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Radiocarbon ages of Holocene Pelado, Guespalapa, and Chichinautzin scoria cones, south of Mexico City: implications for archaeology and future hazards

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Abstract

Pelado, Guespalapa, and Chichinautzin monogenetic scoria cones located within the Sierra del Chichinautzin Volcanic Field (SCVF) at the southern margin of Mexico City were dated by the radiocarbon method at 10,000, 2,800–4,700, and 1,835 years b.p., respectively. Most previous research in this area was concentrated on Xitle scoria cone, whose lavas destroyed and buried the pre-Hispanic town of Cuicuilco around 1,665±35 years b.p. The new dates indicate that the recurrence interval for monogenetic eruptions in the central part of the SCVF and close to the vicinity of Mexico City is <2,500 years. If the entire SCVF is considered, the recurrence interval is <1,700 years. Based on fieldwork and Landsat imagery interpretation a geologic map was produced, morphometric parameters characterizing the cones and lava flows determined, and the areal extent and volumes of erupted products estimated. The longest lava flow was produced by Guespalapa and reached 24 km from its source; total areas covered by lava flows from each eruption range between 54 (Chichinautzin) and 80 km2 (Pelado); and total erupted volumes range between 1 and 2 km3/cone. An average eruption rate for the entire SCVF was estimated at 0.6 km3/1,000 years. These findings are of importance for archaeological as well as volcanic hazards studies in this heavily populated region.

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Acknowledgments

Support for analytical work and field studies was provided by grants CONACYT-40346-F and DGAPA-IN 103302 to Claus Siebe and grant CONACYT-32330 to Peter Schaaf. We want to thank Chris Eastoe at the Radiocarbon Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona for promptly dating charcoal samples. Some figures were drafted by Ignacio Javier Hernández. Work by M. Abrams was performed, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. This article was written during Siebe's sabbatical stay at the Dept. of Volcanology and Petrology, GEOMAR-Forschungszentrum in Kiel, Germany. This stay was made possible through the generosity of Prof. H.-U. Schmincke and sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Shane Cronin reviewed an early version of the manuscript. Editorial handling by J. Gilbert and reviews by C. Connor and M. James were very helpful and are greatly appreciated.

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  1. Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P. 04510, Coyoacán, México, D.F., México

    Claus Siebe, Virgilio Rodríguez-Lara & Peter Schaaf

  2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA , 91109, USA

    Michael Abrams

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  1. Claus Siebe
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Correspondence to Claus Siebe.

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Editorial responsibility: J. Gilbert

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Siebe, C., Rodríguez-Lara, V., Schaaf, P. et al. Radiocarbon ages of Holocene Pelado, Guespalapa, and Chichinautzin scoria cones, south of Mexico City: implications for archaeology and future hazards. Bull Volcanol 66, 203–225 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-003-0304-z

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