Images derived from repeat‐pass spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) systems offer the possibility of mapping surface deformation of small spatial extent and monitoring its spatio‐temporal evolution. A slow local subsidence has been detected at the Cerro Prieto geothermal field from images acquired by the European Space Agency remote sensing satellites ERS‐1/2 between 1993 and 1997. Although agricultural activity in the area limited the investigation, interferometric monitoring revealed that the ground deformation is associated with the withdrawal of geothermal fluid and agreed with the leveling data. Modeling of the subsidence was carried out assuming elastic deformation in a half‐space from simple point sources, of which five were necessary to reproduce the fringe patterns observed on the interferograms. The depths and locations of three of the sources are compatible with the location of the known reservoir. The study improves prior knowledge of the displacement field and of the mecanisms involved in the subsidence phenomenon.

The interpretation of the results of regional and local leveling which began in 1977 in the Mexicali Valley and the local short profile precision leveling which started in 1994 are discussed. The relation of vertical deformations around the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Field (CPGF) and along the Imperial fault, with local tectonics and seismicity in the Mexicali Valley, is reviewed. Also the relation between vertical deformation and fluid operation in the CPGF is analyzed. The subsidence observed in the field seems to be induced by fluid extraction. The way in which fluid production influences surface changes along the Imperial fault is not clear. The possibility that seismicity is triggering subsidence in the area and vertical movement on the Imperial fault is discussed/

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