Figure 1. Map of mining districts on the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Base map adapted from Lueth et al. 2002. Numbers correspond to district numbers assigned by Northrop, 1959, and listed in Table 1.
×Figure 1. Map of mining districts on the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Base map adapted from Lueth et al. 2002. Numbers correspond to district numbers assigned by Northrop, 1959, and listed in Table 1.
The Alamogordo Bombing Range (ABR) was created on what is roughly 3,200 mi2 of south-central New Mexico. On July 9, 1945, the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) was established on what was the ABR, and on July 16 the first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity Site, near Mockingbird Gap. The entire San Andres Mountain chain, from San Agustin Pass (near Organ) to Mockingbird Gap, is included in the WSMR. This highly mineralized area, including the salt beds of the Tularosa Basin, has been off limits to mineral collectors ever since.
The San Andres Mountains are a horst block running roughly down the center of the Rio Grande rift. The mountains are composed mainly of westward-dipping Paleozoic limestones that rest on crystalline Proterozoic intrusive and metamorphic rocks. Two significant Tertiary intrusions are present in the range. The largest is the Organ batholith on the southern margin, and another large sill-like intrusion can be found at Salinas Peak. The most mineralized area is around the Organ batholith, although significant mineralization is known around Salinas Peak. Metal mineralization, not necessarily related to Tertiary volcanism, is also documented in the Proterozoic rocks along the entire length of the range. The diversity of geology present in the San Andres Mountains, and adjacent Tularsosa Basin, suggests a high probability of a large number of mineral species that are quite collectable.
A review of Stuart Northrop's book, Minerals of New Mexico, reveals over eight localities (Fig. 1) that have produced "museum quality" mineral specimens that are now isolated on the WSMR (Northrop 1959). He also lists more than 16 mineral species that occur in the range as "outstanding." More recently, escorted visits to the WSMR have produced a number of new species that were previously unrecorded.
This presentation will review the mineral holdings of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Museum as they pertain to the White Sands area (Table 1). Most of these pieces were collected before the establishment of the WSMR. The author will share what has been learned on the half dozen research and collecting trips onto the WSMR over the last 15 yrs. Highlights will include mineral occurrences of the northern Organ Mountains, Mockingbird Gap, Sulphur Canyon, and White Sands.
References:
Lueth, V. W., Giles, K. A., Lucas, S. G., Kues, B. S., Myers, R., and Ulmer-Scholle, D. S., 2002,
Geology of White Sands: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 53, 362 pp.
Northrop, S. A., 1959, Minerals of New Mexico, revised edition: University of New Mexico Press,
Albuquerque, 665 pp.
pp. 27-28
29th Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium
November 8-9, 2008, Socorro, NM
Print ISSN: 2836-7294 Online ISSN: 2836-7308
