Depositional environments of the Permo-Pennsylvanian Sangre de Cristo Formation, Coyote Creek distrit, Mora County, New Mexico
— C. Elmo Brown

The Sangre de Cristo Formation is a Pennsylvanian—Permian elastic unit which was deposited in the Paleozoic Rowe—Mora Basin of northern New Mexico and south-central Colorado. Bachman and Read (1952), Zeller and Baltz (1954), Tschanz and others (1958), and May and others (1977) studied the Sangre de Cristo Formation in the Coyote Creek district, an inactive copper-mining area located approximately 8 mi northeast of Mora and 2 mi southeast of Guadalupita in Mora County, north central New Mexico (Fig. 1). These earlier studies focused on the uranium-rich zones within the formation. A detailed description of the entire Sangre de Cristo Formation within the district, however, was lacking.

The purpose of this study is to describe and classify the various depositional units of the Sangre de Cristo Formation found within the Coyote Creek district. Classification is based on lateral and vertical variations in geometry, lithology, texture, and sedimentary structure. Variations are documented by measured sections, sketches, and sediment- transport direction measurements from better outcrop exposures. From this information, a depositional history can be formulated.