o B u r e a u . of M i n e s and Min
O p e n - f i l eR e p o r t
Hydrogeologic Evolution
Resources
69
of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y ,
a Closed B a s i n i n C e n t r a l New Mexico
by
Frank B. T i t u s
S o c o r r o , 1973
PREFACE
ABSTRACT
i
iii
INTRODUCTION
1
J?tqose and Scope
1
Location and Geography
Toposraphy of the Valley
Regional To-aphic
Previous Work
2
5
Setting
8
9
S a l t Earvest from the Playas
13
15
PRE-LACUSTRINE GWLOSY
Distribution of Pre-Tertiary ;9ocks
15
Stratigraphy and Hydrologic Properties of Pre-Tertiary Rocks
20
Precambrian
Pennsylvanian
Permian
Triassic
23
'
34
80
J u r a s s i c and C r e t a c e o u s
,
.
40
StructuralFeatures of the Basin
41
STR4TIGRApEFI AND HYDWIlXIC PROPERTIES OF THE KQ,LEY F I I L
Estancia Valley
Fonmtion
Stratigraphy
47
45
'
50
E n v i r o n m e n t of A c c u m u l a t i o n - AT h r o u g h - f l o w i n gR i v e r
Age
20
60
62
I r r i g a t i o n Wells Pumping f$on?klluviwn
65
7.
Dog Lake F o m t i o n
67
69
Stratigraphy
85
H y d r o l o g i c Properties
BASIN,
QQ4ORPHOLKX
OF
DESCRIPTION OF POST-LAKE
Erosion of Estancia ValleyFormation
86
86
Geomrphic Features Formed by F a l y Lake Estancia
Lobo Hill Area
.,;.
90
91
North End of B a s i n
95
West S i d e of B a s i n
96
lbpgraphic S i l l , its Valley, and its Ancestral River
Geona3rphc Features F o m d by Ute Lake Estancia
LacustrineFeatures
S
m
a
l Dunes
120
Great Dunes
123
Playa
Depressions
THE BASIN
Subsurface Leakage
164
SUWARY OF EVASIN HISTORY, OUA-
LacustrineHistory
RE;-m%REJcEs
191
141
164
Modern Hydrologic
Conditions
me-Lacustrine
History
117
128
Playa Sediment and Hydrolqy
HYDRXLXY OF
108
Formed i n Shallow Rejuvenated Lake
GWLKX OF THE PLAYA DEPRFSSIONS AND DUNES
170
COFXEZATIONS
178
and Correlations
.._
-.
181
178
99
113
CONETiXS
Page 3
APPENDICES
., . ~.
A
B
C
196
-- Selected Drillers' Logs
of Water
-- Sample Logs from Deep Test Holes
-- Chemical Analysesof Water from
..
.
Wells 196
205
Playas
and
Sel
.eta W€!llS
210
CONTENTS
Page
4
FIGURES
1 -- Index m p sh.7inglocation of study3
2
3
--
Toposraphic map of Estancia Valley
-- Geologic map of
EstanciaValley
6
16
-- hroducible water wells d r i l l e d i n Madera Formation 26
5 - High-yield water wells and carbon dioxide wells
31
6 - Relief map of Precambrian surface 42
7 -- Geolcgic map of valley f i l l showing outcrops and shorelines
8 - Map shming thicbess of valley f i l l
48
4
9
- Fencediagramof
test holes drilled i n T. 6 N., 'R. 9 3 .
46
:68
- Graphic sections of Cog Lake Formation in T. 6 N., R. 9 E. 71
11 - lbpxpaphic mp, Tps. 4 and 5 N., R. 8 E., showing Estancia Valley
10
Formation
12
88A
- l b m a p h i c map,
features
9 s . 8 and 9,
Rs. 9 and 10 E.,
showing shoreline i~
92A
- Map of Pinos Wells andEncino Basins 102
1 4 - Map for playas, great dunes, and gypsiferousoffshore bar 114
15 - Aerial photsqaph, central Laguna del Perro and nearby playa depressions
16 - Scatter of playadepressions and playa shapes 130
1 7 - Hypthetical cross section through playa-depression f i e l d
135
13
18 - Sch-tic
19
20
cross section through playadepression
- S c h a t i c crosssection of the valley
- Correlation chart for late Pleistocene
..
.
,149
165
k d Recent
182
119
1
PREFACE
This project
w a s completedwiththeconsiderablehelp
of many i n d i v i d u a l s a n d . w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n
b ys e v e r a la g e n c i e s .
and d a t a provided
District
The N e w Mexico S t a t eE n g i n e e r
many water wells i n
OfficeinAlbuquerqueprovidedlogsof
t h e area and a l s o p r o v i d e d c o p i e s
t h er e s u l to ft h e i ra d m i n i s t r a t i v e
of s e v e r a l maps t h a t a r e
work i nE s t a n c i aV a l l e y .
office, was'
J. T. E v e r h e a r t , g e o h y d r o l o g i s t w i t h t h a t
alwaysavailabletodiscusshydrologic
phenomena i n t h e
.
b a s i n and t o p r o v i d e c o n c l u s i o n s t h a t h a v e r e s u l t e d . f r o m
hisanalysesofconsiderable
data.
P e r s o n n e l of t h e U . S .
GeologicalSurveyinAlbuquerque
water s a m p l e s f o r t h e p r o j e c t : f u n d i n g f o r t h e
a n a l y z e dt h e
ar!alyses was provided by t h e New Mexico. Bureau of Mines
Mineral Resources under
two a g e n c i e s .
chemicaland
of Minesand
X. W.
F o s t e r ,w i t ht h e
NineralResources,provided
X-ray a n a . l y s e s r e s p e c t i v e l y o f s e d i m e n t
samples.
B. E.
D e B r i n e ,g r a d u a t ea s s i s t a n t
I n s t i t u t e ofMiningandTechnology,
R.
G.
Hauboldand
of t h e t e s t - h o l e d r i l l i n g
J. C .
a t New Mexico
worked l o n g and
i r r e g u l a rh o u r sc o l l e c t i n gd a t af o rt h e
a l o n gw i t h
project.
He,
Halepaska,didmost
and w e l l c o n s t r u c t i o n onwhich
are based the subsurface stratigraphic .correlations
h y d r o l o g i ci n t e r p r e t a t i o n s .B o r e - h o l el o g s
t h e t e s t h o l e s by J . D. Hudson of t h e U.S.
Survey.
&
a cooperativeagreementbetweenthe
Lynn Brandvoldand
N e w MexicoBureau
'
and
were r u n i n
Geological
F i n a n c i a ls u p p o r tc o v e r i n g
t r a v e l , p a r t of t h e d r i l l i n g
c o s t s , and a s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t of salaries. f o r two y e a r s w a s
providedbytheOfficeof
WaterResourcesResearch,
Department of I n t e r i o r , t h r o u g h t h e
Research Institute under grant
New Mexico Water Resources
number B005-WRI-151.
S. A . Wengerd, V . C . Kelley,and
reviewed a n e a r l y v e r s i o n s c r i p t
many h e l p f u lt e c h n i c a l
R.
Y. Anderson
and o f f e r e d a t t h a t time
and e d i t o r i a ls u g g e s t i o n s .J o h n
Hawley c r i t i c a l l y r e v i e w e d t h e f i n a l m a n u s c r i p t .
The a i d and a s s i s t a n c e of t h e s e a g e n c i e s a n d
i n d i v i d u a l s , and many o t h e r unnamed i n d i v i d u a l s , i s most
g r a t e f u l l ya c k n o w l e d g e d .
The c o n c l u s i o n sp r e s e n t e d
t h e a u t h o r ' s own, and d o n o t n e c e s s a r i l y c o i n c i d e w i t h
thoseofallcooperatorsorreviewers.
Frank B. T i t u s
EbascoCorp.
April 1, 1973
New York, New York
are
ABSTRACT
a 2,000-square-mile
E s t a n c i aV a l l e y ,
closed b a s i n i n
c e n t r a l New Mexico, h a s s i n c e l a t e P l i o c e n e ( ? ) been
s i t e of
s e q u e n t i a l l yt h e
a ) accumulation of several hundred
f e e t of a l l u v i u m i n a s t r u c t u r a l l y s u b s i d i n g
river'valley,
b) two s u c c e s s i v e l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e l a k e s a n d
one s h a l l o w
c ) s e v e r a l score steep-walled depressions
Holocenela.ke,and
2 0 t o 4 0 f t deep,each
moist p l a y a .
The a l l u v i a l u n i t
Valleyqormation.
sedimenthere
of which now c o n t a i n s a p e r e n n i a l l y
i s h e r e named t h e E s t a n c i a
Above it i s 1 0 0 f t of mostly l a c u s t r i n e
named t h e Dog L a k e p o r m a t i o n .
The P l i o c e n e ( ? ) and e a r l y P l e i s t o c e n e
t o the Portales Valley
may haveflowed
E s t a n c i a River
on t h e L l a n o E s t a c a d o .
E a r l y Lake E s t a n c i a i s c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t h e T e r r y P l u v i a l ,
and L a t e Lake E s t a n c i a w i t h
Estacado.
TahokaandSan
The e a r l y l a k e o v e r f l o w e dt h e
.
t h ee l e v a t e dr i v e rv a l l e y .
.
J o n of t h e L l a n o
basin'at a sill i n
The l a t e lakehadnooutflow,
and was p r o b a b l y c h e m i c a l l y s t r a t i f i e d .
The p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s o n t h e f o r m e r
formedmainly
by deflation, with the sediment being
o n t og r e a td u n e s
by ground-water solution
of gypsum i n t h e Yeso Formation beneath
Subsidenceextending
confining beds of the
4 0 0 E t of v a l l e y
upward t h r o u g ht h eh y d r o l o g i c
Dog Lake q o r m a t i o n a l s o created
permeabilitypathsthroughwhichwater
E s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o nd i s c h a r g e d
t o evaporate.
blown
e a s t o fe a c hd e p r e s s i o n .P l a y a - d e p r e s s i o n
s i t e s were i n i t i a l l y c o n t r o l l e d
fill.
l a k e f l o o r were
in the underlying
upward t o t h e p l a y a s
'
ii u
v
Priorto
heavy pumping f o r i r r i g a t i o n , n a t u r a l
d i s c h a r g e was by
a )e v a p o r a t i o nf r o mt h ep l a y a s ,
b ) e v a p o - t r a n s p i r a t i o n ffrroom
msspprriinnggss. a n d m
.and
a r marshes
shes
t h e edgeof
thelacustrinestrata,
and c ) d e e ps u b s u r f a c e
l e a k a g e t o t h e north t h r o u g hp r e - T e r t i a r y
has dried the springs
andmarshes.
w e s t of
+rata.
Pumping
1
INTRODUCTION
Estancia Valley in central
N e w Mexico has long been
r e c o g n i z e d as t h e s i t e of a P l e i s t o c e n e l a k e
Early recognition of
(Keyes,1903).
i t s l a c u s t r i n e h i . s t o r y was based on
the topographic closure
of t h e b a s i n and t h e o b v i o u s b e a c h
remnantsthatringthelowerpartsofthebasinsides.
While t h e g e n e r a l n a t u r e o f t h e
bed”>ock
geology,structure,
._.
andhydrologyhasbeenpresentedintheliterature,there
a r e no p u b l i s h e d d e t a i l e d s t u d i e s o f t h e g e o l o g y o f
unconsolidatedsedimentinthevalley.
PurposeandScope
The geology of t h e v a l l e y f i l l andgeomorphologydf
. .
forces,,waterandwind.Thisrequiresa)
thebasin
are presentedin
classification of the
terms of two i m p o r t a n ts h a p i n g
a systematrc
materials t h a t h a v e - b e e n d e p o s i t e d
in the central part of the basin,
b) d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e
s u r f a c e and s u b s u r f a c e f e a t u r e s t h a t h a v e b e e n d e v e l o p e d
by t h e two f l u i d s , and c ) t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t ’ o f a chronology
ofeventsfrombasinorigintothepresent.
I n c o n t r a s t t o moststudiesofPleistocenelakes,
w h i c hd e a lm a i n l yw i t ht h ee f f e c t s
of s u r f a c e water
1
i
This
studyincludesconsiderationofthegeologic
e f f e c t s of
ground water.
water d i d n o t
The e f f e c t s o ff l o w i n g , g r o u n d
cease w i t h t h e d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e l a k e ,
modificationsofthefloor
sincethelakeevaporated.
and s i g n i f i c a n t
of t h e b a s i n h a v e t a k e n p l a c e
The s t u d y i s l i m i t e d t o phenomena of p h y s i c a l g e o f o g y
and q u a l i t a t i v ep h y s i c a l
N o attempt
andchemicalhydrology.
was made d u r i n g f i e l d work t o c q l l e c t p a l e o n t o l o g i c d a t a ,
b u t t h e work of o t h e r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y B a c h h u b e r ,
has been
i n v a l u a b l e i n d a t i n g l a t e Pleistocene andHoloceneevents.
L o c a t i o n andGeography
is a topographicallyclosedbasin
EstanciaValley
of N e w Mexico, a n d , c o n t a i n i n g
lying in the central part
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 , 0 0 0 s q u a r e miles w i t h i n i t s perimeter
. ( f i g . 1 ) . I t i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y bisected b yl o n g i t u d e1 0 6
andby'
l a t i t u d e 34O45' N .
l o n g and35
m i l e sw i d e .
The v a l l e y i s a b o u t5 5
Thetown
n o r t h - c e n t r a l p a r t of t h e v a l l e y ,
W.,
0
miles'
o fM o r i a r t y ,i nt h e
i s a b o u t 4 0 miles east
of Albuquerque.
The town of E s t a n c i a ,t h ec o u n t y
TorranceCounty,
i s nearthe
seat f o r
west s i d e o f t h e n e a r l y f l a t
valley floor.
E c o n o m i c a l l y ,E s t a n c i aV a l l e y
i s almost t o t a l l y
farms were
dependentonfarmingandranching.Irrigated
firstestablishedin
1 9 4 1 , and s i n c e t h e n h a v e
area u n t i l 1965 when t h e U.S.
Geological Survey estimated
t h a t 2 2 , 0 0 0 acres were u n d e r i r r i g a t i o n ,
pumpage ofground
and t h a t a n n u a l
water. was a b o u t 2 5 , 0 0 0 acre-ft (Buschand
Hudson, 1 9 6 7 , ' ~ .7 2 ) .
l a n do r ,
expanded i n
The remainder of t h ev a l l e y
is grazing
a t h i g h e re l e v a t i o n s ,p i n o nf o r e s t .D u r i n gt h e
first half of this century dry farming without irrigation'
common a t i n t e r m e d i a t e and h i g h e r e l e v a t i o n s , b u t t h i s
a c t i v i t y ,i n v o l v i n gm a i n l yp i n t ob e a nf i e l d s ,h a sn e a r l y
ceased.
was
3
FIGURE 1 .-
Index map showing l o c a t i o n of E s t a n c i a ' v a l l e y ,
P i n o s Wells Basin, .and Encino Basin.
\s
4
A r t i f i c i a l d i s c h a r g e of ground water by pumping i s
d r a s t i c a l l ym o d i f y i n gt h en a t u r a lh y d r o l o g i cp a t t e r n .
The
i n t e n s i v e l y pumped a r e a i s on t h e west s i d e o f t h e v a l l e y
f l o o r andon
lower slopes of t h e west s i d e and n o r t h end
of the valley.
The climate i s mild and semiarid.Annualtemperatures
0
a t Estancia,inthecentralpartofthevalley,average
0
Januarytemperatureaveragesabout
a b o u t 70°F.
30 F, w h i l e J u l y a v e r a g e s
The a v e r a g e maximum d a y t i m et e m p e r a t u r ei nJ u l y
i s a b o u t 86OF (U.S. WeatherBureau,
the central part of the valley
1968).
Precipitation i n
is a b o u t 1 2 i n c h e s a n n u a l l y ,
..
w i t h t h e m o n t h s o f h e a v i e s t r a i n ....
ifall
andSeptember
5 0 F.
being July, August,
(Mew Mexico S t a t e E n g i n e e r O f f i c e ,
1956).
Annual p r e c i p i t a t i o n on t h e h i g h e s t p a r t s o f t h e
N a u n t a i n s t o t h e w e s t i s more t h a n 30 i n c h e s .
Manzano
Onlyon
rare
o c c a s i o n sd oh e a v yr a i n s t o r m sc a u s er u n o f ft h a tr e a c h e st h e
valley floor.
Wind v e l o c i t i e s and d i r e c t i o n s were recorded
c o n t i n u o u s l y a t a h e i g h t of 6 f t above a p l a y a s u r f a c e i n
t h ec e n t r a lp a r to ft h ev a l l e y .D u r i n gt h e
months of March
t h r o u g h May, s t r o n g w e s t - s o u t h w e s t w i n d s r e g u l a r l y
across t h ev a l l e y .
Thewind
duringthisperiod,but
sweep
b l o w s . n e a r l yc o n t i n u o u s l y
is generallystrongestinthe
a f t e r n o o n .A v e r a g ev e l o c i t i e so f
hour (mph) were commonly measured.
from 30 t o 3 7 miles p e r
The i n s t r u m e n td o e s
n o tr e c o r dv e l o c i t i e so fi n d i v i d u a lg u s t s .A v e r a g ew e e k l y
v e l o c i t i e so f
more t h a n 1 3 mph a r e n o t uncommon.
t h e r e s t of t h e y e a r s t r o n g w i n d s
During
a r e s p o r a d i c ,a n dt h e
5
blow a r e more v a r i a b l e .
d i r e c t i o n s from whichthey
occasional winds having
JunethroughOctober,
up t o 25 mph blowfrom
velocities of
southeast.
From
average
thesouthwestand
From November t h r o u g hF e b r u a r yt h es t r o n g e s t
winds are o u t o f t h e w e s t - n o r t h w e s t
w i t h v e l o c i t i e s ofup
to north-northeast
t o 3 0 mph.
Topographyof
The v a l l e y f l o o r
the Valley
i s a n e l l i p t i c a l area, c o m p r i s i n g
a b o u t 450 s q u a r e miles, e n c l o s e d w i t h i n . t h e 6 , 2 0 0 - f t
maps ( f i g . 2 ) .
c o n t o u rl i n eo ft o p o g r a p h i c
a l t i t u d e is 6,100 f t .
of the floor
central parts
Average
The g e n e r a l l y f l a t c o n f i g u r a t i o n
is interrupted in .the south-central and
bynumerous
-i r r e g u l a r l y s h a p e d 2 0 - f t
a f r a c t i o n of a s q u a r e
4 0 - f t depressions that range from
mile t o 1 . 5 s q u a r e
miles i n area.
Most of t h e s e
s t e e p - w a l l e dd e p r e s s i o n sc o n t a i ns a l i n ep l a y a s .
associated with the depressions
h i g ha s
to
Closely
a r e d u n e s t h a t stand a s
130 f t above t h eg e n e r a lv a l l e yf l o o r .T h ed u n e s ,
where t h e s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s a r e
c l e a r , l i e t o t h e east o f
theplayadepressions.
Surroundingthevalleyfloor,atelevationsbetween
a b o u t 6 , 1 0 0 and 6 , 2 2 5 f t , a r e t h e e a s i l y r e c o g n i z e d
l a c u s t r i n eb e a c h
remnan-ts.
The beaches a t most p l a c e s
form a series of t o p o g r a p h i c steps 4 t o 8 f t high.The
lower b e a c h e s a r e broadand
in the middle
andupper
r’lestwardfrom
much less d i s t i n c t t h a n
those
partsofthebeachrange.
thevalleyfloor,
andabove
t h eb e a c h
\)
0
R.GE.
R.7E.
6
11.8E.
K . 9 ER .. 1 0 E .
R.1J.E.
R,12I;.
FIGURE 2 - , T o p o g r a p h i c map of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y ( f r o m
U.S. G e o l o g i c a l S u r v e y S t a t e T o p o g r a p h i c
map)
7
remnants,theslopes
r i s e a t a b o u t 4 0 f t p e r mile on a
stream-dissected s u r f a c e t o w a r d t h e m o u n t a i n s t h a t
t h e west r i m o f ' t h e b a s i n . E a s t w a r d
form
from t h e f l o o r , t h e
i s steeper, averaging
initialslopeabovethebeachremnants
n e a r l y 1 0 0 f t p e r mile, r i s i n g toward t h e low,maturely
eroded Pedernal
Hills a n d a s s o c i a t e d u p l a n d s
t h a t form t h e
e a s t r i m of t h e b a s i n .
The Manzano Mountains, r i s i n g t o p e a k a l t i t u d e s i n
the southern part
of t h e r a n g e of more t h a n 1 0 , 0 0 0 f t , f < & m
t h e west r i m o f t h e b a s i n .
calledby
The n o r t h e r n p a r t o f t h e r a n g e ,
some t h e ManzanitaMountains,has
c r e s t a l a l t i t u d e s ,r a n g i n gb e t w e e n
lies along the
7 , 0 0 0 and 8 , 0 0 0 f t .
Manzano Mountains t h e r i m o f
Northeastward from the
the basin
c r e s t s ofSouthMountainandSan
t o t h e w e s t are
PedroMountain.'TheSandiaMountains
d r a i n e db y
streams t h a tf l o wt o w a r dt h e
n o r t h end of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y ,
of Galisteo Arroyo,which
a c t i v e l yr e d u c i n gt h e
somewhat lower
R i o Grande.
A t the
headward e r o s i o n - b y t r i b u t a r i e s
a l s o flows t o t h e R i o Grande, i s
area of E s t a n c i ad r a i n a g e .
Here, t h e
r i m of t h e b a s i n t r e n d s e a s t w a r d a l o n g t h e d i v i d e , w i t h
slopes t o thenorthtoward
slopesof
steep
Galisteo Arroyo,andmoregentle
60 t o 80 f t t o t h e mile southward i n t o E s t a n c i a
V a l l e y .T h e . a l t i t u d eo ft h e
rim is 6 , 6 0 0 t o 6 , 7 0 0 f t .
The r i m a l o n g t h e east side
05:
t h e b a s i n follows t h e
crest of a broad drainage divide between Estancia Valley
t r i b u t a r i e so ft h eP e c o sR i v e r .
The h i g h e s tp o i n t
e a s t rim, a b o u t 7 , 6 0 0 , i s i n t h e P e d e r n a l
and
on t h e
Hills, which l i e
a
s o u t h of US-40.
8
decreases steadily to
C e d a r v a l e .T h i s
of t h e r i m
From h e r es o u t h w a r dt h ea l t i t u d e
i t s lowestpoint
a few miles n o r t h of
low p o i n t ,h e r ec a l l e dt h et o p o g r a p h i c
sill,
l i e s east of t h e s o u t h end of E s t a n c i a Valley a t a n a l t i t u d e
ofabout6,350
ft.
E a s t a n dn o r t h e a s t
small c l o s e d b a s i n s o f P i n o s
A t thesouth
of t h e s i l l a r e t h e
Wells andEncino
end of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y , t h e l a n d s u r f a c e
rises a b r u p t l y t o t h e t o p o f Mesa Jumanesand
ofChupadera
Mesa.
ft.
a t an altitude of
The v a l l e yo f
Mountains.
The
town
6 , 7 0 0 f t 'to more
westward f l o w i n g Abo Arroyo
s e p a r a t e s Chupadera Mesa from t h e s o u t h
'
t h e n o r t h end
r i m l i e s n e a rt h e
The s o u t ht o p o g r a p h i c
t o p of t h i s mesacomplex
than7,000
(fig. 1).
end o f t h e Manzano
of M o u n t a i n a i r , a t a n a l t i t u d e of
6,540 f t , i s on t h e d r a i n a g e d i v i d e .
RegionalTopographicSetting
E s t a n c i a V a l l e y i s an elongate bowl-shaped
l y i n g .between t h e v a l l e y s o f t h e
Rio Grandeon
basin
t h e w e s t and
t h e Pecos R i v e r on t h e e a s t .
The f l o o r , a t a b o u t 6 , 1 0 0 f t ,
is higherthaneithertheRio
Grande o r Pecos d r a i n a g e s ' a t
t h e same l a t i t u d e s .
The R i o Grande a t Albuquerquehasan
e l e v a t i o n of 4,950 f t ; a t Bernardo,
5 0 miles west of t h e
s o u t h end o f E s t a n c i a V a l l e y , t h e
r i v e r i s a t 4,725 f t .
The Pecos River a t SantaRosa,75
miles east o f t h e n o r t h
end of t h e v a l l e y ,
i s a t 4,530 f t ; and a t F o r t Sumner, 1 0 0
miles e a s t of t h e s o u t h
end of t h e v a l l e y ,
The r e l a t i v e e l e v a t i o n s o f E s t a n c i a V a l l e y a n d
rivers of
Neb7
Mexico t h a t l i e t o e i t h e r s i d e
is a t 4,000 f t .
t h e 2 main
is important
9
because of the possibility
of subterranean ground-water
leakage from, the basin.
P r e v i o u s Work
Keyes ( 1 9 0 3 1 , i n a paper on ephemerallakes,
b r i e f l y on t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a n a n c i e n t l a k e i n
H i s s t a t e m e n t i s q u o t e di n
commented
Estancia Valley.
its entirety.
T h e r e a r e some of t h e b o l s o n p l a i n s i n which
limited deposits occur
giving undoubted e v i d e n c e s
of t h ee x i s t e n c e of o l dl a k e s .
The Sandovalbolson,
s o u t ho fS a n t aF e ,c o n t a i n s
traces of a c o m p a r a t i v e l y
recent l a k e of c o n s i d e r a b l e s i z e . A t present time
theremnantsarefoundin
a g r o u p a s small s a l t ponds,
the chief of
which i s Laguna d e l Perro.
Meinzer (1911) p u b l i s h e d a g e n e r a l d e s c r i p t i o n
V a l l e y a f t e r a 6-week
geology and w a t e r r e s o u r c e s o f E s t a n c i a
f i e l d s t u d y made in' 1909.
oneofthe
T h i s was t h e f i r s t , and remains
most i n f o r m a t i v e , d e s c r i p t i o n s
g e o l o g ya n dt h e
of t h e
of Q u a r t e r n a r y
l a k e r e m n a n t s .I nt h i sp u b l i c a t i o n
the first analysis of the lacustrine
appeared
and p o s t - l a c u s t r i n e
conditions that resulted in the formation of the beaches,
b a r s ,d u n e s ,
and p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s
so prominent i n t h e v a l l e y .
were i m p o r t a n t
Meinzercorrectlyconcludedthattheplayas
sites of n a t u r a l e v a p o r a t i v e d i s c h a r g e
v a l l e y .A l t h o u g hs e v e r a lm o d i f i c a t i o n s
most of M e i n z e r ' s c o n c l u s i o n s
of water from t h e
a r e now n e c e s s a r y ,
were v a l i d , a n d , t h i s p a p e r
will
add t o , r a t h e r t h a n n e g a t e , t h e i m p o r t a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t h a t
h e made.
Bryan and McCann ( 1 9 5 0 ) prepared a manuscript,which
was n e v e rp u b l i s h e d ,a s c r i b i n gp r e s e n t4 0 0 + - f tt o p o g r a p h i c
closure of the basin to solution of .underlying
gypsum beds
.
and t i a n s p o r t a t i o n o f c l a s t i c
10
.
and d i s s o l v e d s e d i m e n t o u t
t h eb a s i nt h r o u g hu n d e r g r o u n dr i v e r s .I n f o r m a t i o n
available does not support this
of
now
mechanism.
climatic c o n d i t i o n s
Leopold(1951)analyzedPleistocene
i n Estancia Valley, concluding that
a large lake required both.
i n c r e a s e d . p r e c i p i t a t i o n and lower t e m p e r a t u r e t h a n
afforded
bypresent-dayclimate.Basedonanassumedperennial
snow
l i n e 1,500 meters ( a b o u t 4 , 9 0 0 ft) below t h a t of t h e present,
was lower by
hesuggestedthattheaverageJulytemperature
a b o u t 16OF t h a n
t h of
at today,
necessarytomaintainthelake
and
ab,..
t h a. t .
'it
thebprecipitation
was a b o u t 2 1 i n c h e s .
late Pleistocene
A n t e v s( 1 9 5 4 )e l a b o r a t e do nt h e
climatic c o n d i t i o n s i n New Mexico, b a s i n g h i s c o n c l u s i o n s
for Estancia Valley
on t h e same e v i d e n c e t h a t had been used
a June-Septembertemperature
byLeopold.Antevspostulated
10°F
.
lowerthanpresent,andprecipitation
Gn t h e o r d e r of
23 i n c h e s .
R.
Smith ( 1 9 5 7 ) r e p o r t e d o n t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y
and
s u i t a b i l i t y of ground water f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l , m u n i c i p a l , a n d
d o m e s t i cu s ei nT o r r a n c eC o u n t y ,w h i c hi n c l u d e s
n o r t h e r ne n d
of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y ,
Wells and EncinoBasins.Smith
a l l but the..
and a l s o i n c l u d e s P i n o s
was n o tc o n c e r n e dw i t h
geomorphicfeaturesleft
by t h e P l e i s t o c e n e l a k e , a n d d i d
n o t add s i g n i f i c a n t l y t o
knowledge o ft h e s ef e a t u r e s .
geologyofthevalley
f o rt h e
most p a r t .
The
f i l l was t a k e n from Meinzer's rep0r.k
Smithsuggested(p.
d e p r e s s i o n s hadformedbecause
4 6 ) t h a kt h ep l a y a
of s o l u t i o n of gypsum i n t h e
11
u n d e r l y i n g Yeso Formation and were n o t t h e work o f w i n d . a l o n e
asMeinzerhadthought.
a master's t h e s i s f o r t h e
Harbour(1958)prepared
U n i v e r s i t y of New Mexicoon
t h e g e o l o g y of t h e Lucy early-man
s i t e , which was a l s o b e i n g s t u d i e d
by t h e A n t h r o p o l o g y
D e p a r t m e n t .H a r b o u rd e s c r i b e di nc o n s i d e r a b l ed e t a i lt h e
s t r a t i g r a p h y of what were t h o u g h t t o b e
.
s i t e i nt h es o u t h e a s t e r n m o s tp a r t
.
pond d e p o s i t s a t t h e
The s i t e i s
of t h e v a l l e y .
a b o u t 260 f t t o p o g r a p h i c a l l y a b o v e t h e f l o o r
of t h e v a l l e y ,
which p l a c e s it n e a r t h e a l t i t u d e o f t h e t o p o g r a p h i c
1 0 miles t ot h es o u t h e a s t .H a r b o u ra l s o
thebeaches
sill
mapped a n dd e s c r i b e d
1 0 0 t o 200 f t lower on the sloping ,sides of the
basin.
.
Lyons ( 1 9 6 9 ) c o l l e c t e d a l a r g e amount of archk+eological
a complete
d a t a onandfromEstanciaValley,andproduced
a c c o u n t of t h ep r e h i s t o r y .
Bachhuber ( 1 9 7 1 ) p r e p a r e d a
d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n on t h e p a l e o l i m n o l o g y
of P l e i s t o c e n e
Lake E s t a n c i a , w h i c h h a s b e e n e x t r ' e m e l y h e l p f u l i n e s t a b l i s h i n g
thechronology
of e v e n t s as w e l l a s a d d i n g s u b s t a n t i a l l y t o
my e a r l i e r work i n t h e v a l l e y
dissertation.
agreeon
( 1 9 6 9 ) , which w a s a l s o a
I w i l l n o t eh e r et h a tw h i l eB a c h h u b e ra n d
many a s p e c t s of b a s i n h i s t o r y ,
w e have some i m p o r t a n t
areas of disagreement, particularly in relation to
which t h el a k eo v e r t o p p e d
I
times d u r i n g
i t s b a s i n .R e a d e r si n t e r e s t e di n
t h i si n f o r m a t i o ns h o u l dr e a dB a c h h u b e r ' sa c c o u n t .
12
Galloway ( 1 9 7 0 ) developed a model o f t h e f u l l - g l a c i a l
climate f o r t h e Lake E s t a n c i a B a s i n t h a t c o n t r a s t s m a r k e d l y
by Leopold (1951) andAntevs
w i t ht h em o d e l sd e v e l o p e d
(1954).
He s u g g e s t e dt h a tm a j o r
temperature ( l O - l l ° C )
f o rf o r m a t i o n
decreases i n mean
a n de v a p o r a t i o na l o n ec o u l da c c o u n t
andmaintenance
of a p e r e n n i a ll a k e .G a l l o w a y
last full glaciation
proposed that precipitation during the
i nt h eS o u t h w e s t( P i n e d a l eS t a d i a l )
w a s from 8 0 t o 9 0 p e r c e n t
of p r e s e n t a m o u n t s , b u t t h a t t h e r u n o f f p e r c e n t a g e
was
g r e a t l yi n c r e a s e d .I nr e v i e w so fG a l l o w a y ' sm o d e l ,
Dury
(1973)andReeves(1973).questionhisassumptionson
p r e c i p i t a t i o n - r u n o f fr e l a t i o n s h i p s .
on detailed studies
Reeves
(19731,
based
of T e x a s H i g h P l a i n s p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s ,
considers that increased precipitation
was required to
maintain pluvial lake levels, even under
much c o o l e r
conditions.
F i n a l l y ,K e l l e y
( 1 9 7 2 ) h a s mapped t h eg e o l o g yo ft h e
F o r t Sumner Sheet,which
relationships in the
shows i m p o r t a n t g e o l o g i c a l
area e a s t of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y t h r o u g h -
whichflowedtheearlysurface
streams t h a t d r a i n e d t h e
v a l l e y w h i l e much of t h e v a l l e y f i l l w a s accumulating.
*
InJanuary
1 9 5 0 , t h e N e w Xexico S t a t e E n g i n e e r d e c l a r e d
t o be a ground-water
t h e " E s t a n c i a UndergroundWaterBasin"
law.
b a s i ns u b j e c tt oc o n t r o lu n d e rS t a t e
by the
The area d e c l a r e d
State E n g i n e e r i n c l u d e d e s s e n t i a l l y
all the basin
t h a t i s u n d e r l a i n by s i g n i f i c a n t t h i c k n e s s o f u n c o n s o l i d a t e d
valley f i l l .
S i n c et h e nt h ea r e ah a sb e e ne x t e n d e d . t ot h e
w e s t and south
t o include part of the pre-Tertiary terrane
water t o t h e c e n t r a l p a r t
thatcontributesground
valley.
since, been
The b a s i n was n o tt h e n ,a n dh a sn o t
c l o s e d t o developmentof
of t h e .
new w a t e r r i g h t s , b u t t h e r e h a v e
b e e nc e r t a i nr e s t r i c t i o n sp l a c e do ns u c hd e v e l o p m e n t .
StateEngineerOffice
is actively involved in various
s t u d i e s of groundwater
and g e o l o g i c c o n d i t i . o n s t h a t h a v e
a bearing on administration
The U . S .
The
of water r i g h t s .
as p a r t of a c o o p e r a t i v e
GeologicalSurvey,
New Mexico S t a t e Engineer, makes r e g u l a r
programwiththe
water-level'measurements i n o b s e r v a t i o n w e l l s i n t h e v a l l e y .
Thesemeasurements
are published regularly as
r e p o r t s( B a l l a n c e ,
1965;Busch,
1967-1970;
Hudson, 1 9 7 1 ) .
S t a t e Engineer
1 9 6 6 ; BuschandHudson,
The G e o l o g i c a lS u r v e ya l s oh a s
made numerous chemical analyses of ground
water from t h e
v a l l e y , and is a r e p o s i t o r y f o r t h e s e d a t a .
S a l t Harvest from t h e P l a y a s
Salt has been harvested from the playas for
c e n t u r i e s , and Northrop ( 1 9 5 9 , p.
Spaniards'earlyinterest
many
2 7 6 ) summarized t h e
i n thedeposits:
14
T h e d e p o s i t s were v i s i t e d by Xoodriquez and
Chamuscado i n 1581, and by Onate i n 1598; t h e y
were c i t e d by Zarate-Salmeron i n 162.9 andby
Benavides i n 1630. A s e a r l y as 1 6 6 0 s a l t w a s
beingtransported
7 0 0 miles t o t h e s i l v e r m i n e s
i ns o u t h e r nC h i h u a h u a ,
Mexico. S p a n i s ha r c h i v e s
i n d i c a t e t h a t between 1 7 1 6 and 1 7 4 2 , a t l e a s t ,
t h e r e were numerous m i l i t a r y escorts p r o v i d e d
from G a l i s t e o t o t h e s a l t l a k e s .
Alden C . H a y e s , S u p e r v i s o r y A r c h e o l o g i s t w i t h t h e
27 samples of s a l t c o l l e c t e d
N a t i o n a lP a r kS e r v i c e ,p r o v i d e d
duringexcavasion
(Sal!&,)
of r u i n s o f t h e v i l l a g e
Pa&
x.
\M"Mllw.W+
Gran Q u i v i r a , L N a t i o n a l
about1300
t o 1 6 7 2 A.D..
of L a s Jumanes a t
Las Jumanes was occupiedfrom
(Hayes,writtencommunication,1967).
of t h e I n d i a n s of
The s a l t s p e c i m e n s i n d i c a t e t h e r e l i a n c e
s a l t from t h e p l a y a s f o r
theso-called"SalinePueblos"on
t h e i r own u s e , and s u g g e s t s t h a t d u r i n g t h e t i m e
of t h e p u e b l o s s a l t may have been used
of occupancy
for trade.
According t o TalmadqeandWootton
(1937, p. 1 4 6 - 1 4 7 ) ;
Laguna S a l i n a s a l t p r e c i p i t a t e was worked commercially
s t a r t i n g i n 1915.
I n 1933production
amounted t o 7 0 0 t o n s ,
and p r i c e s were 30 t o 4 0 cents p e r 1 0 0 pounds.Threegrades,
8 5 , 92, and 98 p e r c e n tp u r e ,
s a l t c r u s t was s c r a p e d from t h e
Inearlyproduction,the
it had p r e c i p i t a t e d t o s u f f i c i e n t
s u r f a c e of t h e p l a y a a f t e r
thickness.
were s e p a r a t e d i n h a r v e s t i n g .
vats were c o n s t r u c t e d ,
Later, s h a l l o we v a p o r a t i o n
and b r i n e was pumped i n t o t h e v a t s u n t i l s u f f i c i e n t t h i c k n e s s
o f s a l t accumulated.
The b e s ts e a s o nf o rh a r v e s t i n g
A p r i l t o J u l y , b e f o r et h e
summer r a i n s .
was from
A 30-minute r a i n
r e p o r t e d l y would d i s s o l v e a l l of t h e s a l t on t h e l a k e s u r f a c e
and r e c r y s t a l l i z a t i o n r e q u i r e d a b o u t
Commercial p r o d u c t i o nc e a s e d
I
1
5 daysofsunshine.
i n 1939 ( R . Smith,1957,
p. 1 6 ) .
C"
15
PRE-LACUSTRINE GEOLOGY
The v a l l e y f l o o r and most of t h e lower slopes on t h e
valley sides
are underlainby.unconsolidated t o poorly
c o n s o l i d a t e ds e d i m e n tc o m p r i s i n gt h ev a l l e y
f i l l (fig. 3 ) .
P r e c a m b r i a n ,P a l e o z o i c ,a n dM e s o z o i cr o c k sc r o po u th i g h e r
on the valley sides, and underlie the surface on which.the
v a l l e y f i l l rests.
D i s t r i b u t i o n of P r e - T e r t i a r y Rocks
Precambrian rocks crop out in the
west face of t h e
area of
Manzano M o u n t a i n s , m o s t l y ' o u t s i d e t h e d r a i n a g e
EstanciaValley,
r i m north
and i n a small area o n t h e b a s i n
of t h e Manzanos ( f i g . 3 )
.
On t.he e a s t side of t h e v a l l e y
the Precambrian crops out in the southern
and i n a group of h i l l s i n T . 4 N . ,
Thin Sandia Formation
i t s subcropeXtends
p a r t of t h e r i m
1 0 and 11 E.
and t h e t h i c k Madera Limestone
o v e r l i e P r e c a m b r i a nr o c k so nt h e
forms t h e s u r f a c e onmost
Rs.
w e s t side.
TheMadera
of t h e west s l o p e s o f
the valley;
a s much as 1 0 miles toward t h e c e n t e r
of t h e v a l l e y b e n e a t h
subcrops of the Permian
a wedge o f v a l l e y
fill.
and c o n n e c t i n g w i t h
o u t c r o p s a t t h en o r t ha n ds o u t he n d s .I nt h en o r t h e r n ' a n d
c e n t r a l p a r t s of t h e v a l l e y t h e G l o r i e t a a n d
SanAndres
Formations, and u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d T r i a s s i c r o c k s , are i n
subcrop contact with the base of the valley
'
F a r t h e r east,
Abo and Yeso Formations form broad
bands running the length of the valley
fill.
Undifferentiated Cretaceous rocks underlie the valley
a t t h en o r t he n d .
'
fill
16
c
FIGURE 3
-
Geologic map of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y s h o w i n g o u t c r o p s
(modified from Dane and Bachman, 19651, and
suggested l o c a t i o n o f b u r i e d c o n t a c t s .
17
In the vicinity
of t h e e a s t h a l f o f
t h e small b u t p r o m i n e n t c o n i c a l p e a k
R.9 'E.,
T.8 N . ,
of Lobo H i l l , and a
f l a t upland surface s e v e r a l s q u a r e miles i n area a t i t s
Lobo H i l l i s
base, s t a n da b o v et h ef l o o ro f . t h ev a l l e y .
composed of P r e c a m b r i a n q u a r t z i t e , s u r r o u n d e d
Triassic r o c k s crop o u t i n
of t h e SanAndresFormation.
thevalley
f l o o r , and extendsouthward
miles from Lobo H i l l .
R.
i n subcrmp 6 t o 8
of T, 1 0 N.,
I nt h es o u t h w e s tc o r n e r
9 E. h i g h l y f r a c t u r e d r o c k s
of t h e G l o r i e t a a n d S a n
Andres Formations project through the valley
I n the south part of the
thinsection
by l i m e s t o n e
fill.
e a s t r i m area, a r e l a t i v e l y
of t h e Yeso F o r m a t i o n( P e r m i a n ) ,r e s t i n g
d i r e c t l yo nP r e c a m b r i a nr o c k s ,f o r m st h e
outcrops.
Northward t h e G l o r i e t a andSanAndresFormations
crop o u t
on t h e r i m and i n t h e e a s t s l o p e s o f t h e v a l l e y , a n d
farther north
T r i a s s i c r o c k s a r e a t t h e surface.
The g e o l o g i c map accompanying t h i s r e p o r t (fig:3)
is reproduced from t h e G e o l o g i c Map o f New Mexico (Dane
and Bachman, 1 9 6 5 ) ; it hasbeenmodified
b a s i s of f i e l d work f o r t h i s p r o j e c t .
i n 2 areas on t h e
The Geologic Map of
N e w Mexico shows Yeso o u t c r o p s p r o j e c t i n g s e v e r a l
into the basin
i n a broad area betweenMountainairand
Willard a t t h e s o u t h
end of t h e v a l l e y .
of a l l u v i u m u n d e r l i e s t h e s u r f a c e h e r e ,
e r r o r i s c o r r e c t e do nf i g .
3.
u p l a n ds u r f a c ea s s o c i a t e dd i t h
R.
9 E.),
miles
More t h a n 1 0 0 f t
and t h i s pubxished
The o t h e r area i s o nt h e
Lobo H i l l (E% T.
8 N.,
w h e r es i n k h o l e sa n dd e p r e s s i o n si n d i c a t et h a t
the
.
.L
.
18
of Lobo H i l l i s surrounded by s o l u b l e
Precambrian outcrop
l i m e s t o n e of t h e SanAndresFormation.
Formation contacts underlying the valley fill
o n f i g . . 3 w e r e modified from those on
R.
Smith ( 1 9 5 7 , pl. 1).
a map published by
The s e v e r a ls o u r c e so fi n f o r m a t i o n
t e s t s t r i pl o g s ,
u s e di nt h em o d i f i c a t i o ni n c l u d e d :a )o i l
s a m p l ed e s c r i p t i o n s ,
shown
and bore-hole l o g s ; b ) o u t c r o p
maps
informationfromfieldobservation,along.withgeologic
o f R. Smith(1957),
Of
Read and o t h e r s ( 1 9 4 4 ) , Geologic Map
Bachman, 1 9 6 5 ) ; c ) w a t e r - w e l l
New Mexico(Daneand
drillers'logs;
t h eb a s i n .
and d ) a n a l y s i s
where,on
6 N.,
One
Most o ft h em o d i f i c a t i o n sa r es l i g h t .
major change i s i n t h e v i c i n i t y
T.
of h y d r o l o g i cp a t t e r n si n
thebasis
R.
of a s m a l l G l o r i e t a o u t c r o p
R.
1 0 E.,
R.
.in sec. 26,
t h eY e s o - G l o r i e t as u b c r o pc o n t a c t
1 0 E.,
projectednortheastward
i n T. 7 N . ,
of T P s . 5 , a n d 6 N . ,
is
t o connect with an outcrop contact
S m i t h ,w i t hl i m i t e di n f o r m a t i o n
11 E .
a v a i l a b l e ,p r o j e c t e dt h ec o n t a c ts o u t h e a s t w a r da c r o s st h e
s o u t h e r np a r to f
T.
11 E . ,
6 N.,.R.
b u tc o u l dn o tc o n n e c t
it w i t h t h e c o n t a c t i n o u t c r o p .
S m i t h ' s work was supplemented by a d d i n g t h e Abo-Yeso
c o n c e a l e dc o n t a c t ,b a s e do ns t r i pl o g sa n d
from o i l t e s t s such as t h e E i d a l - M i t c h e l l i n
T.
4 N.,
R.
8 E.,
e l e c t r i c a l logs .
sec. 3 3 ,
t h e Murphree and Bond-Berkshire t e s t i n
sec. 1 9 , T . 6 N . ,
R.
9 E.,
sec. 2 7 , T. 7 N . ,
R.
1 0 E.
also used,butbecause
and t h e Olsen-Means t e s t i n
Water-well d r i l l e r s 'l o g s
of t h e p r e s e n c e o f r a r e l y
were
19
?+bo and Yeso Formations,
i n both the
distinguishable red beds
oil
theinformationcouldonlysupplementdatafromthe
test holes.
from T . 7 N.,
The t r a c e of t h e c o n t a c t
9 E.
of Moriarty was chosen mainly by
through the vicinity
parallelism to the
'R.
more r e l i a b l y p i c k e d
Madera-Abo and
Yeso-Glorietacontacts.
The subcroptongue
t o extendsouthwardfrom
of T r i a s s i c r o c k s
shown o n f i g .
Lobo H i l l 6 t o 8 miles m o d i f i e s
is
Smith's interpretation that the subcrop in this area
Yeso andSanAndres,
3 .
is i n
and t h a t t h e p r i n c i p a l a q u i f e r
t h e Yeso (R. Smith, 1 9 5 7 , p l . 1, 2 ) .
i n t h e w e s t e r n p a r t of T. 7 N . ,
S e v e r a l water wells .
10 E. were d r i l l e d
R.
a thin section of
through the valley fill, penetrated
Triassic redbedsandsandstone,andapparentlybottomed
i n t h e San AndresFormation.
NE%NW%NW% sec. 19, T.
inthe
The l o go fo n es u c h
7 N.,
R.
10 E.,
well,
is included
i n Appendix A.
Subcropcontacts
l o c a t e d on t h e b a s i s
i n the north
end of the b a s i n were
of l o g s from water wells t h a t
and from t h e p o s i t i o n s
p e n e t r a t e db e d r o c k ,
OF s c a t t e r e d
closed depressions in the terrain, which suggest
g r o u n d - w a t e rs o l u t i o n
of l i m e s t o n e s t r a t a i n t h e
Such d e p r e s s i o n s a r e n o t a b l e
Madera.
on t h e U S . GeologicalSurvey
t o p o g r a p h i c map f o r Edgewood Q u a d r a n g l e i n sec. 3 , T. 10 N . ,
R.
7 E.
and . i n sec. 3 3 , T . 11 N . ,
d e p r e s s i o n so nt h i s
T. 11 N . ,
R. 9 E . ,
R. 7 E.
O t h e rc l o s e d
map, f o r example i n secs. 1 8 and 19,
a r e s h o r e l i n e phenomena r e l a t e d t o a
h i g hs t a n do fP l e i s t o c e n e
Lake E s t a n c i a , a n d s h o u l d n o t b e
.
20
c o n f u s e dw i t ht h ei n f e r r e d
Madera subcrop.
were a l s o c o n t r o l l e d by o u t c r o p s
of the subcrop contacts
on e i t h e r s i d e
The p o s i t i o n s
of t h e b a s i n .
Kelley ( 1 9 6 3 ) was usedonthe
A detailedgeologic
map by
west s i d e , and a
east
r e c o n n a i s s a n c e map by Read and o t h e r s ( 1 9 4 4 ) o n t h e
side,asbasesforprojectingthesubcrops.
The T r i a s s i c , J u r a s s i c ,
andCretaceousrocks
of t h e p a u c i t y
not differentiated in the subsurface because
of well d a t a .
R.
9 E.
The l o go f
a w e l l i n t h e SWL, sec. 3 2 , T . 11 N . ,
is u n d e r l a i n by
indicates that the valley fill here
Triassic rock.
A l o g from t h e SEk sec. 3 , T. 11 N.,
indicates that bedrock
(Appendix A )
were
.
at this location
R.
8 E.
i s Cretaceousrock
The p o s i t i o n s o f t h e s u b s u r f a c e c o n t a c t s a r e h i g h l y
of t h e b a s i n ,
generalizedinthenorthernpart
l e s s g e n e r a l i z e de l s e w h e r e .
andsomewhat
The g e n e r a lp a t t e r no fc o n t a c t
between bedrock formations and the base of the valley
fill
is important in considering the possibility of leakage from
the basin,
and i n i n t e r p r e t i n g h y d r o l o g i c
phenomena i n t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t
andgeomorphologic
of t h e v a l l e y .
S t r a t i g r a p h y andHydrologicProperties
of Pre-Tertiary
Rocks
Precambrian
The P r e c a m b r i a n r o c k s c o n s i s t p r e d o m i n a n t l y o f g r a n i t e ,
s c h i s t ,g n e i s s ,
a r e known o n l yi n
and q u a r t z i t e , a n d t h e i r h y d r o l o g i c p r o p e r t i e s
a g e n e r a l way.
seeps i n t h e west f a c e o f
Widelyspacedspringsand
t h e Manzano Mountains discharge
a
.
.
21
fraction of
a f e w gallonsperminute.
a gallon per minute to
The Precambrian rocks have been
the southern part
d r i l l e d f o r water o n l y i n
of t h e e a s t r i m , where they
crop o u t o r
t o several hundred f e e t of Yeso
are directly overlain by up
strata.
P o r o s i t y and p e r m e a b i l i t y a r e c o n t r o l l e d b y f r a c t u r i n g
andamount
o fw e a t h e r i n g .
tabulated data on
Smith(1957,
R.
table 14)
a number o f . r a n c h wells t h a t pump water
from t h e P r e c a m b r i a n r o c k s o n t h e s o u t h e a s t
side of t h e
Most of t h e w e l l s a r e 1 5 0 t o 300 f t d e e pa n dy i e l d
basin.
a f r a c t i o n of a g a l l o n per m i n u t e t o a f e w g a l l o n s per
minute.
Many d r y h o l e s h a v e b e e n d r i l l e d t h a t
are not
well d a t a i n d i c a t e t h a t
t a b u l a t e db yS m i t h .T h e s e
permeabilityandporosityarevery
it i s expected
low,and
t h a t b o t h decrease w i t h i n c r e a s i n g d e p t h .
R.
Smith(1957,
p. 2 4 ,
t h eS a n t a
Fe R a i l r o a d .
The w e l l w a s t e s t pumped
a t 1 0 0 gpm ( g a l l o n s p e r . m i n u t e ) w i t h
This701-ft
'inthe
in
well i n P r e c a m b r i a n r o c k d r i l l e d
relatively large-yield
1930by
table 1 4 ) reported a single,
60 f t o f drawdown.
w e l l i s o u t s i d e of t h e E s t a n c i a drainage area,
SE%NW%SE% sec. 3 3 , T.
inferred to enter the
6 N.,
R.
13 E . '
Water i s
w e l l from brecciated z o n e s t h a t
a s s o c i a t e dw i t hf a u l t s
(R.
Smith,
1957,
p.
82-83).
are
The
.
company d r i l l e d 4 h o l e s . i n a well f i e l d before t h e
s u c c e s s f u l well was completed.
The well i n d i c a t e s t h a t
permeabilitycanheanomalouslyhighinPrecambrianrocks,
butthehighpermeability
phenomenon.
is thoughttobe
a verylocalized
22
t h a t is transmitted
The volumeofgroundwater
annuallytowardthecenterofEstancia.Valleythroughthe
Precambrianrocksontheeastside
i s thoughtto
R a i n f a l l i s n o th i g hi nt h i sa r e a .
small.
be very
The ground-water
divide follows the topographic divide fairly closely
(R.
2),
S m i t h ,1 9 5 7 ,p l .
drainage area underlain
and t h ew i d t ho ft h eE s t a n c i a
by Precambrian rocks, .or by
Precambrianrocksoverlain
by Yeso s t r a t a , i n t h e s o u t h e r n
r i m i s o n l y a few miles.
p a r to ft h e
coupledwith
T h e s ef a c t o r s ,
low p e r m e a b i l i t y o f t h e r o c k , i m p l y
low
recharge to the basin from Precambrian terrane.
rest of the basin
The Precambrian rock throughout the
i s overlain by
more t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 f t of Pennsylvanian and
A t t h e crest o f t h e
youngersedimentaryrock.
Mountains the overlying Pennsylvanian rocks are
'
ftthick
(Readand
distance to the east,
l i e s progressively lower with
so t h a t i n t h e
Witt I c e ' # l Meadows
t e s t h o l e , sec. 23, T . 6 N., R. 7 E . ,
P e n n s y l v a n i a nc o n t a c t
i s a t a depthof
Stipp, 1 9 6 1 ) .
Murphreeand
and i n t h e
R.
10 E . ,
about 1 , 0 0 0
o t h e r s , 194'4; Reiche, 1 9 4 9 ; Myers, 1 9 6 6 ) .
The P r e c a m b r i a n s u r f a c e
sec. 1 9 , T .
Manzano
I nt h e
6 N., R. 9 E . ,
thePrecambrian1 , 9 0 0 f t (Fosterand
Bond #1 B e r k s h i r e t e s t ,
t h eP r e c a m b r i a n
is a t 3,120 f t ,
Gardner #1 Kidwell t e s t , sec. 21, T.
6 N.,
it i s a t 5 , 6 8 0 f t .
Thick shale beds in the overlying strata reduce the
p o s s i b i l i t y of upward flowfromPrecambrianrockstoward
t h e pointofnaturalground-waterdischargeinthecenter
of t h e b a s i n .F u r t h e r m o r e ,
t h e low p e r m e a b i l i t y of t h e
23
Precambrianrocksthat
may b e r e d u c e d
i s m e a s u r a b l e . a t and n e a r t h e o u t c r o p s
even morewhere
s e v e r a lt h o u s a n d
t h e o v e r b u r d e n i s a few f t t o
f t t h i c k .R e c h a r g et ot h eb a s i n
byflow
is therefore
through more deeply buried Precambrian rock
thought to be negligible.
Pennsylvanian
Rocks o f P e n n s y l v a n i a n a g e i n c l u d e t h e S a n d i a F o r m a t i o n
and t h e Madera Limestone.
The S a n d i aF o r m a t i o nc o n s i s t so f
blackshale,darkgraylimestone,grayto
and o c c a s i o n a lc o a ls e a m s .
from 1 0 f t t o a b o u t
brown sandstone,
The f o r m a t i o np r o b a b l yr a n g e s
250 f t t h i c k (Read and o t h e r s , 1 9 4 4 ;
Kelley, 1 9 6 3 ) .
The' Sandia Formation
f o r groundwater
i s n o t known t o h a v e b e e n t e s t e d
i n t h i s area owing t o i t s g r e a t d e p t h o f
b u r i a l and t o t h e u s u a l a v a i l a b i l i t y
of a t l e a s t small
s u p p l i e so fw a t e rf r o mt h eo v e r l y i n g
Madera L i m e s t o n e .I n
discussionsofhydrology,theSandiaFormation
included with the
w i l l be
Maaera Limestone.
The Madera Limestone i s c o n v e n t i o n a l l y d i v i d e d i n t o
r,,,
lower Gray Mesa %ember and upper Arkosic Limestone
The lower member c o n s i s t s o f
a
,_
%ember.
massive b e d s o f c h e r t y g r a y
limestonewithinterbeddedcalcareousgrayandblackshale.
The upper member, i n c o n t r a s t , h a s
a much h i g h e r c l a s t i c
contentandconsistsofalternatinglight-graycherty
l i m e s t o n e ,a r k o s i cc a l c a r e n i t e ,r e do r
s a n d s t o n e , and g r a ys h a l e
(Readand
brown a r k o s i c
o t h e r s , 1 9 4 4 ; Anonymous,
1 9 5 2 , 7 . ' 107-108; Kottlowski, 1 9 6 1 , p - 1 0 1 ) .
I n t h e Manzano
24
of about1,300
a n dS a n d i a ' M o u n t a i n st h i c k n e s s e s
measured i n o u t c r o p
(Read and o t h e r s , 1 9 4 4 ; Kelley,1963).
The upper member i s 8 0 0 t o 9 0 0 f t t h i c k i n t h e
Mountains(Readand
severalhundred
f t havebeen
Manzano.
crest
o t h e r s , 1 9 4 4 ) , a l t h o u g hn e a rt h e
f e e t havebeen
The t o p o f t h e
removed b y e r o s i o n .
Madera i s mapped o n t h e t o p o f t h e
h i g h e s tm a r i n el i m e s t o n e .
The u p p e r p a r t
t r a n s i t i o n a li n t ot h eo v e r l y i n g
of t h e Madera i s
Abo r e d bed s e q u e n c e .I n
t h et r a n s i t i o nz o n e ,d a r k - r e ds h a l e
and sandstonepredominate
The t r a n s i t i o n zone i s
o v e rt h et h i nl i m e s t o n eb e d s .
s e p a r a t e d and named t h e Bursum Formation,, of Permian (?) age,
i nt h es o u t h e r np a r to ft h e
(sec. 5 , T:%
R.
N.,
( W i l p o l ta n do t h e r s ,
TheMadera
Manzano Mountains.In
A b 0 Pass
t h e Bursum is a b o u t 1 2 0 f t t h i c k
5 E.)
1946).
to a .
thickenseastwardinthesubsurface
maximum of more t h a n 3 , 0 0 0
f t in the. structural trough under
E s t a n c i aV a l l e y . 'K o t t l o w s k i
( 1 9 6 1 , f i g . 1)' i n d i c a t e s a
thicknessof
about 4 , 0 0 0 f t f o r P e n n s y l v a n i a n r o c k s i n t h e
vicinity of the
San J u a n # 2 Randall and the Gardner
Kidwell o i l t e s t s i n secs. 2 0 and 21, T.
and s t a t e s (p. 1 0 1 ) t h a t t h i s
#1
6 N., R . 10 E . ,
may i n c l u d e 530 t o 1 , 0 0 0 f t
o fS a n d i aF o r m a t i o nr o c k s .E a s t w a r dt h i c k e n i n go ft h e
sequence i s t h e r e s u l t o f
sedimentfromthepositive
large c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f
clastic
area of t h e P e d e r n a l u p l i f t i n
the Pennsylvanian Period.
TheMadera
h a st h el a r g e s to u t c r o p
pre-TertiaryformationinEstanciaValley,,
are mostly high
area of any
'
'
and i t s o u t c r o p s
on t h e west s i d e of t h e v a l l e y w h e r e . t h e
25
g r e a t e s tr a i n f a l lo c c u r s .
I t s p o t e n t i a lf o rc o l l e c t i n g . a n d
transmitting recharge to the valley
f i l l is-great, hence
hydrologic characteristics w i l l beconsideredin
Analysisofdatacollected
its.
so,&$'detail.
by t h e a u t h o r f r o m
300 h o l e s
d r i l l e d f o r water i n t h e Madera Limestone. i n t h e , Manzano and
600 f t t h e
Sandia Mountains indicates that within the upper
p e r m e a b i l i t yv a r i e si n d i r e c t l yw i t hd e p t h .
p r o d u c i b l e wells i n t h e f o r m a t i o n
Dry h o l e s v e r s u s
were used t o c o n s t r u c t
wells
f i g . 4 , which shows t h e p e r c e n t a g e o f p r o d u c i b l e w a t e r
i
( p r o d u c iw
b leel l s / t ohtoalp
lelso)t taegda' itnhset
.were d r i l l e d . '
depthintervalstowhichthey
thepiezometricsurface
100-ft
was n o t c o n s i d e r e d , e x c e p t t h a t , t o
beincludedinthedata,
a dryhole
20 f t below t h e . p i e z o m e t r i c s u r f a c e
had t o e x t e n d
at least
as measured i n t h a t h o l e
The f e w h o l e s t h a t
o ri nn e a r b yh o l e s .
The d e p t h o f
were excludedby
this constraint did not reach the piezometric. surface.
is less t h a n
Becausethedepthofthepiezometricsurface
200 f t i n a l l b u t
a few localareas,
successratiois.highestinthe
0 t o 200-ft
is valid.
methodofgraphconstruction
dryhole
and t h e d r i l l i n g
interval,this
r.
By d e p m i t i o n , a
i s any well t h a t was so d e s c r i b e d b y
i t s owner o r
d r i l l e r , o r , i f p r o d u c t i o n . r a t e s were a v a i l a b l e , a n y
t h a t would n o t y i e l d
1 5 0 g a l l o n sp e rd a y( a b o u t
well
0 . 1 gpm).
Yields of as much as 0 . 2 5 t o 0 . 5 gpm (360 t o 7 2 0 g a l l o n s
p e rd a y )
were u s u a l l y r e p o r t e d
byowners
o r drillers, a s
€or
t h e s ea r es i g n i f i c a n t ,e v e ni ff r e q u e n t l yi n a d e q u a t e ,
d g m e s t i co rs t o c ks u p p l y .
I t i s r e c o g n i z e dt h a t
some
26
11
I30
FIGURE 4
--
2,
I
590
GOO-1100
,'
Graphshowing
p e r c e n t a g e of p r o d u c i b l e water
wells d r i l l e d i n t h e Madera Formation,by
d e p( "t hP.r o d u c i b l e
w e l l " y i e l d s > 0 . 1 gpm.)
e
27
reports of dry holes
may n o t h a v e b e e n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e
number of t h e s e is n o t
bulkofthereporteddata,butthe
t h o u g h t t o b el a r g e .
A d r yh o l e ,
by t h i s d e f i n i t i o n , t h u s
may have a water l e v e l t h a t i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e
piezometricsurface
a t that point.
F i g . 4 shows a n i n c r e a s e
in t h e p e r c e n t a g e
wells f o r t h o s ed r i l l e dd e e p e rt h a n
small f o r t h e combined i n t e r v a l o f
r e s u l t s a r e t h o u g h tt o
600 f t .
of p r o d u c i b l e
The sample i s
600 t o 1 , 1 0 0 f t , . b u t t h e
The 2 d e e p e s t wells
be s i g n i f i c a n t .
were d r i l l e d t o 1 , 1 0 0 f t i n T i j e r a s Canyon, o u t s i d e of t h e
area, by I d e a l Cement Company.
E s t a n c i ad r a i n a g e
b o t hi nt h e
E% sec. 2 2 , T.
encountered in both
1 0 N.,
wells between 4 5 0 a n d . 5 0 0 ' f t andbetween
was n o t a d e q u a t e
producingzonebecausetheyield
'
Water was
5 E.
D r i l l i n g was c o n t i n u e db e l o wt h es h a l l o w e r
8 0 0 and 1 , 0 0 0 f t .
commercial u s e .
R.
They a r e
for
They would have been considered producers,
by d e f i n i t i o nh e r e ,i nt h e4 0 0 - t o - 5 0 0 - f ti n t e r v a l .
location in a highly faulted area
dataaypicalofthe
may m a k e . t h e p e r m e a b i l i t y
Even if t h e s e
Madera g e n e r a l l y .
r a t i o for d e e p e r
wells were notused,however,thesuccess
wells would s t i l l b e 38 p e r c e n t .
Their
The o t h e r d e e p
were s u c c e s s f u l are a l l small p r o d u c e r s .
wells t h a t
I t may b ec o n c l u d e d ,
therefore, that the deeper parts of the formation do have
small b u t s i g n i f i c a n t p e r m e a b i l i t y .
The p e r m e a b i l i t y and p o r o s i t y e x p l o i t e d b y s h a l l o w
wells
i n t h e Madera i s m o s t l y t h e r e s u l t o f s o l u t i o n - e n l a r g e d
f r a c t u r e s i n l i m e s t o n eb e d s ,
and r e p o r t s by d r i l l e r s of water
coming from " f r a c t u r e d r o c k , " " b r i t t l e
rock," and " c a v e s "a r e
28
common.
S m a l ls o l u t i o nc h a n n e l si nl i m e s t o n eb e d s
seen i n r o a d c u t s ;
Madera c a n b e
a r e on NM-10
some of t h e best exposures
of T i j e r a s , andon
southofthevillage
whichmostlyparallelbeddingplanes,
a f e w inches.
have maximum c r o s s s e c t i o n a l d i m e n s i o n s o f
.
Few d r i l l e r s s e p o r t p r o d u c t i o n
sandstone in the
1-40
I n t h e s eo u t c r o p st h e
several miles e a s t o fT i j e r a s .
solution features,
of t h e
Madera,and
.
of waterfrom
:
thepermeabilityofmost
i s low.
s a n d s t o n e and a r k o s e b e d s s e e n i n o u t c r o p
Fracturing is asevidentlocallyinsandstonebedsas
it
i s i nl i m e s t o n e s ,b u tf r a c t u r i n gw i t h o u ts u b s e q u e n t
enlargement of t h e o p e n i n g s
by s o l u t i o n a p p a r e n t l y d o e s
n opt r o d u c es. i g n i f i c a npt e r m e a b i l i t y .
The p o s i t i o n of t h e zoneof
limestone terrain has been
..
greatest solution in
the subject of
many p u b l i c a t i o n s .
EarlyinvestigatorsintheUnitedStatesarguedthat
is,
principalsolutiontookplaceinthevadosezone,that
a b o v et h ez o n eo fg r o u n d - w a t e rs a t u r a t i o n( G r e e n e ,
andBeede,
1911).
paperontheorigin
W. M.
Davis(1930),
1909;
i nh i s
classic
of l i m e s t o n e c a v e s , s u g g e s t e d t h a t
c a v e s are e x c a v a t e d i n t h e p h r e a t i c z o n e , t h a t
z o n eo fs a t u r a t i o n .
Many of t h e more r e c e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s
(Piper,1932;Swinnerton,1932;andDavies,
that solution
is, t h e
1 9 6 0 ) suggest$
is most active in the shallow part
of t h e
p h r e a t i c zone.
Thrailkill,in
f l o w ,t e m p e r a t u r e ,
a t h e o r e t i c a la n a l y s i so fg r o u n d - w a t e r
and c a l c i t e - c a r b o nd i o x i d ec o n c e n t r a t i o n s ,
concludes that the effect of each
I
of,t h e t h r e e ,
“tends t o
37
0
29
produce more u n d e r s a t u r a t i o n [of
c a l c i t e ] i nt h eu p p e rp a r t
,
'
of t h e groundwaterbody(shailow-phreaticzone)thanin
'
t h ed e e p e rp a r t s "( T h r a i l k i l l ,
1 9 6 8 , p. 3 7 ) .
Hence, h e
reasons that greatest solution occurs near the top of the
s a t u r a t e dz o n e .T h i s
the hydrology of the
i s c o n s i s t e n tw i t hw h a t
i s known of
Madera Limestone i n t h e S a n d i a
Manzano Mountains,where
it may b e i n f e r r e d t h a t t h e s m a l l
s o l u t i o nc h a n n e l se x p o s e di no u t c r o p s
and i n d i c a t e d by
wells h a v e f o r m e d s i n c e u p l i f t a n d t i l t i n g o f t h e
a n dS a n d i af a u l tb l o c k s ,
were s t r i p p e d away.
and
Manzano
and s i n c e o v e r l y i n g f o r m a t i o n s
P e r m e a b i l i t yi nt h er o c kl y i n ga b o v e
t h ep r e s e n tw a t e rl e v e l s ,t h e r e f o r e ,p r o b a b l yd e v e l o p e d
a t times o f h i g h e r w a t e r l e v e l s w h i c h e x i s t e d b e f o r e
canyons were c u t t o t h e i r p r e s e n t d e p t h .
largecavesand
The absenceof
of k a r s t topography i n m o s t a r e a s s u r ~ g e s t s
thatsinceexposure,
water l e v e l s h a v e n o t r e m a i n e d t h e
time.
same f o rl o n gp e r i o d so f
The well-known Sandia Cave,
a s i t e of human occupancy i n l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e
n o r t h e r np a r to ft h eS a n d i aM o u n t a i n s( H i b b e n ,
1 9 4 1 1 , was probablyformed
time i n t h e
1 9 4 1 ; Bryan,
much e a r l i e r , andunder
d i f f e r e n t s t r u c t u r a l a n dt o p o g r a p h i cc o n d i t i o n st h a nt h e
s m a l l e r , more t y p i c a l s o l u t i o n f e a t u r e s f o u n d i n t h e
limestone.
From t h e d a t a p r e s e n t e d
i n f i g . 4 andfrom
the
p r e s e n c eo fs o l u t i o nf e a t u r e si no u t c r o p s ,
it i s concluded
t h a tt h ep e r m e a b i l i t y
t h e Madera ,is
of l i m e s t o n eb e d si n
g r e a t e s t i n t h e upper 200 f t o ft h ef o r m a t i o n ,
the p e r m e a b i l i t y i n t h i s d e p t h r a n g e
'
and t h a t
i s of r e a s o n a b l y e v e n
3%
e
e
30
Below 2 0 0 f t t h e p e r m e a b i l i t y
v e r t i c a ld i s t r i b u t i o n .
d e c r e a s e sw i t hi n c r e a s i n gd e p t h .
The average maximum d e p t h
ofthepresentpiezometricsurface
i s a b o u t 200 f t .
Obviously, during most of geologic
time s i n c e t h e f o r m a t i o n
w a s u p l i f t e d and o v e r l y i n g f o r m a t i o n s
removed, t h e l e v e l o f
the piezometric surface has fiuctuated at
andabove
its
p r e s e n tp o s i t i o n ;t h e r e f o r e ,a sl a n ds u r f a c eh a sb e e n
reduced by e r o s i o n , n e t
has been
movement o f t h e p i e z o m e t r i c s u r f a c e
downward.
An a n o m a l o u s h i g h l y p e r m e a b l e z o n e i n t h e
Limestone has recently been recognized from
t h ea u t h o ra n d ,i n d e p e p d e n t l y ,
pumping d a t a b y
by J. T. F v e r h e a r t ,
g e o h y d r o l o g i s t i n t h e S t a t e EngineerOffice..
t h a t p r o d u c e more t h a n 1 0 0 gpm f r o m t h e
restricted t o TPs.
Madera
6 to 8 N.,
Rs.
Water wells
Madera a r e ' m o s t l y
7 and 8 E . ,
and i n t h i s
1 , 0 0 0 gpm are n o t u n u s u a l . ( f i g -
areayieldsgreaterthan
The p r o x i m i t y o f t h e h i g h - y i e l d
Madera wells t o a n a r e a o f
a
c a r b o nd i o x i d ee n t r a p m e n ti nt h ef o r m a t i o ns u g g e s t s
causative relationship between carbon dioxide and the'
permeab il i t y .
Whereas p u r e w a t e r c a n d i s s o l v e o n l y
small amounts
of c a l c i u m c a r b o n a t e , t h e s o l u b i l i t y . i n c r e a s e s m a r k e d l y
+ Lon$.
.
when t h e r e i s anabundantsupplyof
d i s s o c i a t i o n of c a r b o n i c a c i d ,
importantsourcesof
H
+.
H
The
H2C03, i s o n e of t h e m o s t
A s e r i e s o fs c h e m a t i ce q u a t i o n s
expressingthevariousreactions
is:
5).
31
FIGURE 5
-
L o c a t i o n s of h i g h - y i e l dw a t e r
wells andcarbon
d i o x i d e w e l l s producingfrom the Madera
Formation.
32
C02
+
=
H20
H+
HCO;
=
CaCO3
+ H+
+
=
*2"3
H+
+
HCO;
C0;-
=
Ca++
+
HCO;
is present, the dissociation
Ifabundantcarbondioxide
w i l l p r o c e e do n l ya sf a ra st h eb i c a r b o n a t es t a g e s .
of c a r b o n a t e
t h e pH i s i n c r e a s e d , h o w e v e r , t h e r a t i o
(CO;-)
(HCO;)
t ob i c a r b o n a t e
and calcium
i o n si n c r e a s e s
c a r b o n a t e w i l l b ep r e c i p i t a t e d .
I n most natural. waters
is the
t h e amount o f c a r b o n d i o x i d e i n t h e s y s t e m
controllingfactor,hence
solutioncontinues;
If
when c a r b o n d i o x i d e
i s added,
when it i s removed, d e p o s i t i o n w i l l
Dewiest, 1 9 6 6 , p. 1 0 2 ) .
m o s tl i k e l yo c c u r( D a v i sa n d
( 1 9 4 2 , p. 71,
TalmadgeandAndreas
carbondioxideoccurrencein
r e p o r t i n go n
New Mexico, t a b u l a t e d d a t a
f o r 1 0 wells i n t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y f i e l d t h a t ' b o t t o m e d
between 1 , 0 0 0 and 2 , 0 0 0 f t .
d r i l l e d between1328and
Most o ft h e
wells were
1 9 4 1 , and t h e r e h a s b e e n
known p r o d u c t i o n s i n c e ' 1 9 4 2 .
no
Two new wells, d r i l l e d i n
1963 b u t u n u s e d s i n c e c o m p l e t i o n , a r e r e p o r t e d b y t h e
owner t o b e c a p a b l e o f l a r g e p r o d u c t i o n .
Carbondioxideleakagefromthegasfield
confirmed by h i g h g a s c o n t e n t i n w a t e r
is
pumped from many
s h a l l o w w e l l s , and it i s n o t uncommon f o r gas t o e v o l v e
fromwater
t h a t is caughtin
The r a t e o f l e a k a g e
a c o n t a i n e r a t t h e w e l l head.
may h a v e i n c r e a s e d s i n c e t h e g a s t r a p
was e x p l o i t e d owing t o improper w e l l c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d
i n a d e q u a t es e a l i n ga r o u n dc a s i n g s .
The d i r e c t i o no f
0'
regional ground-water flow
i n the vicinity of the gas field
i s i n d i c a t e d by s l o p e of t h e p i e z o m e t r i c
i s e a s t w a r d ,a s
surface.
33
Hence c a r b o nd i o x i d ed i s s o l v e di nt h eg r o u n d
i s s w e p ti n
water
t h i s direction,thusaccountingforthelocation
of t h e h i g h - p e r m e a b i l i t y z o n e e a s t
of t h e g a s f i e l d .
J. T . E v e r h e a r t( o r a lc o m m u n i c a t i o n ,1 9 6 8 )h a ss t a t e d
that in
1965 p a r t o f t h e s u r f a c e o f a n ' i r r i g a t e d f i e l d i n
t h e NW%IiW% sec. 3 5 , T. 7 N., R .
gasfield,collapsedleaving
5 miles e a s t o f t h e
a d e p r e s s i o n 40 t o 60 f t a c r o s s
and a b o u t 30 f t d e e p( f i g .5 ) .
hole with trash
8 E.,
The landowner f i l l e d t h e
and s o i l , and r e - l e v e l e d t h e f i e l d f o r ,
a t thesame'site
irrigation,butcollapseoccurredagain
when runoff from
a heavyrainstormflowedacrossthefield.
at this
Pleistocenelakesedimentsmantlethesurface
l o c a t i o n ,b u tt h ec o l l a p s ei n d i c a t e st h a tl i m e s t o n ei n
l i e s a t .s h a l l o wa e p t h .T h e
w h i c hs o l u t i o nh a sb e e na c t i v e
owner t o l d E v e r h e a r t t h a t s e v e r a l i r r i g a t i o n
i m m e d i a t ev i c i n i t yp r o d u c eg r o u n d
l i m e s t o n e .I n
1 9 7 2 t h es i n k h o l e
disposalofrefuse
wells i n t h e
water from " c a v e s " i n
was b e i n gu s e df o r
whichincludedlumber;automobilesand
c a t t l e carcasses.
Water wells producing from the high-permeability
zonehavetappedonlytheupperfewhundredfeetofthe
Madera.Whether
s i m i l a rp e r m e a b i l i t y
limestoneatgreaterdepth
exists i nt h e
i s n o t known, b u t it i s
r e a s o n a b l e t o expect t h a t it d o e s .I nm o s t
ofheavy
of t h e a r e a
pumping t h e Madera i s o v e r l a i n by s a t u r a t e d
..
34
valleyfill
of v a r i a b l et h i c k n e s s .
Ground water is pumped
from' t h e l i m e s t o n e , b u t t h e l i m e s t o n e
immediatelyrecharged
i s probably
is thought
anunusuallyfavorablewell-hydraulicssystem
to exist, in
. .
by waterfromthealluvium.Thus,
i s providedby
whichpermeability
channelsinthelimestone,'andporosity
large
by t h e w a t e r - t a b l e
c o n d i t i o n s i n t h ea l l u v i u m .
Permian
The
Formation,overlyingtheMadera,cropsout
Ab0
i n T P s . 4 and 5 N., R s .
5 t o 7 E'.,
and i n small a r e a s i n
t h en o r t h w e s t e r np a r to ft h eE s t a n c i ad r a i n a g eb a s i n .I n ,
it i s assumed t o b e c o e x t e n s i v e w i t h t h e
thesubsurface
Madera.
I t s subcropbeneath
theeastthat
of t h e Madera.
subcroppattern
the v a l l e y f i l l a d j o i n s o n
Its outcropandapproximate-
is shown on t h e g e o l o g i c map ( f i g . 3 ) .
The f o r m a t i o n i s a r e d - b e d s e q u e n c e , . c o n s i s t i n g
mostly of d a r k - r e d s h a l e w i t h i n t e r b e d d e d s a n d s t o n e a n d
arkose,that
was d e p o s i t e d i n
a terrestrial environment.
Needham and Bates(1943)measured
i n Abo Canyon, i n t h e v i c i n i t y
in the type section
T.
3 N., R.
6 E.
a t h i c k n e s s of 8 1 0 f t
of
Kelley ( 1 9 6 3 ) r e p o r t s a maximum o f 950 f t
cropping out in the Sandia Mountains outside the Estancia
d r a i n a g e .E l e c t r i c a ll o g so ft h e
Murphreeand
B e r k s h i r e oil t e s t i n sec. 1 9 , T .
6 N., R.
9 E. and t h e
S u p e r i o r #28-31 Blackwell t e s t i n sec. 31, T.
indicatethicknesses
in the central part of
I
Bond #1
6 N.,
R.
11 E.
of 950 t o 1,000 f t i n t h e s u b s u r f a c e
t h e valley.
e
e
35
Water wells d r i l l e d i n t o . t h e f o r m a t i o n
or y i e l d a few g a l l o n s p e r
Valley generally are dry holes
minute.
An e x c e p t i o n was a 8 2 - f tm u n i c i p a l
1938 i n sec. 32, T.
M o u n t a i n a i rd r i l l e di n
that yielded
(R.
5 N.,
R.
7 E.
drawdown a f t e r 2 4 hours of pumping
In t h e v i c i n i t y
Smith, 1 9 5 7 , p. 117).
of T i j e r a s , T . 10 N . ,
'
test hole for
a specific.capacity
a r e p o r t e d 8 0 gpm, andhad
of 1 . 4 gpm/ftof
i n Estancia
R.
of t h e v i l l a g e
o u t s i d eo fE s t a n c i aV a l l e y ,
5 E.,
t h e Abo F o r m a t i o n y i e l d s s u f f i c i e n t w a t e r f o r d o m e s t i c u s e
from a h i g h l y f a u l t e d a r e a . .
R.
enoughwater
29) r e p o r t s
County i s " u n s a t i s f a c t o r y a s
that the formation in Torran.ce
a sourceof
Smith(1957,p-
for irrigation
and u n c e r t a i n e v e n
for domestic or stock water."
The Ab0 Formation,becauseof
l o w - p r o d u c t i v i t ys a n d s t o n e s ,
its thick shales
i s assumed to s e v e r e l y
r e s t r i c t flow of ground water across
i t s bedding.
The Yeso F o r m a t i o n c r o p s o u t o v e r l a r g e a r e a s
east side
and
on t h e
ofEstanciaValley,andtheupperpartcropsout
in the base of
t h e scarp of Chupadera
end of t h ev a l l e y( f i g .3 ) .W i l p o l t
Mesa a t t h e s o u t h
and o t h e r s ( 1 9 4 6 )
d e s c r i b e t h e Yeso i n t h e Chupadera Mesa a r e a as f o l l o w s : '
The Meseta Blanca sandstone
member [ a t
the base] of the
Yeso F o r m a t i o n c o n s i s t s of
uniformly bedded, red-brown and variegated
s a n d s t o n e and s a n d ys h a l e .
The t h i c k n e s s
rangesfrom
1 0 4 t o 2 2 2 f e e t . The T o r r e s
member c o m p r i s e s t h e b u l k
of t h e Yeso.
Formation.
I t c o n s i s t so fa l t e r n a t i n gb e d s
oforange-red
and buffsandstone
and
s i l t s t o n e , graylimestone,and
gypsum. The
t h i c k n e s sr a n g e s
from 350 t o 600 f e e t . The
Canas gypsum member c o n t a i n s some t h i n
g y p s i f e r o u s s i l t s t o n e and l i m e s t o n e b u t i s
36
'
I t r a n g e si nt h i c k n e s s
c h i e f l yw h i t e gypsum.
up t o 103 f e e t .
The J o y i t as a n d s t o n e member
c o n s i s t s e n t i r e l yo fo r a n g e - r e d ,b u f fa n d
y e l l o ws a n d s t o n e ,s i l t ys a n d s t o n e ,a n d
s i l t s t o n e , a n dr a n g e si nt h i c k n e s sf r o m
60
t o 90 f e e t .
Near t h e b a s e
i n T. 3 N . ,
R.
of t h e n o r t h - f a c i n g s c a r p
9 E. theupperpartofthe
Member c r o p s o u t a s
f t thick.
of Chupadera Mesa
Canas .Gypsum
a s i n g l e m a s s i v e gypsurn bed 20 t o 30
The l o w e r p a r t
of t h e member i s mostlycovered,
butscatteredlocalexposuressuggestanaggregate
t h i c k n e s s of about 1 0 0 f t of gypsum.
The Yeso i n t h e s u b s u r f a c e i n t h e - e a s t - c e n t r a l p a r t
o fE s t a n c i aV a l l e y
i s more t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 f t t h i c k , a s
shown by s e v e r a l o i l t e s t h o l e s .
inthe
is
The Gardner-Kidwell t e s t
SE%SE%SW% sec. 2 1 , T. 6 N.,
R.
1 0 E.;
which i s
immediatelyeastoftheplaya-depressionfield,penetrated
the upper part of the
Yeso b e n e a t h t h e v a l l e y
f i l l , and
d r i l l e d 1 , 0 2 0 f t oftheformationbeforeenteringthe
Formation a t a depthof
this hole,
1,280 ft..Drillingsamples
on f i l e a t N e w Mexico 'Bureau of Mines
Resources, show t h a t betweendepthsof
f o r m a t i o n i s predominantly gypsum.
t h ep l a y a - d e p r e s s i o nf i e l d ,i n
t h e MurphreeandBond-Berkshire
Abo.
&
from
Mineral
500 and 830 f t t h e
About 4 miles west o f
sec. 1 9 , T. 6 N.,
R.
9 E.,
test penetrated only about
1 5 0 f t of s a n d s t o n e i n t h e l o w e r p a r t
e n t e r i n gt h eu n d e r l y i n g
Ab0
o f t h e Yeso b e f o r e
The Yeso was beveledby
erosion in the central part of Estancia Valley prior to
deposition of the valley fill.
The f o r m a t i o n d e c r e a s e s
i n gypsum c o n t e n t t o t h e
37
n o r t h ,a n dl i m e s t o n eg r a d e si n t os a n d s t o n e( B a t e sa n d
o t h e r s , 1 9 4 7 , p3
. 2 ) I. nt h eS a n d i aM o u n t a i n s K
, elley
(1963) shows 7 0 t o 1 5 0 f t of t h e MesetaBlancaSandstone
Member and 250 t o 4 0 0 f t o f t h e
SanYsidro
&
,
( e q u i v a l e n t t o t h eT o r r e s ,C a n a s ,
Chupadera Mesa)
.
The $an
Member
and J o y i t a Members a t
Ysidro Member ' i n t h e S a n d i a s
c o n s i s t s of sandstone and c a v e r n o u sl i m e s t o n e ,
and i s o n l y
locallygypsiferousintheupperpart.(Kelley,1963).
-The Yeso Formation rests conformably on the
t h e normal s t r a t i g r a p h i c s e q u e n c e , b u t
Ab0 i n
it o v e r l a p s t o l i e
d i r e c t l y on Precambrian rocks i n t h e P e d e r n a l u p l i f t . o n
theeastsidethe upper part
thePedernal
o fE s t a n c i aV a l l e y .E r o s i o nh a s
of t h e f o r m a t i o n
Hills,
.
removed
from o u t c r o p s s o u t h o f
and t h e maximum r e m a i n i n g t h i c k n e s s
i s a few hundred f e e t .
Permeability and porosity in the
s a n d s t o n e s ,a l t h o u g h
Yeso i s mostly i n
some water wells producefrom
" f r a c t u r e dr o c k "o rc a v i t i e si nl i m e s t o n eb e d s .
wells t a b u l a t e d bySmith(1957,
Of 145
t a b l e 14)., a l l but a f e w
produce less t h a n 1 5 gpm ( R . Smith, 1 9 5 7 , p .3 2 ) .
the exceptions are
i n sec. 23, T . 4 N . ,
Among
two municipal wells f o r M o u n t a i n a i r
R.
7 E.,
which were c a p a b l eo f
y i e l d i n g 500 and 4 6 0 gpm from c a v i t i e s i n l i m e s t o n e
. d r i l l e d i n 1 9 4 4 , b u t had d e c l i n e d t o
1956 (R. Smith, 1 9 5 7 , p. 3 1 ) .
secs. 1 8 and 1 9 , T. 7 N . ,
t a b l e 1 4 ) thoughtproduced
R.
when
2 4 0 and 133 gpm by
Two i r r i g a t i o n wells i n
1 0 E . , , w h i c h R.
Smith ( 1 9 5 7 ,
2 , 0 0 0 t o 3,000 gpm from t h e
Yego, a r e now b e l i e v e d t o bebottomed
i n and t o pxoduce
38
from t h e San Andres Formation.
The G l o r i e t a s a n d s t o n e ,
which o v e r l i e s ' t h e Yeso
and u s u a l l y well
Formation, is w h i t e t o y e l l o w , c l e a n ,
sorted.
. I t - i sg e n e r a l l yt h i c kb e d d e d ,c e m e n t e dt o
m o d e r a t e l yf r i a b l e ,
and i s i n many p l a c e sc r o s s b e d d e d .
Smallironoxideconcretions
i nt h es a n d s t o n e .
commonly a r e d i s s e m i n a t e d
The f o r m a t i o nc r o p s
out inthecentral
p a r t of t h e east s i d e o f E s t a n c i a V a l l e y a n d i n t h e s c a r p
ofChupadera
1957,p.
Mesa a t t h e s o u t h
33-35;
endof
B a t e sa n do t h e r s ,
the valley
(R.Smith,
1947., p..32-33).Smith
r e p o r t s 280 f t o f G l o r i e t a a t t h e n o r t h
.
end ofChupadera
.
Mesa, and Read and o t h e r s ( 1 9 4 4 ) show 1 5 0 t o 2 0 0 f t i n
the outcrop area
esst of Lobo H i l l .
About 4 miles n o r t h e a s t o f M o r i a r t y t h e G l o r i e t a
crops out in
2 small hills that project through the valley
i s probably
f i l l( f i g .3 ) .T h i sp r e - T e r t i a r yb e d r o c kh i g h
due to faulting along the axis of the
thesouth.
Lobo' H i l l u p l i f t t o
'Well r e c o r d s i n t h e S t a t e E n g i n e e r
O f f i c e i n A l b u q u e r q u e ,a n d , t h o s et a b u l a t e d
District
by R. Smith
(1957, t a b l e 1 4 ) , show t h a t t h e f o r m a t i o n h e r e
p r o d u c t i v ea q u i f e ri nt h ev a l l e y .
sec. 35, T. 10 N., R.
One i r r i g a t i o n w e l l i n
8 E. had a dischargemeasured
Smith a t 3,040 gpm w i t h o n l y
wells i n t h e a r e a p r o d u c e
formation.
.is t h e m o s t
by
6 f t of drawdown, and many
more t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 gpm from t h e
D r i l l e r s ' l o g 5s u g g e s tt h a tt h eh i g h
permeability is duetointensefracturingofthesandstone.
I n t h e areaof.
t h e high-yield wells, t h e G l o r i e t a
o v e r l a i n by s a t u r a t e d v a l l e y
is
f i l l which i s t h o u g h t t o
..
\'\L
39
providerechargetotheaquiferduring
pumping.
The S a n A n d r e s F o r m a t i o n c o n s i s t s o f f i n e l y c r y s t a l l i n e
g r a yl i m e s t o n ew i t h
some gypsum and sandstone.
i s 2 0 0 t o 300 f t t h i c k onChupadera
Mesa (Bates and o t h e r s ,
100 f t a t t h e
1 9 4 7 , p .3 4 )b u tt h i n sn o r t h w a r dt oa b o u t
n o r t h e a s t r i m ofEstanciaValley
R.
Smith(1957,p.35)reports
The f o r m a t i o n
(Read a n d o t h e r s ,
1944).
1 0 0 f t o ft h e" l i m e s t o n e
member" n e a r C l i n e s C o r n e r s , w i t h t h e u p p e r p a r t o f t h e u n i t
havingbeen
removedby
erosion.
TheSan
particularly susceptible to development
a s is indicatedby
Andres i s
of s o l u t i o n f e a t u r e s ,
a complex k a r s t t o p o g r a p h y t h a t a n t e d a t e s
.
.
t h eo v e r l y i n gT r i a s s i cr o c k s
(R.
numerous s i n k h o l e s t h a t h a v e
formed i n p r e s e n t o u t c r o p s o n
the east side
Smith,1957,p.35)andby
of Estancia Valley.
R . S m i t h ( 1 9 5 7 , p.35,36)concludedthattheSan
Andres Formation in Torrance County
the water table,
from it.
was everywhere above
and t h a t no wells derived ground
However, N o r t h r u p ,i n
a d e t a i l e ds a m p l el o go n
f i l e a t N e w Mexico BureauofMines
E, MineralResources,
i d e n t i f i e d '224 f t of SanAndresbelow
intheCalifornia-Minermanoil
R.
T.
a depth of
7 N.,
R.
Andreshere
byup
1 0 E.
324 f t
t e s t i n .sec. 32, T. 7 N . ,
1 0 E. about 1 0 miles s o u t h of Lobo H i l l .
l o g s from s e v e r a l w a t e r
water.
r:
Drillers'
t5
n
wells, such 2 wells i n sec. 1 9 ,
(Appendix A ) , s u g g e s t t h a t t h e
San
i s separated from the.base of the valley fill
t o 275 f t of Triassic rock.
1 9 ofthistownshipthat
yielding 2,000 to3,000
I t i s i n secs.'18 and
2 i r r i g a t i o n wells c a p a b l e o f .
gpm a r e t h o u g h t
t o be completed
40
i n the San.Andres rather than in the
Yeso as concludedby
Smith.
Triassic
map
Triassicrocks,undividedonthegeologic
(fig.3),includetheSanta
Rosaand
t h eC h i n l eF o r m a t i o n s .
The Santa Rosa i n t h e S a n d i a M o u n t a i n s c o n s i s t s
4 0 0 f t of sandstone andmudstone,and
o f1 , 5 0 0t o
of u p t o
the Chinle consists
2 , 0 0 0 f t o fr e dt ov a r i e g a t e dm u d s t o n ea n d
l e n t i c u l a r s a n d s t o n e( K e l l e y ,1 9 6 3 ) .
The r o c k s are a b o v e -
the water table in the outcrop area along the northeast
r i m o ft h ev a l l e y .
out at the south
'
The l o w e r p a r t o f t h e s e c t i o n c r o p s
endof
t h e Lobo H i l l up1and;and
southward a s a n a r r o wt o n g u eb e n e a t ht h ev a l l e y
s e v e r a l miles.
T r i a s s i cr o c k sa r e
base of the valley
exten$is
f i l l for
i n c o n t a c tw i t ht h e
f i l l in the northern part of Estancia
V a l l e y ,b u tt h el o c a t i o no ft h es u b c r o p
is known i n o n l y
a few p l a c e s ( f i g . 3 ) .
Jurassic a n d Cretaceous
Rocksof
J u r a s s i c and C r e t a c e o u s a g e d o n o t c r o p o u t
i n the valley, but they are in contact with the base
thealluviumhighontheslope
b a s i n .I n s u f f i c i e n td a t a
contactsbetweenrocks
f i g . 3.,
at the north
endof
of
the
a r e a v a i l a b l e t o map subcrop
of Triassic t o C r e t a c e o u s a g e o n
41
StructuralFeaturesoftheBasin
The west s i d e o f E s t a n c i a B a s i n
i s bourided b y t h e
s t r u c t u r a l l y u p l i f t e d and e a s t w a r d - t i l t e d b l o c k
Manzano Mountains.
On t h en o r t h w e s tt h es t r u c t u r a l
boundary i s markedby
6 E.
Precambrian rocks that crop out
t h e topographic r i m i n T P s .
a s m a l la r e aa l o n g
1 2 N., R.
On t h e e a s t , t h e
Pedernal positive
e l e m e n t which has been
6,000 f t alongnearlythe
t h eb a s i n( f i g .
6).
in
11 and
boundigg u p l i f t i s t h e
shown b y F o s t e r .
and S t i p p (1961) t o havePrecambrianrocks
ofmorethan
of t h e
a t altitudes
e n t i r e leng-th of
The l o w e s tp o i n ki nt h eP r e c a m b r i a n
low p o i n t
r i d g e i s nearlycoincidentwiththetopographic
i n t h e r i m near Cedarvale
at the southeast corner
of t h e
basin.
ConfigurationofthePrecambriansurface
at the
n o r t h end of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y s u g g e s t s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t
ground water c o u l d l e a k f r o m t h e b a s i n a n d ' m o v e
northwestwardthroughpre-TertiaryrockstowardtheRio
Grande s t r u c t u r a lt r o u g h .
The n o r t h end of t h e E s t a n c i a
topographic basin overlies the Galisteo structural basin
(fig. 6).
Contourson
t h e P r e c a m b r i a ns u r f a c e
at the
northwest side of the Galisteo structural'basin have been
substantiallymodified
on f i g . 6 f r o m t h o s e o f F o s t e r
Stipp (1961) t o a d j u s t
t h e l e v e lo ft h es u r f a c e
and
to t h e
inferredthicknessofoverlyingPennsylvanian-Tertiary
strata.
The e f f e c t o ft h em o d i f i c a t i o n
i s t o show t h a t
theGalisteostructuralbasjnopenswestwardtowardthe
42
T.
6
x.
T.
5
N.
T.
4
N
FIGURE 6
-
.
Relief map o ft h eP r e c a m b r i a n
surface i n t h e
v i c i n i t y of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y ( m o d i f i e d
from
F o s t e r and S t i p p , 1 9 6 1 ) .
(Contoursand
wells
show e l e v a t i o n o f s u r f a c e ) .
e
RioGrande
e
s t r u c t u r a lt r o u g h .C o n s i d e r a t i o no fl a n d - s u r f a c e
elevation in Galisteo
Creek n o r t h o f
and t h i c k n e s s o f P a l e o z o i c
i s below sea l e v e l .
floor of the Galisteo structural
Similarly,thePrecambrian
tobe
i s concluded
end o f E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
below s e a l e v e l .
5,700 f t )
a t more t h a n 7 , 0 0 0 f t ) i n d i c a t e s
that the Precambrian surface here
basin under the north
Madrid(about
and Mesozoic s t r a t a u n d e r l y i n g
t h el a n ds u r f a c e( e s t i m a t e d
,
43
From t h e s o u t h
e n do ft h e
Estancia
a s i n d i c a t e db y
Basin, t h e a x i s o f t h e s t r u c t u r a l t r o u g h ,
F o s t e ra n dS t i p p ' sc o n t o u r s ,c o n t i n u e ss o u t h w a r d ,w i t ht h e
Precambriansurfaceatanelevationofbetween2,500.and
3,000 f t .
by way of t h eC l a u n c hs a g
The t r o u g hc o n n e c t s
with the deep Sierra Blanca structural basin
beyond t h e
6 ( K e l l e y and Thompson, 1 9 6 4 ) .
map a r e a o f f i g .
The e a s t s i d e of t h e E s t a n c i a B a s i n h a s p r o b a b l y b e e n
f a u l t e d down a g a i n s t t h e w e s t s i d e of t h e ' p e d e r n a l u p l i f t .
D a r t o ns u g g e s t e dt h ep r e s e n c e
f i g . 1 2 0 1 , a sd i d
of such a T a u l t (1928,
Read and o t h e r s ( 1 9 4 4 ) .
K e l l e y shows
( 1 9 7 2 , f i g . 3 ) 'approximately 1 , 0 0 0 f t of d o w n f a u l t i n g i n
the southeast part
of t h e b a s i n ,
and p r o f e s s e s s u r p r i s e
i s t h i s great.
( p .3 7 )t h a tt h ed i s p l a c e m e n t
collection of stratigraphic data on the
During
Yeso where it
underliesthevalleyfill,evidence.wasfoundthatthe
S u p e r i o r - B l a c k w e l lo i l
was drilled through
the hole passes
granite.
t e s t i n sec. 31, T. 6 N., R. 11 E.
a f a u l t a t a depth of:2,590 ft, where
from t h e Madera i n t o P r e c a m b r i a n g n e i s s i c
Electric31 l o g s andsamples
horizonatwhichthefault
show t h a t a b o v et h e
was e n c o u n t e r e d , t h e
stratigraphic sequence in this hole
sequence in the
is c o r r e l a t i v e w i t h t h e
MurphreeandBond-Berkshire
t o t h e west, i n sec. 1 9 , T. 6 N., R. 9 E.
i n t ot h eP r e c a m b r i a n ,w h e r e a st h eM u r p h r e ea n d
t h eP r e c a m b r i a n .
A t thefaultthe
1 0 t o 1 5 f t of f a u l t gouge ( ? )
S u p e r i o rh o l ep a s s e st h r o u g h
c o n t i n u e st h r o u g ha b o u t
t e s t 1 2 miles
Bond h o l e
6 5 0 f t . o f Madera b e f o r ee n t e r i n g
NO a t t e m p t was made to'estimate t r u e
v e r t i c a l displacement,but
it i s c e r t a i n l y more t h a n t h e
i n d i c a t e d minimum of 6 5 0 f t .
'
,
.
45
STRATIGRAPHY AND HYDROLOGIC PROPERTIES
OF THE VALLEY FILL
The v a l l e y f i l l c o n s i s t s of 2 m a j o r u n i t s :
alluvial unit, here
that crops out
named t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y f o r m a t i o n ,
and a l a t e r l a c u s t r i n e u n i t , h e r e
s e p a r a t e d by a medial sand
(fig. 7)
I
.
of t h e v a l l e y ;
named t h e Dog Lake
lower l a c u s t r i n e members
formation,consistingofupperand
. .
is
on t h e s l o p i n g s i d e s o f t h e v a l l e y a n d
found i n t h e s u b s u r f a c e i n t h e c e n t r a l p a r t
valley floor
an e a r l i e r
member, w h i c h ' c r o p s o u t i n t h e
and i n some p l a c e s l o w o n t h e v a l l e y
members can
A l l u v i a lf a c i e so ft h el a c u s t r i n e
b er e c o g n i z e dl o c a l l yr e s t i n g
on t h ea l l u v i u mo ft h e
Estancia Valley formation in the bottoms
The l a r q e s t o u t c r o p s
sides
of stream v a l l e y s .
are a few s q u a r e miles i n area.
Because of difficulty in distinguishing between the younger
or
and o l d e r a l l u v i u m , o n t h e b a s i s o f e i t h e r l i t h o l o g y
hydrology, a l l t h e a l l u v i a l s e d i m e n t i i i n c l u d e d i n t h e
E s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o n .R e c e n td u n e ss c a t t e r e do v e rt h e
s u r f a c e of t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n i n t h e . s o u t h - c e n t r a l p a r t
of t h e v a l l e y f l o o r ,
and t h i n modern sediment beneath
p l a y a s i n t h e same a r e a a r e n o t c o n s i d e r e d p a r t
of t h e above-named
later, in the section
of e i t h e r
f o r m a t i o n s , and t h e y a r e d i s c u s s e d
on,geology of t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s
and dunes.
In his description
of t h e s u r f i c i a l u n c o n s o l i d a t e d
sedimentinEstanciaValley,
R.
"Valley f i l l , " S m i t h ' s o l d e r
u n i t ( 1 9 5 7 , p. 3 8 - 3 9 ) ,
Smith.recognized
2 units.
is
a
46
c.
'.
,
.
,
.
:
,
1.2
i.
I
'i
I
x.
.-.
3
?I
T.
2
N
FIGURE 7
-
Geologic map of t h e v a l l e y f i l l ,
showing
o u t c r o p s and e a r l y L a k e E s t a n c i a s h o r e l i n e
features.
.
e
0
47
i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h eE s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o n .
It c o n s i s t s
from t h e
of "sand, g r a v e l , s i l t , a n dc l a y "d e r i v e dm a i n l y
west a n d " d e p o s i t e d i n
uplands to the
whichformed
a structural basin
as a - r e s u l t of m i l d downwarping r e l a t e d t o '
l a t e stagesofthedevelopmentoftheadjacent
RioGrande
t r o u g h . "S m i t hc o r r e l a t e dt h ev a l l e yf i l lw i t ht h eu p p e r
beds of the Santa Fe Formation north of Galisteo Creek,
and a s s i g n e d them a n a g e o f l a t e P l i o c e n e ( ? ) a n d
f i l l rests on t h eP a l e o z o i c
P l e i s t o c e n e .S m i t h ' sv a l l e y
andMesozoicbedrockand
u n i t ,t h e" l a k e
i s overlain i n part by his second
a n dd u n ed e p s i t s . "S m i t h ' s
deposits include strata of the
l a k e anddune
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n a n d a l s o
includetheduneandplayasedimentsthatareconsidered
s e p a r a t e l y i n t h i sr e p o r t .S m i t hd e s c r i b e dh i su n i t so n l y
verybriefly;hisemphasis
was on a v a i l a b i l i t y ofground
waterandnotondeterminationofthesequenceofgeologic
andhydrologicevents.
The E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
report attain
and Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n s o f t h i s
a combined t h i c k n e s s of more t h a n 4 0 0 f t i n
a n a r r o wz o n ea l o n gt h ea x i so ft h ev a i l e y( f i g s e d i m e n ta c c u m u l a t e di nt h e
The
2 b r o a ds u b b a s i n sf o r m i n gt h e
northernandsouthernpartsofEstanciaValley
narrowsection
a).
and i n t h e
of t h e v a l l e y t h a t c o n n e c t s t h e s u b b a s i n s
west of Lobo H i l l .
Estancia Valley Formation
This alluvial formation has
a thicknessoffrom
t o more t h a n 4 0 0 f t a l o n g m o s t o f t h e a x i s o f t h e v a l l e y .
..
300 ?t
48
r'
12
T.
5
1:-
T.
4
.-
'.CI
T.
3
B.
T.
2
R. 6 E.
FIGURE 8
R. 7 E,
-
R. 8 E . ' R. 9 E.
R, 10.E. R. I1 E.
x.
E.
R:i2
Map showinq t h i c k n e s s of t h e v a l l e v.' fill
~~-~
(modified from N e w Mexico S t a t e E n g i n e e r
Office, 1965).
~
1
49
I n a test hole drilled for this
and o t h e r . p r o j e c t s , 270 f t
of alluvium w a s p e n e t r a t e d a t a l o c a t i o n i n t h e
sec. 2 2 , T.
6 N.,
R.
9 E.
Here t h ef o r m a t i o n
SE%SE%NW%
is o v e r l a i n
by 1 0 4 f t of t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n (see sample l o g s i n
Appendix B).
The formation i s more t h a n 4 0 0 f t t h i c k i n
8);
t h e central p a r t o f t h e n o r t h s u b b a s i n ( f i g .
with increasing distance
from t h e a x i s of t h e b a s i n and
terminates i n a n i r r e g u l a r f e a t h e r e d g e , w h i c h
below a n e l e v a t i o no f
it t h i n s .
6,800 f t .
lies mostly
The u p p e rs u r f a c eo ft h e
alluvium i s s t r o n g l y d i s s e c t e d bystream
erosion i n most
p l a c e s on t h e s i d e s of t h e v a l l e y .
On t h e west s i d e and a t t h e n o r t h
end of the basin
i n a band 3 t o 1 0
theEstanciaValleyformationcropsout
miles wide t h a t s e p a r a t e s o u t c r o p s o f p r e - T e r t i a r y r o c k
from t h o s eo ft h e
and a t t h e s o u t h
Dog Lake formation.
On t h e e a s t
side
end, i n c o n t r a s t , t h e o u t c r o p w i d t h
is
highly variable with
Dog Lake 1 a c u s t r i n e . s e d i m e n t i n
p l a c e so v e r l a p p i n gp r e - T e r t i a r yr o c k( f i g .
into the basin
is generally steeper
The s l o p e
7).
and much less r e g u l a r
i n these areas than elsewhere on. the basin sides,
alluvium was d e p o s i t e d on a d i s s e c t e d s u r f a c e
streams
.]
A type section for the formation
[and t h e
by s u b s e q u e n t
i s notproposed
among t h e o u t c r o p s owing t o t h e v a r i a b i l i t y o f t h e
stratigraphy.
One d r i l l h o l e
i n t h ec e n t r a lp a r t
valleythatcompletelypenetratesthe
of t h e
section is described
later;otherdrillholessupplementthestratigraphicda.ta.
50
These w i l l serve t o d e s c r i b e a s t a n d a r d s e c t i o n f o r t h e
formation
Stratigraphy
Alluvium of the Estancia Valley formation consists
s i l t andsand,
in outcrops of reddish-brown to tan
rare, b u t c l a y
i n t e r b e d d e dw i t hg r a v e l .C l a yb e d sa r e
a common c o n s t i t u e n t o f
marked tendency for
the slopes,
is
is a
s i l t and sandbeds.There
on
gravel t o b e c o a r s e a t ' h i g h l e v e l s
and t o b e f i n e r t o w a r d t h e c e n t e r o f t h e b a s i n .
However, g r a v e l o f c o b b l e
t h es l o p e s .
s i z e i s n o t uncommon well down
S i l t and s i l t y s a n db e d sc o n s t i t u t em o r et h a n
8 0 p e r c e n to ft h ee x p o s e ds e d i m e n ti nm o s tl o c a t i o n s .
sand and g r a v e l s t r a t a a r e t h i n
bedded,and
Most
i n most
l o c a l i t i e s a r e c r o s s b e d d e d .C u t - a n d - f i l ls t r u c t u r ea n d
l e n t i c u l a rb e d d i n g
i s found i
n n e a r l y a l l o u t c r o p s .W i t h o u t
of
e x c e p t i o n ,o b s e r v e db e d d i n gp l a n e sd i pt o w a r dt h e ' c e n t e r
t h eb a s i n .I nm o s tp l a c e st h ed i p
is n o t p a r a l l e l
presentslopeofthelandsurface,although
to the
it is usually
close.
from
Alluvium of the formation varies lithologically
place to place
i n thebasindependinguponthesourcerocks
f o rt h es e d i m e n t .G r a v e li no u t c r o p so nt h e
west s i d e of
t h e v a l l e y i s composed predominantly of limestone eroded
from t h e Madera,andsandstonefragnentsfromtheMadera
and t h e Abo F o r m a t i o n sa r e
southend
lesser c o n s t i t u e n t s .
Toward t h e
of t h eb a s i n ,f r a g m e n t so fr e ds a n d s t o n e ,a r k o s e ,
and some b u f f t o
p i n k limestonederivedfromthe
?bo o r
51
Farther t o the
Madera, are common.
u p p e r m o s tp a r to ft h e
south,betweenMountainair
and W i l l a r d ,s a n d s t o n ef r a g m e n t s
and limestone
from- khe Yeso and G l o r i e t a F o r m a t i o n s ,
are recognizable.
fragments from the San Andres Formation
Gravels in the southeastern part of the basin consist
of Precambrian rock
andof
sandstoneandlimestonefromthe
Yeso, G l o r i e t a , and San A n d r e sF o r m a t i o n s .I nt h ev i c i n i t y
white
of Lobo H i l l t h e a l l u v i u m c o n t a i n s f r a g m e n t s o f
q u a r t z i t e f r o mP r e c a m b r i a nr o c kf o r m i n gt h a th i l l .N o r t h
of 1 - 4 0 ,
limestoneandsandstonederivedfromnearby
o u t c r o p s of t h e G l o r i e t a ,
SanAndres,and
t h e Triassic
r o c k s make u p t h e g r a v e l .
at the
The composition of g r a v e l i n t h e f o r m a t i o n
north end
of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y d i f f e r s
f r o m t h a t anywhere
else inthebasin;monzoniteporphyrypredominatesover
sec. 2 3 , T . 1 2 N.,
o t h e r t y p e s o fr o c k .I n
where NM-41
R.
9 E.,
crosses t h e n o r t h r i m o f t h e b a s i n , c o b b l e
gravel of this type constitutes
t h ea l l u v i u m .
morethan.
50 p e r c e n t of.
The EstanciaValleyformation,whichhere
rests on a g e n t l y s o u t h w a r d - d i p p i n g s u r f a c e c u t
on t h e
Xancos Formation, i s about 1 6 0 f t t h i c k a t t h e b a s i n r i m
whereerosionhastruncatedthenorthward-thinningalluvial
wedge.
The c o a r s e n e s s and composition of t h e g r a v e l ,
t h eh i g hp r o p o r t i o no fg r a v e l
that the source
and
t o finersedimentsuggest
terrane c o m p r i s e d n e a r b y s m a l l o u t c r o p s o f
Tertiary intrusive rock which are compositionally similar
)
tolargeroutcropsinSouthMountain
Mountain t h a t h a v e
andSanPedro
beendescribedbyAtkinson(1961).
52
. Tertiary intrusives
of l i t h o l o g y s i m i l a r t o t h a t
cobbles i n t h e g r a v e l c r o p o u t
rounded h i l l a b o u t
of
a large
onCerroPelon,
5 miles n o r t h w e s t . o f t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
r i m , and i n s m a l l a r e a s b e t w e e n C e r r o P e l o n a n d S a n P e d r o
on t h e rim i n t h e s o u t h h a l f o f
thegravel
Drainage in the vicinity
t o w a r dG a l i s t e o
T.
&2 N.,
R.
9 E.
i s now northward
of Cerro Pelon
Creek, b u t i f t h e i n t r u s i v e r o c k i n t h a t
h i l l was t h e s o u r c e
has been
area f o r
i s t h em o s tl i k e l ys o u r c e
Mountain.CerroPelon
of t h e g r a v e l , t h e t o p o g r a p h i c d i v i d e
moved a t l e a s t 5 miles southwardbyheadward
e r o s i o n of t h e G a l i s t e o C r e e k t r i b u t a r i e s .
The e l e v a t i o n a t t h e r i m i s now about 6 , 7 0 0 f t , and
the highest peak
of Cerro Pelon
i s below6,900
P r o j e c t i o n of t h e d i p of bedding planes
ft.
a t t h e r i m toward
CerroPelonsuggeststhaterosionhasreducedtheheight
of the hill
sirice t h e time t h a t
by s e v e r a l h u n d r e d f e e t
it i s presumed t o h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d g r a v e l t o t h e E s t a n c i a
V a l l e yf o r m a t i o n .
The c i r c u m s t a n c e ss u g g e s tt h a t
d e p o s i t i o n of t h e g r a v e l
on t h e r i m t o o k p l a c e a t an e a r l y
g e o l o g i c time r e l a t i v e t o t h e a g e
of o t h e r f e a t u r e s i n
E s t a n c i aV a l l e y S
. t e a r n s( 1 9 5 3 f, i g .
the area
9 ) c o n c l u d e dt h a t
now d r a i n e d by t h e u p p e r r e a c h e s
p r o b a b l yw a s ,i nm i d d l e
and l a t e S a n t a F e
of G a l i s t e o C r e e k
t i m e , p a r t of
E s t a n c i aV a l l e yd r a i n a g e .T h u s ,t h ec o r r e l a t i o n
of t h e
b a s e of t h e a l l u v i u m w i t h l a t e P l i o c e n e ( ? ) S a n t a F e
sediment to t h e n o r t h , as made by S m i t h , a p p e a r s t o . b e
r e a s o n a b l e ( R . Smith, 1 9 5 7 , p.38-39).
f
53
C a l i c h e , common i n o u t c r o p s o f t h e a l l u v i u m b u t n o t
end
i s u s u a l l yf o u n da r o u n dt h en o r t h
universallypresent,
Of t h e b a s i n o n l y a b o v e a n e l e v a t i o n o f a b o u t
6,300 f t .
well developed.
On m o s ts l o p e s
Here it i s m o d e r a t e l yt o
ofthe
t h e basin caliche
west s i d e o f
West of Willard, however,where
is t h i n to absent.
theformationcropsoutin
bluffs 100 f t highoverlookingthevalleyfloor,caliche
thicknessesof
up t o 2 0 f t a r e exposed i n t h e b l u f f s
inrailroadcuts.
Two t o f i v e
and
f t o fw e l l - d e v e l o p e dc a l i c h e
.
forms a r e s i s t a n t c a p t h a t i n t h i s a r e a h a s p a r t i a l l y
'.
protected a high-level surface on the alluvium from
d e s t r u c t i o n by e r o s i o n .
Caliche is a l s o w e l l developedin
eastside
i n TPs. I t o 9 N . ,
o ft h eb a s i n
. o u t c r o p se x p o s i n g
R.
1 0 E.,
J. T.
5 N.,
Inthe
E v e r h e a r t( o r a l
a l o c a lr e s i d e n t .S o u t h e a s to f
T.
common.
where
more t h a n 15 f t i n a p i t
communication,1968)hasobserved
s o u t h w e s t e r np a r to f
1 0 E.,
R.
more t h a n 1 0 t o ' 2 0 f t a r e
NW% sec. 1 9 , T. 9 N . ,
dugby
t h e alluviumonthe
R.
Lucy, i n t h e
11 E . ,
a resistantcaliche
of
zoneofsimilarthicknesscropsouthighonthesides
stream valleys cut into
t h e alluvium.
Thewell-developedcalicheintheupperzoneof
.alluvialformationatthelocationsdescribed
t o haveformedunder
possiblyduring
is thought
a relatively stable land surface,
a single period of calichification.
Estensive dissection of the surface
w i l l l a t e r be shown
t o have taken place before the lacustrine phase of basin
history.
the
T h e p o s s i b i l i t ye x i s t st h a tt h ep r e s e r v e ds u r f a c e
54
i s in some p l a c e s o n l y s l i g h t l y
below t h e h i g h e s t
d e p o s i t i o n a ls u r f a c eo ft h eE s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o n .T h e
i s n o tc o n c l u s i v e .
e v i d e n c e ,a l t h o u g hs u g g e s t i v e ,
Younger a l l u v i u m , i n a c t u a l i t y
a f a c i e s of t h e
l a c u s t r i n e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n , c o v e r s t h e f l o o r s
t h a td r a i nt h e
of a r r o y o s .
sides o f t h e v a l l e y . T r i b u t a r i e s t o t h e
a f e w master'
south subbasin tend'to be integrated with
streams,andherethelowerreachesofthevalleysandthe
are i n some p l a c e s more than
outcrops of younger alluvium
a mile w i d eL
. i t h o l o g i c a l l yt,h ey o u n g e ar l l u v i u m
indistinguishable from the older
except that
nowheredoes
o l d e r u n i t andfrom
'
material on which it rests,
it h a v e c a l i c h e d e v e l o p e d i n
Materialformingtheyoungerunit
.
is
it.
was d e r i v e d f r o m t h e
t h e same p r e - T e r t i a r y r o c k s t h a t
c o n t r i b u t e ds e d i m e n tt ot h eo l d e ru n i t .F o rt h i sr e a s o n ,
is included in the Estancia Valley
theoverlyingalluvium
f o r m a t i o ni ns p i t eo f
i t s younger'age.
alluvium,althoughoccasionallycut
by minor channel
i s n o ti n c i s e d .
e r o s i o ni nt h ea r r o y o s ,g e n e r a l l y
uppersurface
Theyounger
Its
i s nearlyeverywhereoneofdeposition,
whereas the surface of the older materia1.i~ erosional in
most places.
In the central part
Valleyformation
ofEstanciaValley,theEstancia
i s covered by t h e l a c u s t r i n e s e d i m e n t o f
t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n( f i g .
7).
An a t t e m p t was made t o
extract stratigraphic information about the Estancia
V a l lfeoyr m a t ifornodm
r i l l elrosog
' ns
file w i t h the
.
.
55
S t a t eE n g i n e e rO f f i c e
and t h e U.S.
G e o l o g i c a lS u r v e y ,b u t
t o o g e n e r a l i z e dt ob eo f
mostlogsproved
r e l i. a. b l e d a t a were o b t a i n e d f r o m
use.
Themost
test h o l e s d r i l l e d by
p e r s o n n e l of N e w Mexico I n s t i t u t e ofMiningandTechnology,
forthis
A l l t h e test holes
and o t h e r r e l a t e d p r o j e c t s .
a r e i n T.
6 N.,
exceptfor
~R. 9 E.,
eastofthe
town o f Estancia,
1 s h a l l o w t e s t 6 miles s o u t h of E s t a n c i a .
s i x shallow t e s t h o l e s were d r i l l e d f o r
Four deepand
t h ep r o j e c t .
of which a r e a s
The l o c a t i o n s anddepths
follows:
L o c a t i o n (sec:;
NE%NW%SW%
12
SW%SW%SW% 1 6
-
T., R .
6N
6N
-
9E
133
Means #.l
9E
360
S c h o o lS e c t i o n
42
same
NE&NE%SE% 2 0
SE%SE%NE% 2 0
SE&SE%NW%2 0
-
6N
6N
6N
-
-
6N
-
38
Berkshire #3
9E
59
Berkshire #4
9E
355
Berkshire #2
9E
390
45
-
5N
-
B e r k s h i r e #1
B e r k s h i r e #1-A
( s h a l l o w o f f s e t t o #l)
8E
55
Only t h e 4 d e e p e r h o l e s p a s s e d t h r o u g h t h e
andreached
B e r k s h i r e #2-A
(shallow offset to #2)
same
NW%SE%NI.Y% 1 2
School Section 81-A
9E
42
-
#1
( s h a l l o w o f f s e t t o #1)
same
SEkSE%NW%22
Name
Depth (ft )
Reinauer. #1
Dog Lakeformation
t h e alluviumoftheEstanciaValleyformation,
and o n l y t h e B e r k ' s h i r e
#l t e s t r e a c h e d t h e b a s e o f t h a t
56
formation.
4 deep tests a r e . i n c l u d e d
Sample l o g s f o r t h e
i n Appendix B , and l o c a t i o n s o f
f i g s . 7 and 9 .
a l l h o l e s are shown on
When t h eR e i n a u e r
s o u t h w e s t e r n m o s tl o c a t i o n
to drill to the base
test a t t h e
was s t a r t e d , t h e i n t e n t i o n
was
of t h e v a l l e y f i l l , b u t equipment
d i f f i c u l t i e s andpoorweatherconditionsforcedthe
abandonmentof
A l l h o l e s were d r i l l e d as
t h eh o l e .
m u l t i p u r p o s e tests, and were completed t o a l l o w a q u i f e r
t e s t s i n them as p a r t o f
a relatedproject.
The
stratigraphic relationships determined during drilling
.rep
hao
er ree
t e. d
.
.
The d e e p e r h o l e s a r e o p e n b e l o w d e p t h s o f a b o u t
to 100 ft, but
70
a r e casedabove,withthecasingcemented
i np l a c e .C a s i n g
was n e c e s s a r y t o p r e v e n t c o l l a p s e i n
s h a l l o ws a n dz o n e( t h em e d i a ls a n d
f o r m a t i o n ) , andmore
theshallowsand
a
member of t h e Dog Lake
importantly,tokeep'salty
water i n
from c i r c u l a t i n g i n t o t h e u n d e r l y i n g
EstanciaValleyformation,whichcontains.betterquality
w a t e r .E l e c t r i c a l ,r a d i a t i o n ,
inBerkshirehole5
J . D.
Hudson o f t h e
a r e incompleteowing
and c a l i p e r l o g s
were r u n
#1 and # 2 and t h e School S e c t i o n #1 by
U.S.
G e o l o g i c a lS u r v e y ,b u tt h el o g s
to collapse in the lower parts of
some h o l e s and t o t h e n e c e s s i t y
of i n s t a l l i n g t h e c a s i n g
b e f o r el o g g i n g .C o r r e l a t i o no fs t r a t ai nt h eE s t a n c i a
Valleyformationfromholetohole
i s t e n u o u sb e c a u s et h e
unit varies laterally within short distances in the
s u b s u r f a c e j u s t as it d o e si no u t c r o p .
Some g e n e r a l
characteristicscouldbecorrelated,aidedbyuseofthe
I
logs.
57
The a l l u v i a l f o r m a t i o n i n t h e a r e a d r i l l e d
by about105
f t of mostly clayey sediment
from t h e o v e r l y i n g l a k e c l a y
by c o l o r .
brown,becoming
t ot h ec l e a n e rl a k ec l a y s ' .
The a l l u v i a l c l a y
red in the lower part
and i s u s u a l l y s a n d y
of t h e s e c t i o n ,
of t h e Dog Lake
i s e a s i ' l yd i s t i n g u i s h e d
f o r m a t i o n .C l a yi nt h ea l l u v i u m
i s brown t o r e d d i s h
is overlain
and s i l t y i n c o n t r a c t
Gypsum, common i n p a r t s o f t h e
l a k e c l a y , i s n o t a componentof
the alluvial clay.
. I t is extremely difficult to distinguish between
<he uppermost strata o f
basal Estancia Valley alluvium and
t h e Yeso from d r i l l - h o l e i n f o r m a t i o n .
s i l t and c l a y i n t e r b e d d e d
thealluviumconsistsofred
withsand
The lowerpart!of
and t h e s t r a t a are
and v e r y f i n e g r a v e l ,
p a r t i a l l y cemented,appearingduringdrillingtobe
concludedthateachofthe
had p e n e t r a t e d t h e
i n the laboratory
350 f t
showed t h a t o n l y t h e d e e p e s t h o l e ,
390 f t , had a c t u a l l y d o n e
so.
s i l t nearthebaseoftheEstancia
The r e d c l a y ' a n d
were p r o b a b l y d e r i v e d l a r g e l y f r o m
Yeso s u b c r o p( f i g .
come f r o m t h e
3 holesdrilledbelow
Yeso, b u t l a t e r e v a l u a t i o n o f s a m p l e s
B e r k s h i r e #1 d r i l l e d t o
Valley formtion
d r i l l i n g , it was
t h e Yeso.During
l i k e s a n d s t o n ei n
much
Ab0
3).
S i m i l a rm a t e r i a l
and u p p e r p a r t o f t h e
t h a t time c r o p p i n g o u t t o t h e
the
may a l s oh a v e
Madera, b o t h a t
west.
Small,,brokenpiecesofthingastropodshells,one
ofwhichincludedtheaxisofcoiling,
from c u t t i n g s o f r e d s i l t y c l a y
B e r k s h i r e +1 t e s t h o l e .
were c o l l e c t e d
from 352 t o 3 7 4 f t i n t h e
A s i l t - f i l l e ds e e dp o d ,m e a s u r i n g
..
lo"
a
about 2 . q by 3
mm,
58
was found embedded i n c l a y c u t t i n g s
f r o m . t h e3 6 0 - f tt o3 6 2 - f ti n t e r v a l .
Dr.
C.
L.
Balk
inspected the f o s s i l s andconfirmedtheinterpretation
t h a tt h e i rp r e s e n c ei n d i c a t e dv a l l e yf i l l .
# 2 h o l ea l s o
The B e r k s h i r e
In
hadgastropodfragmentsnearthebottom.
B e r k s h i r e #1, t h e Yeso was p e n e t r a t e d a t
f o r m a t i o nc o n s i s t sh e r e
374 f t ; t h a t
of r e d , s i l t y , s a n d y c l a y , a n d
\
gray sandstone, with minor amounts of pale green clay.
White gypsum was e n c o u n t e r e d n e a r
3 9 0 f t , t h e ' b o t t o m of
the hole.
In the Berkshire
bedof
tanlimestone
81 and B e r k s h i r e # 2 h o l e s a 1 0 - f t
was found a t 342 and 330 f t ,
r e s p e c t i v e l y (Appendix B ) .
The l i m e s t o n e i s s i l t y and
c l a y e y , and a p p e a r e d d u r i n g d r i l l i n g t o b e i n t e r b e d d e d
with or to contain coarse sand
clay.
andpossiblyred
or g r a y
The l i m e s t o n e i s e i t h e r a w e l l - d e v e l o p e dc a l i c h e ,
o r a f r e s h - w a t e rl i m e s t o n e .
The l i m e s t o n ec h i p s
showed
were p r e s e n t i n
no s i g n o f f o s s i l s ; t h e s n a i l f r a g m e n t s
t h ec o a r s es a n df r a c t i o no ft h ec u t t i n g s .T h i sl i m e s t o n e
bed d i d n o t
show t h e t y p i c a l l i m e s t o n e c h a r a c t e r o n
e l e c t r i c a l l o g s , inasmuch a s t h e r e s i s t i v i t y i n d i c a t e d
on t h e l o g s
'
i s n o t much g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t o f s a n d o r
g r a v e lb e d sh i g h e ri nt h eh o l e s .
The s p o n t a n e o u s - p o t e n t i a l
c u r v e had a marked d e f l e c t i o n t o t h e l e f t , s i m i l a r i n
m a g n i t u d et ot h a t . o f
relativepermeability
t h e h i g h e rs a n d sa n dg r a v e l s .
of t h el i m e s t o n es t r a t u m ,s u g g e s t e d
by t h e s p o n t a n e o u s p o t e n t i a l ,
i n t h eB e r k s h i r e
High
i s v e r i f i e d by t h e f a c t t h a t
$1 h o l e , d r i l l i n g f l u i d
was c o n t i n u a l l y
59
l o s t from t h e h o l e a f t e r . t h e l i m e s t o n e ' was p e n e t r a t e d .
C a l i c h e i s common i n t h e b u r i e d a l l u v i u m o f t h e
a s nodules
EstanciaValleyformation,occurringboth
disseminatedinclay
and s a n d s t r a t a a n d a s b e d s s e v e r a l
The Means #1 holebottomed
f e e tt h i c k .
w e l l . d e v e l o p e dc a l i c h e
bed a t 133 f t .
a 7 - f t calichesection,
withthatinthe
2 f t into a .
I nB e r k s h i r e
t o 135 f t , c o r r e l a t e s
from128
was not
Means h o l e . T h i s c a l i c h e
encountered'in'theBerkshire
#2
#1 o r S c h o o l S e c t i o n
#1
holes,althoughinbothofthesethehorizon,lyingat
thetopof
5 0 f t ofsandand
redclay,couldberecognized
from c o r r e l a t i o n w i t h B e r k s h i r e
#2.
Caliche w a s a l s o
found a t d e p t h s of 1 8 1 t o 184, and 209 to 218 f t i n
Berkshire #2.
8 1 c o n s i s t so f
T h i si n t e r v a li nB e r k s h i r e
fine to very fine
sandy gravel that
i s v a r i a b l y cemented
by calcium carbonate.
Jupe Means, r a n c h e r andlandowner
the valley, has drilled several water
hasencountered
depth.
R. 9
a calichezonebetween
in this part
wells,
of
each of which
1 0 0 and 1 2 0 f t i n
H i s i r r i g a t i o n w e l l i n NW%NW%SW% sec. 1, T..6 N . ,
E.,
a b o u t a mile n o r t h of t h e Means #l t e s t h o l e ,
bottomed a t 1 1 7 f t a f t e r p e n e t r a t i n g
c a l i c h e .- A c c o r d i n gt o
11 ft of n o d u l a r
Means ( o r a l communication, 1 9 6 6 ) ,
t h e well w i l l y i e l d 3 , 0 0 0 gpm w i t h 3 3 f t of drawdown,
making it o n e o f t h e
alluvium.
R. 9 E . ,
110 f t .
more p r o d u c t i v e wells i n t h e o l d e r
Means ' w e l l i n t h e
NE%;WW%NW% sec. 7 , T. 6 N.,
a l s or e p o r t e d l yp e n e t r a t e ac a l i c h e
a t about
60
Gravel was found i n c u t t i n g s from a l l t h e d e e p
I t was most common i n t h e B e r k s h i r e #l
d r i l l i n g tests.
test hole,andleast
All g r a v e l r e c o v e r e d d u r i n g d r i l l i n g
s i z e b e i n gg r a n u l e s .
recovered from
#1 h o l e .
common i n t h e S c h o o l S e c t i o n
w a s f i n e , the maximum
Whereas c o a r s e r m a t e r i a l s
was
the d r i l l holes and i s f r e q u e n t l y r e p o r t e d
by water-well drillers i n o t h e r h o l e s , o u r e x p e r i e n c e s
is usually nodular
suggests that the coarser material
caliche.
i s m o s t l yq u a r t z o s eb u t
The g r a n u l eg r a v e l
of p i n kf e l d s p a r .
commonly containsminoramounts
Gravel
bedscouldnotbecorrelatedfromholetohole,butthere
i s a m a r k e dt e n d e n c yf o rg r a v e lt oo c c u rb e t w e e na b o u t
1 7 5 and 2 0 0 f t , andbetweenabout
Becauseoffineness
p r e s e n t , however,an
suggested.
.
3 0 0 and 350 f t .
of t h eg r a v e l ,s p e c i f i cs o u r c e
areas for sediment in the central part
n o t5 e . i d e n t i f i e d .
'
o f thebasincould
Where f r e s h f e l d s p a r g r a i n s a r e
A b 0 oruppermost
Madera s o u r c e i s
The a l l u v i u m c o n t a i n s n o m a t e r i a l t h a t c a n b e
i n t e r p r e t e d a s autochthonousexceptforcalicheandthe
limestone in the lower part of the section that has either
a caliche or
-
a fresh-water lacustrine origin.
E n v i r o n m e n t of A c c u m u l a t i o n
The a l l u v i a l u n i t
i
A T h r o u g h - f l o w i n g River
i s interpretedashavingaccumulated
i n a slowlysubsidingbasinundersubaerialconditionswhile
t h e v a l l e y was d r a i n e d by a through-flowing r i v e r .
Geomorphic e v i d e n c e f o r
t u r n e de a s t w a r da tt h es o u t h
a s o u t h w a r d - f l o w i n gr i v e rt h a t
end o f t h e . v a l l e y
is presented
.
61
and s i l t i n d i c a t e s t h a t ,
l a t e r .T h e ' r e dc o l o ro fc l a y
unlike. the overlying lacustrine clayey strata of the
was notsubjectedtostrongly
Lake f o r m a t i o n , t h e s e d i m e n t
reducing conditions that
Dog
would h a v e a l t e r e d t h e c o l o r
i n h e r i t e d f r o ms o u r c er o c k s .H o r i z o n t a lv a r i a t i o n s
stratainthesubsurface,
of
and t h e p r e s e n c e o f c o a r s e s a n d
and f i n e g r a v e l , s u p p o r t t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e s e d i m e n t
was d e p o s i t e d i n a n a l l u v i a l e n v i r o n m e n t .
The l a c k o f c o a r s e g r a v e l i n t h e s e d i m e n t o f
central part
ofthe
limited area
of t h e v a l l e y , a t l e a s t i n t h e
test holes,impliesthatthe
r a t e ofsubsidenceof
the basin floor approximated the rate
of sediment
a t a n ys t a g e
a c c u m u l a t i o n .I fs u b s i d e n c e
had been rapid
and t h e amoLnt g r e a t , c o a r s e g r a v e l p r o b a b l y
b e e nt r a n s p o r t e dt ot h ec e n t e r
rapidsubsidence
causingponding
the situation for
would have
of t h eb a s i n .F u r t h e r m o r e ,
would h a v e c l o s e d t h e b a s i n t o p o g r a p h i c a l l y ,
and formationof
a lake.
Such may havebeen
a s h o r t time e a r l y i n t h e h i s t o r y
basin,providedthatthe10-ftlimestone
about 3 4 0 f t , and t h e s n a i l
of t h e
bed a t . a d e p t h o f
s h e l l s , c a nb ei n t e r p r e t e da s
e v i d e n c eo ft e m p o r a r yl a c u s t r i n ec o n d i t i o n s .
of caliche
the
The e x i s t e n c e
a t various depths indicates that contemporary
s u r f a c e s were s t a b l e l o n g
enough t o a l l o w s o i l p r o c e s s e s t o
f?%m c a l i c h e .
Slow subsidence probably
intermittentfaultingalongthe
The west f a c e s o f
Lobo E I i l l ,
GlorietanorthofMoriarty,
was accompanied byeast s i d e o f t h e . v a l l e y .
t h e 4 1 1 h i l l s of o u t c r o p p i n g
and t h e h i l l i n which t h e
Glorieta crops out
may beremnants
1 0 miles e a s t o f t h e
of f a u l t s c a r p s i n t h e c e n t r a l p a r t
east s i d e of t h ev a l l e y( f i g .3 ) .
of t h e
The . R a t t l e s n a k e H i l l s
composed o fP r e c a m b r i a nr o c k ,i n
T.
a l s oi n d i c a t et h ep r e s e n c eo f
4 N.? R. 1 0 E., 'may
a fault.
The i m p l i c a t i o n
a s i n g l e f a u l t l i n e is
thatdisplacementoccurredalong
n o ti n t e n d e d .
town o f E s t a n c i a ,
and also t h e
The n a t u r eo ft h ef a u l t i n g ,
location, is i n f e r r e d ;d i r e c te v i d e n c er e l a t e dt of a u l t i n g
was foundonly
T.
6 N.,
R.
i n t h eS u p e r i o r - B l a c k w e l lo i l
11 E . )
e a r l i e r( p .3 9 ) .
a t a d e p t ho f
If t h e h i l l s
t e s t (Sec.31,
2 , 5 9 0 f t , as d e s c r i b e d
m e n t i o n e da r ei n d i c a t i o n s
o fn e a r b yf a u l t i n g ,t h es c a r p sh a v eb e e ns e v e r e l ye r o d e d
since faulting took place.
Age
R.
S m i t h ' s( 1 9 5 7 ,p .3 8 - 3 9 )c o r r e l a t i o n
of t h e
alluvial unit with the upper part of the Santa
&mation
it a l a t e P l i o c e n e ( ? )
t o t h e north,thusgiving
t o P l e i s t o c e n ea g e ,h a sa l r e a d y
bee.n noted.
town of Manzano i n T.
on t h e t o p s
5 N., R.
100 t o 2 5 0 f t above t h e p r e s e n t
Myers ( 1 9 6 7 )
t o b o u l d e rg r a v e l ,
mapped 3 smallremnantsofpebble
hecalledpedimentdeposits,
Fe
6 E.
which
of h i l l s n e a r t h e
The o u t c r o p s now s t a n d
stream v a l l e y s , a n d . t h e
g r a v e l rests on b o t h Abo andMadera
formations.
J. T .
E v e r h e a r t ( o r a l communication,1968)hasfoundoutcrops
s i m i l a rg r a v e l
i n Sec. 1 5 , T. E N., R. 7 E .
Myers a s s i g n e d t h e pedimentmaterial
age;however,
of
inthisreport
a Quaternary
it i s c o n s i d e r e d t o be
'
.
a
63
correlative with the Pliocene Ogallala gravel and caliche
mapped by Darton ( 1 9 2 8 ) on t h e e a s t s i d e
Hills,
andextended
29) t o include
by F a l l i s (1958,p.
west side of t h e
scattered, dissected remnants on the
Pedernals.
B r e t z andHorberg
of t h e P e d e r n a l
in a
( 1 9 4 9 , p. 4 8 2 ) ,
westof the Llano
discussion of the Ogallala Formation
Estacado,supportedthecorrelation
of t h e P e d e r n a l g r a v e l s
and c a l i c h e , and o t h e r similar o u t c r o p s a l o n g
U.S.-60
west
of Vaughn, w i t h t h e P l i o c e n e O g a l l a l a .
R e l l e y ( 1 9 7 2 1 , a f t e r mapping t h e e x t e n s i v e d e p o s i t s
of O g a l l a l a and t h e a s s o c i a t e d p e d i m e n t d e p o s i t s i n t h e
of
vicinity of the Pedernal Uplift bounding the east side
EstanciaValley,concludedthattheEstanciaValley
p r o b a b l yd i dn o t
exist i nO g a l l a l a
great sloping plain extending
Mountainseastward
time.
W
e envisions a
from t h e Manzano and Sandia
t o t h ep r e s e n tL l a n oE s t a c a d o ,w i t h
'
only a few h i l l s , i n c l u d i n g t h e P e d e r n a l s , s t a n d i n g a b o v e
it.
If such i s t h e , c a s e ,t h e nt h ep e d i m e n tg r a v e l st o p p i n g
hills at the foot
of t h e Manzano M o u n t a i n s a n d t h e O g a l l a l a
r e m n a n t s on t h e west s i d e o f t h e P e d e r n a l
correlative pediment
strata a t the base
H i l l s must have
of t h e E s t a n c i a
Valleyformationdeepinthepresentbasin.
The time of i n i t i a t i o n o f v a l l e y s u b s i d e n c e
been either late in.0gallala
time o r p o s s i b l y
may have
somewhat
a f t e r t h a t .S u b s i d e n c eo ft h ev a l l e yt h a ta l l o w e d
accumulation of t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y f o r m a t i o n p r o b a b l y
was
accompaaied by renewed u p l i f t of t h e Manzano Mountainson
t h e west, a s i s spggested by t h e e r o s i o n t h a t h a s
left
64
pedimentgravelsinthe
Manzanos h i g h a b o v e p r e s e n t
A s e r o s i o no ft h ev a l l e y
levels.
stream
sides proceeded, much of
was d e p o s i t e d i n t h e s u b s i d i n g v a l l e y b u t
thesediment
some.
material w a s removed from t h e v a l l e y by t h e t h r o u g h - f l o w i n g
of Vaughn t h a t a r e " t i l t e d i n t o t h e s a g a g a i n s t t h e
Fault,
west
( 1 9 7 2 , p. 4 8 ) refers t og r a v e ld e p o s i t s
r i v e r .K e l l e y
"and t o o t h e r g r a v e l d e p o s i t s s o u t h o f
Vaughn Ridge.
Vaughn
Vaughn on t h e
T h e s e d e p o s i t sa r ea l o n gt h ep r o p o s e &r o u t e
of the river that discharged
from t h e E s t a n c i a a r e a d u r i n g
of t h e Estancia V a l l e y f o r m a t i o n .
and a f t e r a c c u m u l a t i o n
were
Kelley i s r e l u c t a n t t o c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e g r a v e l s
d e p o s i t e d as l a t e as t h e t i m e t h a t l a k e s f i l l e d t h e E s t a n c i a
time.
B a s i ni nW i s c o n s i n a n
more r e a s o n a b l e time o f ' o r i g i n f o r t h e g r a v e l s
earlier Pleistocene
a
I c o n c u ra n ds u g g e s tt h a t
i s during
time, w h i l e t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
f o r m a t i o n was b e i n g d e p o s i t e d i n t h e s u b s i d i n g E s t a n c i a
Basin.
This chronology
is consistent with the interpretation
that the ancient Estancia
d r a i n a g e of t h e r i v e r t h a t
River c o n s t i t u t e d t h e h e a d w a t e r
cut, thenfilledback,the
Portales b u r i e d v a l l e y on t h e L l a n o E s t a c a d o
t h ee a s t .
The E s t a n c i ad r a i n a g e
8 0 miles t o
area i s l a r g e rt h a na n y
otherthatcanbeproposedforthePortalesvalley,andthe
l o c a t i o n s of t h e 2 v a l l e y s e g m e n t s a r e s u c h t h a t c o n n e c t i o n
i s r e a s o n a b l e .F u r t h e r m o r e ,
no o t h e rc h a n n e la c r o s st h e
size
LlanoEstacadoofsufficientsizetofittheinferred
ofEstanciaRivercanbefoundsouthofthePortalesvalley.
T o t a l volumeof
theEstanciaValleyformation
is
65
e s t i m a t e dt ob e
5 x 1OI2 c u b i c f t (34cubic
b a s i n of 2 , 0 0 0 s q u a r e miles, e r o s i o no f
whole area of
miles)
-
In a
9 0 f t o v e rt h e
t h e b a s i n would p r o d u c e t h e e s t i m a t e d
sediment volume,.assuming that the density
of t h e
i s t h e same a s t h a t o f t h e
secondgenerationsediment
,
,
sourcerock.
If it i s assumed t h a t e r o s i o n o c c u r r e d i n o n l y
f t is
two-thirdsofthearea,thenaverageerisionof135
Greatest e r o s i o n
r e q u i r e dt op r o d u c et h ev a l l e yf i l l .
would of c o u r s e o c c u r h i g h
on t h e s l o p e s
on l o w e rs l o p e s .B e c a u s et h e
removed f r o m t h e b a s i n
amount o f m a t e r i a l t h a t w a s .
by t h e r i v e r c a n n o t b e e s t i m a t e d ,
t h ed e p t ho fe r o s i o nc a l c u l a t e da b o v e
significant that the calculated
is ofthe
a.nd lesser amounts
is a minimum.
It is
minimum d e p t h o f e r o s i o n
same o r d e r o f m a g n i t u d e , b u t
somewhat less t h a n ,
t h e amount of l o c a l e r o s i o n t h a t h a s t a k e n p l a c e s i n c e t h e
in
depositionoftheprobablePliocenepedimentgravels
t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e town of Manzano.
I
I r r i g a t i o n W e l l s P uAm
fl rlpuoivmnigu m
R.
I
Smith ( 1 9 5 7 , t a b l e 1 4 ) l i s t s more t h a n 30 i r r i g a t i o n
wells i n E s t a n c i a V a l l e y t h a t y i e l d
from t h ea l l u v i u m .S i n c et h e
more t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 gpm
time o fS m i t h ’ sf i e l d
t h e number of wells h a s i n c r e a s e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y . ,
yieldsof
more than2,300
from a well i n t h e
(R.
A few
gpm have been measured, such as
NWkNWkSWk sec. 1 7 , T. 5 N . ,
Smith, 1 9 5 7 , p. 1 2 0 ) .
work,
S p e c i f i cc a p a c i t i e s ,
R.
8 E.
where d a t a
areavailablefortheircalculation,generallyrange,between
66
wells
2 0 and 8 0 g a l l o n s p e r m i n u t e p e r f o o t o f d r a w d o w n . i n
t h a t a r e known t o be producing from the
formation.
E s t a n c i a Valley
The h i g h e s t s p e c i f i c c a p a c i t y
i n t h e SE%NE%SE% sec. 8 , T.
i s from a w e l l
5 N., R. 8 E. whichproduced
1 , 3 6 0 gpm w i t h a drawdown of17
f t (R. Smith,1957,p.118).
R. Smith(1957,p.131)
l i s t s 6 i r r i g a t i o n wells i n
sec. 3, T . I N., R. 8 E . ,
to 1,400
w h i c hh a v ey i e l d so f , u p
h e i n t e r p r e t e d a s producing from t h e v a l l e y
gpm, andwhich
f i l l .S p e c i f i cc a p a c i t i e s ,w h i c hc a nb ec a l c u l a t e df o r
of the
wells, a r e 312 and375
2
gpm p e r f t of drawdown.
ip
Specific capacities in this range have been measured
wells d r i l l e d t h r o u g h t h e a l l u v i u m
andwhich
and i n t o t h e Madera,
a r e known t o p r o d u c e p r i m a r i l y
(fig. 5).
from t h e Madera
Such wells t a pa na n o m a l o u s l yp e r m e a b l ep a r t
of t h e Madera, as hasbeenpreviouslymentioned.
l i k e l y t h a t t h e 6 wells i n s e c . . 3
t h e Madera, b u t d i s c h a r g i n g b o t h t h e
It is
a r e pumping mainlyfrom
Madera'and
the
alluvialaquifers.
The d i s t r i b u t i o n of water
thevalleyfill
wells t h a t p r o d u c e from
a r e c o n t r o l l e d by 3 f a c t o r s :c h e m i c a l
q u a l i t yo ft h eg r o u n d
water, s a t u r a t e d t h i c k n e s s , a n d
availabiLityinthesaturatedzone
of s i g n i f i c a n t
have r e ' s u l t e d
t h i c k n e s s e so fg r a v e lb e d s .T h e s ef a c t o r s
in concentration of irriyation
atthenorth
quality of
wells on t h e w e s t s i d e and
and s o u t he n d so ft h ev a l l e y .
The chemical
water i s p r o b a b l y t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f t h e
t h r e e f a c t o r s ( R . Smith,1957,
p. 6 0 )
..
67
Dog Lake Formation
Thislacustrineformation,here
named t h e Dog Lake
i t s upper m e m b e r
after the large playa depression in which
crops o u t extensively,has
a thickness of slightly
more
Estancia V a l l e y .
than 1 0 0 f t i n t h ec e n t r a lp a r to f
The
formation stratigraphically overlies the alluvial Estancia
Valleyformation
member, a medialsand
member.
a lower clayey lacustrine
and c o n s i s t s o f
member, a n d a n u p p e r c l a y e y l a c u s t r i n e
Each o ft h el a c u s t r i n ec l a y e y
by a l a c u s t r i n ec o a r s e - c l a s t i cf a c i e s .
members i s surrounded
The 3 members of
the formation have been distinguished only in the central
part of the valley where the lacustrine
predominantly of c l a y .
strata c o n s i s t
The t o p 2 0 t o 4 0 f t o ft h eu p p e r
member i s exposed i n t h e w a l l s o f t h e
numerous p l a y a
depressionsinthecentralpartofthesouthernsubbasin.
The lower and medial members and t h e b a s a l p a r t o f t h e
upper member a r e d e s c r i b e d from d r i l l - h o l e i n f o r m a t i o n
o b t a i n e d from t e s t d r i l l i n g .
The o u t c r o p area o f t h e u n i t
is shown on f i g . 7 , and t h e g e n e r a l s t r a t i g r a p h i c
relationshipsare
shown on f i g . 9.
The P l e i s t o c e n e s u c c e s s i o n o f g e o l o g i c a n d h y d r o l o g i c
events i s describedlater,but
it i s i m p o r t a n t t o m e n t i o n
here that lake flooding of the valley
became p o s s i b l e o n l y
aftersubsidenceofthebasinfloorclosedthevalley
t o p o g r a p h i c a l l y .S u b s i d e n c eo fn e a r l y
400 f t is indicated
by t h e p r e s e n t d i f f e r e n c e i n e l e v a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e b a s e o f
t h e Do9 Lake formation and t h e t o p o g r a p h i c
. s i l l on t h e
'
.
7d
68
FIGURE 9
-
Fence diagram of test h o l e s drilled in
T. 6 N., R . 9 E .
69
river drained
southeast,throughwhichtheprelacustrine
t h ev a l l e y .P r e s u m a b l yt h es u b s i d e n c er e s u l t e dm a i n l yf r o m
downwarping o f t h e b r o a d v a l l e y b u t p r o b a b l y
byrenewed
was accompanied
w e s t sides of
faulting, especially along the
Lobo H i l l and t h e R a t t l e s n a k e H i l l s .
Stratigraphy
The 4 deep t e s t h o l e s i n
t h r o u g ht h e
T.
6 N.,
R.
9 E . were d r i l l e d
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n , and t h e 6 s h a l l o w . t e s t
h o l e s , 3 ofwhich
a r e pa' e d w i t h d e e p h o l e s ,
to the medial sand
member of t h e f o r m a t i o n
a q u i f e r tests.
K
were d r i l l e d
to be used for
Only t h ed e e p e rh o l e s ,t h e r e f o r e ,c o u l db e
usedforstratigraphicinformationaboutthelower
l a c u s t r i n e member: t h e s h a l l o w h o l e s p r o v i d e d a d d i t i o n a l .
informationaboutthemedialsandand
member.
the upper lacustrine
D r i l l e r s ' l o g s from p r i v a t e l y owned water w e l l s
provedusefulindeterminingtheextentanddepthofthe
formation.
I t w a s foundfrom
i n Tps. 4-8 N . ,
Rs.
t h es t u d yo fn e a r l y
8-9 E . t h a t , i n t h e u p p e r p a r t s
wells where t h e s t r a t a i n c l u d e c l a y b e d s o f t h e
test holes.
Dog Lake
The t h i c k n e s so ft h ef o r m a t i o ni n
the central part of the valley
test h o l e s it r a n g e d f r o m . 9 8 t o
i s about 100 f t ; i n t h e
105 f t .
The b a s e o f t h e l o w e r l a c u s t r i n e
mostplaceson
of t h e
i s frequentlypossible
f o r m a t i o n ,a p p r o x i m a t ec o r r e l a t i o n
w i t ht h e
90 logs
a caliche zone that
member rests i n
i s up t o 20 f t t h i c k .
The c a l i c h e , i s m e n t i o n e d i n t h e l o g s o f m o s t w a t e r
drilled i n t h e central part of the valley because
wells
it.is
70
t e s t h o l e s ,t h ec a l i c h e
u s u a l l y a p r o d u c i n gz o n e .I nt h e
was p e n e t r a t e d e i t h e r
1 5 f t below it.
lake c l a y o r w i t h i n
a t the base of the
Means #1 t e s t h o l e a few f l a k e s o f
Inthe
carbonized wood from 1 0 f t b e l o w . t h e l a k e c l a y s u g g e s t s , t h e
presenceof
a s o i l zone.
The c a l i c h e c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e s
subaerial conditions prior to inundation
The l o w e r l a c u s t r i n e
by t h e l a k e .
by t e s t
member, w h e r e p e n e t r a t e d
#1 t e s t
holes, i s 20 t o 24 f t t h i c k e x c e p t i n t h e B e r k s h i r e
where it i s o n l y 1 0 f t t h i c k ( f i g .
consistsof
t a n , v e r yp a l eo r a n g e ,
appearance to cuttings
It
and g r a y c l a y s i m i l a r i n
from t h e c l a y o f t h e u p p e r
Some i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n c e s
ostracodsandvery
1 0 ; Appendix 5 ) .
member.
e x i s t , however, f o r v e r y
few
l i t t l e gypsum a r e found i n t h e , s e d i m e n t .
Gypsum c r y s t a l s were found i n c u t t i n g s from t h e Means t e s t
the
were o n l yn e a r
h o l e ,b u tt h e s e
t o po ft h e
member.
lower lacustrine
member i s g e n e r a l l y more s i l t y t h a n t h e
upperlacustrine
member, and t h el o w e r
member a l s o a p p e a r s
w e l l as
t oc o n t a i nt h i ns a n ds t r i n g e r so rs a n d yz o n e s ,a s
a few t h i nz o n e so fp a l e - r e d
water-well d r i l l e r s ' l o g s ,
silt.
The
From s t u d yo f
it a p p e a r s t h a t t h e l o w e r
l a c u s t r i n e c l a y member i s p r o g r e s s i v e l y more red w i t h
distance from the center of the valley,
and t h a t i n t h e
marginalzoneofthevalleyfloorthe
r e d d i s h - b r o w n ,c l a y e yf a c i e s .
member has a
Geomorphic evidence and
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e l a c u s t r i n e h i s t o r y
indicate that
t h e lowerlacustrine
beyond t h e edgeof
much higheron
member e s t e n d s well
t h e u p p e rl a k ec l a y
the s i d e s o f
O f the basin
member, and rests
t h e b a s i n( f i g .
7).
Ul
U
0
A
0
0
W
0
0
03
W
n
0
Q
W
0
N
n
0
W
\o
n
.
'0
0
0
-
N t i t u d e in feet
0
mn
03
v1
0 ;
I
a:
m
n
u)
72
member i s l i t h o l o g i c a l l y d i s t i n c t i v e
The medialsand
from t h e o v e r l y i n g a n d u n d e r l y i n g l a k e c l a y s , a n d ,
.
it i s commonly a problem t o w e l l d r i l l e r s ,
r e p o r t e d i n t h e i rl o g s .
because
.
it i s u s u a l l y
I t o c c u r si nt h es u b s u r f a c eu n d e r
most of t h e a r e a o f t h e v a l l e y f l o o r . , D r i l l i n g s a m p l e s
from t h e t e s t h o l e s show t h a t t h e s a n d
mostlyfineto
i s q u a r t z o s e ,a n d
is
medium, w e l l s o r t e d , well r o u n d e d ,f r o s t e d ,
and u n i n d u r a t e d .
I t t e n d st or u ni n t o
d r i l l h o l e sf r e e l y
well construction,andevenafter
duringallphasesof
casing i s installed,cavingfrequentlycanbetroublesome.
An example i s a n i r r i g a t i o n
R.
well i n t h e SEk sec. 18, T. 5 N . ,
9 E . w h i c h ,a c c o r d i n g' t ot h eo w n e r ,f i n a l l yc o l l a p s e d
even t h o u g h t h e
'afterpumping.largeamountsofsand,
uncemented casing extended
w e l l below t h e b a s e o f t h e s a n d .
Ground water i n t h e m e d i a l s a n d c o n t a i n s
more c h l o r i d e a n d
water i n t h e
sulfate in the central part of the valley than
wells a r e
E s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o n ;t h e r e f o r e ,m o s t
d r i l l e dt ot h ed e e p e rf o r m a t i o n ,
c a r e f u l l yc a s e do f f .
off only
and t h em e d i a ls a n d
is
'
.
The u n i t c a n b e e f f e c t i v e l y s e a l e d
by d r i v i n g o v e r s i z e c a s i n g t h r o u g h
it w i t h a c a b l e
t o o l r i g o r by v e r y c a r e f u l c e m e n t i n g .
A t a n 1 a c u s t r i n e . c l a y bed 1 2 f t t h i c k was encountered
in the Berkshire
#1 t e s t h o l e b e n e a t h
medium sand, and a t h i n n e r bedofgray
e n c o u n t e r e di nt h eB e r k s h i r e
C o r r e l a t i v es t r a t a
holes.
1 l . f t of f i n e t o
to white clay
was
# 2 t e s t ( f i g . 1 0 ; Appendix B)..
were notfound
The middle and l o w e rp a r t s
member i n some p l a c e s c o n s i s t o f
i n the other
2 deep,test
of t h em e d i a ls a n d
sand t h a t is c o a r s e r t h a n
73
t h a ti nt h eu p p e rp a r t .
Well-roundedgranulegravel
some c l a y c a n a l s o b e
mixed w i t h t h e s a n d o r i n t e r b e d d e d
w i t h it i n t h i s p a r t
of t h e s e c t i o n , and w h e r e g r a v e l o r
member i s o f t e n p a r t l y
c o a r s es a n dp r e d o m i n a t e ,t h e
cemented
The member i s 51 f t t h i c k i n t h e
bycalciumcarbonate.
B e r k s h i r e 81 t e s t b u t i n t h e o t h e r
t e s t h o l e s i s 1 8 t o 37
a t t h el o c a t i o no fB e r k s h i r e
f t t h i c k .E x c e p t
and
#l, t h e
combined t h i c k n e s s o f t h e m e d i a l s a n d a n d t h e o v e r l y i n g
member i s n e a r l y u n i f o r m
upper lacustrine
of t h e u p p e r
a s a consequence
member b e i n g t h i n n e r o v e r t h i c k
t h em e d i a ls a n d( f i g .
medialsandsequence
I nt h eB e r k s h i r e
10).
sections of
#1 t e s t t h e
is t h i c k a t theexpenseofboththe
u p p e ra n dl o w e rl a k ec l a ys e q u e n c e s ,a n dt h el o w e r1 5
f t of
t h e medial sa;ld c o n s i s t s o f s a n d y , w e l l - r o u n d e d g r a n u l e
gravel.
The s t r a t i g r a p h i c , l i t h o l o g i c ,
member w a s d e p o s i t e d
ofthemedialsandsuggeststhatthe
mainly under alluvial
conditions.
and t e x t u r a l c h a r a c t e r
and p o s s i b l y p a r t l y u n d e r e o l i a n
I t i s u n l i k e l yt h a tt h eg r a v e la n dc o a r s es a n d
couldhavebeentransported
p a r t of t h e v a l l e y f l o o r .
by l a k e c u r r e n t s t o t h e c e n t r a l
The t h i n n e s s o f t h e
l a c u s t r i n e member and t h e 1 5
lower
f t ofgravelfoundinthe
B e r k s h i r e #1 t e s t i s t h o u g h t t o i n d i c a t e c u t - a n d - f i l l
s t r u . c t u r e and stream d e p o s i t i o n .
calichelike fragments that are
Cemented z o n e sa, n dt h e
,
,
commonly foundwiththem,
suggestsubaerialexposureandcementat'ionbyformationof
caliche.
..
The f i n e - g r a i n e d ,w e l l - s o r t e d ,f r o s t e ds a n dt h a t
i s foundmainly
i n theupperpartof.the'medialsand
member
i s inferred to be
a t least p a r t l y t h e r e s u l t
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and d e p o s i t i o n , h e n c e
may b e p a r t l y dune.
i s c o n s i s t e n tw i t ht h ei r r e g u l a r
d e p o s i t s .T h i sc o n c l u s i o n
u p p e rs u r f a c e
ofeolian
of t h e member.
The l a c u s t r i n e c l a y
within the medial sand in the Berkshire
stratum
# land # 2 t e s t s
a short-lived'lake within the period of
probably indicates
s u b a e r i a ld e p o s i t i o n .
The c o n c l u s i o nt h a tt h em e d i a ls a n d
was d e p o s i t e d a f t e r d i s a p p e a r a n c e
supportedbythepresence
of t h e . e a r l y l a k e i s
of gypsum c r y s t a l s a t t h e t o p of
t h e lower l a c u s t r i n e member, w h i c h s u g g e s t s p r e c i p i t a t i o n
of gypsum a s t h ee a r l yl a k ee v a p o r a t e d .
higherconcentration
water i nt h eE s t a n c i aV a l l e y
,
lower l a c u s t r i n e member may be p a r t l y
water of p r e c i p i t a t e s l e f t
due t o r e d i s s o l v i n g byground
by e v a p o r a t i o n o f t h e e a r l y l a k e ( A p p e n d i x
The u p p e r l a c u s t r i n e c l a y
theirregularsurface
water
of d i s s o l v e d s o l i d s i n g r o u n d
i nt h em e d i a ls a n dt h a ni n
formation beneath the
The s i g n i f i c a n t l y
a t thetop
C).
member was d e p o s i t e d over
of t h em e d i a ls a n d .T h e
sequence, when s e e n i n d r i l l c u t t i n g s ,
i s g r a y ,t a n ,
or
It is s l i g h t l y s i l t y ,
p a l ey e l l o wt op a l eo r a n g e .
especially in the tan parts, and
it commonly c o n t a i n s
Gypsum, as small s e l e n i t ec r y s t a l s ,
o s t r a c o ds h e l l s .
is
v e r y common t h r o u g h o u tt h es e c t i o n .Q u a r t zs a n dg r a i n s
are rare in the samples, but
easily mistaken for quartz
a n du p p e rp a r t s
I
g r a i n s , are common i n t h e m i d d l e
of t h es e q u e n c e .F i b r o u so r g a n i c
the vegetative part
l o w e rp a r t
small a r a g o n i t e c r y s t a l s ,
of c h a r o p h y t e s , i s ' f o u n d m o s t l y
material,
i n the
of t h e s e c t i o n .
'43
75
Clay i s t h e d o m i n a n t c o n s t i t u e n t i n o u t c r o p s o f t h e
t o p 20 t o 4 0 f t . o f t h i s upper member i n walls of t h e p l a y a
d e p r e s s i o n s ,c o n s t i t u t i n g
70 t o 8 0 p e r c e n t of
anestimated
the sediment.
The c l a y o c c u r s i n s t r a t a t h a t a r e
smallfraction
o f an i n c h( l a m i n a e )t o
thick.
from a
more t h a n a f o o t
The s e q u e n c ea l s o ' c o n t a i n sa r a g o n i t e ,w h i c ho c c u r s
inlaminae
a f r a c t i o n ofaninchthickasTinetovery-fine
sand-sizedcrystals;ostracod.shells,which
i n c l a y ; and gypsum,
c o n c e n t r a t e di nl a m i n a eo rd i s s e m i n a t e d
whichoccurs
may b e e i t h e r
as s m a l l s e l e n i t e c r y s t a l s d i s s e m i n a t e d i n t h e
clay or f i l l i n g p a r t i n g s
and f r a c t u r e s i n t h e c l a y .
Distinctivelylaminatedsedimentsectionsseveral
f e e t t h i c k a r e found i n t h e o u t c r o p s
for nearly
and have been traced
2 miles a l o n g t h e c e n t r a l p a r t o f t h e e a s t w a l l
of Laguna d e l P e r r o w i t h
l i t t l e change i n c h a r a c t e r .
and i n
P r o b a b l ec o r r e l a t i v es e c t i o n s ,o fs i m i l a rt h i c k n e s s
similarstratigraphicposition,havebeenseenseveral
miles away on t h e same w a l l and i n walls of d e p r e s s i o n s a s
much a s 1 mile t o t h e
east.
The l a m i n a t i o n i s t h r e e f o l d
where b e s t d e v e l o p e d , c o n s i s t i n g i n a s c e n d i n g o r d e r o f
t r i p l e t s of g r a y c l a y , a r a g o n i t e c r y s t a 1 s ; a n d o s t r a c o d
s h e l l so f t e nw i t hi n t e r m i x e d
gypsum s i l t .
I n some zones
t h e r e i s m i x i n go fl i t h o l o g i e sb e t w e e nl a m i n a e .T h e
triplets generally range in thickness from 0.5 inch to
1.5 i n c h e s .
The p r e s e n c e o f t h e t r i p l e t s
i s s u g g e s t i v eo f
a particularlimnologicenvironmentthathasbeenproposed
by G. I . Smithfrom
h i s work on t h e g e o l o g y o f
Searles
%+
76
Lake in the California section the.Great
of
Basin.
The
Searles se,diment contains aragonite laminae
that.alternate
with clay laminae (G. Smith, 1966, p. 173-174). Ancient
Searles Lake, according to Smith, is known from evidence
other
than
Lake
during
the
aragonite
Estancia
deposition
can
of
laminae
also
the
be
upper
to
shown
have
to
been
have
lacustrine
a) gypsum in the sediment,
b),lack of
highly
been
member
saline.
saline
from
surface.dischargefrom
the basin, c) hydrologic evidence, and d) faunal evidence
(Bachhuber, 1971).
The mechanism proposed by Smith €or
precipitation of aragonite
inSearles.Lakedepends on
that
carbonate
solubilityof calcium
is
thefact
substantially
reduced
by high salinity. Hence, water carrying dissolved calcium
and
bicarbonate
calcium
carbonate
Precipitation
the
lake,
Lake
that
Estancia
into
when
it mixes
would
but
flows
the
be
a
saline will
lake precipitate
with
highly
saline
expected oc,cur
to near
wide
distributionid even,
aragonite
laminae,
like
the
lake
water.
margins
of
bedding
of
the
those
of Searles
Lake
sediment, suggest that the calcium- and carbonate-bearing
water
spread
widely
over
the
lake
before
precipitation
took
place.
The
mechanism
for
distribution
proposed
G. Smith
by
is a chemically stratified lake with fresh, low-density
water
separated
by
a
chemocline
Transportation of dissolved
over the'lake area
would
calcium
occur
in
from
and
the
saline
water'below.
carbonate
fresh
ions
water
where
their solubilities are high. The mechanism,as envisioned
77
by S m i t h , i n v o l v e s p e r i o d i c m i x i n g a c r o s s t h e c h e m o c l i n e ,
with resulting rapid decrease
i n carbonate solubility
is a
p r e c i p i t a t i o no ft h ec a l c i u mc a r b o n a t e .T h e r e
water of
well-known d i f f i c u l t y , however,withmixing
it a p p e a r s
different densities across an interface, and
that modification of the
and
mechanism proposed.by Smith
is
necessary.
I n a chemicallystratified
.of
is very high relative to that
water below the chemocline
Of
lake, i f t h e s a l i n i t y
water a b o v e , n e i t h e r s t r o n g w i n d s n o r t e m p e r a t u r e
differences between the
across t h e interface.
bottom water containing
layers can induce
much mixing
The d e n s i t yd i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e n
3 5 , 0 0 0 ppm ( p a r t s ' p e r m i l l i o n )
and t o p water containing aboirt
dissolved solids
maximum
i s more t h a n 2 . 5 p e r c e n t .( F o rc o m p a r i s o n ,t h e
temperature-induced density difference
b e assumed f o r 2 w a t e r l a y e r s
p e r c e n tw h e r et h eb o t t o ml a y e r
i s a t 20°C.)
the salinity
1 , 0 0 0 ppm
I
t h a t can reasonable
of t h e same s a l i n i t y i s 0.18
i s a t 4OC. and t h e t o p l a y e r
A t p r e s e n t there i s . n o way o f c a l c u l a t i n g
of t h e b o t t o m w a t e r i n L a k e E s t a n c i a , b u t
because gypsum p r e c i p i t a t e d from t h e water d u r i n g
a c c u m u l a t i o no ft h el a k es e d i m e n t ,t h ec o n c e n t r a t i o no f
dissolved material
T h e u p p e rl a y e r
inflow mostly from
i n t h e water m u s t have been very high.
of water, f e d by runoffandground-water
t h e west s i d e o f
t h e basin,probably
c o n t a i n e d no more t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 ppm immediately a f t e r t h e
p e r i o d of s p r i n g r u n o f f .
A clay l a n i r a forms t h e lower member ofeachsediment
.'
and d e p o s i t i o n of t h ec l a yp r o b a b l y
t r i p l e t .T r a n s p o r t a t i o n
was accomplished by 1 of 2 mechanisms..
Stormswhippingthe
s u r f a c e of t h e l a k e m i g h t h a v e c a u s e d c l a y
t o b e l i f t e d from
t o be
thebottominshallowpartsofthelake,allowing'it
t r a n s p o r t e d i n s u s p e n s i o no v e rt h ee n t i r el a k e
.T h i s
area.
would r e q u i r e t h a t . s o u r c e areas be above t h e c h e m o c l i n e
b e c a u s es u r f a c e - i n d u c e dt u r b u l e n c e
a t a density interface,
theinterface.
is drastically reduced
and flow d o e s n o t t a k e p l a c e
across
A more l i k e l y mechanism i s t h a t t h e c l a y
was i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e l a k e d u r i n g
a springseasonof
h e a v yr u n o f ff r o mt h eb a s i ns i d e s .
The l a k ee x i s t e du n d e r
climatic conditionsthatproducedheavywinter
a c c u m u l a t i o ni nt h ed r a i n a g e
the period of greatest runoff
s p r i n g melt.
snow
area (Leopold, 1951), h e n c e
wouldhavebeenduring
R u n o f f ,c o n s i s t i n go f
the
water low i nd i s s o l v e d
solids,couldspreadsuspendedclayovertheentire
area
o f , t h el a k ei ft h ew a t e rf l o a t e da b o v et h ec h e m o c l i n e .
clay particles settled through the proposed chemocline
some mixingof
o f t e nm a r l y
waters may h a v e o c c u r r e d , r e s u l t i n g i n t h e
s t a t e o ft h ec l a yl a y e r .
The p o s s i b l e
seasonal c o n t r i b u t i o n o f c l a y i m p l i e s t h a t t h e t r i p l e t s
in the lake sediment
a n n u a lc y c l e
may have been deposited during an
of e v e n t s .
A r a g o n i t e ,f o r m i n gt h es e c o n dl a y e ro ft h et r i p l e t s ,
may h a v e p r e c i p i t a t e d s i m p l y b e c a u s e o f e v a p o r a t i v e
increase in chemical concentration in the upper layer
As
e
carbonateions
.a
was p r o v i d e d t o t h e l a k e
byground
of t h e d i s c h a r g e wouldhavebeen
in the lake
-
3. t h e r e f o r e t o t h e f r e s h e r
&
t h e summer months.
at shallow depths
,water zone during
The f a c t t h a t t h e l e v e l o f
Estancia fluctuated within distinct
water
Madera t o t h e west,
discharging the limestone terrain of the
andmost
79
Late Lake
limits i n d i c a t e s t h a t
a n n u a le v a p o r a t i o na p p r o x i m a t e l ye q u a l l e da n n u a li n f l o w .
A s summer e v a p o r a t i o n p r o c e e d e d t h e c h e m i c a l c o n c e n t r a t i o n
of a l l c o n s t i t u e n t s i n c r e a s e d ,
t h e summer t h e w a t e r would.have
and a t some p o i n t d u r i n g
become s a t u r a t e d w i t h
.calcium carbonate.
A r a g o n i t e i s more l i k e l y t o formthan
is c a l c i t e
when p r e c i p i t a t i o n i s r a p i d (G. Smith, 1 9 6 6 , p. 1 7 4 ) , and
it i s also more l i k e l y a t h i g h e r t e m p e r a t u r e s .
The p u r i t y
of t h e a r a g o n i t e l a m i n a e s u g g e s t s t h a t p r e c i p i t a t i o n
may
have taken place during
time;
a relatively short period of
hence, it i s p o s s i b l e t h a t l a k e w a t e r s
were s u p e r s a t u r a t e d . .
before precipitation occurred.
The o s t r a c o d s t h a t o c c u r p r e d o m i n a n t l y i n t h e u p p e r
layerofthetriplets,
and a r e sometimes a l s o f o u n d
i n the
o t h e rl a y e r s ,a r em a i n l yb e n t h o n i ct y p e s ;t h e yi n c l u d e
typesthataregenerallyfresh-waterindicators
t y p e st h a ta r es a l i n i t y - t o l e r a n t( B a c h h u b e r ,
theproposedsedimentation
v a l i d ,t h e no n ei n f e r e n c e
mechanismof
a s well as
1971).
the triplets
t h el e v e l
is
is thatthefresh-water.ostracods
thrivedseasonallyinshallowpartsofthelakewherethey
wereabove
If
of thechemocline.Death
of t h e
80
organisms may have been brought on annually by increased
s a l i n i t y ,p o s s i b l y
ostracod layer
bymixingacrossthechemocline.
The
commonly c o n t a i n s gypsum s i l t intermixed
w i t ht h e , f o s s i l s .
The gypsum p r o b a b l yp r e c i p i t a t e df r o m
summer as a r e s u l t o f t h e
the lake water late in the
evaporativeconcentrationoflakewater.
C h a r o p h y t er e m a i n s c, o n s i s t i n gm o s t l yo ft h e
vegetative part
of t h e p l a n t b u t a l s o c o n t a i n i n g
calciumcarbonateshell
formmats
;.
.
the
of t h e oogonium ( g y r o g o n i t e ) ,
up t o 0 . 5 i n c h t h i c k , i n
w i t hl a m i n a t e dp a r t s
.
many p l a c e s a s s o c i a t e d
of t h e s e d i m e n ts e c t i o n .
charophytelaminaeappeartobemost
The
common i n t h e
lower
i s , 20 t o 4 0 f t below t h e t o p
partoftheoutcrops,that
of t h e u p p e r l a k e s e q u e n c e .
Modern c h a r o p h y t al i v e
b r a c k i s hw a t e r
i n s h a l l o w ,f r e s h ,o r
( P e c k , 1 9 5 7 , p. 4 ) .
Peck, c i t i n gO l s e n
( 1 9 4 4 , p. 1011, s t a t e s t h a t ,
.....
t h e o u t e r o c c u r r e n c e o f Chara b a l t i c a ,
the species most often
cited a s l i v i n g i n
m a r i n ew a t e r s ,
i s drawn i n t h e B a l t i c Sea
a t abouttheisohaline
18 parts chloride
p e r 1,000.
Olsen ( 1 9 4 4 , p. 2 0 0 , 2 2 2 )
foundthatmostspeciescouldtolerate
considerable range in the
amount ofcalcium
c a r b o n a t e i n t h e w a t e r b u t t h a t t h e pH
c o n d i t i o n s were of d e c i s i v e importance.
According t o Olsen ( 1 9 4 4 , p. 1 9 7 )
charophytesarenotfoundinhighlyacid
waters, a few are found i n f l u c t u a t i n g
a c i d - a l k a l i n e waters, andmostoccuronly
in alkaline waters.
....
Modern charophytesaregrowing
ME%SE% sec. 2 0 , T.
6 N.,
R.
i n a verysmallpiayainthe
9 E.
Water d e p t hi nt h e
p1ay.a
i s r a r e l y more t h a n a few i n c h e s ; t h e p l a n t s a r e r e c u m b e n t ,
. .
81
b u tg r o w t h
Two water s a m p l e sf r o mt h ep l a y a ,
is luxuriant.
a n a l y z e db yt h e
U.S.
G e o l o g i c a lS u r v e y ,h a v ed i s s o l v e d - s o l i d s
' 4 0 , 8 0 0 ppm and 20',900
c o n c e n t r a t i o n so f
concentrationsare
1 7 , 6 0 0 and 8 , 7 0 0 ppm, and pH v a l u e s a r e
7 . 6 and 7 . 7 r e s p e c t i v e l y .
Sodium and s u l f a t e are t h e o t h e r
two^ i m p o r t a n t c o n s t i t u e n t s o f t h e
c a r b o n a t e - b i c a r b o n a t ea r e
ofwater
ppm; c h i o r i d e
on t h i s p l a y a
low.
water, andcalciumand
The c h e m i c a lc o n c e n t r a t i o n
seems t o r e p r e s e n t n e a r t h a t o f t h e
maximum t o l e r a n c e o f c h a r o p h y t e s , a s t h e y a r e n o t f o u n d i n
waters of other playas that contain higher concentrations
of s a l t s .
The p r e s e n c eo ft h e s el i v i n gc h a r o p h y t e si n
watercontaining
l e s s t h a n 5 0 , 0 0 0 ppm d i s s o l v e d m a t t e r
may
suggesttheconcentrationthatexistedinthelowersaline
layer in Late
Lake E s t a n c i a .
From t h e c e n t r a l p a r t
as o n e moves
of the lake area
outwardtowardtheshoreline,identificationofclays
the upper lacustrine
The c l a y b e d s t h i n
member becomes i n c r e a s i n g l y d i f f i c u l t .
and i n t e r f i n g e r w i t h s a n d a n d g r a v e l o f
a m a r g i n a lc o a r s e - c l a s t i cf a c i e s .
In t h i s a r e a
s h a l l o w - w a t e rd e p o s i t i o nc a l c i u mc a r b o n a t e
drillersreportsubstantialthickness
i n t h i sc a s e
of
i s a ni n c o r r e c t
r e p r e s e n t st h ec h e m i c a ld e l t ao f
term.
G.
of
i s common, and
of c a l i c h e ,w h i c h
T h i sa r e ap r o b a b l y
Smith ( 1 9 6 6 , p -1 7 3 )
i n which calcium carbonate-bearing water;both runoff and
ground-waterinflow,
e n t e r e d t h es a l i n e
lake.
the water caused unusually heavy precipitation of
c a r b o n a t ei nt h em a r g i n a lz o n e .
Mixing of
calcium
82
Fishbones
were found i n t h e u p p e r l a c u s t r i n e
of t h e Dog Lakeformation
i n 1 9 6 7 byJohnBradbury,and
f o s s i l material.
Bachhubersubsequentlycollectedadditional
In a d d i t i o n t o
f o u n d ,o n l y
many f r a g m e n t s , 2
1 of whichcouldbe
were .
completespecimens
removed i n t a c t . T h i s
specimen was 24 c e n t i m e t e r sl o n g .
tentativelyidentified
member
The f i s h havebeen
as Salmo c l a r k i ( c u t t h r o a t t r o u t ) ,
and a r a d i o c a r b o n data o n t h e b o n e s i n d i c a t e a n
age o f .
11,7401.900
years before present (Bachhuber, 1971).
Bachhuber f e l t t h a t t h e p r e s e n c e o f t r o u t i n t h e l a k e ,
a s well as t h e p r e s e n c e of some o t h e r b i o l o g i c a l s p e c i e s
such as o s t r a c o d s , r e q u i r e d t h a t
L a t e Lake E s t a n c i a w a s a t
times f r e s h ; however, h e a g r e e d t h a t
a t o t h e r times d u r i n g
accumulation of t h e u p p e r l a c u s t r i n e
member o f t h e
L a k ef o r m a t i o nt h el a k e
of h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n
further that during
a high stage
was c l e a r l y s a l i n e .
of v a r y i n g s a l i n i t y ,
On t h e b a s i s
h e concluded
times of low s a l i n i t y t h e l a k e
a t which it o v e r t o p p e d t h e t o p o g r a p h i c
C\
and s p i l l e d e s t w a r d t h r o u g h t h e a n c e s t r a l
A
c o u l de n t e rt h el a k e
was a t
sill
river c h a n n e l .
a route
The d i s c h a r g i n g r i v e r , h e s u g g e s t e d , p r o v i d e d
throughwhichthetrout
Dog
and o t h e r f r e s h w a t e r o r g a n i s m s
from downstream.Theargument,'while
consistentwithhisextensivelimnological
c a n n o tb ea c c e p t e df o rr e a s o n s
Ifthelakeovertoppedthe
data, I f e e l
summarizedbelow.
. .
s i l l d u r i n g Late Lake
E s t a n c i a time, a s it u n q u e s t i o n a b l y d i d d u r i n g E a r l y
E s t a n c i a time, t h e n t h e h i g h - l e v e l s t r a n d l i n e f e a t u r e s
Lake
83
well p r e s e r v e d as t h e
( d e s c r i b e dl a t e r 1s h o u l db en e a r l ya s
well-known beaches a t lower elevations because they would
b eo fn e a r l yt h e
quite dissected
same a g e . I n f a c t t h e h i g h e r b e a c h e s a r e
by e r o s i o n , a n d a r e r e c o g n i z a b l e a s
a f e w 1ocalities.where for one
strandline features only in
r e a s o no ra n o t h e rt h e yh a v eb e e np r o t e c t e d .T h e r e f o r e ,
t h e y are much o l d e r t h a n L a t e
Lake E s t a n c i a time.
Kelley ( 1 9 7 2 , p. 4 8 ) h a sc o n c l u d e df r o ms t r u c t u r a l
and s t r a t i g r a p h i c c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e s p i l l w a y a r e a t h a t t h e
amount of overflow from
very great
Lake E s t a n c i a was probably never
andfurthermorethattheoverflownever
a s u r f a c e stream t r i b u t a r y t o t h e P e c o s
surfacewaterflowing
River",.
Any
down t h e a n c e s t r a l r i v e r c h a n n e l
d i v e r t e ds o u t h w a r df r o mt h er o u t eo ft h ec h a n n e l
Vaughn and i n t o a k a r s t t e r r a n e w h e r e t h e w a t e r
underground j u s t a s
"fed
it doestoday.
was
west of
went
T h i s being t h e case,
thelikelihoodthattroutcould.havebeenintroduced
is
d i m i n i s h i n g l ys m a l l .
It is not necessary that
beprovidedeach
a route for trout.intro&uction
time t h e r e i s e v i d e n c e o f f r e s h w a t e r i n
shown t h a t a r i v e r flowedfrom
t h el a k e .
I t hasbeen
basinfrom
l a t e P l i o c e n e ( ? ) time through much o f P l e i s t o c e n e
time p r i o r t o
the
and d u r i n g t h e time of b a s i n s u b s i d e n c e a n d
a l l u v i a t i o n .D u r i n g
a l l t h i s time a r o u t e w a s o p e n . f o x f i s h
m i g r a t i o n .P e r e n n i a ls t r e a m ss u r e l yd r a i n e df r o mt h e
Manzano Mountains during
the basin,
I
times t h a t Lake E s t a n c i a o c c u p i e a
and t h e s e would b e q u i t e f a v o r a b l e h a b i t a t s f o r
,
(3.1,
.-
84
t r o u t and o t h e r f r e s h - w a t e r o r g a n i s m s w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e
lake was s a l i n e .
From t h ep e r m a n e n ts t r e a m s ,t r o u tc o u l d
have made e x c u r s i o n s i n t o t h e
lake a t any time t h e water
chemistry was f a v o r a b l e .
It c a n b e s p e c u l a t e d t h a t t h e l a k e
would c o n t a i n
f r e s h water under 2 k i n d s of c o n d i t i o n s :
c h e m o c l i n ew i t hf r e s hw a t e ra b o v es a l i n e
sequence of years in which
a ) t h es e a s o n a l
water, o r
b )a n y
climatic c o n d i t i o n s were such
that inflow to the lake substantially exceeded evaporation.
L i t t l e ' n e e d b e added t o p r e v i o u s s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t t h e
c h e m o c l i n e .R e g a r d i n gt h es e c o n dk i n do fc o n d i t i o n ,e a c h
time t h a t t h e l a k e e v a p o r a t e d t o
a low level as a r e s u l t
of a p e r i o d of low p r e c i p i t a t i o n a n d / o r h i g h e v a p o r a t i o n ,
much of i t s d i s s o l v e d - i o n l o a d
m i n e r a lp r e c i p i t a t e
would have.been removed a s
on t h e l a k e f l o o r .
When t h i s
i n e v i t a b l y was followed by a p e r i o d o f i n c r e a s e d
precipitation, the
lake w a t e r o b v i o u s l y
was f r e s h e n e d .
I f a c h e m o c l i n ep r e v a i l e dd u r i n gt h el a k e - e x p a n s i o n
interval,thusprotectingtheevaporiteminerals
lake floor
then the
from d i s s o l u t i o n by exposure
water c m l d r e m a i n r e l a t i v e l y
on t h e
to f r e s h water,
low i n d i s s o l v e d
solids until evaporation again-increased concentration.
Duringsuch
times fresh-water organisms
c o u l dt h r i v ei nt h e
lake.
of many t y p e s
Bachhuber ( 1 9 7 1 , p.
recognizedthatconditionssuchasthis
216)
were n e c e s s a r y t o
explain t h e existenceoffresh-waterfaunainthe
lake
sediment a t times when t h e l a k e c l e a r l y c o u l d n o t h a v e
beendeep
enough t o d i s c h a r g e from t h e b a s i n .
.
.
e
85
Hydrolog-ic P r o p e r t i e s
Both t h e lower and u p p e r l a c u s t r i n e
Dog Lake formation
are confiningbeds
members o f t h e
f o r ground water
under pressure in the Estancia Valley formation
t h e . m e d i a 1s a n d
member o ft h e
Dog Lake.
surfaces f o r t h e 2 a q u i f e r s b o t h
The p i e z o m e t r i c
l i e below t h e g e n e r a l
w e l l above the level
surface of the valley floor but
f l o o r s of t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s ; t h u s t h e y
theupperlacustrine
member.
this aquifer
a
Ground
i s pumped by a f e w s t o c k wells
of the valley, but because water~in
i s more h i g h l y m i n e r a l i z e d t h a n
t h ea l l u v i a lu n i t ,
are w i t h i n
i s i n mostplaces
few f e e th i g h e rt h a nt h a to ft h em e d i a ls a n d .
in the central part
of
, T h ep i e z o m e t r i cs u r f a c e
for the Estancia Valley formation
water i n t h e medial sand
and i n
water i n
it i s n o to f t e nu s e d .A l t h o u g ht h e
p e r m e a b i l i t yo ft h eu p p e rl a k ec l a y
member i s l o w , a
v e r y small amount of water . i n f i l t r a t e s from r a i n f a l l and
moves v e r y s l o w l y t o w a r d t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s .
.
86
GEOMORPIIOLOGY OF BASIN, DESCRIPTIONOF POSTLAKE SEDIMENT
The
highest
and
Estancia
Valley
deposits
on
and
probable
the
oldest
related
the
west
depositional
to
the
side
Ogallala
remnants
in
valley are
fillthe
that
were
gravel
and
pediment
by(1967).
Myers
mapped
caliche
on the
east
side that were mapped by Fallis
(1958).
As has been mentioned,
these
probably
immediately
or in
the
basal
preceding,
Thus they are probably lateral equivalents
of
part
Erosion
The
deposition
stages
of, accumulation of sediment in
earliest
the valley.
the
represent
of
the
of
Estancia
surfaceof the
its
present
that
were
form
Estancia
Valley
Estancia
in
time
formation.
Formation
Valley
during
2 distinct
separated
Valley
alluvium
was cut to
stagesof stream
by
erosion
the.period
of existence of
Lake Estancia. The first stage
of stream erosionwas controlled
by
the
through-flowing
river
that
continued
to discharge
the valley for some time after deposition
of the
from
formation
ceased. Following this the valley was topographically closed
by
a
final
pulse
of
subsidence
that
lowered
floorthe
several
hundred feet below the level of the topographic sill.
The
topography
then
left
locally
by
the
modified
first
by
stage
lacustrine
of
stream
degradation
was
standline
processes.
Subsequently the surface was further cut
by streams ofa
centripetal
valley.
system
that
drain
toward
the present
floor
of the
87
On the west side and at the north end of the valley,
where
the
a
the
outcrops
of alluvium
centripetal
consequence
drainage
of
the
is
are
broad
closely
depositional
and
uninterrupted,
spaced
and
slope
on which
subpa.ralle1,
the
streams
initially formed. The upper surfaces of some outcrops high
on
the
sides
depositional
may
be
of
the
surface,
preserved
is
valley
the
in
probably
largest
the
are
area
in
remnants
of this
which
the
suxface
northwestof part
the basinnear
the foot of South Mountain and San Pedro Mountain. Stream
dissection of the
surface
in
this
area.is minimal, and
bedding in the alluvium parallels the surface.
In the
S4,
T. 11 N., R. 7 E. (noythwest corner of
the
basin), and from this. area southward through
T. 5 N., R. 7 E.,
streams have eroded more deeply into the alluvium. The
closely
their
spaced
sloping
channels
sides
+rise
Interstream
areas
here
down,
the.
result
with
generally
have
narrow
to
rounded
steeply
have
been
that
degraded
as the
few
if
any
floors,
and
divides.
streamscut
remnants
of
the
dep
surface remain. The slope of the arroyos
is nearly everywhere
greater
the
than40 ft per mile, and the angle
is maintained
channels
descend
to
about
the
6,200-ft
until
elevation
where,
at the edge of the lake floor, the slope decreases abruptly.
The arroyos
now
seldom
carry
runoff
for
any
great
distance
before it infiltrates, and the floors as well as the sides
of the valleys are mostly overgrown with grass. Except
at
higher
elevations
in
the
Manzanos,
the
arroyos
do not appear
to either be cutting or filling under present climatic
conditions.
*
eIn
the
remnant
of
southwestern
the
the
south
depositional
-
T. 4 N., Rs. 5
part
of
the
surface
88
valley
has
a
been
probable
preserved
in
6E., between the town of Mountainair
on
and
a
spur
of
outcropping
Ab0
Formation
on the
north (fig. 7). Erosion has hardly affected the.surface
-
in Rs. 5
the
west
6 E., and the surface can be followed upward to
to
elevations
of
more 8,200
than ft on
the
east
side of Manzano Peak. Northeastward from Moun.tainair,
stream
but
erosion
long
area
has
cut progressively
parallel
to
their
ridges
abrupt
can
deeper
be
followed
terminations
miles west of Willard (fig.
11).
into
in
the
from
wave-cut
surface,
the
undissected
bluffs
a few
The slope ofthe.surface
decreases steadily northeastward. Thick, well-developed
caliche
has
resisted
erosion,
and
bedding
in
the
alluvium
is parallel to ,the caliche layer. Geomorphic and stratigraphic
relationships
very
near
The
strongly
the
ends
original
of
the
suggest
that
the
depositional
ridges
ridge
surface
of the
are 100
about
ft
crests
are
dluvium.
above
the
valley
floor, and if the slope of the surface
is projected 8 miles
northeastward to the axis of the valley
in sec. 15, T. 5 N.,
R. 9 E., which is immediately west of Laguna
del Perro, it
is
found
that
the
projected
surface
is
more75 than
ft above
the present level of the valley floor. At this location the
eroded top of the alluvium is buried beneath 110
about
ft
of lacustrine sediment. Therefore, nearly2 0 0 ft of the
Estancia
the
Valley
valley
Estancia.
by
Formation
erosion
was
prior
removed
to
from
the of
center
establishment
of Early
Lake
88a
.
FIGURG 11.--Topographic map of parts of TPs. 4 and 5 N., R. 8 E,
showing remnant of probable depositional surface of the Estancia
Valley Formation, and bars built by Late Lake Estancia (base from
U.S. Geological Survey, Mountainair quadrangle, 1:62,500).
e
Near
the
bluffs
at the
edge
of
89
the
lake,
the
thickness
of lacustrine beds cannot be determined accurately, but
1.5 miles
thick
east
of
the
as50 ,ft, based
bluffs
the
sediment
may.be as
lake
measurements
of the lowest
on
gray
clay-recordedin several drillers' logs. Inasmuch as the
are100 ft
ridges
was
removed
approximately
150 ft of alluvium
high,
from
near
the
'present
bluffs
before
the
lake
was formed.
The degradation
formation
the
from
valley
.
the
prior
conclusion
of
that
150
to 2 0 0 ft of
southwest
to
and
formation
vigorous
Valley
south-central of
parts
of
stream
Estancia
Lake
Estancia
erosion
requires
preceded
the
the
lacustrine
phase of valley history. Truncation of the ridges west of
Willard
was
due
rather
than
to
mainly
to
stream
wave-cutting,
erosion
although
during
waves
in Late
Estancia undoubtedly smoothed the ends
of the
may
have
cut
Removal
have
been
them
of
by
back
such
the
short
sediment
river
which
this
perioa
Lake
ridges
and
distances.
volumes
still
from
the
basin
discharged
from
must
the
southeast cornerof the valley. Whereas no other likely
depositional
surfaceson the
alluvial
unit
were
recognized
near the edge of the valley flat, stripped surfaces on the
alluvium
between
that
the
project
alluvium
to
elevations
and
the- ofbase
the
well
above
lacustrine
the
unit
in the central part of the valley are common.
A minimum
limit
the
for
prelacustrine
projections
of
the
stream
stripped
erosion
is established
surfaces.
by
contact
90
On the east side of the valley, outcrops of the
Estancia
Valley
alluvium
are
mostly
found
in already
existing valleys c.ut into pre-Tertiary
rock, and
of.
the
area
pre-Tertiary
rock
shoreline of the lake (fig.
7).
pre-Tertiary
projection
being
rock
is
mainly
Features
near
$he
orientations,.and
because
by
out
much
6,200-ft
Stripped surfaces on the
erratic
meaningless
controlled
Geomorphic
have
crops
in
is subsequent,
drainage
the
stratigraphy
Formed
by
their
and
Early
Lake
structure.
Estancia
Harbour (1958), in an unpublished master's thesis,
described
in
detail
the
straigraphy
of a
pond
deposit
at an elevation of about 6,320
ft in the NE%I\TE%sec. 26,
T. 4 N., R. 10 E. (fig. 7). At this location,knowwas.
the
Lucy
Site,
Anthropology
members
Department
of
the
found
University
of New
early
man
Mexico
artifacts
of
the
Sandia culture. Harbour's work related the artifacts
to
local and regional geology. The site in
is a wind-blowout
area well up on the slope
of the
and is east
hills
of
Present
the
of
Rattlesnake
Precambrian
drainage,
thin-bedded
rock
which
sand
Hills,
that
has
and
southeastside,of the
an
reach
partly
clay,
isolated
is
an
basin,
group
of
elevation
6,500of
ft.
dissected
and
northwestward
exposed
around
the
north end of Rattlesnake Hills. The possibility that the
"pond"
sediment
associated
was
actually
rnarsh or
witha previously
lacustrine
unrecognized
high
sediment
stand
of
Lake Estancia stimulated
a search for shoreline evidence.
91
A stand of the lake
at this
elevation,
level
sill
of
indicate
to
the
the
topographic
that
the
lake
to
which
the
overflowed
near
southeast,
its
basin
the
would
ana
discharged
east.
Evidence
restricted
for
areas
such
on
a
the
high
stand
east
and
of
west
entire north end of the valley (fig.
7).
of
is
beaches
and
bay-mouth
the
waslake
found in
sides
As
and the
around
many as 7 levels
were in
found
remnants
bars
on
the
east side (Titus, 1969). Lyons (1969) found additional'
indications of the high lake stage, and Bachhuber (1971)
subsequently
added
observations.
new
In
every
case
..
erosion
has
strongly
mod'ified
the high-level
strandline deposits and erosional features;
in fact,
features
that
are
topographically
alone
than
is
the
clearly
protected
recognizable
areas.
The
occur
only
condition'
of the
sufficient
evidence
that
very
preserved
strandlines
at lower
well
strandline
the
in
outcrops
features
are much
older
elevations
on the basin sides. Each student
of the basin geomorphology
has
recognized
the
apparent
great
age
difference
between
the
high and low series of beaches (Lyons, 1969,
p
: 55; Titus,
1969; Bachhuber, 1971,p. 67).
shorelines
with
Early
Lake
Correlation of the high-level
Estancia
was
initially
made for
this
reason.
Lobo Hill area
The
shoreline
features
are
best
preserved
Hill and Interstate HIghway
40 near
the
an
includes
area
about4 miles
square
that
Longhorn
the
between
Ranch,
in
southwest
Lobo
92
corner of T. 9 N., R. 10 E. (fig. 12).
The highest feature
thesec. 21,
is a wave-cut, gently sloping bluff in E%
T.
9 N.,
R. 10 E.:
the elevation of the base of the bluff
is
about 6,360 ft. Immediately below the bluff are .patchy
remnants
about
of
a
depositiona1,beach
6,355ft and
an
having
cres.ta elevationof
elevation
at the
toe,
several
hundred
feet west,averaging about 6,340 ft.A correlative wave-cut
bluff can also
be
seen
about
2 miles
south,
along
the
east
line of sec. 33, although at this locationit is poorly
A subsequent drop of lake level about
to
6 , 3 3 5 ft
preserved.
is
indicated
and
by
by
beaches
a
small
around
a
wave-cut
former
bluff
in theSW% sec. 3 3 ,
island
that
includes
most of
the W+ sec. 20.
A relatively long stand at 6,320
ft is
beach
that
is
indicated
about
0.5 mile wide and2 miles
long,
by
a
in
parts
of secs. 2 9 and 32. The beach deposit has been highly modified
by
wind,
Two
but
small,
the
preserved
breached
seems
be 8toto 10 ft.
thickness
bay-mouth
bars.in the SW% sec. 33 andin
the NW% sec. 4, T. 8 N., R. 10 E., are at thesame elevation.
Successively
6,290
lower
beaches
were
formed
at
about
6,305
and
ft; only small patches of sand remain
of the 6,305-ft.
beach, but the 6,290-ft beach, although thin and partly
removed,
is
easily
distinguishable
near
the
westofline
Secs. 30 and 31, T. 9 N., R. 10 E.
Each of these .2 lake levels
also
bar
produced
a
small
bay-mouth
secs. 5 and8 , T. 8 N., R. 10 E.
and
wave-cut
features
in
An unbreached bay-mouth
bar, representing the 6,290-ft lake level, blocks a small
I
0
0
9Za
II .
.
FIGURE 12.--Topographic map of parts of TPS. 8.and 9 N., Rs. 9 and
10 2 . showing Early Lake Estancia shoreline features (base from
S. Geological Survey, Lobo Hill quadrangle, 1:62,500).
0'.
,
' ,
..
93
channel near the
SW corner, sec. 19, T. 9 N., R. 10 E.
At least
breached
2la?er stands of the lake
are indicated
bay-mouth
T. 9 N., R. 9 E.
bars
across
the
same
by
channel
in sec. 24,
Crest elevations of the bars are
approximately 6,270 and 6,260 ft. Continued stream flow
in
this
channel
with
lowering
lake
levels
was assured by
subaqueous constructionin the lake of natural levees.
The
levees
above
are
preserved
the
Additional
as
low
sand
ridges
general'surface
on
either
bay-mouth
may
have
bars
standing
few feet
a
side
been
of
the
channel.
constructed
the as
lake continued to fall, but the topography and sand distributio
do not clearly indicate this; lience,
it is inferred that
lowering
of
the
lake
may
have
proceeded
rapidly
below
a
level
of 6,260 ft.
The
high-level
shorelines
are
probably
area because of the Lobo Hill upland to west.
.the
stream
flow
channel
around
that
the
now
Lobo
drains
Hill
the
upland
area
preserved
thisin
The main
turns
before
.
southward
to.
entering
the floor
of Estancia Valley. Its length is'thereby substantially
increased, and as a consequence, its gradient
less
is than
half that of streams to the north and south. The Hill
Lobo
upland
The
also
combined
is better
disrupts
effect
preserved
the
has
at
up-slope
been
this
flow
that
site
the
than
of west
strong
winds.
high-level
shorefine
anywhere in
else
thevalley.
In most of the area just described, alluvium directly
underlies the beach and bar sediment, butis i.t
only
a
thin
veneer over the Glorieta Sandstone. Shallow, sediment-filled,
sinkholes with gently sloping, soil- and caliche-covered sides
'.
e
0.
94
are common. A useful relationship is exhibited here, in
which
old
sinkholes
south
end
of
tend
to
be
concentrated
at
elevations
near the past lake levels. This
is also the situation at the
The
the
elevation
to 6,360 ft,
high
over
with
around HI11
Lobo(fig. 12)
surface
most
of
hillocks
this
at
rolling
each
end
upland
.
surface
6,300
is
rising
10 to 20 ft
higher. The symmetrical cone of Lobo Hill, composed
of
Precambrian
quartzite,
to 6,501 ft.
underlain
by
projects
above
the
center
of the
surface
Most of the surface south of Lobo Hill is
limestone
of
the
San
Andres
FoAation, and
in
thisterrane there are more than
25 sinkholes between the
elevations of6,250 and 6,360 ft; these are clearly associated
with the shorelines above and below
6,300 ft. Northeast and
northwest of Lobo Hill 4 closed
depressions
elevation
the
range
suggest
that
San
in
the
Andres
same
underlies
the
soil-mantled surface. At the south endof.the h i l l , between
elevations of 6,200 and 6,220 ft, are 14 sinkholes (somenot
shown on fig. 12) associated with shoreline features prominently
cut below 6,210 ft on theslope. Only 3 closely spaced sinks
have been found that did not fall into
of one
the2 groups;
these areat about 6,240 ft
at
the.south
end of
thehill.
One sinkhole near the head of a small valley
in the
I
1-
SE%NWP’sec. 19, T. 8 N., R. 10 E. doubled the widthof the
$1
valley by its formation. The soil-filled bottomof the
sinkhole ison grade with the valley floor. This
sink is
unusual in that immediately downstream,
a bay-mouth bar
was constructed across the valley. The bar
is 8 ft high,
has a crest length of
300 ft, and is 400 ft wide.
of the
crest
is
The height
depressed
abouf a foot f o r a shart’distance
95
in the center. The crest of the bar reaches an elevation
of
about 6,315
ft.
A hole, dug 3 ft into the crest, exposed
unstratified; medium to fine, uncemented, well-sorted
quartzose sand containing a small amount of silt.
The sand
grains are roundedto subangular. A few layersof.scattered,
well-rounded
caliche
nodules
were
found,
most
of which
were
less than 0.5 inch in diameter. No fossils were found in
these deposits. In one other sink, about
0.5 mile northwest,
is a similar though smaller bar, and several other
in sinks
the
area
enough
may
also
have
had
bars,
but
erosion
has
removed
materialso .that identification cannot be positive.
The
formation
probably
the
containing
C02
of
result
sinkholes
of
near
the
backflooding
of the
lake
shoreline
is
limestone
by
water
which was taken in at the lake surface.
The
mechanism is suggested by the work
of Thrailkill ( 1 9 6 8 ,
p. 40-41), who
ascribes some cave development near streams
to the backflooding phenomenon.
North End of Basin
A change
land
in
general
surfaceis obvious
slope
around
and
the
Valley at elevations between
6,300
in
topographic
the
form
of
north of
endEstancia
and 6 , 3 6 0 ft. Arroyos
and intervening divides slope at gradients3 0 of
to 6 0 ft
per
mile
factor
of
above6 , 3 0 0 ft,
more
but
the
gradients
decrease
by
a
than
2 at the old shoreline, and continue to
decrease with distance downstream. Above the shoreline
the
channels are entrenched
4 0 to 6 0 ft, but the topography opens
considerably
below 6,300
and
the
arroyo
valleys
are
more
broad
and
shallo
ft. Beaches and other shoreline features are not
) ;I, i,
.
96
well
preserved
in
the
soft
clayey
sediment
but
bars
were
found preserved at several locations between elevations
of
and 6,340 ft.
6,290
Tan
surface
to
pale-red
sandy
can
seen
a few
and
be
clay
and
feet
tan
siltyform
sand
the
beneath
the
surface
in
rare exposures on the open slopes below 6,300
about ft.
The
thickness of these deposits is not known.
This sedimentis
thought
to
Early
Lake
member
of
have
been
Estancia,
the
Dog
central partof
deposited
in the
and
is correlated
Lake
formations
thevalley.
A
zone
of
shallow-water
with
the
found
in
lower
Lacustrine
test
in holes
the
few small pieces of broken
gastropod shells, too fragmentary be
to identified,
were
found in the sediment
at several locations. These tend to
support the interpr.2tation of a moist, possibly lacustrine
depositional environment. Identification of the environment
depends
as
much
on
history
determined
topographic
elsewhere
in
relafions
the
and
basin
as it
on
depositional
doeson
lithology.
The
of
sediment
calcium
suggest
does
carbonate
the
carbonate
not
contain
cement,
the
noticeably
iarge
presence
of which
would
precipitation
that
occurs
amounts
where
runoff
enters a saline water body. When the lake
was higher khan
about 6,350 ft, it discharged over the sill
at the south,
and
therefore
probably
contained
fresh
water.
West Side of Basin
On the west side of Estancia Valley, shoreline features.
related
to
the
high
stand
of
the
lake
have
been
mostly
remc
97
by erosion. Drainage density is high, and slopes of the
channels
not
decrease
change
slightly
appreciably
below
until
the
they
6,300-ft
approach
level
do but
the
6,200-ft
level. Slopes along the crestsof rounded stream divides
are similar to those
of the arroyos. If clastic sediment
deposited
in
area,
has
it
shallow
water of
not
been
the
early
lake
distinguished
remains
in this
from
the
on
alluvium
which it rests. Outcropsin arroyo walls commonly show
cut-and-fill
sedimentary
structures
and
stream
gravel,
which
strongly suggest alluvial deposition.A5 the 6,200-ft
elevation
is
approached
.from
upslope,
soil
cover
obscures
the
surface and outcrops are more scarce. Shuman
(1961), mapped
the s o i l s of a small area extending westward about
5 miles
from Estancia. Shuman (p. 59) found chemical and soilmorphological
buried at. a
evidence
depth
Conceivably,
the
northwest.of
of
65 inches
65-inch
below
interval
Estancia
an
old
modern
soil profile.
a
is
of
what
soil
remainsofhere
sediment deposited in Early Lake Estancia. The site at
is
an elevation of 6,200
fluctuation
+-
upper
during
sediment
Laxe
Lake
seem
to
the
could
Estancia
favor
Extensive
Et,
this
pebble
which
lower
is
stand
represent
time,
a
although
within
of
the
the
beach
range
of lake
lake,
hence
constructed
high
clay
during
does
content
not
explanation.
to
cobble
thick in a broad valley,
7 miles
gravel
deposits
up
10 ft
to
northof Mountainair
(secs. 29 and 32, T. 5 N., R. 7 E.) may have been formedas
gravel bars during stands of the lake
6,320
at to
.
the
6,330ft
98
elevation. The gravel is overlain
by.severa1 feetof
silt
and
road
material,
bars at
clayey
lower
sand,
it
is
but
where
very
elevations
exposed
similar
that
by
excavation
in.appearance
formedLate
in Lake
to
for
gravel
in
Estancia.
Two broad, closed,, shallow depressions
at 6 , 3 7 0 and 6,310 ft,
on
rounded
probably
to
the
west
.stream
soil-filled.sinknoles
sinkholes
An exposure
Of
nor-th
of the
divides
near
of
in
gravel
the
Lobo
Hill.
probable
beach
deposits,
are
Madera
Limestone
similar
rock
was found 4 miles
Moriarty (SWgSEg sec. 17, T. 9 N.; R. 8 E.) at an
elevation of 6,310 ft.
ledges of hard,
The outcrop consistsof several thin
calcium
carbonate-cemented
sandsione.
that
wraps down the sloping brow of
a apparently cutting
hill,
across bedding of the alluvial sediment
in whichit is'
developed. Several depositsof probable beach rock were also
seen in the
N% T. 4 - N . , R. 8 E.
The
consistent
shoreline
fea-tures
has
little
been
elevation
that
range
of the
have-
or tilting
no
been
of
the
high-level
preserved
basin
indicate
that
there
since
it was
closed by structural down-warping. Although remnants of the
shorelines are discontinuous and highly eroded, their
distribution
Included
is
as
conclusive
part
of
evidence
of.lakeshore
this'evidence
are
origin.
the
pond
deposits
described by Harbour (1958) at the Lucy site. The deposits
must
now
be
assigned
a lake-margin
or
shallow-water
origin
in Early Lake Estancia. The thin bedding that to Harbour
I
indicated a pond
environment
afforded
offshore
by
the
probably
islands
of
resulted
from
Rattlesnake
protection
Hills
west
*-
a.
o ft h e
Lucy S i t e .
The c y c l e so fd e p o s i t i o n
Harbourdescribedprobably
99
and e r o s i o n t h a t
r e s u l t e d fromsubaqueouserosion,
although the cause could have been fluctuations of lake
level.
from i t s
E a r l y Lake E s t a n c i ah a ds u r f a c ed r a i n a g e
southend,hence,
it probably was n o t s u b j e c t
to great
f l u c t u a t i o n s o f1 e v e l ; u n l e s so c c a s i o n a lp e r i o d so f
relative dryness caused the
level t o d r o p b e l o w , t h a t o f t h e
sill.
Lake E s t a n c i a w a s 383 f t .
T h e maximum d e p t h f o r E a r l y
This figure
is calculated from the difference in elevation
of t h e
between t h e h i g h e s t s h o r e l i n e r e m n a n t s a n d t h e b a s e
l o w e rl a c u s t r i n eu n i to ft h e
Dog Lakeformation.During
t h ee a r l yl a k es t a g e ,l a c u s t r i n es e d i m e n ta c c u m u l a t e d - t o
a presentthicknessofabout
30 f t .
Topographic S i l l , i t s Valley,and
T h e geomorphologyof
EstanciaBasin,
t h e low p o i n t i n t h e
and t h e v a l l e y i n w h i c h
o fs p e c i a ln o t e .
r i m of
'it l i e s , i s worthy
The r i v e rt h a td r a i n e dE s t a n c i a . V a l l e y
d u r i n ga c c u m u l a t i o n
thisvalley.
i t s A n c e s t r a l River
of t h e a l l u v i a l u n i t d i s c h a r g e d t h r o u g h
When t h e c e n t r a l p a r t o fE s t a n c i aV a l l e y
was
loweredbythestructuraladjustmentthatestablished
p r e s e n tt o p o g r a p h i cc l o s u r e ,t h e
sil'l w a s l e f t several
hundred f e e t a b o v e t h e l e v e l o f t h e b a s i n
was s u b s e q u e n t l y f i l l e d byEarlyLake
floor.
.Thebasin
Estancia t o t h e l e v e l
of t h e s i l l , and s u r f a c e w a t e r a g a i n d i s c h a r g e d f r o m t h e
lakethroughthe
I
r i v e r v a l l e ya l t h o u g h ,a c c o r d i n g
t o Kelley
,
100
( 1 9 7 2 1 , p r o b a b l yn o ti nl a r g e
amounts.
A t t h ee n d . of
E a r l y Lake E s t a n c i a time, as t h e l a k e was loweredbelow
sill e l e v a t i o n by e v a p o r a t i o n , s u r f a c e - w a t e r d i s c h a r g e
throughthe
river valley ceased
From t h e s o u t h
endof
and h a s n o t r e c u r r e d .
a broad
theEstanciaBasin,
v a l l e y now s l o p e s upward to t h e e,ast.t o w a r d t h e ' t o p o g r a p h i c
s i l l n o r t h of C e d a r v a l e( f i g .
overmost
The g r a d i e n ta l o n gt h e
i s a b o u t 1 2 f t p e r mile.
a x i si nt h e1 3 - m i l er e a c h
valleyfloor
7).
The
i s u n d e r l a i n by s i l t , sand,andsome,gravel
of i t s l e n g t h , b u t i n t h e u p p e r r e a c h e s o f t h e
v a l l e y and a t t h e s i l l t h e Yeso Formation i s a t t h e
surface,covered
'
by a t h i n v e n e e r
A large,bowl-shaped,solution-inducedsubsidence
feature in the
Yeso, t h e B i g S i n k d e s c r i b e d b y
opensintothenorthside
R.
of s o i l .
11 E.
of t h e v a l l e y i n t h e
The f l a t f l o o r
s q u a r e rniles i n a r e a ,
l e v e l o ft h ea x i so f
ofBigSink,which
Lyons ( 1 9 6 9 ) ,
E%, T.
3 N.,
i s about 7
i s a t and s l i g h t l y h i g h e r t h a n t h e
the v a l l e y .
c o l l a p s ea p p e a r st ob e
The amount o fs o l u t i o n
5 0 t o 7 5 f t .S u b s i d e n c ef e a t u r e s
of t h i s s i z e a r e common i n t h e Yeso t e r r a n e s o u t h o f t h e
Pedernal H i l l s .
Anotherexample
(Bachhuber, 1971, p. 6 7 - 6 9 ) ,
i s t h e Dunmoor B a s i n
a c l o s e dd e p r e s s i o nm o r et h a n
4 s q u a r e miles i n a r e a i n t h e P e d e r n a l s
US-60
(Tps. 4 and 5 N . ,
R.
1 2 E.).
5 miles s o u t h of
Both o ft h e s e '
satellite
basin features contain lake shoreline features.
The c o n t a c t betweenalluviumand
Yeso i n t h e f l o o r
of
t h e v a l l e y west of t h e s i l l i s obscured by 'a 2 - m i l e wide
. .
1I I
101
linear deposit
of e o l i a n q u a r t z s a n d
west' ( f i g . 7 ) .
Mesa more t h a n 2 0 miles t o t h e
d e p o s i t i s well defined where
blownfromChupadera
Thissand
it c r o s s e s t h e v a l l e y a n d
d r a p e s over t h e d i v i d e i n t o P i n o s
Well Basin.
'
West of a
i s immediatelynorth
small peak o f P r e c a m b r i a n r o c k t h a t
of t h e sill, i n sec. 2 9 , T. 3 N . ,
1 2 E.,
R.
t h e sand i s
about 10 f t t h i c k .
I t s s u r f a c e i s i r r e g u l a r l y hummocky,
with a l o c a l r e l i e f
ofabout
.maturejuniper
5 ft.
A d e n s eg r o w t h . o f
trees i s r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e a r e a o f t h e s a n d
deposit,probablybecausethesandabsorbs
more m o i s t u r e
from r a i n t h a nd ot h es u r r o u n d i n gs o i l s .
fixedfromfurther
The sand, now
wind e r o s i o n by t h e j u n i p e r s , b l o c k s
t h e flowofsurfacewater
down t h e v a l l e y ,
area of temporary ponding
l i e s on t h e u p s t r e a m
sand dam i n sec. 2 , T. 2 N . ,
quicklyempties
R.
11 E .
.and a l a r g e
Thepond
by seepage through the sand
side o f . t h e
probably
after a
west of t h e
r a i n s t o r m .C h a n n e l so nt h ev a l l e yf l o o r
a distance of about
linear sand deposit are indistinct for
2 miles, b u t below t h i s a n d e x t e n d i n g n e a r l y t o t h e p o i n t
of d i s c h a r g e i n t o t h e s o u t h
endof
EstanciaValley,gullies
havebeencutintothealluvium.
The p r e s e n t t o p o g r a p h i c
5
paill, w h i c h d u r i n g d e p o s i t i o n
of t h e a l l u v i a l u n i t i n E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
was o n g r a d e w i t h
stream d r a i n a g e o u t o f t h a t v a l l e y ,
i s now a b r o a d d i v i d e
between t h e E s t a n c i a B a s i n t o t h e
west and s t e e p l y s l o p i n g
t r i b u t a r i e s of P i n o s Wells B a s i n t o t h e e a s t ( f i g .
The s u r f a c e a t t h e s i l l is pock-markedby
13).
s m a l ls i n k h o l e s
R, 1 2 E.
FIGURE 1 3
x.
13 E,
R. 1
4 E.
R. 15 E.
- .Topographic map
of Pinos Wells andEncino
o f t h e abandoned r i v e r
Basins showing axis
v a l l e y ( b a s e from U.S. GeologicalSurvey
F o r t Sumner map, 1:250,000).
i13
e
i n t h e Yeso, and t r i b u t a r i e s t o P i n o s
103
Wells Basin a r e
c u t t i n g headward i n - t ot h ee a s ts i d eo ft h ed i v i d e .
The
of t h e s i l l was surveyed a t about
highestelevation
6,350 f t .
The w i d t h o f t h e v a l l e y s u g g e s t s t h e s i z e o f t h e
ancestral river that cut
Lake E s t a n c i a .
Basinfloor
it p r i o r t o t h e
The v a l l e y a t t h e s o u t h .
impoundment of
end of t h e E s t a n c i a
i s 6 miles w i d e , b e i n g c o n s t r i c t e d t h e r e
R a t t l e s n a k e H i l l s on t h e n o r t h
begween
of
and t h e h i g h e s c a r p m e n t
Mesa Jumanes on t h es o u t h .E a s t w a r dt o w a r dt h ep r e s e n t
topographic sill, and a t t h e s i l l , t h e g e n t l y s l o p i n g s i d e s
o f the valley spread over
miles.
a breadth of approximately
A f t e rp a s s i n gt h ’ ep r e s e n tl o c a t i o no ft h e
10
sill, the
a d i s t a n c e of about 20 miles
riverturnednortheastwardfor
b e f o r ea g a i ns w i n g i n ge a s t w a r dt of l o wt o w a r dt h eL l a n o
E s t a c a d o( f i g .1 3 ) .
i s 5 t o 1 0 miles wide.
the valley
i t s n o r t h e a s t w a r dr e a c h
The v a l l e yi n
A r e a d i l y drawn i n f e r e n c e i s t h a t
was c r e a t e d by a r i v e r o f s i g n i f i c a n t
size.
Wells
The t o p o g r a p h i c a l l y c l o s e d d e p r e s s i o n s o f P i n o s
andEncinoBasins
n o r t h e a s to ft h e
l i e on t h e a x i s o f t h e r i v e r v a l l e y
sill.
A l t h o u g hf o r m a t i o no ft h e s eb a s i n s
hassubstantiallymodifiedtheflooroftherivervalley,
an indication
of i t s o r i g i n a l g r a d i e n t c a n b e o b t a i n e d f r o m
e l e v a t i o n s of t h e v a l l e y f l o o r a t t h e l o c a l
t h eb a s i n s
and e a s t of EncinoBasin.
low d i v i d e b e t w e e n t h e P i n o s
The e l e v a t i o n of t h e
Wells andEncinoBasins
6 , 2 4 0 f t ( K e l l e y , 1 9 7 2 , p. 4 7 ) .
Yeso hasprobablylowered
s i l l s between
is.
S o l u t i o ni n ’ t h eu n d e r l y i n g
t h e l e v e l of t h i s d i v i d e
somewhat,
.
.
104
a s i s suggested by t h e existence of a p l a y a on t h e d i v i d e .
i s w e l l abovethe
Meinzerbelievedthattheplayafloor
l o c a l water t a b l e( M e i n z e r ,
1 9 1 1 , p. 8 4 ) .
A t t h e downstream
d i v i d e 6 miles e a s t of t h e c e n t e r o f E n c i n o B a s i n , t h e
elevation is 6,260 f t .
Hence t h e a x i s o f t h e v a l l e y d r o p s
27 f 2 miles (depending on
a b o u t 1 0 0 f t over a d i s t a n c e o f
of t h e r i v e r ) b e t w e e n t h e ' E s t a n c i a
unknowns i n t h e c o u r s e
e a s t ofEncinoBasin.This
topographic s i l l and t h e d i v i d e
impliesanaveragerivergradientof
f t p e r mile.
somewhat less t h a n 4
F o rc o m p a r i s o n ,t h eg r a d i e n to ft h e
modern
Rio Grande i s 4 . 5 f t p e r mile.
Pinos Wells Basin has
a drainage area
of about 180
are 2 playas
s q u a r e m i l e s , and i n t h e c e n t e r
of t h e b a s i n
t h a t oc*cupy d e p r e s s i o n s s i m i l a r
t o butshallowerthanthose
found i n E s t a n c i a Valley..
A s i nE s t a n c i aV a l l e y ,d u n e s
composed o f m a t e r i a l d e r i v e d f r o m t h e p l a y a s h a v e f o r m e d
t ot h ee a s t .U n l i k eE s t a n c i a ,
containlacustrinesediment,
however, t h eb a s i nd o e sn o t
andno
s h o r e l i n e s are e v i d e n t
aroundthesidesofthebasin.(Smith,1957,p.84-86;
Meinzer, 1 9 1 1 , p. 82-84;
Bachhuber,
sedimentofthebasinfloor
1 9 7 1 , p. 7 0 ) .
The
and t h e low d i v i d e t o t h e
n o r t h e a s t i s mostlythin-bedded
s i l t , s a n d ,a n dc l a y ,b u t
layersofgranuletopebblegravelareinterbeddedwith
t h ef i n e rg r a i n e dc l a s t i c s .
a pebblepavement
Wind e r o s i o nt e n d st ol e a v e
thatlocallyprotectsthesurface,
phenomenon a l s o noted by Meinzer ( 1 9 1 1 , p. 8 3 ) .
sediment,which
i s v e r ys i m i l a r
flood-plaindeposits
a
The
i n appearance t o
i n thepresentRiaGrandeand
Pecos
10 5
R i v e r s , may b e a l l u v i u m d e p o s i t e d b y t h e a n c i e n t r i v e r .
Wells
E n c i n oB a s i n ,o n l ys l i g h t l y1 a r . g e rt h a nP i n o s
Basin, has
a. h i s t o r y s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
it c o n t a i n e d a lake
i n t h a t after formation of the basin
i n whichmore
t h a n 20 f t of l a c u s t r i n e s e d i m e n t
deposited(Meinzer,
1911, p. 7 5 - 8 2 ;
was
Smith,1957,p.80-84).
A single playa depression occupies the center of the valley
gypsum and c l a y l i e immedia.tely e a s t o f
f l o o r , anddunesof
t h ed e p r e s s i o n .S h o r e l i n e ss i m i l a rt ot h o s eo f
E s t a n c i a were d e s c r i b e d byMeinzer;he
laminated lacustrine sediment resting
gravel in
L a t e Lake
a l s o found 4 f t of
on yellow sand
and
a dug w e l l less t h a n a mile s o u t h of t h e town of
Encino ( 1 9 1 1 , p.76-78).
of t h e .
A p r o b a b l ec o r r e l a t i v e
a mile t o t h e
sand and g r a v e l , found i n e x p o s u r e s a b o u t
southwest, i s t h i n l y beddedand
silty;these
are t h o u g h t
to be river alluvium.
Both Pinos
Wells and Encino Basins.
a r e u n d e r l a i n by
bedrock of t h e Yeso F o r m a t i o n .T h e . G l o r i e t a
Formations crop out high on the
areas of both basins in
and Sari Andres
east side of t h e d r a i n a g e
a ridge that separates these.basins
fromthePecosRiverdrainagesystem.
breached by t h e v a l l e y o f t h e a n c i e n t
The r i d g e i s
river east of the
c e n t e ro fE n c i n oB a s i n .L o c a l i z e ds t r e a me r o s i o nh a st a k e n
p l a c e i n each of t h e 1 o w . d i v i d e a r e a s a d j a c e n t t o b a s i n s
since t h e r i v e r c e a s e d t o
flow i n t h e v a l l e y .
e x c e p tf o ro b v i o u sl o c a lg u l l y i n g ,t h e
amountof
i s s m a l l ,a n dt h eg e n e r a lc r o s s - s e c t i o n a ls h a p e
However,
degrada-tion
of t h e
o r i g i n a l v a l l e y seems well preserved a t t h e d i v i d e s .
j1 L >
P i n o s Wells and Encino B a s i n s , l i k e t h e p r e v i o u s l y
( T . 3 N., R. 11 E. ). and t h e somewhat
mentionedBigSink
smallerdepressionsinthe
Yeso t e r r a n e t o t h e n o r t h ,
formedbysubsidencefollowingsolution
u n d e r l y i n g Yeso Formation.
EncinoBasins
of gypsum i n . t h e
The f l o o r s of P i n o s Wells and
a r e n e a r l y 2 0 0 f t below t h e l e v e l s of t h e
formed e a r l y enough t o
i n t e r v e n i n gd i v i d e sE
. n c i n oB a s i n
havecontained
a l a k e t h a t was probabiy contemporaneous
correlative l a k e
w i t h L a t e Lake E s t a n c i a ; t h e a b s e n c e o f
strata in Pinos
by one of
Wel.ls B a s i n c a n b e e x p l a i n e d
two hypotheses.
One p o s s i b i l i t y i s t h a t E n c i n o B a s i n d e v e l o p e d
r a p i d l y by gypsum s o l u t i o n i n t h e
a lake during Late
Yeso, hence could conta.in
Lake E s t a n c i a time, whereas Pinos
Basin h a s o n l y c o m p l e t e d s u b s i d e n c e s i n c e t h e e n d
p l u v i a lc y c l e .
more
Well:;
of t h a t
The d i f f i c u l t i e sw i t ht h i se x p l a n a t i o n ,
ago ( T i t u s ,1 9 6 9 ,
which I p r o p o s e ds e v e r a ly e a r s
p. 93),
r e l a t e t o t h e many s i m i l a r i t i e s between t h e b a s i n s ( s i z e ,
.
.
s t r a t i g r a p h i ca n ds t r u c t u r a ls e t t i n g ,t o p o g r a p h y ,
t o t h e required
h y d r o l o g i c andgeomorphichistory)'and
conclusion that Pinos
pluvial period,
Wells Basin evolved
whenmaximum
not during a
water w a s a v a i l a b l e for
solution,butduringpost-pluvial
time.
However, a s a s e c o n dp o s s i b i l i t y ,
it i s assumed t h a t
thebasinsdevelopedsimultaneously,thentheabsenceof
lacustrinesedimentinonesuggeststhat
v e r ye f f i c i e n t
a t h o l d i n gw a t e r .I n
it simply was n o t
view of
s o l u t i o n ar:d s u b s i d e n c eo r i g i n , .b )t h ep r e s e n c e
a) t h e
of a s'mall.
'
107
s u b s i d e n c e.( ?. )p l a y ab e t w e e nt h eb a s i n s ,
an.d
c) t h e k a r s t
t o p o g r a p h yt h a td e v e l o p sr e a d i l yo nt h i s , a n d, o v e r l y i n g '
'
i s e a s i l ye n v i s i o n e d .B o t h
f o r m a t i o n s , a l e a k yb a s i n
Bachhuber and Kelley remarked on the absence
of o b v i o u s
strandlines at the overflow ievel. for Encino
Basin, and
.
a t . a rate slow
it may b e t h a t t h i s b a s i n l e a k e d t o o , b u t
lacustrine.
enough f o r a l a k e t o b e m a i n t a i n e d ' i n w h i c h
.
sediment could accumulate.
I nt h ea b s e n c e
reasonable direction
.
. . .
of o t h e ri n f o r m a t i o n t, h em o s t
S u c hb e i n gt h ec a s e ,
water' t h a t
.
of P i n o s Wells B a s i nc o u l dd i r e c t l y
l a k eo fE n c i n oB a s i n .
is a l o n g
of u n d e r f l o w f r o m t h e b a s i n s
t h e axis o f . t h e v a l l e y .
l e a k e do u t
.
An eastwardcornionent
enter t h e
'
I
of' l e a k a g e
not
argumentssupportformationduringpluvia1,timesbut
w h i l e t h e ' v a l l e y was occupiedby
.
a flowing river.
A
r i v e r would l i. .k e l y d e p o s i t .?ill$vium i n a n y - s u b s i d i n g p a r t
o f5 t sf l o o ra sr a p i d l y
while solution
formationof
as s u b s i d e n c eo c c u r r e d .T h u s ,
of u n d e r l y i n. .g r o c k s c o u l d t a k e p l a c e ,
a topographicbasin
Applying this argument, Pinos
would b e p r e c l u d e d .
Wells,,a n d E n c i n o t o p o g r a p h i c
b a s i n s +7OUld n o t h a v e f o r m e d u n t i l a f t e r t h e h e a d w a t e r s
of the river
were c u t o f f
of E s t a n c i a
bydownwarping
ValleyF
. u r t h e r m o r e t, o p o g r a p h i cs u b s i d e n c ec o u l db e g i n
' i n E a r l y Lake E s t a n c i a time o n l y i f o v e r f l o w f r o m E a r l y
Lake E s t a n c i a 1.7a.3 m t l a r g e .
I t seems p r o b a b l e t h a t
of the t o p o g r a p h i c b a s i n f o r m a t i o n t o o k p l a c e i n
most
. .
L a t e Lake
.
-
..
. .
! i T:.
108
E s t a n c i a time when t h a t l a k e was well below t h e l e v e l of
its sill.
K e l l e y ( 1 9 7 2 , p. 4 8 ) h a s i m p l i e d t h a t t h e
r a t e of
from E a r l y
surface-water discharge into the river valley
Lake E s t a n c i a was small, andsuch
case.
may h a v e b e e n t h e
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e , however,
that in the
axis of
t h e Vaughn Sag, which probably existed in Eariy Lake
E s t a n c i a time, h ed e s c r i b e s
2 0 0 t o 3 0 0 f t o fg r a v e l .
Vaughn Sag, a f t e r it hadformed,wouldhave
southwardinto
river c h a n n e l .
a karstterraneanyflow
The
diverted
down t h e a n c e s t r a l
The t h i c kg r a v e ld e p o s i t s
suggest a r a t h e r
vigorous flow of reasonably long duration after development
of t h e s a g .
Geomorphic F e a t u r e s Formed by L a t e Lake E s t a n c i a
Meinzer ( 1 9 1 1 , p - 1 9 - 2 2 )
characterofthebeaches,bars
formedbetween
wavesand
d e s c r i b e dt h eg e n e r a l
and o t h e r s h o r e l i n e f e a t u r e s
6,100
elevationsofabout.
c u r r e n t si n
and6,200
Late Lake Estancia.Harbour
mapped t h e b e a c h e s a n d d e s c r i b e d
of t h e v a l l e y .
intention is t o present here only information that
work o f p r e v i o u s a u t h o r s
t o understanding the role of
(1958)
them i n some d e t a i l ,
p a r t i c u l a r l yi nt h es o u t h e a s t e r np a r t
expandon
f t by
The
will
and t h a t i s p e r t i n e n t
water i n . t h e g o l o g i c
developmentofthevalley.
Uarbour's careful
mappingandmeasurementofbeach
h e i g h t s ( 1 9 5 8 ) was f u l l yc o n f i r m e d
by f i e l d ' w o r k i n t h i s
e
study.
109.
T h e 1 2 mainbeaches
A are found
inHarbour'sGroup
a t remarkablypersistentlevelsaroundtheedgeofthe
b a s i nf l o o rb e t w e e n . 6 , 1 6 0
s h o r e l i n e s ,a l t h o u g h
and 6,225 f t .
The 2 h i g h e s t
well developed and e a s i l y i d e n t i f i a b l e
i n many p l a c e s , a r e i n o t h e r p l a c e s
more s t r o n g l y e r o d e d
were formed
I t i s p r o b a b l et h a tt h e s e
t h a nt h o s eb e l o w .
early in the Late
Lake E s t a n c i a s t a g e ,
and were eroded
were b u i l t .
slightly before the lower beaches
as i n d i c a t e d
The maximum d e p t h of L a t e L a k e E s t a n c i a ,
by the difference in elevation
of t h e h i g h e s t s h o r e l i n e
f e a t u r e s and t h e b a s e o f t h e u p p e r l a c u s t r i n e
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n , was about Z O O f t .
member of t h e
D u r i n gt h i sl a k e
s t a g e 5 0 t o 60 ofsedimentaccumulatedon
the floor of the
basin.
and b a r s y s t e m , t h e t h i r d h i g h e s t
T h e 6,209-ftbeach
l e v e l , i s oneof
t h e most p e r s i s t e n t i n t h e g r o u p ,
many p l a c e s t h e l a k e a t t h i s l e v e l
and i n
formed a n o f f s h o r e b a r
hundreds of y a r d si nf r o n to ft h eh i g h e rb e a c h e s .T h i s
is particularlydemonstrable
on t h e e a s t side of t h e l a k e
wherestreamsdrainingtheeastslopesflowedintoarcuate
bays impounded by t h e b a r .
thelakelevel,drainage
lowest o r weakest point
Upon subsequentloweringof
from t h e b a y s d e v e l o p e d
in the bar, with
modern s t r e a m c h a n n e l s t u r n b e h i n d t h e b a r
much a s 1 . 5 miles a l o n g t h e a x i s o f
thebreachas
R.
11 E .
at the
the r e s u l t t h a t
and f l o w a s
a bay b e f o r e r e a c h i n g
i s t h e casenearthenorthlineof
T.
6 N.,
(See M e i n z e r , 1 9 1 1 , p . 2 0 , f o rh i sd e s c r i p t i o n
of t h i s f e a t u r e )
.
110
The 6,209-ftbeach
d u r i n gr e c e s s i o no fL a t e
thatbeachesbelow
loweringlakelevel
n e a r US-60.
was formedduring
Lake E s t a n c i a .
a stillstand
Clear e v i d e n c e
6 , 2 0 9 f t were formed i n s e q u e n c e w i t h
i s found t o t h e s o u t h
of t h i s l o c a t i o n ,
Streams t h a tb r o k et h r o u g ht h eb a rh e r e
lower
e r o d e dc h a n n e l sd o w n s l o p e ,a n d , .a ss u c c e s s i v e l y
beaches were b u i l t , t h e e n d s o f t h e b e a c h e s
upstreamintothechannels
wrapped
a s h o r t d i s t a n c e on e i t h e r side.
The streams h a v e n o t t r a n s p o r t e d l a r g e a m o u n t s o f - s e d i m e n t
volume o f sediment
s i n c e t h e time o f b r e a c h i n g , a n d t h e
i s l i t t l e more t h a n
spreadonslopesbelowthebreaches
canbeaccountedfor
by e r o s i o n o f t h e b r e a c h a n d t h e
slope below.
Broad f l a t - f l o o r e d a r r o y o s
on t h e n o r t h e a s t a n d
northwestshoresofLate
Lake E s t a n c i a are obvious
indicators that the lake
drowned t h e l o w e r p a r t s
of a
p r e e x i s t i n gd r a i n a g es y s t e m .T h e s ea x eb e s td e v e l o p e di n
t h e v i c i n i t y of M o r i a r t y w h e r e , t r a v e l i n g u p t h e c h a n n e l ,
one sees t h e f l a t f l o o r s
become n a r r o w , t h e s l o p i n g
c l o s e i n and become h i g h e r , a n d t h e v a l l e y s
V-shaped
(5
aboveanelevationofabout
entering the lake
partiallyfillthe
6,22+ f t .
a t the headsof bays
submerged v a l l e y s . .
c o m p l e t e l yc l o s e s
R.
8 E.
a s m a l lv a l l e y
( f i g . 11). The d e p t ho ft h e
b e h i n d ,t h eb a r
I
a t 6,209 f t .
' '
Streams
dumped a l l u v i u m t o
"
Bay-mouth b a r s were b u i l t as h i g h a s
w h i l et h el a k es t o o d
become
walls
20 t o 25 f t
.
.
A b a r of t h i s h e i g h t
i n sec. 3 4 , T. 5 N . ,
clos.ed d e p r e s s i o n
i s about 2 0 f t . P r o j e c t i o n
of t h ec h a n n e l
i J. ? :
111
profile through the depression
that very
andunderthebarindicates
l i t t l e sediment has accumulated behind the bar.
of 1 0 f t i n h e i g h t a r e
Bay-mouth b a r s on t h e o r d e r
are t h e h i g h e r
common o n b o t h s i d e s o f t h e v a l l e y t h a n
bars.
more
An 1 1 - f t bay-mouth b a r i s shown bytopographic
sec. 3 0 , T. 5 N . ,
c o n t o u r si n
8 E.
R.
.
( f i g ; 11)
remained d u r i n g b a r
opening near the center of the bar
grew i n t o
i s i n d i c a t e d by low s p i t s t h a t
construction,as
t h e lake' fromeach
s i d eo ft h eo p e n i n g .
of i n i t i a l g r o w t h , t h e s p i t s a r e
main b a r , b u t e a c h c u r v e s
An
A t theirpoint
a t rightangles
to t h e
away from t h e c h a n n e l t h r o u g h
theopening.
.
Very few o ft h e
numerous b a y st h a t
are p a r t l yc l o s e d
by b a r s show s i g n s e i t h e r of l a t e r stream e r o s i o n t h r o u g h
theopeningor
of d e p o s i t i o n b e h i n d t h e b a r , a n d n o n e
the depressions behind closed
bay-mouth b a r s h a v e r e c e i v e d
a s i g n i f i c a n t amount o f s e d i m e n t s i n c e c l o s u r e
by t h e b a r .
little e r o s i o n of
I t m u s tb ec o n c l u d e dt h a tt h e r eh a sb e e n
the sides
of
of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y s i n c e d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f
.
.
Late
Lake E s t a n c i a .
Numerous s p i t s f o r m e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h t h e b e a c h e s ,
and t h e s e a r e e x c e l l e n t i n d i c a t o r s o f
p a t t e r n si nt h el a k e .
from US-60
water c i r c u l a t i o n
One long s p i t , p r o j e c t i n gn o r t h w a r d .
i n sec. 2 4 , T.
5
N.,
R.
1 0 E.,
duringthe6,209-ftstandofthelake,and
more t h a n a mile d u r i n g t h i s
a t 6 , 2 0 5 and 6 , 2 0 0 f t .
and t h e n e x t
'
.
begangrowing
'grew northward
2 l o w e rs t a n d s
The main t r a n s p o r t i n gc u r r e n t
northward, t h u s s u g g e s t i n gc o u n t e r - c l o c k w i s ec i r c u l a t i o n
was
..
112
i n t h e main p a r t of t h e l a k e .
A c l o c k w i s ec u r r e n ti nt h e
g r e a t bay t o t h e e a s t d e p o s i t e d s e d i m e n t s i m u l t a n e o u s l y
on t h e east o r back s i d e o f t h e s p i t .
The v i g o r of t h e
i s shown by
main c u r r e n t d u r i n g , e a r l y s t a g e s o f g r o w t h
thecobblegravelofwhichthespit
is c o n s t r u c t e d .
Current velocity decreased during the 6,200-ft lake stand,
and sand was t h e d o m i n a n t m a t e r i a l d e p o s i t e d .
The d i r e c t i o n o f c u r r e n t f l o w
reversed d u r i n g t h e
n e x tl o w e rl a k es t a n d ,a t6 , 1 9 3f t ,a n ac i r c u l a t i o n
apparently continued in the reverse direction until the
l a k e had withdrawnfrom
The c u r r e n t r e v e r s a l
this part of the valley floor.
is indicatedbyerosiononthenorth
end of t h e s p i t by a n i m p i n g i n g c u r r e n t t h a t
point.
The c u r r e n t s p l i t a t
c u t away t h e
t h e p o i n t ,w i t ht h ee a s t
branchturningintothegreatbayanddepositingsand
erodedfrom
the spit to
form a long,narrowsecondarybar
The d i r e c t i o n of
2 miles.
t h a te x t e n d se a s t w a r dn e a r l y
current flow along the secondary bar
i s , e v i d e n t from
horsetail-like streaks of sand carried over the bar and
d e p o s i t e d on t h e b a c k( s o u t h )s i d e .S p i t so nt h e . w e s t
side of the lake associated with lake levels
a t and above
6,200 f t confirmclockwisecirculation,butevidencethat
suggests a general current reversal
a t lowerlevels
of t h e
l a k e i s less c o n c l u s i v e .
.
.
Nostbeachesandbarsareconstructedof.coarsesand
t of i n eg r a v e l .G r a v e lo fc o b b l e
s i z e is n o tc o m o ne x c e p t
i n a f e w l o c a la r q a s .B e a c h e sa n db a r sa b o v e
6 , 1 5 0 f t derived most of
their materialfrom
t h e l e v e l of
the a l l u v i a l
113
some b e a c h e s o n t h e
E s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o n ,a l t h o u g h
from p r e - T e r t i a r y outcrops.
easternshoresderivedsediment
Where t h e l i t h o l o g y
i s d i s t i n c t i v e ,s u c h
as t h a t o f
Precambrianrock,thesourceareausuallycan
be found
nearby.
L a c u s t r i n e F e a t u r e s Formed i n ShallowRejuvenatedLake
Harbour ( 1 9 5 8 ) a s s i g n e d 3 b e a c h e sl y i n gb e t w e e n
e l e v a t i o n so f
6 , 1 3 0 and 6 , 1 4 5 f t t o h i s Group B.
These
b e a c h e s were b u i l t on a much more g e n t l y s l o p i n g s u r f a c e
and t h e i r c r e s t s a r e more w i d e l y s e p a r a t e d t h a n t h e
beaches a t h i g h e r l e v e i s .
The e l e v a t i o n of t h e h i g h e s t
of t h e Group B s h o r e l i n e s i s v e r y n e a r l y t h e
e l e v a t i o n of a p e c u l i a r 20-mile-long
formed 1 t o 2 miles o f f s h o r e o n t h e
same a s t h e
sedimentbarthat.
east s i d e of t h e l a k e ,
and now bounds t h e e a s t s i d e o f t h e p l a y a - d e p r e s s i o n a n d
dune area i n T . 4-7
N.,
X. 10 E.
(fig. 1 4 ) .
The bars a t
h i g h e r l e v e l s were r a r e l y b u i l t more t h a n a f e w hundred
is d i s t i n g u i s h e d
y a r d so f f s h o r e .T h i sl a r g eo f f s h o r eb a r
fromolderbars
a t higher levels
d i s t a n c e from s h o r e ,b y
by i t s r e l a t i v e l y great
i t s l e n g t h andeven
crest o f t h e
and a l s o by i t s shapeandcomposition.The
bar,which
crest a l t i t u d e ,
i s 1 5 t o 2 0 f t above t h e l.ake f l o o r , i s
s c a l l o p e d by t r a n s v e r s e c h a n n e l s
r e g u i a r l ys p a c e d
4 t o 8 f t deepthat
a f e w hundred f e e t a p a r t .
probablywere'formedbywatersurging
withthesurgebeinginduced
are
The c h a n n e l s
across t h e c r e s t ,
by p e r i o d i c s t r o n g s o u t h w e s t
.
FIGURE 14
-.
.
,
Map showing l o c a t i o n s of playas, g r e a t d u n e s ,
and t h e g y p s i f e r o u s o f f s h o r e b a r .
o r west winds t h a t p i l e d water up i n t h e . e a s t e r n p a r t o f
t h e 'l a k e
and r e l e a s e d it when theydiminished.Tide-
wind-surgechannelsacrossbarsare
and
common on marine
coasts.
is c o n s t r u c t e d i s
The sediment from which the bar
more t h a n 50 p e r c e n t gypsum and about
carbonate,asindicated
c h e m i c a la n a l y s e s .
1 0 p e r c e n t calcium
bymicroscopicexaminationand
The r e s t of t h es e d i m e n t
i s c l a y and
s i l t , w i t hm i n o ra m o u n t so ff i n eq u a r t zs a n d .S e d i m e n t
in the correlative beach,
and . i n l o w e r b e a c h e s , a l s o
containslarge
gypsum, i n c o n t r a s t t o the
amountsof
quartzosesandofhighexbeaches.
gypsum a p p e a r s t o h a v e b e e n
now l i e t o t h e
The s o u r c eo ft h e
a systemofsmalldunesthat.
west of t h e b a r .
Hence t h e b a r a n d t h e
were formed i n a shallow,
Group B beachesofHarbour(1958)
temporaryrejuvenationof
p e r i o do fd e s s i c a t i o n
lakeduring
Lake E s t a n c i a t h a t f o l l o w e d
i n t h eb a s i n .
a
Maximum d e p t h of t h e
t h i s s t a g e was about 7 0 f t .
The f l o o r of t h e v a l l e y a f t e r e v a p o r a t i o n o f
Lake E s t a n c i a , b u t b e f o r e f o r m a t i o n
slopedgentlytowardanaxisthat
Late
of t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s . ,
was approximately
coincident with the present location
(fig. 1 4 ) .
'
ofLaguna
del Perro
S l o p e s on b o t hs i d e sa r ea b o u te q u a l ,a n dr a n g e
from 6 t o 9 f t p e r mile t o w a r d t h e a x i a l e l e v a t i o n o f a b o u t
6,075 ft.
The s u r f a c e ,e s p e c i a l l y
n o t now dune covered or destroyed
is very slightly rolling, with
Near t h e o u t e r e d g e s , t h e c o u r s e s
I
west of t h ea x i sw h e r e
by t h e p l a y a . d e p r e s s i o n s ,
no i n t e g r a t e d d r a i n a g e .
of t h e l a r g e s t a r r o y o s
116
c a n be recognized on
braided deposits
Only r a r e l y t o d a y
the former lake floor by indistinct
t h a t have a maximum l e n g t h o f
a f e w miles.
do e x t r e m e l y h e a v y r a i n s p r o d u c e r u n o f €
t h a t reaches beyond t h e a n c i e n t l a k e m a r g i n , ' h e n c e
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of a l l i v i u m o n t o
underpresent
t h e l a k e f l o o r i s minimal.
climatic c o n d i t i o n s .
117
GEOLOGY O F THE PLAYA
DEPRESSIONS
Thetopography
AND DUNES
of t h e c e n t r a l p a r t
of t h e . v a l l e y
f l o o r i s dominated by numerous playa depressions and their
.
( f i g . $1
associated g r e a t d u n e s
Laguna d e l Perro, . t h e
%
north^ from US-60,
narrow,12-mile-longplayaestending
many times l a r g e r t h a na n y
less t h a n a m i l e wide and
S a l i n a Lake,southof
of t h e o t h e r p l a y a s .
Laguna d e l P e r r o ,
i s t h e second
1 . 5 miles longand
1 mile
a r e as large a s
None of t h e o t h e r p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s
a s q u a r e mile i n area.
I t averages
i s 7 . 5 s q u a r e miles i n area.
l a r g e s t playa,measuringabout
wide.
is
I n a l l t h e r e are r o u g h l y 85
perennially moist playas that have
a combined area of a b o u t
1 9 s q u a r e miles.
Laguna d e l P e r r o
and S a l i n a Lake a r e on the l o w
t o p o g r a p h i c a x i s o ft h ev a l l e yf l o o r .A p p r o x i m a t e l y
two-thirdsofthe
smaller d e p r e s s i o n s l i e w i t h i n a gentle
a r c t o t h e e a s t of t h e a x i s ; t h er e m a i n d e r
west s i d eo f
are n e a r t h e
Laguna d e lP e r r o .S e v e r a lp l a y a s ,
most of
them v e r y small, l i e i n a group somewhat s e p a r a t e f r o m t h e
main p l a y a f i e l d a b o u t h a l f w a y b e t w e e n t h e n o r t h
Laguna d e l P e r r o a n d t h e
town o f E s t a n c i a .
The d e p t h o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n s r a n g e s
and d e p r e s s i o n s d i s t a n t f r o m t h e
t h a nt h o s en e a rt h ea x i s .
a t a ne l e v a t i o n
end of
from 2 0 t o 40 f t ,
a x i s t e n d t o be s h a l l o w e r
The p l a y ao f
Laguna d e l P e r r o ,
of 6 , 0 3 4 f t , i s a b o u t 4 0 f t below t h e
g e n e r a l l e v e l of t h ev a l l e yf l o o rn e a r b y .
Its floor
a
.
.,
118
a f e w playas immediately
e l e v a t i o n i s matched by t h o s e o f
none a r e a t a l o w e r e l e v a t i o n .
to the east, but apparently
The few p l a y a s t o t h e e a s t h a v i n g t h e
same f l o o r e I e v a t i o n
may'be in slightly deeper depressions because of the gently
rising valley floor.
Dunes cover an estimated
80 ' p e r c e n t o f t h e v a l l e y
15).
f l o o r between t h ep l a y ad e p r e s s i o n s( f i g .
are r e c o g n i z e d o n t h e b a s i s
families of dunes
s h a p e ,a n dp r o x i m i t yt ot h ed e p r e s s i o n s .
Two.distinct
of s i z e ,
The l a r g e s t a r e
thoserelatedtodepressions,eachdunelyingontheeast
s i d e of a d e p r e s s i o n and wrapping around the north and
southends.
Dunes of t h i s f a m i l y
wide, a n d r e a c h h e i g h t s
are as much as a h a l f m i l e
of 1 3 0 f t a b o v e t h e f l a t v a l l e y
floor adjacent to the central part
Inasmuch a s t h e
deep,the
Laguna d e l P e r r o d e p r e s s i o n
crests of t h e h i g h e s t o n e s
p l a y a ;h e i g h t s
endof
of ' L a g m a d e l P e r r o .
is about 40 f t
are 1 7 0 f t a b o v e t h e
of 1 1 0 f t were measured east o f t h e n o r t h
Laguna d e l P e r r o .
The g r e a td u n e sc o v e ra ne s t i m a t e d
10 p e r c e n t o f t h e v a l l e y f l o o r .
S c a t t e r e d among t h e g r e a t d u n e s a r e i n n u m e r a b l e
s m a l l e rd u n e s ,w h i c hr a r e l ye x c e e d
15 f t in height
and a r e
g e n e r a l l y l e s s t h a n 1 0 f t h i g h .I nc o n t r a s tt ot h eg r e a t
dunes,locationsandshapes
ofwhich
were d e t e r m i n e d i n
p a r t by t h e d e p r e s s i o n s , t h e s m a l l d u n e s h a v e s h a p e s
d e t e r m i n e ds o l e l y
by t h ew i n d .T r a n s v e r s ed u n e s ,w i t h
north-southtonorthwest-southeastaxes
and w i d t h s on t h e o r d e r of 5 0 0 f t , a r e
up t o 3 , 0 0 0 f t l o n g
common among t h e
FIGURE 1 5
-
A e r i a l photograph of t h e c e n t r a l p a r t of
Laguna d e l P e r r o andnearbyplaya
depressionsshowingsmalldunesand
two
s t a g e s of g r e a t d u n e s .
120
common a r e e l l i p t i c a l t o c i r c u l a r
small d u n e s .E q u a l l y
d u n e sw i t h
maximum l e n g t h so f
Barchans are
300 t o 600 f t .
n o t common, b u t a few o c c u r i n t h e n o r t h e a s t p a r t
dune f i e l d ; t h e y
a r e openon
8 0 0 f t from t i p t o t i p .
t h e e a s t , . and average about
a r e notfound
Dunes of t h i s f a m i l y
west of Laguna d e l P e r r o n o r
of the
east of t h e l o n g o f f s h o r e b a r
(fig. 14).
Small Dunes
The small dunes are composed mainlyof
m i c r o s c o p i cs t u d yo f . s a m p l e s
m o s t l y medium-sand
gypsum,and
is
shows t h a t t h e s e d i m e n t
s i z e cleavageflakes
and rosettes of
amounts of c l a y and sand-size,
t a n gypsum w i t h s l i g h t
chalky c a l c i t e g r a i n s .
i s commonly weakly
Thesediment
cemented by r e c r y s t a l l i z e d gypsum.
Chemicalanalyses
a f o o t below
2 t y p i c a ls a m p l e s ,c o l l e c t e df r o md e p t h so f
dune c r e s t s , show t h a t gypsum makesup
of
60 t o 7 5 p e r c e n t ,
c l a y 1 0 t o 30 p e r c e n t , c a l c i t e 5 t o 8 percent;and
( N a C l ) , l e s s t h a n 1 p e r c e n to ft h es e d i m e n t .
salt
Much o ft h e
clay in the analyses
i s from i n c l u s i o n s w i t h i n gypsum
crystalsratherthan
a clayfractionoftheeoliansediment.
The d u n e f o r m s i n v a r i a b l y a r e r o u n d e d a n d
( f i g . 151, and t h e u p p e r s u r f a c e s
gypsite crust that ranges
t o more t h a n a f o o t .
valley floor
smoothed
are p r o t e c t e d by a tough
i n t h i c k n e s sf r o m
a few i n c h e s
The bunch g r a s s e s t h a t
and on t h e g r e a t d u n e s
grow o n t h e
are sparse t o absent
on t h e crests of t h e small ones.'Noevidenceof
.
.
121
present-day wind s c u l p t u r i n g was found.
The smalldunesarein
many p l a c e s p a r t l y b u r i e d
sediment a t t h e t o e s o f g r e a t d u n e s .
thetoughness
The d a r k c o l o r a n d
of t h e g y p s i t e c r u s t a i d i n d i s t i n g u i s h i n g
m a t e r i a l so ft h e
two w h e r et h e ya r ei nc o n t a c t .S m a l l
west w a l l s o f p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s
dunes also cap the
ofLaguna
by
I n s o m e ' p l a c e s t h e smalldune
del Perro.
i n t a c t on a p r o j e c t i n g n o s e ,
is
and a p p e a r s t o h a v e p r o t e c t e d
t h ee d g eo ft h ed e p r e s s i o nf r o m
wind e r o s i o n , w h e r e a s i n
of t h e d u n e h a s b e e n c u t
other places, part
east
,away d u r i n g
formationorenlargementofthedepression.
The small dunes w e r e b u i l t and t h e i r g y p s i t e ' c r u s t
formed before development
of t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s a n d
c o n s t r u c t i o no ft h eg r , s a td u n e s .
ofdisappearance
newlyexposed
evaporite sedirnent from
lakefloorpickedup
a broadinitialplayaanddeposited
The p l a y a - d u n er e l a t i o n s h i p s ,
oftheirdevelopment,
conditions in the
time
of L a t e Lake E s t a n c i a , iihen west winds
s w e e p i n ga c r o s st h e
it t o t h e e a s t .
They d a t e f r o mt h e
may havebeensimil'ar
a t t h e time
to present
WhiteSandsareaofTularosabasin,
a l t h o u g h t h e gypsum s a n d d e p o s i t i n E s t a n c i a
i s much less
e x t e n s i v e and t h e gypsum i s l e s s pure.
Developmentof
d e r i v e d frombeaches
R.
1 0 E.,
thindepositofeolianquartzosesand,
in the
c e n t e r o f t h e ' E % T. 6 N.,
and s p r e a de a s t w a r di n
great eastern bay
a broadstreakacrossthe
of t h e f o r m e r l a k e ,
t h i s time ( f i g s . 7 , 1 4 ) .
may havebegun
The l o w e rb e a c h e s , ,b a r s ,a n d
even some of t h e d u n e s i n t h e s o u r c e a r e a f o r t h e l i n e a l
at
122
sanddepositare
composed of quartzsandderivedfrom
Glorieta Sandstone that cropped out as an island just to
the north.
Winds t h a t formed t h e gypsum dunes were from t h e
t o convergeeastward.
west-southwestandtended
,orientation a t the north
windfrom
endof
andaverage
the dune field indicates
S. 81° W.. ,whereas a t t h e s o u t h
t h e wind was from S. 6 8 O W.
end o f t h e f i e l d
The c o n v e r g e n c ea n g l e
wind d i r e c t i o n was S . 75'
The convergence
wind d i r e c t i o n o n t h e e a s t
was c a u s e d b y f u n n e l i n g o f t h e
theeastern
i s 13O
W. The. q u a r t z o s e
sand was blown eastward from i t s s o u r c e .
and ' t h e loo t o 1 5 O change of
Dune
wind by t h e t o p o g r a p h y o f
embayrnent.
Aftertheirformationthesamlldunes
were submerged
by a short-lived,shallowlake.Duringsubmergencethey
were t h e s o u r c e o f g y p s i f e r o u s s e d i m e n t f r o m w h i c h t h e
great offshore bar
and t h e b e a c h e s t h a t
were c o n s t r u c t e d( f i g .
c h e m i c a la n a l y s i s
14).
l i e below 6 , 1 4 8 f t
Microscopicexaminationand
of s e d i m e n t f r o m t h e b a r i n d i c a t e s
l i t h o l o g i cs i m i l a r i t y
s i n g l ec h e m i c a la n a l y s i s
between it anddunesediment.
shows:
gypsum 5 1 p e r c e n t ,c l a y
( i n s o l u b l e ) 34 p e r c e n t , c a l c i t e 9 p e r c e n t ,a n d
less than 1 percent.
A
s a l t (NaC1)
The remaining 5 p e r c e n t i s m o s t l y
organic material.
The s u g g e s t i o n t h a t t e m p o r a r y r e j u v e n a t i o n
lake followed initial disappearance of
f i r s t made by Harbour ( 1 9 5 8 ) .
of t h e
Lake E s t a n c i a was
Harbourreached
this
conclusion from observation of indistinct beach rexnants
.
.
123
w e l l below t h e l e v e l o f t h e
offshorebar,
Lake E s t a n c i ab e a c h e s .T h e
andsubmergenceof
t h e small dunes;
substantiatesEarbour'sconclusion,althoughthedepthof
was g r e a t e rt h a nh es u p p o s e d .
t h et e m p o r a r yl a k e
The
height of the bar and beaches indicates that the rejuvenated
lake reached
a maximum d e p t h o f a b o u t
75 f t along,the axis
of the valley.
E r o s i o n and s h i f t i n g o f d u n e s e d i m e n t
the shallow lake resulted in the present
o ft h e
samll dunes.
probablyformed
by c u r r e n t s i n
low, roundedform
The g y p s i t e c r u s t o n t h e i r s u r f a c e s
i n i t i a l l y as t h e d u n e s were exposedby
e v a p o r a t i o no ft h el a k e .
the initial
Low p e r m e a b i l i t yo f
crust has facilitated additional crust growth
from r a i n f a l l
followed by evaporation.
.
Likethe
Great Dunes
are composed of
small d u n e s , t h e g r e a t d u n e s
are
sand-sized gypsum, c l a y ,a n dc a l c i u mc a r b o n a t e .T h e r e
s i g n i f i c a n td i f f e r e n c e si nt h ep r o p o r t i o n s ,
however.The
r e s u l t s of 2 c h e m i c a l a n a l y s e s o f t y p i c a l s a m p l e s
gypsum 30 t o 36 p e r c e n t ,c l a y( i n s o l u b l e )
c a l c i u mc a r b o n a t e
show:
37 t o 38 p e r c e n t ,
15 t o 2 0 p e r c e n t , and s a l t 1.5 t o 2
p e r c e n t ; 8 t o 11 p e r c e n t of t h e w e i g h t o f t h e s a m p l e s
material n o td e t e r m i n a b l e
by t h ea n a i y s e s .
was
Most, b u t
p o s s i b l y n o t a l l , of t h e u n d e t e r m i n e d material was o r g a n i c .
T h e a n i o n sa n a l y z e d
were. s u l f a t e , c a r b o n a t e ,
however,theundetermined
a n dc h l o r i d e ;
material may h a v e c o n - t a i n e d o t h e r
124
anions.
is partly
T h e c a l c i u mc a r b o n a t ei nt h es a m p l e
a r a g o n i t e , as small a r a g o n i t e g r a i n s
the underlying lacustrine sediment
examinationof
a l l samples.
similar t o t h o s e i n
were seen i n m i c r o s c o p i c
The s a m p l e st h a t
analyzed were c o l l e c t e d a t depths of about
w e r e chemically
a f o o t below t h e
s u r f a c eo ft h ed u n e s .M i c r o s c o p i ce x a m i n a t i o n
fromgreaterdepths
shows t h a t t h e
of samples
sedimeng c o n t a i n s
but there
somewhat more gypsum t h a n t h a t n e a r t h e s u r f a c e ,
i s no.otherevidenceofsoil.formation(except
as n o t e d
It is e s t i m a t e d t h a t
below f o r c e r t a i n e a r l y g r e a t d u n e s ) . '
gypsum c o n s t i t u t e s 50 p e r c e n t o f s e d i m e n t b e l o w t h e
s u r f i c i a l z o n eo fs o l u t i o n .
is e a s i l y
Thesourceofsedimentforthegreatdunes
!
e s t a b l i s h e d , as t h e material came from t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s
g r e a td u n e sh a sm i g r a t e d
p l a y ad e p r e s s i o n s
away from i t s s o u r c e area.
Where
are c l o s e l ys p a c e d ,d u n e sc o m p l e t e l y
s u r r o u n dt h ed e p r e s s i o n s ,
~
of t h e
t h e rlunes i s a s s o c i a t e d .g o n e
w i t h whicheachof
a s t h e area is n o t b r o a d
enough
s efpd
oae
rt h
rpaerotefi sosni o n - dpuani res .
The w a l l s o n b o t h s i d e s o f t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s h a v e
beenstronglysculptured
15).
by w e s t - s o u t h w e s t e r l y winds ( f i g .
On t h e e a s t s i d e of t h ed e p r e s s i o n s ,w h e r et h e
sculpturing i s bestdeveloped,parallel
.
.
and c l o s e l y s p a c e d
r i d g e s and ' v a l l e y s sweep s t e e p l y up t h e walls of o u t c r o p p i n g
lakesediment,
and c o n t i n u e u n i n t e r r u p t e d u p t h e
sSopes of t h e less c o m p e t e n tg r e a td u n e s .
curvatureofthedepression
t.ends t ob em a i n t a i n e d .
more g e n t l e
I n s p i t e of l o c a l
walls, p a r a l l e l i s m o f d r a i n a g e
I n p l a c e s ,t h ea l i g n m e n to f . r i d g e
.
.
125
and v a l l e y a x e s d i f f e r s
by a s much a s 20°
normal t ot h ea v e r a g es l o p e .
from a d i r e c t i o n
The t o p so ft h eg r e a td u n e s
lee,
a r em o s t l ys h a r pr i d g e s .S l o p e so nt h e ' e a s t e r n ,o r
a r e more g e n t l e a n d t h e t o p o g r a p h y
sideofthedunes
is
more r o u n d e d , y e t t h e t o p o g r a p h y r e m a i n s a l i g n e d w i t h t h e
d i r e c t i o n of t h e wind.
.
on t h e l e e
The d e p o s i t i o n a lt o e
side is surprisinglydistinct.
of t h e
The dunes wrap around the sharply curving ends
playa depressions
i n wings that terminate in alignment with
wind d i r e c t i o n .E r o s i o no fs e d i m e n tf r o mt h ed e p r e s s i o n s
and d e p o s i t i o n o f
were accomplished mainly
it a s d u n e s
t5e dunes have been modified
west-southwesterly winds, but
by e a s t e r l y w i n d s t o
Easterlywinds
form t h e w e s t w a r d - p r o j e c t i n g w i n g s .
are a l s o r e s p o n s i b l e f o r
demarcation of the east toes
s l i ps l o p e so nt h e
by
'the s h a r p
.of t h e d u n e s a n d t h e l a c k o f
lee sides.
The d u n e s ,w i t ht h e i r
w e s t w a r d - p r o j e c t i n gw i n g s ,a r em o s ts i m i l a rt op a r a b o l i c
dunes;however,
theirshape
i s n o td e t e r m i n e d
by t h e wind
b u t by t h e s h a p e a n d p o s i t i o n o f t h e i r p a r e n t d e p r e s s i o n s .
c r i t i c a l winds i s e a s i l y
The d i r e c t i o n o f t h e
sides o f
determined by the strong topographic grain on the
d e p r e s s i o n s and dunes.
A t t h en o r t h
d e p r e s s i o n s - d u n ef i e l d ,w i n d s
s o u t h end from S . 6 2 0 W.
thatdepositedtheolder
blewfrom
13O f o r t h e e a r l i e rw i n d s .
the
S. 67O W.;
Thus, a s i n ' t h e
at the
case ofwinds
and s m a l l e r d u n e s , t h e w i n d s
c o n v e r g e ds l i g h t l ya st h e yc r o s s e d
convergence i s about 5O,
endof
t h e valley.
The
a s compared t o a convergence d f
The a v e r a g ed i r e c t i o n
of t h e
I
..
e
0
wind was S.
65
.
W.,
126
0
I
a s compared t o S . 75O W. f o r t h e
earlier
winds.
east of
On t h e s u r f a c e w h e r e t h e d u n e s i m m e d i a t e l y
Laguna d e l P e r r o
t h el a g u n a
were d e p o s i t e d , d r a i n a g e c h a n n e l s t o w a r d '
t o dunegrowth.In
h a dd e v e l o p e dp r i o r
were n o ts e e n .G r a d i e n t s
d e p r e s s i o n sf a r t h e re a s tc h a n n e l s
ofthechannels
seem t o b e a d j u s t e d t o s e v e r a l l e v e l s
thedepression'sfloor,including
a few a d j u s t e d t o n e a r t h e
p r e s e n tl e v e l .L o c a ld u n eg r o w t h
depression floor
may havebegun
was n o t f a r
of
below t h e l e v e l
when t h e
of t h e
If s o , t h el a r g e rc h a n n e l sb e t w e e n
s u r r o u n d i n gv a l l e y ' f l a t .
floor
theaccumulatingdunesremainedopenasthedepression
was lowered.Withcontinuedlowering,
moreandmore
of t h e
c h a n n e l s were choked by e o l i a n d e p o s i t i o n , w i t h o n l y ' a
remainingopenlongenough
to establish gradients near
One of t h e widest of t h e d e e p c h a n n e l s ,
p r e s e n tp l a y al e v e l .
l o c a t e di nt h e
W% sec.
2 3 , T . 5 N.,
R.
9 E.,
connected a
of Laguna d e l
smaller p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n t o t h e e a s t w i t h t h a t
'
Perro: t h i s c h a n n e l
i s now f i l l e d w i t h dune material t h a t
forms a h i g h , n a r r o w r i d g e b e t w e e n t h e
two d e p r e s s i o n s .
great
Two p e r i o d s o f g r o w t h a r e r e c o g n i z a b l e i n t h e
dunesassociatedwiththe
the central part
c h a n n e l e ds u r f a c e
few
ofLaguna
few p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s a d j o i n i n g d e l Perrowhere
was found.
a sub-dune
The e a r l i e rp e r i o d
is
r e p r e s e n t e d by s m o o t h - c r e s t e d d u n e s t h a t w r a p ' a x o u n d t h e
eastsidesofthedepressions;their
i n t o thedepressions,
west s i d e s , s l o p i n g
are s l i g h t l y d i s s e c t e d
steep gullies that are regularly
by s h o r t ,
and c l o s e l y s p a c e d a l o n g
127
t h es l o p e s( f i g .
15).
additionalsediment
I n t h e l a t e r p e r i o d of dunegrowth,
was blown o v e r t h e r o u n d e d . c r e s t s a n d
east slopes, building the dunes
deposited on the
much
are typical.
higher andformingthesharp-crestedridgesthat
of the other great dunes throughout the dune field.
A similar s h a p e i s e x h i b i t e d b y
associatedwithSalina
Lake a t t h e s o u t h e n d o f
P e r r o . ~ East o ft h i sp l a y a
d e p r e s s i o n s east ofSalina
Here 2 small p l a y a .
Lake b o t h are c u t i n t o t h e
were formed l a t e r
r o u n d e dd u n e :h e n c et h e s ed e p r e s s i o n s
1 9 7 1 , p. 8 1 - 8 2 ) .
Lake dune.(Bachhuber,
*:L
s o i l i s f o u n do nt h e
A t h i n ,q y p s i f e r o u s ,c l a y e y
great dunes,andthis
surfacesofthefirst-generation
brown s o i l i s more t h a n a f o o t d e e p i n g e n t l e
betweendune
crests.
cemented,butthecrust
as t h a t o n t h e
Laguna d e l
the lower,smooth-cresteddune
l i e s a h a l f mile from t h ed e p r e s s i o n .
t h a nt h eS a l i n a
t h e g r e a t dune
The u p p e rs u r f a c e
is not nearly
small d u n e s t h a t
swales
is s l i g h t l y
as w e l l developed
were submerged'by
s h a l l o wr e j u v e n a t e dl a k e .C e m e n t a t i o n
t o preventblowoutsinmostplaces,even
the
.is adequate,however,
where grass cover
is sparse.
Duringgrowthofthefirst-qeneration.greatdunes,
a n dw h i l e
some o f t h e c h a n n e l s r e m a i n e d o p e n , t h e t o p o g r a p h y
may havebeen
similar t o p r e s e n t t o p o g r a p h y i m m e d i a t e l y
of Laguna d e lP e r r o .
Dunes h e r e ,d e r i v i n gt h e i rs e d i m e n t
from small p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s t o t h e
relativelyslowly,and
west
west, have grown
many v a l l e y s r e m a i n o p e n
m a l l d e p r e s s i o n s andLaguna
between t h e
del Perro,althoughnearly
all
128
of the valleys are
a few f e e t h i g h e r t h a n t h e € l o o r s
of t h e
depressions.
I t is evidentthatthefirst-generationdunes,
and
were restricted
thereforetheirassociatedplayadepressions,
t ot h ec e n t r a l , . o ra x i a l ,p a r to ft h ev a l l e yf l o o r .
i s no i n d i c a t i o n , however,of
a s s o c i a t e dw i t h
There
a f i r s t - g e n e r a t i o nd u n e
Laguna d e lP e r r o .T h e s ec o n d i t i o n sp r o v e
useful i n thedeductionofdepression-duneorigin
and h i s t o r y
(discussedlater).
Calculations of the relative
volumes of depression and
were made f o r 2
associated,second-generationdune
d e p r e s s i o n - d u n ep a i r sw h e r et o p o g r a p h i cc o n t r o lc o u l db e
obtainea.
The d e p r e s s i o n sa r e
i n sec. 17, T . 6 PJ.,
'
R.
9 E.,
2 miles e a s t of E s t a n c i a , and i n t h e NE% sec. 3 6 , T . 5 N.,
R.
9 E.
E l e v a t i o n s ,t a k e nu s i n g
a f r e q u e n t l yc a l i b r a t e d
altimeter, yere used t o c o n t o u r t h e d u n e s
p a i r so fa i rp h o t o s .T o p o g r a p h i c
onstereoscopic
maps, a. t. 2 0 - f tc o n t o u r
i n t e r v a l s , were a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e d e p r e s s i o n n e a r E s t a n c i a .
The c a l c u l a t i o n s show t h a t a t t h e l o c a t i o n n e a r E s t a n c i a
the total
volume o f s e d i m e n t i n
more t h a n 50 p e r c e n t o f t h e
t h e dune i s e q u i v a l e n t t o
volume of m a t e r i a l t h a t w a s
removed t o form t h ed e p r e s s i o n .I n
pairtothesouth,thedune
70 percentofthesediment
t h e o t h e rd e p r e s s i o n - d u n e
volume is e q u i v a l e n t t o n e a r l y
removed from t h e d e p r e s s i o n .
PlayaDepressions
T h e n o r t h - s o u t he l o n g a t i o no f
Laguna d e l P e r r o
129
establishes a dominant lineation to the depression field,
/
and c l o s e e x a m i n a t i o n
shows t h a t smaller d e p r e s s i o n s . a l s o
t e n dt ob ea l i g n e d( f i g .
16).
Shapesand
to the visual impression
the smaller playas both contribute
. ofalignment.
d i s t r i b u t i o no f
near
The l i n e a t i o no fs m a l ld e p r e s s i o n s
Laguna d e l P e r r o p a r a l l e l s t h a t
of t h e l a g u n a , b u t d e p r e s s i o n s
in the eastern part of the playa field
west.
i s concave t o t h e
c u r v a t u r et h a t
c u r v a t u r e of t h e n o r t h
show a marked
The northwestward
end of Laguna d e l Perro a n d . t h e
the
southwesterlyalignmentofdepressionsgroupedaround
large Salina
Lake a t t h e south end o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n
emphasizethegentlycurvedarc
of t h e e a s t e r n d e p r e s s i o n s .
A significant conclusion from this study
gypsum s o l u t i o n b e n e a t h t h e v a l l e y
and e a r l y d e v e l o p m e n t
1 9 6 9 , fromwhich
p r e s e n ti d e a s
w a s c o n t r o l l e ds o l e l y
h a v ee v o l v e d ) .T h a td e p r e s s i o no r i g i n
by wind a c t i o n was n e v e r q u e s t i o n e d u n t i l
briefly speculated that the.playas
is that
f i l l has been very
important i n c o n t r o l l i n g t h e l o c a t i o n s
of t h e d e p r e s s i o n s ( T i t u s ,
field
S m i t h ( 1 9 5 7 , p.
46)
may h a v e r e s u l t e d f r o m
“combined a c t i o n of s o l u t i o n ,s u b s i d e n c e ,a n dd e f l a t i o n . ”
The obvious spacial relationship between great dunes and
depressionsledMeinzertoconcludethatthedepressions
were €ormed by d e f l a t i o n :J o h n s o n
o t h e r sh a dc o n c l u d e dt h i sb e f o r e
p . 26-27)
added t h a t , “ t h e
i 1 9 0 2 ) , Keyes (1908), and
him.Meinzer
(1911,
work of e x c a v a t i o np r o c e e d e dt o
thegroundwaterlevelbutcouldbecarriednodeeper,and
hence t h e f l a t ,
m i r y , a l k a l i n ef l o o r s
of t h eb a s i n s . ” .
r e c e n t l y Bachhuber ( 1 9 7 1 ) h a ss u b s c r i b e dt ot h e
&Iore
same t h e o r y
e
o fo r i g i n .
131
The c o n c l u s i o n sr e a c h e d
by t h e s ei n v e s t i g a t o r s ,
however, were based on t h e o b v i o u s l y e o l i a n o r i g i n o f t h e
dunes,which
i s n o tq u e s t i o n e dh e r e ,a n dn o t
,
on c r i t i c a l
examination.of depression origin in the context of the
geologic-hydrologic. system.
One o b j e c t i o n t o a s i m p l e e o l i a n mechanism i s . r e l a t e d
t o t h e d i f f i c u l t y of recognizing
growthofdepressions
a means o f i n i t i a t i n g
s i t e s on t h e
at their particular
low.
s l o p i n gf l o o ro ft h ev a l l e ye a s to ft h ea x i a l
can remove d r ys e d i m e n tt h a th a sb e e nl o o s e n e da n d
f l u f f y by c r y s t a l growth i ne v a p o r a t i n g
has been that there
were s h a l l o w b a s i n s
l a k e f l o o r i n whichpondscould
p.' 8 9 ) .
Winds
.
made
water.
One p r o p o s a l
on t h e o r i g i n a l
c o l l e c t( B a c h h u b e r ,
1971,
There may w e l l h a v eb e e ns u , c hf e a t u r e s ,b u ts i g n s
o f them h a v e n o t b e e n f o u n d i n t h e a r e a o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n s .
Furthermore, no a c c e p t a b l e r e a s o n f o r d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e
hypotheticalshallowbasinsinthearcuatepattern
of t h e
depressionshasbeenadvanced.Equallyimportant,
a
number ofshallowbasinsand
swales o n t h e v a l l e y f l o o r
west o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n f i e l d
meet a l l c r i t e r i a f o r o r i g i n a l
b a s i n s , and y e t d e f l a t i o n d e p r e s s i o n s d i d n o t d e v e l o p a t
these s i t e s .
. .
The i n f e r e n c e t h a t s u b s u r f a c e s o l u t i o n
may haveplayed
and s u b s i d e n c e
a role in controlling location of the
d e p r e s s i o n s may be drawn by c o m p a r i n g s u b c r o p d i s t r i b u t i o n
of the
Yeso beneath t h e v a l l e y f i l l w i t h t h e p o s i t i o n s
of
t h ep l s y ad e p r e s s i o n s .S m a l l ,g e o l o g i c a l l yr e c e n ts i n k h o l e ;
a s k - . : r td i s t a n c e west of Lucy ( i n secs. 1 4 and 2 3 , T. 5 N.,
/4&
1 32
R.
10 E.),
i n t o which l a c u s t r i n e sediment of t h e Dog Lake
F o r m a t i o nh a sc o l l a p s e d ,u n q u e s t i o n a b l yi n d i c a t es u b s u r f a c e
cavityformationimmediatelybeyondthepresenteastern
limits o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n f i e l d .
Whether t h e s e s i n k h o l e s
is
w i l l eventually result in other playa depressions
existence a l l o w s . t h e i n f e r e n c e t h a t
problematical,buttheir
s o l u t i o n and s u b s i d e n c e i n t h e Yeso, a mechanism t h a t h a s
a f e w miles i n d i a m e t e r i n
resulted in closed depressions
t h e a r e a of Yeso o u t c r o p s beyond t h e v a l l e y
may a l s o h a v e
t o the southeast,
occurred where t h e f o r m a t i o n u n d e r l i e s t h e
valley fill in Estancia Basin.
TheCanas
,
t h i c ki n
GypsumMember
of the
Yeso is m o r e t h a n
of t h e v a l l e y
Chupadera Mesa southwest of t h ec e n t e r
o i l test
( W i l p o l t ar!.d o t h e r s , 1 9 4 6 1 , and t h e Gardner-Kidwell
i n sec. 2 1 , T.
6 N.,
R.
100 f t
LO E . immediately e a s t of t h e
d e p r e s s i o nf i e l dh a sb e e n
shown t o h a v ep e n e t r a t e da b o u t
350 f t of predominantly.gypsum s t r a t a a t s h a l l o w d e p t h below
t h ea l l u v i a lu n i t .
Hence, t h i c k n e s so ft h i ss o l u b l e
i s an o r d e r of magnitude greater t h a n t h e d e p t h o f
p l a y ad e p r e s s i o n s .E v a p o r i t e si nt h e
north,asindicatedbytheir
rock
the
Yeso d i m i n i s h to t h e
scarcity i n o u t c r o p s i n t h e
are
SandiaMountains(Xelley,1963).
If t h ed e p r e s s i o n s
r e l a t e d i n any way t o s o l u t i o n o f
gypsum, t h e n t h e n o r t h e r n
t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e d e p r e s s i o n f i e l d i n E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
mightindicatesubsurfacewedgeout
althoughthis
i s notnecessary
of t h i c k gypsum s t r a t a ,
f o r thehypothesis.
The a v a i l a b l e e v i d e n c e p o i n t s
t o a.complex o r i g i n f o r
thedepressionsinvolvingsubsidenceinitiated
a t depth,
e
133
followed by s u b s t a n t i a l - e n l a r g e m e n t o f t h e c o l l a p s e .
I t i s concluded,because
d e p r e s s i o n by wind d e f l a t i o n .
of
d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e d e p r e s s i o n s , t h a t t h e w e s t e r p n o s t
subcrop limit o f t h e
Canas Member o f the Yeso Formation
of t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y F o r m a t i o n
beneaththebase
west e d g e o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n
was)approximatelyunderthe
field.
is ( o r
Ground w a t e r i n t h e a l l u v i a l E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
formation above the
gypsum. i s t h o u g h t t o h a v e d i s s o l v e d ,
s u f f i c i e n t gypsum a t t h e s u b c r o p t o i n i t i a t e . s u b s i d e n c e
at
t h es u r f a c ef o l l o w i n gd i s a p p e a r a n c eo ft h ef i n a l .l a k e ,
.
t h e r e b yd e t e r m i n i n gl o c a t i o n so ft h eo r i g i n a lp l a y a s .T h e
p l a y a s , .b e i n g
sites o f p r e f e r e n t i a l d e f l a t i o n , c o n t r o l l e d
thelocationsanddimensionsofindividualdepressions.
t c haveresultedmostlyfrom
The d e p r e s s i o n s a r e t h o u g h t
d e f l a t i o n , h o w e v e r ,w i t hs u b s i d e n c eb e i n gr e s p o n s i b l ef o r
a small p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e t o t a l -
volume.
hydrologicaspectofsubsidence
i s t h e d i s r u p t i o n of
An i m p o r t a n t
lacustrineclaybedding,thusincreasingvertical
p e r m e a b i l i t yb e n e a t ht h ep l a y a s .
underlyingconfinedaqui.fers
Slowupward
leakagefrom
would have provided ground
watertotheprotoplayasforevaporation,thusfacilitating
s e a s o n a ld e f l a t i o n .T h e s e
and o t h e rh y d r o l o g i ca s p e c t sa r e
discussedindetailinthenextsection.
I f these conditionsareaccepted
as a working
hypothesis,thenotherconditionsthatare.difficultto
e x p l a i n by d e f l a t i o n a l o n e a r e
more e a s i l y u n d e r s t o o d ' .
Theseincludetheexistenceof
2 g e n e r a t i o n s of g r e a t d u n e s
a n dd e p r e s s i o n s ,
and q u e s t i o n s r e g a r d i n g r e l a t i v e
r a t e s of
/fiq
e
0
groundwaterdischargefromthe
134
2 aquifer units.
The 2 g e n e r a t i o n s o f g r e a t d u n e s , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y
Lake t h a t c u t through
thesmalldepressionseastofSalina
thefirst-generationgreatdune,implythat
d e p r e s s i o n sf o r m e dL a t e rt h a no t h e r s .
some p l a y a
The e a r l i e s t
d e p r e s s i o n s seem t o h a v e b e e n S a l i n a L a k e , t h e
depressions immediately east of the center
Perro,andprobably
d e lP e r r o .
of Laguan d e l
all o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n s
west o f Laguna
(The l a t t e r group i s i n c l u d e db e c a u s eo ft h e
l i e betweendepressions,'whicharelike
broadswalesthat
t h eb u r i e dv a l l e y se a s to f
Laguna d e l P e r r o ) .
.The remainder
east are a l l l a t e r .
ofthedepressionslyingtothe
The f o l l o w i n g model i s p o s t u l a t e d .
A t h i c k gypsum
w i t h i n t h e Yeso, which is i n s u b c r o p c o n t a c t
sequenceoccurs
with the base
few
of t h e v a l l e y f i l l b e n e a t h t h e o l d e r - g e n e r a t i o n
d e p r e s s i o n s ,b u t
which t o t h e e a s t l i e s s t r a t i g r a p h i c a l l y
f i l l (fig. 17)
somewhat b e l o w t h e b a s e o f t h e v a l l e y
d
t h e 'yypsun i s b e i n g d i s s o l v e d
byground
h i g h l yp e r m e a b l ea l l u v i u ma b o v et h e
would b e m o s t r a p i d w h e r e t h e
c o n t a c tw i t ht h ea l l u v i u m .
from t h e a l l u v i u m
.
.
If
water flowing i n t h e
Yeso, t h e n s o l u t i o n
gypsum s t r a t a a r e i n d i r e c t
Where t h e gypsum is s e p a r a t e d
by i n t e r v e n i n g Yeso s t r a t a , s o l u t i o n
would
proceed more s l o w l y b e c a u s e w a t e r a n d / o r d i s s o l v e d i o n s f r o m
t h e gypsum would h a v e t o p a s s t h r o u g h t h e s e l a y e r s .
Stratigraphic factors that
would a f f e c t t h e volumeof
ground-water flow which could contact
bedetermined.Forexample,
the gypsum remain t o
it i s u n l i k e l yt h a ta l ls o 1 u t i o . n
i s o c c u r r i n g i n t h e same gypsum s t r a t u m , y e t t h e l o c a l
1'
I
.
..::
: !.
i
'.,
.I
:.
.
:-
..
-"..
,..
.
.
..
__
..
"
F I G U R E 17
-
Hypothetical cross section (W to E) through playa-depression
field illust,ratinga model for solution-controlled depressions.
w
W
u1
e
136
stratigraphic details are not known. Fracturing of Yeso
strata may play role
a
in
localizing
solution
or
permitting
0
cross-formational flow to the gypsum.
The effect"of ionic
diffusion
may
or
.Laguna
may
not
be
n
significant.
del
Perro itself,as'a single integrated
depression, may postdate slightly the initial depressions
in the central part of the valley. This
is suggested
because no first-generation
dunesare
found
associated
with
this great depression. The Laguna del Perro depression lies
axisof the
along'the topographic
expected to
condition
have
which
The lack
valley
a
history
that
is
peculiar
to
of
continuity
floor,
is
partly
and be
can
modified
between
depressions of
east
del
Perro
sucjgests uneven solution
of gypsum
may
due
either
to
this
it.
Laguna
be
by
differences
in
the
which
thickness
of gypsum
that is available for solution, or, more likely, to
variations
in
the
permeability
of
overlying
strata
through
'
which the dissolving water circulated.A few very shallow
depressions are found
in
this
part
of
the
area
that
the in
past contained playas but are now above the of
zone'
saturation. These may indicate lesser collapse, possibly
due to thinner gypsum beds in subcrop contact, but .they
more
water
likely
table
indicate
was
local
lowered
by
cessation
of
evaporation-
deflation
as the
from
surrounding
playas.
In a
discussionof the
mechanism
of
solution
'and
collapse, the question arises as to whether the phenomenon
is peculiar to postlake'time, or whether it was at
active
137
earlier times in basin history.The assumption mustbe
that
solution
has
taken
place
during
all
times
in
which
ground water was not stagnant; During times when Lake
Estancia
occupied
lacustrine
the
sediment
basin,
having
and
only
deposited on the
lake
probably
owing
to the absence
ceased
floor,
particularly
slight
movement
after
permeability
of
ground
underthe lake
flow
ceased,
water
at
the
subcrop
would
in
water
of
hydraulic gradient,toward the center
of the valley.
was
a
I.Jhen
time
have
become
saturated with respect to sulfate, thus stopping solution
of additional
gypsum.. Earlier in the basin
history,
during the period of deposition
of the alluvium,
ground
water
should
have
dissolved
however,
flowing
gypsum, itand
is
presumed that collapse of overlying sediment accompanied the
solution. Cqntemporary alluvial deposition would have
buried the surface features. Such structures have not been
recognized in drill holes, but the number
of holes
adequate, noris their location proper
to test
is
not
the
hypothesis. Furthermore, because the alluvium consists
of
lenticular and discontinuous strata, there
is serious
question as to whether collapse zones could
be recognized
from
drill
holes
in
No indisputable
the
alluvial
section.
evidenceo f faulting of the
lacustrine
beds was found in the walls of depressions. Fractures
with
moderate slippage V70Uld be consistant with subsidence-A
few large, slightly downdropped blocks
at the
projecting
from
the
walls
of depressions may
ends
spurs
of
havemoved on
faults formed during collapse of the depressions, but the
138
blocks may a l s o b e i n t e r p r e t e d
as havingslumped
after
were found
f o r m a t i o n of t h ed e p r e s s i o n .E l s e w h e r ej o i n t s
t h a t d i p toward t h e d e p r e s s i o n s a t a n g l e s o f a b o u t 4S0,
and i n o n e e x p o s u r e
there appears
on t h e e a s t s i d e of Laguna d e l P e r r o ,
t o havebeen
somemovement
I n most places s u r f a c e e x p o s u r e s
apparentlybeen
a joint.
onsuch
of any f a u l t z o n e s h a v e
removed d u r i n g t h e s u b s t a n t i a l e n l a r g e m e n t
of t h e d e p r e s s i o n s b y w i n d s .
A s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t of t h e gypsum now found i n t h e
g r e a t dunes could have
come f r o m c h e m i c a l p r e c i p i t a t i o n
o u t of water e v a p o r a t i n g o n t h e p l a y a s , a n d n o t f r o m
gypsum i n t h e d e f l a t e d
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n .
indication that the percentage of
exceed t h a t which can
There i s some
gypsum i n t h e d u n e s may
be accounted f o r e a s i l y ' o u t of t h e
p a r t of t h e - D o g Lake € o r m a t i o n e x p o s e d , i n t h e d e p r e s s i o n s .
Thegroundwater
now f l o w i n g t o t h e p l a y a s w i l l
l a t e r be shown t o come m o s t l y f r o m t h e E s t a n c i a
formation, with far smaller
Valley
t h e medial. sand
amountsfrom
member of t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n , a n d . y e t t h e s e a q u i f e r s
are a p p a r e n t l y s e p a r a t e d
from t h e p l a y a s
of t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n .
are confining beds for
by c l a y e y s t r a t a
The c l a y e y l a c u s t r i n e
water u n d e r a r t e s i a n p r e s s u r e .
The much h i g h e rg r o u n d - w a t e rd i s c h a r g e
e x p l a i n e d byassuming
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n c a n o n l y
that the very
i t s c o n f i n i n g bed d o e sn o t
.
r a t e from t h e
d e e p e ra q u i f e r ,t h eE s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o n ,t h a n
themedialsandofthe
strata
from
be
l o w p e r m e a b i l i t y of
e x i s t beneath t h e p l a y a s .T h i s
s u p p o r t s , o r e v e nr e q u i r e s ,t h ea r g u m e n tt h a ts u b s i d e n c e
"
'
a
139
s t r a t a of t h e Dog Lakeformation.
hasdisruptedtheclayey
The water from t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y f o r m a t i o n
discharged to the early playas
amounts o f d i s s o l v e d
would have contained
that
large
gypsum from s o l u t i o n of Canas gypsum
, b e d st h a tr e s u l t e di nt h es u b s i d e n c e .P l a y ae v a p o r a t i o n
would p r e c i p i t a t e t h e gypsum which,alongwithwind-eroded
would t h e n have been
sediment of t h e 1 a c u s t r . i n e u n i t ,
blownup
t h e s i d e s of t h e d e p r e s s . i o n s and dropped a t t h e '
brow t o form t h e g r e a t dunes.Thus;
were deepenedby
deflation, the
s e d i m e n t t h a t was e r o d e d b o t h
member andfrom
as t h e d e p r e s s i o n s
g r e a t dunesaccumulated
from t h e Dog Lake l a c u s t r i n e
gypsum p r e c i p i t a t e d on t h e p l a y a .
Themechanismwould
obviously not
The p l a y a s a r e now
c l i m a t i ca n dh y d r o l o g i cc o n d i t i o n s .
never sufficiently dry for
work u n d e r p r e s e n t
wind t o removeanysediment.
It i s n e c e s s a r y t o propose a p e r i o d of a r i d i t y greater t h a n
t h a t of t h e p r e s e n t t o a c c o u n t
for the deflation and dune
growth.
Growth o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n s
by d e f l a t i o n i m p l i e s an
. i n t e r e s t i n g a n du n u s u a lh y d r o l o g i cs i t u a t i o n .F i r s t ,
of s a t u r a t i o n ,
regardingtheposition
of t h e t o p of t h e z o n e
it i s o b v i o u s t h a t t h e
water t a b l e i s c o i n c i d e n t w i t h t h e
s u r f a c e of t h ep l a y a s .M e i n z e ro b s e r v e dt h i sb u t
failed t o
r e c o g n i z e ,p r o b a b l yf o rl a c ko fd a t a ,t h a te a c hp l a y a
the center of
a cone of d e p r e s s i o n i n t h e
i s analogous t o conesaround
w a t e rd i s c h a r g e
water t a b l e t h a k
pumping wells.
d e p r e s s i o n e x i s t becauseeachplaya
is a t
The conesof
i s a p o i n t ofground
by e v a p o r a t i o n , j u s t a s
a pumping w e l l i s
a
Water l e v e l s r i s e outwardfrom
a p o i n to fd i s c h a r g e .
playasat
'140
a r a t e ofabout
p - 52), u n t i l w i t h i n
5 f t i n 1 0 0 f t (Smith, 1 9 5 7 ,
a s h o r td i s t a n c e
b e 3 0 f t above t h e l e v e l
of a p l a y a .
the w a t e rt a b l e
may
.
Hence t h ed e p r e s s i o n s
a, planar
have not been deflated to levels coincident with
w a t e rt a b l e .T h i s
the
anomalycannotberesolvedbysuggesting
water t a b l e w a s lower,
t h a t a t t h e time o f d e f l a t i o n t h e
is the only
becauseinthispartofthevalleyevaporation
mechanism f o rl o w e r i n g
Hence t h e water
t h e w a t e rt a b l e .
t a b l e mustalwayshavebeennearenough
to the surface for
evaporationtooccur.'Deflationofthedepressionsmust
haveproceeded
i n s p i t e of t h e h i g h w a t e r t a b l e ,
and
evaporation must haveloweredthelocalwatertableasthe
basin floors declined.
Operationofsuch
a systemdependson
two c o n d i t i o n s :
annualequilibriumbetweenground-waterinflowand
evaporativeoutflowat
t h e playa,andevaporationpotential
t h a ts e a s o n a l l yg r e a t l ye x c e e d si n f l o w .
The r a t e of i n f l o w
canbeconsideredconstantthroughouttheyear;ifwater
d e p t h on t h e p l a y a n e v e r
became g r e a t , t h e n t h e h e a d
difference,hencethepressuregradient,didnotvary
seasonally.
If summer t e m p e r a t u r e were h i g he n o u g h ,o r
summer humidity low enough, t h e e v a p o r a t i o n p o t e n t i a l c o u l d
exceedtheflowcapacity.
Climatic conditions that
would p r o d u c e t h e r e q u i r e d
balance are similar to those in the interior parts
S o u t h e r nC a l i f o r n i al y i n ga tt h e
interesting to speculate that
of
same l a t i t u d e , and it i s
a similarclimate
may have
141
p r e v a i l e di nc e n t r a l
N e w Mexico.Annual
evaporation
potential at elevations similar to Estancia Valley are
t o 20 p e r c e n tg r e a t e ri nt h eC a l i f o r n i a
pl. 3 ) .
F u r t h e r m o r e ,a s . t h e
area (Meyers, 1 9 6 2 ,
summer t e m p e r a t u r e si nt h e
California desert are higher, and
as t h e r a i n y s e a s o n
comes
a much g r e a t e r p a r t of a n n u a l e v a p o r a t i o n
in the winter,
o c c u r si nt h e
15
summer i n t h e C a l i f o r n i a
area.
Higher summer
t o increase the
temperaturesalonemighthavebeenadequate
e v a p o r a t i o ni n ' E s t a n c i aV a l l e ya sr e q u i r e d ,b u tc o n d i t i o n s
favoring high
summer e v a p o r a t i o n would havebeenevenmore
enhanced by a c l i m a t e i n which r a i n f a l l o c c u r r e d m a i n l y
duringthewintermonths,suchasthatinCaliforniaand
the Great Basin.
Playa Sediment
andHydrology
The p l a y a s a r e f l a t , p e r e n n i a l l y
w e t s u r f a c e s ,b u t
s u r f a c e s on w h i c h water d e p t h exceeds a f r a c t i o n of an
i n c ho n l ya f t e r
a l o c a lr a i n . .
gauge onLaguna
d e l Perroseldomindicated
1 0 inchesofwater.
A r e c o r d i n gw a t e r - l e v e l
The e x p a n s e so fs u r f a c e
.
more t h a n 6 t o
are u n d e r l a i n
by t h i n d e p o s i t s o f s o f t , n o n - c o h e r e n t s e d i m e n t t h a t d i f f e r
markedlyfromthetough,clayeyPleistocene'lakestrata
which t h e y rest.
endofLaguna
Probing of t h es e d i m e n ta c r o s st h en o r t h
delPerro
showed a r e s i s t a n t l a y e r t h a t
v a r i e s l i t t l e from a depthof
2 f t .I n - c o r i n gt h es e d i m e n t
manually, no more t h a n 2 f t c o u l d b e r e c o v e r e d , a l t h o u g h i n
a few i n s t a n c e s t h e
core b a r r e l c o u l d b e p u s h e d s l i g h t l $
on
142
of m a t e r i a l i n the end
below t h i sd e p t h .S m a l lf r a g m e n t s
of t h e c o r e b a r r e l c o n s i s t e d o f t o u g h , s t i c k y c l a y t h o u g h t
t o b e from t h e Dog Lakeformation.'
Laguna d e l P e r r o , w i t h i n
A t thesouth'end
of^
a hundred yards north and south
of t h e o l d Highway 60 alignment (SE% sec. 2 , T . 4 N.,
R.
9 E.)
c o r e so f
2 . 4 f t were r e c o v e r e d from above t h e
resistant layer.
A small p l a y a i n t h e SX% sec. 1 2 , T.
was probed t o a d e p t h o f
interesting to note that the floor elevation
i s about 6 f t h i g h e r t h a n t h a t
It i s
of t h i s p l a y a
of a p l a y a a c r o s s
and a q u a r t e r mile away.
US-60
to
I nt h ed e e p e r
was probed t o a d e p t h of 2 . 6 f t n e a r
SE corner of sec. 1 2 .
t h en o r t he d g ei nt h e
Laguna d e l P e r r o , i n t h e
playa that produces large
. a d e p t ho f
9 E.
f t ofplaya
same p l a y a .
s e d i m e n tf a r t h e ro u tf r o ms h o r eo nt h e
playa,thesediment
R.
3.4 f t n e a r i t s southedge.
Bachhuber ( 1 9 7 1 , p. 9 2 ) . r e p o r t e dc o r i n g3 . 7
t h es o u t h e a s t ,
4 N.,
Northof
SW% sec. 6, T. N., X. 1 0 E..
,a
s a l t was probed t o
amountsof
1 . 9 f t a t t h e extreme southedge.
The g r e a t e s t t h i c k n e s s
inEstancia
of p l a y a s e d i m e n t r e c o r d e d
V a l l e y was n o t e d by H a f s t e n ( 1 9 6 1 , p . 61, 621,
who c o l l e c t e d a c o r e 8 . 5 f t long from a p l a y a i n t h e c e n t e r
of sec. 3 2 , T. 7 N . ,
R.
1 0 E.
(Harold Rud l a k e ) .P o l l e n
a n a l y s i s was r u n on t h e core, a n d t h e
climatic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ,
fromcomparisonwithLlanoEstacadocores,indicates
e x t r e m e l yd r yc o n d i t i o n s( H a f s t e n ,
1 9 6 1 , p. 7 7 , 79, 8 2 ) .
H a f s t e n a l s o c o r e d 3 . 8 f t i n S a l i n a L a k e i n sec. 2 6 ; T.
R.
9 E.,
r e p o r t i n gt h a t
a t a d e p t ho f
4 N.,
2 f t ," t h eg y p s i f e r o u s
143
mud ...changed t o a s t i c k y c l a y , d i f f i c u l t
meansof
t h ep o s t h o l ea u g e r . ' "
t o g e t o u t by
The s t i c k y c l a y i s
interpreted here to be the base of the playa sediment.
The p l a y a s e d i m e n t c o n s i s t s p r e d o m i n a n t l y o f
w i t h lesser amountsof
o r g a n i c matter.
ofsodium
I nt h eu p p e r
few i n c h e s s c a t t e r e d c r y s t a l s
a few i n c h e s
and lower p a r t s commonly c o n t a i n small
calcium c a r b o n a t e , a l t h o u g h t h e h i g h e s t
concentrationsofcalciumcarbonate
are g e n e r a l l y n e a r t h e
a r e t h i n( u p
b a s e .A l t e r n a t i n gw i t ht h ec l a y e yl a y e r s
2 i n c h e s )l a y e r s
o r p o d so ft r a n s p a r e n t ,e u h e d r a l
c r y s t a l s , which are m o s t l y o f
andhave
small amounts of
c h l o r i d e a r e f o u n d .C l a y e yl a y e r s
thick in the middle
amountsof
s i l t and c l a y , a n d
gypsum,
to
gypsum
,
medium- t o coarse-sand s i z e
a d i s t i n c t i v e diamond shape.
Gypsum c r y s t a l s
t h a t are disseminated in the clayey layers, in contrast,
are noteuhedral
and co'ntain included clay which gives
them a . y e l l o w i s h - t a n color.
F i b r o u so r g a n i c
possiblyvegetativepartsofcharophytes,
l a y e r si n
some p l a c e s .
material,
formquarter-inch
The s e d i m e . n t . i ss o f t ,u n i n d u r a t e d ,
i s h i g h l yp o r o u s ,c o n t a i n i n g
slumpsreadily,and
p r o p o r t i o n of water, b u t t h e p e r m e a b i l i t y
thezonesofeuhedral
a large
i s low e x c e p t i n
gypsum c r y s t a l s .
T h e upper small f r a c t i o n o f a n i n c h
i s commonly t a n
g y p s i f e r o u s s i l t and c l a y , b u t b e n e a t h t h e t a n f i l m t h e
sediment i s b l a c k , r a n g i n g t o d a r k
brown t o w a r d t h e b a s e .
The b l a c k c o l o r i s caused by h i g h o r g a n i c c o n t e n t ,
sediment yields
and t h e
a s t r o n g s u l f i d e odor when cores. a r e
e
extracted, or at
disturbed.
144
any time t h e s u r f a c e ' o f t h e p l a y a
Most of t h eo r g a n i cm a t t e r
is
i s e x t r e m e l yf i n e ,
and may b eb a c t e r i a lr e m a i n s .P l a y as u r f a c e - w a t e rs a m p l e s
and sedimentsamples
J.
were s u b m i t t e d t o C . ' B r i e r l e y
Brierley,bacteriologistsat
MiningandTechnology,
and
New Mexico I n s t i t u t e of
f o ra n a l y s i s .
They r e p o r t e dt h e
presenceofHalobacteriuminthewaterandDesulfovibrio
and H a l o b a c t e r i u mi nt h es e d i m e n t .D e s u l f o v i b r i os p e c i e s
are. s u l f a t e - r e d u c i n g b a c t e r i a t h a t r e q u i r e
e n v i r o n m e n tt of u n c t i o n ,
and r e d u c e o r g a n i c
,
an .anaerobic
matter a s a
s o u r c eo fe n e r g y .H a l o b a c t e r i u m , s p e c i e s' i nt h es e d i m e n t
as t h e yr e q u i r e
a r e p r o b a b l yn o tm e t a b o l i c a l l ya c t i v e ,
oxygen-bearingwater
.
tofuncti.on(BrierleyandBrierley,
writtencommunication,1968).
G r e e n i s h - y e l l o wt op a l e - y e l l o wz o n e s
up t o 2 i n c h e s
thickarefoundinplaya-sedimentcores,usuallynearor
i nt h ee u h e d r a l
gypsum l a y e r so rp o d s .
The c o l o rm a y , b e
due t o s u b m i c r o s c o p i c s u l f u r r e s u l t i n g f r o m b a c t e r i a l
r e d u c t i o no f
gypsum.
Free s u l f u r o c c u r s i n
places on
playa surfaces in the presence of organic material such
cattledroppings,
havebeenfound
and nodules up t o aninch
i n the lakesediment
indiameter
a t p l a y a water l e v e l
( R . €1. Weber, o r a l communication, 1 9 6 9 ; Bachhuber,
p. 9 2 ) .
as
1971,
The p r o c e s s by which t h i ss u l f u rf o r m sp r o b a b l y
requires a gas phase that transports sulfur
theanaerobicplayasediment,inwhichbacteria
as H 2 S from
are a c t i v e ,
t o t h e p o i n t of d e p o s i t i o ni na no x i d i z i n ge n v i r o n m e n t .
The c o n c e n . t r a t i o n o f p o s s i b l e
free sulfur in the sediment
145
nearthezonesofeuhedral
gypsum c r y s t a l s may b e r e 1 , a t e d
to the unusually high permeability in these parts of the
sediment
.
C r y s t a l l i z a t i o n of t h e s a n d - s i z e d e u h e d r a l
as i s s u g g e s t e d
p r o b a b l yo c c u r si nv o i d si nt h es e d i m e n t ,
by t h e c r y s t a l
gypsum
form, t h e h i g h p e r m e a b i l i t y , a n d t h e l a c k
o fc l a yi nt h ez o n e s .V o i d sa r e , t h o u g h tt of o r mb y
e n t r a p m e n to fl a r g eb u b b l e so f
voids up
A f e w spherical
H 2 S gas.
were found i n o n e
t o a quarter inch in diameter
c o r e t h a t w a s allowed t o d r y i n t h e c o r i n g t u b e b e f o r e
b e i n gc u to p e n .
Gas c a nf r e q u e n t l yb eo b s e r v e de s c a p i n g
veryslowlyalongwith
water t h a t f l o w s c o n t i n u o u s l y o n t o
t h e playasurfacefrom
numerous v e n t h o l e s
of a ni n c hi nd i a m e t e r .
a small f r a c t i o n
I t may b et h a tg a sb u b b l e sc a n
grow t o some c r i t i c a l s i z e i n t h e s e d i m e n t b e f o r e l e a k i n g
toward t h e s u r f a c e t h r o u g h o n e o f t h e
vents.
found i n some p l a c e s a l o n g s i d e s u c h e x t r a n e o u s
tumbleweed t w i g s embedded i nt h es e d i m e n t .
i f it d o e s n o t c o l l a p s e , f i l l s w i t h
because,ofthepresenceof
materials as
The g a sc a v i t y ,
water, a n d t h e e u h e d r a l
gypsum c r y s t a l s may t h e n p r e c i p i t a t e i n
The c a v i t i e s may t e n d t o f o r m
Vents are
it.
a t preferred depths
Ct.
a weak l a y e r o r l a y e r h a v i n g
a
s l i g h t l yh i q h e ri n i t i a lp e r m e a b i l i t y .I no n ec o r e ,
quarter-inchlayerofwhat
charophyteremains
s e c t i o n o fe u h e d r a l
organic material
aboveandbelow
i s thought t o b e v e g e t a t i v e
w a s found i n t h e center of a 2-inch
gypsum c r y s t a l s .S m a l lf r a g m e n t so f
were f o u n d w i t h t h e
gypsum c r y s t a l s b o t h
theorganiclayer,asifthey
hadbeen
146
d i s p l a c e df r o mt h el a y e r .
However, most of t h eo r g a n i c
f i b e r s ,b e i n gi n t e r m e s h e d ,
were c o n f i n e d t o
a single
I n Laguna d e l P e r r o , v e n t s a p p e a r t o h a v e
distribution,withspacing
random
25 t o 50 f t .
on t h e o r d e r o f
They c a n b e l o c a t e d m o s t e a s i l y d u r i n g t h e s p r i n g
playas are s a l t c o v e r e d , a t
which time t h e y are surrounded
The s i z e of t h e s a l t - f r e e a r e a . i s
rateofwater
when t h e
of w h i c h ' a r e 1 t o 1 0 i n c h e s i n
by s a l t - f r e e a r e a s , m o s t
diameter.
ltt.!er.,
flow from t h e v e n t .
can be started artificially
related t o
New v e n t s i n some p l a c e s
by i n s e r t i n g a f i n g e r o r s t i c k .
a few i n c h e s i n t o t h e s e d i m e n t n e a r . a n e x i s t i n g v e n t , b u t
when a h o l e
elsewhere, flow does not necessarily take place
i s made.The
for a p e r i o d
artificialventstendtoflow
of hours or days,,and then to disappear.
Much of ourknowledgeof
the vent
phenomenon r e s u l t s
fromobservation
of 2 l a r g e v e n t s n e a r t h e e a s t s h o r e
t h en o r t h
Laguna d e lP e r r o .T h e s ev e n t s ,t h e
endof
salt-free,
largestthathavebeenfoundontheplayas,have
s i z e w i t h time, b u t t h a t h a v e b e e n
areas that vary in
\:\I
o b s e r v e dt or e a c h
1 6 q 2 0 f t a c r o s s ;S a l t - f r e e
c h a n n e l s may e x t e n d a n o t h e r
s a l t - f r e ea r e a .
flow
'
.
2 0 f t from t h e c e n t r a l
T h e f l o wc h a n n e l sa r ee p h e m e r a l ,a n dt h e i r
e x i s t e n c e and d i r e c t i o n , a s
t h e centralarea,
of
w e l l as t h e s h a p e a n d
depend i n l a r g e p a r t
s i z e of
on t h e s t r e n g t h and
directionofthewind.
Although l a r g e v e n t s a r e a p p a r e n t l y
were o b s e r v e da r ep r o b a b l yn o tu n i q u e .
rare, t h e 2 t h a t
A t some l o c a t i o n s
on t h e playas, s h i e l d l i - k e a r e a s 1 0 t o 20 f t . i n d i a m e t e r
Sediment
forming
the
shields
is
soft
and
usually
more moist
than surrounding sediment. The shields may have been built
from
wind-blown
vent.
collecting,
in the wet area of
a
large
The high moisture content of the shield sediment indicates
that
the
The
are
sediment
vents
are
still
discharging
water..
ventsin the center of the
2 large
conical
tapering
and
to
a
are
about
salt-free
an in
inch
diameter a t the top,
fraction anofinch at depths
of,;about
a quarter
of an inch. Upward-flowing water suspends sediment
throat
of
the
vent
and
areas
makes
size
in the
estimation
.
difficult
without
destroying the surface features. Every effort was
made not to
change
oraer
the
to
natural
allow
condition
precise
of
either
t.heof
large
vents
in.
measurementsbe to
made later on the
undisturbed system. By feeling gently in the throat
of the
vents,
it
was
determined
that
the
pipe
narrows
to
Less
than
a quarter inch at
a.depth of about an inch. A thin layerof
black sediment, brought up through and discharged
Srom'the.
'
vent, covers the surficial sediment over a radius
of 6 to 8
around
inches
. .
Discharging
water
flows
in
a
density
layer
radially
outward under the normal playa water. Water
depth on"the playas
during the dry season, when the salt is
crust
present,
is
a quarter toa half inch, and the high-density layer
that.
carries
the
vent
discharge
discharge
from
the
large
observing
rateof flow
may
vents
be
half
was
not
ina confined
channel
that.The
deep.
rate
measured
that
of
precisely,
leaves
the
but
147a
central
salt-free
area
of
one
of
the
large it
vents,
was
estimated to bea small fraction of a gallon per minute. The
rate of discharge
from
the
the
feet
observer
from
on
the
Specific
of water
vents
is increased
playa
surface
at
by
the
weight
of
distances
of several
vents.
conductance
from
A typical
all
pair
measurements
were
distancethe
from
vent.
the
playa
surface
of
water
samples
of 158,000 micromhos
for
the
some
have
vent
made
on samples
specific
conductances
discharge 149,000
and
micromohos for playa water. Because
of sampling difficulties,
the
vent
nonvent
sample
was almost
surely
contaminated
by overlying
water.
There appear to be no vents of intermediate size
between
those
with
salt-free
areas
measured
in
inches
and
the large vents. Whether the water driving mechanism for
vents differing so greatly in size is the same
or different
148
h a s n o t beendetermined.
is t h a t t h e
An o b v i o u sc o n c l u s i o n
v e n t s a r e discharging ground
water t h a t is p a s s i n g t h r o u g h
on
theplaya'sedimentfromdeeperformations.Superimposed
however, are o t h e r forces t h a t
t h i sg e n e r a lf l o wp a t t e r n ,
are n o ty e tc l e a r l yu n d e r s t o o d .
F o r example, t h e v e n t
discharge of highly concentrated
water as a d e n s i t y
water s u g g e s t s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t
underflow beneath playa
a membrane e f f e c t i s o p e r a t i n g i n w h i c h t h e
less c o n c e n t r a t e d
s u r f a c e water i s b e i n g i m b i b e d , t h u s r a i s i n g t h e p r e s s u r e
are i n e f f e c t
and f o r c i n g d i s c h a r g e t h r o u g h t h e v e n t s , w h i c h
membrane l e a k s .
Water l e v e l s i n t h e t e s t h o l e s i n
T.
6 N.,
R.
9 E.
a r e m o s t l y . 1 0 t o 1 5 f t below l a n d s u r f a c e , a n d t h e p r e s s u r e
is about 3 f t higher
head i n t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y f o r m a t i o n
than that
of t h e s t r a t i g r a p h i c a l l y h i g h e r m e d i a l s a n d
member o f t h e
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n .P r e s s u r eh e a d si nb o t h
aquifersarehigherthanthe
levels ofnearbyplayas,and
B e r k s h i r e # 3 t e s t hole,completed
t h e edgeof
i n t h em e d i a ls a n d
a p l a y a ,d i s c h a r g e da b o u t
at
8 gpm c o n t i n u o u s l y
Some water, known to b e a small amount i n
o n t ot h ep l a y a .
most p l a c e s , r e a c h e s t h e p l a y a s f r o m s l o w s e e p a g e t h r o u g h
the upper lacustrine
member, b u t most of t h e water' comes
from v e r t i c a l l e a k a g e f r o m t h e a l l u v i a l a q u i f e r a n d t h e
m e d i a ls a n d( f i g .
floor,ground
18).
Under t h e west s i d e of t h e v a l l e y
water flowingeastwardfromtherecharge
area haspushed
t h e r e l a t i v e l y more h i g h l y m i n e r a l i z e d
water i n t h e alluviumand
t h ed i s a p p e a r a n c e
t h e medialsandeastward
since
of Lake E s t a n c i a , and t h e i n t e r f a c e
i'
/..,.
<. .
:
c c n f k i n g bcd
cczf inrd
vatcr
r
'.'/: r .
LOwCr L2kC-S2qUL?2CC
_._.
-*
"1.
. . . .
FIGURE 1 8
-
<
.....
......
<
-
)",,.........
., . .
AhPwla.LUn.%t.
!.
,r:."..
I.:
, , I
c.. ". ,
_.
.
S c h e m a t i cc r o s ss e c t i o nt h r o u g h
showing c o l l a p s e zoneandflow
:, !.,'.
.
. . .' ./
. -
,'
a p l a y ad e p r e s s i o n
of groundwater.
..,!.
. 4 ,.
:" .'.'
"
'
a
between the
150
waters o f d i f f e r e n t q u a l i t y i n t h e E s t a n c i a
V a l l e ya l l u v i u m
sand.
a
i s f a r t h e r east t h a nt h a ti nt h e
Theeastward-movingground
medial
water d i s c h a r g e s t o t h e
2 a q u i f e r s a r e assumed t o b e
p l a y a s .I fp o r o s i t i e so ft h e
equal,, andhydraulicgradients
are equal, then the greater
thicknessofthealluvium
1 0 times g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t o f
themedialsand,indicates
a proportionatelygreater
discharge of the alluvium to the playas.
differentpositions
'
.
Considering the
of t h e s a l i n i t y i n t e r f a c e s , e v e n t h i s
f i g u r e may beminimal.
The E s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o n ,
a m a j o rs h a r e
therefore,contributes
of t h e d i s s o l v e d
solids 'that reach the playas.
Startingaboutthe
f i r s t ofeachyear,
p r e c i p i t a t e s from t h ep l a y a
s a l t c r u s t formsand
salt
water to form a c r u s t .
The
i s d i s s o l v e d by r a ' i n f a l l several
times b e f o r e it i s e s t a b l i s h e d f o r t h e s e a s o n , b u t b y
February o r March it i s u s u a l l yr e a s o n a b l yp e r m a n e n t .
crust then lasts until the
July.
The
summer r a i n s b e g i n , u s u a l l y i n
The f i r s t heavy r a i n sd i s s o l v et h ec r u s t ,a n d
a l t h o u g h a t h i n c r u s t may a p p e a r t e m p o r a r i l y d u r i n g
summer, t h e t h i c k c r u s t
late
is n o t r e e s t a b l i s h e d u n t i l t h e
followingyear.
The s a l t c r u s t s , t h r o u g h m o s t o f t h e s e a s o n , c o n s i s t
o fh i g h - p u r i t y
sodium c h l o r i d e ( h a l i t e ) . E a r l y i n t h e
s e a s o n , whenmaximum
10°C.,
water t e m p e r a t u r e s are belowabout
lathlikecrystalsoftheminera1,mirabilite
(Ba20.S03.10A 0 ) grow t o l e n g t h s of s e v e r a li n c h e s .T h e
2
mirabilite crystals
were i d e n t i f i e d . f r o m X-ray powder
151
p a t t e r n s by R. W. F o s t e r , N e w MexicoBureau
of N i n e s
&
were checkedbychemical
Mineral Resources,andcompositions
a n a l y s i s by L . Brandvold, New Mexico BureauofMines
.
Mineral Resources.Chemicalanalyses
mirabilite crystals
&
showed t h a t t h e
commonly c o n t a i n a b o u t . 1 0 p e r c e n t
c h l o r i d e , and t h u s are p a r t l y common s a l t .
A s water
temperatures rise, m i r a b i l i t e i s dissolvedandreplacedhy
halite.
s a l t c r y s t a l s show t h a t
Chemicalanalysesof
impurities do not exceed
0 . 1 percent by weight.
P h a l e n( 1 9 1 9 )r e f e r r e dt ot h ep r e s e n c eo fb l o e d i t e ,
thedoublesulfateof
4H20),
sodiumand
magnesium (MgS04.Na2S04-
i n t h e p l a y a s a l t o f Laguna S a l i n a i n secs. 5 and
6, T. 5 N . ,
TalmadgeandWootton(1937,
mentionedthepreseaceofbloedite,
p r e s e n c e ofepsomite
of mirabilite
(Na2S04).
p. 1 4 1 - 1 4 2 )
also
and commented o n t h e
(MgSO4.?H20), and t h e common o c c u r r e n c e
and i t s d e h y d r a t i o n p r o d u c t t h e n a r d i t e
Only t h e s a l t fromLaguna
in this study,
e x o t i cm i n e r a l s .
andno
d e lP e r r o
was a n a l y z e d
a t t e m p t was made t o i d e n t i f y t h e
A s hasbeen
mirabilite a t the surface
of
shown, t h ep r e s e n c e
is seasonal,andthemineral
.
was
n o t found a t d e p t h i n t h e s e d i m e n t .
The s a l t c r u s t c o n s i s t s of a l o o s e mesh of c r y s t a l s
t h a t havevery
l i t t l e s t r u c t u r a ls t r e n g t h .
s u r f a c e a t anydistancefromshore
bywearing
Walking on t h e
was accomplished only
" s k i s " made of 1- by 6-inchlumber.The
mesh i s a l w a y s h i g h l y p o r o u s , w i t h
crystal
minimum p o r o s i t y
e s t i m a t e d a t a b o u t 4 0 p e r c e n t .P l a y as u r f a c e s ,
a t distances
of more t h a n a few t e n s of f e e t o u t from t h e e d g e
of t h e
..
152
f l a t , were found i n more t h a n 2 y e a r s o f w e e k l y o b s e r v a t i o n s
n e v e rt ob ed r y .A l t h o u g h
o u t , f r e e water i s alwaysfound
Duringtheperiod
i n t h e c r y s t a l .mesh.
of s t r o n g s p r i n g w i n d s t h a t
small amountsof
from t h e s o u t h w e s t ,
salt dries
t h e u p p e rp a r to ft h e
blow
d u s t are d e p o s i t e d on
t h e s a l t s u r f a c e . .D u s tu s u a l l yt e n d st o
c o l l e c t onand
as p r e s s u r e r i d g e s
b e h i n ds u r f a c ei r r e g u l a r i t i e s ,s u c h
I
as h i g h as a b o u t
t o 2 i n c h e sh i g h ,a l t h o u g hp r e s s u r er i d g e s
s a l t p r o d u c i n gp l a y a s .
6 incheshavebeenseenonhigh
On
r e l a t i v e l y smooth c r u s t t h e d u s t n e v e r t o t a l l y o b s c u r e s t h e
it may accumulate t o d e p t h s o f a b o u t
surface, but
i n c ho nt h e
a half
windward s i d e of p r e s s u r e r i d g e s . P e r i o d i c
r a i n s wash t h e d u s t down t h r o u g h t h e c r y s t a l
i t b e n e a t ht h ec r u s t .
one-sixteenthinch
A s i l t - c l a yl a y e r
h a s beenfoundbetween
duringthecurrentyear
mesh d e p o s i t i n g
as t h i c k a s
t h e c r u s t formed
and a s a l t l a y e r t h o u g h t t o , b e t h a t
oftheprecedingyear.
The s a l t c r u s t onLaguna
d e l Perro and most o t h e r
a maximum t h i c k n e s s of a b o u ta ni n c h .T h i s
p l a y a sr e a c h e s
thickness can be attained within
a p e r i o d of a fewweeks,
a f t e r which it d o e sn o ti n c r e a s es i g n i f i c a n t l y .T h i s
suggests that most of the salt that forms the crust
comes
f r o ms o l u t i o n
it
of c r u s t from t h e p r e c e d i n g y e a r , a n d
i m p l i e st h a tt h e
Na
+
and C1-
p l a y a water s y s t e m d u r i n g
inflow constitute
a playa.
ionsthat
a single year
a minutepartofthe
are added t o t h e
by ground-water
total s a l t load a t
153
Halite crystals in the playa sediment are
t o depths of
common o n l y
a few i n c h e s b e l o w t h e e p h e m e r a l s a l t c r u s t .
Salt buried with the clay
and s i l t i s r e d i s s o l v e d b y t h e
upward-moving ground water and r e t u r n e d t o t h e s u r f a c e .
Any s a l t removalfrom
clouds of
t h es y s t e mm u s tb e
bywind.White
wind-blown m a t e r i a l h a v e o n r a r e o c c a s i o n s b e e n
s a l t i s a . v e r ym i n o r
o b s e r v e dl e a v i n gt h ep l a y a s ;h o w e v e r ,
of s u r f i c i a l
c o n s t i t u e n to ft h ed u n e s .S o i la n a l y s e s
material a t t h e top of the
Dog Lake Formation have not been
made, b u t g r o w t h o f g r a s s e s e a s t
of t h e p l a y a s d o e s n o t
appear t o be less v i g o r o u s t h a n e l s e w h e r e i n t h e v a l l e y .
Hence, it i s c o n c l u d e d t h a t
l i t t l e s a l t is b e i n g removed
from the playa-water system
by wind a c t i o n .
I t i s suggestedherethattheplaya-watersaltsystem
h a so n l yr e c e n t l ye v o l v e dt o
evolving.
be removed by
The c o n d i t i o n i n w h i c h s a l t m u s t
p e r m a n e n ti n c o r p o r a t i o ni np l a y as e d i m e n t
brought
and i s s t i l l
its presentstate,
it i s
as f a s t a s
i n dy ground water h a s n o t y e t b e e n r e a c h e d .
The d e p r e s s i o n s a r e i n t h e p r o c e s s o f b e i n g f i l l e d
a ) by c r y s t a l p r e c i p i t a t i o n , m a i n l y o f
evaporatingwater,b)
gypsum, from
by wind-blown d u s t t r a p p e d o n t h e
s u r f a c e , and c ) by m a t e r i a l e r o d e d f r o m d e p r e s s i o n
andwashed
o n t ot h es u r f a c e
by r u n o f f .
walls
The r e l a t i v e
i m p o r t a n c eo fe a c hp r o c e s sh a sn o tb e e ne s t i m a t e d .
Low
marginaldeltasattheedgesofplayas,theheights
of
which a r e measured i n i n c h e s , c o v e r r e l a t i v e l y
percentagesoftheplayasurfacesexcepton.the
p l a y a s ,i n d i c a t i n gt h a tr u n o f fc a r r i e s
small
smallest
some s e d i m e n to n t o
.
.
154
t h es u r f a c e s .
Eachof
p l a y al e v e lo n l y
2 mechanisms c a n raise t h e
t h eo t h e r
i s moist.
when t h e s u r f a c e
The r e l a t i v e
r a t e s of sediment accuklation 'from playa to playa
controlled in large part
may be
by t h e rates a t which ground
water
it i s e x p e c t e d t h a t f l o w
r e a c h e st h ep l a y as u r f a c e ,a n d
r a t e s v a r y somewhat f r o m p l a y a t o p l a y a , m a i n l y
as a r e s u l t
of d i f f e r e n c e i n p e r m e a b i l i t y i n t h e c o l l a p s e z o n e t h r o u g h
which v e r t i c a l f l o w o c c u r s .
11 f t w a s measured
A difference in playa elevation of
between t h e 2 l a r g e r p l a y a s n e a r e s t t h e
(sec. 1 7 and 21,
T.
6 N., R. '9 E . )
town of E s t a n c i a
(fig. 14)
-
'The
southeasternplayaofthepair,lyingnearesttheaxisof
thevalley,has
an e l e v a t i o n o f
h a sz ne l e v a t i o no f
atthesectioncorner
6,060 f t .
6,071 f t , whereastheother
The v a l l e y f l o o r e l e v a t i o n
between t h e p a i r
anotherplayapaironoppositesidesof
cornerof
sec. 1 2 , T. 4 N . ,
diffarence of
R.
US-60 n e a r t h e
SE
t h e r e i s a ne l e v a t i o n
6,034 f t , t h e
is a t
same as Laguna
t i p of
Two p l a y a s l y i n g e a s t o f t h e n o r t h
Laguna d e l P e r r o a r e b o t h
d e lP e r r o . .
A t
6 f t between them; . t h e n o r t h w e s t p l a y a
6 , 0 4 0 f t and t h e s o u t h e a s t a t
del.Perro.
9 E.,
is 6,083 f t .
more t h a n 20 f t h i g h e r t h a n
is due
How much o f t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n e l e v a t i o n
t o maximum d e p t h o f t h e f l o o r s
and howmuch
Laguna
to subsequent
infilling has not determined.
The r e v e r s a l o f t h e p l a y a p r o c e s s ,
from a c o n d i t i o n
i n which d e f l a t i o n was o c c u r r i n g , t o t h e p r e s e n t o n e i n
which i n f i l l i n g i s o c c u r r i n g , o b v i o u s l y r e q u i r e s
explanation.
I t i s t e m p t i n gt oe x p l a i nt h er e v e r s a l
some
by
155
simple climatic change in
t h e p a s t few thousand years
( T i t u s , 1 9 6 9 , p.131).But
when c a r e f u lc o n s i d e r a t i o n
is
given to the hydrogeologic changes that must have
accompanied d e f l a t i o n and r e v e r s a l , . and t h e c h a n g e s t h a t
a r e now accompanying i n f i l l i n g , t h e y l e a d t o t h e c o n c l u s i o n
was
that the depression-forming process in this system
is n o tt os a yt h a tt h e
p r o b a b l ys e l f - l i m i t i n g .T h i s
processhasbeenindependentofclimate;
its operationhas
depended f o r t h e most p a r t on t h e d e g r e e
t o which
evaporationhasexceededthe
sum of p r e c i p i t a t i o n and
g r o u n d - w a t e ri n f l o wt ot h ep l a y a s .
The r a t e ofground-waterflow
any time h a s b e e n c o n t r o l l e d
to the playa system
at
by t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n h y d r a u l i c
p o t e n t i a l( h e a d )b e t w e e nr e c h a r g ea n dd i s c h a r g ea r e a s ,a n d
,
!
.
of t shyes t e m
b u, t
th
t rea n s m i s s i v idot iyff f e r epnat r t s
vertical transmitting
p a r t i c u l a r l y by cthhaenigne s
capacity of the upper lacustrine
f o r m a t i o na st h a t
member o f t h e
Dog Lake
member was t h i n n e d by d e f l a t i o n .
Bothof
t h e s e f a c t o r s were s u b j e c t t o c h a n g e d u r i n g t h e
d e p r e s s i o n - f o r m a t i v e ,o rd e f l a t i o n , .
stage.
During t h i s
d i s c u s s i o n it w i l l b e a s s u m e d t h a t ' g y p s u m s o l u t i o n i n t h e
Yeso a t depth,and
t h e subsidenceandstructuraldisruption
of t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n t h a t c r e a t e d b o t h t h e v e r t i c a l l y
permeablezonesand
t h e i n i t i a l p l a y a s w e r e completedbefore
deflation began.
A s deflationof
thicknessoftheupper
a typicaldepressionproceeded,the
member of t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n
b e n e a t ht h ep l a y af l o o rd i m i n i s h e d ;w i t hd i m i n i s h i n g
156
thickness a high-resistance part
(hydraulicallyspeaking)
of t h e f l o w p a T t h
became p r o g r e s s i v e l y more
transmissive,allowingwatertoflow.upward
more r e a d i l y
t ot h ep l a y as u r f a c e .S i m u l t a n e o u s l y ,w i t hd e c r e a s ei n
l e v e l of t h e p l a y a f l o o r , t h e p o t e n t i a l d i f f e r e n c e o v e r
t h ef l o w
pakh i n c r e a s e d .T h a t
i n c r e a s e d ,a n d
i s , t h eh y d r a u l i cg r a d i e n t
it i n c r e a s e d m o s t n o t a b l y a c r o s s t h e
v e r t i c a li n t e r v a lt h r o u g ht h ef l o w - r e s t r i c t i n g
f o r m a t i o n .T h i st o oc a u s e dw a t e rt of l o w
t h ep l a y as u r f a c e .
.
.
Dog
Lake
more r e a d i l y t o
Even i n t h e a b s e n c e
ofany
o t h e rc h a n g e ,
d e f l a t i o n would u l t i m a t e l y r e d u c e t h e l e v e l o f t h e p l a y a t o
a point where evaporation could never dry out the floor.
A s t h i s c o n d i t i o n was approached the
progressivelydiminished,untilat
rate of deflation
some s t a g e t h e h y d r o l o g i c
system was i n b a l a n c e w i t h t h e p h y s i c a l p o s i t i o n
of t h e
p l a y a ,a n dd e f l a t i o ns t o p p e d .
Consider now a n o t h e r a s p e c t o f t h e s y s t e m : t h e r a t e
ofevaporationof'waterthatreachedtheplaya
wouldbecontrolled
by c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s
c h e m i c a lc o n c e n t r a t i o no ft h ew a t e r .
assumed t o be constant.Langbein
a t any s t a g e
andby
the
C l i m a t e w i l l be
(1961) has shown t h a t as
t h e amount o f d i s s o l v e d m a t e r i a l i n w a t e r i n c r e a s e s , t h e
evaporation rate-decreases approximately proportionally to
the percent
by w e i g h t o f t h e d i s s o l v e d m a t e r i a l ( f o r e x a m p l e ,
water c o n t a i n i n g 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 ppm e v a p o r a t e sa b o u t
20 percent.
slowerthanpurewater).
Superimposing t h i s f a c t o r on theground-water-inflow
157
conditions suggests that
evenwhilethedepressions
thedeflationstage,therate
were i n
ofevaporationbeganto
diminishslowlyasdissolvedsolidsleftbehind
'
by
evaporation increased the concentration of the playa water.
An a s p e c t of t h e c h e m i c a l c o n t r o l
the solution
phenomenon i s t h a t when
a particular
becomes s a t u r a t e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o
rates
mineral and that mineral begins to precipitate, the
of increase a r e d i m i n i s h e d f o r t h e i o n s f o r m i n g t h a t
mineral.Thus,
when gypsum began t o p r e c i p i t a t e i n t h e
. p l a y as e d i m e n t ,c a l c i u m ,t h ei o ni ns h o r t e rs u p p l y ,
no
l o n g e ri n c r e a s e di nc o n c e n t r a t i o n ,a n ds u l f a t ec o n t i n u e d
to increase with continued evaporation but
During t h e p l a y a d e f l a t i o n s t a g e t h e
chemicalfactor
much more slowly.
e f f e c t s of t h i s
were added t o t h e h y f i r a u l i c e f f e c t s i n
From t h e t i m e t h a t d e f l a t i o n
c o n t r o l l i n gd e f l a t i o nr a t e s .
reducedtheplayato
i t s minimum l e v e l and t h e h y d r a u l i c
e f f e c t s nolongerchangedtheground-water-inflowrate,the
evaporation-inducedchangeinchemicalconcentration
t h ed o m i n a n tc o n t r o l l i n gf a c t o r .
became
I t was t h i s f a c t o ra l o n e ,
therefore,thatcouldhavetriggeredtheinfillingprocess.
Present evaporation rates are
playasarealwayscovered
The c o n c e n t r a t i o n so f
Na
+
lowenough
that the
by a t l e a s t a t h i n f i l m of water.
a n 3 C1- i o n s i n t h e w a t e r h a v e
increased to such levels that halite precipitates
seasona,llyontheplayas,buttheyhavenotyetreached
c o n c e n t r a t i o n st h a tr e q u i r ep e r m a n e n tr e m o v a l
by
i n c o r p o r a t i o no fh a l i t ei n t ot h es e d i m e n t .' U n t i lt h a t .
c o n c e n t r a t i o n i s r e a c h e d ,t h e
Na+ and C1- i o n s w i i l c o n t i n u e
158
t o i n c r e a s e .A f t e r
s a l t b e g i n st ob ei n c o r p o r a t e di n t ot h e
r a t e s of N a
s e d i m e n t ,t h e
+
and C1- i n c r e a s e w i l l d e c l i n e .
of c o u r s e , will c o n t i n u e t o i n c r e a s e u n t i l
O t h e ri o n s ,
their saturation points
Chemical analyses
a l s o are reached.
show t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n
water
and water now a t theplayas(Appendix
in the aquifers
The r a t i o s b e t w e e n c h l o r i d e
and s u l f a t e show t h a t i n t h e
i s t h ed o m i n a n ta n i o n :E s t a n c i aV a l l e y
a q u i f e r ss u l f a t e
f o r m a t i o n , C1/S04 = 0 . 4 ;
medialsandofthe'DogLake
formation, C1/S04 = 0.6.
C1/S04 = 1 . 9 .
C).
Among p l a y a waters, i n c o n t r a s t ,
The c o n c e n t r a t i o n of a.11 d i s s o l v e d s o l i d s
i s 2 o r d e r s of magnitudehigher
a q u i f e r s ,r e a c h i n ga nu p p e r
a t the playas than in the
limit o v e r 4 4 0 , 0 0 0 ppm.
i s interesting to note that calcium in
It
water o n t h e
p l a y a sd o e sn o tr e a c hh i g hc o n c e n t r a t i o n s ,p r e s u m a b l y
b e c a u s e it i s being removed by gypsum p r e c i p i t a t i o n w i t h i n
t h ep l a y as e d i m e n t .
Theamountof
salt crust that seasonally accumulates
seems g e n e r a l l y t o be comparable among p l a y a s e x c e p t t h a t
a few g e n e r a t ea n o m a l o u s l yt h i c kc r u s t s .P l a y a si n c l u d e d
i n t h i sg r o u p
T.
6 N.,
R.
a r e S a l t Lake, e a s t of E s t a n c i a (sec. 1 7 ,
S a l i n a Lakeand
9 E.);
s u r r o u n d i n gs m a l lp l a y a s
a t t h es o u t he n do ft h eb a s i n( p a r t so f
Laguna S a l i n a ,i n
R.
9 E.);
T.
5 N., R.
T.' 6 N.,
long been
R.
10 E.);
1 0 E.
La S a l i n aG r a n t
T.
4
N.,
(secs. 29-30,
and an unnamed p l a y a i n t h e SW% sec. 6 ,
( f i g . 14).
The f i r s t 3 o ft h e s eh a v e
known by r e s i d e n t s t o b e h e a v y
andhavereceived
secs. 23-26,
s a l t producers.,
names a p p r o p r i a t e t o t h e i r ' c o n d i t i o n .
159
The unnamed p l a y a , i n c o n t r a s t , r e p o r t e d l y b e g a n t o p r o d u c e
l a r g e amountsof
s a l t o n l yi nr e c e n ty e a r s .T h ea n o m a l o u s l y
l a r g e amountsof
salt that appear on these playas
t o come mostly from
are thought
salt in the- upper lacustrine
member o f
t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n t h a t h a s b e e n d i s s o l v e d a n d c a r r i e d
t o t h ep l a y a s
water.
by shallowground
that these playas
The i m p l i c a t i o n i s
receive more water than most from
uppermost p a r t of t h e zoneof
saturation in the
the
Dog Lake
amount i s s t i l l much less t h a n t h e
formation,althoughthe
water r i s i n g from t h e u n d e r l y i n g E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
volumeof
formation.
are i n
A l l t h e s ep l a y a s ,f o rd i f f e r e n tr e a s o n s ,
are
locationswhereunusualamountsof.surfacerecharge
Lake, near E s t a n c i a ,
a v a i l a b l e t o t h el a k es e d i m e n t .S a l t
l i e s i n an
i s o n eo ft h ew e s t e r n m o s to fa l l . p l a y a s ,a n d
area where any exceptionally heavy runoff
the drainage area
near t h e p l a y a .
from r a i n f a l l i n
t o t h e west c o l l e c t s i n s h a l l o w
swales
An i n s i g n i f i c a n t amount of r u e o f f was s e e n
to flow into the depression during
1967 b u t p o n d s s e v e r a l
severe storm i n August
f e e t deep and lasting
many months
formed o u t s i d e of t h e d e p r e s s i o n on t h e west and s o u t h
sides.
Salina Lake,and-
andsouth,
small p l a y a s t o t h e east, west,
are a t thesouth
runofffrom
end ofEstanciaValley,where
3 s i d e s o ft h e . b a s i nc o n v e r g e sa n dc o l l e c t s
n e a r ,b u tr a r e l yi n ,
t h e playas.
Laguna S a l i n ad o e sn o t .
haveanobvioussourceofanomalousrecharge,but
t o thesouth
fieldthathas
it l i e s
of a l a r g e area i n t h e c e n t e r of t h e d e p r e s s i o n
no p l a y a s .
I t may r e c e i v e a d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e
160
. amount of t h e r e c h a r g e t h a t
comes from r a i n f a l l on t h i s a r e a .
The unnamed p l a y a i n t h e
SWk sec. 6 , T. 6 N . ,
10 E .
direct e v i d e n c e t h a t s a l t c a n b e d i s s o l v e d o u t
has provided
member and t r a n s p o r t e d t o a p l a y a .
of t h e u p p e r l a c u s t r i n e
Prior to about
salt
1959 the playa did not produce thick
crusts,accordingtoseveralranchers
nearby.
R.
A t a b o u tt h i s
andfarmers
who l i v e
time, i r r i g a t i o n of f i e l d s 1 mile.
t o t h e west and 1 mile t o t h e s o u t h e a s t b e g a n . I r r i g a t i o n
to the southeast
has s i n c e c e a s e d , b u t i r r i g a t i o n c o n t i n u e s
west.
inthefieldtothe
The t h i c k e r a n n u a l s a l t c r u s t
was
n o t i c e d by t h e r e s i d e n t s a f t e r i r r i g a t i o n h a d c o n t i n u e d f o r
time.
a n unknown l e n g t ho f
Very s m a l ls e e p sa r o u n df h e
p l a y a now d i s c h a r g e a t l e v e l s
a few i n c h e s a b o v e t h e f l o o r .
Rates of dischargehavenotbeenmeasured,but
small f r a c t i o n of a g a l l o n
seepyieldsonlyanextremely
p e rm i n u t e .S i m i l a rs e e p sh a v eb e e n
many p l a y a s , i n c l u d i n g
are they as
a single
found. a t t h ee d g e so f .
Laguna d e l P e r r o , b u t
numerous o r a s c l o s e l y s p a c e d
nowhere else
as a t ' t h e unnamed
playadescribedabove.
The p e r m e a b i l i t y o f t h e u p p e r l a k e c l a y
i s verylow.
R. Smith ( 1 9 5 7 , p. 52, 113) r e p o r t sc o n s t r u c t i o n
200 f t west of t h e s o u t h e n d o f
1 0 - f t - d e e ph o l e ,
d e lP e r r o .
The w a t e r l e v e l i n t h e h o l e r o s e t o
1 0 f t aboveplaya
level.
The h i g h s l o p e o f t h e
of a
Laguna
a height
water
t a b l e . i n d i c a t e s low b u t n o t s i g n i f i c a n t h o r i z o n t a l
permeability.
To S m i t h ,t h ew a t e rl e v e li n d i c a t e d
l e a k a g et h r o u g ht h e
~
upward
Lake c l a y s from a l o w e r a q u i f e r , a n d
t h i s was used t os u p p o r tt h e
argument f o rs u c hl e a k a g e
, .. .
*
161
s u p p l y i n g water t o t h ep l a y a s .
thispaper,
A s h a sb e e nd i s c u s s e d
in
t o theplayas
more
however, v e r t i c a l l e a k a g e
l i k e l y occurs t h r o u g ht h ec o l l a p s ez o n e .T h eh e i g h t
t h e water t a b l e measuredby
water i n t h e u p p e r p a r t
come from recharge
Sm.ith i s no doubt due
a l e a k yc o n f i n i n gb e d .
l a k es e d i m e n tb e i n g
of
to the
However, t h e
of t h e s a t u r a t e d z o n e c a n o n l y
at the surface.
The t o p o f t h e
Dog Lake formation,whichformedthe
l a k e f l o o r a t t h e time o f d i s a p p e a r a n c e
of Late Lake
E s t a n c i a , w a s t h e s i t e of gypsum p r e c i p i t a t i o n as t h e l a k e
e v a p o r a t e d , as i s i n d i c a t e d by t h em i n e r a l o g y
groupof
small, e a r l yd u n e s .D u r i n g
e v a p o r a t i o n , andmore
of t h e
l a t e s t a g e so ft h i s
i m p o r t a n t l y ,d u r i n g
l a t e s t a g e so f
evaporationoftherejuvenatedshallowlake,theresidual
brine must have contained concentrated sodium cholride.
Thus s a l t i s presumed a l s o t o h a v e p r e c i p i t a t e d
lake f l o o r , b u t
t h es h a l l o ws o i l s .
on t h e
it i s n o t now p r e s e n t on t h e f l o o r n o r i n
Theamount
of s a l t a p p a r e n t l y was small
enough t h a t i t was s u b s e q u e n t l y c a r r i e d downward i n t o t h e
lakebeds
by i n f i l t r a t i n g r a i n f a l l .
Although s a l t c r y s t a l s are n o t s e e n i n o u t c r o p s
theupper
member o f t h e
Dog Lake,they
occasionally during drilling
sequence.
mud.
More o f t e n , t h e
of
were found
a t shallowdepthsinthe
salt d i s s o l v e di n. t h ed r i l l i n g
I n one t e s t h o l e( B e r k s h i r e
through' the upper lake sequence
# 3 ) , which was d r i l l e d
and f i n i s h e d i n t h e m e d i a l
sand a t 3 7 . 5 f t i n 7 0 m i n u t e s o f d r i l l i n g , s e q u e n t i a l .
chemical a n a l y s e s o f w a t e r s u b s t a n t i a t e
the saltycharacter
of t h e l a k es e q u e n c e .
m
The h o l e i s l o c a t e d on t h e west s i d e
sec. 2 1 , T. 6 N., R.
of t h e p l a y a i n
162
9 E.,
and t h e well
head i s about 2 f t a b o v ep l a y al e v e l .
The w e l l has
a r t e s i a n f l o w ,a n dt h ef l o ws t a b i l i z e d
a t a b o u t 8 gpm.
Water t h a t d i s c h a r g e d
from t h e h o l e i n i t i a l l y c o n t a i n e d a n
anomalously large concentration of'chloride for ground
A s t h e w e l l c o n t i n u e dt of l o w ,
w a t e ri nt h em e d i a ls a n d .
at a
thechlorideconcentrationdiminishedandstabilized
n o r m a lc o n c e n t r a t i o nf o rt h ea q u i f e r .
C1/S04
The f o l l o w i n g
r a t i o s were c a l c u l a t e d from c h e m i c a l a n a l y s e s
tabulated in
?J
Appendix C ( y e l l d r i l l e d 1 2 / 8 / 6 7 ) :
Date
C1/S04
Ratio
"
1.21
.64
12/12/67
1/4/63
4/23/68
The average C 1 / S 0 4
0.6.
.61
is
ratio for water in the medial sand
The h i g h c h l o r i d e c o n c e n t r a t i o n ' i n
t h e e a r l yf l o w
probably came from s a l t y d r i l l i n g mud slowly washed from
t h e o p e nh o l e ,s l o w e rf l u s h i n go f
s a l t w a t e r and s a l t y mud
t h a t had i n f i l t r a t e d t h e m e d i a l s a n d d u r i n g d r i l l i n g , a n d
s a l t that subsequently dissolved
.from t h e walls o f t h e
water was u s e d . f o r d r i l l i n g , t h e
h o l e .A l t h o u g hf r e s h
became s a l t y f r o n h a l i t e
and s a l t w a t e r i n t h e f o r m a t i o n .
Thisevidenceconfirmsthethesisthatpart
chlorideinplayawater
s a l t on t h e p l a y a s
of t h e
.
i s s a l t d i s s o l v e d from t h e u p p e r
member of t h e Dog Lakeformation
ground-waterflow
mud
and t r a n s p o r t e d b y s h a l l o w '
t ot h ep l a y a s .B e c a u s et h ea m o u n t ' o f
and in playa water
.
is.n o t r e a l l y l a r g e ,
.
163
andbecausegroundwaterinthe
2 aquiferscontains
3 0 0 t o 5 0 0 ppm c h l o r i d e , i t m u s t beconcluded
hydrologicprocessthatconcentrates
has been active for only
time.
from
that the
salt a t t h e p l a y a s
a very short period'of geologic
A r e a s o n a b l e estimate i s ' a v e r y
f e w thousandyears.
/ ? 5-
164
HYDROLOGY OF THE BASIN
water
The i d e a l i z e d n a t u r a l c i r c u l a t i o n p a t t e r n f o r
i s r e l a t i v e l ys i m p l e( f i g .
i nt h eb a s i n
Recharge
19).
takes place mostly on the Sloping'sides of the basin,.
ground water f l o w s t o t h e c e n t r a l p a r t
and
of t h e b a s i n
where
it r e t u r n s t o t h e s u r f a c e t o be removed b y e v a p o r a t i o n .
t o t h e central
Surface runoff from the sides of the basin
p a r t i s rare.
Water t h a t d o e s n o t p e r c o l a t e
t o t h e water
t a b l e t o become r e c h a r g e , f o r t h e m o s t p a r t e v a p o r a t e s
a t which it f a l l s .
n e a rt h ep l a c e
f a l l s on t h e c e n t r a l p a r t
falls, but
Most p r e c i p i t a t i o n t h a t
it
of t h e b a s i n e v a p o r a t e s w h e r e
a v e r y small p a r t moves s l o w l y t h r o u g h t h e
to the
upperlacustrineclayeystratanearthesurface
playas where
it e v a p o r a t e s a l o n g w i t h
from below.
P a r t of t h e ground water a t t h e n o r t h e n d o f
the basin does not
water t h a t h a s r i s e n
leave t h e b a s i n by e v a p o r a t i o n b u t
ratherbysubsurfaceleakeage.
Subsurface Leakage
Meinzer ( 1 9 1 1 , p. 3 7 - 3 8 ) ,
to
having no d a t ao nw h i c h
b a s e a f i r mc o n c l u s i o n ,e m p h a s i z e dt h a tt h ep r e - T e r t i a r y
rockformations
i n the.sides of
and u n d e r l y i n g t h e S a s i n
are relativelyimperviousbut,recognizingthatthelevel',
ofthebasinfloor
i s well a b o v e t h e l e v e l o f t h e
surroundingterritory,hesuggestedthatleakagemight
o c c u r , and t h a t it m i g h tb es u b s t a n t i a l .
R. S m i t h ( 1 9 5 7 ,
p. 5 2 ) , i n c o n t r a s t , c o n c l u d e d t h a t n a t u r a l d i s c h a r g e
takes
I
I
' i
i
,
3
0
rl
w
I
Ch
rl
wp:
3
a
H
r
4
16.5
/7 7
166
place only in the vicinity
the possibility that
of t h e p l a y a s .
,
He c o n s i d e r e d
ground water might flow southeastward
toward t h e t o p o g r a p h i c
s i l l area, b u t r e j e c t e d t h e
hypothesis because his water-quality data did not support
it.
R.
Smith(1957,
pl. 2 ) p r e s e n t e dw a t e r - l e v e ld a t a
t h a t show a g r o u n d - w a t e r r i d g e s u r r o u n d i n g t h e b a s i n , t h e
a x i s of which i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y c o i n c i d e n t . w i t h t h e
topographic r i m .
n o r t h endof
H i s p r o j e c t area d i d n o t i n c l u d e t h e
thebasin,butmeasurements
made l a t e r by
p e r s o n n e l of t h e S t a t e Engineer Office and i n my
is
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , show t h a t t h e ground-waterridge
c o n t i n u o u sh e r et o o .S m i t h ' sc o n t o u r sa n dt h e
measurements indicate that the
later
c r e s t of t h e r i d g e on t h e
n o r t h , east, and s o u t h i s nearlyeverywherebetween
and6,300
6,200
ft.
Thetheory
of regionalground-water
flow allows
ground water t o p a s s , a t r e l a t i v e l y g r e a t d e p t h , b e n e a t h
a g r o u n d - w a t e rr i d g eu n d e rc e r t a i nc o n d i t i o n s .
The
conditions relate mostly to thickness of the ground-water
reservoir,height
of t h e r i d g e , a n i s o t r o p y d u e
interlayeringofhigh-
andlow-permeability
t h er e g i o n a lg r a d i e n t( T o t h ,
'
1966, 1967).
to
strata,. and
1963;FreezeandWitherspoon,
R e g i o n a l ~ f l o wb e n e a t h a ground-water mound
i s f a v o r e d by g r e a t r e s e r v o i r t h i c k n e s s i n c o m p a r i s o n
height'ofthe
to
mound, by much g r e a t e r h o r i z o n t a l t h a n
verticalpermeability,
and by h i g h g r a d i e n t s .
The uplandterranealongthe
w e s t and e a s t sides of
167
EstanciaValley
i s u n d e r l a i n by Precambrianrock,theupper
i s above t h e e l e v a t i o n o f
surfaceofwhichinmostplaces
t h ev a l l e yf l o o r .S u b s u r f a c eg r o u n d - w a t e rl e a k a g ei ne i t h e r
of these directions can be rejected intuitively
considerationofthevery
upon
low p e r m e a b i l i t y of t h e
P r e c a m b r i a nr o c k ,t h et h i nr e s e r v o i rz o n e ,a n dt h eh e i g h t
of ground-water ridge.
map ( f i g . 6 ) it
R e f e r r i n gt ot h eP r e c a m b r i a n - s u r f a c e
r o u t e s fox l e a k a g e a r e
w i l l b e seen t h a t most promising
or
s o u t h - s o u t h w e s t w a r df r o mt h eE s t a n c i as t r u c t u r a lb a s i n ,
n o r t h w a r di n t ot h eG a l i s t e os t r u c t u r a lb a s i n .
ofsouthwardleakage
w i l l b ec o n s i d e r e d
The p o s s i b i l i t y
first.
The upper
p a r t of t h e Yeso Formation, and o v e r l y i n g s t r a t a ,
crop out
i n bluffs of
of T.
R.
the
( f i g . 3 ) , and s t r a t a of t h el o w e r
8 E.
Ab0
Mesa Jumanes a t t h e n o r t h w e s t c o r n e r
3 N.,
p a r t of t h e Yeso,
Formation, and t h e Madera Limestone are below t h e
surface a t the foot of the bluffs.
i s more
T h e s a t u r a t e dt h i c k n e s so ft h e s ef o r m a t i o n s
t h a n LO times g r e a t e r t h a n t h e h e i g h t
r i d g e , and t h e a n i s o t r o p y
s h a l eb e d s
of the ground-water
i s probablyhighowing
to thick
i n t h es e q u e n c e .T h e s ef a c t o r sw o u l dt e n dt o
a l l o wd e e pr e g i o n a lf l o wb e n e a t ht h er i d g e .
p e r m e a b i l i t y of t h ef o r m a t i o n s
i s low.The
However, t h e
Madera
Limestone,theprincipalaquiferhereprobablydoesnot
h a v et h es o l u t i o n - i m p r o v e dp e r m e a b i l i t yt h a t
a r e a sw h e r e
the floor
it c r o p so u t .
..
The h y d r a u l i cg r a d i e n t
of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
T u l a r o s ab a s i n( t o w a r d
it h a s i n
between
and t h e n o r t h e n d o f t h e
whichflow
would move) is a l s o low.
t??
168
Bothofth,ese
outfl.ow.
factorsareunfavorabletodeep,regional
The h y d r o l o g yo ft h en o r t h
e x t e r n a ls o u r c e
an
amountsofgroundwaterfrom
I n t h ea b s e n c e
(Weir, 1 9 6 5 , p - 30, 3 1 ) .
it i s concluded
o fa n yi n d i c a t i o no fs o u t h w a r dl e a k a g e ,
t h a t loss in this direction
insignificant,if
t h eT u l a r o s a
i n any way t h a t t h e a r e a i s
basin does not indicate
receiving significant
endof
is
from t h e E s t a n c i a B a s i n
it o c c u r s a t a l l .
I n the north subbasin of Estancia Valley the
of r o c k s ,f r o mt h e
p r e - T e r t i a r ys t r a t i g r a p h i cs e q u e n c e
Madera Limestone of Pennsylvanian age
FormationofCretaceousage,
t o t h e Mesaverde
is insubsurfacecontactwith
t h eb a s eo fs a t u r a t e da l l u v i u m( f i g .
sectionincludes
entire
The p r e - T e r t i a r y
3).
numerous s a n d s t o n e a n d l i m e s t o n e b e d s t h a t ,
areas, havebeen
inhydrologicinvestigationsofnearby
shown t o h a v e a d e q u a t e p e r m e a b i l i t y f o r e x p l o i t a t i o n o f
groundwater
by low- t om o d e r a t e - y i e l d
wells.
The t o t a l
thickness of pre-Tertiary strata in contact with the
alluvium i s on t h e o r d e r o f
8,000 ft;theaggregatethickness
ofmoderatelypermeablestratahasnotbeendetermined,but
it i s probably 1 , 0 0 0 f t o r more.
'
The p r e - T e r t i a r y s e c t i o n
alsoincludesseveralthickshalesectionswhich
t h es e c t i o n
as a whole t ob en o n - i s o t r o p i c .
sandstone strata of Triassic
t h e EstanciaValleyformation
at the north
. .
end o f t h e v a l l e y .
whic,h t h e e n t i r e
i s p r e s e n t , i s shown o n f i g .
opentoward.theRioGrandestructuraltrough
I
S h a l e and
andCretaceousageunderlie
The G a l i s t e o s t r u c t u r a l b a s i n , i n
p r e - T e r t i a r ys e c t i o n
would c a u s e
6 tobe
on t h e west.
/,ya
169
The c o n t o u r map o f t h e P r e c a m b r i a n s u r f a c e p u b l i s h e d
.
by
.
f i g . 6 was t a k e n ,h a s
F o s t e r and S t i p p ( 1 9 6 1 ) , fromwhich
of t h e
been modified by deepening the surface here because
thicknessofpre-Tertiary
strata thatunderlieoutcropsof
C r e t a c e o u sr o c k s .A l l u v i u mo ft h eS a n t aF eF o r m a t i o ni n
a t least
is in fault contact with
t h e RioGrandetrough
t h e lower 5 , 0 0 0 f t of t h e p r e - T e r t i a r y s e c t i o n ( S t e a r n s ,
1 9 5 3 ,p l .
1).
The d e t a i l s of t h e h y d r a u l i c g r a d i e n t b e t w e e n t h e
n o r t h end of E s t a n c i a V a l l e y
Grandetrough
and t h e e a s t side o f t h e
Rio
a r e n o t known, b u t r e g i o n a l g e o l o g i c ,
h y d r o l o g i c ,a n dt o p o g r a p h i cf a c t o r ss t r o n g l ys u g g e s tt h a t
t h ep i e z o m e t r i cs u r f a c es l o p e sg e n e r a l l yt o w a r dt h e
Rio
Grande ( T i t u s , 1 9 6 1 , f i g . 1 ) . The water t a b l e o n t h e east
s i d e of the Rio Grande trough
i n t h e v i c i n i t y oE Galisteo
Arroyo i s more t h a n 8 0 0 f t below t h e l e v e l of t h e water
table in the north
e n do fE s t a n c i aV a l l e y ,i n d i c a t i n gt h a t
i f ground water were t o f l o w a l o n g
the north
a 25-mile path around
end of t h e O r t i z M o u n t a i n s ,
the averagehydraulic
g r a d i e n t would be more t h a n 30 f t p e r mile.
SantaFeFormation
a t Algodones,about
Rio Grande v a l l e y from t h e p o i n t
joins the
1 5 miles down t h e
a t which Galisteo Arroyo
RioGrande,containsapproximately
dissolvedsolids
Water i n t h e
twice a s much
as i s n o r m a l f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n f a r t h e r
t h es o u t h( B j o r k l u n da n d
proposed here that this
water e n t e r i n g t h e S a n t a
Maxwell, 1 9 6 1 , p l .3 b ) ,
to
and it i s
may r e s u l t f r o m h i g h l y m i n e r a l i z e d
Fe from t h e e a s t .
I t i s r e a s o n a b l et os u s p e c t ,t h e r e f o r e ,
t h a t leakage
170
of E s t a n c i aV a l l e yd o e so c c u .r .I .n
from t h e n o r t h s u b b a s i n
t h e wordsof
M e i n z e r ( 1 9 1 1 , p .3 8 ) :
i n v o l v e da r e
so complexand
obscurethat
it is i m p o s s i b l e
amount of l e a k a g e , b u t
t o formanestimateofthe
be a l a r g e f a c t o r . "
"The c o n d i k i o n sh e r e
i t may
of
The h y p o t h e s i sc o u l d ,a n db e c a u s e
i t s water-management i m p l i c a t i o n s s h o u l d ,
be t e s t e d by
.hydrologicinvestigationalongtherouteofprobable
l e a k a g e andby
a quantitative inflow-outflow
study of
water i n t h e n o r t h s u b b a s i n .
Modern Hydrologic Conditions
Recharge t o t h e s y s t e m
snowfall in the 'valley
Precipitation ranges
i s s o l e l y from r a i n f a l l and
and s u r r o u n d i n g h i l l s a n d m o u n t a i n s .
from a maximum o f a b o u t
yearinverysmallareas
30 i n c h e s p e r
on t h e h i g h e s t m o u n t a i n p e a k s , t o
a minimum'between 11 and 12 i n c h e s i n t h e c e n t r a l p a r t o f
t h e v a l l e y , as i s shown i n t h e New Mexico State Engineer
O f f i c e ( 1 9 5 6 ) summary of U.S.
1849 t o 1 9 5 4 ,
R.
recordto
r e c o r d sf o r
Smith ( 1 9 5 7 , t a b l e s 1, 2). summarized t h e
precipitation records for
t h ev a l l e y .
WeatherBureau
1 2 weatherstationsinandnear
of
H i s a n n u a la v e r a g e s ,t a k e no v e rt h ep e r i o d
is
1 9 5 3 , a r ea b o u ta ni n c hh i g h e rt h a nw h a t
c o n s i d e r e dn o r m a lf o re a c hs t a t i o n
by t h e U.S.
Weather
B u r e a u .T h eW e a t h e rB u r e a uc a l c u l a t e sn o r m a lp r e c i p i t a t i o n
fromaveragesofthe30-yearperiod1931
WeatherBureau,
1968).
t o 1 9 6 0 (U.S.
Average p r e c i p i t a t i o n on t h es l o p e
o f t h e Manzano Mountains i s about 20 i n c h e s a y e a r , which
i s similar t o p r e c i p i t a t i o n a t t h e T a j i q u e w e a t h e r s t a t i o n .
170 4
On t h e P e d e r n a l u p l a n d , e a s t o f t h e b a s i n , p r e c i p i t a t i o n
a v e r a g e sa b o u t1 3i n c h e s
a year,and
it i s a b o u t 1 2 i n c h e s
in the center of the valley at Estancia, -Otto, and
a t t h es o u t he n do ft h ev a l l e yf l o o r ,
McIntosh.Progresso,
r e c e i v e sa b o u t
'
of t h e
1 4 i n c h e s a year.Approximately.half
p r e c i p i t a t i o no c c u r si nJ u l y ,A u g u s t ,
andSeptember.
H i g h e rt e m p e r a t u r e sp r e v a i la t . l o w e re l e v a t i o n s ,a n d
it i s presumed t h a t a g r e a t e r p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e p r e c i p i t a t i o n
a t low e l e v a t i o n s e v a p o r a t e s b e f o r e
it c a n r e c h a r g e a q u i f e r s .
Lower p r e c i p i t a t i o n , h i g h e r e v a p o r a t i o n ,
runoffrarelyreachesthevalleyfloor
.
.
and t h e ' f a c t t h a t
combine t o
substantially reduce recharge potential in the central
l o w l a n d so ft h ev a l l e y .
.
west s l o p e
i s n e a r l y 3 times a s g r e a t a s t h a t o n t h e
ofthevalley
slope.
The d r a i n a g e a r e a , o n t h e
east
The l a r g e r a r e a , g r e a t e r p r e c i p i t a t i o n , a n d l o w e r
evaporation rates
on t h e west s l o p e t h a n o n t h e e a s t ,
require the conclusion that recharge
i s . p o s s i b l y a s much a s
3 t o 5 times g r e a t e r on t h e west t h a n t h a t
Thevolumes
on t h e east.
of g r o u n d w a t e r f l o w i n g t o t h e c e n t e r
of t h e
v a l l e y from t h e 2 s i d e s m u s t b e p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e r e c h a r g e .
Assuming t h a t d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t o p o g r a p h i c r e l i e f h a s
remained nearly constant since the
Estanciafirst
time a t whichLake
formed, r e l a t i v e r a t e s o f p r e c i p i t a t i o n
e v a p o r a t i o n on t h e 2 s i d e s o f t h e v a l l e y
r e m a i n e dn e a r l yc o n s t a n t .D u r i n g
filledthelowerpartofthevalley,
percentageof
may a l s o have
times i n which t h e l a k e
it f l o o d e d a l a r g e r
t h e e a s t e r nd r a i n a g et h a nt h e
times, t h e r e f o r e , t h e r e l a t i v e
and
west.
amount o f r e c h a r g e
I nt h e s e
on the
'
171
west, hencetheground-waterflow,
may havebeeneven
it i s t o d a y .
greate?:than
On t h e s l o p e o f t h e
Manzano Mountainsrecharge
infiltratestheupper,permeable
Limestone.
zone of t h e Madera
water t a b l e and t h e few
The d e p t ho ft h e
f l o w i n g streams i n c a n y o n s h i g h o n t h e s l o p e i n d i c a t e s
that very
l i t t l e r e c h a r g e i s rejected f o r l a c k o f s t o r a g e
capacityintheaquifer;lower
on t h e s l o p e , w h e r e t h e
no
a l l u v i u m of t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y € o r m a t i o n c r o p s o u t ,
Ground water i s t r a n s m i t t e dt o w a r d
recharge i s r e j e c t e d .
the central part
of t h e v a l l e y t h r o u g h b o t h t h e ' u p p e r ,
p e r m e a b l ep a r to ft h e
Madera and t h e a l l u v i u m .
water t h a t d i s c h a r g e s
upward from t h e Madera i n t o t h e
so b e f o r e r e a c h i n g . t h e e d g e o f
alluvial unit probably does
t h e Abo s u b c r o p , f o r t h e
Most of t h e
Abo i s g e n e r a l l y t i g h t , a n d
through it a c r o s s t h e b e d d i n g
flow
i s n e c e s s a r i l yv e r ys l o w ,a n d
may b e n e g l i g i b l e .
Recharge t o t h e c e n t r a l p a r t
east throughthe
of t h e v a l l e y f r o m t h e
Yeso, G l o r i e t a , a n d
SanAndresformations
probably also d i s c h a r g e s t o t h e a l l u v i u m ; a l t h o u g h
possible that
beds i n t h e
it i s
some f l o w may t a k e p l a c e t h r o u g h s a n d s t o n e
Yeso b e n e a t ht h ea l l u v i u m .B e c a u s ep e r m e a b i l i t y
of t h e Yeso s a n d s t o n e s i s much lower t h a n t h a t o f t h e
a l l u v i u m ,a n db e c a u s et h e
Yeso p r o b a b l y - w a s f a u l t e d o n t h e
e a s t s i d e of t h ev a l l e yd u r i n gs u b s i d e n c et h a t
accompanied
'
depositionofthealluvialunit,thusoffsettingbeds,the
proportionof
t o t a l flowfromthe
e a s t t h a t may b e c a r r i e d
by Yeso s t r a t a i s t h o u g h t t o b e v e r y s m a l l .
.
.
0
172
Under t h e n a t u r a l
flow regime,priorto
its
d i s t u r b a n c e by pumping a c t i v i t i e s of man t h a t beganabout
3 decades ago, ground
water l e f t t h e b a s i n
by 3 ' r o u t e s ;
a) probablesubsurfaceleakageoutwardfromthenorth
s u b b a s i n ,b )e v a p o r a t i v ed i s c h a r g ef r o mt h ep l a y a s ,
and
c ) e v a p o r a t i o n and t r a n s p i r a t i o n fromanextensive'spring
and s e e p l i n e o n t h e
19).
west s i d e of t h e v a l l e y f l o o r ( f i g .
The s p r i n g and s e e p l i n e
was l o c a t e d a t t h e f a c i e s
contactbetweenclayeylacustrinesedimentofthe
Dog Lake
formation in the central. part of the valley and the clastic
f a c i e so f
+he l a k e s e d i m e n t t o t h e
i s known on t h e e a s t s i d e
springline
becauseof
west.
No analogous
of t h e b a s i n , probably
No s p r i n g s
much s m a l l e r e c h a r g er a t e st h e r e .
a r e known t o h a v e e x i s t e d i n t h e n o r - t h s u b b a s i n , p r o b a b l y
becauseofthepostulatedsubsurfaceleakage.
C o n t r a r yt ot h eo p i n i o no f
thought that the
Smith ( 1 9 5 7 , p. 5 2 ) , who
main a r e a o f n a t u r a l e v a p o r a t i v e d i s c h a r g e
h a sa l w a y sb e e nr e s t r i c t e d
from t h i s s t u d y
R.
t o t h ep l a y a s ,
it i s concluded
t h a t a s i g n i f i c a n t amount of water evaporated
o r was t r a n s p i r e d by p h r e a t o p h y t e s a l o n g t h e s p r i n g
before the
water t a b l e was d e p r e s s e d by pumping f o r
i r r i g a t i o n .S o u t h
area of heavy
w a s a marshy
of E s t a n c i a t h e s p r i n g l i n e
reeds and g r a s s t h a t r e p o r t e d l y
i n some areas f o r s t o c k t o
of t h ec h i l d h o o d
marshy area
line
walkon.
was t o o s o f t
The m a r s h e s a r e p a r t
memories ofmostlong-timeresidents.The
may have been as
e x t e n d e ds o u t hf r o mE s t a n c i af o r
E s t a n c i a and t o t h e n o r t h ,
much as a mile wide,and
atleast
where t h e s l o p e
7 miles.
it
At
is slightly
.
173
was mainly from d i s c r e t e s p r i n g s ,
steeper, discharge
althoughbroadmarshy
from t h e s p r i n g s a n d
areas e x i s t e d h e r e t o o .
Water flowing
seeps had come f r o m . t h e w e s t s l o p e , a n d
thereforecontainedonly
small amounts of d i s s o l v e d material
i n comparison t o ground water toward t h e c e n t e r
Some s i g n s of s p r i n g s s t i l l r e m a i n , b u t t h e y
of t h e b a s i n .
a r e n ol o n g e r
prominent.
The p o s i t i o n a n d e l e v a t i o n
line
of t h e s p r i n g
c o n t r o l l e d t h e pressure i n t h e c o n f i n e d a q u i f e r s c o n s i s t i n g
medial sand m e m b e r
of t h e E s t a n c i a V a l l e y f o r m a t i o n a n d ' t h e
of t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n .
a r t e s i a ne n v i r o n m e n t s
Ground water entered t h e
of t h e 2 a q u i f e r s b y f l o w i n g u n d e r
thesprings,thenpassingbeneaththeedge
members of t h e Dog
bedsconsistingofthelowerandupper
Lake f o r m a t i o n .
The water thencon.tinued
t o f l o w eastward
at t h e p l a y a s .
toward the point of discharge
alsodischarged
of t h e c o n f i n i n g
a l l water t h a t e n t e r e d t h e
t h e east side of t h e b a s i n , h e n c e t h e
originally passed under the spring line
.
The p l a y a s
same a q u i f e r s o n
amountof
water t h a t
w a s equal t o t h e
to?al playa discharge minus the
volume of water c o n t r i b u t e d
by t h e e a s t s i d e of t h e b a s i n .
The water t h a t d i s c h a r g e d
a t the springs consisted of that
west whichexceeded
p a r t of t h e flow from t h e
t h e flow c a p a c i t y o f t h e a l l u v i a l
and'
medial sand aquifers in the conf ine'd zone.
I f it i s assumed t h a t t h e p l a y a s . d i s c h a r g e d e q u a l
amountsof
the total
water from t h e 2 s i d e s of t h e b a s i n ,
amount ofground
3 times t h e amounton
and t h a t
water a v a i l a b l e o n - t h e
theeast,
est was
it c a n b e e s t i m a t e d t h a t
'
1 74
evaporativedischargefromthespringlineapproximately
. e q u a l l e d t h a t from t h ep l a y a s .
may havebeen
The e v a p o t r a n s p i r a t i o nt h e n
3 0 , 0 0 0 acre-ftannually,based
on p l a y a
evaporationestimatesdiscussedbelow.
Wells i n t h e western p a r t o f
producefrom
Tps. 4-6N;R.
the alluvium beneath the
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n c o n f i n i n g b e d s y i e l d
quality to those farther
O f f i c e , 1966).
9 E.
that
west e d g e o f t h e
water simiiar i n
west (New Mexico S t a t e E n g i n e e r
I nt h ec e n t r a lp a r to f
R.
west o f t h e p l a y a s , t h e q u a l i t y o f g r o u n d
9 E.,
but still
water i n t h e
aquiferdeteriorates,particularlyin.thatsulfate
c o n c e n t r a t i o ni n c r e a s e s .
b r a c k i s hw a t e r
The i n t e r f a c eb e t w e e nf r e s ha n d
i s q u i t e well d e f i n e d (R. Smith, 1 9 5 7 , p l .
2)
2 t o 4 miles e a s t o f t h e f a c i e s
i n mostplaceslying
c o n t a c t betweenclayeyandcoarse-clasticsedimentofthe
Dog Lake formation,andthus
f o r m e rs p r i n g
line.
theconfiningbeds
an e q u a l d i s t a n c e e a s t
of t h e
I f it i s assumed t h a t water b e n e a t h
of t h e l a c u s t r i n e u n i t c o n t a i n e d
relatively high sulfate concentrations
a t t h e time of
development of the depressions and initiation of discharge
t h e r e , which i s r e a s o n a b l e i n v i e w o f t h e
time t h e groundwater
the valley floor, then
great lengthof
was s t a g n a n t w h i l e t h e l a k e s c o v e r e d
it may b e c o n c l u d e d t h a t
miles i s t h e d i s t a n c e t h a t f r e s h
2 to 4
ground water from t h e west
had moved i n t o t h e c o n f i n e d p a r t o f t h e a q u i f e r b e t w e e n t h e
time t h a t d i s c h a r g e
began a t t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s a n d t h e
time t h a t human a c t i v i t y d i s r u p t e d t h e system:
Ground w a t e r i n t h e m e d i a l
Sand a q u i f e r west o f t h e
,
175
playascontainslarger
a m o u n t so fd i s s o l v e ds o l i d st h a n
t h a ti nt h ea l l u v i a lu n i t .
A c h e m i c a la n a l y s i sr e p o r t e d
1 7 2 ) f o r a shallow w e l l i n t h e
by R. Smith(1957,p.
SW%SW%SW% sec. 28, T . 6 N . ,
R.
9 E. completed i n t h e
shows a c h l o r i d e c o n t e n t o f
medialsand,
2 4 4 ppm and a
One mile t o t h e
s p e c i f i cc o n d u c t a n c eo f
4 , 3 8 0 micromhos.
s o u t h , a well nowknown
frominformationgiven
w a s reported by
owner t o be producing from the alluvium,
79 ppm a n d s p e c i f i c
Smith t o have a c h l o r i d e c o n t e n t o f
conductanceof
of water i n t h e
1 , 9 8 0 micromhos.
by t h e
S e v e r a lt y p i c a la n a l y s e s
2 a q u i f e r s a r e t a b u l a t e d i n Appendix C.
The h i g h d i s s o l v e d s o l i d s , p a r t i c u l a r l y c h l o r i d e s , i n t h e
medialsand
'
are f r o m e v a p o r i t e s t h a t
E a r l yL a k eE s t a n c i ad i s a p p e a r e d .
were d e p o s i t e d when
The c h e m i c a li n t e r f a c e
water i n t h e medial sand
between brackish water and fresh
i s f a r t h e r t o t h e west t h a n t h e i n t e r f a c e i n t h e a l l u v i u m .
The r a t e ofground-water
themedialsandthus
movement t o w a r d t h e p l a y a s i n
is slowerthanthatinthealluvium.
D e B r i n e ( 1 9 7 1 ) , u s i n gd a t ac o l l e c t e d
from a n o t h e r
phaseofthisproject,hascalculatedthattheannual
evaporativedischargefromtheplayasystem
27,000and
36,000 acre-ft.
i s between
H i s c a l c u l a t i o n s were based
on 2 k i n d s ofsystemmeasurements:
toward a s i n g l e p l a y a a r o u n d
a ) ground-waterinflow
whlch t e s t h o l e s had been
c o n s t r u c t e d , and 5 ) accuratemeasurementofmicroclimatic
conditionsnear
a playasurface
calculateevaporationfromopen
and u s e o f t h e d a t a
water, s a l t - c r u s t e d
s u r f a c e s , a n d m o i s ts e d i m e n ts u r f a c e s D
. eBrine's
to
176
c a l c u l a t i o n i s based on much more e x t e n s i v e d a t a t h a n
were
a v a i l a b l e t o Smith, who e a r l i e r had c a l c u l a t e d t h e d i s c h a r g e
t ob e
5 0 , 0 0 0 a c r e - f ta n n u a l l y
( R . Smith,1957,p.
52).
water fromplayas(Appendix
Chemicalanalysesof
C),
made f o r t h i s p r o j e c t by t h e U.S. G e o l o g i c a l S u r v e y u n d e r , a
cooperative agreement with
N e w Mexico Bureau of Mines 6,
average
M i n e r a lR e s o u r c e s ,s u g g e s tt h a tp l a y ab r i n e s
are
2 4 0 , 0 0 0 ppm d i s s o l v e ds o l i d s .T h i r t e e na n a l y s e s
and samples were c o l l e c t e d b o t h
includedintheaverage,
when t h e r e was a c r u s t a n d
when t h e r e was none.Using
Langbein's ( 1 9 6 1 , p. 3 ) a p p r o x i m a t i o n t h a t t h e d e c r e a s e i n
r a t e ofevaporationdue
t o highconcentrations
of d i s s o l v e d
s a l t s is approximatelyproportionaltothepercentages
by
r a t e from
weightofthesaltinsolution,theevaporation
open water f o r t h e 2 4 0 , 0 0 0 ppm b r i n e o n t h e E s t a n c i a p l a y a s
i s 7 6 p e r c e n t of t h e e v a p o r a t i o n
r a t e f o r f r e s h water.
The n a t u r a l . c i r c u l a t i o n p a t t e r n . o f g r o u n d
the basin remained undisturbed until about
effects of increasing
1 9 4 6 when t h e
pumpage f o r i r r i g a t i o n b e g a n
t h e water t a b l e on t h e west s i d e of t h e v a l l e y
1957,p.
531.
T h e U.S.
Smith,
1941.
The
r e c e n t measurements have been published by the
S t a t e E n g i n e e rO f f i c e( B a l l a n c e ,
and Hudson, 1 9 6 7 - 1 9 7 0 ;
1959).
(R.
t o lower
GeologicalSurveyhasmeasured
c h a n g e si nw a t e rl e v e l si nt h ev a l l e ys i n c e
results of
water i n
1965'; Busch, 1 9 6 6 ; Busch
Hudson, 1 9 7 1 ; R e e d e ra n do t h e r s ,
Heavy pumpage h a sb e e nl o c a l i z e da l o n gt h e
side of the valley
and a t t h e n o r t h
west
end b e c a u s e of b e t t e r
q u a l i t y of t h e ground water i n t h e s e areas and because
..
i s high.
a q u i f e rp e r m e a b i l i t y
thewatertable
anaverageof
The r e s u l t h a s
b e e nt o ' l o w e r
1 5 t o 20 f t t o form a l i n e a r
water-tabletrough;locallythewatertablehasbeen
lowered more t h a n 4 0 f t .I nt h es o u t hs u b b a s i nt h et r o u g h
roughlycoincideswiththeformerspringline.
Lowering t h e w a t e r t a b l e
a t the spring line.has
it h a s
stoppeddischargefromthespringsandseeps,and
also eliminated the
force for eastward
head d i f f e r e n c e t h a t was t h e d r i v i n g
water t o w a r d t h e
movement o f f r e s h
p l a y a s .A l t h o u g ht h e r ea r en o
U.S.
GeologicalSurvey
main p l a y a area,
water-level observation holes in the
a t t h e test
water-level data collected for this project
holes indicate that ground water in the central part
b a s i n i s s t i l l u n d e ra r t e s i a np r e s s u r e .
lowering the pressure head on 'the
The e f f e c t of
west h a s a p p a r e n t l y b e e n
p a r t l y compensated i n t h e c e n t e r o f t h e v a l l e y
differencesto
of t h e
by head
the east.
The d i r e c ' t i o r r o f f l o w i n t h e a l l u v i u m a n d t h e m e d i a l
sand has already been reversed under the westernmost parts
ofthelacustrineconfiningbedsinthefresh-waterregime.
I t mustbe
assumed t h a t t h e p r e s s u r e t r o u g h
t o expand e a s t w a d , and t h a t e v e n t u a l l y t h e
w i l l continue
more h i g h l y
mineralized water in the central part of the valley
b e g i n t o flowtoward
t h e pumped a r e a , a l t h o u g h t o d a t e
t h e r e i s no indication of westward
intecface.
will
movement o f t h e
T h e S t a t eE n g i n e e rO f f i c eh a st a k e nt h i si n t o
account i n developing i t s water-management p o l i c y f o r t h e
basin.
'/%
178
SUMMARY O F B A S I N HISTORY, QUATERNARY CORRELATIPNS
Pre-Lacustrine History
The E s t a n c i a s t r u c t u r a l b a s i n , u n d e r l y i n g t h e
southernpartofEstanciaValley,andtheGalisteo
were
structuralbasin,underlyingthenorthernpart,
cycle o f v a l l e y f i l l i n g
formed l o n g b e f o r e t h e p r e s e n t
began.Followingdevelopmentofthesestruckuralbasins,
i n t h e v i c i n i t y was beveled by erosion.
the land surface
time
The p r e s e n t c y c l e p r o b a b l y s t a r t e d i n l a t e P l i o c e n e
with structural lowering in the area that
axial part
i s now t h e
of EstanciaValley,possiblyaccompaniedby
r e j u v e n a t i o n of u p l i f t o f t h e
t o t h e west.
Manzano and Sandia Mountains
The E'edernalblock
on t h e east probably
r e m a i n e ds t a b l e .S u b s i d e n c eo ft h ev a l l e ya g a i n s tt h e
stable Pedernal block took place
v e r t i c a ld i s p l a c e m e n to f
n o r t h e r na n ds o u t h e r np a r t s
faults have been buried
fill, but the
1,000
by f a u l t i n g w i t h p r o b a b l e
f t (ICelley, 1 9 7 2 ) .
I nt h e
of t h e p r e s e n t v a l l e y , t h e
by subsequent accumulation
of v a l l e y
west s i d e of t h e Lobo H i l l u p l a n d s o u t h e a s t
of M o r i a r t y i s t h o u g h t t o be a f a u l t s c a r p .
The a s s i g n m e n t o f . l a t e P l i o c e n e a g e . t o t h e i n i t i a t i o n
of movement i s based on p r e v i o u s l y r e c o g n i z e d r e m n a n t s
of
g r a v e l and c a l i c h e c o r r e l a t i v e w i t h t h e O g a l l a l a , t h a t
lie
high on the
(Darton,1928;
east and west s i d e s of t h e P e d e r n a l H i l l s
B r e t z and Horberg, 1 9 4 9 ; F a l l i s ,1 9 5 8 ) .
basal valley fill
i n Estancia Valley iscorrelated with the
The
. .
179
pedimentgravel
and w i t h p e d i m e n t g r a v e l r e m n a n t s . u p t o
of t h e Manzano
250 f t a b o v e s t r e a m v a l l e y s o n t h e e a s t s l o p e
Mountains t h a t were mapped by Myers (1967).
consideredthegravelsto
Although Myers
be Q u a t e r n a r y i n age, p r e s e n t
understanding of the valley history precludes the possibility
of their formation during the Quaternary.
R.
Smith (1957) was t h e f i r s t t o propose l a t e P l i o c e n e ( ? )
age for the valley
f i l l on t h e b a s i s o f c o r r e l a t i o n w i t h t h e .
upper part of the Santa
Fe F o r m a t i o n n o r t h
of G a l i s t e o C r e e k .
of t h e
Evidence that substantiates this correlation consists
r e l a t i o n s h i pb e t w e e n
1 6 0 f t of c o a r s e a l l u v i a l g r a v e l o n t h e
n o r t h rim o f E s t a n c i a V a l l e y a n d t h e e r o d e d r e m n a n t o f
.
..
its'
5 miles to t h e n o r t h
p r o b a b l es o u r c er o c ka . tC e r r oP e l o n
in
the. Galisteo valley.
SubsidenceoftheaxisofEstanciaValleyprobably
took place
nomore
rapidly than alluvial'sedimen-t of the
E s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o nc o u l d
f i l l t h ev a l l e y .T h e r e
is
inconclusiveevidenceindeeperpartsofthealluviumthat
one o r more t e m p o r a r y l a k e s
t h a tt h el o w e r i n gt o o kp l a c e
may have formed, suggesting
i n p u l s e s .D u r i n gm o s to ft h e
time of a c c u m u l a t i o n o f t h e a l l u v i u m , t h e v a l l e y
by a r i v e r t h a t f l o w e d s o u t h w a r d
w a s drained
down t h e v a l l e y , t u r n i n g
e a s t a t t h e p r e s e n t l o c a t i o n of t h e community .of P r o g r e s s 0
to follow a greatloopacrosswhat
i s now t h e t o p o g r a p h i c
sill, a n d n o r t h e a s t w a r d t h r o u g h t h e v a l l e y t h a t . c o n n e c t s
Pinos Wells andEncino'Basins
( f i g .1 3 ) ' -
A t E n c i n ot h e
river turned'eastward,probablyinitiallytoflowto.the
L l a n o Estacado.
I
180
time and well i n t o
D e p o s i t i o ni nl a t eP l d . o c e n e ( ? )
P l e i s t o c e n e time r e s u l t e d i n t h e a c c u m u l a t i o n o f
A t t h e same time e x c e s s
5 0 0 f t o fa l l u v i u mi nt h ev a l l e y .
sediment was c a r r i e d o u t o f t h e v a l l e y
If t h e a n c i e n t E s t a n c i a , R i v e r
more t h a n
andon
to the east.
was t h e h e a d w a t e r d r a i n a g e
of the river through the Portales buried valley
L l a n oE s t a c a d o ,t h e np a r to ft h ea 1 , l u v i u m
on t h e
that f i l l s t h e
P o r t a l e s V a l l e y had i t s o r i g i n i n E s t a n c i a V a l l e y .
Deposition probably finally ceased in Estancia
V a l l e yb e c a u s eo fs t r u c t u r a ls t a b i l i z a t i o n .T h i s
was
followed'by a periodoferosionduringwhich
up t o 200 f t
oftheformation
of t h ev a l l e y .
was removedfrom
a broad area on the floor
The d e g r a d a t i o no ft h e
by e r o s i o n a l d e e p e n i n g
surface was allowed
of t h e r i v e r v a l l e y a l o n g
throughthepresentlocationsofPinos
its course
Wells andEncino
Basins.
I n l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e time, downwarping l o w e r e dt h e
c o n t e m p o r a r yf l o o ro fE s t a n c i a . V a l l e y ,
as measured a t t h e
4 0 0 f t below
t o po ft h eE s t a n c i aV a l l e yf o r m a t i o n ,n e a r l y
the level
of t h e r i v e r v a l l e y a t t h e t o p o g r a p h i c
of C e d a r v a l e .T h i se s t a b l i s h e d
t h e p r e s e n tt o p o g r a p h i c
c l o s u r e of t h eb a s i n .S h o r e l i n ef e a t u r e sf o r m e d
'
sill n o r t h
by t h e
lakes t h a t s u b s e q u e n t l y o c c u p i e d t h e v a l l e y
show t h a t t h e
v a l l e yh a sb e e ns t r u c t u r a l l ys t a b l es i n c e .
The l a t e s t d a t e
a t whichdownwarpingcouldhavetakenplace
was prior to
impoundment of E a r l y Lake Estancia, which
the Terry Pluvial
is c o r r e l a t e d w i t h
on the Llano Estacado and Bull
GPaciation i n t h e Rocky Mountains.
Lake
'
181
Lacustrine
The closed
History
basin
has
and
been
Correlations
.
.
occu.pied2 major
by
lake
stages and a third shallow rejuvenation. Early Lake
Estancia
sill
was
to fill
enough
large
levelat 6,350 ft and
the
overflow
basin
through
to
above
the
its
former
river valley. Its maximum depth was about 380 f.t. Late
Lake
Estancia
rose
to
6,225
ft,
atand below whichit
cut
well-preserved strandlines. It had a maximum depth of
about 200 ft.
ft,
having
The final shallow lake did not reach
6,150
had
a
Correlation
Estancia
in
the
maximum
of
the
depth
of 70
about
ft.
sequence
Valley
with
lacustrine
western
part
of
the
of
Pleistocene
and
United
glacial
events
events
in
elsewhere
is
States
based primarily
on a few radiocarbon age dates reported by Lyons (1969) and
Bachhuber (1971) from collections that they made in the
valley.
The correlations are shown in fig. 20.
particular
the
upon,
a
and
age
interpretations
comparison
with
his
of
In
'
Bachhuber
work
shows
no
were
relied
essential
correlation differences. The nomenclature differences
between this report and that of Bachhuber, shown on fig. 18,
are just that--nomenclatural. There are very real
differences in inferred lacustrine sedimentary environments
and other questions, however, that are not related to
acceptance of a chronology.The correlations proposed here
modify my earlier interpretation (Titus, 1969), principally
by
making
Early
Lake
Estancia
older
and
by
lengthening
the
duration of each of the2 major lake stages.
.
I
.!"----
183
1)
E a r l y Lake E s t a n c i a , i n
which t h e l o w e r
member o f t h e
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n a c c u m u l a t e d , p r o b a b l y o c c u p i e d t h e b a s i n
during the period
of B u l l L a k e g l a c i a t i o n i n t h e
Mountains,hence,
a t a t i m e e q u i v a l e n t t o the A l t o n i a n
Rocky
substageoftheWisconsinanintheMidcontinentarea
(Morrison and Frye, 19.65, f i g . 6 ) .
w a s anequivalentevent
the Terry Pluvial cycle
1961)-
. I nt h eL l a n oE s t a c a d o
(Wendorf,
of E a r l y ' Lake
Inasmuch as t h e i n i t i a l f o r m a t i o n
E s t a n c i a may h a v e b e e n s t r u c t u r a l l y c o n t r o l l e d , n o t
climaticallycontrolled,
deducedfrom
i t s t i m e ofbeginningcannotbe
thestandardchronology.
After evaporation of Early
Lake E s t a n c i a , t h e m e d i a l
sand member of t h e Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n was d e p o s i t e d d u r i n g
soil
an interval correlated with the heavy erosion' and
west t h a t f o l l o w e d B u l l
formationthroughoutthe
glaciation.
I t i s t h e r e f o r ee q u i v a l e n tt ot h eR i c h
i n t e r p l u v i a l of theLlanoEstacado(Wendorf,
ChurchillSoilofthe
Soilofthe
fig. 6)
1961), the
Lake B o n n e v i l l e area (MorrisonandPrye,1965,
.
was d e p o s i t e d i n L a t e
with the
Estacado.
member o f t h e
Rocky Mountains.
TahokaandSanJon
It i s c o r r e l a t e d
pluvial events on the,Llano
The d a t i n g of t h i s u n i t
radiocarbon determinations
Fishbonesfrom
Dog Lake formation
Lake E s t a n c i a d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f
P i n e d a l eg l a c i a t i o ni nt h e
(1971).
Lake
Lake Lahontanarea,andthePromontory
The u p p e r l a c u s t r i n e
'
Lake
i s w e l l e s t a b l i s h e db y
on m a t e r i a l c o l l e c t e d
3
by Bachhuber
his zone E , . a b o u t 1 4 f t below t h e
t o p of t h e member, were d a t e d 1 1 , 7 4 0
-F
900 B.P.;
a' f o o t o r ' s o
184
below
that,
his F1
zone
plant
in
material
was
12,400
-t
dated
450 B.P. An estimated 15 ft deeper in the member, perhaps
10 to 15 ft above
the
buried
base
of
the
member,
radioactively
dead plant material was collected and analysed. Bachhuber
concluded
was
that
the
.implied
age
of
greater
than
33,000 years
tooold for the stratigraphic position, hence
the
radiocarbon
Lyons
had
probably
collected
shoreline-marsh
sites
been
removed
mammoth
tusk
in
Big
the
by
natural
samples
Sink
from
area
of
processes.
probable
the
abandoned
'
river valley that leads to the topographic sill.
The sites
are at
an
elevation
that
Lyons
estimated
be to
about 6,250
ft (location: NE% sec. 3 3 , T. 3 N., R. 11 E.).
.
dates of 6,000
were
+
-
measured,
indicated
200
years
but
in
B.P.
and
7,950
transmitting
thattusli material
f
-
Radiocarbon
300 years B.P.
the the
datalaboratory
sometimes
dates
later
than.
associated woodor bone. Lyons questions the validity of
the
radiocarbon
dates
are
later
dates
than
both
for
mammoth
this
reason
and the
because
is to
known
have'survived on
the Llano Estacado (Lyons,
1973, personal communication).
Wendorf (1961, p. 20, 116) indicates that the mammoth had
disappeared from the Llano Estacado '11,000
by
B.P.
If,
therefore, a true date for the Big Sinkissite
of the
order
of12,000 years B.P.,
radiocarbon-dated
fish
then at about the time the
and
plant
remains
were being
deposited in the lake center, Late Lake Estancia at
stood
or
below
6,250
ft--perhaps
at
about
the
6,225-ftof level
the higher Late Lake shorelines. This da.te is equivalent
to
the
Blackwater
Subpluvial
of
the
Llano
Estacado.
185
The e v a p o r a t i v e d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f
. .
L a t e Lake E s t a n c i a
time o fi n c r e a s i n ga r i d i t y
p r o b a b l yt o o kp l a c ed u r i n gt h e
,
and s o i l f o r m a t i o n t h a t ' f o l l o w e d P i n e d a l e g l a c i a t i o n .
Gypsum c r y s t a l s d e p o s i t e d w i d e l y o n . t h e t h e n - d r y l a k e f l o o r
were blown i n t o d u n e s making u p ' w h a t a r e h e r e c a l l e d t h e
time of o r i g i n w i t h t h e
s m a l ld u n e s .T h e s ec o r r e l a t ei n
post-Pinedale soil of the
Formationand
Rocky Mountains and the Turupah
Toyeh S o i l o f t h e
(MorrisonandFrye,
1965).
Lake Lahontan area
Toyeh S o i lf o r m a t i o n
about 4 , 0 0 0 y e a r s a g o a f t e r h a v i n g l a s t e d a b o u t
(MorrisonandFrye,
. .
1965, p . . 1 9 ) .
ended
1,000 years
The a r i d e v e n t i n t h e
Estancia Valley also correlates with the altithermal of
Antevs
-
..
A shallowlakerejuvenation
i s recordedinmostwestern
lakebasins,theeventcorrelatingwithNeoglacialadvances
i n t h e Rocky Mountains.
The s h a l l o wr e j u v e n a t e d
lake i n
E s t a n c i aV a l l e y ,w h i c hc u ti n d i s t i n c tl o w - l e v e ls h o r e l i n ' e s ,
formed t h e g y p s i f e r o u s o f f s h o r e b a r ,
cementing on t h e s u r f a c e s o f
andcau'sedroundingand.
t h e smalldunes,
.is t h e r e f o r e
member o.f
correlated with lacustrine sediments of the lower
the Fallon Formation at
Lake s t a d e o f
Lake Lahontan and with the
Rocky Mountainglaciat'ion:If
Temple
the c o r r e l a t i o n
i s v a l i d , and i f t h e s h a l l o w r e j u v e n a t i o n o f E s t a n c i a
contemporaneous with the
Desert (MorrisonandFrye,
was
f i r s t F a l l o n Lake maximum i n C a r s o n
1 9 6 5 , p. 2 0 ) , ' t h e n t h e
r e j u v e n a t i o n was near i t s maximum about3,500yearsago.
Such b e i n g t h e c a s e , t h e p l a y a d e p r e s s i o n s h a v e o r i g i n a t e d
andevolved
I
t o t h e i r p r e s e n ts t a t ew i t h i na p p r o x i m a t e l y
148
156
thelast3,000years.
Glaciation that occurred in the high mountains of
New Mexico d u r i n g t h e l a t e P l e i s t o c e n e
was c o n t r o l l e d by
t h e same c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s t h a t c o n t r o l l e d t h e l a k e s .
Richmond h a s mapped m o r a i n e s i n t h e S a n g r e d e C r i s t o
Mountains north of the Estancia area and on Sierra Blanca
Peak t o t h e s o u t h , a n d h a s c o r r e l a t e d t h e s e e v e n t s w i t h t h e
establishedglacialchronologyoftheRocky.Mountainsin
Wyoming andelsewhere
(Richmond, 1 9 6 3 ) .. I nt h eS a n g r e
de
2 stades of B u l l Lake
C r i s t oM o u n t a i n s ,m o r a i n e si n d i c a t e
g l a c i a t i o n , 3 s t a d e so fP i n e d a l eg l a c i a t i o n ,
and 2 s t a d e s
of N e o g l a c i a t i o n .I nt h es o u t h e r np a r to ft h eS a n g r ed e
CristoMountains,onlytheearlier,or
Temple L a k e , , s t a d e
ofBeoglaciationleftmoraines,
morainesofthe
andno
N e o g l a c i a l were found on SierraBlancaPeak.Morainesof
were l e f t a t t h e l o w e s t
the earliest glaciers in each area
e l e v a t i o n s , and s u c c e s s i v e l y y o u n g e r g l a c i e r s
s h o r t e rd i s t a n c e s
down t h e v a l l e y s .
traveled
The l o n g e r g l a c i e r s
and
were p r o b a b l y r e l a t e d t o b o t h h i g h e r p r e c i p i t a t i o n
d?:reasedevaporationduringperiods
of c o l d e r climates.
Leopold ( 1 9 5 1 ) c o n c l u d e d t h a t b o t h f a c t o r s
f o rt h ee x i s t e n c eo f
were i m p o r t a n t
a l a k ei nE s t a n c i aV a l l e y .
successivedecreaseinsizesof
The
the lakes i s e n t i r e l y
consistent with decreasing length of successive glaciers
i n t h e mountains.
Water i n E a r l y Lake E s t a n c i a p r o b a b l y c o n t a i n e d
r e l a t i v e l y low c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of d i s s o l v e d m a t e r i a l b e c a u s e
o f s u r f a c ed i s c h a r g eo v e rt h et o p o g r a p h i c
sill.
It is
18 7
likely that the early lake
was t e m p e r a t u r e s t r a t i f i e d , a s
s i l l e l e v a t i o n was well above t h e f l o o r ,
t h a t it was c h e m i c a l l y s t r a t i f i e d a s
and it is p o s s i b l e
well.
While q u a n t i t a t i v e
t h e basin are not sufficient for
chemicaldatafor
c o m p r e h e n s i v ea n a l y s i s ,t h et o t a ls a l t .l o a dp r e c i p i t a t e d
upon e v a p o r a t i o n of t h e e a r l y 1aKe d o e s n o t
c o n s i d e r i n gt h e
seem t o b e g r e a t
water t h a t it c o n t a i n e d .
volumeof
If t h i s
o b s e r v a t i o nc a nb es u b s t a n t i a t e d ,t h ea r g u m e n tf o rf r e s h
Lake E s t a n c i a w i l l b e s t r o n g e r .
water at depth in Early
Even i f t h e l a k e
was e n t i r e l y of freshwater,however,
t o t a l e v a p o r a t i o n m u s t have l e f t s i g n i f i c a n t amountsof
on t h e v a l l e y f l o o r . P a r t
incorporatedin
its
Salt
was
of t h e s a l t p r o b a b l y
t h e medialsand,bu-tmostapparently
r e d i s s o l v e d when Late Lake Estancia formed.
During t h e i n t e r p l u v i a l t h a t f o l l o w e d E a r l y
E s t a n c i a time, t h e b a s i n
was w i t h o u t a l a k e .
transported onto the valley
medialsand
member o ft h e
f l o o r by s t r e a m s t o . f o r m t h e
i s suggested by t h e f i n e ,
i s so troublesome t o d r i l l e r s
well-rounded,loose'sandthat
of t h ev a l l e y .T o w a r d , t h ee n do ft h e
began t o r e - f o r m ,& l a yd e p o s i t s
i n t e r p l u v i a l ,a st h el a k e
alternated locally
w i t h sand.
L a t e Lake E s t a n c i a w a s never deeper than
a s c l a y e ys e d i m e n tc o l l e c t e d
d e p t hd e c r e a s e dt oa b o u t
'lake surface remained
t h et o p o g r a p h i c
Sand w a s
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n .E o l i a n
reworkingofthesediment
i nt h ec e n t r a lp a r t
Lake
200 f t and,
on t h e l a k e f l o o r , t h e l a k e
150 f t .
Throughout t h i s time t h e
more t h a n 1 0 0 f t below t h e l e v e l
s i l l , r e a c h i n g a maximum e l e v a t i o n o f
of
188
6 , 2 2 5 ' f t .B e c a u s eo ft h i sl a c ko fs u r f a c ed i s c h a r g ef r o m
( 1 9 1 1 , p. 2 2 ) s u g g e s t e dt h a tt h el a k e
t h el a k e ,M e i n z e r
.
l e v e l f l u c t u a t e dw i d e l ya s
e v a p o r a t i o nv a r i e d .
rates o fp r e c i p i t a t i o na n d
. .
The well-preservedbeachesbelow
6,209 f t probablyformedsequentiallyasthelakeevaporated.
Therefore,while
stoodnear
Meinzer was p r o b a b l y c o r r e c t , t h e l a k e
its highest level just before
it d i s a p p e a r e d .
Water i n L a t e Lake E s t a n c i a p r o b a b l y c o n t a i n e d h i g h
c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of d i s s o l v e d gypsum and h a l i t e , d e r i v e d
p a r t l y fromevaporativeconcentration
s o l u t i o no fe v a p o r i t e sl e f t
disappearance of the lake,
and p a r t l y f r o m .
by t h e e a r l i e r
lake.
gypsum and s a l t w e r e d e p o s i t e d
on t h e f l o o r o f t h e b a s i n .
to
Most o f t h e h a l i t e a p p e a r s
havesubsequentlybeencarried
down i n t o t h e s e d i m e n t o f
the upper lacustrine
member o f t h e
from p r e c i p i t a t i o n .
The gypsum t h a t p r e c i p i t a t e d
lake floor,
Upon
Dog Lake by recharge
on t h e
however, w a s q u i c k l y blown i n t o d u n e s t h a t a r e
t h e members of t h e s m a l l d u n e f a m i l y .
The s h o r t - l i v e d lake t h a t formed a f t e r L a t e . L a k e ,
Estancia and after formation of the small dunes covered only
the central part of the valley floor and
t h a na b o u t
70 f t .
was never deeper
I t p e r s i s t e d a t t h i s . l e v e 1l o n g
however, t o round t h e s u r f a c e s
a c t i o n , and t o formbeaches
enough,
of t h e d u n e s b y c u r r e n t
and l o n g o f f s h o r e b a r f r o m t h e
g y p s i f e r o u ss e d i m e n te r o d e df r o mt h ed u n e s .S u r g ec h a n n e l s
across the top of the bar indicate that strong winds
periodically blew water into the eastern
poQr d e f i n i t i o n on b e a c h e s . a t l o w e r
.embayment
..
The
levels i s probably due
189
tothegentleslope
of t h e l a k e b o t t o m n e a r t h e s h o r e , a n d
t o wind-induced movement o f w a t e r t h a t c a u s e d o s c i l l a t i o n s
in water level at
t h e shore.
The s h a l l o w l a k e d r i e d up perhaps only
a g o .S h o r t l ya f t e rt h e
lake evaporated.,theplaya
depressionsbegantoform
initially controlled
Formationbeneath
3,000 years
and d e e p e n , t h e i r l o c a t i o n s b e i n g
by s o l u t i o n o f
400 f t of alluvial
A subsidencezoneextending
impermeableclaysofthe
gypsum i n t h e Yeso
and l a c u s t r i n e s t r a t a .
upward t h r o u g h t h e a l m o s t
Dog Lake f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d
proto-depressionsontheexposed
lake f l o o r , andzones
of
increased vertical permeability through which ground water
couldleakfromtheunderlyingconfinedaquifers.
Under a r i dc l i m a t i cc o n d i t i o n st h el e a k a g ez o n e s
and
.
i n i t i a l d e p r e s s i o n s became s i t e s of v i g o r o u s d e f l a t i o n ,
with deflation probably facilitated
by t h e s e d i m e n t - l o o s e n i n g
and f l u f f i n g a c t i o n of a l t e r n a t e w e t t i n g a n d e v a p o r a t i o n
from
t h ep l a y as u r f a c e s .D e f l a t i o np r o c e e d e dt o , d e e p e nt h e
depressionsuntilthecombinationofdecreasedground-water
flow resistance
andincreasedheaddifference,thatresulted
from thinning of the upper
member o f t h e
Dog Lakeformation,
causedground-waterdischargeratestoexceedthe
e v a p o r a t i o np o t e n t i a l
m o i s tp l a y a sc o u l dt h e n
on t h ep l a y as u r f a c e s .
The p e r e n n i a l l y
no l o n g e rb ed e f l a t e d .E v a p o r a t i o n
hascontinuallyincreasedthechemicalconcentrationof
on t h e p l a y a s ,
water
and t h e i n c r e a s e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n h a s r e d u c e d
evaporst.ionrates.Ground-waterdischargehasremain&
essentiallyconstant,
however,and
theresultingincreasein
190
free water
on t h e p l a y a s u r f a c e s h a s c a u s e d t h e p l a y a s t o
begin infilling with both sediment carried into the basin
and w i t h c r y s t a l s c h e m i c a l l y p r e c i p i t a t e d f r o m
the
evaporating water.
The g e n e r a l n a t u r e o f t h e E s t a n c i a h y d r o l o g i c
environment a s it e x i s t s t o d a y
w a s already understood before
t h i sp r o j e c ts t a r t e d .D e t a i l so ft h ei n t e r a c t i o n sb e t w e e n
geologic and hydrologic
groundwater
phenomena t h a t c o n t r o l t h e f l o w
had n o tb e e ni n v e s t i g a t e d ,h o w e v e r .F u r t h e r m o r e ,
in this study the dimension of geologic
to the special dimensions that have been
time hasbeenadded
the b a s i s f o r
p r e v i o u sh y d r o l o g i ci n v e s t i g a t i o n s ;h y d r o l o g i c
and recent
g e o l o g i c phenomena i n t h e b a s i n h a v e i n t h i s r e p o r t
been
consideredinthecontextofevolutionofthehydrogeologic
system.
of
Anonymus, 1952, Stratigraphy of Paleozoic, Flesozoic rocks in
parts of central New Mexico: New Mexico Geol. SOC., Guidebook
3rd Field Conf., Rio Grande country, central New Mexico,
p. 106-126
htevs, Emst, 1954, Climate of New Mexico during the l a s t glaciopluvial: Jour. G
e
o
l
o
g
y
, v. 62, p. 182-191
Atkinson, W. W., Jr., 1961, Geology of the San Pedro Mountains,
Santa Fe County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau Mines Mineral
Resources, B u l l . 77, 50 p.
Bachhuber, F. W., 1971, Paleoliminology of Lake Estancia and
the Quaternaryhistory of the Estancia Valley, central New
Mexico:Ph.D.
dissert., Univ. New Mexico,233 p.
M l a n c e , w. c., 1965, Ground-water levels in ~ e w
~ e x i c o ,i963:
New M e x i c o State Engineer, Basic Data Rept., 143 p.
Bates, R. L., Wilpot, R. H., MacAlpin, A. J., andVorbe,Georges,
1947, Geologyof the G r a n Quivira quadrangle, New M e x i c o :
New M e x i c o Bureau Mines Mineral Resources, B u l l . 26, 57 p..
Beede, J. W.,
1911, The cycle of subterranean drainage a s
illustrated i n the Bloomington, Indiana,quadrangle:Indiana
Acad. Sci. Prcc., v. 20, p. 81-111
Bjorklund, L. J., and W e l l , B. W., 1961, Availability of ground
water i n the Albuquerque area, Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties,
New Mexico: New !4exico State Engineer, Tech. Rept. 21, 117 p.
Bretz, J. H., and Horkxg, Leland, 1949, The Ogallala Formation
west of the Llano Estacado: Jour. Geology, v. 57, p. 477-490
Bryan, Kirk, 1941, Correlation of the deposits of Sandia cave, New
Mexico, w i t h glacial chronology: Smithsonim ?fisc. Colln.,
v. 99, no. 23,p.
45-64
Bryan, Kirk, and McCann, F. T., 1950, The two high stages of
Lake Estancia, New Mexico, and their relation to g l a c i a l
chronology: unpub. m u s c r i p t , 35 p.
Busch, F. E., 1966, Ground-xmter levels in New Mexico, 1964: New
Mexico State Engineer, Basic Data Rept., 130 p.
Busch, F. E., andHudson, J. D., 1967-1970, Grourid-water levels
i n New Mexico 1965-1968: N e w Mexico State Ehgineer, Basic
Data Repts.
,
192
Dane, C. H.,
and Bachm, G. O., 1965, Geologic m p of New
Mexico: U.S. Geol. Survey
Dartan, N. H., 1928, "Red Beds" and associated forrrations i n
New Mexico; w i t h an outline of the geology of 'the state:
U.S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 794, 356 p.
Davies, W. E., 1960, Origin of caves in folded limestones:
N a t l . Speleol. Soc., Bull., v. 22, p. 5-18
Davis, S. H., and Dewiest, R. J. M.,
York, John Wiley & Sons, 463 p.
1966, 'Hydrogeology: New
Davis, W. M., 1930, Origin of limestone caverns: Geol.
America, B u l l , v. 41, p. 475-628
Scc.
W r i n e , B. E., 1971, Quantitativehydrologic study of a closed
basin w i t h a playa (Estancia Valley, New Mexico) : New
Mexico I n s t i t u t e MiningTechnology, Ph.D. dissert., 165 p.
Dury,
G. B., 1973, Paleohydrologic i q l i c a t i o n s of som pluvial
lakes in northwestern-New South Wales, Australia: Geol.
Soc., Amrica, B u l l . , v. 84, p. 3663-3676
F a l l i s , J. F., Jr., 1958, Geology of the Pedernal Hills area,
Torrance Cowty, New Mexico: M S . thesis, Univ. New
Mexico, 50 p.
Feth, J. H., and Brown, R. J., 1962, A method f o r measuring
upward leakage from artesian aquifers using rates of saltcrust accmulation: U. s. Geol. Survey,, Prof Paper 450-B,
Short papers in geology, hydrology and topography, p.B100-Bl01
-
Forernan, Fred, Clisby, K. B., and Sears, P. B.,
Plio-Pleistocene sediments and climates of
Plains, New Mexico: New Mexico Geol. Soc.,
10th Field Conf., west-central New Mexico,
1959,
the San Aug~~stin
Guidebook
p. 117-120
Foster, R. W., and Stipp, T. F., 1961, Preliminary geologic and
r e l i e f map of the Precambrian rocks of New Mexico: New Mexico
Bureau Mines Mineral Resources, C i r c . 57, 37 p.
Freeze, R. A., andWitherspoon, P. A., 1966, Theoretical analysis
of regional groundwater flow, I. Analytical and nmwxical
solutions to the mathematical &el:
Water Resources
Research, v. 2, p, 641-656
_""
, 1967,
Theoretical anaylsis of regional groundwater
flow, 11. Effect of water-table configuration and subsurface
p e r n e a b i l i t y m i a t i o n : P r a t e r Resources Research, v. 3, p.
623-634
. .
193
I
I'
Frye, J. C., andLeonard, A. B., 1965, Quatemzy
of the
southexn G r e a t Plains, in The Quaternary of the United
States: Princeton, Prinzton
'
Univ. Press, p..203-216
Galloway, Robert W., 1970, The full-glacial climate in the
southwestern United States: Annals Assoc. A
m. Geographers,
V. 60, p. 245-256
Greene, F. C.,
1909, Caves and cave formation of the "ithcell
limestone:Indiana Acad. Sci. Roc, for 1908, p. 175-184
Hafsten, U l f , 1961, Pleistocene develo-t
of vegetation and
climate in the southern High Plains are evidenced by
pollen analysis, in Paleoemlogy of the Llano Estacado:
Santa Fe, Museurn N& Mexico Press, p. 59-91
H a r b w , Jerry, 1958, Microstratiqaphic and sedimentational
studies of an early-mn site near Lucy, New M e x i c o : M S .
thesis, Univ. New Mexico, 111 p.
Hibken, F. C., 1941, Evidences of early occupation in Sandia
Cave, New Mexico, and other sites in t h e Sandia-mlzano
Region: Smithsonian Misc. C o l l n . , v. 99, n. 23, p. 1-44
Hudson, J. D., 1971, Groundwater levels in New Mexico, 1969:
New Mexico State Engineer, Basic Data Rept., 74 p.
X.
Robinson, T. W., Bowles, W. A., and Washbum,
L.,
1966, Hydrologic hasin, Death Valley, California: U. S.
Geol. Survey, Prof, Paper 494-B, 137 p.
H u n t , C. B.,
Johnson, D. W., 1902, Notes of a geological reconnaissance i n
eastern Valencia County, New Mexico: American Geol.,
V. 29,p.
80-87
1950, Depressions of the northern portion of the
Southern High Plains of eastern New Mexico: Geol. Soc.
Amxica, B u l l . , v. 61, p. 253-273
Judson, S.,
Kelley, V. C., 1963, Geologic m p of the Sandia PQuntains
and vicinity, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau Mines Mineral
Resources, -01. Map 18
, 1972,
Geology of the Fort Smmer sheet, New Mexico:
New Meyim Bureau Mines Mineral Resources, B u l l . 98,
"
" "
"
55 p.
Kelley, V. C., and Thompson, T. B., 1964, Tectonic map of the
Ruidoso-Carrizozo region; New Mexico: New E 4 e x i c o Geol. SOC.,
Guidekcok 15th Field Conf.,Ruidoso country, south-central
New Mexico, p. 110-121
.
0'
Keyes, C. R., 1903, Ephmerallakes:
16, p.. 377-378
,
Am.
Jour. Sci., 4th
194
ser., v.
, 1908, Geologic processes and geographic p r d u c t s of
t h e a r i d region: G
e
o
l
. Scc. America, B u l l , v. 19, p. 570-575
Kottlmski, F. E., 1961, Pennsylvanian rocks in north-central New
Mexico: New Mexico Geol. SOC., Guidebook 1 2 t h Field Conf.,
Albuquerque country, New Mexico, p. 97-104
Lmgkein, W. B., 1961, Salinity and hydrology of closed lakes: U. S .
Geol. Survey, ProfgPaper 412, 20 p.
Leopold, L. B., 1951, Pleistocene climte in New Mexico:
Sci., v. 249, p. 152-168
Am. Jour.
Lyons, T. R., 1969, A study of the paleo-Indian and desert culture
conplexes of the Estancia Valley ara, New Mexcio: Ph-D.
dissert.,Univ. New Mexico,355 p.
Meinzer, 0. E., 1911, Geology and water resources of Estancia Valley,
New Mexico: with notes on ground-water mnditions in adjacent
parts of cenl-ral New Mexico: U. S. Geol. Survey, Water-Supply
Paper 275, 89 p.
Meyers, J. S., 1962, Evaporation from the 17 western states: U. S .
Geol. Survey, ProfL'Paper 272-D, p. D71-Dl00
Morrison, R. B., and Frye, J. C., 1965, Corxelation of the middle
and l a t e Quaternary successions of the Lake Lathontan, Lake
Bonneville, Rocky &m-~'cain(WasatchRange), Southern Great
Plains, and eastern Midwest areas: Nevada Bureau Mines, Rept.
9, 45 p.
Myers, D. A., 1966, Gelogic m p of the Tajique quadrangle, 'Ibrrance
and Bernalillo Counties, New Mexico: U. S. Geol. Survey,
GQ-551
, 1967, Geologic m p of the Torreon quadrangle, Tbrrance
County, New Mexim: U. S Geol. Survey,GQ-639
.
Needham, C. E., and Bates, R. L., 1943,Permian type sections
central New Mexico: Geol. SOC. America, B u l l . , v. 54, p.
1654-1656
.
i n .
.
New Mexico State Engineer Office, 1956, Climatological sum[l~vy,
New Mexico, precipitation 1849-1954: New Mexico S t a t e Fngineer,
Tech, Rept. 6, 407 p.
, 1965, Thiclcness of a l l w i m (valley f i l l and lake
deposits), Estancia UndergroundWater Basin: New Mexico S t a t e
Engineer, open-file m p
195
, 1966,
-"""""_
Specific conductance
of ground water, Estancia
Underground Water Basin: New
Mexico State Engineer, open-file
mP
IQrthroj?, S. A., 1959,
New Mexico Press,
Minerals of M
New
e
x
c
io
: Albuquerque,Univ.
665 p.
Olsen, Siguard, 1944, Danish Charophyta, chronological, ecological,
and biological investigations: K.
DetDanske Vidensk. Selsk.,
Biol. Skr., bind 3,nr. 1
Peck, R. E., 1957,Wrth m i c a n Mesozoic Qlarophyta: U.
S.
Geol. S u w e y , Prof. Paper 294-A, p.
44
Phalen, W. C., 1919, Salt resources .the
ofUnited States: U. S.
Geol. Survey, Bull. 669, 284 p.
Piper, A. M., 1932, Ground water i n north-central Tennessee:
U. S. Geol. Survey, Water-Supply Paper 640, 238 p.
:.
.
Read, C. B , Wilpolt, R. H i , Andxews,. D. A., S m s G n , C. H.,
and !@mG.
d, H., 1944, Geologic map and stratigraphic sections
of P d a n and Pennsylvanian rocks of of
parts
San Miguel, San'ca
Fe, Sandoval, Bernalillo, Tbrrance,
and Valencia counties, north
Gas
central NewM e x i c o : U. S Geol. Survey, Oil and Gv.
Prelim. W p OM-21
.
Feeder, H. O., Herrick, E.€I., Hood, J. W., and Gordon, E. D., 1959,
Annual water-level measurenents
in observation wells, 19511955, and atlas of maps showingin water
changeslevels for
various
periods from beginning
o€ record through 1954, MNew
exico; &
P a r t C, South-central closed basins and.Rio Grande valley:
p- 221-269
New Mexico S t a t e Engineer, Tech. Rept. 13,
Reeves, C. C., Jr., 1973, The full-glacial climate
the of
southern
JOW.Geology, v. 81, p. 693-704
High Plains, West Texas:
Reiche, Parry, 1949,
Geology of the Manzanita and north Manzano
Mountains, New Mexico:Geol. Soc. America, Bull., v.60
p. 1183-1212
Richmnd, G. M., 1963, Correlation sore
of glacial depositsin
Ncw Mexico: U. S. Geol. Survey, Prof. Paper 450-E, p.
E121-El25 .
.
.
S h m , 'R. C., 1961, Genesisand classification of soils
in the
semi-arid region
of central.New
M e x i c o : M.S..thesis,
New Xexico State Univ., 156 p.
'
'
196
&xi&, G.
I., 1966, Geology of Searles Iake-a guide to
prospecting for buried continental salines, i n Second
Symposium of Salt: Cleveland, Northern Ohio &l.
Soc.,
p- 167-180
Smith, R.
E., 1957, Geology and ground-wa*
resoucces of Tbnance
County, New Mexico: New M
e
x
c
io Bureau Mines Mineral Resources,
Ground-Water Rept. 5, 186 p.
S t e m s , C. E., 1953, Tertiary Geology of the Galisteo-Tongue area,
New Mexico: Geol. Scc. m i c a , B u l l . , v. 64, p. 459-508
Stephenson, R. L., 1965JQuaternary human occupation of the plains,
in The -ternary
of the United States: Princeton, Princeton
Univ. Press, p. 685-696
Swinnerton, A. C., 1932,Origin of l b s t n n e caves: G
e
o
l
. Soc.
mica, B u l l . , v. 43, p. 663-693
Talmdge, S. B., and Andreas, A., 1942,carbon dioxide in New
M e x i c o : New M
e
x
c
io Bureau Mines Mineral Resources, C i r c .
9, 7 P.
Talmdge, S. B., andTkotton, T.P., 1937, The non-metallic
mineral resources of New Mexico and their economic features
(exclusive of f u e l s ) : New Mgxico Bureau Mines Mineral Resources,
B u l l . 12, 159 p.
T h r a i l k i l l , John, 1968, chemical and hydrologic factors in the
excavation of l i m s t o n e caves: G
e
o
l
. S o c . Anaerica, B u l l . ,
V. 79, p. 19-46
Titus, F. B., 1961, Ground-water geology of the Rio Gmnde
trough in north-central New Mexico, w i t h section-’on the
Jemez Caldera and the Lucero Uplift: New Mexico Geol. Scc.,
Guidebook 1 2 t h F i e l d Conf., Albuquerque country, New Mexico,
p. 186-192
-
Tbth,
, 1969,
Late T e r t i a r y and Quaternary hydrogeology of
Estancia Sasic, New Mexico: Univ. New Mexico l?h.D. dissert.,
179 p.
J., 1963, A theoretical analysis of gromdwater flow in m
aI.1
drainage basins: Jour. Geophys. Research, v. 68, no. 1 6 ,
p. 4795-4812
U. S. Weather Bureau, 1955-1968, Climtological data, New Mexico:
V.
59-72
197
Weir, J. E., Jr., 1965, Geolosy and availability of ground water in
the northern part of the White Sands Missile Bnge and
vicinity, New Mexico: U. S. G&l.S w e y , Water Supply
Paper 1801, 78 p.
Wendorf, Fred (ed.), 1961, Paleoecology of the Llano Estacado:
Santa Fe, MuseumbJew M e x i c o Press, 144 p.
Wilpolt, R. H., MacUpin, A. J., Bates, R. L., and Vorbe;Georges,
1946, Geologic map and stratigraphic sections of Paleozoic
rocks of Joyita H i l l s , Los Pinos Mountains, and northern
Chupadera Mesa, Valencia, Tbrrance, and Socorro Counties,
New Mexico: U.. S. Geol. Survey, O i l & Gas Inv. Prelim.
Map OM-61
198
APPENDIX A -- Selected Drillers' I.cgs of Water Wells
(from New Mexico State.zngineer Office files)
"
bation:
mer:
"
SE%dW%jsec. 18, T. 4 N., R.' 9 E.
N. Knight
'
~~~
S q l e description
ft
Lacustrine unit
Surface s o i l
Gray clay
. .
Alluvial u n i t
Caliche
Caliche and gravel
P a l e red c l a y
Gray clay, some gravel and sand
P a l e red clay, gravel
Red clay, gravel, sand
Gray clay, gravel, sand
Gray clay
Red clay, gravel
Brown c l a y , gravel, sand
~~
Thickness
ft
6
8
6
14
12
13
26
39
48
55
64
88
124
128
132
152
9
7.
9
24
36
4
4
20
'
199
mation:
&Mer:
SWkSW%S& sec. 10, T. 6 N.,
R. 8 E.
IhkllOWIl
Sample description
ft
Lacustrine unit (?)
Topsoil
Adobe clay
Allwial unit
Red clay, gravel
Water
Clay, gravel
Sand, gravel,clay
Yellow clay, sand
Yellow clay, sand, gravel
Red clay, gravel
Sand, gravel
Clay
Gravel, clay
?ed clay
Sand, gravel, water
Clay
Gravel, clay, sand
Red clay
Boulder rock
Madera Limestone
. Red-bed clay
Thickness
.ft
3
3
15
21
2
7
20
3
36
38
45
65
68
75
87
90
100
110
130
135
140
145
173
175
12-
I
12
3
10
10
20
5
5
5
28
2
200
sW% sec. 30, T. 6 N.,
Location:
O
w
n
e
r
:
-le
'
'iy. Blackwell
... .
.
.
...
.
. .
description
Lacustrine unit and a l l u v i a l unit
and
R. 11 E.
(undifferentiated)
Soil
Gravel
Colored clay
Gray sandy clay and gravel
-Gray and red clay w i t h sandy clay
Grayand red sand with sandy clay, water
clay
Gray
red
Gray sand and sandy clay, water
Red clay
Lost circulation (rock)
Depth
"hichess
ft
ft
..
3
7
18
3
19
11
14
3
1
8
.
3
10
28
'
31
.
50
61
75
78
79
87
'
201
kcation:
mer:
NW@W&SE%SeC. 19, T. 7 N., R. 10 E.
H. Price
S q l e description
Thichess
ft
ft
Lacustrine unit (?)
Soil
Caliche
3
27
3
30
Alluvial unit
Sandy shale
Sand and mud
Lime shell
20
65
15
115
130
Triassic rocks
Red bed
Red sand rock
Red sandy shale
Red sand rock
San3.y red shale
30
40
50
50
160
200
250
5
300
305
San Aqdres Formation
Broken liw
7
312
50
i
202
Location:
owner:
,
Wfi'?$i
NE%fi'?$i
sec. 19, T. 7 E., R. 10 E.
H. Benefield
Sample description
Lacustrine unit
Surface'
Yellow s h a l e
Thickness
2
Alluvial unit
Caliche
Sand
Lime
Iied sandy shale and gypsum
Triassic rocks
Red shale
Sand
Sand and gravel
Red shale, sandy
Red shale, gypsan, shells
-Red sandy shale
Red shale
Hard sand
San adres Fonnation
Yellow clay and aravel
gravel
et
Depth
ft
2
36
38
'7
45
90
45
2
33
92
125
30
10
10
25
15
25
10
4.
26
'
,155
155
165
175
200.
200
215
240
250
254
280
.
.
.
.
203
S a sec. 3, T. 11 N., R. 8 E.
W. Richards
Lxation:
owner:
S q l e description
.....
. . . . ,
Alluvial unit
Topsoil and caliche
Sand, brown
Brown mdium sand
I,
11
8,
11
I
It
,I
.
Brown sand and gravel
White rocks
Brown gravel and granite
Various gravel and boulder
Various boulders
112
Mesaverde Formation
Light brown sandstone and sand
Light. brown sandstone
Green shale
Blue shale
Blue and brown shale
Light brown sandstone
10
27
10
15
23.
9
17
24
132
25
97
9
56
50
19
37
64
74
89
121
138
162
294
319
416
425
481
531
550
204
,
Location:
mer:
SWk sec. 32, T. 11N., R. 9 E.
B. K i n g
Sample description
Thickness
ft
Alluvial unit
Topsoil
Caliche
Shale
Sand and gravel
Gravel
Sand and gravel
Gravel
Sandand gravel
6
14
'
Triassic rocks
Redbed
Red rock
Redbed:.
. .
"
"
'
..
70
110
110
10
65
20
55.
15
15
ft
6
20
90
200
310
320
385
405
460
475
490
205
-- Sarrple logs from deep test holes drilled by
New Mexico I n s t i t u t e of Mining & Technolgy
APPFIDIX B
Location:
NFilW:
NE%IW%SW% sec. 1 2 , T. 6 N., R. 9 E.
Means #1
Sanple description
Thidness
ft
Dune sedirrent
Gypsum sand
ft
10
10
Clay, s i l t y , gray;laminated orange clay
interkedded in miadle of section; disseminated
fine gypsum crystals below 26 f t
28
Clay, gray, pale-yellow to buff, sticky, yellow
t o buff clay loose; disseminated gypsum;
organic
fibrous
material (chaxophytes?)
30
38.
Upwr
lake sequence
Pkdial sand sequence
loose, w e l l
Sand, very fine to fine, clean,
rounded, frosted, quartzose; little sandy
clay in -per part, qray, yellow
19
68
87
Lower lake sequence
Clay,sandy, gray, orange t o buff; gypsiferous
a t top; few nodules orange to brown linestone
near base
21
108
Alluvial unit
Sand, f i n e t o coarse,. loose, very well rounded 1
Clay, partly sandy, brick-red to pale
brick-red, few thin zones i n upper 2 f t ,
cream; f e w flakes carbonized wccd a t 118 f t
( s o i l zone?)
22
L k s t o n e , sandy, w h i t e to tan, nodular;
sand very coarse .to Wium, rounded; caliche 2
109
131
133
206
Location:
N m :
sec. 16, T. 6 N., R. 9 E.
School Section #l
SU%W%SW%
Sample description
Thickness
ft
ft
Upper lake sequence
Clay, l i g h t gray t o t a n ; contains fine
gypsum crystals, fibrous organic mterial
in lower part
60
Prtedial sand sequence
Sand, fine, well sorted, rounded, frosted
18
Lovrer lake sequence
Clay, gray,
tan, little orange
60
78
24
Alluvial unit
Clay, brown to reddish-brown; tkin sand beds
28
Sand and clay, brown, red toward base
.
50
Sand, mdium to coarse, very permeable
28
reddish-brown;
Clay,
thin beds
sand
27
Sand, coarse, little very fine; thin granule
gravel beds, p a r t l y c m t e d ; orange clay M s
near base
40
silty
Sand, s i l t y , red, fine; red,grayclay;
gravel a t 290 t o 295 f t
25
Sand, very f i n e t o coarse, partly cemented; l i t t l e
red, tan, white clay
20
Clay, brown, red
5
Sand, medim to coarse, partly cement& with
calcim carbonate
5
Clay, silty, red, t a n ; very f i n e , s i l t y sand
beds
20
Sand, s i l t y , tan, red, very fine, pdorly
clay cemented; red
10
102
130
180
208
235
275
300
320
325
330
350
360
207
Location :
N m :
S&S&Wk
sec. 22, T. 6 N., R. 9 E.
Berkshire #l
Sample description
ft
Thickness
ft
=P*
Upper lake sequence
Clay, gray, pale-yellow t o orange:
disseminated smll gypsum crystals;
o s t r a d s and charophytes
44
Medial sand sequence
Sand, fine t o rredium,rounded, frosted,
quartzose
11
tan; s l i g h t l y gypsiferous;
Clay,sandy,
o s t r a d s 12
and charophytes
e
d
u
im t o very coarse,
Sand, partly clayey, m
rounded,partly
frosted,
cmted
13
Gravel, very sandy, very fine, rounded,
m s t l y q u a r t z and l h s t o n e ; a 1 1 caliche
fragments and thin
clay
beds in lower p a r t 15
44
55
67
80
95
Imer lake sequence
Clay, silty, tan, gray, some pale-green;
contains mall caliche fragments
(allochthonous?)
10
Alluvial unit
Sand, s i l t y , tan to brown; very fine gravel
s i z e & caliche, rounded (allochthonous?)
15
Clay, s i l t y , sandy, red to pink
10
Sandand red t o pink s i l t y c l a y interbedded 40
Gravel, very sandy, very f i n e t o fine,
rounded, calcium carbonate cement
38
Clay, silty, sandy, tan, reddish-brown,
l i t t l e pale-green; thin sand interkeds
27
Sand, fine, cemented
7
Clay, s i l t y , reddish-brown, pale-green
8
Sand,reddish-brovm,
coarse, well sorted,
subangular
7
Clay, reddish-brown, gray, sticky
23
Sand, very coarse t o fine, rounded to
subrounded, poorly cemented
8
Clay, gray, reddish-brown, sticky
. 12
105
120’
130
170
208
235
242
250
257
280
288
300
,
208
Sand and very fine gravel, subrounded to
subangular, sand fine to coarse, partly
c m t e d with calcium carbnate; gravel
contains few feldspar grains; interbeds
of reddish-brown, gray clay
Limestone, clayey, light-brown, few
chips mllusk shell, highly permeable
(taking water), fresh-water limestone?;
interkdded with coarse sand and gray t o
red clay
Clay, silty, partly sandy, red i n top 5+
ft, becoming a yellow to gray below; contains
unidentified black mineral grains and few
chert fra-ts;
seed pod from 360-362.5 ft;
gastropd fragmsnts
42
342
10
352
'
Yeso Formation
Shale, very s i l t y , sandy, red, little green
clay; light-gray sandstone, white
gypsum a t
base
22
.
16
.
374
390
,. v-jj
I?
?
Location:
N m :
Qickness
209
SE%SE%W%sec. 20,T. 6 N., R. 9 E.
Berkshire
82
%Pa
ft
S w l e description
Uppr lake sequence
Clay, light-gray, pale-yellow;
mall.gypsum
crystals
43
Medial sand sequence
3
Sand, fine tomedim, rounded, frosted
6
light-gray
to
white
Clay,
little
light-gray
fine
to
coarse,
rounded;
Sand,
clay in upper part, little light-red clay;.fine
28
gravel in lower part
Iower lake
43
46
52
80
sequence
Clay, tan to
near
white,
gray:
thin beds of
red
silt
Alluvial unit
12
Clay, gray, red; caliche
16
Clay, silty, red
7
Caliche; red. clay
Sand, rcedim to coarse, rounded;
interbedded red
clay, silty, partly sandy; caliche bed at
181 to 184 ft
74
Caliche,
sandy,
white;
little
red
sand
9
coarse red, silty,Sand,
6
Clay, silty, sandy, redtan;
to thin sand layers
interbedded
26
very coarse;
caliche
Sand, gray to red, coarse
to
fraqents
12
Silt, clayey, sandy,red, gray; little fine gravel
to
274
at
21
Sand, tan to gray, coarse to very coarse, few
7
ins
feldspar
Sand, very clayey, silty, gray, dark-red,.fine to
'
19
coarse,
quartzose,
feldspar
grains
Gravel,sandy,fine,rounded
to subangular
11
Sand., clayey, silty, gray red, fine to coarse;
10
clay, red, gray; little gravel, sandy, granules
Limestone, clayey, brown to light-brown, lightcoarse
gray;
10
Clay, sandy,red to dark-red; contains fragments
of qastropod
shells
10
.
100
112
128
135
209
218
224
250
262
283
290
309
320
330
340
350.
I
-- Chemical
analyses of water from playas and from s e l e c t e d
wells i n Estancia Valley
(Analyses by U.S. Geological Survey, Albuquerque,New Mexico; c o n s t i t u e n t s i n mg/l)
APPENDIX C
-
"
-
Location
North end, Laguna d e l P e r r o
same as above
same a s above
same as above
a s above
5/ 3/67
6/22/67
8/ 8/67
9/ 7/67
1/ 2/68
5/21/68
bJE'&SE% s e c . 20,
2/ 6/68
695
4/30/68
T. 6 N.,
R. 9 E.
same a s above
W'r
see. 21, T . 6 N.,
same as above
R.
9 E.
NE$NW$ sec. 28, T. 6 N.,
R. 9 E .
<*
PS
VTIA VALLEY FORMATION
1.2
42
680
333
540
20
I,200
2/ 6/68
620
4/30/68
R. 10 E .
NE$NE$SW'a sec.
. . 19, T. 6 N.,
Ca
6/22/67
2/ 6/68
570
same as above
SW$ sec. 6, T. 6 N.,
-
Date
843
39
6/22/67
701
R. 10 E .
6/22/67
485
"
PLAS
YA
AM
. PLES
Mg
Na
K
-
Total
Solids
c1
__
-
25,400
34,000
5,330
20,000
3,170
16,000
65,000
52,100
37,400
112,000
27,000
114,000
2,500
2,630
624
2,260
402
1,630
1,010
321
734
156
416
20,250
78,500
30,200
95,000
15,100
94,000
177,000
126,000
50,800
160,000
39,500
151,000
443,400
294,000
126,000
400,000
86,400
377,000
636
1,380
5,800
11,600
71
138
126
62
4,600
8,800
8,700
17,600
20,900
40,800
4,500
9,380
26,500
61,500
409
840
148
320
13,100
30,500
45,500
101,000
91,000
210,000
13,700
39,900
211,800
73,600
. 916
3,500
lox,000
29,500
60,400
147,000
137,000
373,000
7,160
57,800
497
114
13,000
103,000
182,000
3,260
107
53
1,640
6,750
12,900
620
'
3,580
3,940
WELL SAMPLES
7'ln
W$ sec. 1 , T . 6 N., R. 9 E .
'sec. 11, T. 6 N . , R. 9 E .
.
4/26/50
228
4/12/50
177
107
69
226
122
252
295
780
462
336
190
1,830
1,160
203 1 6
670
524
1,150,
774
3,290
2 0'
640
732
888
3,040
17
21
648
633
I t 090
766
490
670
MEDIAL SAND MEMBER, DOG LAKE FORMATION
SWiSW'aSE'a sec. 16, T. 6 N.,
R. 9 E.
f!E1~XEbSE'a sec. 20, T. 6 N., R. 9 E .
(Berkshire #3 t e s t hole)
s m e as above
same as above
'
2/20/68
174
12/12/67
188
1/4/68
4/23/68
698144
92
106
170
237
542
634
2,440
3,100
A