Earth Sciences Commons^™

Geology Of East Grants Ridge, Valencia County, New Mexico, Herbert C. Johnston Jr.

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The field investigation for this report was initiated in October 1952 and was continued intermittently until February 1953. The area was mapped on the scale of 1/31680 with the aid of aerial photographs and Soil Conservation Service planimeteric base map 173. This scale was later enlargened to 1/15840. Rock and mineral specimens were studied with the aid of a hand lens, and the oil immersion method was used to identify some minerals. No thin sections were made. Sedimentary rocks were mapped to complete the geologic picture. No detailed sedimentary sections were measured as emphasis was placed on the Cenozoic igneous …

The Crystal Structure Of Ceni, Joseph J. Finney

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

X-ray diffraction methods were used to determine the cell constants and structure of CeNi. The unit cell is orthohombic. The spcae group is probably Cmcm with a_O=3.77 +/- 0.01, b_O=10.46 +/- 0.02, c_O=4.37+/- 0.01 A. The cell formula is Ce₄Ni_4. The observed density if 7.51 grams/cm³ and the calculated density is 7.65 grams/cm³, a deviation of 1.8%.

Stratigraphy And Paleontology Of The Carboniferous Rocks Of The Cedro Canyon Area, Manzanita Mountains, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Ernest Szabo

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The discovery of an extension into the Cedro Canyon area, in the northern Manzanita Mountains, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, of strata similar in lithology and stratigraphic position to known pre-Pennsylvanian rocks of nearby areas is included in this report. No diagnostic fossils have been found in these newly discovered strata and therefore definite age assignment can not be made.

The Pennsylvanian strata are dominantly marine and exhibit unusual lighologic variations. These variations are attributed to the environment of a transgressing sea on an unstable shelf.

Measured sections indicate that it is possible to subdivide these strata according to series on …

Stratigraphic Relationships Of Cretaceous And Early Tertiary Rocks Of A Part Of Northwestern San Juan Basin, Elmer H. Baltz Jr.

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

No abstract provided.

Stratigraphic Analysis Of The Upper Cretaceous Pictured Cliffs Sandstone In Northeastern San Juan County, New Mexico, John W. Caldwell

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The San Juan Basin is located in northwestern New Mexico and southern Colorado and is physiographically a part of the Colorado Plateau province.

The Upper Cretaceous Pictured Cliffs sandstone is exposed around the perimeter of the San Juan Basin and is present throughout the greater part of the Basin in the subsurface. This economically important gas-bearing sandstone is situated in the structural basin in which the strata are upturned on the basinward flanks of the nearby Laramide cliffs.

Five possible origins for the Pictured Cliffs gas are presented: from the underlying Lewis shale, from within the Pictured Cliffs sandstone, from …

Paleontology And Stratigraphy Of The Upper Cretaceous Rocks Between Mount Taylor And The Rio Puerco, New Mexico, Kenneth D. Sharp

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The area covered in this report lies between Mt. Taylor and the Rio Puerco, and embraces approximately 675 square miles. Much of it is readily accessible by either paved highways or improved roads. The general region is a land of numerous mesas, the largest of which is Mesa Chivato. Sandstones form prominent ridges while shales and alluvium form the valleys. Many volcanic plugs stand out as landmarks.

Geology And Mineralogy Of The Fierro-Hanover District, Grant County, New Mexico., Robert B. O'Sullivan

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The primary purpose of this report is to describe the petrography of the contact pyrometasomatic ores and rocks from the metamorphic aureole near Fierro. In the course of this work the literature pertaining to the area was read in order to compare the features of metamorphism about Fierro with those about Hanover. One two-day reconnaissance was made in the area.

The Variegated Member Of The Morrison Formation In The Southeastern Part Of The San Juan Basin, Valencia County New Mexico, William L. Chenoweth

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The strata now designated as Morrison in western New Mexico have been known by a variety of names since the beginning of geological exploration in the West. The nomenclature has become confused due to the many facies that are present. Recent exploration for uranium has renewed interest in the stratigraphy of the Morrison formation.

The Huego (Gym) Limestone, Luna County, New Mexico, Lowell E. Bogart

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Southwestern New Mexico is characterized by Basin and Range Physiography. Nearly level bolson plains are interrupted irregularly by linear mountain ranges. Sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Cambrian and recent crop out in the mountain areas. Darton (1916) mapped and described a limestone formation, about 1,000 feet thick, which he named Gym limestone. He thought the Gym was restricted in outcrop to Luna County and was distinct from previously described Paleozoic formations. The Gym was originally thought to be Pennsylvanian in age but later on was regarded as Permian. In the restudy of the Gym limestone was the basis of …

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.

Paleontology And Stratigraphy Of The Carboniferous Rocks Of The Placitas Region, Northern Sandia Mountains, Sandoval County, New Mexico, Donald Francis Toomey

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

A paleontologic and lithologic study of the Carboniferous rocks of the northern Sandia Mountains demonstrates that this predominantly marine sequence is divisible into several important series which are recognizable elsewhere.

The pre-Pennsylvanian rocks lack diagnostic fossils. However, correlation with a fossiliferous sequence in the southern Nacimiento Mountains, based on similar lithology and stratigraphic position, indicates a middle mississippian Meramec age for these rocks. The thickness ranges from 21 to 81 feet; they consist mainly of limestone associated with basal elastics. This sequence lies directly on Pre-Cambrian rocks. Nine sections have been measured and are shown geographically on three plates.

Unconformably …