Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 67, núm. 2, 2015, p. 227-244 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2015v67n2a7

Patrimonio natural de la Reserva Ecológica del Pedregal de San Ángel y áreas cercanas: sitios de interés geológico y geomorfológico al sur de la Cuenca de México

José Luis Palacio Prieto^1,*, Marie-Noëlle Guilbaud²

¹ Departamento de Geografía Física, Instituto de Geografía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, 04510, México D.F., México.
² Departamento de Vulcanología, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, 04510, México D.F., México.
^* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The Pedregal de San Angel Ecological Reserve (PSAER) is a conservation area created in 1983 within the campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). The objective of the reserve is to maintain an area of biological and cultural diversity containing the last remnants of natural ecosystems in the southern Mexico Basin. The PSAER is also geologically and geomorphologically important in order to explain the evolution of the landscape of the southern portion of the Mexico Basin. This study identified and characterized nine geosites (in and near the PSAER) that are representative of regional volcanic processes. The interest of the selected sites includes volcano-stratigraphic (sequences of lavas and pyroclastics), volcanological (lava flows, pyroclastic cones) and archaeological features. The sites also have an educational value that can be incorporated into formal education schemes (as sites of interest in geology and geography courses) and informal uses (as information for non-specialized visitors) and contribute to outreach activities in the areas of Earth Sciences, particularly geology and geomorphology.

Keywords: geosites, Xitle volcano, sierra Chichinautzin, geological heritage, lava flows.