Several of its highest peaks have snow all year long, and during clear weather, they are visible to a large percentage of those who live on the many high plateaus from which these volcanoes rise.

[1][3] The many intriguing aspects of the belt have spurred several hypotheses based on a typical subduction scenario: intra-plate leaky transform faults, mantle plumes, continental rifting, and jump of the eastward Pacific Rise.

The main brittle fault system's geometry, kinematics, and age define a complex array of what could be multiple factors affecting the deformation of the belt.

[5][9] By the Middle Miocene, the transition from the silicic to more mafic compositions was complete, and can be considered the beginning of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

[5] Due to the orthogonal orientation of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in relation to the trend of Mexican tectonic provinces, its pre-Cretaceous basement is highly heterogeneous.

It has been suggested that slab melting contributed to the adakitic imprint on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, prompted by the prolonged flat subduction of the Cocos plate.

Existence of thick strong crust combined with decreasing fluid input contributed to narrowing the asthenospheric wedge, increasing viscosity and suction forces, which led to flat subduction—preventing the oceanic plate from entering the mantle.

To the south, the basin of the Balsas River lies between the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra Madre del Sur.