesses (70–300 m) and interbedded with tephra layers (Arce, Layer, Morales-Casique, et al, 2013; Lozano-Garcia et al, 2017; Pérez-Cruz, 1988; Vergara Huerta, 2015)
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