JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 96, NO.

B8, PAGES 13,373-13,388, JULY 20, 1991

THE VOLCANIC SECTION AT NAZAS, DURANGO, MEXICO, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF WIDESPREAD
EOCENE VOLCANISM WITHIN THE SIERRA MADRE OCCIDENTAL

GerardoJ. Aguirre-DfazandFredW. McDowell

Departmentof GeologicalSciences,Universityof Texasat Austin

Abstract.Descriptionsof volcanicrocksin theSierraMadreOccidental northern Great Basin to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico
of westernMexico havethusfar emphasizedthe widespreadand nearly andfrom thewestcoastof mainlandMexico toTrans-Pecos Texas[McDow-
continuous coverof ashflow tuffsandotherunitsattributedtotheOligocene ell andClabaugh,1979;McDowell et al., 1990].Recentstudiesin theSMO
ignimbriteflare-up.However,muchlessattentionhasbeengiventothepre- have shown that less evolved lavas found intercalated within and immedi-
Oligocenevolcanic sequencebeneaththis ash flow blanket. At Nazas, atelybelowtheignimbritesaregeneticallyrelatedto them[Cameronet al.,
Durango,on the easternflank of the Sierra Madre Occidental,a well- 1980;Wark et al., 1990].Typically,theselavasarefoundpreserved in thick
exposedsectionincludesvoluminousfelsicvolcanicrocksof bothEocene sectionsonly within or very closeto calderasources.
and Oligoceneage. The oldestigneousrocksat Nazas includea small The mid-Tertiary ignimbriteflare-up is commonlydescribedas an
exposureof intermediatevolcanicbrecciasand lava flows that overlie Oligoceneevent.Here, we attemptto showthatin westernMexicoEocene
Cretaceouslimestonesand apparentlywere deformedwith them during volcanismmay have occupiedan area equivalentto that of Oligocene
Laramide tectonism.More commonly,the limestonesare overlain by volcanism.A well-exposedvolcanicsectionincludingEocenerocks is
Tertiaryvolcanicrocksandcontinental clasticdeposits. The Tertiaryvol- described fromNazas,in centraleasternDurangostate,andis compared to
canicsectionisabout800 m thick,notincludingintercalated fanglomerates. previouslydescribedsectionsfrom centralChihuahuain thenorthernSMO
The sectionrecordsthreedistinctmagmaticepisodes: from 51 to 40 Ma, and from Tayoltita, Durangoin the southernSMO (Figure 1). Published
comprisingfelsicashflow tuffsandintermediate lavaflowsanddomes;a informationforEocenemagmaticrockselsewhere withinandadjacenttothe
pulseat about30 Ma, comprisingvoluminousfelsicashflow tuffswith an SMO is thencompiledto showthepotentialdistribution of thatportionof
aggregatethicknessof about500 m; and from 24 to 20 Ma, comprising the volcanic field.
alkalicbasalts.The AhuichilaFormation,a molasse-type conglomerate up Our useof the terms"EoceneandOligocenevolcanism"is for conven-
to 200 m thickthatunderliestheTertiaryvolcanicsection,wasdeposited ience.Eocenevolcanismis appliedto volcanicsequences thatare grossly
duringorjustaftertheLaramidedeformation. The SantaIn6sFormationis continuous andbetween52 and40 Main age.Wheretheageisnotdefinitely
a widespread fanglomerate,upto 110m thick,thatunderlies thebasaltsand established, theterm"pre-Oligocene" isusedinstead.Oligocenevolcanism
apparentlyaccumulated duringnormalfaulting.Eocenevolcanismin the refersto continuoussequences of volcanicrocksthat are dominantlyof
Nazas area is characterizedby interfingeringfelsic ash flow tuffs and Oligoceneagebutthatareasoldas38Ma orasyoungas23 Main someparts
intermediatelava flowsanddomes.A similarsequence of Eocenevolcanic of the SMO.
rockshasbeenmappedin centralChihuahuastate,about350 km to the There may be some confusionbetween this usageand the earlier
northwest of Nazas. Felsic tuffs interbedded with intermediate volcanic applicationof the terms"lower volcaniccomplex"and "uppervolcanic
rocksolderthan40 Ma arealsoexposed atTayoltita,Durango,about200km supergroup"to describemagmatismin westernMexico [McDowell and
southwestof Nazas.Theseoccurrences suggestthat a wider spectrumof Keizer, 1977]. The lower complexrefersto exposures of largeplutonic
compositions andvolcanicstylesexistedduringtheEocenethanduringthe complexes andessentially coevalvolcanicsequences thatmayincluderocks
Oligocenein the Sierra Madre Occidental.Eocenevolcanismwas more asold as mid-Cretaceous.It is bestregardedasthe southwardcontinuation
typical of orogenicmagmaticbelts developedat continentalmargins, into Mexico of the batholithicbelt of westernNorth America.The upper
whereasthe Oligoceneactivity wasdominatedby voluminousfelsicash volcanicsupergroup refersmainly to the thick mid-Tertiaryrhyolificash
flow tuffseruptedduringa transitionof tectonicsettingfrom subduction flow tuff blanket,butit alsoincludeswidespread butvolumetrically minor
alonga continentalmargintointraplateextension. In additiontothesethree cappingmaficlavaflows.The uppervolcanicrocksunconformably overlie
areas,thereare severalotherlocalitiesin westernMexico havingvolcanic thelowervolcaniccomplexandextendfromtheU.S.-Mexicobordertonear
rockswith reportedagesbetween40 and 53 Ma. It is possiblethat the GuadalajaraCity, wherethey are coveredby youngerlavasof the Trans-
volcanicfieldduringtheEocenein Mexicowascomparable in extenttothat MexicanVolcanicBelt.The divisionisusefulmainlyin thewesternportion
of the Oligocene.The Eocenevolcanismin westernMexico wasin part of theSMO andfarthertothewest,wherelargeplutonsanda majorregional
contemporaneous withtheChallisvolcanicepisodeof northwestern United unconformityare both well exposed.We haveavoidedthe lower-upper
StatesanditsextensionintowesternCanada.However,Eocenemagmatism divisionin thispaperpreferringinsteadtoemphasize onlytheOligoceneand
in the Pacific Northwestapparentlydevelopedin an extensionaltectonic Eocene volcanic sections in the SMO and because two of the three volcanic
setting,whereasin MexiconoevidenceforEoceneextensional deformation sectionsthat we discusslie along the easternflank of the SMO, where
is known. CretaceouslimestonesratherthanlargeplutonsunderlietheTertiaryvol-
canicsequence.
Introduction
GeologicSettingandStratigraphy
of theNazasArea
WesternMexico containsan abundantrecordof magmatism,particu-
larly duringan interval of convergence betweenthe Farallonand North The Nazasareaislocatedabout100km SW of thecityof Torre6n,in the
Americanplatesfromat least100Ma toabout30 Ma [Atwater,1989].This centraleasternpartof the stateof Durango,Mexico,betweenthetownsof
paperfocusses uponmagmatism thatoccurred duringthelatterportionof Nazas,E1 Rodeo,and San Luis del Cordero(Figure 1). Generalgeology
thatintervalandperhaps duringtheearliestpartof thesucceedingperiodof consistsof erodedrangesof foldedAlbian to Santonian(?)limestoneand
transversemotionbetweenthe Pacificand North Americanplates.This shale[Enciso-DeLa Vega, 1963],cappedby Eoceneto Miocenevolcanic
magmatismincludesthe SierraMadre Occidental(SMO) volcanicfield, rocksandcontinentaldeposits.The rangesare separated by low plainsof
saidtobethelargestcontinuous rhyoliteprovincein theworld[Swanson et Quaternaryalluvium.This physiography resultedfrom a combinationof
al., 1978].It is thelargestpreservedexpressionof themid-Tertiaryignim- LaramidefoldingandBasinandRangenormalfaulting.
briteflare-up,a remarkable periodof highmagmaproduction thatproduced In hismappingof theCuencam6quadrangle, approximately100km to
thickfelsicignimbritesequences overan areaextendingat leastfrom the the southeastof Nazas, Enciso-DeLa Vega [1968] dividedthe Tertiary
volcanic rocks into the Vizcarra and Zorra formations. The Vizcarra Forma-
Copyright1991by theAmericanGeophysical
Union. tionincludesall pyroclastic
units,includingashflowandairfall tuffs,aswell
as intermediate lava flows. This includes all volcanic rocks of Eocene and
Papernumber91JB00245. Oligoceneageat Nazas.His ZorraFormationincludesthemaficlava flows
0148-0227/91/91 JB-00245$05.00 andplugsof Mioceneageat Nazas.

13,373
13,374 Aguirre-Diaz
andMcDowell:
Eocene
Volcanism
in Western
Mexico

105
t•Parrel;"•'*
104 t•Jim•nez
I
Mi mi \ '
"
/:!•?•..
•:!•X _'•mi••Ber•pllø I

106

•• • of
Fig.
3
R•s

•::•:•- F•er• hi.way

Town or •

km I • Un•v•
r•
• •o 8PG • P•m • G•

Fig.1.Indexmapshowing mainphysiographicfeatures
andcitedlocationsinthevicinityofNazas.
Areawithhorizontal
linepattern
represents
areashownin Figure3. Insetshowsregionallocationof mainfigure.SLP,cityof SanLuisPotosi,Maz, Mazatl•m.

Thisstudyisthefirstattempttosubdivide
thevolcanicrocksin theNazas maficlavas,clasticdeposits,
andBasinandRangenormalfaultsin theNazas
area; therefore, all the names used for the volcanic units are new and area(G. Aguirre-DiazandF. W. McDowell,manuscript in preparation,
informal.Thestratigraphic
section,includingK-At ages,isshown inFigure 1991). Except for the cappingmafic lavasthereare no chemicaldata
2. The geologyof the mappedarea is shownin Figure3. A detailed available for the volcanic rocks of the Nazas area.
descriptionof theigneousunits,andan 1:30,000mapandcrosssections is
givenbyAguirre-Diaz [1988].A briefpetrographic
summary oftheigneous Laramide and Earlier I•neous Rocks and Clastic Deposits
unitsisprovidedinTable1.TheCretaceous sedimentaryrocksaredescribed
by Enciso-DeLa Vega[1963].Ourfocusin thispaperis upontheEocene Higuerassequence.Higuerassequence consistsof intermediatelavas
portionof the volcanicsection;in a futurepaperwe will discussthe andbreccias,tuffaceous sediments,
andredsandstones thatcropoutin one
interrelationships
amongtheOligocene felsicrocks,theMiocenecapping 25by 50 m area5 km southof Playasvillage(Figure3). Thetotalmeasured

1 ooo --rn
oO..
'•?\
6.'• Qal:alluvial
andtalus
deposits
11111111i111111111111+I'
Tmf:
basalts
[22.3
Me]
•_•o oo•-o•
0o•ø'•o•ø•6-<•c•,.•'o•-•
• •-•_• •,••
• Tsi:
_
Santa
In6s
Formation

• :. • •.• :. •. :.:. :.:. :. :.•. • •

::
500
1•7:7:7:7:7:7:7:7:7:7:7:7:7:7:7
B ' [29.5Ma]
ß:-:':':':':':':':':':':':':':':• •

Tcp:CerroPrietotu• [ 29.9 Ua ]

:":'

.-.'.'.'.'.':':':':':':-:':':':':':':":• Ta:Almagre
a•aesite[40.3Ua
Tab -
•:::''.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'
:':':':':':':':'::::
.•••:• • •
'7• /
Tbc:Boquillas
Coloraaas
tu• [ 42.9
.•• :•::•:•
:•:•:•:•••• •.. ,, Tan:
Agua
Nueva
domes
[45.2
Ma]
•'"••••'• • Tp:
Playas
andesite[48.8
Ma
KI
•.e••i• •:•,•.•
•
Tab:
Ahuichila
Formation
-- •.••• Kh:
Higueras
sequence
•••••Ki: Intrusions[87.5Ma]
•• ••K: Cretaceous
sedimentary
rocks
Fig. 2. Com•site s•adgraphiccolumnfor theN•as •ea, withK-• ages.
 Aguirre-Dfaz
andMcDowell:EoceneVolcanism
in WesternMexico 13,375

to San Pedro del Gallo

,
Rhyolite porphyry

Luis del Cordero

Caras stream AA '...,•.Naycha

stream

Las
Hormigas
valley

Diorite
=========================
........

•.•.BC

DDA iNazas
Monzonite

N
Benito Jutrez

0 5 10 km
I
PA
Nazas r/•r
Morteros LaJarita

Mafic
lava:
flowsource I I Rhyolite
dome(RD) • Ahuichila
Formation
• Mafic
lava
flows ,•,[• Almagre
andesite
(AA) • Intrusive
rocks
, Higueras sequence (H)
• anta Formation ••
In6s Boquillas
Coloradas
tuff
I Villageortown
Santa
Clara
tuffs "•F"'•Agua
Nueva
domes ••' Road (paved or unpaved)
..-,...., Stream
• Cerro
Prieto
tuff •-m-•Playas
andesite
(PA) • Nazas river

Fig.3. Geologic
sketch
mapof theNazasarea.Cretaceouslimestone
andQuaternary
alluviumareomittedforclarity.DDA, Diez
de Abril;M, Magueyes;LN, La Nopalera;
P, Playas;SC,SantaClara;SCC,SantaClaracanyon;MC, MesaE1Caracol;BC,
BoquillasColoradasstream.

thicknessis 26 m (minimum) with an erodedtop. The lower part of the Formation(description below).We thusconcludethatthisvolcanismwas
sequence
isa brecciathatunconformably
overlieslimestones
apparently
of probablycoevalwithlimestone depositionandoccurred priortoLaramide
theCuestadel CuraFormation(Albian-Cenomanian, accordingtoEnciso- deformationin theregion.
De La Vega[ 1963]).Thebrecciaismassive andhighlyweathered todark Intrusiverocks.In theNazasarea,twointrusiverockscropoutasstocks
reddish-brown. It is overlainby two thinlavaflows,eachabout1 m thick. and anothermay be a domeor a laccolith.In composition,theseare a
The flowsare conformably overlainby layersof pinkish-white pumice- diorite(?),a monzonite,anda rhyoliteporphyry,respectively (modalclas-
bearing tuffaceous Sediments andbybedded (inbeds5-10cmthick)red siftcationof IUGS, 1973). About 3 km northof Nazas, diorite forms a
sandstones.ThetopoftheHigueras sequence isanerosionalsurfacebeneath smoothhill nearly1km in diameterrising140m abovetheadjacentalluvial
the Santa Clara ash flow tuffs. The lava flows, the bedded tuffs, and red plain(Figure3). Theplutonintrudes limestones
andshales of theCuestadel
sandstones all havethesameN60øWstrikeandNE-45odipof theunderlying Cura Formation.An 87+1.8 Ma (Santonian-Coniacian)hornblende K-Ar
limestone,suggesting that all were deformedtogetherduringLaramide agewasobtainedfor thispluton(Table2).
folding. Monzoniteis exposedasthreesmallsmoothhillsjust southof Nazas.
Reyes-Cort6s [1985]mapped partsoftheSierradeConetoandSierraSan Only thelargesthill, whichis nearly1 km in diameterand80 m abovethe
Francisco,a highandelongated fault-bounded rangewitha northwest trend, adjacentalluvialplain, is within theareaof Figure3. The plutonsintrude
locatedabout110km southwest of Nazas(Figure1).He observed andesites sandstones and shalesof the Indidura-CaracolFormation(Turonian-San-
interbedded with Cretaceous(?) limestones atthebaseof hisvolcanicsection tonian?,accordingto Enciso-DeLa Vega [1963]).
[Reyes-Cort6s, 1985,pp.37-38].Otherevidence foroldervolcanism is the Rhyoliteporphyryoccursjustnorthof SanLuisdelCordero(Figure3).
presence ofigneousfragments ofintermediate composition in theAhuichila It is the largestplutonin the area,about10 km in its largestdimension.
13,376 Aguirre-Dfaz
andMcDowell:EoceneVolcanism
in WesternMexico

TABLE 1. Petrographic
Summaryof theIgneousUnitsin theNazasArea andVicinity

Unit Petrography Comments

Higueras Intermediate lavaflows:porphyritic, Pervasively oxidizedand

pl(5)+cpx(<l), gm mainly of pl+ox+cpx. calcitized.
Diorite Coarseequigranular, Cu-mineralization as veins,
pl(40)+hb(15)+cpx(15)+opx(3)+bio(5). chalcopyrite andpyrite.
Monzonite Coarseequigranular, Mafics are oxidized.
pl(50)+Kfs(n8)_+bio(1)+_hb(1).
Rhyoliteporphyry Porphyfific,qz(7)+pl(7)+Kfs(7)+cpx(7). Cu-mineralization.
gm is an intergrowth of Kfs+qz.
Playasandesite Porphyritic,pl(40)+hb(5)+opx(5), Secondary calciteandquartz,
gm of pl+ox+dg. Cu-mineralization.
AguaNuevadomes Porphyrific,pl(18-25)+hb(9-20)+ Disequilibrium textures,
bio(3-5)_+cpx(< 1)_+qz(<2), pl with inversezoning.
gm of pl+ox+cpx+dg.
BoquillasColoradastuff Lowertuff:Kfs(<l- 15)+qz(<l-15)_+bio(5).
Middletuff:qz(15-20)+p1(10-15)+bio(1-5)+_Kfs(0-8).
Uppertuff: a weatheredair fall, pl(<l).
Almagreandesite Porphyritic,pl(50)+opx(10)+hb(<1)+ox(<2), Foliated,very oxidized.
gm of pl+ox+dg.
Rhyolitedome m(4)+qz(5)+rfs(2 )+bio(<1), Flow banded.
gm is dg to Kfs+qz intergrowth.
Cerro Prieto tuff Lowertuff:Kfs(1-7)+qz(1-8). Kfs is chatoyantsanidine.
Uppertuff:Kfs(3-7)+qz(2-8).
Santa Clara tuff Tuff A: devitrifiedglassshards(99), pl(1). A is perhapsan air fall.
Tuff B: pl(2-8)+qz(5-10). B hasthreeweldingzones.
Tuff C: Kfs(1-10)+qz(1-7). C hasthreeweldingzones.
Tuff D: Kfs(3-10)+qz(3-11). D hasthreeweldingzones.
Tuff E: Kfs(3-8)+qz(2-7). E hastwo weldingzones.
Basalts Porphyritic to finegrained,o1(4-7)+p1(5-8)+ P1glomerocrysts up to
cpx(1), gm of pl+ox+ol+cpx+dg. 25 mm are common.
Abasolo tuff Kfs(15)+qz(13-15)+pl(4-6)+bio(34). Partlyweldedtuff.
Pedricefias andesite Porphyritic,pl(45)+hb(5)+cpx(1)+
opx(1), gm is holocrystalline pl+opx+ox.
R-7 Porphyritic,Kfs(10)+cpx(<1)+bio(<1), Flow bandingwasoccasionally
gmof qz+Kfsintergrowth. preserved.
R-10 Porphyritic,Kfs(40)+opx(1)+cpx(<<1), Kfs megacrysts (>3 mm).
gm is holocrystalline of pl+opx?+ox.

Kfs, K feldspar;pl, plagioclase;

qz, quartz;bio, biotite;hb, hornblende;
ol, olivine;ox, Fe-Ti oxides;opx,
orthopyroxene; cpx,clinopyroxene; dg,devitdfiedglass;gm,groundmass. Numbersin parentheses arewhole
unitrepresentative
modalcontents in volumepercent;a rangeis shownfor phaseswith largevariations.

Becauseof its relativelylarge sizeand becauseoriginallyit hada glassy
matrix(now devilrifled),it maybe a domeor a laccolithratherthana stock.
Limestones(apparentlyof theCuestadelCuraFormation)in contactwith
the rhyolite porphyrywere bleachedwhen this plutonwas emplaced.
Copper,lead, zinc, and minor silver havebeenoccasionally minedat La
RoSitamine (formerlyBocadel Cobremine)withinthispluton.
AhuichilaFormation.The AhuichilaFormationwasoriginallydefined
by Rogerset al. [ 1961,p. 108]at theSierradeJimulco,Coahuila,about100
km eastof Nazas(Figure1). It cropsoutonlyin thesouthwestern partof the
mappedarea(Figure3), whereit formscliffsashighas100m.TheAhuichila
FormationunconformablyoverliesCretaceouslimestonesand shalesof
with limonite and/or calcite. No fossils have been reportedfrom the
Ahuichila Formation, but someauthorscorrelate it with Late Eoceneclastic
unitsin thecentralpartof Mexico[De Cserna,1956;Rogerset al., 1961;
Enciso-DeLa Vega, 1963]. They interpretthe AhuichilaFormationas
molasse-typecontinentaldepositsformedduringorjustaftertheLaramide
orogeny.KeithandWilt [1986]haveascribed similardeposits
in Arizona
and adjacentareasto their culminantphase(55-45 Ma) of the Laramide
orogeny.
Tertiary Volcanism and Clastic Deuosits
_

bothCuestadelCuraandIndidura-Caracol formations,anditstopiseroded.
It is partlycoveredby 43 Ma BoquillasColoradastuff. Its thicknessvaries
from 0 to 200 m dueto theroughpreexistingtopography andits erosional
uppercontact.Pantoja-Alor[1963]hasestimated a thicknessupto2km near
San Pedro del Gallo, about 60 km to the north-northwestof Nazas. The
AhuichilaFormationconsists of redor grayconglomerate composed of <1-
50 cmsubangular fragmentsof limestone andchert(together about90%of
clasts),with shale,sandstone,
and minorandesite.It is stronglycemented
Tertiaryvolcanicactivityoccurredfrom about51 to 20 Ma in andnear
theNazasregionin threedistinctepisodes,
51-40Ma, at around30 Ma, and
24-20 Ma. The 51-40 Ma episodeincludesfelsic ash flow tuffs and
intermediatedomesandlavaflows;theabout30 Ma episode includesonly
felsicashflow tuffs;andthe24-20 Ma episodeincludesmaficlavaflows.
SantaIn6sfanglomeratewasdepositedbetweenthe 30 Ma and24-20 Ma
events.
 TABLE 2. K-Ar Agesof theNazasArea,Durango

Assigned
Unit SampleCoordinates
Min. K, 40,Ar, 40,Ar, Age, Age,
25øN, 104
øW % % x 10-6scc/gMa+10 Ma+1o

Basalts Na-55a 12' 38"N WR 1.308 61 1.134 22.1+0.4 22.3+1.6

11' 35" W 1.316 63 1.130
Na-55a Plag 0.4766 30 0.4383 21.2+3.67
0.4683 25 0.3447
SL-29 15' 32"N WR 1.695 68 1.596 24.3+0.5
12' 2"W 1.718 72 1.643
R-14 7' 8"N WR 1.528 68 1.356 22.4+0.4
29' 43"W !.530 63 1.318
Na-41 25' 32"N WR 0.8382 39 0.6643 20.3+0.4
18' 7' W 0.8425 39 0.6662

Santa
Clara
tuff Na-86b 9'28"N Plag 0.9652 55 0.9350 25.4+1.1*29.5+0.6
16' 27" W 0.8925 41 0.9209
0.9417
,

Na-33 29' 35"N Ksp 6.996 83 7.930 29.5+0.6

23' 10" W 6.997 91 8.225

Cerro Prieto tuff

Upper
member SL-56 28'0"N Ksp 6.602 79 7.861 29.1+1.829.9+1.6'*
19' 32" W 6.599 84 7.204
SL-53b 30' 40"N Ksp 6.027 80 7.144 29.3+1.2
19' 16" W 6.088 78 6.744

Lowermember Na-4 12'29"N Ksp 6.644 82 7.403 28.8+1.9

11' 16" W 6.723 88 7.108
90 8.092

Na-81a 9' 26"N Ksp 7.280 84 9.149 32.2+0.7

16' 13" W 7.347 92 9.292

Rhyolitic
dome SL-6 18'16"N Plag 0.7819 63 1.029 34.•.8 34.0+0.8
11' 25"W 0.7808 49 1.057

Almagre
andesite SL-46 30'17"N Plag 0.5182 35 0.8314 40.3+1.0 40.3+1.0
18' 43" W 0.5157 45 0.8039
45 0.8207
BoquillasC. tuff
Middle
member Na-83 9'3"N Plag 0.5879 58 1.053 45.1+1.3 42.9_+_2.0**
16' 28"W 0.5759 40 1.002
50 1.039

Na-5 12'25"N Plag 0.6140 50 1.005 42.0+1.0

11' 16" W 0.6040 38 1.007
Na-100 8' 34"N Bio 7.314 86 12.00 41.9+0.7
12' 25" W 7.301 88 12.15
7.390

Na-102 12'25"N Plag 0.2492 52 0.4467 45.9+1.1

11' 15" W 0.2456

Lowermember SL-31 15'50"N Ksp 8.032 70 13.00 41.4+0.9

11' 45" W 8.028 73 13.11

SL-70-2 15' 14"N Plag 0.8195 64 1.324 41.3ñ1.0

11' 6"W 0.8353 65 1.364

Agua
Nueva
domes SL-41 21'0"N Bio 6.499 78 11.57 45.6ñ0.7 45.2ñ0.6
9' 14" W 6.468 83 11.69
SL-41 Hbl 0.7483 71 1.362 45.7ñ1.5
0.7348 73 1.304
SL-22 19' 22"N Bio 5.376 54 9.508 45.2ñ0.7
9' 25"W 5.438 77 9.731
SL-22 Hbl 0.6390 66 1.125 44.4ñ0.9
72 1.109

Playas
andesite Na-13 8'27"N Plag 0.1826 13 0.3267 45.5+_3.848.8ñ3.0
17' 4" W
Na-13b (=Na-13) Plag 0.2946 34 0.5820 49.8ñ1.2
0.2959 35 0.5763

Diorite Na-44 15'7"N Hbl 1.106 85 3.862 87.5ñ1.8 87.5ñ1.8

7' 42" W 1.115 84 3.870

•[l=4.963
x10-10
yr-1;
3a•+œ'
=0.581
x10-10
yr-1;
40K/K
=1.167
x10-4mol/mol.
Min,
mineral
used;
WR,
whole
rock;
Ksp,K-feldspar;
Plag,
plagioclase;
Hbl,hornblende;
Bio,biotite;
scc,standard
cubic
centimeter.
*Ar Radiogenicargon.
? Agenotconsidered
inageassignment
(see
textforexplanation).
??Assigned
agerefers
toallmembers
ofunit.
13,378 Aguirre-D/az
andMcDowell:EoceneVolcanism
in WestemMexico

Abasolotuff.Abasolotuff isa 51 Ma ashflow tuff thatcanbe tracedfor BoquillasColoradastuff.The 45 Ma domesareoverlainby the43 Ma

at least30 km alongthehighway45 fromAbasolotoE1Rodeo(Figure1), BoquillasColoradastuff. This tuff cropsout throughoutthe Nazasarea
but it doesnot occurwithin the areaof Figure3. The tuff is a crystal-rich, (Figure3), thoughnosource
wasidentified.
Its thickness
iscontrolled
by
partlywelded,felsicashflow tuff.Highstanding limestone rangesmayhave preexisting topography ontheUpperCretaceous limestones
andvariesfrom
preventedits transporteastwardand southwardinto the Nazasarea.No at least170m in a sectionwithnobaseexposedtoabout60 m in a complete
sourcewas identifiedfor this unit. The 51 Ma tuff doesnot showany section.Thetuffcomprises threeconformable members:alowerreddishash
evidenceof compressiredeformation,indicatingthatLaramidedeforma- flow tuff,a middlepinkish,40-110m thick,partlyweldedashflow tuff and
tionhadendedin theregionby thattime.The tuff wasnotfoundin contact an uppermassiveclay (apparentlybentonite),whichhasbeenminedat
with the Ahuichila Formation. severalsitesin thearea.Themiddleanduppermembersarecoextensive and
Playasandesite.
WithintheNazasareaandesitic
lavas,designated
as cropoutthroughout thearea,but distribution
of thelowerashflow tuff is
Playasandesite,occurin two separateoutcrops(Figure3). A minimum morelimitedto elongated
narrowexposures between thevillagesof Ma-
thicknessof 30 m was measuredat the northemoutcrop(nearPlayas gueyesand Diez de Abril (Figure3). Biotitein the lower and middle
village), and of 100 m at the southemone (alongNazasriver). At both membersand the crystal-richnature(30-40% by volume)of the middle
localities,thebaseisnotexposedandthetopiseroded.Locally,theandesite memberare distinctive.Also diagnosticfor this tuff is the brightwhite
waspropyliticallyalteredto produceyellowverticalbandsupto4 m wide "bentonitic"uppermember,easilyidentifiedin the field and in aerial
andgreenishzoneswith disseminated Cu mineralization.
Andesites from photographs.
Thesecharacteristics,
together
withitswidespread
distribu-
thenorthernoutcropat Playasaretooalteredfor K-Ar dating,buta 49 Ma tion,makes
ofthistuffa goodstratigraphic
marker.DePablo-Gal,Sn
[1990]
age was obtainedfor fresh andesitefrom the southernoutcrop.Unlike has describedmontmorilloniteand potassiumfeldsparalterationin this
nearby exposuresof Cretaceouslimestoneand Higuerasandesite,the bentonite
andin overlyingtuffsdeposited
in adjacentareastothesouthwest.
northernoutcropofPlayasandesiteshowsnoevidenceof Laramidedefor- Theuppercontactof theBoquillasColoradas tuffisanerosionsurface
upon
mation. This and the 49 Ma age from the southernoutcroppreclude which reddish continental sediments accumulated. These sediments form
correlationof Playasandesitewith theHiguerassequence. fan-shaped
bedsofcoarse,
red,poorly
consolidated,
•andstones
thatare
AguaNuevadomes.At 45 Ma severalandesitic lavadomes,namedAgua laterallydiscontinuous,
withtotalthicknesses
ranging
from0.to5 m.
Nueva, were emplacedin an arcuatebelt about15 km long.The rock is Almagreandesite.Two 40 Ma andesiticlavasoccurwithinandnearthe
foliatedand porphyritic,
withphenocrysts
of plagioclase,
hornblende, Nazasarea.One,Almagreandesite,isexposed
in a smallareanearAlmagre
biotite,clinopyroxene,
andrarelyminoramounts of quartz,whichmayhave village,about6 km tothesouthwest
of SanLuisdelCordero(Figure3). The
beenincorporated asxenocrysts
(Tab•le1).Theandesitesexhibitdisequili- andesite is surrounded
by youngerSantaIn6sfanglomerate,
anditsbaseis
brium textures,includingresorption,and oscillatoryor inversezoningin notexposed.
Itsminimum thickness
is40m.Mostoftheoutcrop consists
of
plagioclase(An30_•7),
resorption
in quartzandbiotite,andopaque-minerala brownsoilwithloosefragmentsofandesite,forminga weathered
reddish-
reactionrims around,or total replacementof, homblende.Groundmass brownsurfaceasthickas8 m, below whichthefresherrockisfoundin a few
euhedral
plagioclase
hashigher
Ancontent
(An•8)•than
anyzonein the sites.
Theandesite
isgenerally
l•!eached
andShows
contrasting
changes
in
phenocrysts.
Thecomplextexturessuggestthattheserocksoriginatedfrom colors(white,purple,red,brown]),perhapscausedby hydrothermal
fluids.
magmamixing[Eichelberger,1978;Sakuyama, 1984].Althoughalignment FortunatelY,
fresh
rock
isoccasionally
found,from
which
a40Ma(Table
2)
of thedomessuggests
controlbyanarcuatefracture,nocompellingevidence agewasobtained.Another40 Ma (Table3) andesite
cropsout55 kmeastof
was found for a local caldera. Nazas
area,nearPedricefias,
iharoadcut
along
highway
49(Figure
4).Due

TABLE 3. Agesof IgneousRocksin theVicinity of theNazasArea

Unit Min. K, 40,Ar' 40,Ar, Age, Reference

% % x10-6scc/gm Ma•_+l•

Peras stock Hbl 0.587 28 1.069 47.2+1.1 Clark et al. [1980]

(granodiorite) 28 1.109
Mapimi stock Ksp 12.20 19 16.88 36.1+0.9 Clark et al. [1980]
(rhyoliteporphyry) 19 17.69
Dinamita stock Bio 7.843 24 9.320 30.4+0.7 Clark et al. [1980]
(granite) 24 9.370
Abasolo tuff Bio 7.238 89 14.93 51.9+0.8 this study
7.341 86 14.87
Abasolo tuff Ksp 8.945 97 17.60 51.2+1.2 thisstudy
8.934 96 18.39
98 18.16
Pedricefias andesite Plag 0.430 40 0.726 40.9+2.2 thisstudy
0.427 25 0.656
34 0.682
R-7 Ksp 6.033 92 7.283 30.9+0.7 this study
5.990
R-10 Ksp 6.592 93 7.581 29.3+0.6 this study
6.601
Velardefia Bio K-Ar .... 33.1+1.4 Gilmer et al. [1988]
(quartz-latite)
San Pedro del Gallo Zircon Pb-Alpha .... 40-•-_
10 Pantoja-Aloret al. [1967]
(rhyodacite
porphyry)

Forexplanation
of abbreviations,
seeTable2. No analytical
dataareavailable
fortheVelardefia
sample
or forthe
Pb-alphaage.For locationsseeFigure4.
 Aguirre-Diaz
andMcDowell:
Eocene
Volcanism
inWestern
Mexico 13,379

to Jim6nez
105 to Parral 104

CMapimi
stock• Maplml
36Ma J ee Bermellllo

Dinamita

spa
(• 30 Ma

riv9r
• o [ ca.40Ma
TORREON
river

Las
dam •edricehas
EL RODEO 40 Ma
NAZAS

PEDRICE•IAS

25--•
105 •'• Area
ofFig.
3
CUENCAME

N
"• Federal
highway
/ Town
orcity
(•{Pluton]
O•[Datedsample]
50 km '• Unpavedroad
SL½ San Luis del Cordero

•
to Durango toZacateca! SPG San Pedro del Gallo

Fig.4. Indexmapof datedigneous

rocksneartheNazasarea.Fordataandreferences
seeTable3.

to its relativelydistal occurrence,

no field data were gatheredfor the Basalts.Thefinalperiodof volcanismin theNazasareais represented
Pedricefias outcrop,buta petrographic
description is givenin Table 1. by 24-20Ma alkalicbasalts,whoseemplacement followeddepositionof
Rhyolitedome.Volcanic activityintheNazasareabetween40and30Ma SantaInts Formation.Compositionally,theyaretruebasalts(hawaiites,
was apparentlyrestrictedto emplacement of an isolatedsmall34 Ma with SiO2from47 to 49%, Na20+K•Ofrom5.2 to 6.2%,normalized,
rhyoliticdome,located adjacent
tothe45 Madomes(Figure3).Theabsence volatile-free(G. Aguirre-DiazandF. W. McDowell,manuscript in prepa-
of additionalactivityindicates
a localvolcanicquiescenceduringthistime. ration, 1991)),and are thusnot part of the SouthernCordilleraBasaltic
CerroPrietoandSantaClaratuffs.At around30Ma severalvoluminous Andesite(SCORBA)suitedescribed by Cameronetal. [1989].Thebasalts
ashflowtuffswereeruptedtoformanaggregate thickness
ofapproximately apparentlyusednormalfaultsas conduits,sincethey overfieor occur
500 m. Two distinct units were identified. The older Cerro Prieto tuff is adjacentto thefaults.
composed of twofelsicashflowtuffsthatarefaultedandtilted,whereas the
youngerSantaClaratuff is composed of five felsicashflow tuffsthatare K-Ar Chronology
unfaulted andflatlying.Inplacesthetuffsof SantaClaracovermajornormal
faultsthat cut Cerro Prieto tuff (G. Aguirre-Diazand F. W. McDowell, Analytic01Techniques
manuscript in preparation, 1991).BothCerroPrietoandSantaClaratuffs
thickennorthward, andCerroPrietotuffpondsagainstthenorthern flankof Twentyfivevolcanicandoneplutonicsamples fromtheNazasareawere
the Agua Nuevadomes,indicatingthat theyoriginatedfrom unknown selectedfor K-Ar dating(Table 1). Wholerocksamples of basaltswere
sources to thenorthof theNazasarea.Althoughdetailedvolumeestimates analyzed withnofurthertreatment aftercrushing,sievingto60-80mesh,
arebeyond thescope ofthisstudy,it isclearthatthe--30Mavolcanic episode andwashingfreeof dust.For otherrocks,purifiedmineralseparates were
at Nazaswasveryintense.Its timingcoincides withthatof theignimbrite prepared at 60-80 meshusingstandard techniques.K analyses wereper-
flare-upthroughout theregion[McDowellandClabaugh,1979]. formedwithflamephotometry usingNabuffering andLi internalstandard.
SantaIn•s Formation.The SantaInts Formationwasoriginallydefined Aranalyses wereperformedusingtheisotopedilutiontechniquewithagas-
byPantoja-Alor [ 1963]in thevicinityof SanPedrodelGallo,about60 km sourcemassspectrometer operated
undercomputer control.
Feldspars were
northof Nazas(Figure1),asa widespread, high-energy,continental, clastic heatedabove1600øCfor40 min.Virtuallyall Ar andK analyses weredone
deposit.In theNazasareathebestexposures occursouthof SanLuisdel in duplicate.A thirdanalysis
wasperformed toresolve cases of excessive
Cordero (Figure3).Thethickness oftheunitishighlyvariable, from0 to110 scatter.

m. It wasdeposited asalluvialfans,mostlyontheeastern Poolingof replicate

flanksof faulted dataprovidesbaselineanalytical uncertainties
for
and tilted blocks.The SantaInts Formationis poorly consolidatedwith eachsampletype(e.g.,wholerocks,alkalifeldspars, plagioclase,etc.).
clastsrangingin sizefromfinesandtoblocksupto40 cmin diameter. The Theseuncertainties mustbe enlargedin two circumstances. Additional
clastsaremainlyweldedtuffs(50%) and limestone (40%), theremaining termsbecomesignificant in theerrorequation if radiogenicargonin an
includingchert,shale,agate,chalcedony, andfragments of intermediate experimentislessthan40%of totalargon(e.g.,sample Na-13,Table2).If
lava.Clastsof maficlavasareabsent.Crudebeddingin thefanglomerate is anindividualsampledisplaysexcessiveanalyticalscatter
inrepeatanalyses
near horizontal,and the unit is essentiallyconcordantwith Quaternary (e.g.,sample Na-4,Table2), theerroriscomputed fromreplicatedatafor
alluvium.Thefanglomerate unconformably overliestheCerroPrietotuff thatsamplealoneratherthanfromthepooleddata.Uncertainties in Tables
andisprobablyyoungerthantheSantaClaratuff,although theyarenotin 2 and3 aregivenatonestandard deviation.
Beyondtheseuncertainties we
directcontact.In places,earlyMiocenebasaltflowsoverlieSantaInts havedetected nosystematicbiasesamonganyof thesampletypeswehave
Formation. analyzed.In computingan age for a unit with two or moreindividual
13,380 Aguirre-Diaz
andMcDowell:
Eocene
Volcanism
inWestern
Mexico

determinations,
we haveweightedtheresultsinverselyin proportionto the K-Ar Ages,AdjacentAreas
individualuncertainties.
Two K-Ar resultshavebeenexcludedfromtheage
assignments asdicussedin thetext. SeveralK-Ar agesfrom surrounding areasarerelevantto the geologic
historyof theNazasregion(Table3 andFigure4). A sampleof theAbasolo
K-Ar Ages, NazasArea
tuff with biotite-sanidineK-Ar agesaveraging51.5 Ma, and one of the
andesitenear Pedricefias,with a plagioclaseK-Ar age of 40.9+2 Ma,
As summarizedin Table 2, the time rangedeterminedfor Tertiary
providedtheinitialevidencethatEocenevolcanicrockswouldbefoundat
volcanicactivity in the Nazas area is from about50 to 20 Ma. Two
Nazas.ThePedricefias andesitewassampledonhighway49, about55 km
plagioclase separates fromPlayasandesitegaveK-Ar agesof 49.8+1.2Ma
eastof Nazas(Figure4). Its ageis similarto thatof the Almagreandesite
and 45.5+3.8 Ma. The youngerage showsa large error becauseof low
withintheNazasarea,suggesting amorewidespread andesiticeventatabout
contentsof K (lessthan0.2%) andradiogenicAr (lessthan13%). Bothages
40 Ma in theregion.
are consistentwith the stratigraphicpositionof thisunit, i.e., beneaththe
Two otherresultsarefrom felsicdomes(R-7 andR- 10) locatedabout30
BoquillasColoradastuff. Their weightedmeanof 48.8+3.0 Ma is takenas
km to the southwestof E1 Rodeo (Figure 4). These domesare both
therepresentative ageof thisunit.
stratigraphicallyyoungerthanAbasolotuffandyieldedagesatabout31 and
Agesfor biotite-hornblende pairsfromtwo samples of theAguaNueva
29 Ma, respectively(Table3).
domesagreedat45 Ma, whichisconsistent withtheirstratigraphic position
Tertiaryageshavebeenreportedfromsomeplutonsadjacentto thearea
beneaththe BoquillasColoradastuff.
(Table 3 andFigure4). At Velardefia,about60 km eastof Nazas,theSanta
For the BoquillasColoradastuff, two samplesfromthelowermember
Mariaquartz-latitedomehasa 33 Ma K-Ar age[Gilmeret al., 1988].Clark
and four from the middlememberweredated,includingonebiotite,one
et al. [ 1980]reportK-Ar agesfor thePerasstock,a 47.2 Ma granodiorite
alkali feldspar,and four plagioclaseseparates. Eachage hasa relatively
about45 km to thenorthof E1Rodeo,theMapimistock,a 36.1Ma rhyolite
smallanalyticalerror,andthereis no clearexplanationfor thewiderange
porphyryabout100 km northof Nazas,andtheDinamitastock,a 30.4 Ma
in ages from 45.9 to 41.9 Ma. All of the agesare consistentwith the
graniteabout20 km in diameter,approximately 100km to thenorthwestof
stratigraphicpositionof thetuff. Furthermore,thespreadof agesdoesnot
Nazas.Pantoja-Aloret al. [ 1967]reporteda 40 Ma agefroma rhyodacitic
appearto be dueto stratigraphic complexities withintheBoquillasColora-
porphyryin the vicinityof SanPedrodel Gallo (Figure4) usingthelead-
dasunit.Forexample,samples Na-83 andNa-5,whichdifferin ageby3 Ma,
alphamethod.
weretakenfromthesamedistinctiveunitonly5 km apart.Samples Na- 100,
Na-102,andSL-70-2 werecollected aftermapping intheareawascompleted,
in orderto resolvethedisagreement betweentheearlierresults.SampleNa- Volcanic-Sedimentary
HistoryandTectonicSetting
102(45.9 Ma) is fromthevitrophyreof theashflow tuffof Na-5 (42.0 Ma)
andis within a few metersof the Na-5 site.Similarly,Na-100 (41.9 Ma) is Figure5 summarizesthevolcanicandsedimentary historyof theNazas
fromthesameunitasNa-83,whichyielded45.1Ma,andisonly1.3km from areafromabout60 to 10 Ma andcompares it to theregionaltectonicevents
Na-100. SamplesSL-70-2 and SL-31, from the lower memberof the thataffectedwesternMexicoduringthisperiod.
BoquillasColoradas tuff,providedtheyoungest ages,41.3and41.4Ma. The Theoldestrocksin theNazasareaareUpperCretaceous limestones that
agesappearto fall in twoclusters,fourfrom41.3 to42 Maandtwofrom45.1 werefoldedduringthe Laramideorogeny.The maincompressive phase
to 45.9 Ma. Beingunableto reasonablydiscardanyof theresults,we have endedbefore51 Ma, sincewidespread ashflowtuffsof thisagearetiltedbut
assignedthe averageageof 42.9+2 Ma to theBoquillasColorariastuff. notfolded.Erosionof theLaramidestructures producedthemolasse-type
One samplefrom the Almagreandesiteyieldeda plagioclase age of depositsof theAhuichilaFormation.From51 to 40 Ma, therewasintense
40.3+1 Ma. The stratigraphic positionof theandesite is uncertainbecause volcanicactivityin thearea,includingvoluminous andwidespread felsic
itsoutcropistotallysurrounded by themuchyoungerSantaIn6sFormation. ash flow tuffs and intermediate lava flows and domes. Eocene volcanism
The K-Ar agesdeterminedfor AlmagreandPlayasandesites was probablyrelatedto subductionalongthe westernmarginof Mexico
are signifi-
cantlydifferent,andwe concludethattheyrepresent [Coney,1976;Atwater,1989].Thus,thisepisodeis indicatedasa subduc-
two distincteruptive
episodes. tion-relatedcontinentalarcregime.
Therhyoliticdome(sampleSL-6) yieldedaplagioclase Volcanicactivityin theNazasareawasminimalbetween40 and30 Ma,
ageof 34.0-•-_0.8
Ma, whichrepresents theonlydocumented evidence forvolcanism between
apparentlyrepresented only by a small isolated34 Ma rhyoliticdome.
the emplacementof Almagreandesite(40 Ma) andCerroPrietotuff (-30 Duringthis-*10 Ma lull, reddishsediments accumulated, markinga low-
Ma). Thisageisconsistent withthestratigraphic positionof thedome,which angleunconformity.Therearereportselsewherein theSMO of a volcanic
intrudestheBoquillasColoradas tuff andisoverlainbytheCerroPrietotuff. hiatusbetweenpre-Oligoceneand Oligocenevolcanicrocks,as well as
FourK-At agesweredeterminedforfeldspars fromtheCerroPrietotuff, depositionof continentalredsediments duringthistimeinterval[Nemeth,
twofromeachmember.Theagerangeof 32.2Ma to28.8Ma andtheaverage 1976; McDowell and Clabaugh,1979; Henry and Fredrickson,1987].
ageof 29.9+1.6 Ma areconsistent with its stratigraphic position. Unfortunately,theregionaltiminganddistribution of thisunconformity is
Two K-Ar agesfrom SantaClara tuff showa largediscrepancy, not yet well constrained.
with
uppermemberE havingan olderage(29.5 Ma) thanthelowermemberB Afterthisvolcanicquiescence, a voluminous ashflowtuffsequence was
(25.4 Ma). The similar natureof membersof thisunit indicatesthat they eruptedin theNazasareaat around30 Ma (Figure5). Thisepisodeis here
shouldbe closein age. The 25.5 Ma age is believedto be incorrect;the relatedto the regionalignimbriteflare-up,a termoriginallyproposedby
plagioclasefrom this sampleis resorbedand mantledby a feldsparthat Coney [1972] for the mid-Tertiaryignimbriteoutburstof westernNorth
opticallyappearsvery different (both phasesare unaltered).Potassium America.The ignimbriteflare-upis characterized in the SMO by a wide-
replicatedeterminationsscattermore than expectedbut not enoughto spreadand voluminoussequencedominantlyof felsic ash flow tuffs,
explainthediscrepancy. In hindsightthisappears tohavebeenapoorchoice generally1 km thick,thatwereeruptedfromlargecalderas[Swanson and
of sampleto analyze,andwepreferthe29.5+0.6Ma agefor theSantaClara McDowell, 1984]. Ash flow tuff volcanismsimilar to that of the SMO is
tuffs. Additional results are needed to better constrain this unit. foundwithintheU.S. CordilleraaroundtheColoradoplateau:totheeast,in
Four samplesof basaltswere datedaswholerocks,and a plagioclase theMogollon-Datilvolcanicfieldof New Mexico[Elston,1976,1984a],the
fromoneof themwasalsoanalyzed.All sampledunitsarestratigraphically SanJuanMountainsof Colorado[StevenandLipman,1976],andTrans-
at thetopof thevolcanicsequence; onewassampled nearE1Rodeo,outside PecosTexas[HenryandMcDowell,1986]andtothewestreaching intothe
of themappedarea(Figure4). The agerangefrom24.3 to 20.3 Mamay be GreatBasinofNevada[Noble,1972;McKee,1979].Thetectonicsettingfor
real,butthe wholerockaverageof 22.3+1.6 Ma is takenasrepresentative. theignimbriteflare-upis stillin debate,sinceit apparently occurred during
Theplagioclase,with a largeranalyticalerror,fallswithinthisrange.This the transitionfroma subduction-related continentalarcregimeto anintra-
rangeis similarto thatfor cappingmaficlavaflowselsewherein theSMO plateextensional regime.Mostauthorsagreethattheflare-upbelongsto a
and westTexas [McDowell andClabaugh,1979;HenryandPrice, 1986; continentalmarginmagmaticbelt createdduringsubduction alongthe
Cameronet al., 1989]. westernmarginof the continent[e.g.Lipmanet al., 1972;Coney,1972,
Of thethreeintmsivesin theNazasarea,onlythedioritewassuitablefor 1976;Lipman, 1980; Damonet al., 1981;CameronandCameron,1986;
K-Ar dating.Its 87.5+1.8Ma hornblende agefitswithitsgeologicposition HenryandMcDowell, 1986;Barker,1987;Priceetal., 1987].Othermodels
intrudingAlbian-Cenomanianlimestoneandshaleof the Cuestadel Cura attributetheashflow volcanismtoconvergence-related intra-arcorbackarc
Formation. extension[Elston,1976, 1984b;Zobacket al., 1981;Eaton, 1982].
 Aguirre-DfazandMcDowell:EoceneVolcanismin WesternMexico 13,381

60 50 40 30 20 10 Ma

Basalts .........................................................................................................
....,•...
....
j.............................
Santa In6s EXPLANATION

Santa Clara ,
Cerro Prieto = ß Volcanic
rocks:
verticalbar: K-Arage
Dome horizontalbar: 1-sigmaen'or
Almagre
"• Conglomerates
Pedricet•as
................................................................
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIntense episode
Boquillas
C. '....................................................
'""•
...............................................................................................
AguaNueva IIIIIIII Less intenseepisode
Playas

Ahuichila ,,•-'•-•,
?

60 50 40 30 20 10 Ma

SUBDUCTION-RELATED CONTINENTAL MARGIN ARC REGIME INTRAPLATE EXTENSIONAL REGIME

.............
,......
,,.............
,....................,,,......... ,,,,,,,,,,111,.,,,,111,,,,,
...........
'"""
............
'......
'"'..........
'...........
,,,,llll,,,.
"'"'"'"'"'"'"'"""'"'"''"''"
LARAMIDE OROGENY I' '1 "'"''''""'"'"'"'''"'
WANING OF COMPRESSION' I!'"11
'""'""'"'""'"BASIN
&RANGE
Extensionand faulting
VOLCANISM IN THE SMO
I I I I I I I I I I I I IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I I I I I Iii I I I I I I I I I IIIIIIIIIIllI I I I I I IIIIIIII I I I I I I I I I I I I II
Eocene Ignimbrite Maficlavas
flare up

Fig. 5. Volcanicandsedimentary
episodes
in theNazasarea,alongwith theregionaltectoniceventsthathaveaffectedwestern
Mexicofrom60 to 10 Ma. (Top)TheassignedK-At agesof thevolcanicunitsandtimingof conglomerate
depositionin theNazas
area.

In theNazasarea,theEoceneandOligocenevolcanism canbeattributed proportionsfor the differentlithologies.It is clear that the Eocene(pre-

toanevolvingtectonicsetting,fromsubduction alonga continentalmargin Oligocenein Tayoltita)sectionsin all threeareasarelithologicallydiverse,
to intraplateextension,
justashasbeensuggested forTertiaryvolcanismin includingthickfelsictuffstogetherwith intermediate rocks.The presence
the southwestern United States[Christiansen and Lipman, 1972; Noble, of extensiveash flow tuffs indicatesexistenceof calderasprior to the
1972]andin theTrans-Pecos TexasandadjacentMexico[Priceetal., 1987]. Oligoceneignimbriteflare-up.Eoceneexplosivevolcanismwascoevalor
The waningof compression afterthemainLaramidedeformation mayhave closelyassociated(at least in time) with major andesiticlava flows or
startedabout15 m.y. beforethetimethatthePacificplatefirstmadecontact dacitic-rhyodaciticdomes,as is typical of orogenicmagmaticbelts at
with NorthAmericanplate [ConeyandHarms,1984],whichwasat about continentalmargins[Gill, 1981].In contrast,mostOligocenesections that
30 Ma EAtwater,1989].Duringthisperiod,thecrustrelaxedfroma long- havebeendescribed in theSMO consistdominantlyof felsicashflow tuffs,
lastingcompressiveregime,magmasrosebeneathwesternMexico, ulti- exceptnearcalderasources[Cameronet al., 1980;Wark et al., 1990].
matelyproducingtheEoceneexplosivefelsicvolcanismaswell asinterme-
diate lava domesand flows. The transitionfrom subductionto intraplate
Pre-Oli•ocene Volcanism in Central Chihuahua
extension, whichinitiatedat about30 Ma [PriceandHenry,1984],enabled
magmastorisemorerapidlyandto shallowerlevelsin thecrust,producing
Documentedtimingfor volcanismin CentralChihuahua rangesfrom68
thehigheffusionratescharacteristic of theignimbriteflare-up.
to 28 Ma [Mauger,1981;McDowell et al., 1989].McDowell et al. [1989]
Duringemplacement of the-30 Ma ashflow tuffs,normalfaultingwas
initiatedat about29.5 Ma in the Nazasarea(G. Aguirre-Dfazand F. W.
indicatethat Tertiary volcanismin centralChihuahuawas particularly
intensein theintervals45-41 Ma, 38-35 Ma, and33-28 Ma. In Figure6, the
McDowell,manuscript in preparation,1991).Thiswasfollowedby depo-
compositecolumnfor centralChihuahuashowsthick unitsof andesites,
sitionof theSantaInGsFormation,a thickfanglomerate thatmayberelated
rhyolites,andashflowtuffsin itslowerpart.Thelowermost unitshavebeen
to the faulting event. The final volcanicepisodein the Nazas area is
mappedmainlyin MajalcaCanyon[Spruill,1976;Mauger,1981, 1983b],
represented by eruptionof 24-20 Ma alkalicbasalts,whichoverlietheSanta
a majoreastwarddrainagethroughthe Calera-DelNido block,whichis a
InGsfanglomerate. Thebasaltsoccurover,oradjacentto,normalfaults,and
tiltedhorstthatextendsnorthwardfromChihuahuaCity for about150km.
thusthey may belongto the Basinand Rangenormalfaultingepisode
Spruill [1976, p. 45] measureda thicknessof morethan3 km for Perias
(Figure5).
AzulesAndesite,whichhasyieldeda singleK-Ar ageof 68 Ma [Mauger,
1981;McDowellet al., 1989].No thicknesses weredetermined for Majalca
Early TertiaryVolcanismin theSMO andAlmirecessequences, but schematic crosssections
of Mauger[1981]
indicatethatthe Majalca Canyonrhyolitesandashflow tuffsmay be of
In addition to the section at Nazas there are other areas within the SMO comparablethicknessto the PeriasAzulesAndesite,while the Almireces
wherevolcanicrocksof Eoceneagehavebeendescribed. Eoceneandolder sequence is apparentlysomewhatthinner.A recentlydetermined U-Pb age
volcanismis well documented in centralChihuahua[e.g.Mauger,1981, of 42 Ma for Majalca Canyonrhyolite[McDowellet al., 1989],continued
1983a,b, c; McDowell et al., 1989]andis stronglyindicatedat Tayoltita, field studiesby R. L. Mauger (personalcommunication, 1988), and a
Durango,and areasto the west [Nemeth,1976; Henry and Fredrikson, reconnaissance visit by the authorsto the areaindicatethat the Majalca
1987].Near DurangoCity, a pre-Oligocene volcanicsequence is evident CanyonandAlmirecesunitsareyounger thanPerias
AzulesAndesite,rather
[McDow ell andKeizer, 1977;Swansonetal., 1978],butit hasnotbeenwell thanolderasoriginallydepictedby Mauger[1981, 1983b].
studied.Figure6 summarizes the volcanicstratigraphyof Tayoltita,the Pre-Oligocenevolcanicrocksalsocropoutin severalotherareasin the
DurangoCityarea,Nazas,andcentralChihuahua regions,
includingavailable Calera-Del Nido block [Mauger, 1981, 1983a,b, c, 1988; Mauger and
geochronology. Thecolumnshavebeengreatlysimplifiedby grouping into Dayvault, 1983]. In rangeseastof the Calera-DelNido block,the oldest
generallithologies.Approximatethicknesses for theunitscanbe inferred volcanicunitsareundated,but theyoccurbeneathfelsictuffsasold as45
from Figure 6, but volumeestimatesare not available.Nevertheless, the Ma. Thesearein turnoverlainbyOligocenefelsicashflowtuffs,andinsome
columns,althoughschematic,providereasonableestimatesof relative places33-29Ma maficlavaflowscapthesequence [AlbaandChfivez,1974;
13,382 Aguirre-DiazandMcDowell:EoceneVolcanismin WesternMexico

TAYOLTITA-DURANGO NAZAS CENTRAL CHIHUAHUA

Ma _
-24 29-33 Ma

• 29-32 Ma
29-32
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

30-47---

19-32 4O 27-38 Ma

42-45

45

45-
38-40 Ma
52 Ma 1
Productive
Andesitc Almireces
42-45 Ma

45 Ma•
Portal
Majalca
42 Ma

.,,•,
.:.•,
Perias Azules
68 Ma
CO Ma ,.•

Majalca

I Mafic lava flows Andesltlc

domesandto rhyodacitic
flows
500 m

Silicic
ash-flow
tuffs •,•j••Rhyolite
flows
and
tuffs
Andesitic lavas and

Ii**i**i:t
breccIas • Limestones /1/ Thickness
reduced
forplotting
Fig. 6. Schematiccompositesections in threelocalitiesof theSierraMadreOccidental;
fromsouthto north:Tayoltita-Durango,
Nazas,andCentralChihuahuastate.Tayoltita-Durango columncombinesthesections at Tayoltitaandthatof theDurangoCity.
The left sideof thebreakline representstheTayoltitasection,andtherightsiderepresentstheDurangoCity area.For locations,
seeFigure1. Tayoltita-Durango column:Henry[1975],Nemeth[1976],McDowellandKeizer[1977],Swanson et al. [1978],
McDowellandClabaugh[ 1979],HenryandFredrikson[ 1987],Louckset al. [ 1988];Nazascolumn:Pantoja-Aloret al. [ 1967],
Clarket al. [1980],Reyes-Cort6s [1985],andthisstudy;CentralChihuahua column:Alba andChavez[1974],Capps[1981],
Bockoven[ 1981], Megaw[ 1981], Kelleretal. [1982],Mauger[ 1981,1983a,b,c, 1988],MaugerandDayvault[ 1983],Stimacand
Wark [1983], Duex [1983], McDowell et al. [1989], andCook [1990].

Bockoven,1981;Capps,1981;Megaw, 1981;Kelleret al., 1982;Cook,
1990].Younger(28-25Ma) maficlavaflowsoccurabout100-150kmwest
of ChihuahuaCity [StimacandWark, 1983;Duex, 1983;Cameronet al.,
1989].
Pre-Olieocene Volcanism in Tavoltita
and Durango City Areas
_ Tayoltita,andin generalalongthewesternflankof theSMO, theOligocene
In orderto providea morecompletesequence for thesouthernSMO,
Figure6 showsa compositeof thestratigraphy
atDurango City [McDowell
and Keizer, 1977; Swanson et al., 1978], with that documentedin the
Tayoltitaarea[Henry,1975;Nemeth,1976;HenryandFredrikson, 1987].
At Tayoltita and areasto the west plutonicrocksare exposedas the
prevolcanicbasement [Nemeth,1976;HenryandFredrikson, 1987],instead
of Cretaceouscarbonatesasat NazasandChihuahuaareas.This is typical
of the westernSMO, whereplutonicrocksform muchof the exposed
basement[McDowell and Clabaugh,1979]. The batholithiccomplexat
Tayoltitaandwestwardto thecoastincludesdiorites,granodiorites, and
granites[HenryandFredrikson, 1987].Theplutonsrangefromatleast100
Ma to about43 Ma andsomeare believedto be coevalwith a widespread
sequence ofvolcanicrocks[Henry,1975;HenryandFredrikson, 1987].The
youngest partof thelowervolcanicsequencein TayoltitacouldbeEocene
(as youngas 43 Ma), but the sectionincludesrocksolderthanEocene.
Within thepre-Oligocene volcanicsequencein Tayoltita,Nemeth[1976]
recognizedthick felsic ash flow tuffs interbeddedwith andesiticflows
(Figure 6), with a total maximumthicknessestimatedto be 2500 m. The
volcano-plutonic complexis unconformably overlainby a 1500-m-thick
sequence offelsictuffs[Nemeth,1976].HenryandFredrikson [1987]report
a timerangeof 32 toabout19Ma forthisuppersequence. NoMiocenemafic
lava flows have beenreportedfrom Tayoltita and areasto the west.At
andMiocenevolcanicrockshavebeenmoredeeplyerodedthanin areasto
theeast.Lesswell documented withagesisthepre-Oligocene volcanism at
theDurangoCity area.There, theonlydatedpre-Oligocene unitis a 52 Ma
andesite[McDowell and Keizer, 1977]. The andesiteis in someplaces
interbedded withfelsicvolcanicrocks,andit isunconformably overlainby
approximately800 m of Oligocene(31.8-28.6Ma) ashflow tuffs[Swanson
et al., 1978]. Although there is evidenceof pre-Oligocenefelsic and
intermediate volcanism,therearenotgoodconstraints ontheextentandage
rangeof pre-Oligocenevolcanicrocksin theDurangoCity area.
Eocene Volcanism in Nazas
Timing for theEocenevolcanismat Nazasisconstrainedfrom51 to40
Ma. The Nazasstratigraphy
combinesfeaturesof Tayoltita,theDurango,
and the central Chihuahua areas.It has Cretaceouscarbonatesat its base,as
in Chihuahua,but it alsoincludesrelativelyabundantsmallintrusionsthat
mayreflectunexposed largerplutonssimilarto thoseat Tayoltita.Eocene
 Aguirre-D/azandMcDowell:EoceneVolcanismin WesternMexico 13,383

volcanismat Nazashassimilarlithologiccharacteristics to thatof central At Nazas,redbeddepositsmarkanunconformity betweentheBoquillas

Chihuahua,andof TayoltitaandDurangoCity.Thissimilarityincludesthe
interfingeringof felsic tuffs with intermediatelava flows or domesof
significantvolume. In all threeareasthereis anoverlyingthickOligocene
ashflow tuff sequence,which,exceptat Tayoltita,is in turncappedby
Miocene mafic lava flows.
Relationship _
Between Pre-Olieocene
_
and Oli•ocene
_
Volcanism
At Nazas,Tayoltita,andDurangoCity,thepre-Oligocene andOligocene
volcanicsequences areclearlyseparated by unconformities, someof which
areoccupiedby coarseredsandstones andconglomerates. At Tayoltita,red
bedsareupto 36 m thick [Nemeth,1976],andto thewesttheyareupto 150
m thick [Fredrikson,1974].The redcontinentaldepositsoverlyingthepre-
Oligocenesequence in TayoltitahavebeencalledthePefiaconglomerate
andtheLasPalmasredbeds,bothmainlyderivedfromunderlying andesite,
duringa hiatusin volcanicactivity[Nemeth,1976].Accordingto Nemeth
[1976], both of theseunitslie in low angularunconformityon the pre-
Oligocenerocksandareunconformably overlainby Oligocene(?) volcanic
rocks[Nemeth,1976].TheLasPalmasredbedsstrikeN30øWanddip28øE
on the averagebut dipsashighas80øarelocallyfound[Nemeth,1976].
In areaswest of Tayoltita and nearMazatlftn,Henry and Fredrikson
[ 1987]reportredbedswithinabasalunitof theOligocenevolcanicsequence
(their uppervolcanicsupergroup). The basalunit is up to severalhundred
metersthickandincludespyroclasticrocks,laharsandboulderconglomer-
ates,and lava flows of andesiticcomposition. This unit unconformably
overliespre-Oligoceneigneousrocksandis conformablyoverlainby the
youngervolcanicsequence[Henry and Fredrikson,1987]. Accordingto
Fredrikson[ 1974], the red bedsunderliethe andesirelava flows within the
basalunitandareup to 150m thick.The redbedsconsistof cross-bedded,
thintothick-bedded sandstone withsomeconglomerate [Fredrikson,1974].
Althoughit is not clearly statedby Henry and Fredrikson[1987] and
Fredrikson[ 1974],theredbedsapparentlymarktheunconformity between
pre-OligoceneandOligocenesequences.
Coloradas andCerroPrietotuffs.Theredbedsareratherthin,beingupto
5 m thick.Outcropsaresmall,fan-shapeddeposits,
scattered
throughoutthe
mappedarea.Where bestexposed,theyconsistof 0 to 4-m-thick,reddish,
poorlyconsolidated depositsof gravelandsand,whichin turnoverlaya 0
to 1-m-th$ck,
purplish
toreddish-brown
weathered
surface
ontopof the
BoquillasColoradastuff. The clasticdepositis a cyclic sequenceof
normallygradedlayers,5-15 cm thick,with clastsizesrangingfrom less
than 1 mm to about 1 cm. Repetitionof gradingindicatesthat therewere
severaldepositional
episodes.Detritusismostlyof underlyingashflowtuffs
andandesites,buta few limestoneandchertclastsarealsopresent.Thered
bedsgenerallystrike NW and dip 5ø-20øSW.The red bedsat Nazas are
unconformably overlainby CerroPrietotuff.
At DurangoCity area a volcanichiatusbetweenpre-Oligoceneand
Oligocenesequenceshas been reported[McDowell and Keizer, 1977;
Swansonet al., 1978], but noredbedshavebeenfound.In centralChihuahua
the succession of EocenethroughOligocenevolcanismappearsto be
continuous [Capps,1981;Megaw, 1981;Kelleret al., 1982;McDowellet
al., 1989]. Likewise, there appearsto be no breakin Trans-PecosTexas
[HenryandMcDowell, 1986].
Baseduponthe character of thesedimentary deposits
andonavailable
agesfor theunderandoverlyingvolcanicrocks,thesebreaksmayhavebeen
longerin thesouthandwestof theSMO, becomingshorter progressively
to
thenortheast. More workneedstobedonein ordertoconstrain in spaceand
time this unconformitybeforeestablishingits tectonicsignificanceand
whetherit is regionalin character.
Distribution of Eocene Volcanism in Western Mexico
Asidefrom thethreeareasjust described,
knownEoceneageexposures
withinthe SMO are very sparse.Figure7 showsthedistribution of all the
Eocenevolcanicrocklocalitiesthathavebeensofarreportedin theliterature
fromtheSMO andadjacentareas,includingpartsof westTexas,southeast-
em Arizona, and southwesternNew Mexico. Table 4 summarizes this
informationwith references.Includedin Figure 7 are a few reportsof

I I I I

1•6 112 108 104 100 9•

I 26
25 ',
24
1

3
2

4 27

Rio Grande
30--
-3

Chihuahua

Laredo

26--
-26

1
Abasolo••
Torre6n .

1
14
MazathSr •
Zacatecas
22--
-22 2

0
I 250
I 500
I km •,•
Fig. 7. Distributionof areaswithreportedEocene(40-53Ma) igneousrocksin theSierraMadreOccidentalandadjacentvolcanic
areas.SLP: city of SanLuis Potos/.Numbersreferto descriptions
andreferences in Table4.
13,384 Aguirre-D/azandMcDowell:EoceneVolcanismin WesternMexico

TABLE 4. Reported
Eocene(40-53Ma) Igneous
Rocksin theSMO andAdjacentAreas

No. Age andRock Type Locality Reference

1 48 Ma dacitic dikes Ciudad Jufirez-E1 Paso Marvin et al. [1988]

2 45-42 Ma felsictuffs SierrasCalera-DelNido,Tinaja Mauger[1981, 1983a,b, c], Maugerand
andrhyoliticdomes LisaandSacramento Dayvault [1983], and McDowell et al. [1989]
3 3844 Ma felsictuffs SierraDel Gallego Keller et al. [1982]
4 38-45 Ma felsic tuffs Sierra Pefia Blanca Alba andChfivez[1974] andCfirdenas[1983]
5 >45 Ma felsictuffs RanchoE1Papalote Capps[ 1981]
6 40-42 Ma felsic tuffs Rancho Las Palomas F. W. McDowell (unpublished
U-Pb
and andesites ages,1990)
7 38-42 Ma felsic tuffs Cusiariachic F. W. McDowell (unpublished
U-Pb
and andesites ages,1990)
8 42.5 Ma felsic tuffs Talamantes Clark et al. [1980]
9 51.2 Ma felsic tuffs E1 Colorado Clark et al. [1980]
10 40-51 Ma felsic tuffs Nazas thisstudy
and andesites

11 51.6 Ma andesites DurangoCity McDowell and Keizer [1977]

!2 44.1 Ma andesites SanLuis Potos/City Aranda-G6mezet al. [1983]
!3 >43 Ma felsicand Tayoltita Henry[1975]andHenryandFredrikson[1987]
intermediate volcanics

14 >45Magranites
and Mazatlfin-Tayoltita HenryandFredrikson[1987]
granodiorites
andcoeval
volcanicequivalents
15 49 Ma granodiorite LasHigueras Clark et al. [1988]
16 4346 Ma andesites Topia Clark et al. [1979] and Loucks et al. [1988]
andgranodiorite
intrudingandesites
17 51.6 Ma dacites Batopilas Shafiqullahet al. [1983]
and andesites

18 49.6 Ma granodiorite SantaRosa Damon et al. [1983a]

19 41.6 Ma pegmatite
20 40-51 Ma granodiorite
andrhyoliteporphiries
21 50-52.5Ma quartz-diorite,
43.2 Ma andesite
Mazocahui Damon et al. [1983a]
SanJudas,SantaRosaand Damon et al. [1983a]
Oposuramines
La Caridadand Damon et al. [1983a]
La Florida

22 49.6 and51 Ma rhyolite SanFelipedeJesfs Damon et al. [1983b]

23 42.5 Ma granodiorite SanJuan Damon et al. [1983a]
24 50.8 Ma andesite SE Arizona Shafiqullahet al. [1980]
25 43 Ma andesite SE New Mexico Bornhorst& Elston [1981]
26 Andesites beneath Sierra Las Uvas Seager[1973]
38 Ma ash flow tuffs

27 39-48 Ma intrusiverhyolites, ChristmasMountains Henry et al. [1989]

basalts,and felsic tuffs

For locationsseeFigure 7.

intrusiverocks,whicharepresumed hereto be thecomagmaticequivalent volcanism appearsto havecoveredmostof theareaof theSMO, although

of erodedvolcanicrocks.In somecasestheevidenceismerelya singleK- the well-documented occurrences are limitedto theeasternportion.The
Ar age determinationwith no stratigraphicinformation.The reported remainderof thedistribution is inferredfromtheoutcrops of Eoceneage
occurrences of Eocenevolcanicrocksin theSMO maybelimitedbecause volcanicrocksreportedelsewhere.
rocksof thisage havebeencompletelyoverlookedor becausetheyhave Theinferredextentof theEocenevolcanicfieldin Mexicoisapparently
been reportedas pre-Oligocenebut without age or stratigraphicdata. equivalentto thatof theOligocenevolcanicrocks.Eoceneactivityin west
Furthermore, in muchof thecentralportionof theSMO, theOligoceneash Texaswas about800 km inlandfrom the platemargin(Figure8). The
flow tuff blanketcompletelyconcealsolderrocks. extremewidthat thenorthernportionof thevolcanicfield maybe dueto
Despitethefragmentary natureof thisinformation,
anattempttorecon- morepronounced BasinandRangeextensionin thatregion.Henry[1989]
structthedistribution
ofEocenevolcanism forwestern
Mexicoandadjacent hasestimatedtentatively20-50% extensionfor southernSinaloa,with the
areasof theUnitedStatesisgivenin Figure8. Fromthiscompilation,
Eocene severityof extensionapparentlyincreasing northward.
 Aguirre-DiazandMcDowell:EoceneVolcanismin WesternMexico 13,385

I
i
I

=40 Ma

Farallon
Plate ß

Fig. 8. Inferreddistributionof theEocenevolcanicbelt in westernMexico (dottedarea). Approximatepositionof the spreading

ridgebetweenFarallonandPacificplates(doubleline)andassociated majortransformfaults(singlelines)at about40 Ma according
toAtwater[ 1989].Convergence vectorof FarallonplaterelativetoNorthAmerica(boldarrow)fortheinterval37-43 Ma was53øNE
and111km/m.y. accordingtoEngebretson et al. [ 1985].TheGulf of Californiahasbeenclosedbasedonthereconstruction of Gastil
[ 1983].Palinspastic
reconstructionto eliminateBasinandRangeextension
wasnotperformedbecausetheamountof extension
in northwestern
Mexicois stillunknown.MeFZ, MendocinoFractureZone;MuFZ, MurrayFractureZone;C, Chihuahua
City; D,
DurangoCity; SLP, SanLuis PotoslCity.

Eocene Volcanism in Western North America
The Eocene volcanic cover in western Mexico extends northward into
southernArizonaandNew Mexico andintoTrans-Pecos Texas(Figures8
and 9). To the north,Eocenemagmatismappearsto be absentfrom the
westernUnitedStatessouthof latitude42øN.This"Eocenemagmagap"was
first recognizedby Lipmanet al. [ 1972].In thePacificNorthwest,Eocene
age magmatismis againpresentin a southwardwideningbelt from the
CanadianCordilleraacrossportionsof easternWashington andOregon,
Idaho,westernMontana,andnorthwestern Wyoming[Armstrong,1978,
1988; Ewing, 1980]. This activity, the Challisvolcanicepisodeof Arm-
strong[ 1978],startedatabout55 Ma, culminated between51 and45 Ma, and
diminishedby 43 Ma [Armstrong,1978, 1988;Ewing, 1980].Volcanism
wasdominantlycalc-alkalinein nature,exceptfor easternmost occurrences
of alkalinerocks[Ewing, 1980;Armstrong,1978, 1988].
At firstapproximationtheMexicanandPacificNorthwestEocenebelts
might appear to be parts of a single magmaticarc interruptedby an
amagmaticsegment,but thereare importantcontrasts betweenthem.First,
althoughthere is overlap in the total time rangesfor the two belts, the
culminationof activity from 51 to 45 Ma in the Pacific Northwestis
apparentlyearlier thanthatof theEoceneactivityin Mexico (46-40 Ma).
Second,significantextensional deformation in theformof crustalthinning,
strike-slipfaulting, and developmentof small sedimentary basinswas
concurrent with Eocenemagmatismin thePacificNorthwest[Ewing,1980,
Parrishet al., 1988].In contrast,no evidencefor Eocenestrike-slipfaulting
is known from Mexico. While Laramidecompression precededEocene
magmatismin westernMexico, availableevidencesuggests that the re-
gionalcrustalstressfielddidnotchangeuntilabout30Ma [PriceandHenry,
1984].Finally, the positionsof EoceneandOligocenemagmatismwere
broadlycoincidentin westernMexico. In the Pacific Northwest,Eocene
magmatismdied out by 42 Ma and activity shiftedto the southandwest
duringtheOligocene[Armstrong,1978;Lipman,1980].
Bothof thesemagmaticbeltswererelatedtosubduction of oceanicplates
beneaththe North Americanplate.The differencesin theircrustaltectonic
settingsmay be explainedby contrastsin the directionof convergence
betweenthe interactingplates.The inferredpresence of a spreadingridge
betweenthe Kula andFarallonplatesand thehistoryof the triplejunction
formedby thisridgeandtheNorthAmericanplatemarginduringtheEarly
TertiarysuggestthatduringEocene,Kula-NorthAmericainteractionwas
moreobliquethanFarallon-NorthAmericarelativemotion[Engebretson et
al., 1985; Lonsdale, 1988]. Beck [1986] has concludedthat strike-slip
faultingin thePacificNorthwestmayhavebeendeveloped asaresultof the
northwardcomponent of subductionof theKulaplate.In contrast,
thenearly
normalconvergence of Farallonplatedid notresultin thedevelopment of
strike-slipfaultsconcurrentlywith magmatismin westernMexico. Con-
trastsin therelationshipbetweenEoceneandOligocenemagmatismin the
two regionsmay alsobe explainedby theexistenceof theinferredKula-
Farallon-NorthAmericatriplejunctionanditsmigrationduringtheearlyto
mid-Tertiary. According to Beck [1986], the triple junction generally
migratedto the north,but possiblyin an irregularmannerduringthis
interval.Magmatismyoungerthan42 Ma mayhavebeenconfinedto that
portionof westernNorthAmericathatwasopposite totheFarallonplateand
its remnants.Atwater [1989] hasconstructed an evenmorecomplexsce-
nariofor themotionsof fragmentsderivedfromthenorthernFarallonplate
duringthe Tertiary.
Conclusions
1.Tertiaryvolcanismin theNazasareaoccurredbetween51 and20 Ma
in threedistinctepisodes.
Volcanismfrom51 to 40 Ma includedfelsicash
flow tuffs and andesitic lava flows and domes. Between 40 and 30 Ma the
only documentedactivity is a small 34 Ma rhyoliticdome.Coarsered
sandstones,laterallydiscontinuousand up to 5 m thick,were deposited
duringthisquietinterval.Around30 Ma, voluminous felsicashflow tuffs
wereerupted,apparentlyfrom sources outsidetheNazasarea.Subsequent
erosionof the ash flow tuffs and older units producedthe Santa In6s
Formation,a fanglomerate mainlycomposed of weldedtuff andlimestone
fragments.Theyoungest volcaniceventconsisted of alkalicbasalts
erupted
13,386 Aguirre-D/azandMcDowell:EoceneVolcanismin WesternMexico

raneous with Eocene volcanic rocks in northwestern United States and in

adjacentportionsof westernCanada.The two beltswere separated by a
magmaticgapin thecentralwesternUnitedStates.AlthoughtheseEocene
magmaticbeltsarebothultimatelyrelatedtosubduction processes alongthe
140
westernmarginof North Americanplate, thereappearto be important
differencesbetweenthemin theircrustaltectonicsetting,in thenatureof the
transitionto Oligocenemagmatism, andin theirtimingof peakmagmatic
activity.Thesedifferences
maybe attributedto contrasts in thehistoryof
relativemotionof thesubducting oceanicplatesin thetworegions.
40

Acknowledgments. We thankEric Swansonand WolfgangElstonfor

carefulreviews.Theircomments, alongwiththoseby AlanGlazner,helped
130
usto improvethemanuscript. We alsothankDan BarkerandChrisHenry
forcomments onearlyversions of themanuscript. ChrisHenry'svisittothe
.... field areaandhis advicearegratefullyacknowledged.
FernandoOrtega-Guti6rrez
We aregratefulto
andJos6Guerrero,Directorsof theInstitutode
Geolog/aof Universidad NacionalAut6noma deM6xico,whopermitted the
%. \ ? "..• ! !
useof theinstitute'svehiclesduringfieldwork.G.A.D. particularlythanks
to MarcosOrtegaandMarcialCamargo,whoservedasfieldassistants, and
tothefollowingpeoplefortheirhelpin severalways:fromNazas,Ernestina
BravoandAgust/nRivas;fromTorre6n,F61ixandEmma(deceased) L6pez-
Amor, Alicia D/az-Fierro,andArmandoAguirre-D/az.Supportfor this
studywasprovidedin partfroma scholarship to G.A.D. fromtheMexican
agencyCONACYT, from the GeologyFoundation of the Department of
GeologicalSciencesof the Universityof Texasat Austin,andfrom NSF
grant8720380 to F.M.
120 Tayoltita'
References

o
I
o
I I km
lOOO
Aguirre-D/az,G., Eoceneandyoungervolcanism
SierraMadreOccidental,
Univ. of Tex. at Austin, 1988.
ontheeastemflankof the
Nazas,Durango,Mexico,M.A. thesis,179pp.,

Alba,L. A., andR. Chfivez,K-Ar agesof volcanicrocksfromcentralSierra

I II I mi[
110 100 90
Fig. 9. Infe•ed o•gin• dist•butionof EocenevoEanismin westernNorth
America. Solid •e• •e ]oc•ides in Mexico with known •cene
discussedin thispaper.U.S.andCanadadis•ibutionafterArms•ong[ 1978,
1988], •d Lipm• [1980].
from24 to 20 Ma. Pre-Tertiaryigneousactivityisrepresented by a small
outcropof intermediatelava flows and brecciasapparentlydeformed Armstrong.R.L., MesozoicandearlyCenozoicmagmaticevolutionof the
togetherwith UpperCretaceous limestones.
Plutonicrocksincludea mon-
zonite,a rhyoliteporphyry,anda dioritedatedat 87 Ma.
2. The volcanicsequencein the Nazasregionis similarin age and
characterto thatin centralChihuahuaandtheTayoltita,andDurangoCity
areas.The main similarityis the presenceof Eocene(or pre-Oligocene)
felsicashflow tuffsinterbeddedwithrocksof intermediate
composition. At
Nazasandin centralChihuahua,bothof whicharealongtheeasternflank
of the Sierra Madre Occidental,theserest uponCretaceous carbonates. Barker, D. S., Tertiary alkaline magmatismin Trans-PecosTexas, in
Locally thick, and older (Late Cretaceousto Early Tertiary), volcanic
sequences like thoseexposedin theMajalcaCanyonareaof centralChihua-
huaareabsentat Nazas.Also,atDurangoCity,Tayolfita,andNazas,butnot
in centralChihuahua,a late Eocene-earlyOligoceneunconformity is evi-
dent.
3. A widerspectrumof compositions andvolcanicstylesexistedduring
the Eocenethan during the Oligocenein the SierraMadre Occidental.
Eocenevolcanismincludesrelativelylargevolumesof andesitelavasor
dacitic-rhyodacitic
lavadomesandfelsicashflow tuffs,asis moretypical
of orogenicmagmaticbeltsat continental margins.In contrast,
mostOligo-
cenesectionsin the SierraMadreOccidentalconsistdominantly of wide-
spreadfelsic ash flow tuffs, except near calderasources,where minor
volumesof rocksintermediatein composition arealsofound.
4. Eocenevolcanicrockshavebeenreportedfromadditionallocalities
throughoutthe SierraMadre Occidental,mostlyaroundtheedgesof the
volcanicprovince,wherethethickOligoceneashflow tuff coverhasbeen
erodedat itsmargins.Fromthedistribution of theseexposures,theoriginal
extent of Eocene volcanismmay have been comparableto that of the
Oligocenevolcanicfield.
5. The Eocenevolcanicfield in westernMexicowasin partcontempo-
PefiaBlanca, Chihuahua,Mexico, IsochronWest,10, 21-23, 1974.
Aranda-G6mez,J., G. Labarthe-Hernfindez, andM. Tristfin-G.,E1volcan-
ismo Cenozoicoen San Luis Potos/y su relaci6ncon la provincia
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Minas Metalurg.Ge61.MdxicoA.C., 15, 261-287, 1983.
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