The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin
V. 53. No. 12 (December, 1969), P. 2399-2417, 7 Figs., 7 Tables
Marine Paleozoic Rocks of Mexico^
Abstract Rocks o f a l l Paleozoic systems are present in
M e x i c o a n d , f r o m north to south, are d i s t r i b u t e d in
several basins: Sonora-Pedregosa basin ( i n c l u d i n g the
postulated Palomas-Villa A h u m a d a p l a t f o r m ) . Chihuahua
basin, main Paleozoic geosyncline a n d TIaxiaco sub-
b a s i n , a n d Chiapas-Guatemala basin. The m a x i m u m
known thickness o f Paleozoic strata is estimated t o be
about 3,500 m.
Data are too few to make r e l i a b l e a n d d e t a i l e d
isopoch a n d lithofacies maps of the M e x i c a n Paleozoic.
Sections studied a n d measured to date indicate t h a t , of
all the systems, the Silurian is the most p o o r l y r e p r e -
sented. Early Devonian strata are u n k n o w n . The Cam-
b r i a n a n d O r d o v i c i a n Systems ore d e v e l o p e d best in
northern M e x i c o , but fossiliferous C a m b r i a n , O r d o v i c i a n ,
a n d Carboniferous strata recently were discovered for
the first time in O a x a c a , southern M e x i c o . The Missis-
s i p p i a n , Pennsylvanian, a n d Permian are the most w i d e -
spread Paleozoic systems.
Most Paleozoic rocks in which fossils are preserved
w e r e d e p o s i t e d in shallow-water environments. Deeper
water lithofacies have been f o u n d in strata o f m i d d l e
a n d late Paleozoic ages, a n d their p r e d o m i n a n c e in
eastern M e x i c o suggests that the seas of those times
were o p e n t o w a r d the Gulf of M e x i c o .
The p a l e o g e o g r a p h i c maps show the relations between
the basins a n d platforms of the southern U n i t e d States
a n d their equivalents in northern M e x i c o .
Paleozoic strata are d r i l l i n g objectives in some areas
of M e x i c o , p a r t i c u l a r l y in the north-central part.
INTRODUCTION
This paper presents a general summary of
the distribution of the marine Paleozoic sedi-
mentary rocks of Mexico, and is an outgrowth
of the text for the Lexique Estratigraphique In-
ternational, "Marine Paleozoic Rocks of Mex-
ico," and the stratigraphic table which accom-
panied that report. The original report was
given to the Central Committee for the Lexique
at the end of 1967. The data are from Paleo-
zoic outcrops (Fig. 1) and from boreholes in
which palynologic and paleontologic studies
have been made.
The paleogeographic and isopach maps
(Figs. 2-7) of the Paleozoic systems are tenta-
' Manuscript received, November 11, 1968; accepted.
May 9, 1969.
^Petroleos Mexicanos, Exploration Department.
Ttie writer acknowledges the help of W. Hegwein
in the correction of the manuscript, of A. A. Meyer-
hoff's collaboration in the translation into English, and
of the Instituto de Geologi'a, U.N.A.M., for permit-
ting the publication of this paper.
2399
ERNESTO LdPEZ-RAMOS'
M e x i c o , D. F., Mexico
tive; on many of these maps the thickness
values shown are extrapolations from incom-
plete data. Detailed field studies have shown
that, in the Peregrina area northwest of Ciudad
Victoria, Tamaulipas, on the anticlinorium of
Huayacocotla, Veracruz, and in the area of
Placer de Guadalupe, Chihuahua, abrupt litho-
facies changes complicate both thickness mea-
surements and studies of depositional environ-
ments. I do not discuss the problems of uncon-
formities in the sequence, because the available
information is too sparse.
Six paleogeographic maps are presented
(Figs. 2 - 7 ) , one for each Paleozoic system
from the Cambrian through the Permian. In
addition, a stratigraphic table is included that
was revised in July 1968 from the table which
accompanies the lexicon (Fig. 1). On the pa-
leogeographic maps. Paleozoic rocks inter-
preted to be marine are designated by a special
symbol. Those which might have been marine
but are now metamorphosed, and rocks of con-
tinental origin are shown by hachured symbols.
At the end of the paper is an extensive bibliog-
raphy of the better publications in which the
Paleozoic of Mexico is described.
SUMMARY OF PALEOZOIC AREAS
The Paleozoic seas covered the north-cen-
tral, northwestern, and southeastern parts of
Mexico (Figs. 1.2). All Paleozoic systems are
represented in Mexico (Figs. 2 - 7 ) , although
complete sections may not be present in each
area. From north to south the following areas
of Paleozoic deposition are distinguished.
Paleozoic Basin of Sonora-Pedregosa
This basin reached its maximum develop-
ment during Cambrian time, when more than
1,400 m of dolomite, limestone, marl, quartz-
ite, and lutite was deposited (Table 1). It is
possible that Ordovician and some Silurian
rocks are present (Cobachi series; see Fig. 1).
The Middle and Upper Devonian, though ab-
sent in places, is present, as is almost all of the
upper Paleozoic. In general, the middle and
upper Paleozoic sequence of Sonora consists
mainly of limestone or dolomite with lesser
amounts of intercalated shale. The maximum
 M

(A

f
I

:9)CARRILL0-B. ETAL (IG)RANTOJA 1.1967) U

N96I) tlllSTHMUS OF
» PERMIAN (?J o r TEHUANTEPEC
QUERETARO C2150UTHERN PUEBLA
Q tORMATIOl AND NORTHERN
OAXACA

FIG. 1.—Correlation chart (preliminary) of marine Paleozoic units in Mexico and southern Arizona.
 Q
5*
»

(D
o
M
o

»
X

Via. 2.—^Total marine Paleozoic of Mexico; shows thickness in meters and general paleogeography. Thickness restored. Interpretation is tentative. to
O
2402 Ernesto Lopez-Ramos

Table 1. Cambrian Localities Studied in Mexico

Stale Section Thickiics-.

Formation Lithology Age Locality {Fig. 2)
No. im)

Sono1a 1 Arrojos- Gray, red ss. Middle 16(1 !-^ 14.5 km SW of C a b o r c a

(Bolsa equiv.) and sh., gray Is. Cambrian

2 Tren Ls. and dolo. Middle 645 • 18 km W S W of Caborca

Cambrian

3 Cerro Prieto Dark Is. Harly >»-l 10 3 km SW of Cirborcii

(Caborca) Cambrian

4 Buclna Ls. a n d ss. Early 70 15 km WSW of Caborca

Cambrian

5 Proveedora Quartzitc Early 266 10 km W of Caborca

a n d ss. Cambrian

Tamaulipas 1 Naianjal Cgl. Canrbria n 40 1 •.') 500 m N E of Naranjal

Ranch, N W of Cd. Victoria

Oaxaca 1 Tiiiu Ls. a n d lutilc Cambria n- 10; 15 km N N E of Nochixtlani,

(in part) Ordovician 1 15 C a m b . '1 Oaxaca

' Spelled Nochistlan in text.

estimated thickness within the Sonora part of Guadalupe into the United States and connect
the basin is approximately 3,000 m. In the with the Marfa subbasin, which in turn may
Pedregosa part of the basin, the thickness prob- connect with the Delaware basin.
ably is about the same because, in the area of The lower and middle Paleozoic rocks
Bavispe and the Sierra del Tigre, Sonora, the (Cambrian through Pennsylvanian) consist prin-
upper Paleozoic alone is thicker than 1,500 m. cipally of carbonate rocks and lesser amounts
On the basis of the section in the Big of terrigenous clastic rocks. The upper Paleo-
Hatchet Mountains, the writer concludes that zoic consists mainly of flyschlike rocks in the
almost the entire Paleozoic probably is present area of Villa Aldama. Toward Placer de Guad-
in the Palomas region, 150 km west of Ciudad alupe, the amount of carbonate increases in the
Juarez and El Paso. section. A lack of outcrops makes it impossible
On the Palomas-Villa Ahumada platform, to determine the extent of the Paleozoic rocks
which has been postulated by B. Marquez (1968, into southern Chihuahua.
personal commun.), Pemex has been drilling a
Paleozoic Geosyncline and Tlaxiaco Subbasin
well. Villa Ahumada No. 1, since July 1968. If
the well data should fail to confirm the pres- What I consider in this paper to be the geo-
ence of a platform, the Pedregosa basin should syncline probably is a continuation of the
be extended toward the southeast to connect di- Ouachita geosyncline. The sedimentary strata
rectly with the Chihuahua basin. in this trough consist of middle and upper
Paleozoic flyschlike beds which extend from
Chihuahua Basin western Coahuila (Delicias) to Tamaulipas
The isopach maps (Figs. 2-7) indicate that (Peregrina northwest of Victoria), Zacatecas,
the Chihuahua basin reached its maximum de- San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, and the Huayaco-
velopment during Permian time (Fig. 6) and cotla imticlinorium (northeastern Hidalgo).
that the basin ultimately may be found to be The upper Paleozoic rocks exposed in this an-
the northern part of the Paleozoic geosyncline. • ticlinorium are about 2,000 m thick, and are
The total estimated thickness of the section in referred to the Guacamaya Formation (Fig. 1;
the central part of this basin is about 3,000 m Carrillo-Bravo, 1965).
(Villa Aldama region, Chihuahua). From this Farther south, in the Tlaxiaco subbasin in
"thick," the section thins both east and north- the state of Oaxaca—-particularly in the Sierra
east toward the Diablo platform. On the north de Juarez of northern Oaxaca—the section be-
the basin may extend northeast of Placer de comes more shaly, but appears to be metamor-
' The term "geosyncline" is used in its broadest phosed. In the Nochistlan area, approximately
sense, i.e., a thick sequence of rocks formed in basins 70 km northwest of Oaxaca city, Cambrian,
of large geographic dimensions. Ordovician, and Carboniferous faunas recently
 Marine Paleozoic Rocks of Mexico
were discovered (Pantoja, 1967; Pantoja and
Robison, 1967). The middle Paleozoic (Silu-
rian and Devonian) apparently is absent. The
total thickness of the sections may be more
than 500 m. The Cambrian-Ordovician fossils
are in thin-bedded gray limestone, shale, and
sandstone which lie almost directly on Pre-
cambrian rocks. I compared the lithologic
character of these strata with those which I
studied along the road from Oaxaca to Guela-
tao and recognized the possibility that here a
series of slightly metamorphosed gray lime-
stone and shale might represent the early Pa-
leozoic, whereas thin-bedded shale, sandstone,
and limestone might be ascribed to the late
Paleozoic (Pennsylvanian-Permian?). Twenty-
one kilometers north of Guelatao, these rocks
are more metamorphosed; at kilometer post
143 + 800, two blocks of slightly marmorized
limestone (1.5 X 1.5 m) are exposed in schist;
10 m farther north the schist (or phyllitc?) lies
on limestone. On the basis of these observa-
tions, I tentatively assign the schist and phyl-
lite series in the northern part of the Sierra de
Juarez to the Paleozoic.
The western limits of the Paleozoic geosyn-
cline are not defined because they are covered
by young extrusive rocks in the Sierra Madre
Occidental and because the known outcrops of
older rocks appear to be metamorphosed.
The eastern margin of the geosyncline is also
unknown, but the presence of upper Paleozoic
flyschlike clastic beds in wells Zamorina No. 1
and Tepehuaje No. 1, respectively 114 and 130
km north of Tampico, suggests that this margin
is in the present Gulf of Mexico.
Chiapas-Guatemala Basin
No connection can be established between
this basin and the Paleozoic syncline on the
north because possibly correlative strata in the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec are metamorphosed.
Nevertheless, the flyschlike facies of the Santa
Rosa Formation in this basin suggests the pos-
sibility of continuity with the Paleozoic geosyn-
cline described in the preceding section.
Lower to upper Paleozoic rocks.—Although
there are no early to early late Paleozoic fossils
in the outcrops of Chiapas and eastern Oaxaca,
a metamorphic sequence occupies the ap-
propriate stratigraphic position for rocks of
this age. The early to early late Paleozoic
strata of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region
are referred to the Huilotepec Quartzite (near
Tapanatepec, Oaxaca), the Chimalapa Phyl-
lite (34 km southeast of Matias Romero, Oa-
2403
xaca), and the Jalapa(?) Argillite south of
Benito Juarez dam (formerly called Marques
D a m ) . This sequence first was referred to the
Paleozoic In Webber and Ojeda (1957, Fia.
1).
Upper Paleozoic ol southeastern Chiapas.—
Studies in this region by Sapper (]894a
through 1937) and others, to the time of
Thompson and Miller (1944) and Gutierrez-
Gil and Thompson (1956), consisted of recon-
naissance work and the measurement of a few
sections. Numerous lossils were found which
established the presence of early and middle
Permian strata (Wolfcampian and Leonardian,
and part of the Guadalupian), and three for-
mations (Grupcra, Vainilla and Paso Hondo;
see Fig. 1) were recognized. During 1964 and
1965 Petroleos Mexicanos made a general sur-
vey of the Paleozoic ouicrop area in southeast-
ern Chiapas, but no new important information
was obtained.
The total thickness of the Permian is ap-
proximately 2,400 m. The underlying Carbonif-
erous strata are referred to the upper Santa
Rosa Formation and consist mainly of shale
and sandy shale more than 3,800 m thick.
However, this thickness does not include the
underlying metamorphosed rocks, considered to
be the lower Santa Rosa, which amount to an
additional 2.000 ni (without reaching the
base). The red and pink phyllite and argillite
which compose the lower part of the Santa
Rosa west of Jaltenango (50 km west of Chico-
muselo), Chiapas, may represent the middle
and lower Paleozoic, Proof must await paleon-
tologic and radiometric studies.
The southernmost outcrop of the Santa Rosa
Formation found during the 1965 field season
is approximatelv 12 km south of La Concor-
dia. Chiapas. All the southern Paleozoic out-
crops occupy an area of 75 y 15 km (i.e.. ap-
proximately 1,125 km-').
The complete thickness of the Permian and
Carboniferous sections has not been measured
either in Guatemala or Belize (British Hon-
duras).
SxRATIGRAPfn
Proterozoic
Many of the Proterozoic rocks which pro-
vided detritus for the Cambrian sediments
probably were of sedimentary origin. For ex-
ample, the Altar Group in Sonora (Cooper and
Arellano. 1946) consists of quartzite, phyllite,
limestone, and doUmiile in a sequence about
2,000 m thick
 M

FIG. 3.—Cambrian-Ordovician of Mexico. Shows distribution and paleogeography. Thickness unknown. Interpretation is tentative.
 Marine Paleozoic Rocks of Mexico
In Sinaloa, de Cserna and Kent (1961) re-
ported the presence of schist, phyllite, and
quartzite of sedimentary origin, together with
biotite gneiss. In the northern part of Sinaloa
and in the border area adjacent to Sonora these
rocks have been called the Sonobari complex
(Fig. 1), which could be of Paleozoic or Pre-
cambrian age.
In the State of Oaxaca, Fries et al. (1962)
indicated a possible Precambrian geosyncline
containing metamorphic rocks ranging in age
from 670 to 1,110 m.y. The radiometric age
determinations are from gneiss and schist,
which include some marble and may represent
a sedimentary sequence more than 3,000 m
thick. This geosyncline (Oaxaca geosyncline)
may extend northward through the State of Hi-
dalgo (where the Precambrian Huiznopala
Gneiss crops out in the Huayacocotla anticlino-
rium) to the Peregrina area northwest of Ciu-
dad Victoria, State of Tamaulipas (La Presa
Quartzite).
In some areas, the Precambrian strata and
related rocks of the Oaxaca geosyncline of
Fries et al. were removed largely by erosion
which followed taphrogenic movements. This is
illustrated in the Nochistlan area (Oaxaca)
where locally numerous erosional Precambrian
gneiss blocks appear in places to be embedded
in basal Mesozoic strata, whereas a thick Pa-
leozoic sequence is preserved nearby in a pre-
Mesozoic graben.
Cambrian
The Cambrian section is best developed in
the region of Caborca, Sonora, where it con-
sists of 1,400 m of limestone, sandstone,
quartzite, and shale (Fig. 3 ) . Possibly Cam-
brian outcrops are present southeast of No-
chistlan in Oaxaca and northwest of Ciudad
Victoria.
Cambrian sediments also may have been de-
posited in the Placer de Guadalupe region. Chi-
huahua, because in the Delaware basin north
of Chihuahua a complete Paleozoic section is
present. The presence of Cambrian rocks also
is suggested in the Palomas region of north-
western Chihuahua, because in the Big Hatchet
Mountains of New Mexico, a short distance
northwest, the entire marine Paleozoic section
crops out (Fig. 1).
From these isolated outcrops it is inferred
that Cambrian seas covered much of northern
Mexico; however, the few sedimentary beds
known from outcrops in the Sonora basin have
2405
not been correlated because they are widely
scattered.
The relation between the Cambrian strata of
northern Mexico and those near Ciudad Vic-
toria, Tamaulipas (Naranjal Conglomerate),
and near Nochistlan (Oaxaca) is even less
certain. The eastern part of the Sierra de Jua-
rez in northeastern Oaxaca is composed of
schist and phyllite, locally with marmorized
rocks, which directly underhe the redbeds of
the Triassic-Jurassic Todos Santos Formation
and may be altered lower Paleozoic sedimen-
tary rocks. Many of the metamorphic rocks in
the southern part of the Isthmus of Tehuante-
pec (north and south of M. Romero)—quartz-
ite, gneiss, and schist—could be Paleozoic and
some of them possibly are of sedimentary ori-
gin.
Similarly, a metamorphic sequence in the
central part of the northeastern Sierra Madre
del Sur, northeast of Acapulco, Guerrero, may
be Cambrian, Ordovician, and Devonian. De
Cserna (1962) named these rocks the "Xolapa
complex" and stated that they are principally
metasediments, most of which are of terrige-
nous-clastic origin and only a small part of
which is of chemical origin. The rock types
that compose this complex range from biotite
schist to biotite gneiss. Locally, some quartzite
and cipoline marble beds are present, and de
Cserna wrote, "Because the schists have a
somewhat rhythmic appearance, the author in-
terprets them to have consisted originally of an
alternating seqiiL-ncc of lutites and gray-
wackes."
In summary, many of the lower Paleozoic
and part of the middle Paleozoic sedimentary
rocks of southern Mexico appear to have lost
their original characteristics as a result of re-
gional metamorphisni
Ordovician
Marine Ordovician outcrops are very scarce
in Mexico and generally are with Cambrian
strata (Fig. 3). The Ordovician localities which
have been studied in Mexico are shown in
Table 2.
The presence of Ordovician rocks is not well
established in the States of Tamaulipas and
Oaxaca. In Tamaulipas they are inferred on the
basis of stratigraphic position (above Cambrian
conglomerate and unconformably below lower
Silurian rocks). In Oa\aca they contain a
fauna of Tremadocian age that is assigned by
Canadian paleontologists to the Ordovician
2406 Ernesto Lopez-Ramos

Table 2. Ordovician Localities Studied in Mexico

State Formation Lit ho logy Age ThickHesfi

Locality (_Fii^. J)
Un)

Sonorii Cobachi series Massive Is. Early O l d . 100 l a Casila, 100 km ESE of Hermosillo

t ohachi, 75 km ESE of Hermosillo

Chihuahua Sostenes Fm. Ls., [utiles, Early Ord. 27.S NV. of Placer de G u a d a l u p e
and ss.

Chihuahua Soil's Limestone Ls., dolo. Lace Ord.- 40 5 km S of Mina Plomosas

(in part) Middle Dev.

Tamaulipas Victoria Lime- Ord. (?) I km NW of R a n c h o Vicente G u e r r e r o

stone (Canon de la Pcregrina, 14 k m N W of
C"d. Victoria)

Oaxaca Tinii F m . Lulite and Tremadocian 304 l> km N N E of Nochixtlan', Oaxaca

(in part) Is. (15 Ord.)

^ Spelled Nochistlan in text.

(Pantoja, 1967), but by English paleontologists
to the Cambrian.
Near the town of Nochistlan, Oaxaca, Pa-
leozoic fossils were found in 1965. In 1966,
Pantoja (1967; Pantoja and Robison, 1967)
and personnel from Petroleos Mexicanos found
a rich trilobite fauna which considerably en-
larged the knowledge of the early Paleozoic of
the region.
Generally, the Ordovician rocks are very
thin, ranging from 100 m in Sonora to 275 m
in Chihuahua, and are only about 10-15 m
thick in Tamaulipas and Oaxaca. Almost all
outcrops are platform-type limestone which in
places is severely fractured, as in Tamaulipas.
Subsequent exploration should indicate the pos-
sible connections among the Ordovician seas of
Sonora, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, and Oaxaca.
Silurian
The Silurian localities that have been studied
in Mexico are shown in Table 3 (see also Fig.
4 ) . The Silurian seems to be the most poorly
represented of the Paleozoic periods in Mex-
ico. Bridges and DeFord (1961) first reported
the presence of carbonate Silurian rocks near
Placer de Guadalupe, Chihuahua. They called
this unit the Solis Limestone, and dated it as
Late Ordovician, Silurian, and Middle Devo-
nian. In Soils Canyon (15.8 km southeast of
Placer de Guadalupe), the total thickness of
this limestone is 255 m, and the Silurian part
was estimated to be 50 m thick. Bridges
(1964) described the Solis Limestone as being
more varied lithologically than other pre-Car-
boniferous rocks in the three outcrop areas
which he surveyed. For example, in his sec-
tions No. 2 (northwest of Mina Plomosas, 12
km southeast of Placer de Guadalupe) and
No. 8 (Cerro de Enmedio, 16 km southeast of
Placer de Guadalupe), the Devonian part of
the limestone contains chert, whereas the Si-
lurian limestone contains interbedded clastic
limestone. In his section No. 9 (2 km north-
west of Placer de Guadalupe), 14 km north-
west of Nos. 2 and 8, the Devonian limestone
does not contain chert, and the Silurian lime-
stone is dolomitic, ranging from light to dark
gray.
It was not until November 1958 that Car-
rillo-Bravo (1959) discovered fossiliferous Si-
lurian rocks northwest of Ciudad Victoria,
Tamaulipas. He called this unit the Caballeran-
gos Formation, but later changed the name to
Cafion de Caballeros Formation (Carrillo-
Bravo, 1961). The formation is about 90 m
thick, and consists of very fossiliferous, grfien-
ish-erav to black limeslone which is interbed-

Table 3. Silurian Localities Studied in Mexico

Stale Formation Uthotogv riikkncss bit) Locality (Fig. 4)

Chihuahua Solis Limestone (in part) Ls., chert Early SiUni.m S() 5 km S of M i n a Plomosas

Tamaulipas Cation de (raballetos Fm. Ls., lulite, ss. Early Silurian ')ll 17 km N W of Cd, Victoria
(late Llandoverian
to Ludlovian)
 Q
5'
•D

(P
o

FIG. 4.—Silurian-Devonian of Mexico. Shows distribution and paleogeography. Thicknesses unknown. Interpretation is tentative.
o
N
2408 Ernesto Lopez-Ramos
Table 4. Devonian Localities Studied in Mexico
State Litholo^y
Sonora Murcielagos Fm., Martin Ls. and dolo.
Ls., " L o w e r Cristiiina" Is.
Martin Ls. Dl(. to light Is.
Ciiihuahua Solis Ls. (in part)
Tamaulipas La Yerba Fm. Lntite, novaciilile.
and ss-
ded, particularly in the middle, with thin beds
of black lutite and quartzose sandstone.
According to a recent report, marine Silu-
rian rocks crop out in the southwestern part
of the State of Puebla. If this report should be
confirmed, a close connection between these
rocks and the lower Paleozoic at Nochistlan,
Oaxaca, is possible.
Like the Ordovician, the Silurian System of
Mexico is thin and consists mainly of limestone
and dolomite deposited in shallow water. For
example, in the area of Victoria, Tamaulipas,
the fauna consists typically of brachiopods, cor-
als, and trilobites. Until the possibly Silurian
rocks in Puebla are confirmed and described,
one can state only that the greatest Silurian de-
velopment occurred in north-central Mexico
(see Fig. 4 ) . Rocks of this age might be pres-
ent in the State of Sonora, but there is no pa-
leontologic support for this possibility.
Devonian
Like the early Paleozoic rocks, Devonian
rocks are known only in a few places in Mex-
ico (Fig. 4 ) . The principal known outcrops are
in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Ta-
maulipas, and are shown in Table 4. Early De-
vonian strata have not been recognized.
Alvarez (1962) wrote that the Devonian of
Sonora consists of limestone and dolomite, ob-
served in the Murcielagos Mountains. They
contain numerous algal remains (stromatopo-
roids), corals, and gastropods, indicating a
Late Devonian age; the beds are 279 m thick
(Cooper and Arellano, 1946). The other lo-
cality in Sonora (Table 4) is in the Cabullona
basin, and the Devonian unit is called the
Martin Limestone (proposed by Ransome,
1904; cited by Viveros, 1965, p. 28-29). On
outcrop the Martin Limestone is approximately
100 m thick. It consists of dark-gray, compact
Tltiy ^/i(',vv ini) Loculitv {Fig. 4)
Laic Devonian -7n ^ km ESE of Antimonio,
Altar district
Middle Devonian 259 S ol Agua Piiela (Cabullona
basin)
Late Ordovician, Siluriai 1511 3 km S of Mina Plomosas (16
Middle Devonian km SE of Placer de G u a d a -
lupe)
Middle and Late 100 1.8 km N W of R a n c h o Vi-
Devonian cente Guerrero (Peregrina
CanyoTi), 14 km N W of C6.
Victoria
limestone containing interbeds of light-colored
limestone. In the lower part of the formation
is pink, calcareous shale. The strata uncon-
formably overhe sandstone beds of the Bolsa
Formation, which is equivalent to the Arrojos
Formation of Middle Cambrian age.
In the State of Chihuahua, Placer de Guad-
alupe area, a section less than 150 m thick in
the upper part ol the Solis Limestone is Devo-
nian (Bridges, 1965). Bridges" sections No. 2
and No. 8 show the Devonian as cherty lime-
stone, but in his section No. 9 it is limestone
without chert. At sections 2 and 8, the lime-
stone has streaks of pale-reddish color along
the bedding planes. The colors of the dolomitic
limestone and the dolomite differ from place to
place, but generally are orange to dark yellow.
Northwest of Ciudad Victoria (Tamauli-
pas), in the Huizachal-Peregrina antichnorium,
Carrillo-Bravo ( 1961 ) was the first to recog-
nize Devonian strata. He called the unit the La
Yerba Formation. Ii ct^ntains dated inverte-
brate and plant fossils, 1 he section is appro.xi-
mately 100 m thick and consists primarily of
white novaculitc, dark-gray lutite, and green-
ish-gray, fine-grained sandstone.
The Middle and I,ate Devonian strata are
predominantly carbontitc rocks in Sonora
(limestone and dolomite) and in Chihuahua
(limestone). In the area of Ciudad Victoria the
section contains more terrigenous clastic debris
as well as novaculite. The latter may indicate
deposition in deeper water, but the data are too
few for determining the environment of deposi-
tion and the paleogeography.
No Devonian rocks have been found south
of Ciudad Victoria,
Mississippian
Known Mississippian rocks (Fig. 5) have a
wider distribution than any of the older Paleo-
 F
<D
O
N
O

FIG. 5.—Mississippian of Mexico. Shows distribution and paleogeography. Thicknesses unknown for isopach purposes. lO
Interpretation is tentative. O
2410 Ernesto Lopez-Ramos

Table 5. Mississippian Localities Studied in Mexico

Suite formation LUholo'^y .-l.Uf riuchhsx In:, Locidity (F/s,'. 5)

Sonora " U p p c f Cristilina" Is. I,s. Miss. Cananea

(Chivatei'd zone)

Escabrosa Ls. l.s. Eaiiy Miss. t abullonLL

El Tigrc Fm. Ls. Early Miss. 385 1 SI 10 151) km ESE of fananca

il!avis])c.l

Venada Em. Is. Early Miss. 21 km \V o l ' C a b o r c a

Repi'cso (Bisani) E' i n . Is. Early Miss. 4') • 21 km W of t a b o r c a

Chiliuahua Paradise-EscabroSL 1-s. and marl Late Miss. .^ -5 N\V of the Sierra dc Palomas
fms. (41) km W of Palomas)

Monillas Em. Es. a n d marl Late Miss. .!0 ^5 6 km SW of Mina P.ilomas

(in pare)

Tanlaulipus V. Guerrero Fm. Ss., sh. Early Miss. 16(1 200 1 1 km N\V of Cd. Viclori.i

Hidalgo Calnaim Sh. Miss. fanalli

Oaxaca Santiago Ein. Sh., ss., cgl. Miss. l'i2 S. Ixtallepcc (15 km N E of
Nochlsllan)

^ Provisional name.

zoic rocks (Table 5 ) . The Mississippian appar-
ently is very extensive in northern and central
Mexico and, according to Pantoja (1967), ex-
tends into southern Mexico in the region of
Nochistlan, central Oaxaca. According to
Schuchert's (1955) paleogeographic maps of
the Paleozoic, the Early Mississippian sea ex-
tended from the central Gulf of Mexico across
the central part of northern Veracruz, most of
Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi,
Durango, and ail of Chihuahua and the eastern
part of Sonora. Pantoja's data permit the exten-
sion of the Early Mississippian sea into south-
ern Mexico, and other data (Fries, 1962) per-
mit extension into western Sonora. The princi-
pal Mississippian outcrops are tabulated in
Table 5.
Table 5 shows that the Lower Mississippian
is represented in Sonora by limestone and dolo-
mite ("Upper Cristilina" limestone of Cananea)
but apparently is absent in Chihuahua where
only Middle and Upper Mississippian rocks
crop out (limestone and marl). However, a
short distance northwest in the Big Hatchet
Mountains of New Mexico, a complete Missis-
sippian section is present. Farther south in Ta-
maulipas, the Lower Mississippian is repre-
sented by a littoral facies (sandstone and lu-
tite), and also is present in Oaxaca (Nochistlan
region) as a littoral facies of terrigenous clastic
sedimentary rocks (lutite) and limestone. Ap-
parently the Mississippian rocks in these four
widely separated areas in Mexico are of differ-
ent I'acies in each place; they are principally
carbonate in Sonora and Chihuahua, and argil-
laceous strata in Ihe northeast and south of
Mexico (Fig. 5).
Pennsylvanian
Like the Mississippian, Pennsylvanian rocks
are widespread in Me.x.ico and it is possible to
reconstruct a reasonably accurate paleogeo-
graphic map for the period (Fig. 6). Schuchert
(1955) indicated that there was almost no in-
terruption in deposition from Early and Middle
Mississippian limes through the Pennsylvanian,
particularly in north-central Mexico. However,
in Oaxaca and Tamaulipas, only Lower and
Upper Pennsylvanian rocks have been found,
whereas in Coahuila and farther north in Chi-
huahua and Sonora, Upper Pennsylvanian
rocks predominate. Data from the Gonzalez
No. 101 well, 98 km northwest of Tampico,
show that the Pennsylvanian sea in that area al-
most certainly opened toward the present Gulf
of Mexico. Table 6 summarizes the known
Pennsylvanian outcrops.
The Pennsylvanian section consists predomi-
nantly of lutite and sandstone in Oaxaca and
Tamaulipas, but changes to more calcareous
and dolomitic rocks in Coahuila, Chihuahua,
and Sonora. In Sonora, some marl and a small
amount of shale are present.
The relation between the Pennsylvanian in
Oaxaca and that in (Chiapas and Guatemala is
not understood, mainlv because diagnostic
 i
f
90
O
ST
Wl

<D
><_
s*
o

to
Fio 6.—Pennsylvanian of Mexico. Shows isopachs and paleogeography. Thickness in meters, Interpretation is tentative.
2412 Ernesto Lopez-Ramos

Table 6. Pennsylvanian Localities Studied in Mexico

State Formal ion Lithoh^y Ai;e Thickness (in) Locality (I'ig. 6)

Sonoia El Tigre Ls. Ls. Late Peiin. '"26 •• '' 120 km ESE of Caiianca
(unit 3)

Pucrtecitos Ls. Ls. Penn. .-on W of Cananea

Nacoziiri Ls. Ls. Late Penn. (7) N W of Naco/.ari

Chihuuhuii Horquilla Fni. Ls. Penn. 82:i--! ,03^ N of S. de la Boca (or Sierra
Palo mas)

Villa Aldama Fni. Lutite Perm.- 2 ,6(H) t 15 km N W of V. .\ldania

(in part) Penn. (?)

Pastor Ls. Ls., dolo., chert Middle lo 2')() 500 2 km W of Placer de G u a d a -

(in part) Late Penn. 1 upe

CoaliLiila Delicias Fni. Ls., marl Perm., L^ite \>{) Ccrros Los Piloncillos, N of
(in part) Penn. (Virgilian) S. de Sobaco (210 km N W of
SaltJIln)

Tamautipas Del M o n t e Fm. Ls., ss., liiiite Early a n d :iio 600 m of R a n e h o Peregrina,
Late Penn. NW of Cd. Victoria

Pozo Gonzalez lOU Lutite, ss. Late Penn. 1 ,428 !50 km SL of Cd. Victoria

Puebla Matzizi series'^ Carbonaceous Penn. 500 Cerro Matzizi (25 km SSW de
lutite Tchuacan)

Oaxaca Ixtaltepcc Fni. Lutite, ss., some Eiirly to I'M) [-. of Nochistlan
Is. Middle Penn,

Chiapas Santa Rosa Fm. Phyliite, schisL(?). Penn. (?) 1 .MXM?) Chieomuselo
ss.. Is.

1 Informal terminology only.

faunas are extremely scarce. However, large
bodies of phyliite, schist, quartzite, and marble
are particularly well exposed in the mountains
of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, south of
Chivela, as well as in the Sierra de Juarez in
northern Oaxaca, and may be exposures of
metamorphosed late Paleozoic strata (Fig. 6).
Permian
Permian outcrops, which have been found in
10 Mexican states, are the most abundant Pa-
leozoic exposures in Mexico (Table 7; Fig. 7 ) .
These and the Permian rocks found in wells
are mainly equivalent to the Wolfcampian and
Leonardian (Early and Middle Permian, Fig.
7). Rocks of Guadalupian and Ochoan ages
are known only from Coahuila and possibly
northwestern Chihuahua.
Permian strata are most widespread and
thickest in the Paleozoic geosyncline (see Fig.
7 ) . The western part of this geosyncline in
Mexico is covered by extrusive rocks which
form the Sierra Madre Occidental. It is reason-
able to believe that below this volcanic-rock
blanket there may be remains of the lands
from which the flysch deposits were derived.
These flyschlike rocks are found mainly in the
States of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi (Charcas
region), and Queretaro (Tollman; Lopez
Ramos et al., 1968).
There are difficult problems in explaining
the connection between the Permian rocks of
central and northern Mexico and those of No-
chistlan, State of Oaxaca, and the outcrops
farther southeast in Chiapas.
In Sonora more than 80 percent of the Per-
mian section consists of limestone, partly of
reef origin, although some sandstone and marl
are present, especially on the northwest near
Caborca. The calcareous facies dominate on
the east in the area of the Pedregosa basin. The
Permian in Sonora is more than 800 m thick
near El Tigre (Bavispe). In Chihuahua, in the
Palomas sector of the Pedregosa basin (where
conditions are similar to those in the Big
Hatchet Mountains of New Mexico), the Early
and Middle Permian strata consist of limestone
and dolomite, with subordinate lutite. The same
is true in the area ot Placer de Guadalupe
(Cerro de Enmedio), although in the latter re-
gion there are also flyschlike deposits appar-
ently together with greenstones. These rocks
 Table 7. Permian Localities Studied in Mexico
Lithology Age Thickness (m) Locality {Fig. 7)

Sonora M o n o s (Caborca) Dark Is., ss., mail l-^arly lo Middle Perm, 500 ^0 km W of Caborca
Fm.

El Tigre F m . (in part) Ls. with cheri Perm. (Leonardian) 80(1 • 121) km LSE of Cananea

Permian Dark-gray Is, Perm. unditV. t asilii'An-asiras. I(») km ESE of

Hcnnosillo

Permian Reef Is. Perm. (Leonardian) 500 ' Siena dc C:obachi, 75 km ESE of
UonnosiHo

Permian Massive Is. Perm, undiff. 150 2(.H) Sierra Colorada. 45 km E of

Hermosillo

Permian Ls. Perm, unditf. — L-. of Wilkird, 20 km SE of Hermo-

siUo

Permian Ls. Perm. undilL Ceiro dc La Flojera, 10 km SE of

Hennosillo

Chihuahua Colina F m . Ls., lutite, ss. Perm. (Wolfcampian) IS? SSW <^r Sierra de Palonias

Earp Fm. Ls., dolo. biirlv Perm. 215 7 km NW of R a n c h o Boca G r a n d e

<oi Sierra Palomas)

Horquilla F m . Ls. Perm. (Wolfannpian)- H25-l,035 N >i Siena de la Boca (Palomas)

(in p a r t ) Penn.

Epitaph a n d Scherrer Dolo., lutite, ss. Perm. (Leonardian) ESE o\ Sierra de Palomas
fms. ?

Concha F m . Ls., do Perm. (Leonardian) i:SE of Sierra de Palomas

Villa Aldama Fm. Lutite Perm. (Wolfcampian?) 2,600 15 km N W of Villa Aldama

(in part) undiif.-Penn. ( ?)

Plomosas F m . Reef Is., flysch, Perm. (Wolfamipian- 762-1,4(X> Placer de G u a d a l u p e , Cerro de

(in part) a n d green rocks Leonardian), Triassic EnmcUio, 5 k m SW of Minas
(?) PlninosiiS

Pastor Ls. (in part) Ls., dolo.. chert Penn.-Early Perm. 290-500 2 km W of Placer de G u a d a l u p e
(Wolfcampian)

Coahuila Delicias F m . Lutite, ss., cgl. Perm. (Wolfannpian. 3,000' 3,424 V;ille de Delicias
Leonardian, Ochoan)

Tamaulipas Guacamaya Fm. Cgl., ss., lutite. Is. Perm. (Leoriiirdian, 1 ,000 r R a n c h o Guacamaya, 11.3 k m N W
Wolfcampian) of Cd. Victoria (Canon Peregrina)

Zamorina N o . 1 Black carbona- Early P e r m . (Wolf- 794-: 114 km N of T a m p i c o

ccous lutite campian-Leonardian)

Tepehuajc N o . 1 5S 4 130 kill N of Tampico
Lutite, argillite Perm.. C a r b . (?)
Zacatecas Upper Paleozoic 400 i 15 km N E of C d . Zacatecas
Lutite, graywacke Perm., C a r b .
Hidalgo Calnalli series^ Lutite with plants. Perm. (Leonardian?) 100 \ Rancho San M a t e o (85 k m N of
(in part) ss., cgl. Pachuca. Hidalgo)

Lutite, ss., cgl. Perm. (Wolfcampian- 2,000 f 4 km W ofTlanchinol (95 km N of

G u a c a m a y a Fm. Leonardian) Pachuca)

Phyllite, ss. Late Paleo-^oic 500- 5 km N E of Tollman

Queretaro Chilar^ (Perm.?) (57 km N E of Cd. Queretaro)

Oax Yododeiie Fm. Sltst., ss. Perm. (?) 245 Region of S. Ixtaltepec, Oaxaca

Huilotepec Quartzite, Qtzite., argill., Late Paleozoic C^) S o\' lehuantepec Isthmus
Jalapa Argillite, Chi- phyllite
malapa Phyllite

Middle Perm. 600-1,944 5.5 km N W of Cd. C u a u h t e m o c

Chiapas Paso H o n d o Fm. Ls. (Leonardian) (35 km SE of Chicomuselo)

Early to Middle Perm. N of Chicomuselo

La Vainilla Ls. Ls. (Wolfcampian-Leonardian)

Early P e r m . 100-527 5 km N of Chicomuselo

Grupera Fm. Ls. a n d sh. (Wolfcampian)

^ Extrusive igneous rocks are included in this thickness.

* These lutites, of possibly continental origin, are associated with fossiliferous marine Permian strata (Ciuacamaya F m . ) .
s Provisional n a m e .
 s

f
I

FIG. 7.—Permian of Mexico. Shows isopachs and paleogeography. Thicknesses in meters. Interpretation is tentative.
 Marine Paleozoic Rocks of Mexico
may be equivalent to the Villa Aldama Forma-
tion near the center of what is considered the
Chihuahua basin.
In Coahuila, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi,
Tamaulipas, Hidalgo, and Queretaro, flysch-
type clastic beds predominate and carbonate
rocks are very scarce.
In Oaxaca, the rocks which are considered
to be of late Paleozoic age (Permian-Carbonif-
erous) also are very shaly, and plant fossils are
found in the area of Matzizi, Puebla.
In Chiapas, in the region of Chicomuselo
and toward Guatemala, neritic limestone depo-
sition was predominant during the Early and
Middle Permian (Chochal Formation; Walper,
1960; Fig. 7 ) .
CONCLUSIONS
Information on the Paleozoic of Mexico is
still very incomplete. It is impossible to be cer-
tain whether Paleozoic sediments were depos-
ited in one large basin, or in a complex of
smaller basins. Only in northern Mexico is the
Paleozoic section sufficiently well known to be
considered a potential drilling objective. Until
the Paleozoic is studied more in the outcrop
and in wells, and until ages of the metamorphic
rocks of Mexico are analyzed in more detail
and dated radiometrically, it will be impossible
to reconstruct satisfactorily the Paleozoic pa-
leogeography of Mexico. This task is compli-
cated further by the large areas covered by
Tertiary and younger volcanic rocks.
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