Pescadero Basin Explained

The Pescadero Basin is a submarine depression located on the seabed at the southern end of the Gulf of California off the coast of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The basin results from the activity of one of the several spreading centers in the Gulf.^[1] The basin is linked to the Pescadero Fault to the south, and the Atl Fault in the north, two of the transform faults of the Gulf of California Rift Zone, i. e. the northern extension of the eastern Pacific Ridge.

Studies released around 2015 have revealed that the Pescadero Basin is a hydrothermal field rich in particular in carbonate chimneys, the only ones so far discovered in the Pacific Ocean, and thus in the typical living species that inhabit these environments.^[2]

References

• Continent-Ocean Transition Across the Alarcon Basin, Gulf of California from Seismic Reflection and Refraction Data, Sutherland et al (2003)

Notes and References

1. F. H. Sutherland, A. J. Harding, G.  M. Kent, D. Lizarralde, W. S. Holbrook, A. González-Fernández, J. M. Fletcher, P. J. Umhoefer, G. J. Axen: Continent-Ocean Transition Across the Alarcon Basin, Gulf of California from Seismic Reflection and Refraction Data. In: American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2003 Abstracts, American Geophysical Union. December 2003
2. Dave Clague & Dave Caress, MBARI researchers discover deepest known high-temperature hydrothermal vents in Pacific Ocean. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute). June 2, 2015.