Abstract

ABSTRACT We present a new 1:80,000-scale geologic map of the Acoculco caldera (Ac) located between the states of Puebla and Hidalgo in eastern México. The map, encompassing an area of 856 km2, is grounded on an ArcMap data set and is supported by nine new 40Ar/39Ar dates. The caldera lies upon Cretaceous limestones and Miocene to Pliocene volcanic rocks (13–3 Ma). The caldera consists of 31 lithostatrigraphic units formed between 2.7 and 0.06 Ma that include a wide variety of volcanic landforms (cinder cones, lava domes). The caldera has a semi-circular shape (18–16 km) bounded by the Atotonilco scarp to the north, the NW–SE Manzanito fault to the west, and scattered vents to the east and southern parts. The distribution of the Acoculco ignimbrite, the lithic breccia, and lacustrine sediments define the caldera ring fault. Late Pleistocene activity and pervasive hydrothermal alteration suggest a high geothermal potential in the area.

Highlights

  • The Acoculco caldera is located in the states of Puebla and Hidalgo in eastern México (Figure 1)

  • We have not found any evidence of a larger caldera structure (Tulancingo caldera) that would host the Acoculco caldera as suggested by López-Hernández et al (2009)

  • We present a geological map with 40 lithostratigraphic units, 31 belonging to the Acoculco caldera complex lumped into pre-caldera, syn-caldera, early post-caldera, and late post-caldera successions (Figure 2)

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Summary

Introduction

The Acoculco caldera is located in the states of Puebla and Hidalgo in eastern México (Figure 1). Renewed interest in the geothermal potential for the caldera by the Centro Mexicano de Innovación en Energía Geotérmica (CeMIE Geo) supported detailed field mapping and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, presented in this geologic map, and whole-rock, isotopic, and mineral chemistry of these rocks (Sosa-Ceballos, Macías, Avellán, Salazar-Hermenegildo & Boijseauneau-López, 2018). This new map improves upon earlier regional mapping (De la CruzMartínez & Castillo-Hernández, 1986) and detailed volcanological, hydrothermal, and geochronologic investigations (Lopez-Hernandez & Castillo-Hernandez, 1997; López-Hernández et al, 2009; López-Hernández & Martínez, 1996). We propose a new edge of the Acoculco caldera (18 × 16 km wide) based upon our new cartography of the ignimbrite, the lithic lag breccia associated, and the location of intra-caldera lacustrine sediments

Study area
Methods
Morphology of the caldera
Stratigraphy and geological mapping
Pre-caldera
Syn-caldera
Early post-caldera
Late post-caldera
Extra-caldera
Discussion and conclusive remarks
Full Text
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