The small town of Tala, located about 19 miles west of Guadalajara, harbors geological secrets so extraordinary that a team of the world’s leading volcanologists traveled here in October, spending ten days in the field to investigate them.
The story began in 1976, when British scientist John Wright visited Jalisco’s Primavera Forest to study the aftermath of a massive volcanic eruption that occurred 95,000 years ago. Wright was struck by the unusual rock formations near Tala. These formations, known as ignimbrites, are created when a thick layer of incandescent ash fills a caldera (the crater left by a volcanic explosion) and spreads over vast distances.
Over the years, many of Wright’s notes and photographs were lost, but his findings on La Primavera were published in one of his books in 1987. In the meantime, Wright became one of the world’s most renowned volcanologists, co-authoring a 1,870-page textbook on the subject. Yet, he never forgot the peculiar rocks of Tala.
These unusual formations include natural cylinders known as fumarolic or steam pipes, round or obelisk-shaped rocks now nicknamed “goblins,” and long meandering “walls” that appear man-made but are entirely natural.
Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.