The City of Truth or Consequences has contracted NM Tech Earth and Environmental Science Department and the New Mexico Bureau of Geology to undertake a 1-year field and hydrologic modeling study focused on the sustainability of geothermal resources. The NM Bureau of Geology and the Aquifer Mapping Program will provide additional funding and support for this study.
The Mimbres Basin is a structurally complex region in southwestern New Mexico, extending over an area of more than 5,000 square miles in parts of Grant, Luna, Doña Ana and Sierra Counties, and straddling the border with the Mexican Republic. The region has been subject to extensive geologic, geophysical, and hydrologic investigations over a period of almost a century, including Darton (1916), White (1931), Trauger (1972), Hanson et al. (1994), Hawley et al. (2000), and Kennedy et al. (2000). The Mimbres Basin is located at the intersection of the Basin and Range, southern Rio Grande Rift, and southern Transition Zone tectonic provinces (Mack, 2004). Dominant structural features in the region are northwest trending faults and folds associated with the Laramide orogeny, Tertiary magmatism and Quaternary tectonism (Finch et al., 2008). The greater Mimbres Basin is made up of an interconnected group of hydrologic sub-basins separated by fault-bounded uplifts, bounded to the east by the Goodsight Mountains, Sierra de las Uvas, and basalt flows and cinder cones of the West Potrillo Mountains. The Continental Divide defines the northern and western boundaries of the Mimbres Basin. The only major surface drainage in the basin is the Mimbres River (Hawley et al., 2000; Connell et al., 2005; Finch et al., 2008).
Between 1598 and the 1880s, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (El Camino Real) served as a 1,600 mile long trade route between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo/Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico (north of Santa Fe). El Camino Real transects the Jornada del Muerto, located in southern New Mexico (see below figure). This stretch of the trail is thought to have been one of the most feared sections along El Camino Real due, primarily, to the scarcity of water.
The study area is located primarily in the central portion of the Jornada del Muerto Basin, extending from just North of Engle to just south of Point of Rocks and spanning the entire basin from the Caballo Mountains in the west to the San Andres Mountains to the east.
We characterized the local geology and hydrogeology of the central Jornada del Muerto with a purpose of identifying features that likely influenced the location of El Camino Real de Tierro Adentro. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the location of the trail and parajes (campsites) and water sources that would be available to travelers on the trail. The study was funded by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) and is the fulfillment of one of the measures specified in a mitigation plan that identifies a series of measures specifically intended to mitigate adverse effects to El Camino Real.
The San Luis Basin is the northernmost and largest basin of the Rio Grande Rift system in New Mexico. Most of the basin is located in Colorado, where it merges to the north with the Upper Arkansas River graben (Grauch and Keller, 2004). The basin is ~150 miles long and 55 miles wide, and has the general form of an east-dipping half graben. Basin-fill material is composed of Tertiary-Quaternary sediments of the Santa Fe Group and late Cenozoic volcanics (Kelley et al., 1976). The basin is bounded to the west by the Tusas and San Juan Mountains and to the east by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo fault zone. The deepest part of the basin is found in the Taos graben, a narrow zone 6 to 18 miles wide adjacent to the Sangre de Cristo mountain front (Grauch and Keller, 2004). The southern part of the basin is occupied by the Taos Plateau, which is composed of Pliocene basalt flows that overlie Santa Fe Group basin fill. The southeastern margin of the basin is defined by the Embudo fault zone, which separates the east-tilted San Luis Basin from the west-tilted Española Basin to the south (Bauer and Kelson, 2004).
The agricultural economy of Union County in northeastern New Mexico is highly dependent on groundwater. Ongoing drought, large new groundwater appropriations both within the county and in adjacent parts of Texas, and large water level declines in wells have led to concern amongst county residents over groundwater supplies. This report documents the finding of a hydrogeology study to better understand the aquifers utilized in east-central Union County. The study began in 2010 and covers 650 square miles, from north of Clayton to south of Sedan, and east to the state line. The study was jointly sponsored by Northeastern Soil and Water Conservation District (NESWCD), the Aquifer Mapping Program of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, and Healy Foundation.
The Socorro and La Jencia Basins are located in Socorro Co., New Mexico, and define a transition where the Rio Grande Rift system broadens into a series of parallel basins separated by intra-rift horst blocks (Chapin, 1971). This broadening represents a general southward increase in crustal extension along the Rio Grande Rift (Adams and Keller, 1994). The Socorro Basin is hydraulically connected to rift basins to the north and south by flow-through drainage of the Rio Grande and southward flow of groundwater through alluvial sediments of the Rio Grande valley. By contrast, the La Jencia Basin has no perennial stream drainage (Anderholm, 1983). The two basins are separated by the Socorro Peak-Lemitar Mountains intra-rift horst, which splits the rift into two semi-parallel halves (Chapin, 1971), and restricts groundwater flow between the basins.
In 2022, the NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources completed a multiyear study with faculty and students at New Mexico Tech, as well as researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, on a hydrogeologic assessment of the Salt Basin region. This research project evaluated the water availability of the region by 1) filling data gaps, where there is currently little or no information about the groundwater system; 2) estimating the overall balance of water in the region including groundwater recharge, storage, evaporation and pumping; 3) updating the current hydrologic model and hydrogeologic framework; and 4) running simulations in the revised model. These efforts will help assess the ability of the region to sustain current groundwater withdrawals in the Salt Basin with implications for future development in New Mexico.
The gypsum dune deposits found at Cuatrociénegas and White Sands National Monument are two of only a handful of gypsum dune fields in the world. These surreal landscapes provide beautiful views and outdoor activities for tourists and serve as natural laboratories where researchers can study a variety of topics ranging from geology to evolutionary biology. Combined, both Cuatrociénegas and White Sands National Monument are home to more than 110 endemic species, specially adapted to the unique and fragile ecosystems of these gypsum rich environments.
The issues are a gap in regional scientific information for deep and shallow, sediment-volcanic aquifers and surface waters in the Questa area; including sustainable sources of drinking water, sources of water to springs and streams that feed fisheries and discharge to the Rio Grande, the character of natural, background water quality, and possible impacts from mine-related waters.
