Ancha Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Pleistocene, | |
Type | Formation |
Unit of | Santa Fe Group |
Overlies | Tesuque Formation |
Thickness | 28 m (92 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Other | Siltstone, conglomerate |
Location | |
Coordinates | 35°44′54″N106°06′40″W / 35.74834°N 106.11108°W |
Region | New Mexico |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Canada Ancha |
Named by | Baltz et al. |
Year defined | 1952 |
The Ancha Formation is a geologic formation found near Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is estimated to be between 1 and 3 million years in age, corresponding to the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. [1]
Study of the formation has provided clues on the development of rivers systems in the region. In particular, evidence from the formation suggests that the Pecos River may originally have flowed west to join the Santa Fe River, rather than east to join the Rio Grande as it now does.
The formation is one of the youngest of the Santa Fe Group formations deposited in the Rio Grande rift. It is an important local aquifer. [1]
The Ancha Formation is mostly granitic gravel and sand with some mudstone, derived from the southwestern flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It is interpreted as a streamflow-dominated piedmont unit. The formation is estimated to be 90 m (300 ft) thick based on seismic refraction studies. [2]
The age is constrained by an ash bed from the Jemez Mountains near the top of the formation, dated via argon-argon dating to 1.48 ± 0.02 Ma, and an inset fluvial deposit dated to 1.25 ± 0.06 Ma. Some portions of the formation may have continued accumulating sediments from mountain front canyons east of Santa Fe into the late Pleistocene. The base of the formation is thought to vary in age from ~2.7–3.5(?) Ma in the western Santa Fe embayment to ~1.6 Ma near the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The formation correlates with Pliocene–early Pleistocene aggradation in the Española and Albuquerque Basins, suggesting a regional climate influence on deposition in the uppermost Santa Fe Group. The good preservation of the Ancha Formation relative to piedmont regions to the south and eroded upland regions to the north suggests that late Pliocene volcanism and tectonism may have provided accommodation space. [1]
The Ancha Formation was likely deposited in the Santa Fe area by the Santa Fe River and other large streams. However, it contains clasts of rock unlike that of the southwestern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, suggesting that the Pecos River originally drained into the Santa Fe River watershed. [3]
The Ancha Formation is a thin (less than 45 m (148 ft) saturated thickness) but locally important aquifer for domestic wells south of Santa Fe. Its porosity is much greater than the underlying beds of the Tesuque Formation. [1]
Zane Spiegel and Brewster Baldwin formally named the formation and designated a type section in 1963, [4] but the name seems to have been used informally as early as 1952. [5] The formation is named for exposures around Canada Ancha ( 35°49′34″N106°09′25″W / 35.826°N 106.157°W ), a drainage that follows the northwest escarpment of the Cerros del Rio to join the Rio Grande.
Koning and coinvestigators redefined the formation in 2002 and designated four additional reference sections to supplement the poorly exposed type section. Their definition removed the lower beds at the type section from the formation and reassigned them to the underlying Tesuque Formation. [1]
The Sangre de Cristo Range is a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado in the United States, running north and south along the east side of the Rio Grande Rift. The mountains extend southeast from Poncha Pass for about 75 mi (121 km) through south-central Colorado to La Veta Pass, approximately 20 mi (32 km) west of Walsenburg, and form a high ridge separating the San Luis Valley on the west from the watershed of the Arkansas River on the east. The Sangre de Cristo Range rises over 7,000 ft (2,100 m) above the valleys and plains to the west and northeast.
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountains run from Poncha Pass in South-Central Colorado, trending southeast and south, ending at Glorieta Pass, southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mountains contain a number of fourteen thousand foot peaks in the Colorado portion, as well as several peaks in New Mexico which are over thirteen thousand feet.
Santa Fe Baldy is a prominent summit in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, United States, located 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Santa Fe. There are no higher mountains in New Mexico south of Santa Fe Baldy. It is prominent as seen from Los Alamos and communities along the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico, but is relatively inconspicuous from Santa Fe, as its north-south trending main ridge line is seen nearly end-on, disguising the size of the mountain. Tree line in the Sangre de Cristos is unusually high and only the top 600 to 800 feet of the mountain is perpetually free of trees, but several severe forest fires have created bare spots extending to lower elevations. An extensive region of aspen trees on its flanks produces spectacular orange-yellow coloration during the fall that is the subject of many photographic studies.
The Santa Fe River is a river in Santa Fe and Sandoval counties in New Mexico, United States, that is a tributary of the Rio Grande.
The Camp Rice Formation is a geologic formation in west Texas and southern New Mexico. It preserves fossils of the Pliocene-Pleistocene. These include the distinctive Tonuco Mountain Local Fauna.
The Sandia Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico, United States. Its fossil assemblage is characteristic of the early Pennsylvanian.
The Tererro Formation is a geologic formation in Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Mississippian.
The Alamitos Formation is a geologic formation exposed in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Pennsylvanian to early Permian periods.
The Palomas Formation is a geologic formation exposed in the southern Rio Grande rift of New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Pliocene to Quaternary.
The Chamita Formation is a geologic formation in north-central New Mexico. It preserves unique fossils dating back to the Neogene period. The presence of volcanic ash beds in the formation, which can be radiometrically dated, gives the absolute age of the fossils, which is valuable for establishing the geologic time scale of the Neogene.
The Tesuque Formation is a geologic formation in north-central New Mexico, United States. The formation provides an unusually complete record of the evolution of mammals during the Miocene epoch.
The Madera Group is a group of geologic formations in northern New Mexico. Its fossil assemblage dates the formation to the middle to late Pennsylvanian period.
The geology of New Mexico includes bedrock exposures of four physiographic provinces, with ages ranging from almost 1800 million years (Ma) to nearly the present day. Here the Great Plains, southern Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau, and Basin and Range Provinces meet, giving the state great geologic diversity.
The Santa Fe Group is a group of geologic formations in New Mexico and Colorado. It contains fossils characteristic of the Oligocene through Pleistocene epochs. The group consists of basin-filling sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Rio Grande rift, and contains important regional aquifers.
Lake Alamosa is a former lake in Colorado. It existed from the Pliocene to the middle Pleistocene in the San Luis Valley, fed by glacial meltwater from surrounding mountain ranges. Water levels waxed and waned with the glacial stages until at highstand the lake reached an elevation of 2,335 meters (7,661 ft) and probably a surface of over 4,000 square kilometers (1,500 sq mi), but only sparse remains of the former waterbody are visible today. The existence of the lake was postulated in the early 19th century and eventually proven in the early 20th century.
The Porvenir Formation is a geologic formation exposed in the southeastern Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the middle Pennsylvanian period.
The Tuerto Formation is a geologic formation exposed around the Ortiz Mountains of New Mexico. It is estimated to be of Pliocene to Pleistocene age, and forms the gravel cap of the Ortiz surface, one of the first pediment surfaces recognized by geologists.
The Ceja Formation is a Pliocene to Pleistocene geologic formation exposed near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States.
The Picuris Formation is a geologic formation exposed in the eastern flank of the Rio Grande rift in northern New Mexico. It was deposited from the late Eocene to Miocene epochs.
The Espanola basin is a structural basin in northern New Mexico. It is located in the Rio Grande watershed and is part of the Rio Grande rift. The definition of its boundaries is not fully settled, but the basin is usually defined such that it includes the cities of Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Espanola.