Geology of New Mexico

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A view of the Nambe Badlands The Sombrillo ACEC, Nambe Badlands, New Mexico.jpg
A view of the Nambe Badlands

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.

Contents

The geologic history of the state began with its assembly during the Yavapai and Mazatzal orogenies 1750 to 1650 million years ago (Mya). This was followed by 200 million years of tectonic quiescence that ended in the Picuris orogeny. This event transformed the New Mexico crust into mature continental crust. Over a thousand million years of tectonic quiescence followed, ending with the rise of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains in Pennsylvanian time, 300 Mya. The Permian and most of the Mesozoic were another interval of relative tectonic quiescence, where gradual subsidence deposited formations that preserve an impressive stratigraphic record across the state. This ended with the Laramide orogeny, beginning around 70 Mya, which elevated most of the mountain ranges of modern New Mexico and was accompanied by violent volcanic activity. The opening of the Rio Grande rift commenced around 30 Mya, and was followed by late Cenozoic volcanism along the Jemez Lineament, particularly in the Jemez volcanic field.

Most of New Mexico has a semiarid to arid climate, and ground water in aquifers is an important geologic resource for farmers and municipal areas. In 2019, oil and gas production yielded $3.1 billion in oil and gas taxes and revenues for the state. Mining has historically also been important.

Geologic hazards are infrequent in New Mexico, but potential dangers include erosion or flash flooding in arroyos; arsenic or other contamination of ground water or soil; sinkholes or other subsidence; earthquakes; mass wasting (such as landslides); mine hazards; oil field hazards; radon accumulation in homes; or volcanic eruptions.

Physiography

Basins of the Rio Grande Rift Basins of the Rio Grande Rift.jpg
Basins of the Rio Grande Rift
Map of physiographic provinces of New Mexico Physiographic provinces of New Mexico (26846109601).jpg
Map of physiographic provinces of New Mexico

New Mexico is entirely landbound, with just 0.2% of the state covered with water, [1] and most of the state has an arid to semiarid climate. [2] Much of the state is mountainous, except for the easternmost Great Plains region. [3] The state thus has extensive bedrock exposures, which are assigned to four physiographic provinces. [4] These are the Great Plains, which makes up the eastern third of the state; [3] the southern Rocky Mountains in the north-central part of the state; the Colorado Plateau in the northwestern part of the state; and Basin and Range Provinces in the southwestern part of the state. [4] The presence of these four physiographic provinces gives the state great geological diversity. [5] [6]

Rocks exposed in the southern Rocky Mountains are as old as nearly 1800 million years (Ma), [7] while some volcanic flows in the state are geologically very young. [8]

An important geologic feature of New Mexico is the Rio Grande Rift. This extends from central Colorado to northern Chihuahua, Mexico, passing from north to south through the center of the state, cutting across the southern Rocky Mountains and the Basin and Range provinces, and roughly coinciding with the valley of the Rio Grande River. [9] The rift marks where the Colorado Plateau in the west has pulled away from the interior of the North American craton on the east. [10] It has been the focus of significant scientific research on continental rift processes. [11]

Stratigraphy, tectonics, and geologic history

Proterozoic

Map of Precambrian bedrock exposures in New Mexico NM Precambrian exposure map.jpg
Map of Precambrian bedrock exposures in New Mexico
Sandia Crest, an uplifted Mesoproterozoic batholic Sandia Crest, Albuquerque PP AB.JPG
Sandia Crest, an uplifted Mesoproterozoic batholic

The crust underlying the state formed between 1.7 and 1.8 billion years ago as island arcs. This is recorded in the rocks of the Moppin Complex, the Gold Hill complex, and the Pecos greenstone belt in northern New Mexico. These are described as juvenile crust, because their Nd model ages are close to the crystallization ages determined from U-Pb dating. This indicates that the material making up the island arcs was extracted from the Earth's mantle only shortly before the island arcs formed. [12] [13] These rocks are mostly amphibolites thought to be formed by metamorphism of tholeiitic basalt. [14]

The island arcs were carried into a subduction zone along the margin of Laurentia, the ancient core of North America, around 1700 million years ago, an event called the Yavapai orogeny. The arcs accreted to the continental margin, forming a band of new continental crust stretching from Arizona to Newfoundland and from the Wyoming-Colorado border to central New Mexico. [15] These events are recorded in the rocks of the Vadito Group and Hondo Group. [16] A second set of slightly younger island arcs accreted to the continented shortly after, around 1650 to 1600 Mya, during the Mazatzal orogeny. [15] The Mazatzal beds now underlie most of southern New Mexico and the Mazatzal orogeny is recorded in the Manzano Group of the Manzano and Los Pinos mountains. [17] [16] [18]

Precambrian rocks crop out across approximately five percent of New Mexico and underlie the entire state. The rocks now exposed at the surface were uplifted during the Paleozoic, the early Cenozoic Laramide orogeny as well as block faulting and tilting in the more recent geologic past. For the most part, these rocks are exposed along the Rio Grande rift in the center of New Mexico, except in the Zuni Mountains and Big Burro Mountains. The total relief of Precambrian rocks is 11 kilometers.

The rocks are 70 percent plutons and 30 percent supracrustal formed between 1.765 and 1.4 billion years ago in the Proterozoic, based on uranium-lead dating. All of the rocks more than 1.65 billion years old show evidence of metamorphism ranging between greenschist and amphibolite grade on the sequence of metamorphic facies. An area in the Cimarron Range in the vicinity of Taos reached granulite facies. Geologists debate the extent of different terranes—sections of continental crust—that joined. Metavolcanic rocks in the Tusas Mountains may be among the oldest, which are intruded by 1.65 billion year old trondhjemite, but display more than one metamorphic fabric.

Precambrian rocks formed volcanogenic polymettalic sulfides, rich in gold, silver and tungsten, kyanite, copper veins and pegmatite with beryllium, lithium, niobium, tantalum and mica. [19]

The region was tectonically quiescent until around 1400 Mya, when the poorly understood Picuris orogeny deformed and metamorphosed much of the crust of New Mexico. This event is recorded in the rock of the Trampas Group and in extensive batholiths intruded into the crust throughout the western United States, such as the Sandia Crest batholith. [20] Following the Picuris orogeny, northern New Mexico was again tectonically quiet, while southern New Mexico experience some deformation associated with the Grenville orogeny. This is recorded in the Allamoore and Tumbledown Formations (about 1250 Mya) and the De Baca Group and Los Animas Formation (about 1200 Mya). Thereafter the region experienced steady erosion, which in some cases brought rock near the surface that had been buried as deep as 10 kilometers (6.2 mi). [21] This beveled much of New Mexico almost completely flat, forming a peneplain. [22]

Paleozoic (541-251 million years ago)

Map of Paleozoic exposures in New Mexico NM Paleozoic exposure map.jpg
Map of Paleozoic exposures in New Mexico
Pennsylvanian limestone of the La Pasada Formation in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains La pasada formation daltons bluff.jpg
Pennsylvanian limestone of the La Pasada Formation in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

New Mexico at the start of the Paleozoic was dominated by the Transcontinental Arch, an elevated region from Minnesota to northern New Mexico. [23] Small quantities of alkaline magma were intruded in the early Cambrian along north–south faults, which may indicate incipient rifting of the New Mexico aulacogen. [24] Later in the Cambrian, the sea began to advance northeast across New Mexico, beginning in the boot heel of the state (Sauk sequence) and sedimentary beds were deposited during the Cambrian through Devonian, beginning with the Cambrian Bliss Formation. [25] The sea did not submerge the Transcontinental Arch until Mississippian time. [26]

By the late Paleozoic, in the Pennsylvanian and Permian, the rise of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains broke the ancient peneplain into basins separated by uplifts. Fossiliferous marine limestone such as the Madera Group was deposited in the basin shelves, while areas receiving debris eroded off the highlands formed clastic sedimentary formations such as Flechado Formation or Sangre de Cristo Formation. Towards the end of the Pennsylvanian, fluctuations in sea level caused by global glaciation produced cyclic formations like the Bursum Formation, marking the transition from marine to continental sedimentation. The latter is recorded by red bed formations such as the Abo Formation or the Cutler Group. The Cutler Group contain important fossil quarries that shed light on the early evolution of tetrapods. [27] [28] Continental sedimentation began in the north and prograded to the south. [29]

At the same time, a deep basin, the Delaware Basin, formed in southeastern New Mexico and Texas, surrounded by the massive Capitan barrier reef. A brief rise in sea level deposited the limestone of the San Andres Formation across much of New Mexico, making this the most extensive Paleozoic formation exposed in the state. The subsequent retreat of the sea resulted in deposition of large deposits of gypsum, potash and salt of the Castile and Salado Formations in the Delaware Basin. [30] [29]

Mesozoic (251-66 million years ago)

Map of Mesozoic exposures in New Mexico, USA NM Mesozoic exposure map.jpg
Map of Mesozoic exposures in New Mexico, USA

The Mesozoic began with the Permian-Triassic extinction event. [31] The Sevier and Nevadan orogenies pushed up mountains to the west of New Mexico that produced a rain shadow, giving New Mexico an exquisitely hot and dry climate through much of the early Mesozoic. [32] [33]

The lower Triassic is recorded nowhere in the rock beds of New Mexico, but the middle Triassic is recorded in beds of the Moenkopi and Anton Chico Formations. [34] The Moenkopi represents deposition in a coastal plain by rivers running to the west. [35] This pattern continued into the late Triassic, when the climate become somewhat cooler and wetter, and a substantial river system developed through New Mexico that deposited the Chinle Group. [36] [37] The Rock Point Formation of the Chinle Group preserved large numbers of fossils of Coelophysis , one of the earliest known genera of dinosaurs. [38] [39]

The Jurassic was again a time of arid climate. A great dune sea, or erg, spread across northern New Mexico and deposited the sandstone of the Entrada Formation. [40] This was followed by flooding of northern New Mexico by an arm of the Sundance Sea, leading to deposition of the limestone and gypsum beds of the Todilto Formation. The Jurassic ended with the deposition of the Summerville and Morrison Formations, the latter deposited in a vast foreland basin east of the coastal mountains thrown up by the Sevier orogeny. [41] [42]

The increasing weight of the Sonoma mountains to the west drove subsidence of its foreland basin, which included most of New Mexico. During the Cretaceous, the region was submerged by the Western Interior Seaway, which deposited shore formations such as the Dakota Formation and marine formations such as the Mancos Formation. Advances and retreats of the coastline are recorded in formations such as the Mesaverde Group. [43] [44]

Towards the end of the Cretaceous, shallow subduction of the Farallon plate drove the Laramide orogeny, which uplifted the Rocky Mountains and lasted into the Cenozoic. [44] [45] [46]

Cenozoic (66 million years ago-present)

Bandelier Tuff in San Diego Canyon Bandelier Tuff San Diego Canyon.jpg
Bandelier Tuff in San Diego Canyon

The Laramide Orogeny changed the topography of New Mexico into one of high uplifts and deep basins. The basins began to fill with sediments during the Eocene, recorded in formations such as the San Jose Formation, [47] the Galisteo Formation, [48] and the Baca Formation. [49]

As the Farallon plate disintegrated and sank into the mantle, hot asthenosphere rock rose to take its place. This helped trigger the Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up, which deposited significant ash falls across much of New Mexico. The vast Mogollon-Datil volcanic field was active during this time, as were the smaller Latir volcanic field and the Ortiz porphyry belt [50] [45]

The rise of hot asthenosphere below New Mexico reversed the compression of the crust and put it into tension, resulting in the opening of the Rio Grande rift, [51] [52] beginning about 30 Mya, [53] and the development of Basin and Range geology across the southern part of the state. [50] [54] The development of the Rio Grande rift is recorded in the rocks of the Santa Fe Group. [55]

The Jemez volcanic field began to develop around 15 Mya, and volcanic activity subsequently spread southwest and northeast along the Jemez Lineament. [56] The Valles Caldera (or Jemez Caldera) formed in the Jemez Mountains 1.25 Mya ago in the Pleistocene, exploding and then collapsing into its magma chamber and emplacing the Bandelier Tuff. [57] Small mountain glaciers formed in the Brazos and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. [58]

Natural resource geology

Under Spanish rule turquoise and lead were mined near Cerillos and copper was found at Santa Rita in the southwest in 1798. Artisanal mining for placer gold took place after an 1821 discovery in the Ortiz Mountains south of Santa Fe. New deposits, along with the reopened Spanish mine in Silver City prompted a boom in copper mining in the late 19th century. Placer gold mining expanded into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and along the Rio Grande, while lead mining got underway in Las Cruces. Coal was discovered near gold and copper mines and potentially recoverable gold deposits grew more numerous as prospectors traced placer gold back to the veins where it originated.

In 1863, silver was found in Magdalena, west of Socorro, followed by a large find in Grant County. Silver City, White Oaks, Ute Creek, Cerrillos, Elizabethtown, Twining, Chloride, Hondo Canyon, Red River Canyon and Socorro were soon discovered to also have silver. Rising costs and depleted ore bodies have led to widespread abandonment and ghost towns throughout the state, which remain comparatively well-preserved in the dry climate.

Mining is still a cornerstone of the New Mexico economy, although it has largely shifted to open-pit extraction. Coal is mined in the northwest and copper, silver, gold, manganese, zinc and lead are extracted near Silver City. Molybdenum is an important resource in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, including the Questa Mine. Uranium is still mined close to Grants, although production has dropped after a high point between the 1950s and the 1970s. Gypsum, limestone, potash and salt are mined out of Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks in the east. Mining accounted for 3,763 jobs by 2018. [59]

The San Juan Basin in the northwest has active oil and gas production, along with the small extent of the Permian Basin in the southeast. [60] Oil and gas production in the state totalled 1,820,963,878 MCF of natural gas and 331,460,749 barrels of oil in 2019, [61] yielding $3.1 billion in oil and gas taxes and revenues for the state. [62] Mining has historically been important, but accounted for just 3,763 jobs by 2018. [59]

Because of New Mexico's typically semiarid climate, ground water in aquifers is an important geologic resource for farmers [63] and municipal areas. [64] The groundwater potential of the Santa Fe Group was recognized by Kirk Bryan in 1938, [65] and the Alamosa subbasin of the San Luis Valley, the central part of the Albuquerque Basin, and the southern Mesilla basin from Las Cruces to El Paso are now among the most productive groundwater reservoirs in the western United States. [66]

Geologic hazards

Geologic hazards are infrequent in New Mexico, but potential dangers include erosion or flash flooding in arroyos; arsenic or other contamination of ground water or soil; sinkholes or other subsidence; earthquakes; mass wasting (such as landslides); mine hazards; oil field hazards; radon accumulation in homes; or volcanic eruptions. [67]

Flooding is one of the more common geologic hazards in New Mexico. [67] Historically significant flooding events included extensive river flooding accompanied by local flash floods in September 1941; river flooding across the northeastern High Plains region between June 14–17, 1965; severe flooding resulting from rainfall onto heavy snow accumulations in southwestern and south central New Mexico on December 18–19, 1978; flooding after heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Doly between July 26–28, 2008; and widespread flooding from an unusually wet monsoon season in the summer of 2006. The state is occasionally impacted by remnants of East Pacific tropical storms that carry considerable moisture, and such storm remnants contributed to both the 1941 and the 2008 floods. [68]

Earthquake hazards are moderate in New Mexico compared with California or the Wasatch Front in Utah. [69] One estimate puts the probability of a large earthquake in the southern Rio Grande Rift in the next century at 5%. [70] However, faults are concentrated along the Rio Grande Rift, with its urban centers, and while only 20 faults in the state are considered active, the consequences of an earthquake could be serious. The large number of faults increases the likelihood of an earthquake even though rupture of any one fault is infrequent. The largest earthquakes in historic times were two magnitude 5.8 earthquakes in 1906 near Socorro, [71] likely associated with the Socorro magma body, a shallow horizontal magma intrusion in the crust. [69]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Grande rift</span> Continental rift zone in the southwest United States

The Rio Grande rift is a north-trending continental rift zone. It separates the Colorado Plateau in the west from the interior of the North American craton on the east. The rift extends from central Colorado in the north to the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, in the south. The rift zone consists of four basins that have an average width of 50 kilometres (31 mi). The rift can be observed on location at Rio Grande National Forest, White Sands National Park, Santa Fe National Forest, and Cibola National Forest, among other locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Nacimiento</span> Mountains in New Mexico, US

The Sierra Nacimiento, or Nacimiento Mountains, are a mountain range in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. They are just west of the more prominent Jemez Mountains near the town of Cuba, and are separated from them by the Río Guadalupe and the Río de Las Vacas. This article will consider them as a unit together with the San Pedro Mountains, which are a smaller range contiguous with the Sierra Nacimiento on the north, and which are also part of the Nacimiento Uplift and lie at the edge of the greater San Juan Basin, which sits atop the Colorado Plateau. The combined range runs almost due north-south with a length of about 40 mi (65 km). The highest point in the combined range is the high point of the San Pedro Peaks, known unofficially as San Pedro Peak, 10,605 ft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuñi Mountains</span> Mountain range in New Mexico, US

The Zuñi Mountains are a mountain range located mainly in Cibola County of northwestern New Mexico, United States, with a small portion extending into McKinley County. The range is located largely in the Cibola National Forest, lying south of Interstate 40 from southeast of Gallup to southwest of Grants. The range is about sixty miles (97 km) long and forty miles (64 km) wide. The highest point is Mount Sedgwick, 9,256 feet (2,821 m); elevations in the range go down to 6,400 feet (1,950 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of the Rocky Mountains</span> Discontinuous series of North American mountain ranges with distinct geological origin

The geology of the Rocky Mountains is that of a discontinuous series of mountain ranges with distinct geological origins. Collectively these make up the Rocky Mountains, a mountain system that stretches from Northern British Columbia through central New Mexico and which is part of the great mountain system known as the North American Cordillera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazos Mountains</span> Mountain range in New Mexico

The Brazos Mountains is a range in far northern Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The range is part of the Tusas Mountains, which extended slightly into Colorado. A high crest runs from the border with Colorado for over 20 miles (32 km) in a south-southeasterly direction. The high point of the range at 11,405 feet (3,476 m) is on Grouse Mesa, at the Brazos Benchmark. Two miles (3 km) to the southeast is the more distinctive Brazos Peak, at 11,288 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potrillo volcanic field</span> Volcanic field in United States and Mexico

The Potrillo volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field located on the Rio Grande Rift in southern New Mexico, United States and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. The volcanic field lies 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Las Cruces, and occupies about 4,600 square kilometers (1,800 sq mi) near the U.S. border with Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mogollon-Datil volcanic field</span> Volcanic field in western New Mexico, United States

The Mogollon-Datil volcanic field is a large silicic volcanic field in western New Mexico. It is a part of an extensive Eocene to Oligocene volcanic event which includes the San Juan volcanic field in southwestern Colorado, the Trans-Pecos volcanic field in west Texas and north central Mexico, the Boot Heel volcanic field in the bootheel of southwestern New Mexico and adjacent areas of Arizona and Mexico; and the vast volcanic field of the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico. The Mogollon-Datil volcanic field was formed in "four discrete pulses representing synchronized activity of two separate cauldron complexes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galisteo Formation</span> A geologic formation in New Mexico

The Galisteo Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the Bartonian stage of the Eocene epoch, Duchesnean in the NALMA classification.

The Palm Park Formation is a geologic formation in southern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Eocene epoch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abo Formation</span> Geological formation in New Mexico

The Abo Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the Cisuralian epoch of the Permian period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeso Group</span> Group of geologic formations in New Mexico, US

The Yeso Group is a group of geologic formations in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the Kungurian Age of the early Permian Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atrasado Formation</span> Geologic formation in New Mexico

The Atrasado Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. Its fossil assemblage dates the formation to the Kasimovian age of the Pennsylvanian. It was formerly known locally as the Wild Cow Formation or the Guadelupe Box Formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madera Group</span> Group of geologic formations in New Mexico, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Colorado</span> Geology of the U.S. State of Colorado

The bedrock under the U.S. State of Colorado was assembled from island arcs accreted onto the edge of the ancient Wyoming Craton. The Sonoma orogeny uplifted the ancestral Rocky Mountains in parallel with the diversification of multicellular life. Shallow seas covered the regions, followed by the uplift current Rocky Mountains and intense volcanic activity. Colorado has thick sedimentary sequences with oil, gas and coal deposits, as well as base metals and other minerals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yavapai orogeny</span> Mountain building event 1.7 billion years ago in the southwestern United States

The Yavapai orogeny was an orogenic (mountain-building) event in what is now the Southwestern United States that occurred between 1710 and 1680 million years ago (Mya), in the Statherian Period of the Paleoproterozoic. Recorded in the rocks of New Mexico and Arizona, it is interpreted as the collision of the 1800-1700 Mya age Yavapai island arc terrane with the proto-North American continent. This was the first in a series of orogenies within a long-lived convergent boundary along southern Laurentia that ended with the ca. 1200–1000 Mya Grenville orogeny during the final assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia, which ended an 800-million-year episode of convergent boundary tectonism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Rito Formation</span> A geologic formation in New Mexico

The El Rito Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico dating to the Eocene epoch. It records a time when sediments were trapped in deep basins in western North America rather than being carried downstream to the Gulf of Mexico, so that sediments of this age in the western Gulf are mostly from the Appalachian Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancha Formation</span> Geologic formation near Santa Fe, New Mexico

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.

The Love Ranch Formation is a geologic formation in southern New Mexico. It was likely deposited during the late Paleocene and early Eocene epochs.

The Cowboy Spring Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Cretaceous period.

The Timberlake Formation is a geologic formation exposed in the Animas Mountains of southwestern New Mexico. Its age is estimated to be late Paleocene to Eocene.

References

  1. ↑ "How Wet is Your State? The Water Area of Each State". Water Basics Information by Topic. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  2. ↑ "CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO". New Mexico State University. Archived from the original on July 8, 2004. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "New Mexico Climate & Geography". Why New Mexico. New Mexico Economic Development Department. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Thelin, Gail P.; Pike, Richard J. (1991). "Landforms of the conterminous United States: a digital shaded-relief portrayal". U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series. MAP I-2206. doi: 10.3133/i2206 .
  5. ↑ Chronic, Halka (1987). Roadside geology of New Mexico. Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN   978-0878422098.
  6. ↑ Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A., eds. (2004). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. New Mexico Geological Society. pp. 95–136. ISBN   9781585460106.
  7. ↑ McLemore, Virginia T. (2011). "Geology and mineral resources in the Hopewell and Bromide No. 2 districts, northern Tusas Mountains, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 62: 379–388.
  8. ↑ Dunbar, Neila W. (May 1999). "Cosmogenic 36-Cl-determined age of the Carrizozo lava flows, south-central New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geology. 21 (2): 25–29. doi:10.58799/NMG-v21n2.25. S2CID   259456553 . Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  9. ↑ Kluth, C.; Schaftenaar, C. (1994). "Depth and geometry of the northern Rio Grande rift in the San Luis basin, south-central Colorado.". Geological Society of America Special Paper 291. pp. 27–37. ISBN   0-8137-2291-8.
  10. ↑ Chapin, C.; Cather, S. (1994). "Tectonic setting of the axial basins of the northern and central Rio Grande rift.". Geological Society of America Special Paper 291. pp. 1–3. ISBN   0-8137-2291-8.
  11. ↑ Keller, G. R. (1986). "Introduction to Special Section on the Rio Grande Rift". Journal of Geophysical Research. 91 (B6): 6142. Bibcode:1986JGR....91.6142K. doi:10.1029/JB091iB06p06142.
  12. ↑ Davis, Peter; Williams, Mike; Karlstrom, Karl (2011). "Structural evolution and timing of deformation along the Proterozoic Spring Creek shear zone of the northern Tusas Mountains, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 62: 177–190.
  13. ↑ Damiel, Christopher G.; Andronicos, Christopher L.; Aronoff, Ruth F. (2016). "Regional Al2SiO5 triple-point metamorphic rocks of northern New Mexico; A field trip to honor the career contributions od Lincoln Hollister to petrology and tectonics". The Geological Society of America Field Guide Series. 44: 201–229. ISBN   9780813700441.
  14. ↑ Barker, Fred; Friedman, Irving (1974). "PRECAMBRIAN METAVOLCANIC ROCKS OF THE TUSAS MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO: MAJOR ELEMENTS AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES". New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series (25): 115–117. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.505.5407 .
  15. 1 2 Whitmeyer, Steven; Karlstrom, Karl E. (2007). "Tectonic model for the Proterozoic growth of North America". Geosphere. 3 (4): 220. doi: 10.1130/GES00055.1 .
  16. 1 2 Jones, James V. III; Daniel, Christopher G.; Frei, Dirk; Thrane, Kristine (2011). "Revised regional correlations and tectonic implications of Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks in northern New Mexico, USA: New findings from detrital zircon studies of the Hondo Group, Vadito Group, and Marqueñas Formation". Geosphere. 7 (4): 974–991. doi: 10.1130/GES00614.1 .
  17. ↑ Luther, Amy (2006). "History and timing of polyphase Proterozoic deformation in the Manzano thrust belt, central New Mexico [master's thesis]". Earth and Planetary Sciences Etds. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  18. ↑ Holland, Mark E.; Grambling, Tyler A.; Karlstrom, Karl E.; Jones, James V.; Nagotko, Kimberly N.; Daniel, Christopher G. (September 2020). "Geochronologic and Hf-isotope framework of Proterozoic rocks from central New Mexico, USA: Formation of the Mazatzal crustal province in an extended continental margin arc". Precambrian Research. 347: 105820. Bibcode:2020PreR..34705820H. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2020.105820. S2CID   225308346.
  19. ↑ Reed; et al. (1993). Precambrian: Coterminous US. Geological Society of America. pp. 228–230.
  20. ↑ Daniel, Christoper G. and co-authors (2013). Making the case for the Picuris orogeny: Evidence for a 1500 to 1400 Ma orogenic event in the southwestern United States. Geological Society of America. p. 205. ISBN   9780813700335.
  21. ↑ Karlstrom, Karl E.; Amato, Jeffrey M.; Williams, Michael L.; Heizler, Matt; Shaw, Colin A.; Read, Adam S.; Bauer, Paul (2004). "Proterozoic tectonic evolution of the New Mexico region: A synthesis". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN   9781585460106.
  22. ↑ Armstrong, Augustus K (1967). "Biostratigraphy and Carbonate Facies of the Mississippian Arroyo Penasco Formation, North-Central New Mexico" (PDF). Memoirs of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources. 20. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  23. ↑ Carlson, Marvin P (May 1999). "Transcontinental Arch — a pattern formed by rejuvenation of local features across central North America". Tectonophysics. 305 (1–3): 225–233. Bibcode:1999Tectp.305..225C. doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(99)00005-0.
  24. ↑ McMillan, Nancy J.; McLemore, Virginia T. (2004). "Cambrian-Ordovician magmatism and extension in New Mexico and Colorado". New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Bulletin. 160. S2CID   130142252.
  25. ↑ Mack, Greg H. (2004). "The late Cambro-Ordovician Bliss and lower Ordovician El Paso Formations, southwestern New Mexico and west Texas". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN   9781585460106.
  26. ↑ Armstrong, Augustus K.; Mamet, Bernard L.; Repetski, John E. (2004). "Mississippian System of New Mexico and adjacent areas". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history (Special Volume 11). New Mexico Geological Society. pp. 77–93. ISBN   9781585460106.
  27. ↑ Lucas, Spencer G.; Harris, Susan K.; Spielmann, Justin A.; Berman, David S.; Henrici, Amy C.; Heckert, Andrew B.; Zeigler, Kate E.; Rinehart, Larry F. (2005). "Early Permian vertebrate assemblage and its biostratigraphic significance, Arroy del Agua, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 56. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  28. ↑ Lucas, Spencer G.; Krainer, Karl (2005). "Stratigraphy and correlation of the Permo-Carboniferous Cutler Group, Chama Basin, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geologic Society Field Conference Series. 56: 145–159. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  29. 1 2 Kues, B.S.; Giles, K.A. (2004). "The late Paleozoic Ancestral Rocky Mountain system in New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN   9781585460106.
  30. ↑ Chronic 1987, p. 27-28.
  31. ↑ Benton M J (2005). When Life Nearly Died: The greatest mass extinction of all time. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN   978-0-500-28573-2.
  32. ↑ Lucas, Spencer G. (2004). "The Triassic and Jurassic systems in New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 137–152. ISBN   9781585460106.
  33. ↑ Fillmore, Robert (2010). Geological evolution of the Colorado Plateau of eastern Utah and western Colorado, including the San Juan River, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands, Arches, and the Book Cliffs. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. pp. 141–217. ISBN   9781607810049.
  34. ↑ Lucas 2004, p. 137.
  35. ↑ Fillmore 2010, pp. 142–158.
  36. ↑ Lucas 2004, pp. 138–142.
  37. ↑ Fillmore 2010, pp. 160–176.
  38. ↑ Lucas, Spencer G.; Zeigler, Kate E.; Heckert, Andrew B.; Hunt, Adrian P. (2005). "Review of Upper Triassic stratigraphy and biostratigraphy in the Chama Basin, northern New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 56: 170–181. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  39. ↑ Rinehart, L.F.; Lucas, S.G.; Heckert, A.B.; Spielmann, J.A.; Celesky, M.D. (2009). "The paleobiology of Coelophysis bauri (Cope) from the Upper Triassic (Apachean) Whitaker quarry, New Mexico, with detailed analysis of a single quarry block". New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, A Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs Bulletin. 45: 260.
  40. ↑ Fillmore 2010, pp. 201–203.
  41. ↑ Fillmore 2010, pp. 203–218.
  42. ↑ Lucas 2004, pp. 143–147.
  43. ↑ Nummedal, Dag (2004). "Tectonikc and eustatic controls on upper Cretaceous stratigraphy of northern New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 169–182. ISBN   9781585460106.
  44. 1 2 Chronic 1987, p. 29-30.
  45. 1 2 Seager, William (2004). "Laramide (late Cretaceous-Eocene) tectonics of southwestern New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 249–270. ISBN   9781585460106.
  46. ↑ Cather, Steven M. (2004). "Laramide orogeny in central and northern New Mexico and southern Colorado". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 203–248. ISBN   9781585460106 . Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  47. ↑ Smith, Larry N. (1992). "Stratigraphy, sediment dispersal and paleogeography of the Lower Eocene San Jose Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico and Colorado" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series (43): 297–310. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  48. ↑ Cather, Steven M. (2004). "Laramide Orogeny in Central and Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado". In Mack, Greg H.; Giles, Katherine A. (eds.). The Geology of New Mexico: A Geologic History. New Mexico Geological Society. pp. 203–248.
  49. ↑ Cather, S.M.; Johnson, B.D. (1984). "Eocene tectonics and depositional setting of west-central New Mexico and eastern Arizona". New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources Circular. 192. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  50. 1 2 McMillan, Nancy J. (2004). "Magmatic record of Laramide subduction and the transition to Tertiary extension: Upper Cretaceous through Eocene igneous rocks of New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 203–248. ISBN   9781585460106.
  51. ↑ Smith, Gary A. (2004). "Middle to late Cenozoic development of the Rio Grande rift and t adjacent regions in northern New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 331–358. ISBN   9781585460106.
  52. ↑ Copnnel, Sean (2004). "Geology of the Albuquerque Basin and tectonic development of the Rio Grande rift in north-central New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 359–388. ISBN   9781585460106.
  53. ↑ Baldridge, W.; Olsen, K.; Callender, J. (1984). "Rio Grande Rift: Problems and Perspectives". New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 35th field conference. pp. 1–11.
  54. ↑ Mack, Greg H. (2004). "Middle and late Cenozoic crustal extension, sedimentation, and volcanism in the southern Rio Grande rift, Basin and Range, and southern transition zone of southwestern New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 389–406. ISBN   9781585460106.
  55. ↑ Baldwin, Brewster (1956). "The Santa Fe group of north-central New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook. 7: 115–121. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  56. ↑ Aldrich Jr., M. J. (1986). "Tectonics of the Jemez Lineament in the Jemez Mountains and Rio Grande Rift". Journal of Geophysical Research. 91 (B2): 1753–1762. Bibcode:1986JGR....91.1753A. doi:10.1029/JB091iB02p01753.
  57. ↑ Heiken, G; Goff, F; Gardner, J N; Baldridge, W S; Hulen, J B; Nielson, D L; Vaniman, D (May 1990). "The Valles/Toledo Caldera Complex, Jemez Volcanic Field, New Mexico". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 18 (1): 27–53. Bibcode:1990AREPS..18...27H. doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.18.050190.000331.
  58. ↑ Chronic 1987, p. 30-31.
  59. 1 2 "Mining (except oil and gas)". New Mexico Workforce Connection. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
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  64. ↑ Hawley, John; Kernodle, Mike (1999). "Overview of the Hydrogeology and Geohydrology of the Northern Rio Grande Basin - Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas" (PDF). WRRI Conference Proceedings. 44. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  65. ↑ Bryan, Kirk (1938). "Geology and ground-water conditions of the Rio Grande depression in Colorado and New Mexico". The Rio Grande Joint Investigation in the upper Rio Grande basin in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. U.S. National Resources Committee. pp. 197–225.
  66. ↑ Hawley & Kernodle 1999, p. 1.
  67. 1 2 "Geologic Hazards". New Mexico Burea of Geology and Mineral Resources. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  68. ↑ "Flooding in New Mexico". National Weather Service. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  69. 1 2 Jochems, Andy; Love, Dave. "Earthquakes in New Mexico". New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources. New Mexico Tech. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
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  71. ↑ Sanford, Allan R.; Lin, Kuo-wan; Tsai, I-ching; Jaksha, Lawrence H. (2002). "Earthquake catalogs for New Mexico and bordering areas: 1869–1998" (PDF). New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Circular. 210: 5. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
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