GEOLOGY OF VETEAUO MOUNTAIN QUADRANGLE,
CATRQN AND CIBOLA COUNTIES,NEW MEXICO
by: B r i a n A r k e l l
New Nexico Bureau of r4ines
and N i n e c a l Resources
Open-Pile Report No. 2 2 2
7/20/04
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
.............................................
I n t r o d u c t i o n .........................................
Abstract
Locationand
Access
...............................
..................................
S t r u c t u r e .............................................
S t r a t i g r a p h y .........................................
UpperMoreno
H i l l Fm ..............................
RegionalGeology
...........................................
S p e a r s Fm .........................................
Baca Fm
En Echelon D i k e
2
2
3
3
5
6
6
1
8
...................................
8
...........................
9
TechadoMountainBasalt
...........................
..............................
Veteado Mountain Basalt
10
Diorite/Rasalt Stock
10
Quaternary Basalt
.................................
Quaternary Alluvium
...............................
......................................
Summary ..............................................
B i b l i o g r a p h y ..........................................
Economic Geology
.
11
11
112
2
14
15
.
I
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"2"
ABSTRACT
1 9 8 4 , N e w Mexico B u r e a u of Minesand
D u r i n gt h es p r i n go f
M i n e r a lR e s o u r c e sc o n d u c t e dg e o l o g i cm a p p i n ga n dr e s o u r c e
a s s e s s m e n t of V e t e a d o M o u n t a i n q u a d r a n g l e i n w e s t - c e n t r a l
q u a d r a n g l e i s i n a s t r u c t u r a l l ys i m p l ea r e aa l o n g
Mexico.The
t h e b o r d e ro f
t h e Datil-MogollonVolcanicFieldandtheMogollon
Upper C r e t a c e o u s Moreno H i l l Fm.,
S l o p e .E x p o s u r e si n c l u d e
EoceneBaca
New
Fm.,
O l i g o c e n eS p e a r s
Fm.
andMioceneFenceLake
Fm.
T h e s ec o n s i s tp r i m a r i l yo fm u d s t o n e s ,s a n d s t o n e sa n d
c o n g l o m e r a t e sd e p o s i t e di nm e a n d e r i n ga n db r a i d e ds t r e a m
environments.
The s e d i m e n t sa r e
c u t by a s e r i e so fT e r t i a r y
i n t r u s i v e s ,p r e d o m i n a n t l yb a s a l t i ci nc o m p o s i t i o n .
Veteado M o u n t a i n q u a d r a n g l e c o n t a i n s
s i g n i f i c a n c e .C o a ld e p o s i t s
be p r e s e n th e r e
a t depth.
no r e s o u r c e s of
a r e a b u n d a n t t o t h e westand
may
However, t h e s e would be c o v e r e d by
some 5 0 0 t o 1 5 0 0 f e e t of s e d i m e n t s .
INTRODUCTION
D u r i n gt h es p r i n g
of 1 9 8 4 , N e w MexicoBureauofMinesand
M i n e r a lR e s o u r c e sc o n d u c t e d
quadrangle.
a g e o l o g i cs u r v e yo fV e t e a d oM o u n t a i n
The work was done a s p a r t
between N e w MexicoBureauof
G e o l o g i c a lS u r v e y
s u r r o u n d i n ga r e a .
of a l a r g e r ,j o i n te f f o r t
M i n e s a n dM i n e r a lR e s o u r c e sa n d
to s t u d yt h eS a l t
L a k e coal f i e l d and t h e
The purpose of t h es t u d y
was t o map t h e
U.S.
“3”
quadrangle i n d e t a i l t o o b t a i n
k n o w l e d g eo fs t r a t i g r a p h y ,
map will be
s t r u c t u r e and r e s o u r c ep o t e n t i a l .I na d d i t i o n ,t h e
used i n c o m p i l a t i o n o f
a g e o l o g i c map o f t h e
Fence Lake 1:50,000
scale q u a d r a n g l e ( i n p r e p . ) .
LocationandAccess
The VeteadoMountain
1.5
..
west-central New Mexicoalong
t h e e a s t e r np e r i m e t e ro ft h eS a l t
1 ) . The q u a d r a n g l e l i e s some 15 miles
Lake c o a lf i e l d( f i g .
n o r t h of Quemado and 2 2 miles s o u t ho fF e n c e
access t o t h e a r e a
is located i n
m i n u t eq u a d r a n g l e
i s v i as t a t eh i g h w a y s
t u r nc a nb er e a c h e df r o mI n t e r s t a t e
t o t h en o r t ho rf r o m
U.S.
. .
Lake.
Primary
1 1 7 and 3 6 .
T h e s e -i n
40 i n t h e G r a n t s - G a l l u p a r e a
6 0 i n t h eQ u e m a d o - S p r i n g e r v i l l e
s o u t ho ft h eq u a d r a n g l e .T h e r ea r e
area
no r a i l r o a d so rc o m m e r c i a l
ai’rports i n the vicinity.
Most of t h el a n d
o ft h eq u a d r a n g l e
t h i s landhowever,
i s u n d e rp r i v a t eo w n e r s h i p .R o u g h l y
25%
i s owned by t h e s t a t e o r f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t s ;
i s u n d e rl e a s e
t o p r i v a t e concerns.
RegionalGeology
VeteadoMountainquadrangle
is s i t u a t e d a l o n g
b o u n d a r yo ft h eD a t i l - M o g o l l o nV o l c a n i cF i e l da n d
S l o p e( F i t z s i m m o n s ,1 9 5 9 ) .- S t r a t a
.~
flat-lying,
t h e Mogollon
i n t h er e g i o n
s h o w i n gv e r ys l i g h tr e g i o n a ld i p s
the
are n e a r l y
to the south
-
.
e.
“5”
of C r e t a c e o u sa n dT e r t i a r y
a n de a s t .E x p o s u r e sa r ep r i m a r i l y
age.During
t h e L a t eC r e t a c e o u s ,a ne p i e r i cs e ac o v e r e d
much of New Mexico and t h e VeteadoMountainareawas
p e r i o d i c a l l yi n u n d a t e d T
. h e s es e a - l e v e fl l u c t u a t i o n s
resultedin
a complex s e r i e s o f i n t e r f i n g e r i n g m a r i n e a n d
nearshorecontinentaldepositsbelonging
Sandstone, Mancos S h a l e ,T r e s
MesaverdeGroup.The
t o t h e Dakota
Hermanos Formationand
L a t e s tC r e t a c e o u s / E a r l yT e r t i a r y
was p r i m a r i l y a p e r i o d o f e r o s i o n a n d n o n - d e p o s i t i o n b r o u g h t
a b o u t by L a r a m i d et e c t o n i ca c t i v i t y .
of t o p o g r a p h i c b a s i n s i n t o
This l e f t a series
w h i c h c o a r s es a n d s t o n e sa n d
c o n g l o m e r a t e so ft h eR a c aF o r m a t i o nw e r ed e p o s i t e d .
The
remainder of t h e g e o l o g i c h i s t o r y h a s b e e n c h a r a c t e r i z e d
by
much of t h e a r e a w i t h
p e r i o d so fr i f t i n ga n dv o l c a n i s m ,c o v e r i n g
v o l c a n i c sa n dv o l c a n o c l a s t i c so ft h eD a t i lG r o u pa n dF e n c e
Lake
Formation.
STRUCTURE
VeteadoMountainquadrangle
structure.
i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by s i m p l e
S t r a t a a r ee i t h e rf l a t i l y i n g
2 d e g r e e s )e a s t w a r d .
or d i pv e r yg e n t l y
Minor d e f o r m a t i o n i s a p p a r e n ta r o u n d
of t h ei n t r u s i v e s ,h o w e v e r ,m o s to f
(1 to
some
t h e r o c k ss u r r o u n d i n g
i n t r u s i v e s a r es u r p r i s i n g l yu n d e f o r m e d .
The l a r g e d i k e i n t h e s o u t h w e s t p o r t i o n o f
( p l a t e 1) f o l l o w s a m a j o rs t r i k e - s l i pf a u l t .
.
.
t h e quadrangle
T h i s f a u l t i s of
"6"
P i e Town t o a t l e a s t
r e g i o n a le x t e n t ,r u n n i n gn o r t h w e s t e r l yf r o m
FenceLake,
t h ef a u l t
a d i s t a n c eo fa b o u t
50 miles.
is c o v e r e d by Q u a t e r n a r y b a s a l t . )
feet.
W i t h t h ee x c e p t i o n
Lake,
D i s p l a c e m e n ta l o n g
i t s l e n g t h ; i n Veteado
e a c hs e g m e n tv a r i e sg r e a t l yt h r o u g h o u t
M o u n t a i nq u a d r a n g l e ,d i s p l a c e m e n t
(BeyondFence
i s o nt h eo r d e ro f
500 to 1500
of r i g h t - l a t e r a ld i s p l a c e m e n t ,t h e r e
is
no a p p a r e n t s t r u c t u r a l d e f o r m a t i o ni nt h es u r r o u n d i n gr o c k s .
d i k es y s t e ma p p e a r s
t o have been calmlyemplacedalong
The
a pre-
a p r e - O l i g o c e n ea g ef o r
e x i s t i n gs u t u r ez o n e .T h i ss u g g e s t s
the
f a u l t( s e ed i s c u s s i o no fd i k e ) .
'
STRATIGRAPHY
Upper Moreno H i l l Formation (Kmhu)
The o l d e s t e x p o s u r e s i n t h e q u a d r a n g l e b e l o n g t o t h e
Member of t h e Moreno H i l l Formation.
i n a s e m i - c i r c u l a rp a t t e r na r o u n d
M o u n t a i n( p l a t e
Upper
The u n i t o u t c r o p ss p a r s e l y
t h e n o r t h e r nf r i n g eo fV e t e a d o
1 ) . Due t o t h e l i m i t e do u t c r o p s ,t h er e a d e r
r e f e r r e dt o , C a m p b e l (l 1 9 8 1 ) R
, oybal
d e t a i l e dd e s c r i p t i o n so f
the unit.
( 1 9 8 2 ) or A r k e l l (1984) for
'Where e x p o s e d ,t h e
Upper
Moreno H i l l c o n s i s t so fr e d ,g r a ya n dt a nc l a y s t o n e sa n d
s t o n e sw i t ht h i ni n t e r b e d so fw h i t e
l e n t i c u l a r and o f t e n g r a d e l a t e r a l l y
lithologies.
is
silt-
t o brown s a n d s t o n e .B e d sa r e
or v e r t i c a l l y i n t o d i f f e r e n t
No c o a l or c a r b o n a c e o u ss e d i m e n t sw e r en o t e d .
S t u d i e si nt h ea d j a c e n tT e c h a d oq u a d r a n g l e
( A r k e l l , 1984)
Fence
LakeFm.
(80‘)
Spears Fm.
(250‘)
boulder congl. and
gray to pink lithic
sandstones
gray volcanoclastic
sandstones and
mudstones
”
”
”
Baca Pm.
(400-500’)
Moreno Hill Fm.
Upper Member
white & red, coarsegrained, cross-bedded
arkosic sandstones:
pebble congl.: minor
claystones
gray, tan and red
claystones and siltstones: buff,finegrained sandstones
FIG. 2 - Generalized stratigraphic column for Veteado
Mountain quadrangle.
"8"
i n d i c a t e t h e upper Moreno H i l l Formation was d e p o s i t e d i n
meanderingstreamenvironments.
Baca Formation ( T b c )
Unconformablyoverlying
Eocene Ba.ca Formation.
The B a c ao u t c r o p se x t e n s i v e l y
t h r o u g h o u tt h eq u a d r a n g l e .
p a r t so f
a p p e a r st o
t h e Moreno H i l l Formation i s t h e
T h e u n i t i s t h i c k e s ti nt h es o u t h e r n
t h e quadranglewhere(basedonmapping
be 4 0 0 t o 5 0 0 f e e t t h i c k .
andnorthwestdue
t o t h e west) it
The u n i tt h i n st ot h en o r t h
t o b o t hd e p o s i t i o n a lt h i n n i n ga n dp r e - F e n c e
Lake F o r m a t i o ne r o s i o n .
TheBaca
is composed p r i m a r i l yo fw h i t ea n dr e ds a n d s t o n e s
w i t h some interbeddedconglomeratesandmudstones.
c r o s s - s e c t i o n ,t h e s es e d i m e n t s
In
occur a s a sequence of s t a c k e da n d
m u l t i - l a t e r a l e n s e - s h a p e dd e p o s i t s .S a n d s t o n e sa r eu s u a l l y
t r o u g hc r o s s - b e d d e da n de x h i b i ta b u n d a n te r o s i o n a lf e a t u r e s .
S a n d s t o n e sa r ea r k o s i ct os u b a r k o s i c
m a i n l yq u a r t za n df e l d s p a rw i t h
s a n d s t o n e sg e n e r a l l yh a v e
some rockfragments.These
a q u a r t z - c a l c i t ec e m e n ta n d
n om a t r i x .T e x t u r a l l y ,m o s ts a n d s t o n e s
c o a r s e - g r a i n e d ,a n g u l a r
i n c o m p o s i t i o n ,c o n t a i n i n g
little or
are medium- t ov e r y
t o s u b a n g u l a r , w i t h m o d e r a t es o r t i n g .
Conglomerate beds o c c u rf r e q u e n t l y .
p i e c e so fc h e r t ,q u a r t z i t e ,p e t r i f i e d
and minor i g n e o u sr o c k s ,a l lg e n e r a l l y
P e b b l e s a r ew e l lr o u n d e d
wood, s a n d s t o n e ,c l a y s t o n e
l e s s t h a n 3 i n c h e si n
d i a m e t e r .C o n g l o m e r a t eb e d sa r ee s p e c i a l l yp r o l i f i ca l o n g
the
“9”
base o ft h eB a c aw h e r et h e yc a nu s u a l l y
be used t o i d e n t i f y
the
c o n t a c t w i t h t h e Moreno H i l l Formation.
The g e n e r a l l i t h o l o g i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , g e o m e t r y o f d e p o s i t s ,
s t r a t i g r a p h i ca s s o c i a t i o n sa n ds e d i m e n t a r ys t r u c t u r e si n d i c a t e
t h e Baca was d e p o s i t e d i n a b r a i d e d stream environment.
S p e a r sF o r m a t i o n( T d s )
C o n f o r m a b l yo v e r l y i n gt h eB a c aF o r m a t i o n
t o t h eS p e a r sF o r m a t i o n .
lightgrayvolcanoclasticsbelonging
T h e SpearsFormation
,39 m.y.)
is a s e r i e s o f
i s c o n s i d e r e d t o be Oligocene ( 3 3 t o
inage(OsburnandChapin,
1983; Guilinger, 1982).
is p r e s e n t
On VeteadoMountainquadrangle,theSpears
o n l y on VeteadoMountain,where
it o b t a i n s a t h i c k n e s s 250
f e e t .E l s e w h e r ei nt h eq u a d r a n g l e ,t h eu n i th a sb e e ns t r i p p e d
away by e r o s i o n .
The S p e a r sF o r m a t i o n
i s composedmainly
of v o l c a n o c l a s t i c
s a n d s t o n e sa n dm u d s t o n e s .S a n d s t o n e sa r eg e n e r a l l yf i n e medium-grained,poorlysorted,
to
w i t h subrounded t o a n g u l a r g r a i n s .
They c o n t a i n m a i n l y v o l c a n i c r o c k f r a g m e n t s a n d p l a g i o c l a s e
f e l d s p a r w i t h l e s s e r q u a r t z ,h o r n b l e n d e ,b i o t i t e ,i r o no x i d e s ,
p y r o x e n ea n dv o l c a n i cg l a s s .S e d i m e n t a r y
g e n e r a l l yn o n - e x i s t e n t ;h o w e v e r ,
i s p r e s e n t .I n t e r b e d d e d
structures a r e
some s o f ts e d i m e n td e f o r m a t i o n
w i t h t h es a n d s t o n e sa r et u f f a c e o u s
mudstones andverypoorlysorted
mudflow b r e c c i a s .
"10"
Fence L a k e Formation
Unconformablyoverlying
t h e Spears Formation i s t h e
Miocene(?) Fence L a k e Formation.
T h e f o r m a t i o n is p r e s e n t i n
a small a r e a near t h e topofVeteadoMountainwhere
a t h i c k n e s s o f a b o u t 80 f e e t( p l a t e
1).
Elsewhere, t h e h a r d
b o u l d e r s of t h e Fence L a k e conglomeratesform
gravellag
it reaches
a conspicuous
w h i c h c o v e r s most o f t h e e a s t e r n h a l f o f t h e
T h u s , a t one time t h e Fence L a k e Formation
quadrangle.
a much l a r g e r a r e a and h a s s i n c e been
p r o b a b l yc o v e r e d
s t r i p p e d away by e r o s i o n .
On Veteado M o u n t a i n , t h e Fence Lake Formation c o n s i s t s of
two t h i c k c o n g l o m e r a t eb e d si n t e r b e d d e dw i t hs a n d s t o n e sa n d
sandy s i l t s t o n e s .
a n dv a r yg r e a t l yi n
composedof
are q u i t e lenticular
The conglomeratebeds
t h i c k n e s s . a n d e x t e n t .C o n g l o m e r a t e s
large (0.5
-
3.0
f t . f l i a . ) , r o u n d e db o u l d e r s
of
chert, quartzite,
vesicularbasaltalongwithpebblesof
sandstone, r h y o l i t e and andesite.
are
T h e s e a r e h e l dt o g e t h e r
by a g r a y t o w h i t e , q u a r t z o s e ,s i l t ys a n dm a t r i x .
Where t h e
conglomerates a r e missing, t h e i n t e r v a l i s f i l l e d w i t h g r a y
t o w h i t e s a n d s t o n e sa n ds a n d y
f r o mv e r yf i n e -
siltstones.
S a n d s t o n e sr a n g e
t o v e r yc o a r s e - g r a i n e d ,s u b r o u n d e d
rounded and p o o r l y t o m o d e r a t e l ys o r t e d .T h e y - a r e
p r i m a r i l yo fq u a r t z
t o wellcomposed
( 6 0 - 8 0 % ) and f e l d s p a r ( 1 5 - 2 5 % ) w i t h
s u b o r d i n a t e rock f r a g m e n t s (5-15.%), m a f i c minerals (1-3%)
a n di n
some i n s t a n c e s , v o l c a n i cg l a s s
(1-3%).
The rock
“11”
f r a g m e n t sa r em a i n l yv o l c a n i c
i n o r i g i n .S a n d s t o n e sa n d
siltstonesareusuallymoderatelyinduratedandvery
are c r u d e l y
most p a r t ,t h e s e
c a l c a r e o u s .F o rt h e
b e d d e da n do c c a s s i o n a l l ye x h i b i tt r o u g hc r o s s - b e d d i n g .
It
i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h a t t h e s a n d s t o n e sa n ds i l t s t o n e s
show s t r i k i n g s i m i l a r i t i e s
w i t h i n theFenceLakeFormation
t o t h o s e o f ’ t h e S p e a r sF o r m a t i o n
i n terms of c o m p o s i t i o n ,
t e x t u r e and d e p o s i t i o n a l e n v i r o n m e n t s .
The o v e r a l l l i t h o l o g i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , s e d i m e n t a r y
s t r u c t u r e s and c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l p r o f i l e i n d i c a t e
LakeFormation
t h e Fence
was d e . p o s i t e d i n a b r a i d e ds t r e a me n v i r o n m e n t .
McLellan e t a l .
( 1 9 8 2 ) b e l i e v et h eF e n c e
Lake may be p a r to f
a p o s t - O l i g o c e n e ,n o r t h w e s t - t r e n d i n ga l l u v i a lf a ns y s t e m
o r i g i n a t i n gi nt h eD a t i lM o u n t a i n sr e g i o n .
However, t h e
a l o c a l source,
v e r yl a r g e ,v e s i c u l a rb a s a l tb o u l d e r ss u g g e s t
p e r h a p sr e l a t e dt o
t h e O l i g o c e n ev o l c a n i cv e n t s
i n the region
( s u c h a s Techado Dome).
En Echelon D i k e (Tb)
An e n e c h e l o ns e r i e so fd i k e st r e n d sa p p r o x i m a t e l y
of VeteadoMountainquadrangle.
t h r o u g ht h es o u t h w e s tp a r t
m e n t i o n e de a r l i e r ,
t h i s d i k e h a s beenemplacedalong
s l i p f a u l t z o n eo fr e g i o n a lp r o p o r t i o n s .
fromPie
e t al.
Town t o F e n c e
As
a strike-
The d i k es y s t e mr u n s
Lake and h a s been d i s c u s s e d by L a u g h l i n
( 1 9 7 9 ) andCampbell
o l i v i n eb a s a l t
N 45 W
(1981). I t i s a b l a c k t o g r a y ,
w i t h a micro- t o c r y p t o c r y s t a l l i n e t e x t u r e . I n
.”
..
~
~~
~~
"12"
p l a c e s ,t h ed i k e
is h i g h l ym a g n e t i c .
K/Ar
d a t i n gy i e l d e da n
~
a g e of 27.67
+/-
0.59 m i l l i o ny e a r s
et al.,
t h eO l i g o c e n e( L a u g h l i n
placing t h e dike i n
B.P.,
1979).
TechadoMountainBasalt(Tb)
TechadoMountain.(plate
composition.
1) is a v o l c a n i c dome o f b a s a l t i c
The dome i s s t e e p - s i d e d ,r o u g h l yc i r c u l a ri np l a n
and s l i g h t l yc o n v e xa tt h et o p .F a n - l i k e ,n e a rv e r t i c a lf l o w
banding can be s e e n i n some a r e a sa r o u n d
the perimeter.
The c o r e of Techado Dome i s composed of d e n s e ,b l a c k
diabase.
T h i s i s s u r r o u n d e d by a z o n eo fm i c r o c r y s t a l l i n eb a s a l t
and b a s a l tb r e c c i a .W i t h i n
c o u n t r yr o c k( p o s s i b l y
t h i s zone a r e i n c l u s i o n so ft h e
Baca Fm.) a n d l a r g e , t i l t e d
c r u d e l yb e d d e db a s a l t ,a g g l o m e r a t ea n dm u d f l o w s .
blocks o f
The t o p of t h e
dome c o n s i s t s o f r e d , v e s i c u l a r b a s a l t w i t h a b u n d a n t c a v i t i e s .
The f o o t h i l l s s u r r o u n d i n g T e c h a d o M o u n t a i n a r e p a r t l y c o v e r e d
w i t h a r u b b l eo fb a s a l tb o u l d e r sa n d
bombs; however,no
s i g n s of
l a v af l o w sr e m a i n .
Techado Dome c u t ss e d i m e n t s
i s a t mostEocene
of B a c aF o r m a t i o n ,i n d i c a t i n g
i na g e .I ng e n e r a l ,i g n e o u sa c t i v i t y
it
i n the
.
l a t e r age is
a r e ab e g a ni nt h eO l i g o c e n e .T h u s ,a nO l i g o c e n eo r
p r o b a b l y more a c c u r a t e .
II
..... .
..
"13"
VeteadoMountainBasalt
(Tb)
The c o r e of VeteadoMountain
is a b a s a l t i c v o l c a n i c n e c k .
The b a s a l t i s a d e n s e ,b l a c k ,c r y p t o c r y s t a l l i n e
abundantvolcanicglasscrystalsand
plagioclase.
rock w i t h
a few p h e n o c r y s t s o f
a steep-sided,
T h e h a r d ,r e s i s t a n tb a s a l tf o r m s
e l l i p t i c a l s t r u c t u r e r i s i n g some 250 f e e ta b o v et h es u r r o u n d i n g
sediments.
The neck i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by c r u d e l yd e v e l o p e d
v e r t i c a lt os u b - v e r t i c a lj o i n t i n g .
Along t h ep e r i m e t e ro ft h e
result
neck a r es p o r a d i cz o n e so fb r e c c i a t e db a s a l t ,p r o b a b l yt h e
o fs u c c e s s i v e
magma p u l s e s i n t h e c o n d u i t .
The ageofVeteado
Neck i s s t i l l i n q u e s t i o n .
d e p o s i t s of F e n c eL a k eF o r m a t i o n ,i n d i c a t i n g
The neck c u t s
a maximum a g eo f
Miocene.
D i o r i t e / B a s a l tS t o c k
(Td/Tb)
The s o u t h e a s t c o r n e r o f V e t e a d o M o u n t a i n q u a d r a n g l e c o n t a i n s
a zoned d i o r i t e / b a s a l ts t o c k .
T h e i n t r u s i v ec r o p s
l y i n g ,k i d n e y - s h a p e df a s h i o ns u r r o u n d e d
Formation.
T h e p e r i m e t e ro f
by sedimentsofBaca
t h e s t o c k i s a b l a c kb a s a l t .
b a s a l t is e s s e n t i a l l y c r y p t o c r y s t a l l i n e e x c e p t f o r
p l a g i o c l a s e (15-25%) a n dv o l c a n i cg l a s s
c e n t e r , t h e i n t r u s i v eg r a d e sa b r u p t l yi n t o
d i o r i t e is l i g h tg r a y
p h a n e r i t i c' t e x t u r e .
0 u . t i n a low-
(5-15%).
The
some s u b h e d r a l
Towards t h e
a diorite.
The
t o brown w i t h a g r a n u l a r , f i n e - g r a i n e d ,
The rock i s composed p r i m a r i l yo f
p l a g i o c l a s e ( 6 0 - 8 0 % ) , o f t e ns e r i c i t i z e d ,p y r o x e n e
(15-25%),
~
~~
"14"
c h l o r i t e ( 5 1 0 % ) andopaqueminerals
I
(5%) w i t h subordinate
p o r t i o n s o ft h e
h o r n b l e n d ea n db i o t i t e .T h r o u g h o u tt h ec e n t r a l
stock a r e c o n t a c t
metamorphosedinclusions
. T h e s ei n c l u s i o n si n d i c a t e
f o rt h e
of BacaFormation.
a post-Eocene,probablyOligoceneage
intrusive.
Q u a t e r n a r yB a s a l t( Q b )
is p r e s e n ta l o n gt h en o r t h e r ne d g e
A Quaternarybasaltflow
of t h eq u a d r a n g l e( p l a t e
1 ) . T h i s flow i s t h es o u t h e r n m o s t
p o r t i o no fM c C a r t y sB a s a l tf l o w ,
a hugeflowcovering
s q u a r e miles b e t w e e nI n t e r s t a t e
4 0 a n dt h eV e t e a d oa r e a .
, f l o w i s v e r yr e c e n t ,e s t i m a t e dt o
(Nichols, 1 9 4 6 ) .
some 1 1 9
The
be a b o u t 1 0 0 0 y e a r s o l d
The b a s a l t i s g r a y i s h - b l a c k ,h i g h l yv e s i c u l a r ,
w i t h an a p h a n i t i ct e x t u r e .
I t c o n t a i n sa b u n d a n tv o l c a n i cg l a s s
and a few p h e n o c r y s t s o f p l a g i o c l a s e
and o l i v i n e .
Q u a t e r n a r yA l l u v i u m( Q a l )
Quaternaryalluvialdepositswere
mapped w h e r e s u f f i c i e n t l y
t h i c k a n de x t e n s i v et ot o t a l l yo b s c u r eb e d r o c k .T h e s ed e p o s i t s
i n c l u d ea l lt y p e so fu n c o n s o l i d a t e dg r a v e l s ,s a n d sa n dc l a y s .
A l l u v i u m coversmostof
quadrangle.
t h e f l a t ,l o w - l y i n ga r e a so f
I t is t h i c k e s ta l o n gt h en o r t h e r na n de a s t e r nf l a n k s
of VeteadoMountainandalongmajordrainages.In
t h ea l l u v i u m
the
these a r e a s ,
may reach up t o 5 0 f e e t i n t h i c k n e s s .
I
"15"
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY
The r e s o u r c e p o t e n t i a l ( e x c l u s i v e o f
Veteado Mountain quadrangle
mapping.
was s u r v e y e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h
h a s no s i g n i f i c a n tr e s o u r c e
I n g e n e r a l ,t h ea r e a
potential.
oil a n d n a t u r a l g a s ) o f
i n s u r r o u n d i n ga r e a s ,
However,becauseofdiscoveries
c e r t a i n r e s o u r c e sn e e dm e n t i o n .
of Veteado
L a r g ec o a ld e p o s i t sh a v eb e e nd i s c o v e r e dw e s t
M o u n t a i nq u a d r a n g l eC
. o aol c c u r ps r i m a r i l yi nt h e
o ft h e
Lower Member
Moreno H i l l F o r m a t i o n , w h e r e t h r e e h o r i z o n s c o n t a i n
1 9 8 1 ; Roybal, 1 9 8 2 ) .
s i g n i f i c a n ct o a d
l e p o s i t s( C a m p b e l l ,
The
Upper Member of Moreno B i l l F o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n s o n l y t h i n ,
uneconomic c o a lb e d sa n d ,b a s e do nd e p o s i t i o n a le n v i r o n m e n t s ,
i n thisarea
d o e sn o ta p p e a rt oh a v ea n yr e s o u r c ep o t e n t i a l
(Arkell, 1984).
RoybalandCampbell
it
( 1 9 8 1 ) r e p o r t e d some 359
i n t h e Moreno H i l l F o r m a t i o n
m i l l i o nt o n sd e m o n s t r a t e dr e s o u r c e s
a b o u t 1 0 m i l e sw e s to fV e t e a d oM o u n t a i nq u a d r a n g l e .E a s t w a r d
h o w e v e r ,t h ec o a ld i p s
down below t h e d e p t h
t h a t is p r e s e n t l y
economic t o mine.InVeteadoMountainquadrangle,
horizonsarecovered
Formationsrangingfrom
by a sequenceof
5 0 0 t ow e l lo v e r
t h e coal
Baca and UpperMoreno
1000 f e e t thick.
i s w e l l b e l o we c o n o m i c a ls t r i p p i n gr a n g e F
. urthermore,
u n l i k e l yu n d e r g r o u n dm i n i n g
andnear-term
would be f e a s i b l e g i v e n
f u t u r e c o a lm a r k e t .
p u r p o s e s ,a n yc o a le x i s t i n gi n
t o be p r o f i t a b l y e x t r a c t e d .
H i l l
This
it is
the present
T h u s , f o ra l lp r a c t i c a l
t h e q u a d r a n g l e wouldbe
t o od e e p
\
"16"
S p o r a d i c u r a n i u m m i n e r a l i z a t i o nh a sb e e nr e p o r t e d
region.
a t t h eT e r t i a r y -
The m i n e r a l i z a t i o no c c u r sm a i n l y
Cretaceousboundaryand
(Guilinger, 1982).
i n the
of l i m i t e d e x t e n t
is m o s t l y low g r a d ea n d
t o l a t e 1 9 7 0 ' ~v~a r i o u s
Duringthemiddle
p r i v a t ec o n c e r n sc o n d u c t e du r a n i u me x p l o r a t i o n ,i n c l u d i n g
d r i l l i n g , i n t h ea r e a .
made andjudging
However, n os i g n i f i c a n td i s c o v e r i e sw e r e
i s no p o t e n t i a l
by p r e s e n t m a r k e t t r e n d s , t h e r e
f o ru r a n i u md e v e l o p m e n ti n
the area;
is p r e s e n t i n sporadic zones o n
A s m a l l amount o f s c o r i a
T e c h a d oM o u n t a i n .H o w e v e r ,t h el i m i t e dt o n n a g ea n de r r a t i c
d i s t r i b u t i o n would e l i m i n a t e a n y p o s s i b i l i t y o f m i n i n g
it.
A r e a so fw e a t h e r e dB a c aF o r m a t i o no f t e nr e p r e s e n tp o t e n t i a l
s o u r c e so fs a n da n dg r a v e l .B a c ac o n g l o m e r a t e so f t e nw e a t h e rt o
l e a v es i g n i f i c a n ta c c u m u l a t i o n so fc o a r s eg r a v e la n dq u a r t zs a n d .
may be s u f f i c i e n t f o r
Though t h e d e p o s i t s a r e n o t l a r g e , t h e y
l o c a l , uses.
SUMMARY
Veteado M o u n t a i n q u a d r a n g l e c o n t a i n s
a s e r i e s of f l a t - l y i n g
c u t by T e r t i a r y i n t r u s i v e s .
C r e t a c e o u sa n dT e r t i a r ys e d i m e n t s
T h e o l d e s te x p o s u r e sa r eo fC r e t a c e o u s
UpperMoreno
Hill
F o r m a t i o n .T h e s ea r em u d s t o n e sa n ds a n d s t o n e sd e p o s i t e d
in
meanderingstreamenvironments.Unconformablyoverlying
the
.. ...
.
.. .. ,..- .,. "..~. ~
,. .
.
:
. . . ,
.
.
.
"17"
C r e t a c e o u sr o c k s
i s theEocene
braidedstreamdeposits
andconglomerates.
Baca Formation, a s e r i e s of
composed p r i m a r i l y of coarse s a n d s t o n e s
T h e BacaFormation
i s conformably o v e r l a i n by
v o l c a n o c l a s t i cs a n d s t o n e s ,m u d s t o n e sa n dc o n g l o m e r a t e sc o m p r i s i n g
t h eO l i g o c e n eS p e a r sF o r m a t i o n .
i s t h e Miocene(?)Fence
The u p p e r m o s ts e d i m e n t a r yu n i t
Lake Formation.
c o n g l o m e r a t e s and s a n d s t o n e sd e p o s i t e d
sediments a r e i n t r u d e d
T h i s i s a s e r i e s of
by b r a i d e ds t r e a m s .
by a b a s a l t v o l c a n i c
The
neck a t Veteado
Mountain, a b a s a l t v o l c a n i c dome a t TechadoMountain,anen
echelonseries
of b a s a l t d i k e s a n d
a zoned d i o r i t e / b a s a l t
stock.
V e t e a d oM o u n t a i nq u a d r a n g l ec o n t a i n sn os i g n i f i c a n tr e s o u r c e
potential.
Coal d e p o s i t so c c u r
quadrangle;however,due
h o r i z o n sa r e
some 1 0 miles west o ft h e
t o a ne a s t e r l yd i p ,t h ec o a l - b e a r i n g
well below s t r i p p i n g r a n g e .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A r k e l l , R.W.
,
1 9 8 4 ,G e o l o g ya n d - c o a lr e s o u r c e s
C i b o l a C o u n t i e s , N e w Mexico: unpub.
q u a d r a n g l e ,C a t r o na n d
rept.,
of t h eT e c h a d o
2 1 pp.
c o a l r e s o u r c e so f
Campbell, F.,1981,Geologyand
andThe
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1 9 8 2 ,G e o l o g ya n du r a n i u mp o t e n t i a l
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1982,Fence
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Robinson, L . ,
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C a r t e r , M . D * a n dM e d l i n ,
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,
v.4,no.4,
pp. 53-55
I
. . .-
. . . . -.
.
-
. . . . . . . .. . . .r. _
. ....' _._O.
.... ".'"i'".
.~..
. . . .. . . . . . . . .
.,
.. . . .- . .
..~
.
.~
"19"
N i c h o l s , R.L.,
1946, McCartys b a s a l t flow, V a l e n c i aC o u n t y , ,
Mexico: G.S.A.
Bull.,
Osburn, G.R.
v.57,
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pp. 1049-1086
C.E.,
1983,Nomenclature
rocks of n o r t h e a s t M o g o l l o n - D a t i l v o l c a n i c f i e l d ,
N.
Mex. Bur.Mines
Roybal, G . H . ,
New
for C e n o z o i c
New Mexico:
Min. Res., S t r a t . C h a r t 1
1982,Geologyand
coal r e s o u r c e s of T e j a n a Mesa
q u a d r a n g l e : N. Mex. B u r . Mines Min. Res., Open F i l e Rept.
no.178,35
pp.
a n d Campbell, F . ,1 9 8 1 ,S t r a t i g r a p h i cs e q u e n c e
d r i l l i n gd a t a ,F e n c e
Open F i l e Rept. no.
L a k e area: N. Mex. Bur:MinesMin.
145, 2 4 pp.
in
Res.,
P
\\
+d ;
p'
p
d
5'
34"37'30"
"a2loaR.H.
34"30'
15'
base. from
U.S.G.S.,
L
SCALE 1,24000
196 7
L
U
L
l
Y
Y
TflT
= e r tF. e n c Le a k Fe m .
Q a I =Q u a t a. l l u v i u m
Q b = Q u a t .b a s a l t
T d s T= e r tS. p e a r Fs m .
. ... . . . -.
"
T b c =T e r t B. a c aF m .
T d = T e r t .d i o r i t e
1
H
I
"
K m h u = C r e t .U p p e rM o r e n oH i l l
T b =T e r t .b a s a l t
CONTOUR INTERVAL 20 FEET
@ = h o r i z o n t a ls t r a t a
G E O L O G IMCA P
"
OF
V E T E A DMOO U N T A IQNU A D R A N G L E
W, E S T - C E N T R A ~ L b By r: J aA nr k e l l ,
N.M.B.M.M.R.
,
1984
'
NEW
MEXICO
a
-
Fm.