1 Mexican Cordillera Mexican Cordillera References: DNAG volume A, Ch. 9 Condie, K.C., 1993, Plate Tectonics and Crustal Evolution, pp. 266-269 Plate Evolution of Mexico Plate Evolution of Mexico and Caribbean and Caribbean Separation of North America from Africa and South America Opening of the North Atlantic Development of the Antilles arc Growth of the Panama arc and Cayman transform Gulf of California opened; Hispaniola and Puerto Rico moved eastward Condie (1993) North America, Africa, and South America were joined in Early Jurassic Condie (1993) North America began to rift in mid-Jurassic as North Atlantic opened Condie (1993) In Early Cretaceous the proto-Caribbean Basin opened Condie (1993) By Late Cretaceous spreading ended and Greater Antilles arc developed
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Mexican CordilleraMexican Cordillera
References:DNAG volume A, Ch. 9 Condie, K.C., 1993, Plate Tectonics and Crustal Evolution, pp. 266-269
Plate Evolution of Mexico Plate Evolution of Mexico and Caribbeanand Caribbean
� Separation of North America from Africa and South America
� Opening of the North Atlantic� Development of the Antilles arc� Growth of the Panama arc and Cayman
transform� Gulf of California opened; Hispaniola
and Puerto Rico moved eastward
Condie (1993)
North America, Africa, and South America were joined in Early Jurassic
Condie (1993)
North America began to rift in mid-Jurassic as North Atlantic opened
Condie (1993)
In Early Cretaceous the proto-Caribbean Basin opened
Condie (1993)
By Late Cretaceous spreading ended and Greater Antilles arc developed
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Condie (1993)
In Early Tertiary Yucatan Basin and Cayman ridge transform developed
Condie (1993)
By Late Tertiary Panama arc grew & Gulf of California opened
Morphotectonic ProvincesMorphotectonic Provinces
� Pacific Ocean Floor
� Pacific Plate
� East Pacific Rise
� Rivera Plate
� Cocos Plate
East Pacific RiseEast Pacific Rise
� En echelon transforms in Gulf of California
� Depth of ~3,000 m
� Orozco FZ
� Spreading rate 9 cm/yr (E-W motion)
Rivera PlateRivera Plate� Rivera fracture
Zone
� Tamayo Fracture Zone
� Continental thrust
� 6 cm/yr plate motion S22E
� Convergence rate 2 cm/yr
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� Middle American Trench� >5000 m deep� 6-7 cm/yr convergence
� Tehuantepec Fracture Zone
Cocos Cocos PlatePlate Gulf of CaliforniaGulf of California
� 1,200 km long and ~150 km wide
� Consists of 9 deep (4,00-5,000 m) basins
� Alluvial/marine fill of nearly 5,000 m
� M discontinuity at only 6 km depth
� ~500 km of rifting of Baja from Mexico
� Resulted from sea floor spreading and transform faulting that began in Late Miocene
Baja PeninsulaBaja Peninsula� Extends from Transverse Ranges to Cabo San
Lucas (1,450 km)� Three parts
� North: Peninsular Ranges� Middle: Sierra La Gigante volcanic plateau� South: Granite and metamorphic terrain
Sonoran Basin and RangeSonoran Basin and Range� Basement is 1.750 Ma schists, gneisses
and granites
� Youngest Proterozoic ~4 km thick quartzite and dolomite
� Paleozoic miogeocline ~2 km quartzite dolomite, limestone, sandstone.
� Mesozoic continental clastic and volcaniclastic sequences
Sierra Madre Sierra Madre OccidentalOccidental
� Volcanic Plateau 1,200 km long and ~ 3 km thick
� Lower volcanic complex ~ 100-45 Ma batholiths and associated extrusive rocks (andesites) 1,000 �1,400 m thick
� Upper volcanic supergroup ~34-27 Ma ignimbrites and calderas 600-800 m thick
Sierra Madre Sierra Madre OrientalOriental
� Folded and thrusted lower Cretaceous carbonates and upper Cretaceous flysch
� Only rare outcrops of older and deeper rocks
� High-level granitic stocks emplaced in the late Eocene
� Block faulting and some basic volcanism in the Miocene
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Sierra Madre Sierra Madre del Surdel Sur
� ~ 1 Ga granulite basement similar to that of S.M. Oriental
� Acatlán Complex (~15 km) of west-dipping metamorphic rocks and ophilolites (Cam.-Dev.) sutured to the craton
Sierra Madre del Sierra Madre del SurSur
� Jurassic continental clastic rocks and volcanics
� Late Cretaceous-Eocene deformation similar to S.M. Oriental
� Early Tertiary continental sediments and Late Tertiary volcanic rocks (andesites).
Sierra de ChiapasSierra de Chiapas� Chiapas Massif -
Devonian batholith
� Upper Paleozoic deep marine sediments
Sierra de ChiapasSierra de Chiapas
� Triassic redbeds overlain by Cretaceous limestones
� Paleocene-Miocene ls, sh, ss (12,000 m)
� Early Miocene folding and thrusting towards SW
Trans Mexican Volcanic BeltTrans Mexican Volcanic Belt� East-West belt of Quaternary volcanoes
� High plateau (~2,300 masl)
� Stratovolcanoes & monogenetic volcanic fields
StratovolcanoesStratovolcanoes� Tepic� Colima� Ceboruco� Nevado de Toluca� Popocatépetl� La Malinche� Pico de Orizaba