To identify the main sources of terrigenous sediments of the La Paz Lagoon, a description of the hydrology of the drainage basins and the mineralogy of the heavy fraction of the lagoon sediments is needed. In this work, 14 terrigenous sediment samples from the arroyos (dry streams) and 55 superficial marine sediment samples were collected from the study area. The drainage basins of the principal arroyos discharging into the lagoon were defined using geomorphologic analyses on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The sediment samples' grain size fraction of 3.25 -3.00 phi was obtained by sieving. The heavy minerals were separated using bromoform and the mineralogical composition was determined using a petrographic polarization microscope. Three main sedimentary provinces in the lagoon were distinguished based on principal component analysis of the heavy mineral data and the study of the surrounding regional streams. The eastern sedimentary province is characterized by the predominance of orthopyroxene, especially hypersthene, as well as a high hornblende presence. This is due to the erosion of volcanoclastic sequences of the Comondú Formation and intrusive granitic complexes of Sierra de Las Cruces. The southeastern province displays a high abundance of hornblendes (up to 81% in some stations), micas, apatite, sphene, anatase, tourmaline, chlorite, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene. Lower contents of amphibole (up to 27.2% in some stations) and resistant garnet and zircon minerals were found, as were some soft-pink piedmontite and pale-green hypersthene. These minerals were supplied by the El Cajoncito, Los Bledales, La Palma, Cardonal and El Novillo arroyos eroding the intrusive rocks of "Granito Sierra de Las Cruces", "Tonalita La Buena Mujer" and in a smaller extent the extrusive and non-marine rocks (tuffs, riodacites, conglomerates and sandstones) of the Comondú Formation. The predominant minerals of the northwestern province are clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and phosphatic ooids. Relatively high abundance of olivine, hornblende, zircon, epidote and garnet were also found. These minerals are presumably supplied by the arroyos La Ardilla and other streams to the north of the El Centenario and El Comitán villages, as well as by eolian and littoral transport of the El Mogote sandbar dunes, which accumulates eroded sediments from the marine sedimentary rocks of El Cien Formation.Keywords: sediments, heavy minerals, drainage basins, La Paz Lagoon, principal component analysis, contribution sources. ResumenPara identificar las principales fuentes de aporte de sedimentos terrígenos hacia la Laguna de La Paz la descripción de la hidrología de las cuencas de drenaje con la mineralogía de la fracción pesada de los sedimentos de la laguna es necesaria. En este
Bahía San Lucas está localizada en la punta sur de la Península de Baja California, por lo que recibe el oleaje de alta energía del Océano Pacífico. El análisis morfológico y sedimentológico del litoral y del fondo marino de la Bahía San Lucas, a partir del levantamiento batimétrico y del análisis de los parámetros texturales del sedimento permitió conocer la relación que existe entre las geoformas y el comportamiento sedimentológico. La morfología y orientación de las puntas que protegen a la bahía, así como la presencia temporal del abanico-delta El Salto en la porción central de la misma, condicionan los procesos de refracción y difracción del olaje. Así, el litoral de la bahía se puede dividir en dos zonas, en donde los procesos energéticos del oleaje y agente transportante son diferentes entre ellas y determinan la morfología y distribución de sedimentos en el sistema playero. El relieve del fondo marino de la bahía está dominado por la presencia del cañón submarino San Lucas, cuya cabecera se proxima hasta el pie de la playa, en la zona más interna de la bahía. Dicho cañón condiciona el desarrollo de la plataforma, la cual es de sólo 1.5 km de ancho, con profundidad máxima de 50 m. La poca profundidad de la plataforma, que permite que el oleaje interactúe con el fondo, así como la presencia del cañón submarino, condicionan la distribución de sedimentos del fondo marino de la bahía. Morphology and sediments of the beach and shelf of the Bahía San Lucas, Baja California Sur, México Bahía San Lucas is located at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, thus it receives high energy waves from the Pacific Ocean. The morphology of the coastline and marine bottom of the bay was interpreted based on a bathymetric survey and beach profiles, while the characteristics of the sediments were obtained through a textural analysis. Both, morphology and sedimentology allowed us to know the relationship between landforms and the sedimentological behavior. The geometry and orientation of the limiting points of the bay and the temporary presence of the fan-delta El Salto in the central portion, control the processes of wave refraction and diffraction. Thus, the coastline of the bay can be divided into two areas, where the wave energy processes and the transporting agent are different from each other and determine the morphology and sediment distribution of the beach. Seafloor topography of the bay is dominated by the presence of the San Lucas submarine canyon, whose head is just at the foot of he beach, in the innermost area of the bay. This canyon controls the development of the peninsular shelf, which is only 1.5 km wide with a maximum depth of 50m. This shallow depth of the shelf, which allows the waves interact with seabed, and the presence of the submarine canyon are the responsible for the distribution of sediments in the seabed of the bay.
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