Regional Hydrology and Evaporative Discharge as a
Present-day Sourceof Gypsum at White Sands
National Monument, New Mexico
Roger J. Allmendinger and Frank B. Titus
8 May 1973
ABSTRACT
Lake Lucero, a modern playa, i s t h e southernmost and lowestof
a 30-milelongsystemof
a l k a l i f l a t s and playa depressions lying
in the western portion
Mexico.
of the Tularosa Basin
Many hypotheseshave
conclusions have
beenadvanced
of south-central New
been proposedbut
few data-supported
t o d e s c r i b e t h e mechanism of formation
of Lake Lucero, t h e a s s o c i a t e d a l k a l i f l a t s ,
and t h e gypsum comprising
t h e WhiteSandsdunes.
The present study, centered
on Lake Lucero, i n d i c a t e s t h a t
subsurface hydrologic processes have
concentrating gypsumand
been a c t i v e l y t r a n s p o r t i n g and
other salts since
Surface waters were important
in the past
late Pleistocene time.
ancestubl
when Lake Otero was
A
dwindling i n s i z e because of a change of climate, possibly less
than 10,000 years ago.During
deposited as thinly
t h i s time, t h e bulk of t h e gypsumwas
bedded l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s
and l a r g e s e l e n i t e
crystals.
Data obtained during the
sunnner of 1970 show t h a t modem surface
waters which occasionally cover the playa
system.
add l i t t l e gypsum t o t h e
No s a l t s p r e c i p i t a t e from t h i s ponded w a t e r u n t i l t h e
evaporation-infiltration processes have left the playa surface
e s s e n t i a l l yd r y .
A l a t e re f f l o r e s c e n tc r u s ti n d i c a t e st h a tt h e
concentrated remnant waters eventually reach equilibrium with the
predominant gypsum phaseofthenear-surfaceplayadeposits.
these waters are then
at the surface
drawnupwardby
Presumably
c a p i l l a r y a c t i o n and evaporate
where a b r i l l i a n t w h i t e gypsum c r u s t forms.
Although surface waters were important in the past,
t h a t today regional
it seems l i k e l y
ground-water dynamics play the most important role.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
/,de o.m
J..”grateful
t o t h e New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral
Resources for funding the project as well asffor providing
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and chemicalanalyses.
p a r t by funds provided through the
Theworkwas
supportedin
New Mexico Water Resources
Research I n s t i t u t e , by t h e Department of t h e I n t e r i o r , O f f i c e
Water Resources Research as authorized under the
of
Water Resources
Research Act of 1964 (Project B-013-NMex-3109-106).
D r . Frank Kottlowski was kind to review the manuscript
considerable,helpfulsuggestions.
L4.k 0-rc
Lamthankfulfortheassistance,interest,
all the Park
and o f f e r
and enthusiasm of
Rangers and e s p e c i a l l y Head Ranger, Hugh Bozarth, White
Sands National Monument.The
naturalistdivisionspent
much time
This tedious
collectingtheweatherdataessentialtothisreport.
and time-consuming e f f o r t i s g r a t e f u l l y acknowledged.
Personnel a t t h e White Sands M i s s i l e Range helped by allowing
access t o t h e f i e l d a r e a .
I appreciate the field assistance given to
m e by my fellow
graduate students Starr Lanphere, David H. Swenson and William W.
Wilkinson, Jr.
INTRODUCTION
The Tdarosa Basin
of
the
basin
and
is
an
range
arid,
intermontaine
physiographic
province
depression
of
western
The basin encompasses an area 6,500
of square miles (Fig.1).
Richardson
divided
what
was
formerly
called
the
typical
North
America.
In 1909
Hueco
Bolson
into
two poations. The northern portion, the Tularosa Basin, is separated
from
the
southern
portion,
the
Hueco
Bolson
of aTexas,
very slight
by
topographic divide just north
of the Texas-New Mexico bonder. The
complete structural basin extends
ZOO miles south from Carrizozo, New
Mexico across the corner of Texas and into Mexico. Its width ranges
from 24 to 60 miles.
Elevations
range
over
12,000 feet above sea level at Sierra
from
Blanca, on the east, to less 3,900
than feet in the southwestern part
of the basin. The basin is bounded by the Franklin, Organ, and San
Andres
Mountains
by a broad
Patos,
and
Sierra
topographically
and
Tuscon
Peaks,
Oscura
high
and
region
on the
Sierra
Blanca,
Chupadera
north;
and
Mesa
and
the
by
on
the
west;
Gallinas,
Sacramento
and
Hueco
Mountains on the East. The gentle divide
on the south requires that
all
drainage
within
the
Tularosa
Basin
be
interior.
The climate of the basin is typical
of arid regions of the Southwest.
Rainfall
ranges
from
7 inches
at
Holloman
Air
Force
Base
and
White
Sands National Monument Headquarters area,
12 to
inches in the foothills
regions, to over
25 inches per year in the mountain regions (Hood,
1959).
The low relative humidity, frequently falling la,
below
the high
temperatures, and the persistant southwest winds combine to give
the
I,.
central basin area an evaporation potential
of over 100 inches per
year (Hood, 1959, p. 238).
'
TULARO.SA
BASIN
WATERSHED
24 MI LES
Modified
from
J. S. M c L e a n
I970
-2-
The malpais, a r e c e n t b a s a l t i c l a v a
h a l f of t h e b a s i n ,
This flow plays
flow, l i e s i n t h e n o r t h e r n
west ofCarrizozo,Oscura
1).
and ThreeRivers(Fig.
an important role in the near-surface hydrologic
circulationpattern.
lies the
About 35 milestothesouth-southwest
playa named Lake Lucero, and r e l a t e d a l k a l i f l a t s . N o r t h e a s t
playa and a l k a l i f l a t s t h e
of t h e
dominant southwest winds havecovered
square miles (McKee, 1966) withnearlypure
gypsum sanddunes.
immediate gypsum source i s obviously the playa
275
The
and a l k a l i f l a t s .
The a r e a of research (66 sq. m i l e s ) l i e s e n t i r e l y w i t h i n t h e
Co-use a r e a of t h e White Sands National Monument.
Lake Lucero i s normally a dry playa whose s u b s u r f a c e s t r a t a
consistprimarilyofclay
summer storms furnish
-and c r y s t a l l i n e gypsum.
enough runnoff water
Occasionally
t o cover the playa surface.
Lake Otero existed during the Pleistocene times as
a body of water
covering a much l a r g e r p o r t i o n of the Tularosa Basin than present-day
Lake Lucero.
Gypsum probably precipitated out of the lake as
climate followed the latest Pluvial.
a dryer
REGIONAL GEOLOGY
S t r u c t u r e of the Tularosa Basin
The Tularosa Basin i s a structural trough
formed by t h e
downfaulting of a l a r g e c e n t r a l b l o c k
of a norkh-south trending
.. ~.
~.
.
g
2.).
Anticlinaldeformationceasedinthelate
~
a n t i c l i n e( F i g .
~
- .~
... .. .
~
~~
~
T e r t i a r y when a r e l e a s e i n compressional forces led to tension
consequent normal f a u l t i n g (Sumner, 1969,p.
The western Limb of t h e a n t i c l i n e d i p s
10 t o 20 degrees into
of the Jornada del
The anticlinalaxistrendsnearlynorth-southalongthe
western portion
o f the basin and extends through Mockingbird
The e a s t e r n limbof
the anticline dips very gently into the
River some 80 m i l e s t o t h e
The f a u l t s c a r p s
thefracture
Pecos
of t h e San AndresMountains
Sacramento and OscuroMountains d e l i n e a t e
zones which formed t h e graben. Total vertical
along these fault
Gap.
east.
of t h e e a s t f a c e
and t h e west face of the
1956,p.
and
2).
t h e assymmetrical, southward plunging syncline
Muerto.
.-I
movement
et a l . ,
zones has been s e v e r a l thousand feet(Kottlowski
73).
The main f a u l t zone o f t h e San AndresMountains
west of north but
is offset to the east in places
trends slightly
by oblique faulting.
Here t h e t o t a l displacement i s as much as 5,000 t o 10,000 f e e t .
east s i d e of t h e b a s i n , t h e f a u l t s c a r p s o f t h e
a l s o t r e n d west of north
On t h e
SacramentoMountains
and rise about one mile above t h e v a l l e y f l o o r
i n two successivesteps.Figure
2 i s a generalizedillustration
approximate s t r a t i g r a p h i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n t h e b a s i n ;
I-
of t h e
it i s n o t i n t e n d e d ,
i
t oa c c u r a t e l yr e p r e s e n tt h es t r u c t u r a l
geology.
The a t t i t u d e of t h e
bed rock and b a s i n f i l l i s probably more c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o
f a u l t i n g t h a n i s suggested by thefigure(Kottlowski,
I
normal
1973, pers.corn.).
i
"
Stratigraphy of the Tularosa Basin Borderlands
The f a u l t s c a r p s
ofPennsylvanian
of the bordering mountainsexpose
and Permian Rocks.
study are the evaporites
thick sections
S t r a t a of most i n t e r e s t i n t h i s
of t h e YesoandSan
Andres Formations, which
c o n s t i t u t e t h e most l i k e l y primary source of t h e gypsumnow
found i n
the subsurface of the interior basin.
TheYeso
Formation, c o n s i s t i n g of gypsum, limestone, and some
sandstone i s primarily Leonardian
being upper Wolfcampian.
Overlying t h e Yeso i s t h e San Andres
t o medium-bedded limestone of Leonardian ( ? ) and
Formation,amassive
Guadalupianage.
i n age with the lowermost portion
The & y o and San AndresFormations
the Glorieta Sandstone in the northern
San AndresMountains.
G l o r i e t a Sandstone probably correlates with the
San AndresFormation
are separated by
HondoMember
The
of t h e
as it i s mapped i n t h e SacramentoMountains.
,--
When f a u l t i n g exposed t h e s t r a t a a l o n g t h e
I
~
meteoric
waters
..
graben perimeter,
began d i s s o l v i nt h
sgoe l u bel v
eaporites
i'
and
I
I
i
b a s i n . transporting
the
them t o
"
I
Kottlowski et a l . (1956,. p. 53) havedescribedthe
crops out in the
San AndresMountains.Here
1,580 f e e t i n t h e Rhodes Canyon a r e a t o o n l y
Yeso as it
t h e Yeso t h i n s from
324 f e e t i n t h e
LoveRanch
a r e a about 45 m i l e s t o t h e s o u t h . T h i s i n c r e a s e i n t h i c k n e s s t o t h e
north seems t o be due t o an increase in both the
of gypsum units(Kottlowski,
1963,p.
numberand
thickness
66).
Wilpolt and Wanek (1951) reported a maximun thickness of 1,651 feet
f o r %he Yeso Formation i n t h e e a s t e r n S i e r r a
cross sections indicate that the
Oscura.
Yeso may obtain about
Several of their
25 percent gypsum
and a n h y d r i t e i n t h i s a r e a .
Pray (1961,p.
111) described the Yeso Formation i n t h e n o r t h e r n
-7-
(Tularosa Canyon) and southern(Orendorf
i n t h i c k n e s s from 1,800 f e e t i n t h e s o u t h
Mountains and noted a decrease
t o about1,350
inthe
It is noteworthy t h a t t h e p e r c e n t
feetinthenorth.
gypsum
formationincreasessignificantlytothenorth.Farthernorth,
in the Carrizozo quadrangle, the
while that of the
gypsum content of t h e Yeso decreases
San AndresFormation
The Standardof
R. 9 E.,
Peak) p a r t s of t h e Sacramento
increases.
Texas No. 1 Heard o i l test i n S e c t i o n 33, T. 6 S . ,
at t h e n o r t h end of the Tularosa Basin, penetrated a complete
s e c t i o n of Yeso c o n s i s t i n g of4,265
gypsum, sandstone, and mudstone.
f e e t of interbedded limestone,
Ninehundred
salt,
f e e t of t h i s s e c t i o n
is
halite.
Evidence f o r s o l u t i o n of evaporites
Several authors have noted the effect
of fresh water
on t h e above
described evaporites.
Weir (1965, p.19)
i d e n t i f i e d cavernous s e c t i o n s i n t h e T o r r e s
Member of t h e Yeso in the subsurface of the northern Tularosa
Basin as
being the primary source of water for domestic use.
Weber (1964, p. 103) reported that surface water drains into
solution cavities in
lava flow.These
gypsumand
limestone on t h e west s i d e of t h e Malpais
waters appear t o p e r c o l a t e
s a l t beds encountered i n t h e Heard t e s t .
Malpais Spring
at the southern tip
sodium chloride content (conc.
Na'
deep enough t o l e a c h t h e
The watersissuing
from
of the basalt flow have a high
= 3,550 ppm and C 1 - = 13,000 ppm)
and may be p a r t of t h i s c i r c u l a t i o n p a t t e r n .
The basal bedsof
t h e San Andres Formation whereexposed
in the
Carrizozo quadrangle display
random s t r i k e s and dips owing t o s o l u t i o n
of the underlying evaporites
and consequentsubsidence
and draping of
the rocks.
One sectionoftheMalpaisbasaltflowcollapsedinto
solution cavity in
This large
a
gypsum breaking through more than 150 f e e t o f b a s a l t .
amount of solution probably i s a d i r e c t consequenceof
damming e f f e c t of t h e b a s a l t
flow.
The l a v a flowblocksrunoff
the
water
from t h e west and north which ponds up and i n f i l t r a t e s f a s t e r and i n
larger quantities than
i t would otherwise.
Herrick (1904, p. 187) described a s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n e a s t
White Sands.
of t h e
Here t h e sand dunes dam storm waters which flow westward
from t h e SacramentoMountains
and a c c e l e r a t e t h e s o l u t i o n of t h e
underlyingQuaternarylacustrinesalinedeposits.Herrickreported
many sinkholes and caverns where arroyos from the east encountered
t h e dunes.
Basin f i l l
Basin f i l l r e f e r s t o t h e u n c o n s o l i d a t e d r o c k s
of the basin
i n t e r i o r which were dephsited by a l l u v i a l , l a c u s t r i n e ,
eolianagents.Strain
(1969,p.122)suggested
time when b a s i n f i l l i n g began.These
from n o r t h t o s o u t h .
but they thicken to
Northof
U.S.
e a r l y Miocene a st h e
unconsolidateddepositsthicken
Highway 380, d e p o s i t s a r e t h i n ,
6,015 f e e t i n t h e v i c i n i t y
of a test h o l e e a s t of
t h e White SancEiMissile Range Headquarters as reported
Cooper (1970, p.21-24).Data
and
on thethickness
byDotyand
and l i t h o l o g y of t h e
ma
v a l l e y f i l l on t h e west s i d e of the basin.& scarce.
A s e c t i o n of basin f i l l was encountered in t h e test well reported
by Davis and Busch (1965,Table
17) d r i l l e d i n Sec. 17, T. 19 S . , R 5 E.
Sediments penetrated are mostly clay,
amounts ofgravel.
gravelwith
some sand lenses, and appreciable
The top 112 f e e t i n t h i s t e s t
some sand.
was almost e n t i r e l y
No gypsum was r e p o r t e d i n t h i s d r i l l h o l e .
GEOLOGY OF
Arealgeology
LAKG LUCERO AND THE ADJACENT WHITE
SANDS AREA
and geomorphology
The geologic map (Fig. 3) i s compiled from f i e l d mapping, a i r photointerpretation,
and d a t a from t h e l i t e r a t u r e .
Good a e r i a l -
photographic coverage was obtained from 35 m s l i d e s t a k e n a t
low
BLtitudes i n a l i g h t p l a n e .
a large,
c o n t r o l l e d ,a e r i a l
mosaic(approximately
Engineering Division, White
of t h e map.
These slides in conjunction with
1: 30,000) supplied by t h e
Sands Missile Range, simplified compilation
The following map u n i t s a r e d i s c u s s e d i n t h e i r
approximate
order of deposition or formation.
LacustrineDeposits.
marls"as
-
Herrick (1904, p. 179) describedthe"Otero
a successionof
'I...
gypsiferousmarls,"
"Oteromarls"
gypsum and s a l i n e beds i n t e r c a l a t e d i n
which h e b e l i e v e d t o b e T e r t i a r y i n
are the saline, lacustrine deposits
Lake Otero, deposited physically
age.
The
of l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e ,
and chemically during concentration
of s a l t s d e r i v e d from t h e Permian marine evaporites.
Herrick estimated that
miles a t i t s g r e a t e s te x t e n t .
Weberand
Kottlowski (1959, p. 40) give
no e s t i m a t e o f s i z e b u t b e l i e v e t h a t t h e l a k e
the latest Pluvial, only
1,600 t o 1,800 square
Lake Otero covered
may have existed during
12,000 t o 24,000 years ago.
The l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s on the western side
interbeddedlenses
of d a y , s i l t , sand, and gravel.
a r e reddish-brown t o greyish-green, fairly
innature.This
of the lake comprise
sequenceprobablyrepresents
processes werei.depositing detritus in
These deposits
well bedded, and h e t e r o l i t h i c
a time when a l l u v i a l
a marginal lacustrine
environment.
This would account f o r t h e poorly-bedded clays as well as the poorlysorted sands
and gravels,
Fig. 5.
Well-defined,horizontalbedding
exposed i n an impact crater on
e
"
Lateralvariationinthis
sequencesupports
average grain size decreases
well defined(Fig.
5).
from west t o e a s t ,
thishypothesis.
The
and bedding becomes
In t h el a c u s t r i n ed e p o s i t s
on thesouth
end
of the playa and extending around the eastern periphery, the bedding
i s from 1 t o 2 inchesthick,horizontal,
and well defined.
The l i t h o l o g y i s almost 100 percent white to
s o r t i n g i s good.
gray gypsum of f i n e sand s i z e .
north and west of the playa
south and west.
and a narrow zonearound
the
Samples taken from h o l e s d r i l l e d w i t h
Below t h i s depththey
medium-
The lacustrine deposits underlie everything
anauger
in
10 t o 25 f e e t
and around t h e p l a y a show that these deposits average
thick.
Here t h e
become interbedded with clays
and sands
t y p i c a l of a l a c u s t r i n e sequence.
Lacustrine and EolianDeposits.
and c e n t r a l s e c t i o n s
These deposits, found i n t h e n o r t h
of the area, are dissected lacusti-ine deposits,
similar to those just described,
Thesedunes
-
capped by gypsiferous eolian
may c o r r e l a t e w i t h t h e o l d
of thestudyarea.Deflationhascarved
dune f i e l d i n t h e s o u t h e a s t
enough r e l i e f t o
l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s which u n d e r l i e , i n p l a c e s
deposits.
These eoliandeposits
migrating dunes s i m i l a rt ot h o s e
present the strong
were onceprobably
Playa Deposits.
actively
now found t ot h ee a s t .
t h el e v e lo ft h es u r r o u n d i n ga l k a l if l a t s .C r m s - b e d d i n g
and smallblowouts
expose
15 t o 20 f e e t of e o l i a n
southwest winds are gradually reducing
obvious i n t h e s e d e p o s i t s
dunes.
A t the
'
them t o
i s very
of l i g h t , reddish-brown gypsum sands,
a r e common.
- The a r e a on t h e map l a b e l l e d Lake Lucero represents
present-dayplayadeposits.
and i n t e n s i t y , d i s c h a r g e
I f summer storms a t t a i n s u f f i c i e n t numbers
from t h e mountainsreaches
t h e p l a y a by both
-11"
s u r f a c e and subsurfaceroutes.
t h e west s i n c e sanddunes
Most of the surface water
of various ages hinder flow
comes from
from the south
and e a s t and a succession of small playa depressions in the alkali
f l a t s i n t e r c e p t most of the water
whichmight
come from the north.
The surface water which does reach the playa brings with
well as some dissolvedsolids.
considerablesedimentloadas
it a
The
sediment, and, t o a lesser e x t e n t , t h e d i s s o l v e d s o l i d s , d i f f e r e n t i a t e
t h e p l a y a regime from t h a t of t h e a l k a l i f l a t s d e s c r i b e d n e x t . S u r f a c e
water cannot leave
Lake Lucero s i n c e it occupies one of t h e lowest
closed depressions in the Tularosa
Basin.
water s u r f a c e c r e a t e c u r r e n t s s t r o n g
t h e west s i d e of t h e p l a y a t o t h e
suspension.
Winds blowing across the
enough t o t r a n s p o r t
sediment from
east s i d e by b o t h t r a c t i o n and
A rough estimate of t h e flow v e l o c i t y gave 40 ft./min.
0.4 mi./hr.as
an approximation.Thisprocessevenlydistributes
stratum of fine
s i l t and clayover
reason the playa
a
most of the playa surface. For this
i s a s i t e of sedimentation.
During most of the year,
a surface of deflation, as
when the playa i s not flooded,
i s shownby
it becomes
the topographically higher
l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s on a l l s i d e s of theplaya.Present
of t h e wind actively scouring the playa floor
into the air also
or
day observations
and blowing sediment Vigh
makes d e f l a t i o n a p p e a r t o b e t h e
obvious cause for
thisdepression.
The thickness, andeven
short-termclimaticconditions.
presence,cof playa deposits
i s dependent on
When presentthesedeposits
lie directly
on l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s .
Alkali Flats.
-
The a l k a l i f l a t s resemble the playa area in
Both t h e a l k a l i f l a t s and t h e p l a y a are source areas for the
Sands by e o l i a n d e f l a t i o n and transport; both
L
many ways.
White
l i e d i r e c t l y on t h e
'Fig. 6. Aerial photograph of large blowout.
Note well-developed blowout dunes.
-12-
l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s of Lake Otero, both have very
are s u b j e c t t o t h e p r o c e s s e s
imposed on themby
low r e l i e f and both
shallow, saline
ground
waters.
sites
The a l k a l i f l a t s d i f f e r from t h e p l a y a i n t h a t t h e y a r e n o t
of sedimentationduringperiodsofflooding.
They a r e i n s t e a d s u s c e p t i b l e
t o s h e e t wash and accompanying erosionalthougharroyos
absent.
and r i l l s a r e
The a l k a l i f l a t s may be a more importantsource
gypsum because they
of d e t r i t a l
a r e exposed t o e o l i a n e r o s i o n more frequently than
the playa.
Blowouts.
-
Blowouts occur where wind a c t i o n h a s been e s p e c i a l l y
e f f e c t i v e i n removing sanddeposits.
These depressions were formed
e n t i r e l y by wind action and commonly have blowoutdunes
on t h e i r
leeward margins.
Several small
thelacustrine
blowouts and one l a r g e one have been carved from
and eoliandeposits.
The bestdeveloped
blowout l i e s
6).
between t h e two segments of Lake Lucero on the interdunal plains (Fig.
Alluvium.
-
The areas mapped as alluvium are primarily alluvial fan
deposits, mainly unconsolidated cobblerocksderived
t o clay-sized, heterolithic
from t h e San AndresMountains.
Sec. 2, T. 18 S.,
R. 5 E. i s primarilyfine-sand
deposited as nearly level
out where erosion has reduced
They d e s c r i b e t h e
dunes i n t h e a r e a t h e
dunes asconsisting
percent reddish-brown s i l i c a sand,averaging
channels.
which occasionally crop
t h i s a l l u v i a l cover.
Neher e t a l . (1970, F i g . 3) mappedsome
has termed alluvium.
and s i l t s i z e and was
mud f l a t s .
The alluvium overlies lacustrine deposits
sandforming
The material west of
writer
of 75 t o 95
3 t o 10 f e e t i n h e i g h t .
t h e s e dunes i s derived from t h e a l l u v i a l f a n s
and stream
The
-13
The writerSbelievef that the primary
mode of t r a n s p o r t f o r t h e s e
sands i s a l l u v i a l , however; eolian processes have aided in the formation
of -these mesquite-capped mounds (Fig. 4 ) .
The sand s i z e p a r t i c l e s i n t h e
a l l u v i & n a r e t r a n s p o r t e d by t h e wind; when t h e wind encounters a mesquite
bush, i t s force is diminished and t h e sand i s deposited.
up around the mesquite bushes as they
heights of over
grow, u n t i l some have a t t a i n e d
10 f e e t .
Selenite Crystals.
marginalzone
The sand builds
- The selenite-crystal horizon closely follows the
between l a c u s t r i n e and a l l u v i a l d e p o s i t s .
i s a clue to the origin
This occurrance
of t h e s e c r y s t a l s .
i s about 30 f e e t above the playa
The top of t h e s e l e n i t e h o r i z o n
while the bottom l i e s somewhere near but
below, t h e p l a y a s u r f a c e .
The c r y s t a l s a r e dark-brown t o golden-yellow near
and l o s e t h e i r c o l o r w i t h d e p t h , u n t i l w i t h i n
t h e t o p of t h e zone
a few f e e t of the playa
they are light-gray to nearly colorless.
Some of t h e c r y s t a l s have reached dimensions of over four feet.
The size decreases while the apparent
increases with depth.
have sharp boundaries
A t the top
amount of c r y s t a l d i s s o l u t i o n i n g
of t h e s e l e n i t e
zone t h e c r y s t a l s
and distinct cleavage surfaces; near the
of the zone t h e c r y s t a l s a r e p i t t e d
bottom
and etched deeply by solution.
Kerr and Thomson (1963) described recent
gypsum d e p o s i t s i n Laguna
Madre, Texas, which resemble t h e s e l e n i t e found i n t h i s s t u d y a r e a .
Padre Island
(110 miles long) separates
lagoon from t h e Gulf of Mexico.
Laguna Madre, a l i n e a r c o a s t a l
The presenceof
t h i s long island
combined with low p r e c i p i t a t i o n and runnoff i s o l a t e t h e lagoon from
any s i g n i f i c a n t s o u r c e of non-saline water while high evaporation rates
concentrate the already saline sea water.
Fig.
&. Mesquite-capped
mounds as they
occur west of Lake Lucero
<.
c
rl\
c;
-14-
Most of the crystals west of
Lake Lucero have
incorporated very
l i t t l e matrix, however; a small percentage have incorporated sand-size
grew with oneend
clastics. Several crystals
a specimen which i s one-half
i n mud and c l a y , t h u s r e s u l t i n g i n
relatively clear selenite
Oneway
and one-half"sand
crystal" (Figs.
7 & 8).
of v i s u a l i z i n g how t h i s may occur i s by comparing a walk
along a sandybeach
with one through a muddyswamp.
offers solid resistance to weight, while the
displaced.
i n sand and t h e o t h e r
The force of gravity
mud i n t h e swamp i s e a s i l y
may beanalogous
crystallizationoftheselenitecrystals.Crystals
mud environment displaced the sediments; the
The sandybeach
to the force
of
which grew i n a
sand s t r a t a however,
offered more r e s i s t a n c e and t h e r e f o r e became i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e s e l e n i t e .
The environmentenvisioned
for the formation
a t Lake Lucero i s depicted in Figure
9.
The s e l e n i t e seems t o p r e f e r
the marginal alluvial-lacustrine deposits for
This region was d e s c r i b e d e a r l i e r a s
were d e p o s i t i n g d e t r i t u s i n
a region where a l l u v i a l p r o c e s s e s
formation of these
same
found a t Laguna Madre.
two s e l e n i t e d e p o s i t s
i n an environment of high evaporation
potential; both developed into large crystals
i n a marginal terrestial
would
which would be s u b j e c t e d t o t h e
wind-induced water-level variations as those
are numerous; bothdeveloped
growth t o l a r g e s i z e .
a l a c u s t r i n e regime. This process
c r e a t e a shallow-water environment
The s i m i l a r i t i e s i n t h e
of t h e s e c r y s t a l s
and rosettes; both
and saline water environments;
formed
and both
incorporatedsand-sizeparticleswhiledisplacingfinermatter.Therefore,
t h e Laguna Madre deposits may be a modern day analog of the selenite
beds a t Lake Lucero.
SandDunesand
Interdunal Plains.
- Aerialphotographs
were used
Fig. 7.
Gypsum c r y s t a l showing sandinclusions.
Fig. 8.
Close up o f above c r y s t a l
c
e x c l u s i v e l y i n mapping t h e sanddunes
strong contrast afforded
greatly.
and interdunalplains.
by t h e WhiteSands
simplified this procedure
The interdunalplains.&areareasthataredevoid
significant,active,eoliandeposits.
in this area as
of any
A few s c a t t e r e d dunes do e x i s t
do a few interdunal areas in regions
The older dune f i e l d occupiesonly
The
mapped as dunes.
a small segment of t h e mapped
a r e a and c o n s i s t s of well s t a b i l i z e d dunes which have developed
a poor
s o i l zone and have been s u b j e c t t o some erosion.
Stratigraphy of the playa subsurface (lactistrine deposits)
In t h e s p r i n g of 1969, 51, four-inch test holes were d r i l l e d by
t r u c k mounted, continuous-flight auger
around the periphery of
Lake
Lucero.Theseholes,drilledforhydrologicpurposes,supplied
stratigraphic data in the
form of grabsamplestaken
at five-foot
intervals.
Most samples showgypgum
up thebulk
of t h e upper10
grains or crystal
t o 25 f e e t .
fragmentsas
making
Some small amounts of clays
occur i n t h e s e beds and near the western margin some sands and s i l t s
areincluded.Thisunit
t h eg r a i n s
i s t h i n l y bedded and very compact; most of
are sub-angularbutquitespherical.
t h e "Otero marls" discussed
These a r e probably
by Herrick.
Below t h i s u n i t l i e more t y p i c a l l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s
s i l t , and clay.Selenite
s t i l l remains a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n s t i t u e n t i n
thesedeeperdepositsbutthefragmentsare
crystals are often
much smaller.
found in clays, suggesting that they
p r e c i p i t a t i o n from concentratedbrines.
colorless, often
ofsand,
Well-developed
grew i n p l a c e by
These c r y s t a l s ,t r a n s p a r e n t
and
form swallow-tail twins ten to twenty-five millimeters
in length, thus differing
from t h e s e l e n i t e found i n t h e bedsmarginal
to
-1"
6-
the playa.
Many places on t h e p l a y a s u r f a c e a r e
of t h i s n a t u r e s u g g e s t i n g t h a t t h e y
covered with crystals
were once common i n f i n e r g r a i n e d
s t r a t a t h a t have now been removed by eolian processes.
If these
crystals occurred in sufficient quantities in the past, they could
well have been the source of most of t h e gypsumnow
WhiteSands.Observationsof
surrounding the playa
comprising the
some o f t h e l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s
show t h a t t h i s t y p e
of gypsum i s indeed very
abundant.
Playa mineralogy
Preliminary investigations
show t h a t gypsum ( s e l e n i t e ) , t h e n a r d i t e ,
and h a l i t e a r e t h e primary sufface minerals with
gypsum and b l o e d i t e
beingtheprimaryevaporitesinthesubsurface.
Gypsum i s , by far, t h e
most common mineral in the study
occuronlyrarely.
area; t h e n a r d i t e , h a l i t e ,
and b l o e d i t e
Meinzer and Hare (1915, p. 72 and 180) notedthe
occurrence of sodium chloride, sodium s u l f a t e , magnesium s u l f a t e ,
sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonateintheTularosaBasin.
all necessarily occur in this study area
been d e f i n i t e l y i d e n t i f i e d .
Not
and only those mentionedhave
HYDROLOGY OF THE TULAROSA BASIN
Theory of ground-watermotionas
it a p p l i e s t o t h e
Tularosa Basin
McLean's water-table map (1970) suggested the possibility
water-table depression in the vicinity
survey of water levels
was obtained from waterlevels
shown i n F i g . 10.
summers of '69 and '70 caused t h e w a t e r t a b l e t o
water-table depressions as
showing d e f i n i t e
measured i n t h e s p r i n g of 1969.
A depression in the water table indicates
similar to
began, because surface
10 i s a contour map of t h e w a t e r t a b l e
rise.Figure
a ground water sink,
a cone of depression around a pumped w e l l .
t h a t ground water flows radially
depression and (assumingwater
water table.
measured
Thisrepresentsthelowest
p o s i t i o n of t h e w a t e r t a b l e s i n c e t h i s p r o j e c t
flooding during the
A more d e t a i l e d
shows t h a t t h e r e i s indeed a water-table
depression.Thisinformation
inthetestholes
of Lake Lucero.
of a
inwardtowards
This means
t h e c e n t e r of t h e
loss by evaporation) upward towards t h e
Ground water must t h e r e f o r e be l o s t a t t h e l a n d s u r f a c e .
phenomenon i s c a p i l l a r y
The most reasonable and l i k e l y e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h i s
rise and evaporation at the surface.
A shallowdepth
fine-grained, compact n a t u r e o f t h e s t r a t a
to water and irery
would f a c i l i t a t e t h i s p r o c e s s
as would a high evaporation potential,
The water table, as
ten feet
below t h e s u r f a c e of the playa,
between two and f o u r f e e t
rangeof
shown in Figure
10, u s u a l l y l i e s l e s s t h a n
andmore
below landsurface.This
capillarityfortheveryfine
i s withinsthe
sand t o s i l t s i z e m a t e r i a l .
g r a i n s i z e of t h e s t r a t a between t h e w a t e r t a b l e
falls in the
commonly f a l l s
The
and t h e l a n d s u r f a c e
0.05 t o 0.02 nun range which Meinzer(1944)
cited as causing
r
1
i
3930
L
L
389f
3883
-I
"_T.
17s.
T. 18s.
c
4
C
2
3
\
'\
a
m
\
k
\
z
23
-
045
2
z
32
0
z
-I
3
L
a
z
0
c
d
u
-
3
2
T. 18s.
T.
19s.
R. 4 E .
\
0
ID
I
2 Miles
\
38:
I
39
R. 5 E . ?.6 E .
'.
\
-18a capillaryheightof
200 cm.
This suffices to supply
water t o n e a r
t h e s u r f a c e where evaporation readily takes place.
A s Ripple et!/
I\..
a l . (1972) p o i n t o u t , t h e r e a r e
c o n t r o l t h e amount of evaporation
b a r es o i l s .
The f i r s t f a c t o r t o
s a t u r a t e ds o i ls u r f a c e .
from a shallow water table
beconsidered
This i s t h e amount of evaporation
t h e h e i g h t of s o i l above t h e w a t e r t a b l e
therefore only'an estimate
below
i s thepotentialevaporation.
which would take place from a constantly
The s o i l f a c t o r
The hydrologic properties
two f a c t o r s which
i s t h e second which includes
and i t s hydrologic properties.
of the playa deposits are
of the potential evaporation
unknown and
can be obtained.
The combination method of Van Bavel (1966) was used to convert the
meteorologicdatatopotentialevaporation.
and e x p e r i m e n t a l l y v e r i f i e s t h i s
Data used
Van Bavel describes
combinationconcept.
for calculating the potential evaporation
were collected
by personnel of t h e White Sands National Monument on a weekly b a s i s
from February 1 2 , 1969 t o September 2, 1971.
from a weathersstation maintained
on the southern margin of
forthe
Lake Lucero,
1 expressesthesedataas
directlyadjacenttotheplaya.Table
monthlyaverages
These d a t a were collected
2% yearperiod.
The r a i n d a t a a r e p l o t t e d
separately on a weekly b a s i s t o demonstrate their sporatic behavior. (Fig.
Figure 1 2 i s a p l o t of t h e p o t e n t i a l e v a p o r a t i o n c a l c u l a t e d
theseaverages.
A s expectedthehighestevaporationratesoccurduring
June and July while Decemberand
January are the lowest.
potential evaporation calculated for this time period is
peryear.This
The t o t a l
about 230cm.
i s equal t o 2,300 1. per m. 2
Turk(1970,p.1213)
evaporationat,GreatSalt
equivalent evaporation
dissolved solids
from
has measured t h e e f f e c t
Lake,Utah.
of fresh water,
of a 2 l i n i t y on
H i s data,presentedaspercent
show t h a t i n t h e
range of t o t a l
of ground water,below Lake Lucero, evaporation
may
11).
-19-
bedecreased
by 15 t o 30 percent. This results
dissolvedsolids
lower thevaporpressure
from t h e f a c t t h a t
of a s o l u t i o n , S a l i n i t y
1870 liters per m2.
lowers the maximum possible evaporation to about
In conjunction with the evaporation potential calculated
the meteorological data,
an estimate of the actual evaporation
was
13 shows therecordstaken
from
obtained from a lysimeter.Figure
a constant-head lysimeter constructed
of 1970.
and i n s t a l l e d d u r i n g t h e
The lysimeter column i s 1.05 m. long(approx.
has a surfacearea
from
of 325 sq. cm. (about 50 sq.ins.).
summer
3.5 f t . ) and
The sediment
column i s a c o r e t a k e n i n s i t u w i t h a s l i t t l e d i s t u r b a n c e a s p o s s i b l e .
The sedimentsarefine-grained,very
compact, gypsumand
s t r a t a probably have the lowest hydraulic conductivities
clay.
These
of t h e p l a y a
subsurface and t h e r e f o r e w i l l y i e l d a lower limit on t h e a c t u a l
evaporation.
Figure 13 shows t h a t t h e r a t e
i s about 6 liters per year.
of evaporation
Expanding t h i s datum over a squaremeter
givesU85 l i t e r s per square meter per year as
evaporation.
from the lysimeter
These data combined with data
a lower l i m i t f o r
on the chemistry of the
s a l t accumulation rates.
near-surface ground water allow calculation of
Samples from near-surface and deeper ground w a t e r s i n d i c a t e t h a t
Ca-
concentrations vary from about 400 t o 700 milligrams p e r l i t e r .
S u l f a t e i o n s are well in excess
of t h i s number (about 8500 t o 88,000
mg/l.).
Assuming t h a t a l l t h e
calcium i s p r e c i p i t a t e d a s
that the
above estimates are correct, the
limits on t h e amount of
gypsum which may be p r e c i p i t a t e d a s t h e r e s u l t
250 t o 4880 grams persquaremeterperyear.
gypsum,ivld
of evaporation are
The upper l i m i t i s based
on t h e maximum calcium concentration and t h e maximum possible evaporation
r a t e , and i s probably an u n r e a l i s t i c number.The
lower l i m i t , however,
e
-34-
c
t/\l
I
11
I
1
$eo
-7".
b
F_ .
l2
a
PS
-20-
i s based on more empirical data and t h e r e f o r e may,.be a more s i g n i f i c a n t
number.
Using t h e lower l i m i t of p r e c i p i t a t e d gypsumand
square kilometers of playa surface, the total
an.estimated 26
amount of gypsum added t o
t h e Lake Leer0 subsurface i s 6.5 x 106 kilogramsperyear.
This i s equal
t o about 2800 cubic meters, o r assuming 30% p o r o s i t y , about4'O.QOcubic
meters of dune sand per year.
It i s proposed, on the bases of the physical evidence
above c a l c u l a t i o n s , t h a t 1 )
and t h e a l k a l i f a l t s a s
at t h e p l a y a r e s u l t i n
gypsum i s being transported to
a dissolvedsolid,
and t h e
Lake Lucero
2) highevaporationrates
3) gypsum i s p r e c i p i t a t e d
a ground-water sink, and
inthesubsurfaceasthesolutionsevaporate.This
i s an example of
t h e mechanism of accumulation of evaporite minerals as suggested
by
Williams (1970).
Additional evidence in support of this
aspect ofsmall
mechanism i s the euhedral
gypsum c r y s t a l s found i n t h e c l a y s
lacustrinedepostis.Thissuggeststhatthey
deposition of the clastics because
and s i l t s of t h e
formed i n p l a c e a f t e r
any amount of t r a n s p o r t would have
destroyedthesharpcrystalboundariesofthissoftmineral.Inclusions
of t h e c l a s t i c s a l s o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e c r y s t a l s
high concentration
formed i n p l a c e .
of dissolved solids suggests that the
may be growing a t t h e p r e s e n t . I f t h e c r y s t a l s
The
gypsum c r y s t a l s
were a productof
earlier
processes and the present high dissolved solids content of the water
i s attributed to dissolution
of the soluble minerals in the
v i c i n i t y , one would expect to see evidence of dissolution
crystals.This
6 s notthecase,
c r y s t a l s a r e forming i n p l a c e a s
water a t t h e c a p i l l a r y f r i n g e .
.~
- .
"
'antfEi8ris
immediate
on t h e s e
thereforebelieiredthatthe
a r e s u l t of evaporation of ground
-21-
As t h e f i n e r g r a i n e d l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s a r e d e f l a t e d t h e s e
(10-20
nun.)
surface.
small
c r y s t a l s a r e exposed i n l a r g e a g g r e g a t e s a t t h e p l a y a
Here diurnaltemperaturevariations
down t o a s i z e where they too can
p a r t i c l e s work t o b r e a k t h e c r y s t a l s
be transported
and impacting wind-blown
by eolian processes. (The effectiveness of
wind-blown
an abrasive, is demonstrated i n Figure 143 These c r y s t a l s
p a r t i c l e s ,a s
appear t o be t h e primary source of
gypsumnow
active in the
dunes.
Their color more c l o s e l y resembles t h e dune sand than does t h e c o l o r
of the very large
Also,
brown s e l e n i t e c r y s t a l s d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r .
thesesmallcrystalsarelarge
enough t o compensate f o r t h e f r a c t u r e
and abrasionencounteredduringtransportation.This
i s nottrue
thefinergrained
formed.
matrix, at least
too small to
eliminated as
gypsum m a t r i x i n which t h e c r y s t a l s
below the playa surface, has
compare w i t h t h a t i n t h e
dunes and t h e r e f o r e must be
a possible direct source for the
c o n s t i t u t e sl e s st h a nf i v ep e r c e n t
dune sand.
of t h e sediment.
gypsum probably
In l a c u s t r i n e
outcrops west and e a s t of t h e p l a y a , s t r a t i g r a p h i c a l l y
gypsum i s as high as
surface, the content of crystalline
The h i g h e r s t r a t a r e p r e s e n t l a c u s t r i n e m a t e r i a l
above the present
85 t o 95 percent.
which was deposited
lower s t r a t a and therefore correspond to
t h e Lake Oterowaters
The
an i n i t i a l g r a i n s i z e
Beneath t h e p r e s e n t p l a y a s u r f a c e t h e c r y s t a l l i n e
later than the
of
a time s hen
were considerably more concentrated.
Thus t h e
d i f f e r e n c e i n gypsum content i s thought a t l e a s t p a r t i a l l y t o b e t h e
r e s u l t of a depositional sequence in the slowly evaporating lake.
The abundance of c r y s t a l s i n nearbqr s t r a t a equ&va$ent t p t h a t
which has been removedby
deflation at the playa,
of t h e i r p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s t o t h o s e
fields, indicate that they are the
and t h e resemblence
of t h e gypsum 5and i n t h e dune
primarysource
of t h e WhiteSands.
-32-
The mount of sand derived from t h e Lake Lucero a r e a i s estimated
t o be 286,000,000 cubicmeters.This
sedimentsequence
would r e q u i r e d e f l a t i o n
36 f e e t t h i c k o v e r t h e a r e a
of a
of Lake Lucero and v i c i n i t y .
It i s assumed that the percent increas.e in porosity,
and consequently
volume, i n t h e dunes w i l l cancel the non-gypsum content of t h e
lacustrine deposits.
Although t h e r e a r e s e c t i o n s
of l a c u s t r i n e d e p o s i t s a s
f e e t above t h e p l a y a s u r f a c e t h e i r c r y s t a l l i n e
gypsum content i s not
nearly as high as the lower deposits closer to the playa. This
either the estimates are in error or that
be called
much as 40
means t h a t
some other mechanisms must
on t o add gypsum t o t h e system.
The addition of the
ground-water contribution reduces the required
thickness of t h e gypsum sourceamxato 24 feet. This
r e a l i s t i c numberand
i s a much more
may be s u f f i c i e n t t o account f o r t h e White Sands..
-23-
The r o l e of surface waters in the formation of the
The playa surface does occasionally
waters.
Such an eventoccurred
portions of the lake
i n t h e summer of 1970 when both
6-10 inches of water.
i n t h e ponded water, as it evaporated
showed an i n c r e a s e i n t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n
This increase resulted
become flooded with runnoff
were inundated with about
The chemicalchanges
White Sands
of dissolved solids with tinie.
from u n r e l a t e d p r o c e s s e s ; t h e f i r s t
most important i s d i s s o l u t i o n of soluble
and probably
salts whieh makeup
the playa
floor.Evaporationalsoactedtoconcentratethedissolvedsolids,
however, t h e r o l e of evaporation i s g r e a t l y overemphaiszed if i n f i l t r a t i o n
i s neglected.
With the exception of oalcium carbonate,
were near saturation. This
infiltration.
no chemical species
means t h a t no s a l t s p r e c i p i t a t e b e f o r e
The w r i t e r b e l i e v e s t h a t t h e l a s t
represented nearly the very last
sample c o l l e c t e d
remnant water t o e x i s t b e f o r e
i n f i l t r a t i o n was complete.
After the surface water completely infiltrated other processes
began.
Probably some s a l t s p r e c i p i t a t e d when t h e mud f i r s t began t o
dry.Capillaryforces
would then keep supplyingthenearsurfacewith
additional water which would evaporate and deposit more s a l t s on t h e
sediment.
As thisprocesscontinued
a veryfine-grainedefflorescent
s a l t c r u s t formed which X-ray diffraction data determined as being
gypsumand
halite.
The c r u s t forms f a s t e s t where the water can be drawnupward
f a s t e s t , i.e. i n t h e c o a r s e r g r a i n e d
When t h e c r u s t
forms very rapidly
sedimentsofhigherpermeability.
it becomes extremely puffy
extension from c r y s t a l l i z a t i o n ( F i g .
L
15).
owing t o
Fig. 14.
An old, wooden post showing t h e
e f f e c t s of the abrasive action
wind-blown p a r t i c l e s .
of
Fig. 15.
Photographof
Lake Lucero.
puffy crust at
-24-
i s puffy or i s t h e more t y p i c a l compact
Whether o r n o t t h e c r u s t
type, it soon becomes s u s c e p t i b l e t o t h e e r o s i v e e f f e c t s
prevalentsouthwest
powderand
winds.
Much of t h i s c r u s t b r e a k s
of t h e
down t o a f i n e
has been observed t o blow thousands of f e e t upwards i n t o
huge whiteclouds
and t r a q p o r t e d many miles from theplaya.Larger
p a r t i c l e s t r a v e l a much s h o r t e r d i s t a n c e t o t h e p l a y a ' s e a s t e r n s i d e
where they form smalldunes
and l a t e r become incorporated into the
l a r g e r dunes f a r t h e r e a s t .
Most of t h e gypsum i n t h i s c r u s t
down very easily,
actdive dunes.
phenomenado
however, and soon becomeswinnowed
Therefore,the
breaks
out of t h e
mimerals d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o s u r f a c e - w a t e r
not contribute significantly to
dune formation.
One process which may play a r o l e , however, i s t h e a c t u a l
of t h ee f f l o r e s c e n tc r u s t .
with it t h e s m a l l e r , c l e a r
As t h i sc r u s t
growsand
growth
expands it l i f t s
gypsum crystals described earlier as covering
p o r t i o n so ft h ep l a y as u r f a c ei nl a r g e
i n t h e growth and expansion process
numbers.
The forcesinvolved
may help to break
t o a p o i n t w l i h e t h e wind can begin movingthem.
up t h e s e c r y s t a l s
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Various aspects of the hydrologic cycle have been instrumental
in the formation of the White Sands since Pleistocene times. The
discharge of dissolved solids into Lake Otero was the first step.
This stage probably took place
24,000 t o 12,000 years ago. The
second step was the eventual concentration of these dissolved solids
as
Lake
Otero
slowly
diminished
in
size
because
a changing
of
climate,
and eventually evaporated-to dryness. During this time the saline
lacustrine beds were deposited. Thk large selenite crystals formed
either
concurrentlyor shortly after the deposfto3on of the gypsum beds.
Deflation has since lowered the playa surface exposing both the crystals
and
gypsumbeds,
The
amount
of
gypsum
brought
in
by
surface
waters
is
very
small
and contributes little to the total gypsum budget. More importantly,
the
gypsum
which
is
brought
in
by
this
process
precipitates
a very
in
fine-grained form and does
not become includedlin the sand dunes. Hence
surface waters make
no significant contribution to the White Sands.
Ground water does transport
a significant amount of gypsum
to
Lake Lucero, from both the Permian evaporites and the recent lacustrine
deposits thsoughout the basin. Ground water evaporates from the
capillary fringe andin
the
process
gypsum
precipitates
and
crystallizes
in the lacustrine deposits a in
form which does contribute significantly
to the White Sands. This is probably the only process currently operating
which may eventually contribute gypsum
t o the dune field.
The
majority
of
the
gypsum
in
the
White
Sands
was
undoubtedly
de
from the primary evapdrites of Lake Otero. Hydrologic processes are
therefore responsible for transporting and depositing all of the gypsum
which has since been deflated at Lake Lucero, the alkali flats and depo
in the White Sands dune field.
REFERENCES
i
Davis, L. V. and Busch, F. E., 1965, Summary of hydrologic investigations
by the U.S. Geol. Survey at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico,
U.S. Geol. Survey, Open File ReportNM115,
n. 146 p.
Doty, C. G. and Cooper,
J. B., 1970, Stratigraphic test well
T-14, Post
area, White Sands Missile Range, Dona Ana County, New Mexico,
U.S. Geol. Survey2 Open File Report n. N"30-0,
p.
33
Herrick, C. L., 1904, Lake Otero, an ancient salt lake basin in
southeastern New Mexico, American Geologist, p.
Sept.,
174-189.
Hood, James W., 1959,
in Guidebook for
of Otero County,
Society of Economic
Roswell Geological
Ground Water in the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico,
Joint Field Conference in the Sacramento Mountains
New Mexico, sponsored by Permian Basin Section
Paleontologists and Mineralogists and the
Society,
p. 236-250.
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Memoir 1, 132 P.
McKee, Edwin D., 1966, Structures of dunes at White Sands National
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of dunes
from other selected area), Sedimentology,
V. 7, n.1; 69 p.
McLean, J. S . , 1970, Saline ground-water resources of the Tularosa
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p.
Meinzer, 0. E. and Hare, R. F., 1915,
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the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico,
U.S. Geol. Survey, Water Supply
Paper 343, 317
p.
Neher, R. E., Bailey,
0. F., and Anderson, Wayne, 1970, Soils and
Vegetation Inventory of White Sands Missile
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States Dept. of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, West
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Pray, LloydC., 1961, Geology of the Sacramento Mountains escarpment,
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Resources, Bull. 35, 144
p.
Richardson, G. B . , 1909, E l Paso f o l i o , U.S.
n. 166, 11 p.
Geol.Survey,Geol.
Atlas,
Ripple, C.D., Rubin, J . , and Van Hylckama, T. E. A. (1972) Estimating
s t e a d y - s t a t e e v a p o r a t i o n r a t e s from b a r e s o i l s under conditions
of high water table,
U.S. Geol. Survey, Water SupplyPaper
p.
2019-A,30
S t r a i n , W.S., 1969, Late Cenozoic s t r a t a of t h e E l Paso area, in
Border Stratigraphy Symposium: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and
Mineral Resources, Circular104, P. 112-113.
Sumner, Lowell, 1969, White Sands National Monument natural science
studies plan, United State
Department of the Interior, National
ParkService, 32 p.
Turk, L . J . , 1970,Evaporationofbrine:a
S a l t F l a t s , Utah, Water Res.Res.,
f i e l d s t u d y 06 theBonneville
v. 6, n. 4, p. 1209-1215.
Van Bavel, C.H.M.,
1966, Potentialevaporation:thecombinationconcept
and i t s experimental verification, Water Res.Res.,
V. 2, n. 3,
p . 455-467.
Weber, Robert H., 1964, Geology of the Carrizozo Quadrangle,
New Mexico
i n New Mexico Geological Society, Fifteenth Field Conference,
p. 100-109.
Weber, R.H. and Kottlowski, F.E., 1959, Gypsum resourcesof New
Mexico, New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,
Bull. 68, 68 p:
Weir, J.E., Jr., 1965, Geoloov and a v a i l a b i l i t y of ground water i n
t h e n o r t h e r n p a r t of t h e White Sands M i s s i l e Rangeand v i c i n i t y ,
New Mexico: U.S. Geol.SurveyWater-SupplyPaper1801,
78 p. 11 f i g s .
Williams, Roy E., 1970, Ground waterflowsystems
Assoc. Pet.Geol.,v.
evaporiteminerals,
Am.
and accumulationof
54, n. 7, p. 1290-1295.
R. 5 E.
-
,
Phlya ,'Deposits
"
'
AI kg li FIqts
Alluv urn
Blowouts 'on
Lacustrine D,eposits
,
,
3 2"45'-
'I
Lacustrine and
Eolian Depqsits
,
,
I
f
tnterd,unal Plains on
lacustrine Deposits
Selenite Crystals
,
Alluvium
T. I8 S.
T .l9S.
*
Alluvium
2 0'
I
G e o logy a n d Geomorphology o f Lake Lucero
and the Adjacent W h i t e
S a n d Area
, ",