(55–25 Ma) volcanism in central Mexico

Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
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Tectonophysics
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / t e c t o
Post-Laramide and pre-Basin and Range deformation and implications for Paleogene
(55–25 Ma) volcanism in central Mexico: A geological basis for a volcano-tectonic
stress model
Margarito Tristán-González a,b,1, Gerardo J. Aguirre-Díaz b,⁎, Guillermo Labarthe-Hernández a,
José Ramón Torres-Hernández a, Hervé Bellon c
a
b
c
Instituto de Geología/DES Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. Manuel Nava 5, Zona Universitaria, 78240, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Centro de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus UNAM-Juriquilla, Querétaro, Querétaro, 76230, Mexico
UMR 6538, Domaines Océaniques, IUEM, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 6, Av. Le Gorgeu, C.S. 93837, F-29238 Brest Cedex 3, France
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 3 May 2008
Accepted 23 December 2008
Available online 13 January 2009
Keywords:
Volcano-tectonics
Paleocene–Oligocene
Basin and Range extension
Sierra Madre Occidental volcanism
Mexico
a b s t r a c t
At central-eastern Mexico, in the Mesa Central province, there are several ranges that were formed after the
K/T Laramide compression but before the Basin and Range peak extensional episodes at middle–late
Oligocene. Two important volcano-tectonic events happened during this time interval, 1) uplift of crustal
blocks exhuming the Triassic–Jurassic metamorphic sequence and formation of basins that were filled with
red beds and volcanic sequences, and 2) normal faulting and tilting to the NE of these blocks and
fanglomerate filling of graben and half-graben structures. The first event, from late Paleocene to early Eocene,
was related to NNE and NNW oriented dextral strike-slip faults. These faults were combined with NW–SE en
echelon faulting in these blocks through which plutonism and volcanism occurred. The second event lasted
from early Oligocene to early Miocene and coincided with Basin and Range extension. Intense volcanic
activity occurred synchronously with the newly-formed or reactivated old fault systems, producing thick
sequences of silicic pyroclastic rocks and large domes. Volcano-tectonic peaks occurred in three main
episodes during the middle–late Oligocene in this part of Mexico, at about 32–30 Ma, 30–28 Ma, and 26–
25 Ma. The objectives of this work is to summarize the volcano-tectonic events that occurred after the end of
the Laramide orogeny and before the peak episodes of Basin and Range faulting and Sierra Madre Occidental
Oligocene volcanism, and to discuss the influence of these events on the following Oligocene–Miocene
volcano-tectonic peak episodes that formed the voluminous silicic volcanism in the Mesa Central, and hence,
in the Sierra Madre Occidental. A model based upon geological observations summarizes the volcanictectonic evolution of this part of Mexico from the late Paleocene to the Early Miocene.
© 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
An elevated plateau in central Mexico, with an average elevation of
about 2000 m above sea level (Fig. 1), includes some of the best
mapped Tertiary volcanic areas of Mexico. It is known as Mesa Central,
which is described as part of the southern Basin and Range
extensional province (Henry and Aranda-Gómez, 1992; Stewart,
1998; Nieto-Samaniego et al., 1999; Aranda-Gómez et al., 2000;
Nieto-Samaniego et al., 2005) and the Sierra Madre Occidental
volcanic province (McDowell and Clabaugh, 1979; Aguirre-Díaz and
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Tristán-González),
[email protected] (G.J. Aguirre-Díaz).
1
Tel.: +52 444 8171039.
0040-1951/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.12.021
McDowell, 1991; Ferarri et al., 2005). According to Aguirre-Díaz and
Labarthe-Hernández (2003) these two geologic provinces overlap in
space and time throughout their extent across Mexico, including Mesa
Central. The eastern border of Mesa Central is marked by the Sierra
Madre Oriental folded belt (Fig. 2), which is composed of Mesozoic
marine sediments deformed during the Laramide orogeny at late
Cretaceous–early Paleocene (De Cserna, 1956; Tardy et al., 1975;
Padilla, 1985; Chávez-Cabello et al., 2004 –Fig. 2). Other ranges, faultbounded and with Triassic metamorphosed basement cores, can be
observed near this eastern margin and towards the interior of the
Mesa Central (Fig. 2). These ranges have been interpreted also as
caused by the Laramide orogeny (Martínez-Pérez, 1972; AguillónRobles- Tristán-González, 1981; Labarthe-Hernández et al., 1982a,b;
Gallo-Padilla et al., 1993; Gómez-Luna et al., 1998), but our data
presented here indicates that they were apparently formed after
Laramide orogeny.
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
137
Fig. 1. Index map of the Sierra Madre Occidental and Mesa Central provinces indicating the location of the study area.
Most of the studies in this area have focused either on the Laramide
compression-related structures and Mesozoic stratigraphy or on the
Basin and Range extension-related structures and Oligocene Sierra
Madre Occidental volcanism. In contrast, little is known on the faultbounded structures with Triassic and Jurassic cores mentioned above
because the available works have been published in local internal
geological reports (e.g., Labarthe-Hernández et al., 1982a,b, 1995;
Tristán-González and Torres-Hernández, 1992; Tristán-González et al.,
1995). From these reports, it can be inferred that important volcanotectonic events occurred between the late Paleocene and the late
Oligocene that developed these fault-bounded ranges and some faultbounded basins as well, synchronously with plutonism and volcanism.
The main purpose of this study is to summarize the volcanotectonic events that occurred between the end of the Laramide
orogeny and the initiation of Basin and Range faulting and Sierra
Madre Occidental Oligocene volcanism. We discuss the influence of
these events on the following Oligocene–Miocene volcano-tectonic
peak episodes that formed the voluminous silicic volcanism in the
Mesa Central, and hence, in the Sierra Madre Occidental. In order to
achieve these goals, the stratigraphy, geochronology and structure of
three representative areas of the Mesa Central are briefly described, 1)
La Ballena-Peñón Blanco range, 2) Las Minas range and 3), Ahualulco
basin (Fig. 2). The first and second cases represent fault-bounded
ranges with Triassic and Lower Cretaceous basement cores, respectively, and the third one, a listric-fault basin that initiated as a pullapart basin filled with a volcano-clastic sequence.
This work provides a volcano-tectonic evolution model of a large
area in central Mexico (Figs. 1, 2), based upon rigorous geological
observations, which can be used as a case study to test experimental or
mathematical volcano-tectonic stress models of continental crust that
was first submitted to an intense compressive stress regime (Laramide
orogeny), then to a crustal relaxation and trans-tension stress period,
and finally to an intense extensional regime (Basin and Range extension); all of these occurring at the final stages of a long-lasting
continental-margin subduction regime (Aguirre-Díaz and McDowell,
1991). Similar situations have been reported in other places and different geologic times with the result of an intense period of rhyolitic–
andesitic volcanism in the form of domes and/or stratovolcanoes and
ignimbrites; for instance, at the Catalan Pyrenees, where Permian–
Carboniferous ignimbrites are apparently related to calderas influenced by the strike-slip tectonics (Martí, 1991), or at the Taupo
Volcanic Zone, where silicic caldera volcanism and andesitic stratovolcanoes can be associated with rift-extension and trans-tension
respectively (Spinks et al., 2004). Using the particular case of the Sierra
Madre Occidental, Aguirre-Díaz et al. (2007, 2008) have coined the
term of graben calderas for these types of volcano-tectonic caldera
structures.
2. Tectonic framework
The northern, northeastern and eastern limits of the Mesa Central
are formed by the ranges of the Sierra Madre Oriental folded belt
(Fig. 3). Several studies have been undertaken in this belt to
understand the tectonic shortening at this area during the Upper
Cretaceous–Early Tertiary, and in particular, on the portion where the
belt makes a turn to the west at the Monterrey salient or “Curvatura de
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Fig. 2. Digital elevation model showing the main tectonic structures in the eastern and southeastern part of Mesa Central. 1—Sierra de Catorce, 2—Sierra de Coronado, 3—Sierra de
Charcas, 4—Sierra Santa Catarina, 5—Sierra de Guanamé, 6—Sierra Las Minas, 7—Sierra La Ballena-Peñón Blanco, 8—Sierra de Zacatecas; A—Ahualulco Basin, B—Coronado Basin; C—
Matehuala-El Huizache Basin; D—Villa de Arista Basin; E—Peotillos Basin; F—Aguascalientes Graben; G—Villa de Reyes Graben; SLPVF—San Luis Potosí Volcanic Field; MC—Monterrey
Curvature.
Monterrey” (Fig. 3, De Cserna, 1956; Tardy et al., 1975; Padilla, 1985;
Chávez-Cabello et al., 2004). This deformation is characterized by
folding and thrusting of the upper crust with an ENE transport
direction, as well as by transcurrent faulting associated to these
displacements. The Monterrey salient has been interpreted as the
result of an orthogonal flexural folding that occurred in the late stage of
the Laramide orogeny, and this regional deformation has been related
to a “décollement” that produced the detachment of the upper
carbonated and clastic sequence over the Minas Viejas evaporites
(Padilla, 1985; Fischer and Jackson, 1999; Marrett and Aranda; 1999;
Chávez-Cabello et al., 2004). The fold and thrust belt continues
southward from the Monterrey salient and forms the eastern limit of
the Mesa Central. From this eastern boundary and towards the inner
parts of the Mesa Central the folded belt changes to fault-bounded
ranges with NNE-trending and NW-trending patterns, some of which
(mostly the NNE-trending) expose Triassic metamorphosed basement
and that are separated by flat valleys (Fig. 4). The faults that bound the
ranges are either strike-slip or normal faults, and apparently both
lateral and lateral displacements occurred in the same faults
juxtaposing different faulting episodes. In some cases, such as La
Ballena-Peñón Blanco, Sierra Real de Catorce, Coronado, and Zacatecas,
the ranges are bounded along one side by NNE normal faults causing
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139
Fig. 3. Main regional tectonic structures for northeastern and central Mexico, based on satellite image interpretation and field geological studies (modified after Vélez-Scholvink,
1990).
tilting to the east and exposing basement cores with Triassic rocks
(Fig. 4). In other cases, such as Charcas, Santa Catarina, Las Minas and
Guanamé ranges (Fig. 4), the ranges are outstanding blocks limited by
NW and SE normal faults on both sides, which indicate relative vertical
uplift with little or no tilting (Fig. 4). The ranges of Santa Catarina,
Sierra Las Minas, La Parada as well as the Ahualulco basin form part of a
large crustal block named here as the Pinos-Moctezuma block, with
dimensions of at least 100 by 40 km, and that is limited by two large
parallel NE trending lineaments that could be interpreted as fault
systems. Strike-slip dextral displacements are inferred along these
lineaments from en-echelon patterns, lateral displacement of units
and from direct observation of a few cinematic indicators that were not
erased by posterior vertical displacement on the same faults. These
lineaments are named by us as La Pendencia (the western lineament)
which extends for at least 100 km, from Villa García to Charcas, and
Ahualulco (eastern lineament), extending ~ 85 km from Pino Suárez to
Villa Arista (Fig. 4). Adjacent to this large block and to the west there is
another NE-oriented series of aligned ranges that form another large
crustal block, named here the Salinas-Charcas block, which is parallel
to the Pinos-Moctezuma block and separated by the La Pendencia
lineament (Fig. 4). The right-lateral movements along the La Pendencia
and Ahualulco lineaments have been interpreted as caused by a dextral
simple shear under transpression as described by Wilcox et al. (1973),
or an oblique simple shear following Jones and Holdsworth (1998).
In general, all the elevated ranges of the eastern Mesa Central are
cut internally, i.e., within the range, by NW–SE normal faults that were
formed at late Paleocene–early Eocene, an age constrained from
plutonic and volcanic rocks that were emplaced through these faults
(more details are described below). Parallel to these elongated ranges
and at the eastern part of the area there are a series of basins that have
been filled up with continental clastic sediments (red beds), such as
the basins of Matehuala-Huizache, Coronado, Villa Arista, Ahualulco,
and Peotillos (Fig. 2). All these basins include early to middle Tertiary
volcanic rocks, too. At some of them, intrusive and volcanic rocks were
emplaced through their fault-bounded margins, suggesting that these
igneous rocks were tectonically controlled.
Following is a brief geologic and structural description of the three
representative ranges of La Ballena-Peñón Blanco, Las Minas and the
Ahualulco basin, with their respective simplified geologic maps. Due
to the size reduction of these maps because of publication purposes,
many details from the original maps (scales 1:25,000 and 1:50, 000)
have been omitted, but we do show the most relevant information.
Fig. 4. Geologic map of the southeastern portion of the Mesa Central showing late Paleocene–early Eocene structures. 1—Sierra de Charcas, 2—Sierra de Coronado, 3—Sierra de
Guanamé, 4—Sierra La Ballena-Peñón Blanco, 5—Sierra Santa Catarina, 6—Sierra Las Minas, 7—Sierra La Parada, 8—Sierra La Tapona, 9—Ahualulco Basin. Interpreted geologic crosssections for three different types of uplifts in the region are shown at bottom of Fig. 1) A–A′ vertical with exhumed core (Sierra de Charcas). 2) listric B–B′ at eastern sector (Sierra de
Coronado). 3) c–c′ vertical without exhumed core (Sierra de Guanamé). 4) D–D′ listhric at eastern sector. Base map based on LANDSAT Thematic mapper image bands 1, 4, 7. Original
scale 1:250, 000.
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141
Fig. 5. Geological map of the La Ballena-Peñón Blanco range (modified after Labarthe-Hernández et al., 1982a,b).
2.1. La Ballena-Peñón Blanco range
The Sierra La Ballena-Peñón Blanco forms the southeasternmost
end of the Salinas-Charcas block (Fig. 4). This range includes the
oldest rocks of the area (Late Triassic) and Eocene Peñón Blanco
granite, with 2700 m above sea level, is one the highest peaks in the
region. The Ballena-Peñón Blanco range is 30 km long and 5 km wide
bounded to the west by a listhric normal fault with a NNE strike
(Fig. 5). The range is internally segmented in five parts separated by
four normal faults with an average strike of N60°–70°W. A series of
granitic intrusions are exposed along the faults within the central
parts, the main of which is Peñón Blanco granite of middle Eocene age
(45.5 ±1.1 Ma, Table 1). Several granitic dikes and small apophyses
were also emplaced along these faults. In some of the faults it was
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Table 1
New K–Ar ages from the Mesa Central.
Volcanic unit
Las Joyas basalt (Tbj)
Upper Panalillo ignimbrite (Trp)
Riolitic domes (Tdr)
Riolitic domes (Tdr)
Portezuelo latite (Tlp)
Portezuelo latite (Tlp)
Portezuelo latite (botton of ignimbrite)
Jacavaquero dacite (Tdj)
Zapatero riodacite (Trz)
Casita Blanca andesite (Tcb)
Casita Blanca andesite (Tcb)
Peñon Blanco granite (Tgr)
Sample
01–25
01–24
01–32
01–28
01–22
01–26
01–30
01–21
01–29
01–33
01–31
01–14
Coordinates
40
Arb
Age
a
Latitud N
Longitud W
± 1σ
2499 631
2487 607
2476 050
2480 728
2492 003
2504 063
2494 836
2490 725
2479 946
2493 349
2499 923
2493 748
283 207
287 070
269 295
270 404
281 659
280 774
280 240
276 673
274 610
271 210
276 778
224 449
01.5 ± 0.8
25.4 ± 0.6
31.0 ± 0.7
31.6 ± 0.8
31.0 ± 0.7
31.0 ± 0.7
32.2 ± 0.8
31.6 ± 0.8
31.2 ± 0.7
44.4 ± 1.0
45.5 ± 1.1
45.3 ± 1.1
40
ArRc
K2O
0.99
49.26
54.59
49.30
47.68
47.60
63.35
47.50
59.49
28.50
26.60
145.90
2.06
6.04
5.41
4.78
5.22
4.71
6.09
4.70
5.86
1.79
1.79
9.86
(%)
18.1
81.7
82.7
49.1
68.7
91.6
79.6
75.4
86.6
82.4
72.5
77.90
Fractiond
(wt.%)
WR
WR
WR
m
m
WR
WR
WR
WR
WR
WR
mu
Ages performed in the laboratory of geochronology at Université de Bretagne Occidentale at Brest France. Coordinates in UTM system, 14Q Zone, using NAD27 projection.
a
Error at one σ was calculated with the equation given by Cox and Dalrymple (1967).
b 40
Ar; radiogenic argon content of sample, in percent of total.
c 40
ArR; radiogenic argon in sample is expressed in 10−7 cm3/g.
d
Dated material; WR-whole rock, m-matrix, mu-muscovite.
possible to observe fault surfaces with striae indicating right-lateral
displacement (Fig. 5). The Peñón Blanco granite did not form a
prominent contact metamorphism aureole, but makes a sharp contact
with the country rock, Jurassic on one side, and Cretaceous on the
other due to the fault displacement before the granite emplacement
(Fig. 4). The La Ballena-Peñón Blanco range is bounded to the west by
a listhric normal fault inferred from stratigraphic and geologic
relations and is named here as La Ballena fault (Figs. 4, 5). This fault
has an average N 05°E strike and tilted the Mesozoic sedimentary
sequence 15° to 18° to the SE. The tilting caused further exposure of
Late Triassic basement (Zacatecas Formation). The Peñón Blanco
granite as well as smaller contemporaneous granitic plutons (dikes
and apophyses) were emplaced parallel to the trace of this fault.
Plateaus formed by the Panalillo ignimbrite in the southern portion of
this range are completely horizontal and thus they were not affected
by the La Ballena fault, indicating that principal fault movement
predated the 25.4 ± 0.6 Ma Panalillo ignimbrite (Table 1). However, at
other sites at the eastern part of the study area, Panalillo ignimbrite
is affected by normal faulting of the late Basin and Range extension.
2.2. Las Minas range
The Las Minas range is located at the northernmost part of the San
Luis Potosí Volcanic Field (Figs. 2, 4). It is a small range with a
rhombohedral shape that covers an area of about 50 km2. It is
considered as a plunging anticline developed during the Laramide
orogeny at the end of Cretaceous (Aguillón-Robles and TristánGonzález, 1981). This range outstands from an alluvial plain with
structural windows showing Maastrichtian marine sedimentary rocks
and remnants of Oligocene volcanic rocks (Fig. 6). It shows the typical
folding of the Laramide orogeny, with folds axes trending N–S (Fig. 5—1),
fold vergence to the east and an average tectonic transport azimuth of
95°, with slicken-sides on So fault planes (equal area net 2 of Fig. 6).
This deformation style is similar to that observed in other ranges in
the region with Lower Cretaceous rocks (Fig. 4). However, field
evidence indicates that Las Minas range is a horst and not an
anticline. It was up-lifted in the early Tertiary (after the Laramide
orogeny) and is limited by two main faults striking N40°W, dipping to
the NE and SW. At its southern end the eastern fault changes strike
to a more N–S direction (Fig. 6). Dextral strike-slip faults within
the horst have a strike of N60°–80°W. Therefore, this range was
apparently formed after Laramide deformation by a trans-pressional
tectonics. This hypothesis is based upon the bounding and the
internal faults observed in the range; that is, the uplifting occurred
from a trans-pressional deformation that pushed-up the block along its
marginal faults, following the oblique simple shear model of Jones
and Holdsworth (1998). Besides, a few kilometers to the south of Las
Minas range there are faults with left-lateral displacement affecting
Upper Cretaceous rocks (Fig. 4). These are small faults (not shown in
Fig. 6 because of the scale) within the Pinos-Moctezuma block that
are here interpreted as antithetic strike-slip faults, which resulted
from a clockwise rotation of the Pinos-Moctezuma block (Fig. 4).
Therefore, these observations favor the trans-pression interpretation
for Las Minas range. Andesitic dikes of late Eocene associated to this
trans-pressional episode are found in the NE part of the range; thus,
suggesting that these conditions were also favorable for magma ascension and/or near-surface emplacement as was in the case of La
Ballena-Peñón Blanco range.
2.3. Ahualulco Basin
This basin is located at the northeastern part of the PinosMoctezuma block (Fig. 4). It also includes the northern part of the
San Luis Potosí Volcanic Field (Fig. 7). The Ahualulco basin has been
defined as a tectonic depression related to Oligocene Basin and Range
normal faulting (Labarthe-Hernández and Tristán-González, 1981;
Labarthe-Hernández et al., 1982b, 1995; Martínez-Ruíz, 1994). The
basin has a rough rhombohedral shape with dimensions of 45 by
15 km (Fig. 8). The floor of the basin consists of Upper Cretaceous
sedimentary rocks. The basin fill includes Eocene andesitic lavas,
Oligocene red beds, volcano-clastic sediments, Oligocene rhyodacitic
domes and Oligocene rhyolitic ignimbrites, for a total thickness of
about 800 m (Fig. 9). Capping the basin fill as well as the rocks outside
the basin, is a younger sequence made by the late Oligocene Panalillo
ignimbrite, Miocene–Pliocene? continental conglomerates and Quaternary basalts. Small graben-forming faults that affect the intra-basin
rocks can be constrained at 31–28 Ma from cross-cutting relationships. Thus, this second faulting event is interpreted here as an
episode different from the original one that formed the Ahualulco
basin, which occurred at the early Eocene, based upon the first lavas
that filled the basin (50–42 Ma). However, conglomerate deposits
covering the Panalillo ignimbrite over the Ahualulco basin are tilted
but the Quaternary basalt is not, indicating that faulting continued
after Panalillo ignimbrite for an unknown time but ended before the
eruption of the Quaternary basalt, possibly during late Miocene.
We interpret the Ahualulco basin as a pull-apart graben instead of
a simple Basin and Range graben as previously believed. This
interpretation is based upon several observations, 1) the intra-basin
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
143
Fig. 6. Geological map of the Sierra Las Minas range. This range is 300 m higher with respect the adjacent plain (mostly of Upper Cretaceous rocks). Note that the core is formed by
Lower Cretaceous rocks. Lower hemisphere equal area projections are shown in the bottom of Fig. 1) Laramide fold axis poles and slicken-sides lineation on So beds. 2) Laramide
tectonic transport direction (modified after Aguillón-Robles and Tristán-González., 1981).
faults have a braided arrangement with a general strike of NW–SE and
an average dip of 82° SW, (equal area net 1, 2 of Fig. 10), 2) the slickensides on the intra-basin fault planes are oblique and horizontal
indicating lateral displacements, 3) the rhombohedral shape of the
basin and 4), the dextral strike-slip inferred movement along the La
Pendencia and Ahualulco regional faults (Fig. 4). Some of these early
Eocene strike-slip faults were overprinted with vertical-slip displacements that occurred at the late Oligocene during the Basin and Range
tectonics, causing the misinterpretation of Ahualulco basin as just
another typical graben of the Basin and Range that does not takes into
account its initial strike-slip stage. This early stage was coeval with the
regional strike-slip displacements that occurred in all the area during
the late Paleocene–early Eocene. All the sequence that filled the
Ahualulco basin is tilted to the NE due to a large listric fault (Section
D–D′ of Fig. 4) that reactivated the fault that originally bounded the
basin at the west (Fig. 8). Tilting increases from the youngest to the
oldest rocks of the sequence, from 26° in 31.5 Ma volcanic rocks
(Portezuelo dacite) to 40° in middle Eocene andesites (Cenicera
Formation). This gradual tilting change with time indicates that tilting
accumulated during episodic faulting events from the late Eocene to
the Miocene (Fig. 10).
The volcanic rocks that filled the basin were apparently synchronous with basin development, as they accumulated within the basin
as subsidence was occurring. These rocks are more voluminous within
the basin, and are rather sparse outside the basin. Emplacement of
some andesitic dikes contemporaneous with the volcanic rocks of the
filling sequence confirms this hypothesis.
3. Summary of volcano-tectonic-sedimentary events from
Laramide orogeny to Basin and Range extension in the eastern
Mesa Central
The final stage of the Laramide orogeny in central-eastern Mexico
occurred by the end of the late Paleocene–early Eocene. The latter
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Fig. 7. Geologic map of the northern sector of the San Luis Potosi Volcanic Field, included Ahualulco Basin and the Sierra Las Minas sectors (modified after Labarthe-Hernández et al.,
1982a,b).
according to the ages of several intrusive bodies that do not show
compressive deformation, the latest of which is dated at 55 Ma (Table 2).
Following Aguirre-Díaz and McDowell (1991), it is summarized
graphically the different volcanic, tectonic and sedimentary events
that occurred in the Mesa Central after the end of the Laramide orogeny
(Fig. 11). These events are correlated with the main tectonic and
magmatic regimes affecting Mexico between 60 and 20 Ma, from
subduction-related (subduction of the Farallon plate beneath North
America) to extensional-related (Basin and Range extension).
After the Laramide orogeny, and along the limit between the crustal
blocks of the Valles-San Luis Potosí Platform and the Mesozoic Basin of
Central Mexico, a shear zone oriented NNE was developed. Dextral
strike-slip movement between these crustal blocks produced a series of
en echelon folds and uplift of smaller blocks with basement nuclei as old
as Triassic that formed high ranges within the shear zone. These ranges
were then displaced by high-angle NW–SE normal faults at about
middle Eocene, which served as conduits for intrusive and volcanic rocks
of this age. At the same time, subsidence occurred in the corresponding
NW–SE grabens in which continental clastic deposits (red beds) and
volcanic rocks were accumulated (Fig. 11). Several andesitic NNW dikes
and small cones aligned NNW were emplaced within these basins. This
fissural volcanism still show a subalkaline composition that can be
associated to the subduction regime of the Farallon–North American
plates, which should have continued active by this time along western
Mexico (Fig. 11; Atwater, 1989; Aguirre-Díaz and McDowell, 1991;
Ferrari et al., 1999). The fact that the middle Eocene andesitic volcanism
was fed from dikes, suggests that an incipient extensional regime was
starting (transitional volcanism, Fig. 11). Extensional activity increased
with time, and by 32 Ma it was already relatively intense (Fig.11). At 32–
30 Ma there was a peak in the extension in northern Mexico including
the study area, which can be related with the regional tectonics change
caused by the collision of the East Pacific Rise with North America
(Fig. 11; Atwater, 1989, Aguirre-Díaz and McDowell, 1991). This peak
extensional episode was accompanied by a syn-extensional volcanic
episode that produced voluminous felsic ignimbrites and lava domes
dated at 32–29 Ma (Fig. 11). After this peak event, the magmatic
conditions changed from predominantly felsic and subalkaline to a
bimodal style of high-silica rhyolites and alkalic basalts. These bi-modal
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
145
Fig. 8. Structural map of Ahualulco Basin at the northern portion of the San Luis Potosi Volcanic Field showing the curvilinear pattern of faults. 1—Equal-area net showing attitude of
normal, high-angle NW–SE faults in the western sector of the basin. 2—Equal-area net sowing attitude of normal faults in the northeastern sector of the basin. B, C, D and E represent
the equal area net from tilting of the Tertiary sequence shown in Fig. 10.
146
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
Fig. 9. Composite stratigraphic column for the northern sector of the San Luis Potosi Volcanic Field and the Ahualulco Basin (K–Ar ages data are shown in Table 1).
volcanic events occurred mainly at 28–26 Ma (Fig. 11), and were fed
from fissures related to the high-angle faults that formed the NNE and
NNW grabens and half-grabens of the study area (Torres-Aguilera y
Rodríguez-Ríos, 2005; Aguirre-Díaz et al., 2008). The same faults were
reactivated later as several discrete episodes until Quaternary (1 Ma).
Some times these reactivations were accompanied with basaltic
volcanism with alkaline composition that shows a clear intra-plate
signature (basanites, alkalic basalts, hawaiites; Luhr et al., 1995).
The shear zone that was formed along the limits of the crustal
blocks of the Valles-San Luis Potosí Platform and the Mesozoic Basin of
Central Mexico, represent a crustal weakness zone (Fig. 12). This zone
was developed following the Matehuala-San Luis lineament (Fig. 4). At
32–31 Ma, dacitic and trachytic lava domes were emplaced following
the high-angle normal faults formed during the Eocene and Oligocene
(Fig. 12A). At 31–28 Ma, high-angle extension and Oligocene synextensional volcanism episodes of rhyolitic lava emissions and
pyroclastic rocks occurred along the SW margin of the MatehualaSan Luis lineament (Fig. 12B). At 28–26 Ma, there was another intense
extensional episode that affected only the narrow zone along the
Matehuala-San Luis lineament, producing low angle listric faulting
that tilted the affected blocks up to 50° to the NE. The zone that
concentrates the maximum extension follows a NNE trend and is about
30–50 km wide (Fig. 12C). Due to these characteristics, it is named here
as the Matehuala-San Luis Maximum Extension Zone. At 28–25 Ma,
syn-extensional pyroclastic volcanism occurred along some of the
faults of the Matehuala-San Luis Maximum Extension Zone.
4. Tectono-magmatic evolution model for the eastern Mesa
Central for the 55–25 Ma period
It is presented here a geologic model that summarizes the
tectono-volcanic evolution of the central-eastern Mesa Central
from late Paleocene to late Oligocene (Fig. 13). The timing for the
final events related to the Laramide compression in the area can be
deduced from the ages of the non-compressionally-deformed
plutons, which indicates that this compressive regime finished at
the early Paleocene (Fig. 13A). This compression shortened the
Mesozoic sedimentary sequence eastward, and formed numerous
recumbent folds, thrusts and inverse faults (napes and decollements)
that culminated with the Monterrey salient to the northeast and
outside the Mesa Central. After the compressive phase of the
Laramide orogeny, a major tectonic change took place during the
Paleocene at the central-eastern Mesa Central that could be
visualized as a crustal relaxation period that followed after a long-
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
147
Fig. 10. Lower hemisphere equal-area projection showing attitude of tilt direction of the Tertiary sequence in Ahualulco Basin. A) Attitude of tilt direction of Cenicera Formation in the
northwestern part of the basin. B) Data from the ignimbrite underlying Portezuelo latite in the northwestern portion of the basin. C) Attitude of tilt direction in the San Nicolás
epiclastics. D) Attitude of tilt direction of Upper Panalillo ignimbrite at the western part of the basin. E) Tilt direction of upper conglomerate at the eastern part of the basin.
lasting intense compression, similarly as has been proposed farther
north in the central-eastern Sierra Madre Occidental (Aguirre-Díaz
and McDowell, 1991). During this period large listric faults were
developed together with several basins and strike-slip accommodation faults at the eastern Mesa Central (Fig. 13B), whereas at the
central portion of the Mesa Central large blocks were vertically
uplifted as crustal wedges due to space accommodation (Fig. 13B). At
the beginning of the Eocene (58–45 Ma), several plutons and
andesitic lavas were emplaced in or next to the uplifted blocks,
using the marginal and internal faults of the blocks as conduits during
ascension (Fig. 13C). In this time, basins developed next to the
uplifted blocks were filled by continental clastic sediments (Fig. 13C).
At Oligocene (32–30 Ma) took place the most voluminous volcanic
event in the area, consisting of both explosive and effusive eruptions
that formed sequences of silicic pyroclastic rocks and lava domes.
This volcanism occurred simultaneously with reactivation of old
148
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
Table 2
Structural data of the faults of the central and the north portion of Ahualulco Basin.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
Dip
direction
Pitch
055°/88°
055°/88°
195°/75°
210°/85°
240°/45°
205°/60°
090°/75°
270°/50°
065°/60°
220°/85°
220°/80°
060°/55°
060°/55°
200°/75°
155°/85°
250°/70°
220°/88°
220°/60°
250°/70°
250°/65°
245°/75°
250°/85°
295°/50°
090°/65°
245°/55°
200°/75°
200°/75°
200°/70°
220°/65°
205°/70°
220°/80°
050°/80°
220°/80°
250°/65°
305°/80°
270°/80°
090°/75a
190°70°
040°/88°
210°/50°
202°/70°
280°/60°
075°/60°
270°/53°
170°/85°
075°/42°
200°/63°
225°/53°
085°/68°
240°/65°
245°/60°
240°/50°
220°/55°
252°765°
080°/50°
065°/35°
250°/75°
106°/65°
270°/60°
280°/46°
090°/56°
205°/55°
300°/75°
O95°/80°
273°/70°
250°/65°
270°/50°
240°/63°
240°/70°
210°/70°
195°/74°
245°/76°
340°/88°
335°/87°
40° SE
40° SE
00°
90°
90°
60° SE
80° N
90°
10° SE
90°
90°
65° SE
80° SE
60° NW
45° SW
90°
90°
90°
70° NW
90°
90°
20° NW
90°
90°
70° SE
25° NW
80° NW
90°
35° NW
80° SE
10° NW
90°
00° R
00° R
90°
90°
90°
90°
60° SE
90°
60° SE
90°
70° SE
0°
0°
90°
73° NW
90°
90°
90°
90°
53° NW
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
66° NE
90°
90°
0°
90°
0°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
38° NW
0°
0°
Table 2 (continued)
No
Dip
direction
Pitch
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
220°/65°
255°/55°
260°/68°
040°/70°
050°65°
215°/65°
220°/65°
215°/65°
225°/60°
240°/65°
270°/57°
280°/60°
263°/74°
110°/35°
170°/70°
050°/80
297°/53°
075°/87°
040°/89°
310°/50°
070°/70°
216°/80°
215°/78°
195°/43°
090°/75°
090°/70°
360°/70°
245°/87°
190°/75°
245°/62°
270°/755°
210°/70°
060°/65°
114°/47°
160°/88°
230°/43°
240°/65°
270°/55°
210°/60°
055°/81°
250°/60°
0°
90°
0°
0°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
0°
90°
90°
90°
90°
44° NW
90°
0°
90°
90°
50° SE
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
45° SW
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
90°
Coordinates
North
East
2494669
2494669
2494581
2494581
2494552
2494552
2494441
2494406
2494406
2494542
2495442
2495815
2495815
2491928
2491804
2491328
2490596
2490596
2490488
2490517
2490730
2491540
2491661
2492211
2491819
2491516
2491516
2491535
2491278
2491306
2491458
2495186
2495151
2495203
2494938
2495654
249598
2495213
2495440
2495323
2494887
2494617
2494427
2494825
2494825
2496668
2496704
2496704
2496534
2496534
2496411
2496496
2496131
2495750
2496637
2496468
2496023
2495823
2495459
2495737
2493283
2494023
2494006
2494082
2493955
2493374
2494087
2492044
2492020
2492124
2492315
2491993
2491164
2491071
276964
276964
277059
277059
277216
277225
277303
277353
277353
277408
277765
276949
276949
275579
276395
276395
276381
276381
276217
276075
275927
274213
274159
276652
277014
277345
277345
277480
278493
278053
277804
280997
280914
280850
280908
281679
281763
282265
281881
281285
280702
279682
279937
280696
280696
278298
278501
278501
278611
278641
278721
279038
279134
279233
278122
278153
278338
278196
278402
278402
275602
277933
277970
278137
278233
280062
278009
281698
281609
281484
281065
280416
281614
281527
Coordinates
North
East
2490839
2491460
2489081
2489599
2489545
2489770
2489897
2489964
2490023
2489739
2489799
2493010
2492469
2496551
2495213
2494911
2494941
2491583
2491675
2492699
2494573
2494163
2495352
2495 352
2492705
2492456
2496144
2496016
2496016
2496307
2496922
2496765
2492135
2492724
2492818
2492785
2489601
2490133
2487362
2487680
2486797
281280
280417
280158
281832
281657
281678
281380
281387
281263
280931
280340
271565
271356
280481
282265
281964
281716
282308
282308
283097
285889
284421
282541
282541
286434
286170
283747
283924
283924
283125
283007
283088
282547
286422
283533
283475
287268
287174
287780
286984
286566
Notes: Coordinates in UTM system, 14Q Zone, using NAD27 projection.
faults related to the first-developed basins. Both the pyroclastic
deposits and the lava domes were emplaced within these basins
(Fig. 13D). Volcanism of this period was rhyodacitic and the vents
related to the effusive products (domes) formed NNW chains parallel to
the basins' main orientations. At 30–28 Ma, syn-extensional volcanism
developed chains of elongated lava domes with a high-silica rhyolitic
composition. Extension at this time marks the beginning of the Basin
and Range event in this area. These domes were controlled by NWoriented normal faults, which were used as conduits of these magmas
(Fig. 13E). Then, between 28 and 26 Ma Basin and Range extension
reaches its peak in intensity in this area, and formed NW-oriented fault
systems and grabens, reactivating older faults and creating new fault
systems. At 26–25 Ma, widespread ignimbrite-forming pyroclastic flows
were erupted through these faults that filled the graben and half-graben
structures produced in this extensional event (Fig. 13F). Finally, these
depressions were further filled with conglomerates and epiclastic rocks
that were tilted during Basin and Range faulting activity that continued
at least until Miocene.
5. Conclusions
Uplifting of blocks associated with basin development related to
right-lateral strike-slip tectonics characterized the late Paleocene–early
Eocene interval of central-eastern Mexico. Early Eocene large plutons
and volcanic rocks were emplaced within these blocks by means of an
en-echelon fault system affecting these blocks. The uplifted blocks and
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
149
Fig. 11. Summary of tectonic, volcanic, and sedimentary events in the Mesa Central for the time range between 60 and 20 Ma (after Aguirre-Díaz and McDowell, 1991). See text for
explanation.
associated plutons formed some of the highest ranges observed in the
eastern Mesa Central province, such as Peñón Blanco and Sierra del
Catorce. At the same time, thick sequences of continental clastic deposits
as well as silicic-andesitic lavas accumulated in pull-apart basins, as
occurred in Ahualulco.
During the early to middle Oligocene, intense volcanic activity
occurred synchronously with the activity of newly-formed faults,
reactivated old fault systems and produced thick sequences of silicic
lava domes and pyroclastic rocks. Lava domes composition changed
with time, from rhyodacitic to rhyolitic, and were formed contemporaneously with faulting episodes. The pyroclastic rocks are directly
related with the faulting events, using these faults as their principal
vents. NE oriented Basin and Range extension initiated at about the
same time of rhyodacitic dome emplacement (32–30 Ma), and
continued during emplacement of rhyolitic lava domes and pyroclastic
rocks (30–28 Ma). Rhyolitic explosive volcanism continued in the area
about ~26–25 Ma, which filled the contemporaneously formed graben.
This study provides a volcano-tectonic evolution model based upon
geological observations, which can be used as a case study to test
experimental or mathematical volcano-tectonic stress models on
continental crust affected by intense compression, then by a relaxation
and trans-tension stage, and finally by an intense extensional regime,
combined with a long-term subduction.
Acknowledgements
We thank to Adelina Geyer and Hiroaki Komuro for reviewing this
work and for their comments, which substantially improved the
manuscript. The authors also thank the comments of Elena Centeno
and Scott Bryan on an earlier version. We also thank to Alfredo Aguillón
Robles and Rodolfo Rodríguez for their suggestions and support during
the development of this work. We appreciate the Principal Office of the
Instituto de Geología of the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí,
through Director Dr. Rafael Barboza, for financial and logistic support to
this study. We recognize the help of Gildardo González and Ana Lizbeth
Quevedo in the digitization of maps and figures. We are grateful to
“Programa de Formación de Profesores” (PROMEP) for a 3-year
scholarship to the first author. This study was financially supported in
part by grants to GJAD from CONACYT No. 46005-P and from UNAMPAPIIT No. IN-115302.
150
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
Fig. 12. Schematic diagram showing the different stages (A to D, see text for explanation) for the formation and development of the shear zone (SZ) between the crustal blocks of
Valles-San Luis Potosí Platform and the Mesozoic Basin of Central Mexico at the end of the Laramide orogeny, which was later affected by high-normal faulting and syn-extensional
volcanism during the Oligocene, and then affected by listric extension and syn-extensional volcanism after 28 Ma to develop the Matehuala-San Luis Maximum Extension Zone.
Explanation of symbols, 1—pre-Tertiary crust, 2—magma of intermediate composition, 3—magma of rhyolitic composition, 4: Valles-San Luis Potosí Platform, 5—Mesozoic Basin of
Central Mexico, 6—dacitic–trachytic lava domes, 7—silicic lava domes, 8—silicic pyroclastic rocks, 9—granitic batholiths.
M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
151
Fig. 13. Tectono-volcanic schematic model of the southern and southeastern Mesa Central for the period between the end of the Laramide orogeny (late-Cretaceous–late Paleocene)
and the onset of Basin and Range faulting (late Oligocene). See text for explanation of phases A to F.
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M. Tristán-González et al. / Tectonophysics 471 (2009) 136–152
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