NEW MEXICO BUREAU OF GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES A DIVISION OF NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY
105°37'30"W
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105°35'0"W
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NMBGMR Open-file Map Series
OFGM 94
Last Modified 25 April 2006
105°30'0"W
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3693000
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33°22'30"N
20
13
6
8
19
17
7
37
5
8
7887
12
3692000
Qaf
9
28
18
Qvf
17
19
18
25
Py
15
Qvf
Qaf
28
26
3691000
Td
82 82
Qvf
3
17
14
43
Psa
13
30
Py
7
34
35
Qvf
15
20
Qaf
3
15
Qrt3
Qrt3
15
Td
18
13
18
20
12
14
41
10
12
61
7
5
37
3688000
10
Qg
Qrt2
daf Qrt2
Qrt2
Qaf
Qvf
Qvf
52
5
9
49
17
34
Qvf
3689 000
19
af
af
Qvf
20
0
Py
Py
10
3
Psa-g
16
17
25
Py
Qvf af
7
Qg
Qc
3687 000
4
5
2
Qc
15
9
3686000
Qrt3 - Lowest terrace deposit of Rio Ruidoso (Holocene) - Poorly to moderately sorted
alluvial deposits composed of interstratified fine to coarse sand and sandy cobble to
boulder gravel. Clasts are rounded intrusive and volcanic igneous rocks with lesser
limestone and sandstone. Deposit forms the active floodplain of the Rio Ruidoso and
its surface is within a few meters of present stream grade. Largely mapped from aerial
photographs. Thickness: 0 to 5 (?) meters.
4
7
Py
Qc – Colluvium (lower to upper Pleistocene) - Unlithified valley margin deposits
composed of poorly sorted clay, silt, and sand, with abundant angular to subrounded
cobbles and boulders of San Andres limestone. Cobbles and boulders are much more
abundant than in unit Qvf. Mantles Yeso Formation and Quaternary stream gravels
(Qg) at the toes of steep slopes on the south side of the Rio Ruidoso valley.
Thickness: 0 to10 (?) meters.
Qvf
Qvf
6
3687000
3688 000
Qvf
Qvf
Qc
10
33°20'0"N
70
4
32
Py
16
2
24 17
2
daf
8417
13
7
Qvf - Valley fill (upper Pleistocene to Holocene) - Unlithified valley fill composed of
poorly sorted clay, silt, and sand, commonly with angular to subrounded cobbles of
local bedrock. Matrix material is light to dark brown, reflecting soil development
processes. Grades into minor alluvial and colluvial fans on toes of hillslopes.
Generally incised by active drainages, floored by sand and cobble to boulder gravel of
QHa. Anthropogenic disturbance common in developed areas. Also fills circular
depressions on San Andres limestone uplands, exemplified by Pothole Lake, that are
probably sinkholes. Largely mapped from aerial photographs. Thickness: 0 to12 (?)
meters.
17
4
24
Qrt3
Qaf
Qvf
4
Qrt2
Qc
43
36
900
4
Py
af
Qrt1
Py
Qls
17
3690 000
Qvf
Qvf
Qaf
Qrt3
Qg
Qrt2
Td
Qrt3
7
Qrt3
Qrt3Qrt3
Qrt3Qrt3
Qrt3
Qg
Qrt3
Qvf
Py
8
2
18
71
QHa - Alluvium (Holocene to Historic) - Unlithified gravel and poorly to moderately
sorted clay, silt, sand in active stream channels and ephemeral arroyos. Generally
incised into Qvf and terrace deposits. Only mapped where extensive; unit is otherwise
lumped with Qvf. Thickness: 0 to 4 (?) meters.
13
Qrt2
30
Qaf
7
40
daf Heavily disturbed land and/or artificial fill. Mapped where extensive, underlying
deposits are obscured, and/or geomorphic surfaces are extensively altered.
Quaternary and Tertiary Surficial Deposits
Qvf
30
Qrt3
Qvf
daf
Py
Qaf Qrt2
Qaf
Qg
13
24
24
26
26 Qg
Td
17
23
15
30
Qg
Qaf
33°20'0"N
18
daf
Qrt2
12
Qvf
Qvf
Qg
Qrt2
5
37
5
3691 000
12
Py
Qc
Qc
17
5
Qg Qvf
Qg Qvf
Qvf
Qaf
8
33
Qrt1
Qrt2
9
38
Psa
17
10
Qrt3
Qaf
32
Qvf
14
Qvf
16
14
21
3689000
57
Qc
Qrt1
Qaf
2
Qvf
Qg
af
14
14
QHa
Qrt3
af
Qaf Qrt2
683
78
4
27
Qvf
Qrt1
Qrt3 Qrt2
Qaf
3690000
Qaf
af Artificial fill for stock tanks and highway embankments.
12
Qc
Qaf
45
28
Qrt3
Anthropogenic Deposits
Qls
21
41
Qg
Mapped and compiled by Geoffrey Rawling
EXPLANATION OF MAP UNITS
10
Qaf
Qrt3
af
Qrt2
Qrt2
Td
Qvf 45
15
Qvf
Tmz
Tmz
9
af Qrt3
Qrt2
13
3692 000
3
Qg
Qrt2
Qaf
daf
4
Qrt2
Qrt2
Qvf
7
Preliminary Geologic Map of the Ruidoso Downs Quadrangle
OF-GM-94
12
4
10
7
7
15
17
Qaf
8
13
56
Py
11
5
4
3
Qls
Qrt3
20
Qrt3
Qrt3
34
Qvf
15
20
12
Qrt3
Qrt3
Qrt3
33°22'30"N
8
Psa
Qrt2
Qaf
Py
9
Qvf
17
Qaf
Py
Qvf
3686 000
20
Qrt2 – Middle terrace deposit of Rio Ruidoso (upper Pleistocene) - Poorly to
moderately sorted alluvial deposits composed of interstratified fine to coarse sand
and sandy cobble to boulder gravel. Clasts are rounded intrusive and volcanic igneous
rocks with lesser limestone and sandstone. Forms discontinuous remnants between
units Qrt3 and Qrt1. Deposit forms a terrace whose tread is 5 - 6 meters above
present stream grade, dissected, and generally affected by human disturbance. Largely
mapped from aerial photographs. Thickness: 0 to 6 (?) meters.
4
12
Psa-g
23
11
3685 000
6
0
0
36
Qrt1 – Upper terrace deposit of Rio Ruidoso (middle Pleistocene) - Poorly to
moderately sorted alluvial deposits composed of interstratified fine to coarse sand and
sandy cobble to boulder gravel. Clasts are rounded intrusive and volcanic igneous
rocks with lesser limestone and sandstone. The surface of the deposit forms a terrace
tread 12-15 meters above present stream grade, which is variably eroded, and strongly
affected by human disturbance. Largely mapped from aerial photographs. Thickness:
0 to 10 (?) meters.
Psa
8
2
Py
6
3684000
10
Qvf
3684 000
8
33°17'30"N
9
Qvf
Qvf
33°17'30"N
7
Qvf
4
3683000
3683 000
Qvf
Qaf – Alluvial fan deposits (middle to upper Pleistocene) - Alluvial fans composed of
poorly sorted rounded to angular cobbles, boulders, sand, silt, and clay. Fans head in
tributary canyons and interfinger with or spread out onto Qvf and terrace deposits.
Stabilized by vegetation and apparently no longer active, and locally incised by
drainages floored with QHa. Mapped where geomorphic expression is clear on aerial
photos. Thickness: 0 to 8 (?) meters.
Qls – Landslide deposits (lower to middle (?) Pleistocene) - Landslide and colluvium
complex on steep slopes northeast of Palo Verde Canyon composed of poorly sorted
angular to subrounded blocks of San Andres limestone some of which are backrotated towards the cliff. Debris obscures the San Andres Formation – Yeso
Formation contact, and scattered Yeso outcrops are present. Headscarp is indicated by
normal fault symbols.Thickness: 0 to 60 meters.
0
6
Psa
6
Qvf
35
17
8
18
Psa
3682000
45
3682 000
12
6
2
Psa-g
af
Qg
4
3681000
9
15
13
4
13
3681 000
Qvf
Qvf
20
8
Qvf
6
6
Qvf
9
4
Tmz – Monzonite (?) dike (Oligocene) - Tan to brown aphanitic to very fine-grained
phaneritic dike rocks. Typically composed of approximately equal amounts of white
feldspar and brown mafic minerals with little or no quartz. Often weathers in a
Qvf
10
5
18
6
3680 000
7
Qvf
5
Qvf
12
20
Qvf
11
3
8
5
Qvf
30
Qvf
8Psa-g
Psa-g
5
14
3679000
33°15'0"N
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33°15'0"N
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Base from U.S.Geological Survey 1963.
1927 North American datum, UTM projection -- zone 13N
1000- meter Universal Transverse Mercator grid, zone 13, shown in red
1:24,000
ANGUS
FORT
STANTON
1
LINCOLN
NEW MEXICO
RUIDOSO
APACHE
SUMMIT
RUIDOSO
RUIDOSO
DOWNS
DOWNS
WHITETAIL
1000
SHEEPPEN
CANYON
PAJARITA
MOUNTAIN
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
This draft geologic map is preliminary and will undergo revision. It was produced
from either scans of hand-drafted originals or from digitally drafted original maps
and figures using a wide variety of software, and is currently in cartographic production.
It is being distributed in this draft form as part of the bureau's Open-file map series
(OFGM), due to high demand for current geologic map data in these areas where
STATEMAP quadrangles are located, and it is the bureau's policy to disseminate
geologic data to the public as soon as possible.
After this map has undergone scientific peer review, editing, and final cartographic
production adhering to bureau map standards, it will be released in our Geologic Map
(GM) series. This final version will receive a new GM number and will supercede
this preliminary open-file geologic map.
DRAFT
0.5
0
1
Magnetic Declination
May, 2004
9º 36' East
At Map Center
0
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1 MILE
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105°30'0"W
Geologic map of the Ruidoso Downs
quadrangle, Lincoln and Otero Counties, New Mexico.
7000 FEET
May 2004
1 KILOMETER
by
Geoffrey Rawlings 1
CONTOUR INTERVAL 40 FEET
NATIONAL GEODETIC VERTICAL DATUM OF 1929
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources
Open-file Map Series
1
NMBGMR, 801 Leroy Pl., Socorro, NM, 87801
OFGM 94
COMMENTS TO MAP USERS
Mapping of this quadrangle was funded by a matching-funds grant from the STATEMAP program
of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Act, administered by the U. S. Geological Survey,
and by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, (Dr. Peter A. Scholle,
Director and State Geologist, Dr. J. Michael Timmons, Geologic Mapping Program Manager).
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources
New Mexico Tech
801 Leroy Place
Socorro, New Mexico
87801-4796
[505] 835-5490
http://geoinfo.nmt.edu
This and other STATEMAP quadrangles are (or soon will be) available
for free download in both PDF and ArcGIS formats at:
http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/maps/geologic/ofgm/home.html
Td – Diorite (Oligocene) - Light to dark brown very fine-grained phaneritic to
phaneritic-porphyritic sills and small stocks. Phenocrysts include augite, hornblende
and tabular intermediate (?) plagioclase. Tabular plagioclase phenocrysts are up to 4
cm in diameter and are usually aligned with the dike margins. Includes rocks ranging
from diorite to theralite and gabbro in composition. Thickness: dikes are < 1 up to 5
meters wide. Large diorite sill in Johnson Canyon is 75 meters thick.
Psa
Qvf
7
10
3680000
Qg – Stream gravel deposits (lower to middle (?) Pleistocene) - Moderately lithified,
crudely bedded pebble to boulder gravel along Rio Ruidoso valley and the margin of
Pajarita Flats in the southwest corner of the quadrangle. Along Rio Ruidoso, sandy
clast-supported gravel is interbedded with channel deposits of sand and silty clay.
Postdates incision of modern drainages. Correlated by Moore et al (1988) to the
Palomas gravel of the Tularosa basin. Thickness: 0 to 20 (?) meters.
Cenozoic Igneous Rocks
13
14
Paleozoic Sedimentary Rocks
Psa - San Andres Formation (middle to upper Permian) - Light to dark gray and
bluish gray limestone and dolomite. Limestones and dolomites range from thin to
very thick bedded, and are carbonate mudstones, wackestones, and grainstones.
Freshly broken surfaces are darker gray than weathered surfaces and occasionally
fetid. Beds are often silty or sandy. Dark brown irregular chert nodules are sparse.
Fossils are sparse and are dominantly crinoid stem fragments. Intraformational
solution breccias and paleokarst features such as collapsed caves are common along
faults and as isolated occurrences. They are characterized by red soil and red and
yellow stained breccia fragments. The base of the unit is characterized by irregular
bedding dips due to gypsum dissolution in the underlying Yeso Formation.
Delineation of the San Andres into the lower thick-bedded Rio Bonito Member and
upper thin-bedded Bonney Canyon member (Kelley, 1971) was attempted but was not
possible due to steep topography, heavy vegetation, and sparse outcrop. The lowest
portions of the unit do contain abundant thick beds, but in the Ruidoso area, vertical
changes in bedding thickness and bed color are not mappable distinctions. Thickness:
Thickness: ~ 335 meters.
- Discontinuous beds of
gray and light to medium brown fine to medium-grained sandstone consisting of
frosted and well-rounded quartz grains. Generally only observed as float and very
sparse outcrop. Thickness: 0 to 6 (?) meters.
Py – Yeso Formation (middle Permian) - Yellow to tan siltstone and fine sandstone, red
to pink muddy siltstone and fine sandstone, gray to tan silty limestone and dolomite,
and white to gray gypsum. Siltstone and sandstones are thin to medium bedded and
friable. Muddy siltstones and sandstones are laminated to very thin bedded and
locally contain paleosol carbonate nodules in trains. Limestones are very thin to thin
bedded, rarely medium to thick bedded. In general, they are thinner bedded than
overlying basal San Andres beds. Meter scale interbedding of carbonate, siltstone, and
sandstone is common. Bedding dips are chaotic due to dissolution of gypsum and
(and carbonates?) and individual beds are generally not traceable laterally for more
than a few 10s of meters. Natural exposures are poor except in stream cuts and very
steep slopes and the upper contact is usually mantled by colluvium and/or landslides
from the overlying San Andres Formation. Thickness: Base not exposed; ~ 240
meters exposed along Rio Ruidoso Canyon. Wasiolek (1991) reported a regional
thickness range of 320 to 380 meters based on wells from the north central part of the
Mescalero Reservation.
P\u - Permian to Proterozoic rocks - Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and Proterozoic
igneous and metamorphic rocks, undivided (cross section only). Thickness of SubYeso Paleozoic rocks unknown.
NOTES
11
3685000
granular fashion resulting in a surface texture resembling sandstone. Feldspar is
largely intermediate (?) plagioclase with lesser amounts of potassium feldspar and
forms a felted network of interlocking crystals. Includes rocks ranging from syenite to
diorite in composition. Thickness: dikes are < 1 up to 5 meters wide.
A geologic map displays information on the distribution, nature, orientation, and age relationships
of rock and deposits and the occurrence of structural features. Geologic and fault contacts are
irregular surfaces that form boundaries between different types or ages of units. Data depicted
on this geologic quadrangle map may be based on any of the following: reconnaissance field
geologic mapping, compilation of published and unpublished work, and photogeologic interpretation.
Locations of contacts are not surveyed, but are plotted by interpretation of the position of a given
contact onto a topographic base map; therefore, the accuracy of contact locations depends on the
scale of mapping and the interpretation of the geologist(s). Any enlargement of this map could cause
misunderstanding in the detail of mapping and may result in erroneous interpretations. Site-specific
conditions should be verified by detailed surface mapping or subsurface exploration. Topographic
and cultural changes associated with recent development may not be shown.
Cross sections are constructed based upon the interpretations of the author made from geologic
mapping, and available geophysical, and subsurface (drillhole) data. Cross-sections should be used as
an aid to understanding the general geologic framework of the map area, and not be the sole source
of information for use in locating or designing wells, buildings, roads, or other man-made structures.
The map has not been reviewed according to New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources
standards. The contents of the report and map should not be considered final and complete until
reviewed and published by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. The views and
conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as
necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the State of New Mexico, or
the U.S. Government.
Geology within Mescalero Tribal lands was compiled from Moore et al (1988).
Some bedding attitude measurements north of the Rio Ruidoso were compiled from
Craddock (1964).
REFERENCES CITED AND SELECTED REFERENCES
PERTINENT TO THE STUDY AREA
Ash, S. R., and Davis, L. V., 1964, Guidebook of the Ruidoso Country: New Mexico
Geological Society, Guidebook 15, 189 p.
Barker, J. M., Kues, B. S., Austin, G. S., and Lucas, S. G., 1991, Geology of the Sierra
Blanca, Sacramento, and Capitan Ranges: New Mexico Geological Society,
Guidebook 42, 362 p.
Cather, S. M., 1991, Stratigraphy and provenance of Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene
strata of the western Sierra Balca Basin, New Mexico, in Barker, J. M., Kues, B. S.,
Austin, G. S., and Lucas, S. G., eds., Geology of the Sierra Blanca, Sacramento, and
Capitan Ranges: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 42, p. 265-275.
Craddock, C., 1964, The Lincoln Fold System, in Ash, S. R., and Davis, L. V., eds.,
Guidebook of the Ruidoso Country: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 15,
p. 122-133.
Kelley, V. C., 1971, Geology of the Pecos Country, Southeastern New Mexico: New
Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Memoir 24, 75 p.
Moore, S. L., Foord, E. E., and Meyer, G. A., 1988, Geologic and aeromagnetic map of a
part of the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, Otero County, New Mexico: U.S.
Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1775, 1:50000 scale.
Mourant, W. A., 1963, Water resources and geology of the Rio Hondo drainage basin,
Chaves, Lincoln, and Otero Counties, New Mexico: New Mexico Office of the State
Engineer Technical Report 28, 85 p.
Sloan, C. S., and Garber, M. S., 1971, Groundwater hydrology of the Mescalero Apache
Indian Reservation, south-central New Mexico: U.S. Geologic Survey Hydrologic
Investigations Atlas HA-349, scale 1:125000.
Thompson, T. B., 1966, Geology of the Sierra Blanca, Lincoln and Otero Counties, New
Mexico: PhD Dissertation, University of New Mexico, 146 p.
Thompson, T. B., 1972, Sierra Blanca Igneous Complex, New Mexico: Geological
Society of America Bulletin, v. 83, p. 2341-2356.
Wasiolek, M., 1991, The hydrogeology of the Permian Yeso formation within the upper
Rio Hondo Basin and the Eastern Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, Lincoln and
Otero Counties, New Mexico, in Barker, J. M., Kues, B. S., Austin, G. S., and Lucas,
S. G., eds., Geology of the Sierra Blanca, Sacramento, and Capitan Ranges: New
Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 42, p. 343-351.
MAP AND CROSS SECTION SYMBOLS
A
A
Location of geologic cross section
Geologic contact, solid where exposed, dashed where approximately
?
located, dotted where concealed, queried where inferred
? Normal fault, arrow shows dip and dip direction of fault plane where
measured, ball and bar on downthrown side, dashed where
approximately located, dotted where concealed. Fault tip is queried
where the termination of fault is unknown.
20 . 295
Dip and dip direction of bedding, dashed where compiled from Moore et
al (1998) and Craddock (1964)
Horizontal bedding
20 . 295
Dip and dip direction of joints
Outcrop and local trace of dike