Mexico is the world's sixth largest country in terms of area, with high mountains, deep depressions and plains. But it is remarkable not only for this. The amazing country is called the cradle of civilizations: at a time when Europe was still far from many scientific discoveries, the Maya Indians already applied their knowledge in the field of astronomy, mathematics, alchemy and other sciences. Until now, many mysteries of this amazing and wise tribe have remained unsolved.
The Indians knew about the rich subsoil of their state, then it was not yet called "Mexico", they mined minerals in an open way, processed them and used them in their household. The conquering conquistadors were amazed at how many silver and precious stones and iron items the locals had.
Mexico's minerals are very diverse. This is due to the fact that the country has volcanoes (both active and extinct). During the outpouring, magma gets not only on the surface, but also inside the earth, where various processes take place and intrusive rocks are formed.rocks.
Geological structure
Why Mexico is rich in minerals, it will not be possible to briefly consider, because the country has a large number of different geological structures that affect the formation of rocks.
The territory of Mexico is located on such large geological units as:
- Folded zones of the east, west - the Sierra Madre.
- Paleozoic folding of the southern Sierra Madre.
- Block of the Baja California Peninsula.
- Sonoran block.
- Mexican Trough.
- Yucatan Plate.
The fold zones of the east and west of the Sierra Madre
These are the largest structural elements of Mexico. The eastern fold zone of the Sierra Madre lies at a northern latitude between 19° and 20°. Between the folding there are structures of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt, where there are many active volcanoes. They were formed by Neogene-Quaternary volcanics. In this area, Mesozoic-Early Cenozoic folding can be distinguished, which overlie crystalline schists and Precambrian gneisses. Non-metamorphosed Paleozoic sedimentary deposits are represented by carbonate rocks of the Lower and Middle Paleozoic. Triassic and Jurassic multi-colored sandstones, evaporites, mudstones, clays and limestone form Mesozoic complexes.
The western fold zone of the Sierra Madre stretches from the northern border of Mexico to the volcanic belt. This folding is composed mainly of volcaniclate Cretaceous, Cenozoic rocks, which include bas alts and andesites. Deposits of copper, silver and lead-zinc ores can be dated to the outcropping volcanic rocks of the Cretaceous period.
Paleozoic folding of the southern Sierra Madre
This fold structure is located within the Trans-Mexican fold belt and the shelf zone of the Pacific Ocean. Early Paleozoic intrusive and metamorphic rocks are distinguished here, as well as Early Jurassic continental sedimentary strata, Jurassic marine deposits.
Baja California Peninsula Block
In the west of the block there are rocks of the Mesozoic age, and most of them are occupied by granitoid batholiths. A layer of clastic volcanic and marine sediments passes over these formations. The Gulf of California Rift is formed by complex fold-and-thrust structures.
Sonora Block
The block is located between the Gulf of California and the western part of the Sierra Madre. It is composed of granitoids and metamorphic rocks of Precambrian origin, as well as Ordovician-Carboniferous carbonate rocks.
The Sonoran block is characterized by the fact that Cretaceous stocks of granites, hypabyssal rocks, where deposits of porphyry copper ores are located.
Mexican Trough
The Mexican Foredeep lies in front of the Cordillera fold belt. For the most part clastic rocks of the Paleogene and Neogene are found. Flat structures in reef limestones of the Cretaceousaccumulated hydrocarbon minerals.
Yucatan Plate
Completely composed of Neogene and Paleogene carbonates. Oil fields are confined to Cretaceous rift deposits in the west of the plate.
Relief
The relief and minerals of Mexico depend on geological structures. The relief of the country is quite complex: it contains mountains, plateaus and plains. Most of the country is occupied by highlands and inland plateaus. In turn, the plateau is divided into two parts: Mesa Central and Mesa North. The name "mesa" comes from the Spanish "table".
Central Mesa is surrounded on all sides by mountain systems. It is almost completely covered with volcanic products, on this flat plain there are many basins of ancient lakes. Central Mesa reaches an altitude of 2600 meters to the south.
The Western Sierre Madre is a powerful mountain range cut by deep river canyons. The Sierra rises sharply when moving towards the Gulf of California, but towards the inner plateau, the heights change gradually. Such sharp elevation changes in the relief can be explained by the fact that numerous faults are observed here with a crystalline basement coming to the surface. The tops of the mountains are smoothed by sedimentary rocks.
The California Peninsula is a narrow and mountainous stretch of land. The ridges reach 3000 meters above sea level.
Eastern Sierra Madre is a collection of mountain ranges with altitudes from 1000 to 3000 m. The Sierra is covered with a layer of sedimentary rocks. To coastal lowland when moving east (to the Gulf of Mexico), mountainsends abruptly.
On the southern outskirts of the Central Mesa from east to west is the Transverse Volcanic Sierra - the largest and highest mountain system of the Earth. Here is one of the largest volcanoes - Orizaba. Its regular cone rises to 3000 meters from the base, and the height is 5700 m above sea level, which is slightly higher than the Elbrus volcano.
Further, when moving south, the Transverse Volcanic Sierra ends with a deep depression of tectonic origin. Beyond the Valsas River lies the Southern Sierra Madre. It stretches parallel to the Pacific Ocean. Unlike other mountain systems, there are no active volcanoes here, it is composed mainly of sedimentary rocks.
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is relatively low, its height only in some places reaches 650 m. Behind it lies the Chiapas mountain system. This complex mountain range occupies the entire southeast of Mexico. Chiapas is conditionally divided into two parts: the highlands of the same name and the Sierra Madre range.
The largest lowland in Mexico, Tabasco, is located near the Gulf of Mexico and is covered with marine sediments.
After examining all the structures and topography in detail, one can answer the question of why Mexico is rich in minerals. It mainly depends on the processes that took place on the territory of the modern state thousands of years ago: plate movements, volcanic eruptions, glacier movements, etc.
What is richMexico. Minerals
You can say that the country has almost all minerals. Why is Mexico rich in minerals? This is due to the diversity of the relief. There are significant reserves of such minerals as iron, mercury, gold, silver, ores of antimony, copper, zinc, graphite, bismuth, etc. In addition, oil and gas are being produced in the country. The following will briefly describe the economically important minerals of Mexico.
Oil and Gas
About 350 oil fields and about 200 gas fields have been explored on the territory of the state. Most of the reserves are concentrated within the Gulf - the Mexican oil and gas basin.
There are a lot of deposits in the territory, but they are all relatively small, only a few have oil reserves of more than 100 million tons, gas - more than 100 billion m³. In terms of the reserves of this valuable raw material, Mexico is second only to Venezuela in Latin America.
There are five areas in the Mexican oil and gas basin:
- North-Eastern region. Located in the trough of the Rio Bravo del Norte.
- Tampico Tuspan. Previously, this area was the richest in reserves. The Poza Rica region, with Upper Cretaceous reef limestones, stood out in particular.
- Veracus.
- South. Located near the coast of Tabasco-Campeche. Now it ranks first in terms of oil reserves.
- Yucatan.
Coking coals
The main place of extraction is the Sabinas basin. Almost all large deposits are confined to depositsCretaceous.
Sulfur
Deposits are confined to the sulfur-bearing province of the Gulf of Mexico. Native sulfur was formed due to gas emissions from volcanoes located near the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. In terms of the reserves of this mineral, Mexico occupies one of the first places in the world.
Gold, silver, polymetallic ores
Mexican minerals such as gold, silver and polymetallic ores are always together. The skarn metal belt stretches from the northwest to the southeast. It begins with large deposits of copper and silver (Kananea region). Next come the "nodes" of deposits of gold, silver and polymetallic ores. These are deposits such as El Potosí, Zacatecas.
Mercury
Deposits of metal found in the zones of modern volcanism. Deposits: El Oro, Taxco, Mineral del Monto, Winzuco.
Iron ore
This type of mineral is usually found along with antimony and titanium ores. There are not so many areas rich in intrusive minerals, but they play an important role in the country's economy. Deposits: Manzanillo, Durango.
Graphite
It is mined mainly in the state of Sonora. It was formed due to the impact of granitoid intrusions on coal seams.
Fluorite
11% of all reserves of this mineral are concentrated in Mexico. Deposits: Saqualpan, La Barra, Guadalajara, Paila, Aguachile, San Marcos and others.
The main minerals of Mexico are not only the above types, but also such as gypsum, rock s alt, opal, strontium.
Why is Mexico rich in minerals? The short answer sounds like this: due to the presence of various geological structures on the territory of the country, the manifestations of intense volcanism. Therefore, almost all minerals can be found here in different quantities. Some of these minerals and rocks play an important role in the country's economy. For example, silver, sulfur, fluorite and oil.
The huge area of a state like Mexico, topography, minerals, rich history - all this makes the country unique and inimitable.
