Mineral resource potential map of the Chama River Canyon Wilderness and contiguous roadless area, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
The Chama River Canyon Wilderness and Roadless Area have a moderate to high potential for the presence of small deposits of copper with associated uranium and silver. These deposits, as yet undetected, would occur in the Permian Cutler Formation and in the lower part of the Triassic Chinle Formation, rock units that are, for the most part, present only in the subsurface. The presence of these deposits is inferred because such deposits occur in rocks of equivalent age in adjacent areas. Gypsum, of probable minable quality and quantity, occurs throughout the area. Oil and gas are possibly present in Pennsylvanian strata in the subsurface, although no drilling in the study area has tested this hypothesis. Other commodities, including noncopper-related uranium, kaolinite, chromium, vanadium, manganese, and bitumen, although present locally in anomalous concentrations, do not appear to constitute potential resources for these commodities.