New Mexico Geological Society
Fall Field Conference Guidebook - 10
West-Central New Mexico

James E. Weir, Jr. and Elmer H. Baltz, eds., 1959, 162 pages ( Reprinted 1996).

The Tenth Annual Field Conference traverses a region which has received little attention by geologists. Mining in the mountains south of Magdalena has been an industry of some note for decades, but only recently has the petroleum geologists' interest in west-central New Mexico been aroused. The structure of most of west-central New Mexico is simple. Broad folds typical of the Colorado Plateau province account for the main part of the structural deformation in the region. The eastern part of the field trip is characterized by complex block faulting and, locally, overthrusting on the western margin of the Rio Grande trough. Rocks exposed in the field-trip area range in age from Precambrian to Recent, and consist of sedimentary, metamorphic, intrusive igneous and volcanic types. The first day the field trip travels from Socorro to Grants via Magdalena, Kelly, Rio Salado, Red Lake, and Acoma. The second day looks at the geology between Grants and Gallup with stops at El Morro National Monument, Ramah, Pinehaven, and McGaffey. The last day the field trip travels from Gallup back to Socorro via Zuni Pueblo, Fence Lake, Salt Lake, and Quemado.

Papers from this guidebook are available for download from the NMGS website.