Abstract

PALACIO PRIETO, José Luis  and  GUILBAUD, Marie-Noëlle. Natural heritage of the Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve and neighboring areas: Sites of geological and geomorphological interest in southern Mexico basin. Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2015, vol.67, n.2, pp.227-244. ISSN 1405-3322.

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.