Geology topics
Research about New Mexico
Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including New Mexico.
Geophysical log suite from drill hole No. 4, Mariano Lake-Lake Valley drilling project, McKinley County, New Mexico
In the fall of 1980, the U.S. Geological Survey contracted with .Longman Drilling Company of Albuquerque, New Mexico to rotary drill and core twelve holes along a north-south line from Mariano Lake to the vicinity of Lake Valley, New Mexico. This report incorporates the logs from drill hole no. 4. Similar reports on holes no. 1, 2, and 3 were released by the U.S. Geological Survey (1981a, b). The drilling project is funded under a reimbursable interagency agreement between the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The program was designed by representatives of the BIA, USGS, and the Minerals Department of the Navajo Tribe.
Geochemical variability of natural soils and reclaimed mine-spoil soils in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico
An inventory of total-and extractable-element concentrations in soils was made for three areas of the San Juan Basin in New Mexico: (1) the broad area likely to be affected by energy-related development. (2) an area of soils considered to have potential for use as topsoil in mined-land reclamation. and (3) an area of the San Juan coal mine that has been regraded. topsoiled, and revegetated. Maps made of concentrations of 16 elements in area 1 soils show no gradational pattern across the region. Further. these maps do not correspond to those showing geology or soil types. Sodic or saline problems, and a possible but unproven deficiency of zinc available to plants. may make some of the soils in this area undesirable for use as topsoil in mined-land reclamation. Taxonomic great groups of soil in this area cannot be distinguished because each great group tends to have a large within-group variability if compared to the between-group variability. In area 2 the major soils sampled were of the Sheppard. Shiprock. and Doak association. These soils are quite uniform in chemical composition and are not greatly saline or sodic. As in area 1 soils. zinc deficiency may cause a problem in revegetating most of these soils. It is difficult to distinguish soil taxonomic families by using their respective chemical compositions. because of small between-family variability. Topsoil from a reclaimed area of the San Juan mine (area 3) most closely resembles the chemical composition of natural C horizons of soil from area 1. Spoil material that has not been topsoiled is likely to cause sodic-and saline-related problems in revegetation and may cause boron toxicity in plants. Topsoiling has apparently ameliorated these potential problems for plant growth on mine spoil. Total and extractable concentrations for elements and other parameters for each area of the San Juan Basin provide background information for the evaluation of the chemical quality of soils in each area.
Water resources data, New Mexico, water year 1980
Water resources data for the 1980 water year for New Mexico consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; stage, contents and water quality of lakes and reservoir s; and water levels and water quality in wells and springs. This report contains discharge records for 226 gaging stations; stage and contents for 24 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 91 gaging stations, 97 observation wells. Also included are 138 crest-stage partial-record stations. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in New Mexico.
Results of hydrologic tests and water-chemistry analyses, wells H-4A, H-4B, and H-4C, at the proposed waste isolation pilot plant site, southeastern New Mexico
Data were collected during hydrologic testing at wells H-4A, H-4B, and H-4C in the southern part of the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in southeastern New Mexico. The three water-bearing zones tested, the Magenta and Culebra Dolomite Members of the Rustler Formation and the Rustler Formation-Salado Formation contact, yield water to wells at rates less than 0.9 gallon per minute. Throughout the testing, water-pressure response in the tested zone was monitored by a pressure transducer system. Shut-in and slug tests were conducted to acquire the data from which the following values were derived. Calculated transmissivities for the Magenta, Culebra and the Rustler-Salado contact at wells H-4A, H-4B, and H-4C were 0.06, 0.9, and 0.0006 foot squared per day respectively. Water samples from the Magenta and Culebra had dissolved-solids concentrations of 22,300 and 18,100 milligrams per liter, respectively. The major chemical constituents of ground-water samples from these two zones were sodium, chloride, and sulfate. Water samples from the Rustler-Salado contact had a dissolved-solids concentration of 322,000 milligrams per liter and magnesium, sodium, and chloride were the major constituents. Radium-226, a naturally occurring radioactive element, was present in samples from all three zones. (USGS)
Erodibility of selected soils and estimates of sediment yields in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico
Onsite rainfall-simulation experiments were conducted to derive field-erodibility indexes for rangeland soils and soils disturbed by mining in coal fields of northwestern New Mexico. Mean indexes on rangeland soils range from 0 grams (of detached soil) on dune soil to 121 grams on wash-transport zones. Mean field-erodibility-index values of soils disturbed by mining range from 16 to 32 grams; they can be extrapolted to nearby coal fields where future mining is expected. Because field-erodibility-index data allow differentiation of erodibilities across a variable landscape, these indexes were used to adjust values of K, the erodibility factor of the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Estimates of soil loss and sediment yield were then calculated for a small basin following mining. (USGS)
Water resources of the Rincon and Mesilla Valleys and adjacent areas, New Mexico
The Rincon and Mesilla Valleys of New Mexico extend from Caballo Reservoir to El Paso del Norte, west of El Paso, Texas. Water supplies for this area are obtained from the Rio Grande and from the saturated sediments filling the intermontane basins of south-central New Mexico. The two major aquifers are the Santa Fe Group of Miocene to middle Pleistocene age and the flood-plain alluvium of late Pleistocene and Holocene age. The Santa Fe Group is composed of thick deposits of interbedded clay, silt, sand, and gravel. The flood-plain alluvium, generally less than 80 feet thick, is composed of a basal gravel layer overlain by interbedded sand, silt, and clay. In the Rincon Valley, the flood-plain alluvium is the principal source of ground water because the underlying Santa Fe is composed predominantly of lacustrine clay deposits. In the Mesilla Valley, thick deposits of fluvial sands and gravels in the Santa Fe Group are hydraulically connected with the flood-plain alluvium. Water-table conditions occur in the flood-plain alluvium, which is recharged primarily by infiltration of surface water from the Rio Grande, irrigation canals, and irrigated fields. Recharge to the Santa Fe Group occurs primarily from downward infiltration of water from the flood-plain alluvium and secondarily from runoff infiltrating upland sediments and mountain-front fan deposits. In the short term, the Santa Fe Group responds as a leaky confined aquifer due to the presence of interbedded clays that reduce vertical permeability. Aquifer tests were conducted on 58 wells and test holes, most of which were completed in the Santa Fe Group. Transmissivities range from 1.3 to 21,100 feet squared per day. Average well yields range from about 1,050 gallons per minute in the Rincon Valley to about 1,500 gallons per minute in the Mesilla Valley. Yields in the Jornada del Muerto generally are much smaller. Movement of ground water is generally southward in the Rincon and Mesilla Valleys and toward the valleys in the adjacent upland areas. Ground water moves southeastward beneath the West Mesa area, converging with ground-water flow in the southern end of the Mesilla Valley. Good hydraulic connection exists between sediments of the West Mesa and Mesilla Valley areas. Ground water in the southern end of the Jornada del Muerto moves generally to the northwest, converges with south-flowing ground water near Point of Rocks, and moves westward into Rincon Valley sediments near Rincon. A small amount of ground water flows westward from the southern end of the Jornada del Muerto across a subsurface igneous body into the Mesilla Valley. Ground-water discharge occurs throughout the Rincon and Mesilla Valleys as drain flow to the river and evapotranspiration. Dissolved-solids concentrations in the water in the flood-plain alluvium of the Rincon and Mesilla Valleys are generally greater than 1,000 milligrams per liter. A freshwater zone, with dissolved-solids concentrations less than 1,000 milligrams per liter, underlies this thin, slightly saline zone beneath much of the Mesilla Valley. This freshwater zone, occurring in the Santa Fe Group, is surrounded by saline water. Within the study area, major dissolved ions in ground water include sodium, calcium, bicarbonate, and sulfate. The Rio Grande is a gainlng stream in the northern parts of the Rincon and Mesilla Valleys and a losing stream in the southern part of the Mesilla Valley. Gains and losses result from a close interconnection with ground-water flow systems. Large surface-water irrigation allotments increase ground-water recharge. Increased recharge raises ground-water levels and improves shallow ground-water quality adjacent to these recharge areas. Shallow ground-water discharges to drains, which flow into the Rio Grande. Dissolved-solids concentrations in the Rio Grande increase by as much as 60 percent between Caballo Reservoir and the southern end of the study area.
Geologic map of the Redrock NW Quadrangle, Grant County, New Mexico
No abstract available.
Mathematical model of the Tesuque aquifer system underlying Pojoaque River basin and vicinity, New Mexico
A three-dimensional digital model of ground-water flow was constructed to represent the dipping anisotropic beds of the Tesuque aquifer system underlying the Pojoaque River basin and vicinity, New Mexico. Simulations of steady-state conditions and historical ground-water withdrawals were consistent with observed data. The model was used to simulate the response of the aquifer system to an irrigation development plan in the Pojoaque River basin. Storage is the main source of water as 34.05 cubic feet per second (86 percent of the withdrawal rate) was simulated to be withdrawn from storage after 50 years of withdrawals for irrigation development; the maximum simulated water-level decline was 334 feet; and net simulated streamflow capture from the Rio Grande, Santa Cruz, Pojoaque, and Santa Fe Rivers was 5.63 cubic feet per second (14 percent of the withdrawal rate). The sensitivity of the model was tested by varying aquifer characteristics to the limits of the plausible range. Change in hydraulic head in Pojoaque River basin is most sensitive to hydraulic conductivity. In all simulations, after 50 years of withdrawals, the maximum simulated decline in hydraulic head ranged between 210 and 474 feet, storage in the aquifer system was the source of 80 to 90 percent of the water withdrawn from wells, and streamflow capture from the Rio Grande and its tributaries plus irrigation diversions from the tributaries of the Pojoaque River simulated a decrease in the flow of the Rio Grande of between 17.13 and 21.11 cubic feet per second.
Leasable mineral and waterpower land classification map of the Santa Fe quadrangle, New Mexico: Lands withdrawn, classified, and prospectively valuable for leasable minerals; occurrences of other selected minerals; and lands withdrawn or classified for waterpower and reservoir sites
No abstract available.
Regional geology and Cenozoic history of Pecos region, southeastern New Mexico
No abstract available.
Evaluation of the Malaga Bend salinity alleviation project, Eddy County, New Mexico
In an effort to reduce the flow of brine springs in the Malaga Bend reach of the Pecos River in southeastern New Mexico, brine was pumped from an aquifer underlying the Malaga Bend reach to a local depression known as Anderson Lake. The attempt to improve the quality of river water with this experiment was not successful because brine leakage from Anderson Lake to the nearby Pecos River through permeable subsurface rocks was greater than the previous natural spring inflow. Brine leakage from Anderson Lake from July 22, 1963, through September 30, 1968, was estimated by evaporation-pan, salt accumulation, and dissolved-constituent methods. The leakage values given by these three methods are in good agreement with each other and indicate that between the dates given, leakage from the lake was about 2 ,300 acre-feet, compared with a brine inflow to the lake of about 3,690 acre-feet. Other data indicate that pumping from the brine aquifer greatly reduced the natural inflow from brine springs to the Malaga Bend reach. The rate of brine leakage from Anderson Lake is probably greater than might be expected from other brine lakes in the area because the cavities in the bottom of the lake apparently are in hydrologic connection with the Pecos River. This connection is shown by a relation between the salinity of the Pecos River and the reservoir stage of Anderson Lake. (USGS)
Leasable mineral and waterpower land classification map of the Las Cruces quadrangle, New Mexico, Texas: Lands withdrawn, classified, and prospectively valuable for leasable minerals; occurrences of other selected minerals; and lands withdrawn or classified for waterpower and reservoir sites
No abstract available.
Leasable mineral and waterpower land classification map of the Fort Sumner quadrangle, New Mexico: Lands withdrawn, classified, and prospectively valuable for leasable minerals; occurrences of other selected minerals; and lands withdrawn or classified for waterpower and reservoir sites
No abstract available.