The post-Laramide clastic deposits of the Sierra de Guanajuato: Compositional implications on the tectono-sedimentary and paleographic evolution
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/egeol.42480.417Keywords:
Mesa Central, red beds, Guanajuato Conglomerate, Duarte Conglomerate, Arperos basin, Berriasian-Valanginian limestoneAbstract
This article presents the results of the study on sedimentation, sedimentary environments, tectono-sedimentary and paleogeographic evolution of post-Laramide clastic deposits and pre-volcanism of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the Sierra de Guanajuato, central Mexico. The Eocene Duarte Conglomerate and Guanajuato Conglomerate were deposited in the middle and distal parts of alluvial fans. The studied rocks are composed of limestone clasts, granite, andesite, metasediments, diorite, and pyroxenite, indicating the erosion of uplifted blocks of the basal complex of the Sierra de Guanajuato (Arperos basin). The petrographic and compositional analysis of limestone shows a textural variation from basin limestones and shallow platform limestones. The shallow platform limestone contain bivalves, brachiopods, gastropods, echinoderms and benthic foraminifera from the Berriasian-Valanginian. The shallow-water limestone corresponds to the boundary of the Arperos basin whose original outcrops currently not outcrop in the Sierra de Guanajuato.
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