Geologic Tour of New Mexico

The Tyrone mining district, the second largest porphyry copper deposit in New Mexico, is located 10 miles southwest of Silver City in the Burro Mountains of southwestern New Mexico. Native Americans initially mined turquoise from the area around 600 AD. Underground mining was established in the early 1860s and the current mode of mining, open-pit stripping, began in 1968. The mine became part of Freeport-McMoRan in 2007. Parts of the pit are currently being reclaimed.

Monument Rock is located west of Socorro and north of U.S. Highway 60 in the eastern Sawtooth Mountains of Catron County, New Mexico. The area can be reached from Datil by traveling west along Highway 60, 12.3 miles to Forest Road 6A. Turn right on Forest Road 6A and drive north 3.7 miles to the prominent spire of Monument Rock.

The area can also be accessed from Pie Town by driving east along U.S. Highway 60 to Forest Road 316. Turn left onto Forest Road 316 and drive northeast 3.5 miles to Forest Road 6A. Turn left and drive 1.1 miles to Monument Rock.

Angel Peak, a 7000-foot pinnacle capped by sandstone, is a prominent landmark near Bloomfield in northwestern New Mexico. It is in the northern part of the San Juan Basin, a large structural depression that formed starting about 75 million years ago during compressional Laramide deformation. The San Juan Basin was surrounded by mountainous uplifts to the north (now buried by the 35 to 20 Ma San Juan volcanic field in southwestern Colorado) and to the east that also formed by Laramide-related compression. The sediments that can be seen at Angel Peak National Recreation area were eroded off of the old Laramide highlands and deposited in the basin 50 to 65 million years ago. More recently, over the course of the last 5 million years (or less), the westward-draining San Juan River, a tributary to the Colorado River, has eroded the rocks of the San Juan Basin. Drainages feeding into the San Juan River have carved the scenic landscape we see today.

Morphy Lake State Park offers fishermen, campers, hikers, and other visitors a rustic alpine setting in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Spectacular views are the result of complex geologic processes active since Proterozoic time (1,700 m.y. ago): two major periods of mountain building (called orogenies) and most recently erosion and sedimentation by glaciers and rivers.The state park is 7 miles southwest of Mora and 3 miles northwest of Ledoux in the eastern Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. It is the least accessible of the New Mexico state parks.

Rockhound State Park lies in the Little Florida Mountains southeast of Deming, New Mexico. It was established in 1966 as the first park in the United States that allowed collecting of rocks and minerals for personal use. Each visitor is allowed to collect as much as 15 lb of rocks and minerals from the 1,100-acre park; mineral dealers are not allowed to collect for sale. Rockhound State Park actually consists of two separate units, the main park and Spring Canyon Recreation Area. Spring Canyon lies in the northern Florida Mountains, south of the main park, and is open for day use only from Easter through November.

Conchas Lake State Park was established in 1955 and named after the Conchas River, one of the tributaries of the Canadian River. It is 24 mi north of Newkirk and 31 mi northwest of Tucumcari on NM–104 and NM–129. Conchas is Spanish for shells and was applied to a group of Indians living in the area when Spanish explorers arrived in the 17th century. The word conchas may be a corrupted name that is confused with the Spanish word conchos, a term also used to describe the Native American tribes in northern New Mexico.

The dam that formed Conchas Lake was the 17th dam in the country built by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. One of the state’s oldest dams, it was completed in 1939 to control floods, store water for irrigation and local supplies, and assist in local economic recovery from the Depression.

Angel Peak, a 7000-foot pinnacle capped by sandstone, is a prominent landmark near Bloomfield in northwestern New Mexico. It is in the northern part of the San Juan Basin, a large structural depression that formed starting about 75 million years ago during compressional Laramide deformation. The San Juan Basin was surrounded by mountainous uplifts to the north (now buried by the 35 to 20 Ma San Juan volcanic field in southwestern Colorado) and to the east that also formed by Laramide-related compression. The sediments that can be seen at Angel Peak National Recreation area were eroded off of the old Laramide highlands and deposited in the basin 50 to 65 million years ago. More recently, over the course of the last 5 million years (or less), the westward-draining San Juan River, a tributary to the Colorado River, has eroded the rocks of the San Juan Basin. Drainages feeding into the San Juan River have carved the scenic landscape we see today.

Fort Selden State Monument is adjacent to Leasburg Dam State Park on NM–157 (Fort Selden Road) at the Radium Springs exit on I–25, north of Las Cruces. It is an area rich in both geologic and human history. The location was an ancient Indian campground and a crossing point for Spanish caravans headed across the Jornada del Muerto. Living-history demonstrations of 19th century military life at Fort Selden highlight many weekends during the summer. Wildlife viewing, especially bird watching, is popular at the state park. A bird list is available from the park office. In the winter months many species of ducks, teals, snow geese, cranes, herons, egrets, swans, and pelicans migrate through the southern Rio Grande valley and can be seen at the state park. Numerous raptors, including owls, turkey vultures, eagles, and hawks, can be seen hunting in the area. Small mammals common to the park include rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, rodents, coyotes, and foxes.

The Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is located in the westernmost part of the Great Plains province, in Torrance County near Mountainair. The monument consists of three small and widely separated units — Abó, Gran Quivira, and Quarai.

When the Spanish arrived in this area in the late 1500s they found multiple inhabited pueblos, and they referred to this area as the Salinas District. However, because of drought, famine, disease, and Apache raiding, by the late 1600s the entire Salinas District was depopulated of both Native Americans and Spaniards. What remains today are reminders of this earliest contact between Pueblo Indians and Spanish colonists: the ruins of three mission churches and a partially excavated pueblo that Juan de Oñate called Las Humanas or, as it is now known, Gran Quivira Pueblo.

The Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge covers about 38 square miles in central Chaves County, east and northeast of Roswell. Situated on the Pecos River where the Chihuahuan Desert meets the Great Plains, the refuge supports an amazing diversity of flora and fauna, including numerous migratory waterfowl in the winter months. Established in 1937, the refuge includes the new Joseph R. Skeen Visitor Center, which sits on the Orchard Park terrace overlooking floodplain wetlands and the redbed escarpment on the eastern skyline.

Beginning at the Visitor Center are a bike trail, a short walking trail, and an 8-mile auto-tour loop. The loop traverses a Pecos Valley terrace overlooking the floodplain for the first 4 miles. The remainder explores floodplain environments, from an abandoned Pecos River meander oxbow lake to the low-lying wetlands. The more adventuresome visitors can explore the refuge’s north tract, which includes the Salt Creek Wilderness. Here, one can hike to the mouth of Salt Creek at the Pecos River and continue onto some of the refuge’s many sinkholes, including the scenic Ink Pot.