Coastal geomorphological cartography of Veracruz State, Mexico

Abstract

This paper presents a general geomorphological map of the coastal zone of Veracruz State, Mexico, produced using topographic information, digital orthophotos and high-resolution aerial photographs, as well as a study of geological materials and field survey. Hierarchical levels established for the typological classification are (a) relief categories (mountains, hills and plains); (b) relief subcategories (low mountains; foothills; large, medium and small hills; very high, high, medium, low and very low plains); (c) specific morphogenetic relief type, according to morphology, morphometry and the genetic formation process, and geological substratum; (d) relative age of relief, according to correlated data for the Mexican–Caribbean region; and (e) morphogenetic formations complex. The geomorphological history of relief development in the region reveals a period of compression of the palaeo-mesozoic substratum, during the Laramide orogeny, followed by neotectonic reconstruction of the morphostructure, primarily in the mountains, giving rise to intense erosion–denudation processes and the break-up of relief during the Pliocene and up to the present day. These conditions contributed to the spread of a varied, complex and interdigitated sedimentation, shaped by marine, fluvial, lacustrine–palustrine and aeolian processes which, under glacio-eustatic conditions during the Quaternary, established a system of terraced plains of different origin, dissected or not dependent on the prevailing lithology. The study area of 7872 km² was divided into five sectors: Tamiahua, Poza Rica, Veracruz, Alvarado and Coatzacoalcos, and mapped at a scale of 1:110,000.

Keywords:

• geomorphological cartography
• coasts
• Veracruz
• Mexico

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the National Council for Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, CONACYT) and the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, SEMARNAT) for their financing under call number 2002-CO1–0126. In addition, they acknowledge the support of José Manuel Figueroa Mah Eng in the technical process. We also thank Ailsa Winton for English translation and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions. Special thanks to Colin Pain for his reviews and academic recommendations.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Council for Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, CONACYT), by the grant number [2002-CO1-0126].