New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

The Gila Hot Springs 7 ½ minute Quadrangle is located in the southeastern part of the Mid-Tertiary Mogollon-Datil volcanic field at the eastern edge of the Gila National Forest and the Gila Wilderness. The quadrangle provides access to the Gila Wilderness and the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument via NM highways 15 and 35 from Silver City via Pinos Altos and Mimbres, respectively.

The West, Middle and East Forks of the Gila River join within the quadrangle and exit the southwestern corner of the quadrangle through the main Gila River canyon. The principal geologic features within the quadrangle include: 1) the Gila Hot Springs graben, which is the locus of several hot springs and geothermal wells that have been developed for recreational and domestic use. 2) a segment of the eastern wall of the Gila Cliff Dwellings caldera, which is exposed along the Gila River at the Melanie hot spring about 1 ½ miles below the confluence of the East Fork. 3) the Alum Mountain eruptive center of the Copperas Creek volcanic complex, which is overlapped by younger rocks, including Bloodgood Canyon Tuff, which fills the Gila Cliff Dwellings caldera.

Gila conglomerate fills the Gila Hot Springs graben, and is the host formation for the cliff dwellings, which are just west of the Gila Hot Springs quadrangle, along the West Fork of the Gila river.