New Superficial Trace of the Los Humeros and Los Potreros Volcanic Calderas, Mexico

Abstract

A photo-geologic re-interpretation and a new analysis of the Bouguer’s anomaly map of the Los Humeros geothermal field allow define the new superficial trace of the rim of the Quaternary volcanic calderas of Los Humeros and Los Potreros in the Mexican states of Puebla and Veracruz. The photo-geologic re-interpretation shows a volcanic arc in the northern portion that, together with the Los Potreros caldera rim at the south, the Maxtaloya caldera and the Arenas, La Víbora and Los Coyotes volcanoes at west, marks the new trace of the Los Potreros Caldera (LPC). Three volcanic edifices are identified north of that trace. These, as well as the Los Humeros caldera rim, a southern volcanic arc, the El Jaral volcano and the semi-craters of El Valle and La Yerba at the west, define the new trace of the Los Humeros caldera (LHC). The Bouguer’s anomaly map show a gravimetric minimum related to the LHC, which is coincident with the trace defined by the photo-geologic map. For fotogeológica reinterpretation, Geographic Information System (GIS) technology was used ArcGIS 10.1, with this tool shaded terrain models were developed, based on information the Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The DEMs are distributed by NASA through these ASTER Global program contains a high resolution 20 m per pixel and a contour interval of 1 meter to each contour. Thus, the field was well represented obtaining greater detail the topo-forms which in turn helped to define the new surface geologic maps. The new traces so defined imply new exploration targets in the Los Humeros geothermal field, which is one of the four fields in operation in Mexico.