Central America: Geology, Resources and Hazards Cover Illustrations The cover page shows a preliminary geological map of Central America compiled by the editors on the digital elevation model PIA3364 [Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech]. The digital elevation map from NASA can be used free for scientific purposes mentioning the source: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03364. The photos of the back covers of volume 1 are courtesy of G.E. Alvarado (Pliocene turbidites, Pta. Burica), D. López (Cerro Verde volcano), and P. Lesage (spectrogram tremor at Arenal volcano), those of volume 2 of O. Aragón (Arenal volcano, 1998), S. Paniagua (road destroyed by the Limón earthquake, 1991), and G.E. Alvarado (intrusive rock). © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK Central America: Geology, Resources and Hazards Edited by Jochen Bundschuh International Technical Cooperation Program, CIM (GTZ/BA), Frankfurt, Germany — Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), San José, Costa Rica Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden Guillermo E. Alvarado Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), San José, Costa Rica Escuela Centroamericana de Geología, Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) LONDON / LEIDEN / NEW YORK / PHILADELPHIA / SINGAPORE(cid:1) (cid:1) © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK Reproduced as CRC by Charon Tec Ltd (A Macmillan Company), Chennai, India Printed and bound in Spain by Grafos SA, Barcelona All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information contained herein may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written prior permission from the publishers. Although all care is taken to ensure integrity and the quality of this publication and the information herein, no responsibility is assumed by the publishers nor the author for any damage to the property or persons as a result of operation or use of this publication and/or the information contained herein. Published by: Taylor & Francis/Balkema P.O. Box 447, 2300 AK Leiden, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] www.balkema.nl, www.taylorandfrancis.co.uk, www.crcpress.com Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Central America : geology, resources, and hazards / edited by Jochen Bundschuh, Guillermo E. Alvarado. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-415-41647-4 (hardcover, set : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-415-41648-1 (v. 1 : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-415-40169-2 (v. 2 : alk. paper) 1. Geology–Central America. 2. Natural resources–Central America. 3. Hazardous geographic environments–Central America. I. Bundschuh, Jochen. II. Alvarado Induni, Guillermo E., 1960- QE210.C46 2006 557.2–dc22 2006028790 ISBN13 set: 978-0-415-41647-4 (Hbk) ISBN13 Volume 1: 978-0-415-41648-1 (Hbk) ISBN13 Volume 2: 978-0-415-40169-2 (Hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-203-94704-3 (Ebook) © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK Volume 1 Table of content s ix List of contributors xxxv List of reviewers xli Authors’ acknowledgements xlv Editors’ foreword liii Editors’ note lvii About the editors lxi I. REGIONAL OVERVIEW GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Geographical, social, economic, and environmental framework and developments 1 Jochen Bundschuh, Manuel Winograd, Michael Day and Guillermo E. Alvarado 2 History of geology 53 Gregorio Escalante and Gerardo J. Soto II. GENERAL GEOLOGY GEOMORPHOLOGY 3 Geomorphology and physiographic provinces 75 Jeffrey S. Marshall 4 Volcanism and volcanic landforms 123 Benjamin van Wyk de Vries, Pablo Grosse and Guillermo E. Alvarado 5 Karst landscapes 155 Michael J. Day 6 Glacial geology and geomorphology 171 Matthew S. Lachniet 7 Coastal morphology and coral reefs 185 Jorge Cortés TECTONICS AND GEODYNAMICS 8 Overview of plate tectonic history and its unresolved tectonic problems 201 Paul Mann, Robert D. Rogers and Lisa Gahagan © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK (cid:1) (cid:1) vi 9 Convergent margin tectonics: A marine perspective 239 César R. Ranero, Roland von Huene, Wilhelm Weinrebe and Udo Barckhausen 10 Crustal structure 267 Ernst R. Flueh and Roland von Huene 11 Structural geology: From local elements to regional synthesis 277 Keith H. James 12 Seismicity and neotectonic 323 Mario Fernández, Eduardo Camacho, Enrique Molina, Griselda Marroquín and Wilfried Strauch STRATIGRAPHY AND PALEONTOLOGY 13 Stratigraphy and geologic history 345 Guillermo E. Alvarado, Carlos Dengo, Uwe Martens, Jochen Bundschuh, Teresita Aguilar and Samuel B. Bonis 14 Onshore to offshore tephrostratigraphy and marine ash layer diagenesis 395 Steffen Kutterolf, Ulrike Schacht, Heidi Wehrmann, Armin Freundt and Tobias Mörz 15 Late Quaternary lake and swamp sediments: Recorders of climate and environment 423 Sally P. Horn 16 Vertebrate paleontology 443 Spencer G. Lucas, Guillermo E. Alvarado, Ramiro García, Edgar Espinoza, Juan Carlos Cisneros and Uwe Martens 17 Invertebrate paleontology 453 Rudolf Fischer and Teresita Aguilar 18 Micropaleontology 467 Laurel S. Collins IGNEOUS AND METAMORPHIC PETROLOGY 19 Metamorphism and metamorphic rocks 485 Uwe Martens, Carlos Ortega-Obregón, Juliana Estrada and Marvin Valle 20 Oceanic igneous complexes 523 Kaj Hoernle and Folkmar Hauff 21 Intrusive rocks 549 Lina C. Patino 22 Petrology and geochemistry of lavas 565 Michael J. Carr, Lina C. Patino and Mark D. Feigenson 23 Petrogenesis of ignimbrites 591 Thomas Vogel, Lina Patino, Guillermo E. Alvarado and William I. Rose © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK (cid:1) (cid:1) vii Volume 2 III. GEOLOGICAL RESOURCES HYDROGEOLOGY AND GROUNDWATER RESOURCES 24 Hydrogeology 665 David Bethune, Cathryn Ryan, Marcelino Losilla and Jiri Krasny 25 Water availability, use and valuation 687 John C. Bergstrom and Hugo Cardona GEOTHERMICS AND GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES 26 High and low enthalpy geothermal resources and potentials 705 Peter Birkle and Jochen Bundschuh 27 Hydrogeochemical and isotopic composi tion of geothermal fluids 777 Peter Birkle and Jochen Bundschuh 28 G as geochemistry of volcanic and hydrothermal fluids 839 Tobias P. Fischer, Alison M. Shaw and David R. Hilton 29 Geothermal resources for development — valuation, present use and future opportunities 869 Jochen Bundschuh, Peter Birkle, Asbjørn Aaheim and Guillermo E. Alvarado FOSSIL FUEL AND MINERAL RESOURCES 30 Petroleum geology 895 Carlos A. Dengo 31 Coal and peat resources 917 Luis Gmo. Obando and Kenneth Bolaños 32 Metallic mineral resources 931 Carl E. Nelson 33 Industrial minerals 963 Fernando Alvarado and Byron Mota GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE RESOURCES 34 G eology-related tourism for sustainable developmen t1015 Jochen Bundschuh, Peter Birkle, Richard C. Finch, Michael Day, Juan Romero, Sergio Paniagua, Gui llermo E. Alvarado, Prosun Bhattacharya, Karola Tippmann and Damaris Chaves IV. GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS SEISMIC HAZARDS AND MONITORING 35 Seismic hazard and microzonation 1099 Conrad D. Lindholm, Álvaro Climent, Eduardo Camacho, Wilfried Strauch, José Cepeda, Diego Cáceres, Juan P. Ligorría and Hilmar Bungum © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK (cid:1) (cid:1) viii 36 Seismic mon itoring 1119 Mario Fernández, Wilfried Strauch, Enrique Molina, Jaime Toral and Griselda Marroquín 37 Strong-motion monitoring 1129 Álvaro Climent, Victor Schmidt, Douglas Hernández, José Cepeda, Eduardo Camacho, Rüdiger Escobar and Wilfried Strauch VOLCANIC HAZARDS AND MONITORING 38 Volcanic activity, hazards, and monitoring 1155 Guillermo E. Alvarado, Gerardo J. Soto, Carlos R. Pullinger, Rüdiger Escobar, Samuel Bonis, Demetrio Escobar and Martha Navarro 39 V olcano seismology 1189 Philippe Lesage, Mauricio Mora, Wilfried Strauch, Demetrio Escobar, Otoniel Matías, Virginia Tenorio, Emilio Talavera, Ángel Rodríguez and Guillermo E. Alvarado LANDSLIDES AND TSUNAMIS 40 Earthquake-induced landslides 1217 Carlos E. Rodríguez 41 Earthquake triggered tsunamis 1257 Mario Fernández and Modesto Ortiz © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK Table of contents Volume 1 TABLE OF CONT ixENTS LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xxxv LIST OF REVIEWERS xli AUTHORS’ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xlv EDITORS’ FORE lWiiiO RD EDITORS’ N OlvTiiE ABOUT THE ED ITORS lxi I. REGIONAL OVERVIEW (cid:1)(cid:2) (cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:3)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:7)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:2)(cid:14)(cid:5)(cid:11)(cid:10)(cid:7)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:11)(cid:5)(cid:15)(cid:5)(cid:16)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:13)(cid:2)(cid:7)(cid:15)(cid:17)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:18)(cid:10)(cid:6)(cid:5)(cid:15)(cid:16)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:19)(cid:7)(cid:12) (cid:2) (cid:2) (cid:20)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:16)(cid:4)(cid:21)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:22)(cid:2)(cid:7)(cid:15)(cid:17)(cid:2)(cid:17)(cid:4)(cid:18)(cid:4)(cid:12)(cid:5)(cid:8)(cid:16)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:19)(cid:14) (cid:2) (cid:1)(cid:2) 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 The environment 2 1.2.1 Biophysical traits, resources and hazards 2 1.2.1.1 Climate 2 1.2.1.2 Hydrography 6 1.2.1.3 Geomorphology and soils 8 1.2.1.4 Geology 9 1.2.1.5 Energy, mineral, and water resources 11 1.2.1.5.1 Fossil fuel resources 11 1.2.1.5.2 Renewable energy resources 12 1.2.1.5.3 Freshwater resources 13 1.2.1.5.4 Mineral resources (metallic and non-metallic) 14 1.2.1.5.5 Geological tourism destination 15 1.2.2 Biological traits and resources 15 1.2.2.1 Land cover and forests 15 1.2.2.2 Land uses and productivity 18 1.2.2.3 Biodiversity and ecosystems 19 1.2.2.4 Coasts and seas 19 1.3 The changing nature of the environment 20 1.3.1 Socioeconomic traits and resources 20 1.3.1.1 Population, social dynamics and human development 20 1.3.1.2 Economy and economic dynamics 27 1.3.2 Conservation, environmental protection and sustainable development 32 1.4 Limitations and potential for sustainable development: risk and vulnerability 39 1.4.1 Geology and climate related hazards and risks 39 1.4.1.1 Seismicity and seismic hazard 40 1.4.1.2 Volcanic hazards 43 1.4.1.3 Landslide and soil liquefaction hazards 43 1.4.1.4 Tsunami hazard and risk 44 © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK (cid:1) (cid:1) x CONTENTS 1.4.1.5 Climate hazards 44 1.4.2 Renewable energy options for sustainable development 46 1.4.3 Increasing stress on freshwater resources 48 (cid:2) (cid:23)(cid:2) (cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:14)(cid:19)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:24)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:20)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:12)(cid:5)(cid:3)(cid:24) (cid:2) (cid:2) (cid:25)(cid:26)(cid:2) 2.1 Introduction 53 2.2 Pre-Columbian period 56 2.2.1 Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes 56 2.2.2 Non-metallic mineral resources and construction materials 57 2.2.3 Metallic mineral resources 58 2.3 Colonial and early independence period 59 2.3.1 Metallic mineral resources 60 2.3.2 Volcanoes and earthquakes 61 2.4 From independence to the first half of the 20 th century 62 2.4.1 The early interest in geological research 62 2.4.2 Pioneering geological works 63 2.4.3 Studies carried out for the Nicaragua and Panama canals projects 64 2.4.4 Seismology 65 2.4.5 Geological accomplishments during the late19 th and early 20th centuries 65 2.4.6 Outstanding results at the end of this period 67 2.5 From 1950 to the present 67 2.5.1 Regional geology 68 2.5.2 Central American geologists and international cooperation 68 2.5.3 Central American geological institutions 69 2.5.4 Consolidation of autochthonous geology 70 2.6 Overview and epilogue 70 II. GENERAL GEOLOGY (cid:26)(cid:2) (cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:16)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:5)(cid:12)(cid:5)(cid:3)(cid:24)(cid:2)(cid:7)(cid:15)(cid:17)(cid:2)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:24)(cid:14)(cid:10)(cid:5)(cid:3)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:2)(cid:8)(cid:6)(cid:5)(cid:18)(cid:10)(cid:15)(cid:11)(cid:4)(cid:14) (cid:2) (cid:27)(cid:25)(cid:2) 3.1 Introduction 75 3.2 Geomorphology of northern Central America 77 3.2.1 Maya highlands province 78 3.2.1.1 Cuchumatanes range 79 3.2.1.2 Chamá and Santa Cruz ranges 80 3.2.1.3 Lacandón range 80 3.2.1.4 Maya mountains 80 3.2.2 Yucatán platform province 81 3.2.2.1 Northern pitted karst plain 81 3.2.2.2 Southern hilly-karst plain 81 3.2.2.3 Petén karst plateau and lowlands 82 3.2.2.4 Eastern block-faulted coastal plain 82 3.2.3 Motagua fault zone province 82 3.2.3.1 Motagua and Polochic valleys 83 3.2.3.2 Las Minas and Chuacús ranges 83 3.2.4 Chortis volcanic front province 83 3.2.4.1 Guatemalan cordillera 84 3.2.4.2 Salvadoran cordillera 84 3.2.5 Chortis forearc province 85 © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK (cid:1) (cid:1) CONTENTS xi 3.2.5.1 Guatemalan coastal plain 85 3.2.5.2 Salvadoran coastal plain 85 3.2.6 Chortis highlands province 86 3.2.6.1 Central Chortis plateau 86 3.2.6.2 Western rifted highlands 86 3.2.6.3 Eastern dissected highlands 88 3.2.6.4 Honduran borderlands 88 3.2.7 Mosquito coast lowlands province 88 3.2.7.1 Northern Mosquitia 88 3.2.7.2 Southern Mosquitia 89 3.2.8 Nicaraguan depression province 89 3.2.8.1 Central Nicaraguan depression 89 3.2.8.2 Median trough, El Salvador 90 3.2.8.3 Los Guatusos and San Carlos lowlands, Costa Rica 90 3.2.9 Nicaraguan volcanic front province 90 3.2.9.1 Cosigüina peninsula 91 3.2.9.2 Los Marabios cordillera 91 3.2.9.3 Apoyeque and Las Sierras shields 91 3.2.9.4 Cocibolca cordillera 92 3.2.10 Sandino forearc province 92 3.2.10.1 Northern Nicaraguan coast 92 3.2.10.2 Southern Nicaraguan coast 93 3.2.10.3 Las Sierras shield 93 3.2.10.4 Punta Descartes, Costa Rica 93 3.3 Geomorphology of southern Central America 94 3.3.1 Chorotega volcanic front province 96 3.3.1.1 Guanacaste cordillera 96 3.3.1.2 Tilarán and Aguacate cordilleras 96 3.3.1.3 Central cordillera 97 3.3.1.4 Central valley 97 3.3.1.5 Talamanca cordillera 98 3.3.1.6 Central cordillera, Panama 98 3.3.2 Chorotega forearc province 99 3.3.2.1 Santa Elena peninsula and Papagayo gulf 99 3.3.2.2 Nicoya peninsula 100 3.3.2.3 Orotina-Esparza coast 102 3.3.2.4 Herradura headland 103 3.3.2.5 Quepos-Parrita coast 103 3.3.2.6 Fila Costeña 104 3.3.2.7 General and Coto Brus valleys 104 3.3.2.8 Osa peninsula 104 3.3.2.9 Burica peninsula 105 3.3.2.10 Soná and Azuero peninsulas 105 3.3.3 Chorotega backarc province 106 3.3.3.1 Tortuguero lowlands 106 3.3.3.2 Southern Limón and Bocas del Toro coast 106 3.3.4 Canal zone lowlands province 107 3.3.4.1 Gatún fracture zone 108 © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK