Geochronology and landscape evolution of the strand-plain of the Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers, southern Mexico

Muñoz‐Salinas, Esperanza; Castillo, Miguel; Sanderson, David; Kinnaird, Tim

doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2017.08.021

Cited by 9 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…Chávez Jiménez (2007) estimated that delta progradation has occurred from 1519 to 2000 CE (431-0 BP), extending the mouth of the Grijalva 8–10 km offshore and 20–25 km along the coast, substantially reconfiguring the deltas and bar systems through these centuries. The historical map-based model agrees with the post-Contact delta geochronology of Muñoz-Salinas et al (2017), with the present-day township of Frontera (considered by some scholars as the approximate location of the important Late Postclassic/Protohistoric site of Pontochán) located on the coastline at the time of Spanish Contact. By contrast, the chronology of Nooren et al (2017) suggests that the final major phase of coastal progradation had finished by the time of Contact (c. 1500 CE; 450 BP).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

“…We present the transitions ages between the three different phases (Table 2). Muñoz-Salinas et al (2017) showed that the Maya Classic period occurred at the end of Delta phase 1 and beginning of phase 2, c. 1200 BP , whereas Nooren et al (2017) indicated this c. 600-years period happened entirely during phase 2 (Figure 7(b)). The transition between phases implies the switching in the river outlets on the deltas (Figure 7(a)), probably caused by an avulsion, generally associated with extraordinary floods (Jones and Schumm, 1999).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Muñoz-Salinas et al (2017)’s OSL dating of beach ridges located west of the main channel (sites 3 and 4) (Figure 7) suggest these formed around the 17 th century CE (250 BP) during Phase 3 of progradation, likely post-dating the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16 th century CE (350 BP). These beach ridges lie c. 1 km (seaward) of a several small Postclassic Maya sites, including Juarez, El Coco, and Guerreros (Figure 1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Four millennia of geomorphic change and human settlement in the lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin, Mexico

Muñoz‐Salinas

Cook

Castillo

et al. 2023

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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The lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin contains one of the richest biodiversity landscapes of the Maya region. Our research is based on (1) an integrative literature review of the geomorphological and archaeological papers published about the lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin and (2) topographic analysis of digital elevation models using a geographical information system to explore the relationship between past human settlement and landscape accessibility along the coastal plain of Tabasco. This work provides a new synthesis of previous research and proposes new models for the geomorphic evolution of the lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin in the context of four millennia of human land use and settlement. For the evolution of the strand-plain of the Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers, there are two published geochronological models that provide different chronologies. We discuss here how both geochronological models encompass Pre-Columbian human settlement in the delta. Interestingly, we notice that one of them overlaps a possible high-magnitude flood event (or events) that drove large geomorphic change around 750 CE (1200 BP), with implications for settlement patterns and chronology. Based on topographical analysis of the eastern-distal sector of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta, we propose a new model for the evolution of this area with implications for the human occupation during the Mesoamerican Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic on the delta. As one of the main conclusions, we propose that the Pom–Atasta water bodies predate much of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta and the most recent phase of delta building overlays the original lagoon barriers, resulting in a geomorphic setting more attractive to local human occupation after the Terminal Classic period. According to one of the geochronological models of the delta, this dates to ca. 900 CE, preceding the establishment of nearby settlements such as Atasta.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Four millennia of geomorphic change and human settlement in the lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin, Mexico

Muñoz‐Salinas

Cook

Castillo

et al. 2023

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

Self Cite

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“…The depositional rates between 6 and 1.8 m a -1 in the strand-plain of Nayarit are indicating that progradation rate is slightly lower than those reported for the strand-plain of the Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers that are estimated in 4.7 to 8.8 m a -1 (Muñoz-Salinas et al, 2017). The depositional rates of the Nayarit strand-plains are, however, high in comparison to those rates reported in other strand-plains around the world.…”

Section: Landscape Evolution Of the Strand-plain Of Nayaritmentioning

confidence: 53%

First luminescence geochronology of the beach-dune ridges of Nayarit strand-plain (west-central Mexico)

Muñoz‐Salinas

Castillo

Sanderson

et al. 2018

Journal of South American Earth Sciences

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Strand-plains are composed by beach-dune ridges that constitute coastal sedimentological records of continental erosion and associated climatic and geological controls on their formation. The strand-plain of Nayarit is one the most prominent strand-plains around the world as it is composed by > 250 well-preserved beach-dune ridges that distributes along > 200 km between the states of Nayarit and Sinaloa (west-central Mexico) and extends for ∼14 km inland. Although the strand-plain of Nayarit is of broad interest for understanding the evolution of Quaternary landscapes, it has remained understudied. To contribute to a better understanding of the landscape evolution of the strand-plain of Nayarit we present here a complete geochronology based on sixteen OSL dating ages distributed across three different transects of beach-dune ridges located from the coast towards the inland. Our data indicate that in all cases the oldest ridges initiated ∼2 ka. The depositional rates range from ∼6 m a-1 toward the south of the strandplain, where is located the mouth of Santiago and San Pedro rivers, which are the largest of the study area, to ∼1.8 m a-1 toward the north. These depositional rates are among the highest denudation rates reported in strand-plains around the world. We estimate that the formation of the coastal plain of Nayarit initiated ∼6 to 7 ka, which correspond to last period of the global marine stabilization after sea level rise.

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“…The Carrizal River joins the Usumacinta River before discharging into the Gulf of Mexico while the Samaria River discharges directly to the Gulf. However, sediment records show that in the past the Mezcalapa River drained in a more direct route to the Gulf (Muñoz-Salinas et al, 2017) as depicted in Figure 2 with the Seco River paleochannel.…”

Section: Location and Fluvial System Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alteration of the flow distribution at a river bifurcation caused by a system of upstream dams: Case of the Grijalva River basin, Mexico

Mendoza

Berezowsky

Caballero

et al. 2021

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Multiple factors control the flow distribution in a river bifurcation. However, one factor that requires further analysis is the effect of upstream reservoirs. Such is the case of the bifurcation of the Mezcalapa River into the Samaria and Carrizal Rivers located in the lowlands of the Grijalva River basin, Mexico. Four dams were commissioned in the upper basin, the first in 1967 and the last in 1987. Since the late 1960s the distribution of the flow at the bifurcation has varied considerably. The flow captured by the Carrizal River between the late 1960s and mid 1980s gradually decreased from 40% to 10%, and later, between the mid 1980s and early 2000s, it increased up to 75%. During the same period, the Samaria River had a reversed pattern. Here, using a two-dimensional hydro-morphodynamical model, the impact of an upstream reservoir (that causes homogenization of the flow hydrograph and sediment retention) on bed morphology and flow distribution in a river bifurcation is analyzed. The results indicate that the sediment retention is the factor of largest impact on the flow distribution. The upstream channel incises, and the process propagates to the diffluent with the larger energy gradient developing positive feedback were the erosion increases the hydraulic capacity to capture more flow, resulting in more erosion. The flow homogenization has also an impact. The suppression of peak flows reduces the sediment load capacity in the diffluent with lower energy gradient, generating sedimentation at its entrance and diminishing its hydraulic capacity.

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Geochronology and landscape evolution of the strand-plain of the Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers, southern Mexico

Cited by 9 publications

References 21 publications

Four millennia of geomorphic change and human settlement in the lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin, Mexico

Four millennia of geomorphic change and human settlement in the lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin, Mexico

First luminescence geochronology of the beach-dune ridges of Nayarit strand-plain (west-central Mexico)

Alteration of the flow distribution at a river bifurcation caused by a system of upstream dams: Case of the Grijalva River basin, Mexico

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