Polished rock slab showing quartz- and calcite-replaced evaporites in
lagoonal, stromatolitic
mudstones. Dark color of quartz crystals, in particular, reflects the abundance
of hydrocarbon
inclusions. Sample is from far back-reef facies of Yates Fm. in outcrops along
an ephemeral
stream bank just north of Dark Canyon road, approximately 10 km west of
canyon mouth, Eddy Co., New Mexico. Length of slab = 12 cm.
© Peter A. Scholle, 1999
Guadalupe Mtns. geology —— Scholle home page —— NM Bureau staff page —— NM Bureau main page