Geologic Tour of New Mexico

Oasis State Park lies 18 miles southwest of Clovis and 7 miles north of Portales via US–60 and NM–467. It was established in 1961 to preserve the natural beauty of a true oasis in the sandy desert of the Llano Estacado or “staked plains” of the Great Plains physiographic province. The surrounding area is flat, treeless, featureless, and relatively dry. The summers are hot, the winters are cold, the wind seems to blow constantly. In contrast, the park offers shade trees and a small lake, as well as conveniences such as water, showers, electric hookups, and dump stations expected of picnic areas and modern campgrounds. Many of the facilities are accessible to people with disabilities. In addition to picnicking and camping, fishing, hiking, and bird watching are popular activities. The pond is stocked with catfish and trout. Trails weave up and down and around the sand dunes; watch carefully for lizards, snakes, and other wildlife that make the sand their home! A ballfield lies near the center of the park and there is a new visitor’s center. The Blackwater Draw Museum is located east of Oasis State Park on US-70, and the Blackwater Draw Archaeological Site is north of the state park.

This is a virtual field trip to the classic Permian reef complex and other geologic features of the Guadalupe Mountains, including those in Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe National Park in Texas. It contains an introduction to the geology of the Permian reef complex plus several roadlogs with diagrams and photographs, as well as an extensive bibliography in order to provide a balanced presentation for a geology student audience.

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park was established in 1971 to preserve and display the wide variety of animals, plants, and natural environments found in the Chihuahuan Desert. Located north of Carlsbad on US–285, Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park offers a variety of outdoor and indoor exhibits depicting the natural, geologic, archaeological, historical, and mineral wealth of the area.

The 64-mile stretch of narrow gauge railroad track between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico was originally built in 1880 as part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. This rail line provided much-needed transportation and freight service between Denver and mining camps in Silverton during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. When the Federal Government discontinued the use of the silver and gold standard to back American currency, the "Silver Panic" in 1893 caused the closure of many of the mines in the Silverton area. The railroad continued to operate with revenues from transportation of livestock, timber, and farm produce. The oil and gas industry in the Four Corners region also utilized the railroad. Demand for rail transportation in this region waned by the mid-twentieth century. Passenger service on the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad ended in 1951 and freight service ended in 1968. Railroad enthusiasts and legislative bodies in New Mexico and Colorado recognized the scenic splendor of the train route between Chama and Antonito. Through a joint effort, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, complete with coal-powered steam engines carrying tourists in railcars on refurbished narrow gauge tracks, was created in 1970 to preserve this historic and picturesque section of railroad.

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.

Bottomless Lakes State Park is located 14 mi southeast of Roswell, on the east edge of the Pecos River valley. The park is 4 mi long, and the loop drive is 9 mi long. The park consists of approximately 1,611 acres and includes eight of nine lakes; the Fin and Feather Club owns Dimmitt Lake, the southernmost lake. Vaqueros (cowboys) who could not find the bottom of the lakes reportedly gave them their name (Young, 1984). They would tie two or three ropes together and drop them into the lakes to try to reach the bottom. The ropes were not long enough, so the vaqueros thought the lakes were bottomless! The greenish-blue color created by algae and other aquatic plants also added to the illusion of great depth.

Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is located in central New Mexico about 15 miles north of Socorro. The refuge spans the Rio Grande valley from the Sierra Ladrones on the west to the Los Pinos Mountains on the east, an area of approximately 30 miles by 15 miles, encompassing 230,000 acres. The area was designated a Spanish land grant, Sevilleta de la Joya, in 1819. The land grant was sold in 1928 to Socorro County and then, in 1936, to General Thomas D. Campbell, under whom it became a ranch for sheep and cattle. The Campbell Family Foundation donated the land to the Nature Conservancy in 1973, which then passed it on to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to become a national wildlife refuge dedicated to preservation and enhancement of the integrity and natural character of the land. The transfer stipulated that the land should undergo natural processes of succession, including floods and fires, without human interference. Thus, most of the refuge has very limited public access, but the Mesa View Trail west of the Visitor Center is open for hiking at least five days per week.

Percha Dam and Caballo Lake State Parks, located south of the town of Truth or Consequences, offer striking views of the Caballo Mountains and Red Hills, prominent uplifts in the southern Rio Grande rift. The Percha and Caballo dams were built for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Rio Grande Project in 1918 and 1936–38, respectively. Percha Dam, although only 18.5 feet tall, diverts water into the Rincon Valley, irrigating farmland where much of New Mexico’s famous green chile is grown, along with many other crops. Two miles upstream, the 96-foot-tall and 4,590-feet-wide earth-fill Caballo Dam stores water released from hydroelectric- power generation at Elephant Butte Dam and regulates delivery of that water to downstream users during irrigation season.

Caballo Lake State Park is located approximately 14 miles south of the town of Truth or Consequences. Caballo Reservoir is on the Rio Grande in south-central New Mexico east of Interstate 25 between Socorro and Las Cruces.

Camping, picnicing, and boating facilities are available at this state park. Caballo Lake State Park is the third largest state park in New Mexico. This park is generally quiet compared to Elephant Butte State Park to the north.

The country in northwestern New Mexico between Cuba and Farmington is a land of contrast. Flat grassy plains are cut by valleys that expose the multi-colored moonscapes that we call badlands. The largest area of badlands in the region that is readily accessible to the public is the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, popularly known as the Bisti Badlands. The badlands are generally exposed in a series of east to west-trending valleys formed by the tributaries that feed to the south to the north-flowing Chaco River.

The many fossils preserved in this region make this one of the best places on Earth to study the fascinating story of the end of the age of dinosaurs and the beginning of the age of mammals. These fossils will not be obvious to casual visitors, but visitors will be instantly struck by the spectacular scenery of this area, which has been featured in books, magazines, calendars, and websites.