Geomorphological Characterization of Atenquique Basin in the Eastern Sector of the Volcan-Nevado-Colima, Jalisco, Mexico, As an Input to the Risk Assessment of Debris Flows.

Abstract:

The Atenquique river basin drains the eastern sector of the Volcanic Complex (VC) Volcan-Nevado de Colima, located on the border of the states of Jalisco and Colima. To use the digital geomorphological analysis 1:50000 scale mapping provided by INEGI and Landsat images, manipulating it in ArcGIS 10.2 developing the DEM that was the basis for morphometric characterization. The results show that the basin is divided into five sub-basins, with the main Atenquique (SAT) and Arroyo Seco (SAS), calculating the compactness coefficient (Kc) and the coefficient of sinuosity indicate that SAT is the most prone to floods due to straight and slightly sinuous channels. However, the density of dissection shows a more developed drainage network on the SAT, with slopes up to 84° and 600 m deep. The drainage basin has its source at an altitude of 4260 m and its mouth is in the Tuxpan River at 1040 m, which has a relative height of 2800 m; has a funnel-shaped elongated west-east, its outstanding average in the sector are Mountain 44° and 10° the piedmont. The SAT has a total area of 81.8 km², with a dendritic river network, where the first order streams reach an 82.99%, and second order streams are the 13.4% of the total, these values show that most of the slopes of the basin have incipient development valleys and steep slopes. The basin has had 3 debris flows in recent 58 years; these are formed by large volumes of rock and mud that covered the town of Atenquique and paper mill located at the mouth of the Tuxpan River, caused deaths and significant economic damage. Its genesis is associated with the end of the summer rainy season, so he also worked in the hydrological analysis in order to determine the volume of runoff in the basin. The results of this work are used as input for the determining the risk levels in the study area, and may also be used by the municipality of Tuxpan, in order to define policies to manage risk and reduce future risks to the industrial town of Atenquique.