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Continental boundaries of the Jalisco Block and their influence in the Pliocene-
Quaternary kinematics of western Mexico
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Geology
Geology 1996;24;921-924
doi: 10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0921:CBOTJB>2.3.CO;2
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Notes
Figure 1. Geodynamic setting of western Mexico. Note coincidence between Jalisco block deduced by surface geology (gray area in A) and
distribution of maxima in aeromagnetic map of western Mexico (B).
Northern Boundary
During the middle to late Miocene this
structure was reactivated by a shear tecton-
ics related to the initial opening of the Gulf
of California (Ferrari, 1995), which was re-
placed, since the end of the Miocene, by the
extension responsible for the formation of
the Tepic-Zacoalco rift. This is composed of
several independent fault systems, which
can be grouped into two branches: a north-
ern branch made up of two grabens devel-
oped at the boundary between the Jalisco
block and the Sierra Madre Occidental, and
a southern branch made up of half graben
located inside the Jalisco block.
Figure 2. Tectonic and stress map of Jalisco block and its boundaries. Latest Miocene to Northern Branch. This branch is formed
Quaternary faults in black. Double arrows are minimum horizontal stress orientations averaged by two en echelon basins, striking 1258 on
for number of sites reported (after Rosas-Elguera, 1995). Main extensional structures men- average (Fig. 2). The Ceboruco graben is a
tioned in text: CB—Ceboruco, PS—Plan de Barrancas–Santa Rosa, AT—Amatlan de Cañas, 2700-m-deep, composite asymmetrical de-
AM—Ameca, SZ—San Marcos–Zacoalco, AC—Amacueca, CT—Citala. CVC is Colima volcanic
complex. pression developed in two stages in late Mio-
cene and early Pliocene times. The Plan de
Barrancas–Santa Rosa graben is a 70-km-
Linking our structural field studies with pre- (Fig. 2). The Puerto Vallarta batholith is long and 20-km-wide depression with about
vious works and subsurface data, we rede- geochemically and isotopically distinct from 550 m of vertical displacement, mainly at-
fine here the structure of the Jalisco block the late Cretaceous to Tertiary plutons ex- tained during the Pliocene. The faults
boundaries and advance two main conclu- posed in the Michoacan block, and Nd bounding these depressions show a domi-
sions: (1) the Tepic-Zacoalco rift and the model ages suggest that it could be under- nant dip-slip motion. The paleo-stress field
Colima rift are ancient tectonic structures lain by an older (Precambrian?) basement computed by fault-slip data inversion with
partly reactivated in Pliocene-Quaternary (Schaaf et al., 1995). The uniqueness of the the method of Angelier (1990) at seven sites
times with purely extensional deformation, Jalisco block is clearly observable also in the depicts an average 208 6 138 trending min-
and (2) the eastern neotectonic boundary of aeromagnetic map of western Mexico imum principal stress (Fig. 2). Small normal
the Jalisco block does not coincide entirely (Fig. 1B), which shows a remarkably differ- faults affect Quaternary rocks only in the
with the Colima rift. ent anomaly pattern with steep gradients at southeastern part of the Plan de Barrancas–
its boundaries. Santa Rosa graben.
JALISCO BLOCK AND ITS The midcrustal rock assemblage of the Southern Branch. This branch consists of
BOUNDARIES Puerto Vallarta batholith are presently ex- three half grabens, with an average 1258
Most of the Jalisco block is composed by posed at 1000 to 2500 m of elevation in- trend, located inside the Jalisco block and
the Puerto Vallarta batholith, emplaced in dicating a substantial uplift since its em- parallel to the northern branch of the Tepic-
late Cretaceous time (100 –75 Ma, Schaaf et placement. The absence of the Sierra Zacoalco rift (Fig. 2). The footwalls of the
al., 1995). North of the Jalisco block is the Madre Occidental ash flow tuffs within the Amatlan de Cañas and Ameca half grabens
Eocene to early Miocene volcanic succes- stratigraphic succession of the Jalisco are made of Cretaceous granitic rocks
sion of the Sierra Madre Occidental, block (Ferrari et al., 1994b) and the find- (Schaaf et al., 1995, and reference therein)
whereas to the east is the Triassic to early ing of a pre–late Miocene subaerial con- cut by south- to southwest-dipping normal
Tertiary succession of the Michoacan block glomerate resting over the Puerto Vallarta faults. Inside the Amatlan de Cañas half