.-
"
Geology and coal resourceso f Tejana Mesa quadrangle
Gretchen H, Roybal
Noventher 1982
open File Report 178
New Mexico Bureau o f Mines and Mineral Resources
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
Introduction
1
surface and mineralownership
1
Topography
5
Previous work
5
Scopeof
1
study
1
Structure
Xgneous rocks
10
Generalstratigraphy
13
Tertiarystratigraphy
15
Cretaceousstratigraphy
18
Coal q u a l i t y
23
c,oaz resources
24
Conclusions
27
References
2Y
FIGURES
F i g u r ei d n d e x
map of s t u d y area
Figure 2a-Surfaceownershipfor
Tejana
Mesa quadrangle
Figure2b-MlneralownershipfarTejana
Mesa Quadrangle
Figure 3-Cross sectionRIA'
Largo
Creek arear Tejana Mesa quadrangle
Figure 4-Cross sectionB-R'
9
east-central
portion, Tejana Mesa quadrangle
il
Figure 5-Generalized stratigraphic column
for Tejane Mesa quadrangle
1.4
Figure 6-Analysesfor coals in the S a l t
Lake field in comparison t o coals
on Tejarla Mesa quadrangle
25
Figure 7 , Coal resources forII'ejana Mesa
quadrangle by township and range
Appendix A-Drill hole descriptions from cuttings
and geophysical logs
26
lntroduction
The Tejana Mesa
Quemado on
field.
min quadrangle is northwest of
7.5
the southeastern edge
of
This
quadrangle
contains
the Salt Lake coal
the
southeasternmost
exposures of the Cretaceous coa&*bearing rocks in the Salt
take
field.
Theareacovered
Portions of TI 3
N'.t
R e 16
bythis
and 17 W e t and
studyincludes
T,
2 M e t R. 1 6 and
17 W n (Fig. 1).
Access to
Tejana MeSa
i s limited to two
quadrangle
well-maintained gravel roads out of Quemado;one going north
and NX-32
going northwest to Salt LaKe,
The
rest of the
roads in the stuay area are normal ranch roads"
Surface and mineral ownership
Six ranchers have patented surfacerights on
Mesa
quadrangle,
making
ownership.
up
38.6%
ofthetotal
Tejana
land
Federal lands make up a large Percentage, 4 2 r 8 % t
of the ownership, and the state holds 18.5%
of the surface
rights on this quadrangle, Wineral ownership on Tejana Mesa
quadrangle i s dominated
the state having
by federal ownership,
77,2%,
Z Q , 2 % . o f the mineral rights and
private minerals of the total ownership.
surfaceownershipdistributionand
ownership.
1
Fig.
Fig.
Zb
with
2.6%
2a indicates
ismineral
.
. .
..
.
. .
..
..
. .. ..
c
t
MSI
I
/A91
'
. MLI
,
3
w
S u r f a c ee l e v a t i o n s
7,700 f t
Qeek
area,
Tejana
approximately
Mesa is a
a
from
af Mesa T i n a j a t o 6 , 5 6 0 f t i n theLargo
on t h et a p
o r i e n it ne d
on Tejana Hesa quadranglerange
malar
topagraphical
feature
n o r t h w e s t - s o u t h edaisrte c tci o nv e r i n g
25%
of thequadrangle,
Mesa Tinala i s
another
tOpOgraPhiC h i g h in t h e s t u d y a r e a w i t h a r e l i e f of 600
Threemajordrainagesystemsare
Tejana Draw
on t h e
i tnh ne o r t h e a sPt o r t i o n
of t h e
quadrangle:
streamsandare
Tejana mesa, A l l
of
dry
volcanic
neck.
on
Mesa
Tinaja
and
the
a f theseareephemeral
a greatpercentage
El P o r t i c i t oa tt h es o u t h e a s t
area,
study
soUth.east
part
and
Largo
Creek
Lopez Draw in the
southwestside
ft.
af t h e y e a r "
endofTejana
two
high
Nesa is
a
p o i n ttsoh e
n o r t h e a s t and s a u t h of t h i s p o i n t a r e a l s o v o l c a n i c n e c k s
Previous work
L i t t l e previous work has beendone
i n t h e s t u d y a r e a on
the
Cretaceous
coal-bearing
rocks.
M*K.
d e l i n e a t e tdh sea l t
in
a
recannaissance
field.
A
reconnaissance
[rake c o afli e l d
s t u d y of the
Durango-Gallup
coal
map in t h i s a r e a f a r
t h e s t a t eg e a l o g i c
Shaler
map
was
(19061
done by Dane
and Bachman (1965) i n which t h e C r e t a c e o u s rOc)Es were mapped
5
RS Mesaverde Group. FosterL
rocks in Catron County
(1964) rlentioned the Cretaceous
in his discussion
of this county's
stratigraphy and petroleum potential and noted the occurence
o f coal in this strata.
Recently the U.S.
Geological Survey
Hill Formation" (McLellanr and
has proposed the name "Moreno
othersf 1983) for the coal-bearing unitswhllch outcrop north
and west o f the Tejana Mesa quadrangle, This proposed name
is a
result
of
a cooperative mapping project
quadrangles north and west
of
the study area
of
eight
by the
W.5,
Geological Survey Coal Branch and the NewPfexico Bureau
.
Mines
and
Mineral
Resources
outcropping in
of
The
Cretaceous
units
area are equivalenttothe
thestudy
Morena Hill Formation,
More work has been done an the Tertiary units i n
area.
Willard
(19591
this
described
the
Baca
and
Datil
Formations and the basalt flowsin northern Catron County.
Snyder (19713 and Johnson ( 1 9 7 8 ) both did detailed studies
on the Raca Formation
i n west-central New Mexico.
The most
and the Cretaceous
recent work concerning the Baca Formation
contactandits
urani,um
potentialhasbeendone
Guilinger(/9823 which included the northeast portionof
Tejana Mesa quadrangle.
6
by
the
Scope of study
of: the 'rejana
This report i s to provide a geologic map
Mesa quadrangle with emphasis
on the Cretaceous coal-bearing
sequenceinthe
area.Thisworkfurtherdelineatesthe
southeastern portion of the Salt Lake coal field and extends
the known coal-resource potential. o f
the area south of the
map'done by tbe U.S.
Fence take 1:100,000
Gelogical Survey
and the New Mexico Rureau o f Mnes and Nineral Resources.
The report i s based on field mapping of the Tejana Hesa
7.5
min quadrangle and subsequent drilling for subsurface
stratigraphic data.
Coalspenetratedindrillingwere
collected and tested for quality,
Structure
shows
Structurally,
the
area
o f Mesa Tinaja extending
northeast faulting in the area
towards Tejana Mesa
general dip o f the
and
into the Largo CreeK
area.
An anticlinal feature
degrees.
in thenorthernhalf
TejanaMesaextendsontothe
has
an
east-west
of
Cerro Prieto
4
quadrangle.
The
flexure
to northeast-southwesttrendand
plunging to the east. The
the anticline i s
The
rock units in the study area is to the
southeast and averages 3-5
southern portion of
and
minor
flexures
general dip on the south limb
degrees to the sauthwest.
I
is
of
Along the edge o f Tejana Ness are several slump blocKs
of minor faulting.
and areas
diKe occurs on
small northeast-trending
A
the northeast side
o f Mesa Tinaja, but no
major faulting occurred adjacent to this intrusion. A large
faults and
system o f
volcanic intrusions exists along a
northeast-trendinglineincluding
El
PorticitoandMesa
Tinaja extending north to Veteado Mountain,
portion of
Tejana Mesa
The
is faultea along
southeast
this northeast
trend.
Cbross sections
Two cross sections were drawn to show the structure
in
or
areaswherecoalwasseeninoutcrop
drilling in the study
area.
evident
locations o f
The
the
from
cross
sections are shown on the accompanying geologicmapI
Section A-A"
area of
(Fig, 3 1 is
the quadrangle oriented
located in the Largo Creek
in
a northwest-southeast
direction, parallel to the general structural
area. At the
northwest end o f the cross section the middle
member o f the Moreno
HiXl
Formation is
outcrop on the adjacent take Armija 1.5
1.5-ft
dip of the
coal is projected into the
on
nin quadrangle. The
cross
outcrop indicated on the geologic map.
less than one degree
projected from an
section from the
The angle of dip
the northwest end
of
the
is
cross
sectionr but changes tQ three degrees on the other side of
the fault! indicating that some tilting i s assoclated with
8
A'
SE
A
NW
FIGURE 3 : CrossSection
,
A-A'
7400'
Largo Creek Area
Tejana Mesa Quadrangle
7200'
7000'
6800'
6600'
6400'
\
I
Horizontol Scale : 1"=2000'
\
.i
the faulting.
The f a u l t is notseen
on t h e surfacebecause
of t h e v a l l e y f i l l b u t
is
t h e middle Moreno Hill
Formation i no u t c r o p "
t h ne o r t h w e ssti d e
the fault
with
of
i n d i c a t e d by t h e re-occurence
From
is a p p a r e n t l y
r e s p e c t ot h es o u t h e a s ts i d e
outcrop
downthrown
displacement
with a
of
of
330 f t n
S e c t i o n R-8'-
of t h e TejanaBesa
line.
(Fig, 4) i s l o c a t e d on the eastern edge
with
two d r i l l n o l e sp r o j e c t e di n t o
The cross sectiota i s
of t h e area,
NO
faulting
c r o s se c t i o Int nh, e
Moreno Hill
p a r a l l e l t o the g e n e r a l
is e v i d e nitn
two d r i l l
Formatian
contact
is
the
StriKe
area of
the
the
holes!
the
Baca-upper
intersected,
Two
thin
c o a l s of the upper Moreno Hill Formationwerefound
i n drill
h o l e 216m9-1 a n do n ec o a il n
Although
the middle Moreno
d r i l l h o l e 216-3-4,
Hill Formation was
n o rt e a c h e dI nt h e s e
d r i l l h o l e s r t h e u p p e r member i s known t ob e
a r e a ;t h e r e f o r e ,t h e s ec o a l sa r e
represent
Descriptions
i n c l u d e di n
assumed t o be not p a r t
zone
(Roybal,
Campbell
the twilight
1981)
stratlgraphically
a
of
the
thick i n
this
of
and
Probably
zone.
coal
higher
c u t t i n agngs de o p n v s i claolagrse
a p p e n d i x A f o rt h e s e
two holes,
Igneousrocks
Tejana Mesa i s covered b y
averages 40 f t i n thicKness.
a no l i v i n e
The
10
basalt flow
that
s o u t h e a s t e r n part o f
this
I
0
I
6
0-
0
id
9
I
4
I
m
m
n
,
mesa is covered by
a more scoriaceous part
o f the flow,
indicating a volcanic neck, and stands out dramatically on
areal photographs because o f its red-brown color.
Extending from TeSana Mesa in
sec. 5, T. 2 N.t
is a breccla consisting
H. 16 W.
of angular basaltic fragments
and
rounded Calcareous sandstonesof the underlying PatilGroup.
The
angukarity
of
the
volcanic
material
indicates
a
closenesstothesource,Thisbrecciaiscementedby
botryoidalcalcareousmaterialthathasbeenpercolated
by ground water.
through this detrital deposit, probably
in sec. 5,
Another breccia occurs
coming aft of Telana Wesa
T.
2 N.,
R. 16
W.
from the area of the scoriaceous
of fragments of: scoria
basalt flow, This breccia consists
and other lithic fragments
and i s
cementedtogetherby
tuffaceous material. These two brecclas are concentrated at
this point of the mesa and E l o w
The basaltic breccia flowed further
possibly was
part o f
in a northeast direction.
from the source and
a mud flow caused
by
tne volcanic
activity.
MesaTinaja
a basaltflowwhich
iscappedby
probably of the same age as
the flow on Tejana Mesa,
is
An
older flow occurs below the cap rock
on Mesa Tinaja and c a w
the small Knoll south ~f
vicinity o f
Mesa Tinaja. several necks in the
MesaTinajaaswellasasmallnortheast-
trending dike appearto be olderthan the cap raclc of Tejana
Mesa.
a2
Small patches of in-placevolcanic
Mesa T i n a j ao v e r l y
sandstone
of
basalt southwest
a g r a yt op i n k i s h - g r a yc a l c a r e o u s
lithic
t r a n s i t i o nzaolbneet w etehne
the
volcanicsedimentsandthe
ridge between
the
two
Datil
BacaFormation,
basalt caps a slump b l o c kl o c a t e d
of
A
t h i ns l i v e r
of
on t h e n o r t h s i d e o f
mesas
and
uncomformably
the
overlies
a
t h i n s e c t i o n o f t h e same sancfstone.
Flows
on Tejana
o f l a tTee r t i a r y
specific age has
or
Mesa
quadrangle are r e p o r t e d t o
Q u a t e r n a r y age
beenassigned
(Foster,
be
No
1964).
volcanicsand
to these
r a d i o m e t r i c work is known t o havebeendone
no
on theserocks.
General s t r a t i g r a p h y
Eight
mappable
stratigraphic
t h e s t u d y area r a n g i n g i n a g e
The Q u a t e r n a r yu n i t sa r e
coveringtheprominent
The Datil
in
a l l u v i a l v a l l e y f i l l and
valcanics
mesas: Tejana Mesa, E l PartiCitO,and
Group
as Q u a t e r n a r y / T e r t i a r y
volcanic
sedimentary
facies
and
Baca Formationsedimentary
units
a r e o f T e r t i a r y age,
t h r e e members
C , r e t a c e o u su n i t sa r et h e
FOrmatiQn, F i g , 5
are exposed
from Quaternary to Cretaceous.
Mesa Tinajar which a r ec l a s s i f i e d
age,
units
is a
of t h e Moreno
g e n e r a l i z esdt r a t i g r a p h i c
for t h e s t u d y area.
l.3
in
the
The
Hill
column
Quaternary-Tertiary
-
Volcanics
Datil Group
BocoFormation
__.
Moreno Hill Formotion
UpperMember
Moreno
Hill Formotion
M i d d l e Member
Moreno HillFormation
LowerMember
Scale
FIGURE 5: GeneralizedStratigraphic
Column for
Tejana Mesa Ouodrongle
- I:200
Tertiary StratigraPhy
TheDatilvolcanicsedimentsunconfor~nablyunderlie
Quaternary/TertiarY basalt flows inthe northern Portion o f
The unit i s thin [20-60
the quadrangle.
and has
ft) in this region
a gradational contact with the underlying Baca,
Directly underneath the basalt flow, the Datil sediments
are
tuffaceous with pebbles
andesite and quartzite
of
in the
matrix,
The majority o f the Datil Group in the study area
i s made
up of
gray to
pinkisb-gray, fine-grained, lithic
are
arenites,
Predominant
lithic
fragments
andesites,
quartzites,
and
limestones"
Grains
are
subangular
to
subrounded in the sandstone which
can be highly cemented by
calcareouscement
or
friable.
%iChintheDatilunit,
vertical and horizontal variation ranges from
fine-grained
sandstone to Lenses of pebble and Cobble-Size material in a
finer
grainedr sand-sized
matrix.
interpreted as Fence Lake Gravel
disagree because
(G~ilinger~l9823,but
Z
of the minor percentage, mostly in thin
conglomeratic lenses, of cobble
unit, Cobble material
Lake Gravels.
Thisunithasbeen
is
material within the entire
a dominant feature of the Fence
In the Fence Lake Gravels, basaitic material
i s predominant which is not the
c ~ s ehere.
Datil sediments grade into the sedimentary sequence
o f the Baca Fornaatlon.
The
Baca consists of a sequence of
red-brown to maroon mudstones and siltstonest grayto
pink-
gray, arkosic sandstones, and pebble conglomerate, The base
15
o f the Baca is generally determined in the study area
by
at the base of
erosionalcontact
of
conglomerate
highlyrounded,
quartzite
Pebbles
I
a looselycemented
and gray
red:Purpler
rounded
lithic
fragments
,
theCretaceous
the
of
of
underlying Cretaceous sandstones, and Pieces
wood from
an
petrified
ThecongkomerateisPoorly
by
cemented and thin ( 6 inches-2 ft7 and is often recognized
of quartzite cobbles covering Cretaceous
the lag gravel
outcrops.
In many
areasf becausetheconglomerate
is
non-existent, the contact between the Cretaceous sediments
and the Baca is determined by the occurence o € red-brown to
In
maroon
mudstones,
claystones,
and
siltstones,
northeast portion o f
the study area, this contact
difficult to determine because
partofthe
Moreno
can be
of oxidation of the upper
Formationdue
Hill
the
to
a
paleosol;
hpwevert the contact: can be determined by looking
closly at
the sandstones.
The sequence
part of the Baca
100 ft and
o f fine-grained
SedialentS in the lower
Formation ranges in thickness from 6 0
is well exposed In the northeast portion of
quadrangle, The mudstonest siltstones,
some parallelbedding
and
to
the
and claystones show
burrowingr but
are generally
without structure* Hithin this fine-grained sequence are
thinfriablesandstones
and. conglomeratesIindicating
a
rapid and relatively shprt-lived changein environment, The
change from a low-energy fluvial environment t o one of
energy indicates
a
time of flooding in
climate,
16
high
a generally dry
Above this fine-grained material are several sandstones
in a sequence 60-120 kt thick exposed along Tejana Mesaand
the ridge east
of
Mesa Tinaja.
to
yellow-gray
subangular
The lowermost sand
subrounded?
is a
to
medium
Coarse-grained? arkosic sandstone.. The unit lacks internal
structure in the upper
contains rip UP
part of this
clasts o f
20-40 ft
sand? but
the underlying mudstane at the
base.
AnQther sand in this sequenceof the Baca Formation is
a gray subangular to subrounded, medium to coarse-grained,
arbtosic
sandstone,
Phis
sandstone
shows
bimodal
characteristics: quartz, teldspar?
and biotite grains
predominantly mediurn grained, the jasper and quartzite
coarsergrained.
are
are
Calcareouscementingwithintheunit
varies? from friable to well cemented.
The gray
sandstone?
which is laterally extensive witha thickness up to 60 Et on
the Tejana Mesa quadrangle? shows a fining upward sequence
in a generallymassive
sand unit.
The
presence
of
sandstones i s indicative of a higher energy envfronment with
larger material being transported.
The Unweathered state of
the constitiuents and thelaclc of internal. bedding indicate
a period of rapid deposition
.
Conformably overlying the gray# arkosic sandstone.
in
the northern portion of the quadrangle in Tejana Nesa and
the ridge between Mesa Tinaja
i s a niuch finer grained, pinkgray, lithic sandstone, This sandstone appears to be the
transition zone between the Baca Formation and Datil
17
Group
because o f the shift to predominantly lithic components and
the highly cemented tuffaceous ( ? I nature of the unit.
This
sandstone is directly below the volcanic breccia and below
the basalt block along the ridge from
Tinaja, Outcrops
Tejana Mesa to Mesa
zone are indicated on
of this transition
the map as Td/Tb.
In the southern third of Tejana Mesa? the gray, arkosic
sand is overlain by
another sequence of fine-grained? red-
brown to maroon mudstones and siltstones. This
Part of the
Baca is at the most20 Et thick and represents a return to a
low-energyl dry environment similar
to that represented b y
sediments at thebase of the Baca Formation in this area,
Snyder ( 1 9 7 1 ) and Johnson (19781 indicated that source
from
areas for the Baca sediments
the northeast to the
and Zuni Upliftsl and the
southwestaretheDefiance
is
MogollonHighland.Thisinterpretation
presence o f
quartziteand
conglomerates. Johnson
granite
(1978)
on
based
cobbles
fn
the
the Baca
postulates this area to be
part of the distal-fan faciesof the BaCa Formation,
Cretaceous stratigraphy
The Cretaceous coal-bearing Sequence Pn the study area
i s tentatively named the Moreno Hill
and
Geological
Survey
[McLellan
Formation by the U.S.
others?
formation is divided into three
mernbers:
Hill,
unit with a
asiltstone/claystone
58
19831,
The
the upper Moreno
fewfriable
sandstones and channel sandstones; the middle Moreno Hill, a
a
persistent fluvial sandstone; and the lower Moreno Hill,
sandstone/mudstone
sequence.
Maximum
thickness
is
entire Moreno Will Formation
the
of
The members are
920 f t .
designated KNthUr Kmhm, and timhl on the accompanying geologic
mag e
The lower Moreno Hill Formation in the study area is a
maximum of 140-160 ft thick.
Uutcroes of the lower unit are
predominantly channel. sands and
crevasse splays that grade
and mudstones.
laterally into siltstones
Sands are well-
sorted# well-rounded, fine to medium-grained sandstones
predominantly
quartz
in
(90-95%)
a
siliceous
of
cement.
Secondary minerals in the lower sandstones are weathered
ieldsparsthatmake
constitutents.
Slight amouks o f
occur but are are rare (>
0.5%).
biotite and other mafics
Channel deposits that are
10-25 ft thick show trough crosSbeddingr
to
1 ft of
o f . rock
theremainingportion
up
The top 6
inches
these sands often have iron staining, giving a
characteristic iron cap
on
a yellow-gtay sandstone. The
maturity of the constitulents o f the channel sands indicates
a stream environment with a low gragient and the at some
distance from the source af material.
Above
and
below
the channel sandstones
and laterally
adjacent to crevasse selays o f the lower Moreno Hill member
are siltstones
and mudstones.
Several organic-rich gray,
brownr andblackmudstonesoccurwithinthissequence,
Brown mudstones have a large
aniount
19
of
coalified
P'lant
iragments and often are found associated with a coal
These deposits are indicative
needed t o produce coals.
seam.
of an anaerobic environment
Lateral transition from crevasse
and mudstones indicates a floodplain
splay to siltstones
environment.
Coal. beds occur in this sequence.
zone is within
60 Et o f
unit of the Moreno
set"
21, T. 3
The rabbit coal
the base of the middle sandstone
R.
17 N..
The rabbit zone
is
further north on the Cerro Prieto and The Dyke
(RoybalandCampbellr1981).There
approximately 20
in
Hill and outcrops in the study area
the
recognized
quadrangles
coal outcrop'is
and
ft below the middle member
has
one
tonstein. This seam can he traced for 114 mi before it dips
into the subsurface.
The coal i s
inch tonstein. Below the parting,
0,9 ft tbicK above the
0.75
4
ft of shaley coal.
occurs overlying another 0.75 ft seam of coal, A lower coal
zane, the cerro prleto zone, in the lower. member
of the
Moreno Hill Formationand 150 ft below the middle member is
not exposed in this area, but is probably near the surface
in the northern-portion of the quadrangletbecause
of
the
gentle southeastdip of the beds.
The middle member of the Moreno Mill
Formation is
a
medium to coarse-grained, subanglar to subroundedr fluvial
sandstone.
The middle unit consists of fluvial, coalescins-
channel sands! predominantly of quartz C85%1 with relatively
unweathered
plasioclaise
feldspars
(15%)
This
grain-supported rock is poorly sorted with little
or no clay
20
to
silt
fraction
sandstone unit
The
middle
e
to
predominantly
massive
is
planar,
trough-crossbedded
pinkish-orange to gray sandstone that varies in thickness
from
40
to
ft.
60
Characteristicallythisnonfrfable
sandstone contains iron concretions that vary in size from
0,s inches to 3 inches diameter and are more abundant in the
upper portion of the unit, The lower contact is erosional
with the lower Moreno Hill formation.
The overlying
sequence o f
upper Noreno Hill consists of
a thick
silty Sandstones, siltstones, claystones and
in
thin coals, This sequence has greater exposure (700 Et)
to thenorth
thestudyareathan
southeast; die of the b e d s .
sand and the
upper unit
to thegeneral
due
The contact between the middle
is erosional and often
sand similar to the lower unit overlies
a channel
the mkddle unit,
Predominant,ledge-formingsandstoneswithinthe
upper
member are concentrated within tne first hundred feet above
the middle member.
fine to
These trough-crossbedded sandstones
of
medium-grained material are predominantly quartz
( 9 5 % ) with
a
siliceous
cement,
Sandstones
show
iron
staining in t b e top 0 1 5 ft-i ft of the outcrop. Above these
Channel sands, sandstones are yellow, gray
siltyt and very friable. Silty
to olive-gray,
sandstones are subangular to
Subrounded, medium to fine-grained, quartz-dominated with
highly weathered feldspars going to clay.
olive claystones and siltstones make
Yellow, gray, and
up a majority of.
this
upper memberr indicating a drier environment than when the
21
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
_
~
~
~
"
_
_
_
"
I
_
"
-
underlying Noreno Hill was deposited, accasionally, coals
occur in this upper unit,
Two
In
coals were penetrated
drilL holes done by Mew Mexica Bureau o f Bines and
Mineral
Resources and one coal crops out. Because bath drill holes
contact but not the middle
penetrated the Baca/Moreno Hi11
Moreno Hill member, they are discussed with respect to the
Drill holes
Baca contact,
are numbered by township range,
in that section; tee, 216-3-1
sectfont and number of holes
is in T. 2
W,, sec. 3 r first drill hole in that
N. R. 16
section,
Xn sec.
R.
9, T. 2 N,,
ft below the Baca contact.
Moreno Hill was Penetrated 17.5
In the same drill
ft coal in the upper
a 2.5
16 W.,
holer a i . 0 Et
coal was found
below the base of the first coal, In sec, 3 f T. 2
W.,
a 1.5 ft coal 1s
into a
have been projected
EJ.#
112 Et below the Baca contact.
two drill holes a r e represented in crass section
lower coal in 216-9-1
line parallel
1Qt
T.
3
M.8
and
t o strike.
The
216-9-1
appears
lineparallelto
to
a
seam
knoll
The coal is 1,s ft thick nere,
R, 17 W.
be prajected to the
SQUthr This coal is projected into cross sectionA-A'
equivalent
to
sandstane present in 216*3*lr
but because of the faulting cannot
is a
These
BmB'
The coal outcrop in the uppermember occurs in a
in 6ec.
R, 16
and the coal i n 216-3-1 appear to be
the same coal zone, The larger Coal in
be channeled out by a
ft
52.5
dip,
Thiscoalseamwould
in thetwilight
22
wnich
zone which
be
is
approximately 50-100
ftabovethemiddle
lnenlber
ofthe
Moreno Hill and consistsof a-3 coaI Sedms(ROyba1, Campbell,
19811 recognized
to the north of this study area.
Coal quality
Coal-quality analyses for Btu, ashr and moisture were
run on two coals in drill holes
216-9”1
and 216-3-1,
The
range as analyses tor coals in
analyses are in the same
other areas of the Salt Lake coal field
r but differences do
exist.
Btu values for
E t 2 9 4 Btu/lbl
the two
are at the
upper and lower limits of the
standard-deviation range
area (9,660 Btu/lb
coals are 7.3%
Ash
and 10.3%
+/-
these
Moisture content of
compared to the average moisture
of other coals in the Salt Lake coal
content i s
average (21.8%
[t/-) for other analyses in the
+/-1,516Ir
content of 4,9% +/-3.1
field.
coals (llr306 B‘cu/lband
lower (11.6%
11.0%)
and 17.48)
than the
other analyses and i s at the
for
low end o f the standard deviation range for ash.
Using
the
average sulfur content of Salt Lake coalst the rank, based
on mineral matter free Btu/lbris high volatile C bituminous
and subbituminous C respectively for the coals analyzed from
Tejana PIesa.
The overall environment of deRositSon f o r
the
upper Moreno Hill 1s drier than the lower member? therefore
the organlc sulfur content should be lower in the upper
member, raisingthe
MMF
Btu.
Sulfur
of
bacterial nature may increase the sulfur content
23
a detrital or
of
the
coa2sl but analyses are needed to determine
if these factors
are significant.Fig.
6
for thedrillhole
shows data
samples on Tejana Hesa and the average far coals in the Salt
take fielti,
A
comparison of
coals from above the middle
member o f the Moreno Bill is not available because
o f a lack
of data from this zone north of Tejana Mesa quadrangle,
Coal resources
Coal resources are based on information acquired during
the course of this project
on both subsurface and outcrop
data. Average thicicness of upper bloreno Hill Formation coals
i s 1.8 ftr with
a standard deviation
o f t/-Os5'ft. rhese
coals are thinner seams than those found just north of tne
Tejana Mesa quadrangle, The thicker coals are in the lower
member
of
and havegreater
theMorenoHillFormation
\
and
economicpotential.Heasured
indicatedcoal-resource
figures are based on 1800 tons/acre ft for bituminaus coals
and were figured according to
Geological
Survey
Prof e
strippable-coal resources
34.7 million tonsl 22.5
2O:l
U.S.
Bureau o f
Paper
for
Mines-U,S.
1450-8,
Total
Tejana Mesa quadrangle
are
million tons of which are within a
stripping ratio. Fig.
7 shows a breakdown o f the coal
resources by township and range. Areas
o f coal potential
indicated by outcrop and drilling data are concentrated in
thethreemajordrainageareas
of
thequadrangle.The
autcrol, of coal under the middle Moreno Hill sandstone in
24
Fig. 6.
Analyses f o r coalsn
i t h e S a l t Lake field
in comparison to coals on 'xejana Mesa quadrangle
Analysis for Salt Lake field
Analysis for ~ e j a n a~ e s aquadrangle
216-3-1
1 4 Q - I 4 5 ft
Prox, moisture
P ~ O X . ash
216-9-1
7.3
11.6
304.5 f t
P t o x . moisture
10n3
ProxI ash
17.4
Btu/lb
11306
Btu/lb
M M F BtU/lb
12945
PJMF Rtu/lb
25
8294
10109
7.
PigI
Cwal resourcesforTejana
Mesa quadrangle
by township and range (in millions of t o n s )
Depth category
Tornship-Range
Peasured
Indicated
Total
0-150
ft
T2N R16W
0.77
6.17
6.94
0-150
Et
T2NR17k
0.68
5.42
6.11
150-250 E t
T2N R17W
0.34
2.71
3.05
0-150 f C
T3N 16,29
R17#
2.27
T o t a l 0-150 ft:
31.61 million
Total 150-250 f t :
3.05
Total
stripping
tons
m i l l i otno n s
at 2 Q : i ratio:
22.45
18.56
19.75
Heasured
Indicated
Total
2.70
26
"
1
1
"
"
Sec.
21,
T.
3 N.
R.
11 W.
and the general geology on the
northwest corner of the quadrangle indicate the possibility
that thicker Coals of the lower member
are close to the
surface in this area andon Lake Arniijo, the quadrangle west
o f Tejana Mesa.
Conclusions
Tejana Mesa quadrangle has
Moreno
a large amount
FormationCretaceousoverlain
Hi11
sediments and
of exposed
by
Tertiary
volcanicsedimentsthatarecappedby
volcanicsofQuaternaryITertiaryage.
Moreno HillOutcrops
is
The extent
af
the
furthertothesoutheastthan
of the exposed Cretaceous rocks
previously thought;. Most
are part o f the upper member of the Noreno Hill Formation,
a
sequence of
(1.5
siltstones, silty sandstones,
ftlcoals.
Thesecoalsbecause
and a few thin
af theirthinness,
probably do nQt have economic siqnificance at this time, The
fact that the upper member
obstacle in considering
is qulte
thick also becomes an
the lower member
coalsI
Possibly
that the Upper Moreno Hill i s not as thick on the south side
o f the northeast-trending fault zone;if this
lower Moreno Hill coals would b e within the
so,
the
250 ft o f
the
is
surface. More drilLing is needed t o determine the validity
gf
this assumptionr
The presence o f
several volcanic necks apparently
different
ages
and
faulting
in
this
quadrangle
may
21
of
complicate the s t r u c t u r e more than what i s s e e ni no u t c r w .
More d r i l l i n g on both sides ofthe
the
extent
of
the
faulting
fault area would i n d i c a t e
and
coal-bearing Moreno Hill Formatian,
28
its
effect
on
the
REFERENCES
Geologic map of New 14exico:
Bachman, G,a.,1965,
Geol. Surveyr 1:50~,000t 2 sheets.
Foster, R.W.,1964,
Stratigraphicandpetroleum
possi~ilities
of Catron County, New Hexlco: New Mexico Bureau of
Nines and MineralResources,
Bull. 85, 5 1
P,
GuilingerrD.R.r1982r Geolo4y and uranium potential of Tejana
Mesa-Wubbell Draw area,Catron County, New Mexico: New
MexicoBureau
ofMines,
open file report,in
progress.
johnson, B.D.r1978r
Geneticstratigraphy
and provenance
o f the Baca Formation, New y;iexico, and the Eager
Formation, Arizonat Univ.
of Texas at Austin,
unpublished
thesis,
150
B.
McLellant M., Haschke, I,., RobinSon, L., Carter, M.D.,
and
Medlln, A,, 1983, Middle Turooian and younger Cretaceous
rocks, northern Salt lakecoal. field# Cibola and
Catron Counties, New Mexicar in Contributions to midCretaceous paleontology and stratigraphy of New NexicoPart XI, S.P, Iioakr compiler: New Mexico Bureau o f
Mines, Circular 185, in press.
and CampbellrF.W.,198Ir Stratigraphic Sequence
Roybal, G.H.,
and drilling data from the Fence Lakearea: New Mexico
Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, OpenFile 145,
28 P * 11 plates.
Shaler, h.K.,1906,
A reconnaissance survey of the Western part
of the ourango-Gallup caal fieldof Colorado and N e w
Mexico: 0.6, Geal. Surveyr Bull. 3 1 6 r P. 376-426
Snyderr~.0,,i9~l,Stratigraphic analysisof the Baca Formation,
west-central New Elexfco: Univ. of New Mexicor Unpublished PhD. dissertation, 1 5 8 P.
u.S, Bureau of Mines and u.S. GeQlOgiCal Surve~,1976~Coal
resource calculation systemof the U,S, Bureau of Wines
and U,S. Geological Survey: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull,
1450-8, 7 Pr
Willard,M,E,,1959, Tertiary stratigraphy of northern Catron
Countyl New Mexico, in Mew Mexico Geol. Society,
Guidebookr Tenth field conference: Nest-Central Rlew
Mexico, P. 92-99
Dane, C.B.,
U.S.
29
Appendix A: Drill. Hole Descriptions
from CcUttfngs and Geophysical bogs
Hole no. 216-3-1
Township
2N1 Range 16W. Sec.3
Location 2600 E. o f W, line
Elevation 7030 ft
4750
of S I line
Hineral Ownership: Federal
Total Depth 263ft
County: Catron
Quadrangle: Tejana Mesa
Hater: Water well
Data geophysical logs- gamma(api, CPSI, density (cjm/cc)r resistivity
(ohm/m) r caliper? Porosity,S.P. (rnvlt neutron? resistance (ohms)
N.
Formation
Baca
Formation
Depth
010-7.5
7.5-30.0
Moreno Hill Fm
upper member
I
Descripti
ft
Sandy
siltstone,
gray
brown?
coarse-medium grainedrcal*
careous cement.
ft
Silty
sandstonet
brown,very
fine-very coarse? subrounded
very poorly sorted.
30,0-35.0
ft
Sandy
siltstonetyellow
brown,
very coarse-coarse grained,
calcareous cement,
35,041.5
Sandstone,
ft
yellow
gray,fine
sand-silt, angular, calcareous cementtminor coal.
41.5-45.5
Et
45.5-50.5
ft
Sandy
siltstoneryellow
gray,
fine grained, iron staining.
50.5154.0
ft
54.0-60.0
ft
Sandy
siltstone,
light
gray,
light gray, coarse-medium
grained, minor coal fragments,
60.0-66.5
ft
Silty
sandstone,
yellow
brown,
coarse sand-silt,very poorly
sorted, subangular,
Sixty
sandstonetyellow
gray,
fine sand=siltlmoderate sortingtangulartcalcareous cement,
Siltstone?
light
gray?
micaceous.
66.5-69.5
ft
Claystone, light grayg interbedded mudstone, iron
staining.
Silty sandstonet gray, very
coarse-coarse sand, very
poorly sorted,
79.0-87.5
ft
Claystone, olive gray, minute
c o a l fragments.
87.5-94.Q
ft
Mudstone, light olive gray
coal fragments,
ft
siltstone, olive gray, coal
fragments.
115.5-121.
ft
Siltstone, medium liqht gray.
121.0-1361
ft
Mudstone, light olive gray,
sandy from 122.5-123.5
ft
coai fragments.
136*0"l40.
ft
Silty sandstone, light gray,
fine sand-silt, subangular.
140.0-142.
ft
Mudstone, olive gray, coal
fragn~ents.
162,-143,5
ft
Coal
143.5-152s
Et
MUdstaner olive w a y f coal
fragments.
152.0-1691
ft
Mudstoner light g r a y r coal
fragments.
169,0-176.
ft
siltstone, olive gray, coal
fragments,
176.0-iR7.
ft
Silty sandstone, light olive
gray, fine sand-silt, subangUlar, poorly sorted, mica.
187.-189.5
ft
sandstone, light olive gray,
fine sand-silt, angular,
p.aorly sorted,
94.0
115.5
sandstone, light gray, medium
sand-silt, subangular, very
poorly sorted.
.
Silty sandstone? light gray?
medium Sand-Silt, subangular
very poorly sorted.
Sandstone, olive gray? medium
sand-siltr subanglar? very
poorly Sorted? mica.
SiXtstone, olive gray?
anguLarr coal fragments.
Mudstone, olive gray? angular
coal fragments.
sandstone, light. grayr fine
sandwsilt? subangular-subrounded? poorly sorted.
Silty sandstone, light gray
coarse sand-siltr subangular
very poorly sorted,
Mudstone, olive gray, minor
coal fragments,
Claystone, light olivem a y ,
Mudstonetlight olive gray,
coal fragments.
1'D
Hole no. 21619-1
Township
2N. RangeSec.9
16W.
Elevation
6940 ft
Location $190 E. o f W. line
2000
of S c line
Mineral
Ownership:
Federal
Cwnty:
175Depth
Total
Catron
ft
Quadrangle: Tejana nesa
Water: Water
well
Data geophysical logs- gammatapitCPS), density 6gm/cclr resistivity
(ohm/m), caliper, porosity, s.p.lmv),
neutron, resistance (ohms)
I
J
I
Depth
Description
Formation
BacaFormation
0.015.0
Silty sandstone, medium brown
very coarse-coarse sand, calcareous cement.
ft
5,0-10.0
Silty sandstone, medium brown
coarse sand-coarse siltrsubangular, coal fragments.
ft
Sandstone, medium brown, very
coarse-fine sand, subangular,
very poorly sorted.
Moreno Hill Fm
upper member
14.0-17.5
ft
Sandy siltstonet light olive
gray, coal fragments.
17.5-24.5
ft
Silty mudstone, ollve gray,
coal fragments.
24.5-29.5
ft
Sandy mudstone, ollve gray,
coal fragments,
2915*31.5
ft
Claystone, olive grayr coal
fragments,
31.5-34.0
ft
Coal,
34"O-34.5 f t
Claystone, olive gray, coal
fragments.
34.5-41.0
Mudstone, brown grayt coal
fragmentst iron staining.
ft
Siltstone, medium gray.
Silty sandstone, light gray!
medium sand-medium silt,SUb49,0-52.0
ft
Silty sandstone, mediumlight gray, medium sand-medium
silt, subangular, cemented.
silty sandstone, light gray,
medium sand-medium s i l t ,
angular.
Siltstone, light gray, coal
fragments,
Siltstone, light gray# micaceous, coal fragments,
Clayey siltstone, rnediurn
light gray, coal fragments.
Siltstone, light gray.
Claystone, olive gray.
Coal,
Sandy mudstonel light: olive
gray, minor coal.
Sandy siltstone, light olive
gray, coal fragments.
mastone, gray.
Sandy slltstone.
Claystone, olive gray, coal
fragments.
Silty sandstone, light gray,
fine sand-coarse silt, subangular, moderate*poorly srtd
Claystone, olive grayr
Sandstone with mudstone, light
gray" subangular, very poorly
Claystone, olive gray.
Sandy siltstone, Light olive
gray, coarse sand-coarse silt
subangular, very poorlysrtd.
Sandy mudstone, light olive
w a y , Bine-very fine sand.
ft
Siltysandstonel y e l l o w b r o w
coarse sand-coarse silt, sub
152.0-157.5
ft
Mudstone, o l i v e gray, coal
fragmentsr
157q5-165.0
ft;
s i l t y sandstone?
light
gray,
very fine sand-coarse silt?
subangular, moderately srtd.
153.0
155.0
TR
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT O F THE, INTERIOR
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
/'
1
34"
-
1
SCALE 1:24000
1
2
*
*
*
I
t
.5
d
u
-
"
*
1 MILE
0
I
b
0
1
COluTOUR INTERVAL 20 FEET
I KlLaMeTRn
1
D
TEJANA MESA,
O F I78
N.
MEX.