New Mexico Geological Society
Fall Field Conference Guidebook – 63
Geology of the Warm Springs Region

Spencer G. Lucas, Virginia T. McLemore, Virgil W. Lueth, Justin A. Spielmann, and Karl Krainer, [editors]
2012, 580 pages.

Majestic mountain sky islands, deep dark canyons, and hidden springs interrupt the vast desert landscape of the Warm Springs region in south-central New Mexico. In this guidebook we examine the spectacular geology that led to the formation of these landforms in what may well be the most geologically complex part of New Mexico. Rock exposures in the this region represent almost the entire record of geologic time; from granites over a billion years old to modern river deposits of the Rio Grande. We will revisit areas were groundbreaking geological studies were first published in addition to new studies on extinct volcanoes, mining areas, archeological sites, and desert soils. In this volume, six road logs explore different portions of the Warm Springs region, twenty-six minipapers discuss specific geologic features along the way, and thirty scientific papers provide details on geologic features and processes. These articles discuss a wide range of geological topics including regional geology, impact structures, igneous and sedimentary petrology, stratigraphy, paleontology, and earth resources.

There are two versions of this guidebook available — the complete guidebook (580 pages), and a version with just the road logs that is spiral bound (194 pages).

ISBN: 9781585460984

Table of Contents:

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

1. Southern Caballo Mountains: First-day road log from Truth or Consequences to Derry Hills, Apache Graben, and Caballo Dam
   — Spencer G. Lucas, Karl Krainer, Virginia T. McLemore, and Justin A. Spielmann, pp. 1-48.

Mini-papers:

2. The discovery of the Mississippian system in New Mexico: E. D. Cope and Lake Valley, 1881-1882
   — Spencer G. Lucas, pp. 27-29.
3. Lake Valley mining district
   — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 29-32.
4. Preliminary uranium-series ages of speleothems from the Kingston area and their implications for paleoclimate and incision rate of Percha Creek
   — Victor J. Polyak, Yemane Asmerom, and Zachary C. Lapointe, pp. 32-34.
5. North American Pennyslvanian provincial timescale
   — Spencer G. Lucas, pp. 34-37.
6. Rincon mining district, Sierra and Dona Ana counties, New Mexico
   — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 37-39.
7. Conodonts from the Pennsylvanian section at Green Canyon, Caballo Mountains, Sierra County, New Mexico
   — James E. Barrick, Spencer G. Lucas, and Karl Krainer, pp. 39-41.
8. Travertines of the Eocene Palm Park Formation, southern Caballo Mountains, New Mexico
   — Karl Krainer and Spencer G. Lucas, pp. 41-44.
9. Alluvial fan sedimentation of the Eocene Love Ranch Formation, southern Caballo Mountains, Sierra County, New Mexico
   — Karl Krainer and Spencer G. Lucas, pp. 45-46.
10. Pittsburg mining district, Sierra County, New Mexico
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 46-48.
11. Southern San Mateo Mountains: Second-day road log from Truth or Consequences to Nogal Canyon, Milliken Park, Luna Park Campground, Garcia Falls, and Monticello
    — Virginia T. McLemore, David W. Love, David J. McCraw, Spencer G. Lucas, Karl Laumbach, Justin A. Spielmann, and James V. McLemore, pp. 49-96.

Mini-papers:

12. Thermal maturity in the Engle coal field and Mescal Canyon, Sierra County, New Mexico
    — Thomas E. Ewing and Robert M. Colpitts, pp. 71-73.
13. Monticello Point diatomite deposit, Sierra County, New Mexico
    — Virginia T. McLemore, Solomon K. A. Owusu, and Rebecca Morris, pp. 72-73.
14. Oligocene calderas in the San Mateo Mountains, Mogollon-Datil volcanic field, New Mexico
    — Charles A. Ferguson, G. Robert Osburn, and William C. McIntosh, pp. 74-77.
15. Geology of Bell Hill, San Mateo Mountains, Socorro County, New Mexico
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 78-80.
16. Fort Craig National Historic Site and the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Socorro County, New Mexico
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 80-81.
17. Geology and mineral deposits of Milliken Park, San Jose mining district, southern San Mateo Mountains, Socorro County, New Mexico
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 82-85.
18. Mining distrcits in the San Mateo Mountains, Socorro and Sierra counties, New Mexico
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 85-88.
19. Fossil plants from the Late Eocene Red Rock Ranch flora, southwestern New Mexico
    — Herbert W. Meyer, pp. 88-92.
20. The Monticello graben, Socorro and Sierra counties, New Mexico
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 92-95.
21. The ongoing saga of Canada de la Cruz: Two streams with the same name
    — David J. McCraw, pp. 95-96.
22. Mud Springs Mountains: third-day road log from Truth or Consequences to Mud Mountain and Whiskey Canyon
    — Spencer G. Lucas, Karl Krainer, Virginia T. McLemore, Justin A. Spielmann, and Virgil W. Lueth, pp. 97-134.

Mini-papers:

23. Conodonts of the Montoya Group, Mud Springs Mountains, New Mexico
    — David G. Evans and James E. Barrick, pp. 122-123.
24. Devonian stratigraphy in southern New Mexico, or how to confuse biostratigraphy with lithostratigraphy
    — Spencer G. Lucas, pp. 123-126.
25. The Ellis manganese deposits at Truth or Consequences, New Mexico: A link between hot springs and ore deposits
    — Virgil W. Lueth, pp. 126-128.
26. Tetrapods in a Supaia Woodland on a streamside mudflat, early Permian Abo Formation, Mud Springs Mountains, New Mexico
    — William A. DiMichele, Spencer G. Lucas, and Karl Krainer, pp. 128-131.
27. Re-evaluation of M. L. Thompson's Pennsylvanian stratigraphy in southern New Mexico
    — Spencer G. Lucas and Karl Krainer, pp. 131-134.
28. Canada Alamosa: Supplemental road log along Canada Alamosa to Winston, Cuchillo, and return to To or C
    — Virginia T. McLemore, David W. Love, David J. McCraw, Karl W. Laumbach, Colin T. Cikoski, Dan J. Koning, and James V. McLemore, pp. 135-146.
29. San Marcial Basin: Supplemental road log for Socorro to Forest Road 225
    — Virginia T. McLemore, Richard M. Chamberlin, David W. Love, Colin T. Cikoski, and James V. McLemore, pp. 147-154.
30. Red Rock Road: Supplemental road log from Mitchell Point (Exit 92, I-25) to Luna Park Campgrond along Red Rock road
    — Virginia T. McLemore., David W. Love, David J. McCraw, and James V. McLemore, pp. 155-157.

Mini-papers:

31. Cuchillo surface overview and soils
    — David J. McCraw, pp. 158-161.

Papers:

Note — To download papers from this guidebook, you will need a PDF viewer like the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

32. Geology of the Fra Cristobal Mountains, New Mexico (7.41 MB PDF)
    — W. John Nelson, Spencer G. Lucas, Karl Krainer, Virginia T. McLemore, and Scott Elrick, pp. 195-210. [ABSTRACT]
33. Summary of the geology of the northern part of the Sierra Cuchillo, Socorro and Sierra counties, southwestern New Mexico (2.91 MB PDF)
    — Florian Maldonado, pp. 211-218. [ABSTRACT]
34. Investigation of a suspected meteorite impact at Upham, New Mexico (3.33 MB PDF)
    — Gerald Lindsey, pp. 219-226. [ABSTRACT]
35. Proterozoic rocks of the Caballo Mountains and Kingston mining district: U-Pb geochronology and correlations within the Mazatal province of southern New Mexico (3.47 MB PDF)
    — Jeffrey M. Amato and Trey Becker, pp. 227-234. [ABSTRACT]
36. Intermittent Proterozoic plutonic magmatism and Neoproterozoic cooling history in the Caballo Mountains, Sierra County, New Mexico: Preliminary results (2.24 MB PDF)
    — Virginia T. McLemore, O. Tapani Ramo, Matthew T. Heizler, and Aku P. Heinonen, pp. 235-248. [ABSTRACT] Supplemental Data: https://nmgs.nmt.edu/repository/index.cfm?rid=2012001
37. Geochemistry, origin, and U-Pb zircon ages of the Sierra Cuchillo laccolith, Sierra County, New Mexico (2.49 MB PDF)
    — Gary S. Michelfelder and Nancy J. McMillan, pp. 249-260. [ABSTRACT] Supplemental Data: https://nmgs.nmt.edu/repository/index.cfm?rid=2012002
38. Geology of the southern San Mateo Mountains, Socorro and Sierra counties, New Mexico (2.56 MB PDF)
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 261-272. [ABSTRACT]
39. U-Pb zircon ages from crustal xenoliths in a Pliocene basalt flow from the southern Rio Grande rift: Implications for the timing of extension and magmatism (3.64 MB PDF)
    — Jeffrey M. Amato, Carmen Athens, William C. McIntosh, and Lisa Peters, pp. 273-284. [ABSTRACT]
40. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of selected basalts in the Sierra Cuchillo and Mud Springs Mountains, Sierra and Socorro counties, New Mexico (3.33 MB PDF)
    — Virginia T. McLemore, Matthew Heizler, David W. Love, Colin Cikoski, and Daniel J. Koning, pp. 285-292. [ABSTRACT] Supplemental Data: https://nmgs.nmt.edu/repository/index.cfm?rid=2012003
41. Sedimentary petrography and depositional environments of the type section of the Mississippian Lake Valley Formation, Sierra County, New Mexico (7.65 MB PDF)
    — Karl Krainer and Spencer G. Lucas, pp. 293-304. [ABSTRACT]
42. The Pennsylvanian Red House Formation, central Sierra County, New Mexico (9.94 MB PDF)
    — Spencer G. Lucas, Karl Krainer, James E. Barrick, and Justin A. Spielmann, pp. 305-326. [ABSTRACT]
43. Pennsylvanian stratigraphy in the Fra Cristobal and Caballo Mountains, Sierra County, New Mexico (4.47 MB PDF)
    — Spencer G. Lucas, Karl Krainer, and Justin A. Spielmann, pp. 327-344. [ABSTRACT]
44. The Lower Permian Abo Formation in the Fra Cristobal and Caballo Mountains, Sierra County, New Mexico (2.06 MB PDF)
    — Spencer G. Lucas, Karl Krainer, Dan S. Chaney, William A. DiMichele, Sebastian Voigt, David S. Berman, and Amy C. Henrici, pp. 345-376. [ABSTRACT]
45. The Lower Permian Yeso Group in the Fra Cristobal and Caballo Mountains, Sierra County, New Mexico (8.29 MB PDF)
    — Spencer G. Lucas and Karl Krainer, pp. 377-394. [ABSTRACT]
46. Reference section of the Lower Permian San Andres Formation, Sierra County, New Mexico (7.39 MB PDF)
    — Karl Krainer, Spencer G. Lucas, and Richard J. Brose, pp. 395-406. [ABSTRACT]
47. The sub-Cretaceous unconformity in New Mexico (1.97 MB PDF)
    — Steven M. Cather, pp. 407-412. [ABSTRACT]
48. Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy and biostratigraphy of south-central New Mexico (2.85 MB PDF)
    — Stephen C. Hook, Greg H. Mack, and William A. Cobban, pp. 413-430. [ABSTRACT]
49. Basin architecture of Pliocene-Lower Pleistocene alluvial-fan and axial-fluvial strata adjacent to the Mud Springs and Caballo Mountains, Palomas half graben, southern Rio Grande ritft (5.44 MB PDF)
    — Mack, Greg H.l Foster, Ron and Neil J. Tabor, pp. 431-446. [ABSTRACT] Supplemental Data: https://nmgs.nmt.edu/repository/index.cfm?rid=2012004
50. Stratigraphic and structural development of the southern Winston graben, Rio Grande rift, southwestern New Mexico (3.01 MB PDF)
    — Colin T. Cikoski and Richard W. Harrison, pp. 447-456. [ABSTRACT]
51. The Santa Fe Group in the northern Winston graben, southwest New Mexico, and how changing Rio Grande rift tectonism may have influenced its deposition and erosion (11.01 MB PDF)
    — Daniel J. Koning, pp. 457-474. [ABSTRACT] Supplemental Data: https://nmgs.nmt.edu/repository/index.cfm?rid=2012005
52. Terrace stratigraphy and soil chronosequence of Canada Alamosa, Sierra and Socorro counties, New Mexico (8.78 MB PDF)
    — David J. McCraw and Shannon F. Williams, pp. 475-490. [ABSTRACT] Supplemental Data: https://nmgs.nmt.edu/repository/index.cfm?rid=2012006
53. An overview and delineation of the Cuchillo geomorphic surface, Engle and Palomas basins, New Mexico (4.57 MB PDF)
    — David J. McCraw and David W. Love, pp. 491-498. [ABSTRACT]
54. Upper Cretaceous dinosaur footprints from Grant County, New Mexico (3.39 MB PDF)
    — Spencer G. Lucas and Charles A. Ferguson, pp. 499-502. [ABSTRACT]
55. The wood flora from the Upper Cretaceous Crevasse Canyon and McRae formations, south-central New Mexico, USA: A progress report (20.53 MB PDF)
    — Emilio Estrada-Ruiz, Joan M. Parrott, Upchurch, Garland R., Jr., Elisabeth A. Wheeler, Dori L. Thompson, Greg H. Mack, and Mindy M. Murray, pp. 503-518. [ABSTRACT]
56. Late Eocene (Chadronian) fossil mammals from the Palm Park Formation, Caballo Mountains, Sierra County, New Mexico (2.23 MB PDF)
    — Spencer G. Lucas and Justin A. Spielmann, pp. 519-524. [ABSTRACT]
57. Cenozoic vertebrates from Sierra County, southwestern New Mexico (2.66 MB PDF)
    — Gary S. Morgan and Spencer G. Lucas, pp. 525-540. [ABSTRACT]
58. Geology and mineral resources in the Macho mining district, Sierra County, New Mexico (1.38 MB PDF)
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 541-546. [ABSTRACT]
59. Geology and mineral resources in the Ojo Caliente No. 2 mining district, Socorro County, New Mexico (705 KB PDF)
    — Virginia T. McLemore, pp. 547-558. [ABSTRACT]
60. Geology and mineral deposits in the Hillsboro mining district, Sierra County, New Mexico (2.07 MB PDF)
    — Pruthvid Geedipally, Virginia T. McLemore, and Nelia Dunbar, pp. 559-568. [ABSTRACT] Supplemental Data: https://nmgs.nmt.edu/repository/index.cfm?rid=2012007
61. Geology and hydrocarbon resource potential of Cretceous strata in the Jornada del Muerto, Sierra and Socorro counties, New Mexico (2.92 MB PDF)
    — Thomas E. Ewing, pp. 569-580. [ABSTRACT]