Abstract
The Tenango Basalt, which forms a prominent isolated mesa 19 km south of Toluca, is made up of four associated flows of blocky andesitic basalt lava extruded from three separate centres about 8,500 years B.P. There are no associated pyroclastics or cinder cones and the viscous magma may have come up NE-trending fissures associated with a major E-W fault cutting Tertiary andesites immediately to the south. The lavas rest on re-worked pyroclastic deposits derived from the neighbouring major stratovolcano, Nevado de Toluca, and locally overstep onto the fault-scarp. The stream pattern resulting from this blocked drainage is described. The fault, part of a widespread system associated with basaltic volcanism in central Mexico, is probably early Pleistocene in age.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bloomeield, K., andValastro, S., 1974,Late-Pleistocene eruptive history of nevado de Toluca volcano, central Mexico. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am.,85 (in the press).
Einarsson, T., 1949,The eruption of Hekla 1947–1948: IV.3. The flowing lava. Studies of its main physical and chemical properties. Soc. Scient. Islandica. Revkjavik, 70 pp.
Fries, C. Jr., 1960,Geologia del Estado de Morelos y de partes adyacentes de México y Guerrero, region cemral meridional de México. Univ. Nal., Auton. México. Inst. Geol., Bol.,60, 236 pp.
Krauskopf, K. B., 1948,Lava movement at Paricutin volcano, Mexico. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer.,59, p. 1267–1284.
MacDonald, G. A., 1967,Forms and structures of extrusive basaltic rocks. In:Basalts, The Poldervaart trcatise on rocks of basaltic composition,1, Ed. H. H. Hess and A. Poldervaart, Interscience, N. York, p. 1–61.
Middlemost, E. A. K., 1972,A simple classification of volcanic rocks. Bull. Volcanol.,36, p. 382–397.
Moosfr, F., 1969,The Mexican Volcanic Belt — Structure and development. Formation of fractures by differential crustal heating. Pan American Symposium on the Upper Mantle, Mexico, 1968, v. 2: Group II: Upper mantle, petrology and tectonics, p. 137–141.
----- andGuerrero, D., 1961,Mapa Geologica de Toluca. Scale 1:50,000 (unpubl.).
————— andMaldonado-Koerdell, M., 1961,Mexican National Report on Volcanology. Anales del Instituto de Geofisica, U.N.A.M., VII, p. 46–53.
Piña Chan, R., 1972,Teotenango — primer informe de exploraciones arqueológicas, enero a septiembre de 1971. Dirección de Turismo, Gobierno del Estado de México, Toluca, México, 34 pp.
Rittmann, A., 1952,Nomenclature of volcanic rocks. Bull. Volcanol.,12, p. 75–102.
Taylor, S. R., 1969,Trace element geochemistry of anesites and associated calc-alkaline rocks. InMcBirney, A. R. (Ed).Proceedings of the andesite conference. State of Oregon, Dept. of Geol. and Mineral. Ind., Bull.,65, p. 43–63.
Walker, G. P. L., 1971,Compound and simple lava flows. Bull. Volcanol.,35, p. 579–590.
—————, 1973,Lengths of lava flows. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond.A, 274, p. 107–118.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bloomfield, K. The age and significance of the tenango basalt, central Mexico. Bull Volcanol 37, 586–595 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596893
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596893