Paleomagnetic study of Cretaceous limestones in the vicinity of Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico

In an effort to further investigate some of the ideas which have been proposed regarding the tectonic history of Mexico relative to "stable" North America, Cretaceous limestones from four sites in the vicinity of Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico were sampled and analyzed with standard paleomagnetic procedures. In addition to providing further support for the existence of localized rotations within the Sierra Madre Oriental, the results of this analysis were used to calculate an Eocene pole for the sampling area which is consistent with that calculated by an earlier author (Urrutia-Fucugauchi - 1981) for a sampling area some 450 km to the N-NW. When considered together, these two poles support the view that a major portion of Mexico has rotated relative to North America since the Eocene.