Research on the Eastern Mexican Alkaline Province. Facts and Open Questions

The Eastern Mexican Alkaline Province (EMAP) is a belt that stretches NNW-SSE nearly parallel to the Pacific coast and the tectonic front of the laramidic Sierra Madre Oriental. It reaches a length of ca. 2,000 km from the eastern end of the Mexican Volcanic Belt (Veracruz) to the Trans Pecos area in the USA.EMAP contains several isolated Tertiary intrusive and extrusive complexes, i.e. Sierra de San Carlos and Sierra de Tamaulipas.

Demant & Robin described by the first time in 1975 EMAP as a geological province in a regional context. Since this work several authors had carried out research to understand the geodynamic and petrological development of the whole province and their single complexes. It is suggested that the magmatism was originated under subduction as well as intraplate conditions during the Tertiary in NE Mexico.

We present a short survey on the investigation development of the EMAP in order to highlight the progresses and the open questions of the magma generation and evolution of this interesting province.