Active sinking at the bottom of the Rincón de Parangueo Maar (Guanajuato, México) and its probable relation with subsidence faults at Salamanca and Celaya

Research at the Rincón de Parangueo Maar, a Quaternary maar in Guanajuato, Mexico, reveals active sinking at its lakebed with a fault displacement rate of approximately 50 cm/year—significantly higher than regional subsidence faults. The study identifies an annular normal fault system and evidence of rotational slides, planar slides, and rollover anticlines, suggesting dynamic sediment mass movement toward the crater's depocenter. Abundant evaporites in the playa-lake sediments imply salt dissolution and brine infiltration may contribute to this process, potentially linked to aquifer subsidence or diatreme activity. The findings contrast with other dried crater-lakes in the region, highlighting unique deformation mechanisms at Rincón de Parangueo.

Aranda Gómez, J. J., Levresse, G., acheco Martínez, J., Ramos Leal, J. A., Carrasco Núñez, G., Chacón Baca, E., González Naranjo, G., Chávez Cabello, G., Vega González, M., Origel, G., & Noyola Medrano, C. (2013). Active sinking at the bottom of the Rincón de Parangueo Maar (Guanajuato, México) and its probable relation with subsidence faults at Salamanca and Celaya. Boletín de La Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 65(1), 169–188. https://doi.org/10.18268/bsgm2013v65n1a13