New Mexico Geological Society
Fall Field Conference Guidebook - 41
Tectonic Development of the Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

cover

Paul W. Bauer, Spencer G. Lucas, Christopher K. Mawer and William C. McIntosh, eds, 1990, 450 pages, NMGS.

The 1990 New Mexico Geological Society Fall Field Conference tours the Moreno Valley area of the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains after a hiatus of 34 years. Remarkably, Elmer Baltz, who wrote much of the road log for the 1956 trip (when this year's editors ranged from -2 to +3 years old, Guidebook 7) has written a log for this year's guidebook. This year we visit three major physiographic provinces: the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains, the Rio Grande rift and the Raton Basin of the Great Plains. This diversity is well -represented in the broad spectrum of guidebook papers. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the most prominent topographic feature in the state, containing the highest point in New Mexico (Wheeler Peak) and several of the next -highest peaks. The Proterozoic rocks of the Sangres are presently the focus of intense study and debate concerning the nature and timing of large-scale Proterozoic tectonic/metamorphic events. The mountains are also rich in metallic mineral deposits, and the responsible extraction of these resources is currently an important and provocative environmental issue. Investigations into the Cenozoic history of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains include such exciting topics as the cooling (uplift) history of the range, the very complex Tertiary volcanic/plutonic geology and the nature of enigmatic intramontane basins such as the Valle Vidal, Moreno Valley, Mora Valley and Rociada Valley. The basins adjacent to the mountain range are the focus of numerous research projects. Studies along the eastern flank of the Rio Grande rift have revealed detailed information on the neotectonics and seismicity of the range -front faults. The Raton basin, with its well-exposed Mesozoic-Cenozoic stratigraphic section, is the subject of several papers dealing with coal resources, mine reclamation, coal-bed methane resources, basin analysis and the K-T boundary. The first-day road log is from Red River to Questa, Costilla, Valle Vidal, Cimarron and Philmont. The second-day road log is from Philmont to Cimarron, Eagle Nest, Elizabethtown and Angel Fire. The third-day road log is from Angel Fire to Las Vegas via Black Lake, Guadalupita, Mora, Rociado and Sapello. There are three supplemental road logs: one from Red River along Pioneer Canyon, another from the intersection of US-64 and NM-434 near Angel Fire, across Palo Flechado Pass to Taos, and one that details the pre-meeting trip to the Moybdenum Mine at Questa.

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Table of Contents:

Note —Downloads of the papers below are free. Road logs, mini-papers, and some other sections of recent guidebooks are only available in print.

Front Matter: (includes Dedication, President's Message, & Conference Organizer's Message)

Download (846 KB PDF)

Roadlogs: (each includes listed mini-papers)

First-day road log, from Red River to Questa, Costilla, Valle Vidal, Cimarron and Philmont (7.23 MB PDF)
— Paul W. Bauer, Charles L. Pillmore, Mawer, Christopher, K., Steve Hayden, Spencer G. Lucas, Jeff Meyer, Gerald K. Czmanske, Jeffrey A. Grambling, James M. Barker, S. M. Cather, James Walker, and Jon Nathan. Young, pp. 1-43. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.1

Mini-papers:

Structural controls of the Questa molybdennum district, northern New Mexico
— Jeffrey Wayne Meyer, pp. 5-7.
Wildlife habitats in northern New Mexico
— Ben Kuykendall, pp. 9-11.
Economic geology of No Agua Peaks
— James M. Barker, pp. 12.
The San Luis (El Plomo) gold deposit, Costilla County, Colorado
— David M. Jones and Robert G. Benson, pp. 14-15.
Uranium in the quartz monzonite of Costilla Creek, Taos County, New Mexico
— Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 17-18.
The cultural resources of Carson National Forest
— Jon Nathan. Young, pp. 19-20.
Proterozoic metamorphic rocks near Comanche Point, New Mexico
— Jeffrey A. Grambling, pp. 20-22.
Differentiation within the Tertiary Costilla Reservoir sill, Comanche Point quadrangle, northern New Mexico
— Stephen M. McDuffie and Bruce D. Marsh, pp. 22-23.
Cimarron
— Christopher K. Mawer and Deborah Rhue, pp. 38-40.
A ranch for Boy Scouts: Waite Phillips and Philmont
— Stephen. Zimmer, pp. 41-43.
Second-day road log: From Philmont to Cimarron, Eagle Nest, Elizabethtown and Angel Fire (3.72 MB PDF)
— Paul W. Bauer, Charles L. Pillmore, Christopher K. Mawer, Robert M. Jr. Colpitts, Steve Hayden, Spencer G. Lucas, Jeffrey A. Grambling, James A. III Saye, and James M. Barker, pp. 45-66. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.45

Mini-papers:

Cimarron Canyon State Park and the Colin Neblett Wildlife area
— Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 49-50.
The Palisades of Cimarron Canyon
— Christopher K. Mawer, pp. 50-51.
Eagle Nest Dam and Reservoir
— Orin J. Anderson, pp. 52.
The Baldy Deep Tunnel mine
— Robert W. Eveleth, pp. 57-58.
Elizabethtown
— Paul W. Bauer, pp. 59-60.
The Big Ditch
— Paul W. Bauer, pp. 60-61.
Hydrogeology of the Moreno valley--An overview
— Saye, James A., III, pp. 62-64.

Mini-papers:

Pre-Coyote Creek landscape and High Plains origin
— Paul N. Dolliver, pp. 73-75.
Laramide structure at Stop 3: Western part of the Mora River gap
— Baltz, Elmer H., Jr., pp. 81.
Gravity and magnetic anomalies in the Taos-Eagle Nest-Mora area
— G. Randy Keller and James M. Gridley, pp. 88-89.
The flora of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico
— Paul J. Knight, pp. 94-95.
Palynomorphic evidence of age of Dakota Sandstone at Montezuma, New Mexico
— Baltz, Elmer H., Jr., pp. 96.
Supplemental road log 1: Pre-meeting tour of the Molycorp Molybdenum mine and mill (822 KB PDF)
— Paul W. Bauer, Robert Leonardson, and Robert S. Young, pp. 97-100. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.97

Mini-papers:

The Molycorp mill operation, Questa, New Mexico
— Robert S. Young, pp. 99-100.
Supplemental road log 2: From Red River along Pioneer Canyon (616 KB PDF)
— Virginia T. McLemore, Thomas T. Roberts, and Paul W. Bauer, pp. 101-103. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.101

Roadlog References:

Download (766 KB PDF)

Papers:

The relationship of the Proterozoic Hondo Group to older rocks, southern Picuris Mountains and adjacent areas, northern New Mexico (1.24 MB PDF)
— Christopher K. Mawer, J. A. Grambling, M. L. Williams, P. W. Bauer, and J. M. Robertson, pp. 171-177. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.171 [ABSTRACT]
Geology of the Moreno Valley, Colfax County, New Mexico (1.39 MB PDF)
— Colpitts, Robert M., Jr. and Clay T. Smith, pp. 219-228. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.219 [ABSTRACT]
Philmont, more than fifty years of geologic enchantment (662 KB PDF)
— Frank E. Kottlowski and G. D. Robinson, pp. 237-239. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.237 [ABSTRACT]
Early Permian footprint fauna from the Sangre de Cristo Formation of northeastern New Mexico (1.94 MB PDF)
— Adrian P. Hunt, Spencer G. Lucas, and Phillip Huber, pp. 291-303. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.291 [ABSTRACT]
Triassic stratigraphy in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico (2.17 MB PDF)
— Spencer G. Lucas, Adrian P. Hunt, and Phillip Huber, pp. 305-318. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.305 [ABSTRACT]
Jurassic dinosaur footprints from New Mexico (792 KB PDF)
— Spencer G. Lucas, Adrian P. Hunt, and Phillip Huber, pp. 319-321. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.319
The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Raton Basin, New Mexico and Colorado (1.01 MB PDF)
— Charles L. Pillmore and R. Farley Fleming, pp. 327-331. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.327 [ABSTRACT]
Petrochemistry of the Palisades sheet, Cimarron Pluton, northern New Mexico (1.20 MB PDF)
— Stephen A. Kish, Paul C. Ragland, and Robert P. Cannon, pp. 341-347. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.341 [ABSTRACT]
The 40Ar/39Ar chronology of caldera formation, intrusive activity and Mo-ore deposition near Questa, New Mexico (652 KB PDF)
— Gerald K. Czamanske, K. A. Foland, F. A. Kubacher, and J. C. Allen, pp. 355-358. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.355 [ABSTRACT]
Precambrian muscovite from the M. I. C. A. mine, Picuris Mountains, New Mexico (1.00 MB PDF)
— George S. Austin, James M. Barker, and Paul W. Bauer, pp. 369-374. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.369 [ABSTRACT]
Geology of the Red River district, Taos County, New Mexico (898 KB PDF)
— Thomas T. Roberts, Gary A. Parkison, and Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 375-380. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.375 [ABSTRACT]
Building with stone in northern New Mexico (1.85 MB PDF)
— George S. Austin, James M. Barker, and Edward W. Smith, pp. 405-415. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.405 [ABSTRACT]
Coal surface reclamation at the York Canyon complex, Colfax County, New Mexico (969 KB PDF)
— Paul M. Boden, Robert J. Garcia, and Mark T. Murphy, pp. 445-450. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41.445 [ABSTRACT]

Back Matter: (usually includes a stratigraphic column and/or correlation chart)

Download (1.65 MB PDF)


Recommended Guidebook Citation:

  1. Bauer, P. W.; Lucas, S. G.; Mawer, C. K.; McIntosh, W. C.; [eds.], 1990, Tectonic Development of the Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico, New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook, 41st Annual Field Conference, 450 pp. https://doi.org/10.56577/FFC-41