GEOLOGY OF THE
BUCKMAN WELL FIELD
AND NORTHERN CAJA
DEL RIO PLATEAU
Española
NM Bureau of Geology
and Mineral Resources
Alamos
Jemez
Mtns
Outline
I. Structural setting
•
Faults
•
Structural uplift along Cochiti
Cone and La Bajada faults
II. Stratigraphy
•
Summarize lithologic units from
late Paleozoic through late
Cenozoic
III. Summary of groundwater flow
Santa Fe
Sangr
e
Dan Koning
de Cr
isto M
tns
Los
View of Buckman are
N
Structure
•Study area lies at
south-central end of
the Española Basin
•The Cerrillos Uplift,
a footwall uplift along
the La Bajada fault
(LB), plunges
northward and likely
continues along the
footwall of the Cochiti
Cone fault (CO)
LB
Figure is slightly modified
from Minor et al., 2013
PF
CO
•The Pajarito fault
(PF), which is the
master fault of the
eastern Española
Basin half-graben
(EEBHG), splays into
2 strands to the
south
EEBHG
From Koning et al., 2013
•Footwall uplift (i.e.,
the Cerrillos Uplift)
along the La Bajada
fault is certain, but
how far north that
uplift extends is
unknown
•Rodriquez and
Sawyer (2013)
addressed that
question by making
resistivity models
derived from the
magnetotelluric
method
Image from Rodriguez
and Sawyer, 2013
Color shading in
image shows the
modeled depth of the
Santa Fe Group,
constructed primarily
from gravity inversion
(Grauch et al., 2009).
Small black circles =
gravity stations
Orange circles = MT
stations of Rodriguez
and Sawyer (2013)
Red circles = borehole
lithologic control
Image from Rodriguez
and Sawyer, 2013
Color shading in
image shows the
modeled depth of the
Santa Fe Group,
constructed primarily
from gravity inversion
(Grauch et al., 2009).
Small black circles =
gravity stations
A’
B’
Orange circles = MT
stations of Rodriguez
and Sawyer (2013)
Red circles = borehole
lithologic control
B
A
Image from Rodriguez
and Sawyer, 2013
Figures from Rodriguez and
Sawyer, 2013
Part of Plate 1 of
Koning et al., 2013
Part of Plate 1 of
Koning et al., 2013
Yates No. 2
well
Figures are from Myer and Smith
(2006)
From Myer and Smith (2006)
From Myer and Smith (2006)
From Koning et al. (2013)
Espinaso Fm: Lt gray, well-cemented volcaniclastic
sandstone and conglomerate. Clasts dominated by
latite and andesite lithologies
Annotated graphic column
from Myer and Smith (2006)
Map showing
Espinaso
volcanoes and
volcaniclastic
deposition
relative to
modern
topography
Outcrop of Espinaso Fm (36-28 Ma)
Outcrop of Espinaso Fm
Cieneguilla basanite: Vesicular basalt with pyroxene
+/- olivine phenocrysts. Flows are interbedded with
volcaniclastic sediment. This package interfingers to
east and north with other early rift units. Widespread in
Espanola Basin and generally returns radiometric
dates of 26-25 Ma.
Sharp contact. Likely a disconformity
Annotated graphic column
from Myer and Smith (2006)
Photos of lithosome E, volcaniclastic sediment
Outcrop of Cieneguilla basanite –earliest rift mafic volcanism (26-25 Ma)
Depositional setting of Santa Fe Group
Modified from Koning and Read (2010)
Santa Fe Group comprises the Rio Grande rift basin fill and is 27-1 Ma
In Española Basin, it includes the Tesuque Fm (late Oligocene-late Miocene), Chamita
Formation (mid-late Miocene), and Ancha Fm (Plio-Pleistocene)
The Santa Fe Group consists of several laterally adjacent lithofacies corresponding to
specific depositional environments
In Española Basin, a marked coarsening of sedimentation occurs at 13.2-13.0 Ma; this
coarser, younger sediment can be considered as the Chamita Fm in the Buckman
area
Part of Plate 1 of Koning et al., 2013
Modified from Koning et al. (2007)
Coarser-grained Cuarteles Mbr (medial eastern alluvial
slope lithofacies)
Muddy very fine to very coarse sand and pebbles with minor silt
and clay beds
Greater than 15-20% coarse channel sediment; ribbon too broadly
lenticular beds
Sand is arkosic; gravel dominated by granite with <1% Paleozoic
clasts and <2% quartzite
Color: Reddish yellow to pink
Distal, finer-grained Cuarteles Mbr (distal eastern alluvial
slope lithofacies)
Silty very fine- to fine-grained sand with subordinate silt and clay beds
Coarse channel sediment is sparse; ribbon to broadly lenticular beds
Sand is arkosic; gravel dominated by granite with <2% Paleozoic clasts
and <2% quartzite clasts
Color: Pink to light brown
Vallito Member axial river deposits
Mostly channel-fills of fine- to coarse-grained, subrounded, “clean” sand
Channel-fills are wide and locally cross-stratified
Gravel composed of rhyolite-dacite with subordinate granite, quartzite,
and Paleozoic sedimentary clasts
Color: Very pale brown to pink
Hernandez Member of Chamita Fm
•180-370 m thick
•Gray pebble-cobble
conglomerate
channels
•Light brown
floodplain deposits of
fine sand and mud
•Gravel contains
volcanic rocks with
subordinate quartzite
•Age of 11.5 to 6 Ma
Hernandez Member of Chamita Fm
Younger rift stratigraphic
package
Ancha Fm type section
(east slope of Caja del Rio
Plateau)
Modified from Koning et al. (2002)
Figure from Thompson et al., 2006
Volcanic rocks of the
Cerros del Rio volcanic
field
>700 km2 and one of the
largest basaltic volcanic fields
in the Rio Grande rift
Three volcanic phases
•First-phase eruptions (2.8-2.6
Ma) formed large volcanoes
with constructive topography
•Second-phase eruptions (2.52.2 Ma) issued from numerous
smaller-volume vents; the
flows filled topographic lows
between the older, larger
volcanoes
•Third-phase eruptions were
largely limited to small-volume
eruptions in the western 1/3 of
the volcanic field
Information is from Thompson
et al. (2006)
Groundwater notes
Groundwater flows
westward through
the Tesuque Fm
from the mountains
towards the Rio
Grande
Generally
downward vertical
gradients near the
mountain front and
upward vertical
gradients in
western part of
map
The Cañada Ancha
area is a discharge
zone for regional
groundwater flow
Uncorrected
groundwater C-14
ages are 18,700 to
35,400 yrs
(Manning, 2009)
From Johnson (2009)
Groundwater notes
Along the
groundwater flow
path, the waters
changes from cool
(<15° C) Ca-HCO3
waters to warm
(>15° C) Na or
mixed Na-CaHCO3 waters
There appears to
be a thermal
gradient high (>40°
C/km) coincident
with the Caja del
Rio horst
Summarized from
Johnson et al.
(2013)
From Johnson (2009)
From Johnson et al.
(2013)
N
REFERENCES FOR TALK BY DAN KONING FOR SAGE, JUNE 26, 2013
Note: Ages for stratigraphic units are summarized in Koning et al. (2013) and Appendix A
of this work.
Johnson, P.S., 2009, Water-level elevation contours and groundwater-flow conditions (20002005) for the Santa Fe area, southern Española Basin, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of
Geology and Mineral Resources Open-file Report 520 (CD-ROM).
Johnson, P.S., Koning, D.J., and Partey, F.K., 2013, Shallow groundwater geochemistry in the
Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico: Evidence for structural control of a deep
thermal source, in Hudson, M.R., and Grauch, V.J.S. (Tien), eds., New Perspectives on Rio
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