Geology and ground-water resources of the Las Cruces Area, New Mexico
— William E. King and John W. Hawley

This report is a brief review of the geology and ground-water resources of a 550 sq mi area surrounding Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, New Mexico.

 

The area includes the southern and northern ends, respectively, of the Jornada del Muerto Basin and the Mesilla Bolson, which are crossed by the entrenched Mesilla Valley of the Rio Grande (Fig. 1). Mountains flanking the basin and valley areas are the San Andres-Organ range on the east, the Dona Ana Mountains to the north, and the Robledo-Picacho uplifts to the northwest (Fig. 1).

 

Much of the text material and hydrology is extracted from Hydrologic Report 1 of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources by King and others (1971). Sections on the hydrology of the Las Cruces well field and on the quality of water include much new information derived from recent U.S. Geological Survey investigations under the direction of Clyde A. Wilson. These studies are done in cooperation with the City of Las Cruces, Elephant Butte Irrigation District, State Engineer Office, Water Resources Research Institute of New Mexico, and the Bureau of Reclamation. New U.S.G.S. data on aquifer transmissivity and well yields are also included. Geo-logic names used in this paper are not necessarily those recognized by the Stratigraphic Names Committee of the U.S. Geological Survey.