Geology of the southern Mesa Central of Mexico: recording the beginning of a polymodal fault system

Abstract

The Mesa Central (MC) of Mexico presents a noticeable feature as is the three-dimensional (3D) deformation of Cenozoic volcanic rocks. To figure out when this unusual deformation began, we constructed a geological map at 1:100,000 scale, with detailed stratigraphy, and thirteen new U-Pb ages in the southern MC. The mapped area is dominated by silicic volcanic rocks with ages from ca. 34.4 Ma to ca. 23.5 Ma affected by coeval normal faulting. An angular unconformity evidences a shift in the deformation style that occurred around 30 Ma, from an NW-trending fault system in domino-style to a polymodal fault system, which also temporally coincided with the emplacement of lava dome complexes. The structural and stratigraphic data give new insight for understanding how the polymodal fault system developed in the southern MC, suggesting that the change in the deformation and volcanism regime played an important role.