Formation of the lithified carapace of calcareous nature which covers most of the Yucatan peninsula and its relation to the soils and geomorphology of the region

Abstract

Thin section and chemical evidence are presented to show that the so- called ‘Lithified carapace’ of calcareous nature which covers most of the Yucatan peninsula was formed by mineralogical inversion and recrystallization in the original marine sediments. It is pointed out that this process of diagenesis has inhibited soil formation and the full development of the karstification processes.