September 28, 2010

Dear Journey North friends,
As we wait for the monarchs to arrive, we would like to tell you a bit about our region.

This morning I visited students at a school in Angangueo called ¨José María Morelos.¨ We want to tell you about the geologic origins of our region, and the golden times mining brought to our town and communities several decades ago.

Millions of years ago, volcanic activity formed our region in this central part of Mexico. The region is called the Trans-Volcanic Belt. It forms a line that links two of Mexico's mountain chains, the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre Occidental.

This hand-made illustration shows how liquid magma ran through and along the internal cracks underneath the earth. It formed hydro-thermal mineral deposits at differents heights, temperatures and pressures. Mining towns, like Angangueo, Tlalpujahua and El Oro have lived here for more than one hundred years now.

The surface of the forests of Angangueo, which the Monarch butterflies have chosen to overwinter every year for decades and decades now, are mainly covered with igneous-andesite rocks. Underground are rich mineral deposits of silver, lead, copper, and zinc. These minerals generated a time of wealth and plenty in our region during the first half of the last century.

In the coming weeks, we will continue to show you aspects of our history through photos and visits to historic sites.

As you can see, we are still holding our classes in provisional classrooms. We are still waiting for reconstruction of our school after the events in town last February.

Until next week,

Maria Estela Romero, friends and family

Students of José María Morelos¨ school in Angangueo show a hand-made illustration of our geologic history.

The mineral deposits in our region were formed at different heights, temperatures and pressures.

Underground are rich mineral deposits of silver, lead, copper, and zinc.

The soil of the forests of Angangueo, which the Monarch butterflies have chosen to overwinter, are mainly covered with igneous-andesite rocks.

As you can see, we are still holding our classes in provisional classrooms. We are still waiting for reconstruction of our school after the events in town last February.