Pachuca Range

The Pachuca Range (Sierra de Pachuca) is a mountain range in the Sierra Madre Oriental of central Mexico, in the state of Hidalgo. The highest point is Cerro de las Navajas at 3212 meters.[1]

History and etymology

The mountains were named Pachoacan (Pachyohcan) (place of hay) by the native Nahuatl speakers,[2] although there are also a variety of other theories about the origin and meaning of the name.[3] The earliest recorded settlement name is "Pachuquillo" a diminutive of Pachuca.[2] Later the town of Pachuca de Soto and the municipality were named Pachuca.

Archaeologists have found evidence of early mining of obsidian on Cerro de las Navajas,[4] as well as obsidian chipping sites.[3]

Geography

The Pachucas form the northeastern boundary of Teotlalpan and the Valley of Mexico.[5] They trend northwest-southeast[5] and run about 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Cerro Monte Noble in the north to Real del Monte at the southeast.[6]

Geology

The surface rocks are volcanics beginning with Miocene andesites and microdiorites followed by alkaline basalts.[7][8]

The rocks are highly mineralized and contain ores of gold, silver, lead zinc, mercury and other metals.[8][9] The mining districts of Pachuca and Real del Monte lie on opposite sides of the Pachucas.[8]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Hidalgo: Regionalización". Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 Vargas, Gerardo Bravo. Etimología de Pachuca. Nepapan Tlaca (in Spanish). Mexico. ISBN 978-607-00-4908-8.
  3. 1 2 "Pachuca de Soto". Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013.
  4. ↑ Ponomarenko, Alyson Lighthart (2004). "The Pachuca obsidian source, Hidalgo, Mexico: A geoarchaeological perspective". Geoarchaeology. 19 (1 }pages=71–91). doi:10.1002/gea.10104.
  5. 1 2 Ordoñez, Ezequiel (1902). "The Mining District of Pachuca, Mexico". Transactions of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers. 32: 224–241.
  6. ↑ Segerstrom, Kenneth (1962). Geology of South-central Hidalgo and Northeastern Mexico, Mexico (PDF). Geological Survey Bulletin 1104-C. Washington, D.C.: United States Geological Survey (printed by U.S. Government Printing Office).
  7. ↑ Cantagrel, Jean-Marie; Robin, Claude (1979). "K-Ar dating on eastern Mexican volcanic rocks—relations between the andesitic and the alkaline provinces". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 5 (1/2): 99–114.
  8. 1 2 3 Spurr, Josiah Edward (1905). "Chapter IX: Comparison with similar ore deposits elsewhere". Geology of the Tonopah Mining District, Nevada. Washington, D.C.: United States Geological Survey. p. 267.
  9. ↑ Bastin, Edson Sunderland (1948). "Mineral relationships in the ores of Pachuca and Real del Monte, Hidalgo, Mexico". Economic Geology. 43 (1): 53–65. doi:10.2113/gsecongeo.43.1.53.


Coordinates: 20°08′30″N 99°38′00″W / 20.14167°N 99.63333°W / 20.14167; -99.63333

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.