Fissure ignimbrites: Fissure-source origin for voluminous
ignimbrites of the Sierra Madre Occidental and its
relationship with Basin and Range faulting
Gerardo J. Aguirre-Dı́az* Centro de Geociencias, Campus-Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro,
Qro. 76230, Mexico
Guillermo Labarthe-Hernández* Instituto de Geologı́a, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosı́, San Luis Potosı́, Mexico
ABSTRACT
The Sierra Madre Occidental is mostly composed of middle
Tertiary large-volume ignimbrites. From the United States–Mexico
border (;318N), the Sierra Madre Occidental extends southward
to its intersection with the Mexican volcanic belt (;218N). Ignim-
brites of equivalent age extend into southern Mexico as discontin-
uous outcrops. Considering the average thickness of 1000 m for
these ignimbrites based on representative measured sections, a con-
servative estimate of their total volume is ;393,000 km3. Fewer
than 15 calderas have been identified in this province, and the
source of most of these ignimbrites has been an unsolved problem.
We present geologic evidence indicating that fissures, most of them
with the regional trend of Basin and Range faults, served as con-
duits for the ignimbrites. These fissures can be several kilometers
long and are represented by pyroclastic (ignimbrite) dikes, rhyo-
litic lava dikes, linearly aligned lava domes, and elongated coig-
nimbrite lithic-lag breccias adjacent to Basin and Range faults.
Considering that the Basin and Range extension overlapped in time
and space with the ignimbrite flare-up, we propose a model in
which batholith-sized magma chambers reached shallow crustal
levels and erupted their contents when they reached Basin and
Range normal faults. The faults acted as vents and caused fast
decompression when the system was opened, and large volumes of
silicic magmas were explosively erupted. Finally, devolatilized rhy-
olitic magmas were emplaced as domes or dikes. We propose the
term ‘‘fissure ignimbrites’’ for ignimbrites formed in this way.
Keywords: ignimbrite, Basin and Range, pyroclastic dikes, Sierra Ma-
dre Occidental, Mexico.
INTRODUCTION
The Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) is the largest continuous ig-
nimbrite province in the world (Swanson and McDowell, 1984). In
order to visualize its size, consider that the Sierra Madre Occidental
would cover the equivalent area of peninsular Italy (Fig. 1). The Sierra
Madre Occidental is at least 1200 km long and 200–500 km wide,
extending continuously from the United States–Mexico border
(;318N) to its intersection with the younger Mexican volcanic belt
(;218N) (Fig. 1). However, middle Tertiary large-volume ignimbrites
continue as discontinuous outcrops into the southwestern United States,
as well as into southern Mexico and eastern Chihuahua. Swanson and
McDowell (1984) estimated that at least 350 calderas the size of those
of the San Juan volcanic field in Colorado would have been needed to
produce these ignimbrites. However, fewer than 15 calderas have been
identified in the Sierra Madre Occidental by studies beginning in about
1975. The scarcity of recognized calderas in the Sierra Madre Occi-
dental could be due to several causes, e.g., the relatively poor knowl-
edge of this province, implying that there are more calderas to be
recognized, or burial of calderas by younger ignimbrite sheets. How-
*E-mail: Aguirre-Dı́az—ger@geociencias.unam.mx; Labarthe-Hernández—
labarthe@uaslp.mx.
q 2003 Geological Society of America. For permission to copy, contact Copyright Permissions, GSA, or editing@geosociety.org.
Geology; September 2003; v. 31; no. 9; p. 773–776; 3 figures; 1 table; Data Repository item 2003112.
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by University of Arizona, Guillermo Gastelum-Morales
ever, along three transects that have been geologically mapped in the
Sierra Madre Occidental—in the north, Chihuahua to Hermosillo; in
the center, Durango to Mazatlán; and in the south, Zacatecas to Tepic
(Fig. 1)—and elsewhere throughout the Sierra Madre Occidental (see
references in Table DR11), calderas are not evident for most
ignimbrites.
We present evidence of ignimbrites related to fissures, most of
them with the regional northwest to northeast trend of the Basin and
Range faults, which served as conduits for the eruption of large-volume
ignimbrites. We conclude that fissure-type eruptions served as an al-
ternative, if not the most important, source for the ignimbrites of the
Sierra Madre Occidental, which we term ‘‘fissure ignimbrites.’’
LARGE VOLUME OF THE SIERRA MADRE OCCIDENTAL
IGNIMBRITES
The area covered by the Sierra Madre Occidental proper, i.e., the
largest continuous ignimbrite outcrop shown in Figure 1, is ;393,000
km2 (Sierra Madre Occidental main in Table 1). On the basis of several
studies in the sierra (Table DR1; see footnote 1), the thickness of the
ignimbrite package averages 1000 m. Therefore, a conservative esti-
mate of the volume of the Sierra Madre Occidental ignimbrites is
;393,000 km3. However, if we include other areas in Mexico with
middle Tertiary ignimbrites, such as the outcrops of eastern Chihuahua
or those to the south of the Mexican volcanic belt, the volume estimate
increases to 587,000 km3 (Table 1). By comparing this volume with
that of the well-known middle Tertiary ignimbrites of the San Juan
Mountains of Colorado (;20,000 km3; Lipman et al., 1970) and fol-
lowing the proportional approach of Swanson and McDowell (1984),
we can deduce that the number of calderas responsible for the Sierra
Madre Occidental ignimbrites should be 334 if we only consider the
main area (Table 1). Even if we assume that the thickness of the main
ignimbrite package is ,1 km, e.g., 0.75 km (as occurs in the more
eroded margins of the sierra), the number of calderas required is still
250 for the main area. Assuming common San Juan volcanic field
caldera sizes (20–30 km) and a 1000 km3 ignimbrite for each caldera,
the number of calderas required would be ;393. Either the conser-
vative 250 or the larger 393, the number of calderas needed is im-
pressive, especially considering that, at most, 15 calderas have been
recognized, some of which are still questionable. Therefore, at least
235 calderas have not yet been found; but 235 large calderas would
be difficult to not see, either in satellite images or in the mapped tran-
sects across the Sierra Madre Occidental. Do all these calderas really
exist?
SOUTHERN BASIN AND RANGE AND THE IGNIMBRITE
FLARE-UP
The southern part of the Basin and Range province is in Mexico
(Henry and Aranda-Gómez, 1992), and Basin and Range faulting af-
1GSA Data Repository item 2003112, Table DR-1, representative geologic
studies in the Sierra Madre Occidental, and Figure DR-1, geologic map and
photos, is available online at www.geosociety.org/pubs/ft2003.htm, or on re-
quest from editing@geosociety.org or Documents Secretary, GSA, P.O. Box
9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140, USA.
773

Figure 1. Index map of middle Tertiary ignimbrite outcrops in
Mexico and southwestern United States and of Basin and
Range structural province. Note that middle Tertiary ignim-
brites and Basin and Range province overlap in space (and
in time, see text). Also shown for comparison is outline of
peninsular Italy at same scale. White circles represent
mapped or proposed calderas: 1—San Carlos-Palomas, 2—
Pastorias, 3—Nuevo caldera, 4—Calera-Del Nido, 5—Corrali-
tos, 6—Tomochic–Las Varas, 7—Ocampo, 8—Chuchupate
(Yécora), 9—Chupaderos, 10—El Salto, 11—Temoaya, 12—
Mesa del Nayar, 13—Juchipila, 14—Jalpan, 15—El Cubo. For
references for these calderas see Table DR1 (see footnote 1).
Black circles represent towns: H—Hermosillo, C—Chihuahua,
N—Nazas, D—Durango, Maz—Mazatlán, Z—Zacatecas, SLP—
San Luis Potosı́, T—Tepic. White bars represent tectonic de-
pressions mentioned in text: A—Atengo graben, B—Bolaños
graben, J—Juchipila graben, C—Calvillo graben.
fected most of northwestern Mexico. This extensional province over-
laps in space and time with the Sierra Madre Occidental (Fig. 1), which
therefore is highly dissected by northwest- to northeast-trending normal
faults that bound many large grabens and half-grabens. They form par-
ticularly long and deep depressions in the southern Sierra Madre Oc-
cidental, such as the north-trending Bolaños graben (1800 m deep, 20–
25 km wide, and 150 km long) (Fig. 1). Basin and Range faulting
occurred between at least 32 Ma and 12 Ma (Aguirre-Dı́az and Mc-
Dowell, 1993; Aranda-Gómez et al., 2000), with both limits probably
extending until the Eocene and the Quaternary (Aranda-Gómez et al.,
2000). Ignimbrite activity can be as old as 51 Ma (Aguirre-Dı́az and
McDowell, 1991) and as young as 17–16 Ma (Nieto-Obregón et al.,
1981), but most of the ignimbrite volume was erupted in the 38–28
Ma period (McDowell et al., 1990; Aguirre-Dı́az and McDowell, 1991;
Table DR-1 [see footnote 1]), which has been referred to as the ‘‘ig-
nimbrite flare-up’’ (McDowell et al., 1990; Aguirre-Dı́az and McDow-
ell, 1991). However, intense ignimbrite activity is evident until 23 Ma
in the south-central and southwestern portions of the Sierra Madre Oc-
cidental (e.g., Scheubell et al., 1988; Table DR-1 [see footnote 1]),
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by University of Arizona, Guillermo Gastelum-Morales
TABLE 1. VOLUME OF MIDDLE TERTIARY IGNIMBRITES IN MEXICO
Province Area Thickness Volume
(km2) (km) (km3)
Sierra Madre Occidental main 392,775 1 km 392,775
Eastern Chihuahua 66,583 1 km 66,583
Sonora 7982 1 km 7982
South of Mexican volcanic belt 35,287 1 km 35,287
Baja California 36,421 1 km 36,421
Inferred beneath the Mexican volcanic belt 32,136 1 km 32,136
Total 586,727 586,727
Total of San Juan Mountains* 20,000
Note: volume is approximated and related to 17 calderas.
*Data from Lipman et al. (1970).
which can be interpreted as the continuation to the southwest of the
ignimbrite flare-up. Thus, the ignimbrite flare-up can be defined as a
period of intense explosive volcanic activity that produced enormous
volumes of silicic ignimbrite sheets, which took place mainly between
38 and 23 Ma in Mexico. The ignimbrite flare-up coincided in time
with peaks in Basin and Range faulting (Aguirre-Dı́az and McDowell,
1991, 1993; Aranda-Gómez et al., 2000), and the ignimbrite activity
apparently migrated from the northeast to the southwest, i.e., from
central Chihuahua (38–27 Ma) to Durango-Tayoltita-Nazas (32–29 Ma)
to Zacatecas-Tepic (24–23 Ma), finishing by 16 Ma at Jalisco-Nayarit,
as deduced from the compilation of geologic works listed in Table DR1
(see footnote 1). It is unknown yet whether there was a southward
migration of Basin and Range faulting and if the ignimbrite flare-up
occurred episodically as peaks (38–27 Ma, 32–29 Ma, and 24–23 Ma)
or was continuous. Nevertheless, by the time that the ignimbrite flare-
up started, the Basin and Range extension was already active in Mex-
ico. Therefore, it can be concluded that the emplacement of the Sierra
Madre Occidental ignimbrites and the Basin and Range extensional
regime coincided in time and space, and this coincidence occurred in
different times and different places throughout the Sierra Madre Oc-
cidental volcanic province.
LARGE-VOLUME FISSURE-FED IGNIMBRITES OF THE
SIERRA MADRE OCCIDENTAL
Field evidence in the Sierra Madre Occidental indicates that many
large-volume ignimbrites were derived from linear fissures rather than
from typical circular or oval calderas. These include (1) large pyro-
clastic (ignimbrite or tuff) dikes, (2) coignimbrite lithic-lag breccias
(CILBs) next to large faults or grabens, (3) aligned postignimbrite rhy-
olitic domes and lava dikes following a fault trend, and (4) absence of
calderas. We provide a few examples of these types of evidence in the
following sections.
Pyroclastic Dike
Pyroclastic (ignimbrite) dikes have been observed in several plac-
es in the Sierra Madre Occidental, particularly in the southern part,
which is the best studied by us. Two cases are presented as examples,
the 50-m-wide dike that crops out along the western shoulder of the
Juchipila graben (Fig. 1), and the dikes found along the Juachin fault
next to San Luis Potosı́ (Fig. 1).
1. The dike at Juchipila is composite and includes four ignimbrites
(Fig. 2), each with distinct welding characteristics and crystal-lithic-
pumice (fiamme) contents. The dike was emplaced along a major nor-
mal fault that formed the Juchipila graben, a north-northeast–trending,
110-km-long, 15–20-km-wide structure. Fiamme and cooling joints are
aligned subvertically with about the same dip as that of the dike. The
ignimbrites of the dike show shearing and cooking along their margins
(Fig. 2). The ignimbrites cooked both the wall rock and the earlier-
emplaced ignimbrite dikes. Shearing was formed mainly during ignim-
brite’s intrusion, but postemplacement fault-related shearing also took
GEOLOGY, September 2003

Figure 2. Pyroclastic (ignimbrite) dike at Juchipila graben. Dike is 50
m wide and is composite. It includes four ignimbrites, each one with
sheared and/or cooked margins. Ignimbrites are densely welded or
unwelded. Welded ones contain fiamme, which are vertically aligned
parallel to dike walls. Ignimbrites that form composite dike were em-
placed sequentially through same fissure. Thus, different pyroclastic-
flow pulses were erupted to produce equivalent flat-layered units
outside graben. Dike follows same trend of graben, N108–208E.
place. Each ignimbrite of the dike corresponds to a flat-lying ignimbrite
outside the graben. The dike can be followed as discontinuous outcrops
for at least 25 km. At places along the dike trend, a lithic-rich ignim-
brite constitutes the dike, which changes laterally to a CILB. Webber
et al. (1994) reported two calderas within the Juchipila graben, but
although we looked for them, we did not find any evidence for caldera
structures.
2. The pyroclastic dikes at the Juachin fault (Fig. DR-1; [see foot-
note 1]) occur as small boudins along the northwest-trending normal
fault zone of Juachin. The width of the boudins varies from 1 to 8 m;
they are composed of a highly sheared pumiceous ignimbrite. Adjacent
to the dikes consisting of the boudins and following the northwest trend
of the Juachin fault zone is a major CILB that gradually changes lat-
erally to a large-volume ignimbrite sheet, the 27 Ma Panalillo Tuff,
which covers a widespread area of the San Luis Potosı́ volcanic field
(Labarthe-Hernández et al., 1982). We have found pyroclastic dikes,
some as wide as 100 m, at several other places in the Sierra Madre
Occidental, generally next to large Basin and Range faults and grabens;
e.g., at the Calvillo, Colotlán, and Atengo grabens (Fig. 1).
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Coignimbrite Lithic-Lag Breccia
CILBs are the second-best indicators (after the pyroclastic dikes)
of the location of the fissure-type vents of ignimbrites. In addition to
the CILB examples next to the pyroclastic dikes at Juchipila and at the
Juachin fault just described, at the Bolaños graben there is an excellent
example for a vent location based on CILB. The Alacrán ignimbrite
(Scheubel et al., 1988), dated as 23 Ma, is a voluminous unit to 400
m thick in the proximal facies. It is well exposed at both sides of the
north-trending graben. The CILB of the Alacrán ignimbrite is found
along the graben’s shoulders; i.e., both the Alacrán ignimbrite and its
corresponding CILB crop out to the west and to the east of the 25-
km-wide graben. The CILB gradually changes to an ignimbrite poorer
in lithic fragments with distance from the graben’s shoulders. Just be-
neath the Alacrán ignimbrite’s CILB there is an associated layered py-
roclastic sequence. This sequence is mostly composed of surge beds
and minor ignimbrites. Within the surge deposits, and 4–5 km from
the actual graben scarps, ballistic blocks, to 40 cm in diameter, pro-
duced impact-sag deformations indicating their provenance from the
Bolaños graben. These ballistic blocks also occur on both sides of the
graben.
Aligned Rhyolite Domes and Dike
At several places in the Sierra Madre Occidental, rhyolitic lava
domes are aligned with the same northwest to northeast trends as the
regional Basin and Range normal faults. In some areas, such as at the
Bolaños and Atengo grabens and the Juachin fault, it is clear that the
lava domes were emplaced just after the large-volume fissure-fed ig-
nimbrites and that they occur close or next to the coarser parts of the
CILBs that crop out next to normal faults. At the Atengo graben (Fig.
1), a 12-m-wide rhyolitic dike connects with high-standing rhyolitic
lava domes. Both dike and domes are aligned with the north trend of
the tectonic depression. In some other places, such as in San Luis
Potosı́, it is possible to see rhyolite dikes interconnecting aligned lava
domes or lava domes with shapes of boudins aligned with regional
normal faults of the Basin and Range, indicating strong structural con-
trol for the emplacement of the rhyolitic magmas. The lava domes and
dikes are here interpreted as the devolatilized magma that erupted after
the climactic explosive events that produced the major ignimbrites, as
occurs in classic caldera cycles with the rim lava domes (Smith and
Bailey, 1968), but in this case the domes were emplaced along Basin
and Range faults.
MODEL
Figure 3 schematically depicts a model that summarizes our field
observations for large-volume fissure-fed ignimbrites of the Sierra Ma-
dre Occidental and their relationship with the regional extensional re-
gime of the Basin and Range province in Mexico.
In order to account for the large volume of ignimbrites in the
Sierra Madre Occidental and considering the long grabens or fault
zones to which they are related, a large magma chamber complex must
be inferred. Thus, in our model we propose an elongated magma cham-
ber or series of magma chambers with batholith-sized dimensions. Late
Cretaceous–early Cenozoic representatives of these batholiths related
to the lower volcano-plutonic complex are now exposed at the western
margin of the Sierra Madre Occidental, e.g., the plutonic rocks in Sin-
aloa (Henry and Fredrikson, 1987) or at the more eroded northwest
part of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Sonora (McDowell et al., 2001).
These large magma chambers reached shallow crustal levels mainly
because of the extensional regime of the Basin and Range in which
they were emplaced; reaching the high crustal level caused magmas to
become volatile rich by exsolution of gas bubbles due to decompres-
sion. Either because the roof of the chamber reached Basin and Range
normal faults, or because the faults formed during a peak in intensity
of extension and affected the magma chamber’s roof, the system was
775

Figure 3. Schematic model explaining mechanism
for eruption of ignimbrite-forming pyroclastic
flows through major faults of Basin and Range
province. A: Batholith-sized magma chamber
reached shallow crustal levels, and magmas be-
came volatile rich by exsolution due to decom-
pression. B: Roof of magma chamber reached Ba-
sin and Range normal fault and opened magmatic
system, resulting in fast decompression and ex-
plosive eruption of voluminous pyroclastic flows.
C: Lithic load of pyroclastic flows was deposited
near fault-related vent to form coignimbrite lithic-
lag breccia. D: After climactic eruption that formed
ignimbrite and coignimbrite lithic-lag breccia, mag-
mas remaining in chamber were volatile poor and
erupted as rhyolitic lava domes and/or dikes that
closed vent. These lava domes are aligned with
trend of fault-related vent.
opened and caused fast decompression and the explosive eruptions of
voluminous pyroclastic flows and fissure ignimbrites. The lithic load
of the pyroclastic flows was deposited near the fault-related vents,
forming the observed CILBs adjacent to a graben or to major normal
faults. After the climactic eruption that formed the ignimbrites, the
magmas remaining in the chamber were volatile depleted and erupted
as rhyolitic lava domes and/or dikes that closed the vents. These lava
domes and dikes are aligned with the same trend as the fault-related
vents.
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by University of Arizona, Guillermo Gastelum-Morales
A similar mechanism of fissure-vent ignimbrite emplacement was
mentioned by Lipman (1997), who referred to the result as ‘‘volcano-
tectonic depressions,’’ and by Scheubel et al. (1988), who interpreted
the ignimbrites of the Bolaños graben to have erupted through the
graben’s faults. Our model for fissure ignimbrites is similar to those
proposed for calderas; the main differences are the batholithic size of
the magma chamber(s) to account for the impressively large volume
of the ignimbrite package of the Sierra Madre Occidental and the
fissure-type vent (represented by the pyroclastic or rhyolite lava dikes)
and/or vents (represented by the domes) aligned along a normal fault
instead of forming an arcuate structure. We do not contend that all
ignimbrites in the Sierra Madre Occidental were formed in this way.
It is well established that calderas were the sources of several ignim-
brites, but we think that the dominant volume of the Sierra Madre
Occidental ignimbrites was erupted from fissure-type vents related to
Basin and Range faulting episodes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are grateful to Grupo México and the personnel in the Bolaños mine project
and to Minera El Pilón of San Martı́n de Bolaños for logistical help. The manuscript
was improved by reviews of Jim Luhr and Joann Stock. We thank Jorge Nieto-Obregón,
Ramón Torres, and Margarito Tristán for their assistance during field seasons. Financial
support was obtained from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México grants IN-120999
and IN-115302 and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologı́a grant 33084-T to Aguirre-
Dı́az.
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Manuscript received 19 March 2003
Revised manuscript received 29 May 2003
Manuscript accepted 30 May 2003
Printed in USA
GEOLOGY, September 2003