Imaginen un horizonte dominado por cerros de tonalidades níveas y rosáceas, emergiendo entre bosques de pino-encino y valles alfombrados de cultivos. Estas montañas, parte de un complejo sistema de volcanes extintos del Eje Neovolcánico Transversal, guardan en sus entrañas un secreto milenario: depósitos de caolín de origen hidrotermal. Cerca de Morelia—ciudad Patrimonio Cultural con su cantera rosa y aura colonial—, la tierra revela su historia en cada estrato, cada roca alterada por aguas termales cargadas de minerales.
Nuestro trabajo de campo se centró en identificar y muestrear arcillas caolinitas, esenciales para industrias cerámicas, farmacéuticas y de papel. Estos yacimientos, formados por la intensa actividad hidrotermal del Pleistoceno, son el resultado de la alteración de rocas riolíticas y andesíticas. Caminar por laderas donde el suelo brilla al sol con destellos cristalinos, recoger muestras de ese polvo blanco tan puro que parece nieve eterna, es recordar la fuerza creativa de la Tierra. En cerros como Cerro Blanco o Cerro del Águila, la presencia de vetas de sílice y óxidos de hierro cuenta la historia de un pasado geológico turbulento y fascinante.
English Version - Click here!
Scientific community, travelers, and nature lovers! Today I want to take you on a journey through one of Mexico's most fascinating regions: the Sierras of Michoacán, where the search for kaolinite clays becomes an experience that transcends the scientific to embrace the sublime. Here, among dormant volcanoes and villages with a rural soul, geology intertwines with dreamlike landscapes, ancestral flavors, and unforgettable human warmth.
Imagine a horizon dominated by hills of snowy and pinkish hues, emerging from pine-oak forests and valleys carpeted with crops. These mountains, part of a complex system of extinct volcanoes of the Transversal Neovolcanic Axis, hold within their depths an ancient secret: kaolin deposits of hydrothermal origin. Near Morelia—a Cultural Heritage city with its pink quarry and colonial aura—the earth reveals its history in every stratum, every rock altered by mineral-laden hot springs. Our fieldwork focused on identifying and sampling kaolinite clays, essential for the ceramic, pharmaceutical, and paper industries. These deposits, formed by intense hydrothermal activity during the Pleistocene, are the result of the alteration of rhyolitic and andesitic rocks. Walking along slopes where the soil glistens in the sun with crystalline sparkles, collecting samples of this white powder so pure it seems like eternal snow, is a reminder of the Earth's creative force. On hills like Cerro Blanco and Cerro del Águila, the presence of silica veins and iron oxides tells the story of a turbulent and fascinating geological past.
"El mejor geólogo es aquel que ha visto más rocas, pero también ha escuchado sus historias".
English Version - Click here!
Flora: Oyamel forests disappearing into the mist, wild orchids (Laelia speciosa), columnar cacti, and natural agave gardens. In the lowlands, Michoacán's "green gold" avocado orchards and cornfields following the ancestral cycle of the cuezcomate.
Fauna: Golden eagles soaring over the canyons, white-tailed deer in the bushes, opossums, and, in winter, the sacred spectacle of millions of monarch butterflies filling the air with color.
The Guardians of the Territory: The farmers and Indigenous communities (Purépecha and Nahua) are the soul of this land. Their open smiles, their willingness to share a freshly brewed coffee or a Creole corn taco, and their ancestral knowledge of the hills "that turn white after the rain" turn each encounter into a lesson in humility and wisdom. The agricultural wealth is a festive mosaic: giant avocados, fragrant guavas, sweet custard apples, and fields of wheat waving in the wind. And on the table, Michoacán cuisine—a World Heritage Site—reveals itself in all its glory:
Juicy carnitas from Quiroga, cooked in copper pots.
Uchepos: tender tamales of fresh corn, bathed in cream.
Moriches: toasted maguey insects, a pre-Hispanic heritage.
Lunch at a rural stand, under the shade of a pirú tree, is a ritual that nourishes the soul!
The same geothermal activity that formed kaolin today provides hot springs with healing properties. Near Morelia and Ciudad Hidalgo, places like Cointzio and San José Purúa offer sulfur pools surrounded by lush vegetation. Immersing yourself in these warm waters after a day of mapping, with the song of cicadas and the aroma of wet earth, is a balm for the body and an intimate dialogue with the planet.
The taste of a freshly made tortilla, warm and fresh off the griddle.
Mapping veins, taking samples, and recording coordinates becomes an act of reconnection with the origin of everything.
The Sierras of Michoacán are not just a geological destination; they are a transformative experience. Here, among artisanal mines and sacred forests, one understands that the Earth is not an object of study, but a living being that breathes, sweats hot springs, and dresses in kaolin. For any geologist, student, or curious traveler, this corner of Mexico offers the rare opportunity to do science with one's heart and take home, in addition to mineral samples, stories of people smiling while working the land.
I'm sharing images of the kaolinitic outcrops and some of the Michoacán countryside.
"The best geologist is the one who has seen the most rocks, but has also heard their stories."
Todas las imágenes fueron tomadas por este servidor / All images were taken by this author.
- I used DeepL translator in its free version, as my native language is Spanish.