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Geology of the Engle and Palomas Basins, Sierra County, New Mexico

figure
Outlines of basin boundaries in the study area.
(click for a larger version)

Geologists and hydrologists have been interested in basin-fill sediments of the Engle and Palomas Basins in Sierra County since the early 1900s. These Rio Grande rift basins contain packages of sediment shed from the surrounding uplifts over the last ~27,000,000 years. Well logs indicate that these basin-fill deposits, named the Santa Fe Group, are as much as 2 kilometers thick in places.

The upper part of the Santa Fe Group consists of unconsolidated gravel, sand, and mud and is locally called the Palomas Formation. The Palomas Formation is of particular interest because it contains aquifers that provide water for domestic, municipal, and agricultural uses in the arid basins. Many wells in the Truth or Consequences area are drilled into the Palomas Formation, including wells tapping warm water in the famous Hot Springs district.

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has been publishing geologic maps of the Engle and Palomas Basins since the 1990s. A renewed push for 1:24,000-scale mapping of the basins began in the early 2010s under the STATEMAP program. As of 2019, over 95% of the combined basin areas has been mapped at this scale, paving the way for future studies focused on hydrogeology and continental rift-fill stratigraphy.

For more information, please contact:

Selected References

  1. Cikoski, C. T., 2018, Geologic map of the Romero Canyon 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra and Socorro Counties, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 270, scale 1:24,000.
  2. Cikoski, C. T., and Koning, D. J., 2013, Geologic map of the Huerfano Hill quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 243, scale 1:24,000.
  3. Cikoski, C. T., Nelson, W. J., Koning, D. J., Elrick, S., and Lucas, S. G., 2017, Geologic map of the Black Bluffs 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 262, scale 1:24,000.
  4. Harley, G. T., 1934, The geology and ore deposits of Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Bulletin 10, 220 p.
  5. Jochems, A. P., 2015, Geologic map of the Williamsburg NW 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 251, scale 1:24,000.
  6. Jochems, A. P., and Cox, B. E., 2019, Geologic map of the Priest Tank 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 275, scale 1:24,000.
  7. Jochems, A. P., and Koning, D. J., 2015a, Geologic map of the Williamsburg 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 250, scale 1:24,000.
  8. Jochems, A. P., and Koning, D. J., 2015b, Holocene stratigraphy and a preliminary geomorphic history for the Palomas Basin, south-central New Mexico: New Mexico Geology, v. 37, p. 77–88.
  9. Jochems, A. P., and Koning, D. J., 2016, Geologic map of the Saladone Tank 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 259, scale 1:24,000.
  10. Jochems, A. P., and Koning, D. J., 2017, Geologic map of the Clark Spring Canyon 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 263, scale 1:24,000.
  11. Koning, D. J., Jochems, A. P., and Cikoski, C. T., 2015, Geologic map of the Skute Stone Arroyo 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 252, scale 1:24,000.
  12. Koning, D. J., Jochems, A. P., Morgan, G. S., Lueth, V., and Peters, L., 2016, Stratigraphy, gravel provenance, and age of early Rio Grande deposits exposed 1-2 km northwest of downtown Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, in Frey, B. A., Karlstrom, K. E., Lucas, S. G., Williams, S., Zeigler, K., McLemore, V., and Ulmer-Scholle, D. S., eds., The Geology of the Belen Area: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 67, p. 459–478.
  13. Koning, D. J., Jochems, A. P., Foster, R., Cox, B., Lucas, S. G., Mack, G. H., and Zeigler, K. E., 2018, Geologic map of the Cuchillo 7.5-minute quadrangle, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 271, scale 1:24,000.
  14. Koning, D. J., Jochems, A. P., and Heizler, M. T., 2018, Early Pliocene paleovalley incision during early Rio Grande evolution in southern New Mexico, in Mack, G. H., Hampton, B. A., Ramos, F. C., Witcher, J. C., and Ulmer-Scholle, D. S., eds., Las Cruces Country III: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 69, p. 93–108.
  15. Lozinsky, R. P., 1986, Geology and late Cenozoic history of the Elephant Butte area, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Circular 187, 40 p.
  16. Lozinsky, R. P., 1987, Cross section across the Jornada del Muerto, Engle, and northern Palomas Basins, south-central New Mexico: New Mexico Geology, v. 9, p. 55–57, 64.
  17. Lozinsky, R. P., and Hawley, J. W., 1986, The Palomas Formation of south-central New Mexico—a formal definition: New Mexico Geology, v. 8, p. 73–78, 82.
  18. Person, M., Phillips, F., Kelley, S., Timmons, S., Pepin, J., Blom, L., Haar, K., and Murphy, M., 2013, Assessment of the sustainability of geothermal development within the Truth or Consequences Hot-Springs district, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Report OFR 551, 65 p.
  19. Seager, W. R., and Mack, G. H., 1991, Geology of Garfield quadrangle, Sierra and Doña Ana Counties, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Bulletin 128, 24 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:24,000.
  20. Seager, W. R., and Mack, G. H., 2003, Geology of the Caballo Mountains, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Memoir 49, 144 p.
  21. Seager, W. R., and Mack, G. H., 2005, Geology of the Caballo and Apache Gap quadrangles, Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Geologic Map GM 74, scale 1:24,000.

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