Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geology And Geochemistry Of The Uvas Volcanic Field And Rubio Peak Formation Of South-Central New Mexico, Usa, Max Logan Hoffman

MSU Graduate Theses

South-central New Mexico is characterized by many Cenozoic volcanic and tectonic events that produced a complex system of magma sources. These mechanisms are responsible for the diverse volcanic activity and magmatic evolution in New Mexico. To understand the growth and development of the mantle sources associated with these events, geochemical, petrographic, structural and spatial distribution data were collected from the Uvas volcanic field (UVF) and the Rubio Peak Formation of the Mogollon-Datil volcanic field (MDVF). Volcanic rocks from these volcanic fields were chosen based on their importance to relative timing of magmatic and tectonic transitioning events. The structural and spatial …

The Stratigraphic Position Of Fossil Vertebrates From The Pojoaque Member Of The Tesuque Formation (Middle Miocene, Late Barstovian) Near Española, New Mexico, Garrett R. Williamson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The stratigraphy of the Pojoaque Member of the Tesuque Formation near Española, NM is not well understood. This region, during the Middle Miocene, represented a dynamic alluvial fan-fluvial-lacustrine environment within the Española Basin while the Rio Grande Rift was active. Cavazza (1986) identified two paleodrainage systems (lithosome A, basin-margin facies and B, basin-floor facies) by means of sandstone and conglomerate petrology, paleocurrent, and sedimentary facies analyses. After x-ray diffraction analyses of claystones within lithosome B, mordenite was discovered, which is a zeolite mineral commonly found within volcanic rocks. This is significant because the presence of mordenite confirms Cavazza’s (1986) conclusion …

Modeling The Influence Of The Heterogeneous Substrate On The Transport Of The Jet Fuel Solute Plume, Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Hannah Sarah Gatz-Miller

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

A subsurface model was developed to characterize the influence of heterogeneity on solute phase plume migration of the Jet Fuel spill of Kirtland Air Force Base. Core –logs from KAFB boreholes were compiled, and lithology was interpolated across the study area using transition probability geostatistics (T-PROGS). High conductivity materials in the travel path resulted in a faster than average breakthrough time while, if low conductivity materials were placed in the travel path, particles were either forced to divert around the low K material, which added time and changed the direction of travel, or were forced by the hydraulic gradient to …

Geophysical Model Of The Cu-Mo Porphyry Ore Deposit At Copper Flat Mine, Hillsboro, Sierra County, New Mexico, Adrian Emmanuel Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A 3D gravity model of the Copper Flat Mine was performed as part of the exploration of new resources in at the mine. The project is located in the Las Animas Mining District in Sierra County, New Mexico. The mine has been producing ore since 1877 and is currently owned by the New Mexico Copper Corporation, which plans o bringing the closed copper mine back into production with innovation and a sustainable approach to mining development. The Project is located on the Eastern side of the Arizona-Sonora-New Mexico porphyry copper Belt of Cretaceous age. Copper Flat is predominantly a Cretaceous …

Metamorphic Phase Equilibria In A Contact Aureole: Tres Hermanas Mountains, Luna County, New Mexico., Carissa Dawn Snyder

Masters Theses

To characterize the metamorphism in the Tres Hermanas Mountains contact–metamorphic aureole in Luna County, New Mexico, I mapped and collected samples of the Paleozoic strata near the quartz monzonite pluton along the northeast flank of North Peak. Stratigraphy in this area includes the Pennsylvanian undivided unit that is composed of thin-medium interbedded limestone, shale, and sandstone and the Hueco Formation that could be broken out into four members: a pebble–cobble conglomerate marks the base, a medium to massive bedded siliceous limestone is next, followed by a pure limestone member and topped by a breccia bed in places marking the fault …

Mesoproterozoic Deposition, Regional Metamorphism And Deformation In North-Central New Mexico: Evidence From Metamorphic Monazite And Detrital Zircon Geochronology In The Picuris Mountains, Lily S. Pfeifer

Honors Theses

Detrital zircon and metamorphic monazite ages from the Picuris Mountains, north central New Mexico, were used to confirm the depositional age of the Marquenas Formation, to document the depositional age of the Vadito Group, and to constrain the timing of metamorphism and deformation in the region.

Detrital zircon 207Pb/206Pb ages were obtained with the LA-MC-ICPMS from quartzites collected from the type locality of the Marquenas Formation exposed at Cerro de las Marquenas, and from the lower Vadito Group in the southern and eastern Picuris Mountains. The Marquenas Formation sample yields 113 concordant ages including a Mesoproterozoic age population with four …

Stratigraphic Analysis Of The Queen And Grayburg Formations, Southeastern Chaves County, New Mexico, James L. Mcswain

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The area of study lies in southeastern Chaves County, New Mexico, and is a part of the northwest shelf or backreef province of the Permian Basin. The area encompasses all or parts of Tps. 10 through 15 S., Rs. 24 through 31 E.

The Queen and Grayburg formations comprise the lower part of the Artesia group, an upper Guadalupian sequence of Permian shelf rocks above the San Andres formation and below the Ochoan series. The Queen-Grayburg sequence has an average thickness of about 600 feet and is correlative with the Goat Seep reef at the margin of the Delaware Basin, …

Geology And Ground-Water Resources Of Northern Lea County, New Mexico, Sidney R. Ash

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The economy of northern Lea County is dependent upon groundwater; the only other source of water is the runoff from precipitation that is caught and retained in the man-made or natural reservoirs, where is it used for water stock. Irrigation utilizes most of the groundwater pumped; much smaller amounts are used for stock watering and industrial, public, rural and domestic supplies. In 1958, about 107,000 acre-feet of groundwater was pumped for irrigation and 19,000 acre-feet was pumped for all other uses. On the basis of present production of potable water, the economically usable supply will be depleted in certain areas …

Petrology Of The Precambrian Rocks Of Part Of The Monte Largo Area, Nm, Paul Wayne Lambert

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Approximately 7 to 8 square miles of Precambrian rocks are exposed in the vicinity of the Monte Largo Hills in north-central New Mexico. The Precambrian rocks are bounded mainly by Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks in both fault and noncomformable contact.

The area is made up largely of quartz-feldspar gneiss, hornblende gneiss, and quartzite. Quartz-feldspar gneiss is the most abundant rock type. Mica schist and sillimanite hornfels occur in minor amounts. Other Precambrian rocks include medium-grained granite, splite and pegmatite dikes, and quartz veins. A minor amount of migmatite is present as a result of the intimate association of quartz-feldspar gneiss and …

The Jurassic Todilto Formation Of New Mexico, Henry O. Ash

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Todilto formation of New Mexico is a widespread and distinctive Jurassic unit confined to the northern one-half of the State and adjacent parts of Arizona and Colorado. It consists of a lower Limestone member and an upper Gypsum member. The Gypsum member also contains some limestone. The two members are not coextensive in area. Both are present in the central part of the area in which the formation is found, but the Limestone member extends far beyond the limits of the Gypsum member.

Geology Of The Southern Part Of The Ortiz Mountains Santa Fe County, New Mexico, John W. Peterson

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Ortiz Mountains lie in a belt of early Tertiary intrusive centers adjacent to the Rio Grande depression of north-central New Mexico. Tertiary organic activity and subsequent erosion have etched this mountain group into considerable relief.

Intrusive activity occurred during early Tertiary Espinaso time and resulted in emplacement of sills and dikes of a central stock. Correlation of volcanism with intrusive phases is difficult. Most volcansim probably occurred during the later part of Ortiz igneous activity. An elongate vent is exposed in the eastern part of the mountains and structurally occupies the highest position in the group.

The principle igneous …

Geology Of The Northern Part Of The Ortiz Mountains, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, Otis M. Mcrae

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The northern part of the Ortiz Mountains of north-central New Mexico consists of a tilted fault block of Cretaceous Mancos shale and Mesaverde formation intruded by latite-andesite porphyry sills and laccoliths and a nepheline-bearing augite manzonite stock. Igneous activity started with the development of a volcanic vent in what is now the central part of the mountains. Volcanic debris from the vent want removed from the area by erosion and provided sedimentary material for the late [ ] Espinaso volcanics of the adjoining areas. Intrusion of the latite-andesite porphyry sills and laccolite followed extrusive igneous activity, as demonstrated by the …

Records Of Wells Drilled For Oil And Gas In New Mexico, George H. Dixon

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This report contains information compiled from data in the files of the U.S. Geological Survey, the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, and oil and gas companies on nearly 3,000 of the more than 13,000 wells drills in New Mexico prior to September 1, 1953. The tabulation is believed to include all unsuccessful wildcat test wells, most of the unsuccessful field extension wells, and most of the discovery wells for the various producing areas, even though they may be shut or abandoned at the present time. In addition, the list contains some deep tests and some wells representative …

The Structural Geology Of The Cerrillos Hills Area, New Mexico, Alan E. Disbrow

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The earliest major structural deformation recorded in rocks exposed in the Cerrillos area occurred during the Laramie uplift of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This resulted in an erosional wedging of Upper Cretaceous strata at a rate of 130 feet per mile. Subsequent deposition of the Eocene Galisteo sand, clay, and gravel overstepped this surface in a sourceward direction.

At the beginning of work on this project the major problem was to determine the geological structure of the Cerrillos Hills. It was felt that a large-scale geologic map of an area extensive enough to reveal the structurally complex center of …

Geology Of The Mcrae Canyon Area Sierra County, New Mexico, Hugh P. Bushnell

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Sedimentary Rocks exposed at the surface in the low area between the north-trending Caballo and Fra Cristobal Mountains of south-central New Mexico include the late Cretaceous Mesaverde formation, the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary McRae formation, and the Miocene-Pliocene Santa Fe formation. A thin veneer of Jordana pediment gravel covers the older rocks on the eastern edge of the area.

Geology Of The Southern Ladron Mountains, Socorro County, New Mexico, E.A. Noble

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Ladron Mountains are in a fault-block range consisting in large part of Pre-Cambrian rocks. They are flanked on the west by Paleozoic sediments and elsewhere by Tertiary and Quaternary deposits. The Pre-Cambrian rocks of the southern Ladron Mountains consist of a thick sequence of quartzite and schist which has been granitized by a sub-adjacent intrusion to such a degree that only remnants of unaltered quartzite and schist remain, the remainder of the rocks being largely paragneiss and para-granite. The nature of the intrusion is not known, but it is suggested that it may have been at least partly formed …

Geology Of The Hagan Coal Basin, Earl P. Harrison

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This study was undertaken with the foremost objective of determining the stratigraphy and structure of the area, and correlating it with known surrounding areas.

The method of study was through geologic mapping in the field. The formational contacts, faults and other features were studied in the field with the aid of aerial photographs. The sections were measured in the field by hand-leveling with a Brunton compass up across the exposures. The lithology of the formations was studied as the sections were measured. The base map was taken from a planimetric map prepared by the Soil Conservation Service from aerial photos. …

A Study Of The Concentration Of A Copper-Zinc Ore., Kenneth L. M. Dodd

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The ore under investigation in this thesis is a copper-zinc ore which came from the state of New Mexico. The exact location is unobtainable. The purpose of the investigation was to determine the most effective means of concentration of the valuable min­erals present in the ore.

The Minerals Of New Mexico, Lee Mcguinness

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Inorganic bodies known as minerals make up, either in whole rock-masses or in isolated form, the material of the upper crust of the earth. Through the evidence furnished by this study of meteorites, we also infer that other bodies in the universe are made up of minerals, or at least those portions of them which are represented by meteorites.

Since minerals are, then, important in making up the observable part of the earth, a study of them is importance in any study of the earth. Because the variety of minerals occurring in New Mexico is large, it will be of …