Geology of the central Organ Mountains Dona Aña County, New Mexico
— Thomas J. Glover

The Organ Mountains (Fig. 1) are located in mid-eastern Dona Ana County, New Mexico, 13 mi (20 km) east of Las Cruces. The mountain range encompasses about 150 sq mi and is bounded on the north by the San Andres Mountains and on the south by the Franklin Mountains. Maximum elevations in the district are above 8,900 ft, with overall relief in excess of 4,000 ft. Climate and vegetation are typical of this part of the southwestern United States, and rainfall averages about nine inches per year.

 

K. C. Dunham (1935) established the basic geologic frame-work of the Organ Mountains and prepared a detailed description past operations in the Organ Mining District. No major work has been published on the Organ Mountains since that time.

 

This paper is a progress report; field work in the area will not be completed until late 1975. The final results will be included in a thesis to be submitted to the Department of Geological Sciences of the University of Texas at El Paso as a requirement for the Master of Science degree in geology.