21 US-Mexico Exchange on Cave and Karst Science and Conservation (Posters)

This poster session welcomes poster submissions in fields related with cave and karst science and management in Mexico, with a special interest in geoheritage, inter- and multidisciplinary approaches and community outreach projects.

Thursday, 23 April 2026
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
LMH, 5th Floor Chapel

First geological reconnaissance of the Quivavai Cave in the Sierra Pilares de Teras, northeastern Sonora, Mexico: structure, origin, and regional context

Paper number: 21-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:45 AM – 9:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

The Quivavai Cave (derived from the old Ópata language meaning “water that runs down the wall”) is a conspicuous geological feature located in the Sierra Pilares de Teras, ~15 km south of Colonia Morelos locality, in northeastern Sonora State. The cave is hosted in Ordovician (Paleozoic) shear-deformed limestones of the El Tigre Formation in northeast Sonora State. Structurally, the cave is exposed on the eastern flank of the ~N-S striking Villa Hidalgo graben along the Teras active fault within the Basin and Range Province. This work presents the first geological and structural map and profile cross-sections. The cave is 120 m long, and its orientation is mainly controlled by an NW-SE fault zone. The limestone beds tilt 20°-30° mainly to the west due to regional normal faults, showing the development of local drag folds. The main gallery is constituted by some lateral conduits corresponding to fractures oriented in a rising chain of cupolas, rising wall channels, feeders, and outlets that suggest a hypogenic origin. The host rock consists of recrystallized and silicified limestone with calcite veins and Fe-oxides related to the fault planes and stockwork veins arrangement. The most attractive characteristic of the Quivavai Cave is the abundance of speleothems, including 10-meter-tall and ~7 meter-diameter columns, white stalagmites and stalactites covered by an overgrowth of subaqueous calcite crystals, as well as gour zones with cave pearls. These structural and architectural characteristics make the cave a potential site for conservation and future research to better understand its origin and evolution over geological time to its current configuration.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026CD-410894

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