PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THE MINERAL RESOURCE
POTENTIAL OF THE PETACA PINTA WILDERNESS STUDY AREA,
CIBOLA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
Mark J. L o g s d o n
New Mexico B u r e a u of Mines and Mineral R e s o u r c e s
Socorro, NM 8 7 8 0 1
D e c e m b e r 23,
1981
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract
Statement of Purpose
Introduction
Location and Accessibility
Physiography
Previous Geologic Investigations
Acknowledgments
Mining and Exploration History
Geologic Setting
Stratigraphy
Structure
Resource Potential
Summary
Base Metal and Uranium
Oil and Gas Potential
References
Appendices
5
5
7
9
9
Potential
10
13
18'
LL
F I G U R E CAPTIONS
Figure
1
Geologic map a n d s t r a t i g r a p h i c
PintaWildernessStudy
column of t h e Petaca
Area.
A l t e r a t i o n zone i n t h e r e g i o n
of t h e Petaca P i n t a WSA.
Uranium c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n w a t e r s a m p l e s n e a r
the Petaca
P i n t a WSA.
O i l tests i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f t h e
G e n e r a l i z e da x e s
1959)
.
Petaca P i n t a WSA.
of s u r f a c e s t r u c t u r e s ( a f t e r Wengerd,
ABSTRACT
The Petaca P i n t a W i l d e r n e s s S t u d y
Area (WSA)
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 90 km west ofAlbuquerque,
southeastof
New Mexico,and
2 0 km
Acoma P u e b l o , i s i n t h e Acoma s a g , an embayment on
Juan B a s i n o f t h e C o l o r a d o
the southeastern side of the San
Rocks i n t h e Petaca P i n t a area r a n g e
P l a t e a ut e c t o n i cp r o v i n c e .
i na g ef r o m
, located
L a t e T r i a s s i c t o Holocene.
Triassic S y s t e m ; t h e
F o r m a t i o na n dW i n g a t eS a n d s t o n eo ft h e
E n t r a d aS a n d s t o n e ,
They i n c l u d et h eC h i n l e
Summerville FormationandZuniSandstoneof
t h e J u r a s s i c System;theDakotaSandstoneoftheCretaceousSystem;
g r a v e l sa n db a s a l t so ft h eT e r t i a r yS y s t e m ;a n dl a n d s l i d e ,e o l i a n ,
a l l u v i a l , a n ds p r i n gd e p o s i t s
graphicrelationshipsofthe
of t h eQ u a t e r n a r yS y s t e m .
Strati-
Jurassic t o Q u a t e r n a r y u n i t s r e f l e c t
e p e i r o g e n i c movements.
A narrowzone
of a l t e r a t i o n i n t h e J u r a s s i c
s t r a t a , w i t h some
are similar t o a l t e r ' a t i o n p a t t e r n s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
a s p e c t sw h i c h
uranium m i n e r a l i z a t i o n i n t h e G r a n t s
d i s t a n c e i n t o t h e WSA.
District, e x t e n d s a s h o r t
Uranium v a l u e si ns u r f a c es a m p l e s
are v e r y
low, b u t t h e a l t e r a t i o n z o n e
is a potential exploration target.
There i s no s u p p o r t i n f i e l d
or g e o c h e m i c a l e v i d e n c e f o r r e s o u r c e
p o t e n t i a li nc o a l ,p r e c i o u s
metals, b a s e metals, i r o na n d
m a n g a n e s e ,g e o t h e r m a le n e r g y ,h i g h - c a l c i u ml i m e s t o n e ,f l u o r i t e ,
or b a r i t e .
Shows of o i l a n d g a s h a v e b e e n r e p o r t e d f r o m e a s t e r n C i b o l a
County.The
o i l a n dg a sp o t e n t i a lo ft h e
m o d e r a t e l yf a v o r a b l e ,p a r t i c u l a r l y
carbondioxide.
Petaca P i n t a r e g i o n i s
f o r c o m m e r c i a lq u a n t i t i e so f
2
PURPOSE
The
purposeof this
study
is
to
compile
the
known
data
on geologic setting, mineral exploration history, and mineral
resource
The
potential of the
report
can
be
Petaca
used
by the
Pinta
Wilderness
Bureauof Land
Study
Management
Area.
and
other interested parties to evaluate the resource potential of
the
a
Petaca
Pinta
wilderness
area.
as
one
factor
in its potential designation as
INTRODUCTION
Location
and
Accessibility
The Petaca Pinta Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located
approximately 90 km west
of
Albuquerque,
New llexico, and
approximately 20 km southeast of Acoma Pueblo. Access to the
Petaca Pinta areais poor. Improved gravel roads from El Rito
on Interstate-40 or from
a
poorly
maintained
access to the
of the WSA.
Coreoon
dirt
1? Ranch
road
of Acoma
Route6 lead to
NewMexico
along
Arroyo
Puebloon the
Colorado
southeast
which
gives
border
At many times of year, this road is passable only
for four-wheel-drive vehicles. Jeep trails and unimproved dirt
roads
approach
the
western
boundary
of the
WSA
across
East,
Blue
Water, and Victorino Mesas. However, these roads
do not provide
practical
accessto the
formidable
cliffs
WSA
which
because
form
the
they
deadend
western
above
the
of the WSA.
boundary
Physiography
The
Petaca
Pinta
WSA
lies
within
the
Acoma-Zuni
section
of
the Colorado Plateau physiographic province. The climate is
semi-arid;
vegetationis characterized by
grama-tobosa-mesquite
shrub steppe with some stands of piiion-juniper woodland on the
higher mesas (Morain and others, 1977). Elevationsin the
mapped
area
range
from
1760
m
in
the
extreme
northeastern
corner
of the map to2230 m on Blue Water Mesa. There are four principal
1) high mesas formedon
landforms in the Petaca Pinta area:
2 ) landslides
Mesozoic sedimentary rocks along the western margin:
composed of sandstone, basalt, and shale
of Jurassic and younger
..
Y
ages which have slid over shales
of the Triassic Chinle Formation
in the central part
of the area: 3) low, basalt-capped mesas (with
vent complexes) along the eastern margin; and 4) alluvial lowlands
formed
along
the
drainages
of Big
Sandy
wash
and
Arroyo
Colorado.
Previous Geologic Investigations
Stratigraihic studiesin the region include Gregory (1917),
, Kelley and Wood (1946)
, Landis
Harshbarger and others (1957)
and others (1973), Maxwell (1976b), and Silver (1948). Structural
geology and tectonics of the region are considered by Kelley (195
1955), Kelley and Wood (1946), and Maxwell (1976b). Geologic maps
which
include
part
or all of the WSA have been published Jicha
by
(1959), Kelley and Wood (1946), Machette (1978), and Maxwell
(1976b, 1979). Detailed geologic mapsof adjacent areas have been
prepared by Maxwell (1976), Moench (1963, 1964), and Moench and
Schlee (1967). C.H. Maxwell of the U . S .
continuing
his
field
quadrangle
maps
mapping
of
the Broom
Geological Survey is
further
into
Mountain,
Marmon
the ofarea
the WSA
Ranch,
and
with
Cerro
del Oro 7 . 5 minute quadrangles (in preparation).
Acknowledgments
The author
gratefully
acknowledges
the
of C.H.
willingness
Maxwell of the U.S.
Geological Survey to share unpublished maps
of portions of the
Petaca
altered
Mesozoic
Pinta
sedimentary
WSA
rocks
and
and
chemical
Quaternary
analyses
spring
of
deposits
of the WSA. The map of the area and the description of the geology
profited
from
discussion
R.N.
with
Chamberlin of the
New
Mexico
on oil and
Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources. The section
I
5
gas potential was prepared by R.A. Bieberman
theof New
Mexico
Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources. This preliminary mineral
resource
New
evaluationwas performed
Mexico
Bureau
of Mines
and
under
a
Mineral
contract
Resources
between
the
and U the
.S.
Bureau of Land Management. The report was typedby Sue Ness and
Lynne
McNeilof the New
MINING
There
has
Mexico
AND
been
no
Bureau
of Mines
EXPLORATION
mining
of
and
Mineral
Resources.
HISTORY
metallic
or non-metallic
minerals
in the areaof the Petaca Pinta WSA. There is no record of
detailed exploration for minerals in the area. Two test wells
for
oil
and
gas in
the
of the VISA are
vicinity
described
in
the
section on oil and gas (below).
GEOLOGIC
SETTING
Stratigraphy
Figure 1 is
a
geologic
map
of
the
Petaca
Pinta
WSA
and
adjacent areas, compiled from published maps
of Jicha (1959),
Machette (1978) and Maxwell (1976b, 1979), unpublished maps
of
Maxwell (1981, personal communication), and field work conducted
for this study.
Rocks in the
Petaca
Pinta
area
range
in age
from
Late
Triassic to Holocene. The stratigraphic units used
on the map are
described
in
the
composite
stratigraphic
column
which
accompanies
the map.
The
Petaca
Pinta
area
is located
in
the
region
of
the
Jurassic
overlap. The wedge of Jurassic rocks which lies between the
Chinle Formation (Upper Triassic) and the Dakota Sandstone (Upper
b
Cretaceous) disappears southward due to depositional thinning
against
a
positive
area
and
to
truncation
by pre-Dakota erosional
surfaces (Silver, 1948). In terms of mineral resources, the
stratigraphic relationships are important, because the principal
of New
uranium-bearing Jurassic formations
Mexico
(Todilto
Formation and Morrison Formation) are ab'sent in the Pinta
Petaca
WSA.
The Upper Triassic Chinle Formation
is unconformably overlain
, T. 6 N.,
by Middle Jurassic Entrada Sandstone north of 3Sec.
R. 7
W.
of the
From section 13, T. 6 N., R. 7 W., to the southern end
map
area,
by the RockPoint
the
Chinle
Formation
is
unconformably
overlain
Memberof the Wingate Sandstone (Upper Triassic)
(Maxwell, 197633; 1979).
The
Entrada
Sandstone
unconformably
overlies
the
Rock
Point
Member of the Wingate Sandstone as far south as sect.T. 19,
6 N.,
R. 6 W., where the Entrada is truncated
by an angular unconformity
.
of the base of the Middle Jurassic Summerville Formation (Maxwell,
197633).
South of the Entrada pinch-out, the Rock Point Member
of
the Wingate
Sandstone
is
overlain
unconformably
by
the
Summerville
Formation.
The
contact
between
the
Summerville
Formation
and
the
overlying Upper Jurassic Zuni Sandstone is gradational. The Zuni
Sandstone is truncated by Cretaceous erosion and pinches
out very
near the Entrada pinch-out (Maxwell,
197613).
the
Summerville
unit of the
Upper
The high
Formation
is
Cretaceous
mesas
along
the
overlain
Dakota
South of this point,
unconformably
by the basal
Sandstone.
western
boundary
of the
map
are
7
capped by D a k o t aS a n d s t o n e .T e r t i a r yg r a v e l s ,c o n t a i n i n g
ofmiddleTertiary
l i e o na ne r o s i o n
D a t i l Formationvolcanics,
s u r f a c eo nt h eD a k o t a
clasts
(Maxwell, 1 9 7 6 b ) .T e r t i a r yb a s a l tf l o w s
on Petaca P i n t a , B l u e W a t e r
unnamed mesa s o u t h o f
Mesa a n d t h e
Blue Water Canyon cover g r a v e l b e d s a n d p a r t o f t h e e r o s i o n
b a s a l t s may b e correlative w i t h t h e b a s a l t s
s u r f a c e .T h e s e
of
Cerro d e l Oro, t o t h es o u t h e a s t ,w h i c hh a v eb e e nd a t e d3 . 1 i 0 . 5
m.y.
Love,
1981,
personal
communication).
(D.W.
whichcap
The b a s a l t s
are o n s u r f a c e s w h i c h
Gunn Mesa andMiddleTsidu-Weza
are 2 0 0 m lower t h a n t h e s u r f a c e o n w h i c h t h e B l u e
Cerrodel
Oro b a s a l t s l i e ; t h e s e b a s a l t s
formed on incompetent
WSA p e r se.
may b e Q u a t e r n a r y
i n age.
e o l i a n d e p o s i t sc o v e r
Q u a t e r n a r yc a l i c h e ,c o l l u v i u m ,a n d
p a r t of Blue Water and E a s t Mesas.
Water Mesa-
Q u a t e r n a r yl a n d s l i d ed e p o s i t s
Triassic C h i n l e s h a l e s c o v e r
Q u a t e r n a r ya l l u v i u mf i l l st h ev a l l e y s
Wash a n dA r r o y oC o l o r a d o .A c t i v es p r i n g s
travertine in the Arroyo Colorado valley
much o f t h e
of BigSandy
are d e p o s i t i n g
a t thesouthernend
of
t h e map area.
Structure
The Petaca P i n t a area i s l o c a t e d i n t h e Acoma s a g , a n
embayment on t h e s o u t h e a s t e r n side o f t h e
San J u a n B a s i n
Colorado P l a t e a u t e c t o n i cp r o v i n c e( K e l l e y ,
of t h e
1955;Maxwell,1976b).
The c h a n g i n g l i t h o l o g i e s a n d t h i c k n e s s e s o f t h e J u r a s s i c u n i t s
t h er e g i o n( M a x w e l l ,
1 9 7 6 b , 1 9 7 9 ) r e f l e c tr e c u r r i n ge p e i r o g e n i c
movements d u r i n gt h eJ u r a s s i c( S i l v e r ,1 9 4 8 ) .
Regionaluplift
E a r l yC r e t a c e o u s
a n ds u b s e q u e n te r o s i o ni n
time t r u n c a t e d o l d e r u n i t s
Late Jurassic o r
(Maxwell,1976b),and
in
8
t h e DakotaSandstone
was d e p o s i t e d on t h e e r o s i o n a l s u r f a c e .
StratigraphicrelationshipsoftheCretaceousandTertiaryQuaternaryunitsindicatethat
a t l e a s t minor u p l i f t c o n t i n u e d
time (Maxwell, 197613)
i n t oT e r t i a r y
.
map area o f o u r s t u d y h a v e n o t
Althoughfaultswithinthe
by e a r l i e r w o r k e r s , a t l e a s t one area o f major
beendescribed
f a u l t i n g i s probable.AlongArroyoColorado,
east o ft h eA l c o n
WSA and Gunn Mesa, C h i n l e F o r m a t i o n c r o p s o u t
a n ds o u t ho ft h e
along a lowscarp:theChinlestrikes
N78E and d i p s 10"NW.
i t s e x t e n s i o n t o t h e e a s t are t h e t h r e e
S o u t h of t h e s c a r p a n d
a c t i v e ,t r a v e r t i n e - d e p o s i t i n gs p r i n g s .
The s c a r p ,t h es t r i k e
a n dd i po ft h eC h i n l e ,a n dt h el i n e a ra r r a n g e m e n to ft h es p r i n g
d e p o s i t s( w h i c h
a r e up h y d r o l o g i c g r a d i e n t f r o m t h e s c a r p ) s u g g e s t
are c o n t r o l l e d by a high-anglenormal
that a l l three features
f a u l t , down thrown t o t h e s o u t h .
A l t h o u g ht h eM e s o z o i cs e d i m e n t a r yr o c k sa p p e a rt ob e
a structurecontour
essentially flat-lying,
r e g i o n (Maxwell, 1976b,Fig.
r e p o r t show t h a tt h e r eh a sb e e n
1 3 , T.
6 N.,
R.
dome fromwhich
1976b).
7 W.,
2 ) a n dt h eg e o l o g i c
some f o l d i n g .
i s l o c a t e d onBlue
high-point of the region
Acoma
map i n t h i s
The s t r u c t u r a l
Water Mesa i n Sect.
a t t h e crest o f a s h a l l o w ,n o r t h e a s t - t r e n d i n g
therocksdip
away i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s (Maxwell,
The n o r t h w e s t - t r e n d i n gA l c o n
Maxwell (1976b) a s b e i n g
Duringfield
map o f t h e
formedby
dome was i n t e r p r e t e d by
i n t r u s i o no f
a b a s a l t i cp l u g .
a small
work f o r t h i s p r o j e c t , t h e a u t h o r o b s e r v e d
basaltic plug partially buried
a r r o y on o r t ho ft h e
by Q u a t e r n a r y a l l u v i u m i n
Ranch i n s e c t . 2 8 , T. 6 N . ,
R.
6
a small
p7., n e a r
t h ec e n t e ro ft h e
domal s t r u c t u r e shown o nF i g .
theoutcroppatternofthisdeformed
it p r o b a b l y r e p r e s e n t s i n t e r f e r e n c e
intersection of
1.
Indetail
area i s exceedinglycomplex;
s t r u c t u r e s formed by t h e
several small domes o f v a r y i n g i n d i v i d u a l
i s r e l a t e d t o a small i n t r u s i v e p l u g .
g e o m e t r i e s ,e a c ho fw h i c h
The b a s a l t i c p l u g
a single
whichwas.observedprobablyrepresents
a largerplugwhichunderliesthedeformed
apophysisfrom
area.
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
Summary
There i s l i t t l e o r n o s u p p o r t i n f i e l d
or g e o c h e m i c a le v i d e n c e
i n u r a n i u m ,c o a l ,p r e c i o u s
forsignificantresourcepotential
metals, b a s e metals, i r o na n dm a n g a n e s e ,h i g h - c a l c i u m
limestone,
or f l u o r i t e a n d b a r i t e .
The T e r t i a r y g r a v e l s m i g h t
be used as a g g r e g a t e , a n d t h e
T e r t i a r yb a s a l tc o u l db eu s e df o rr o a d
metal o r r i p - r a p .
However,
access compared t o o t h e r s o u r c e s o f
remotelocationandpoor
aggregateorroad-building
materials d i s q u a l i f y t h e
Petaca P i n t a
area a s a r e a s o n a b l e s o u r c e .
Tertiary basaltic a c t i v i t y s u g g e s t s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y
g e o t h e r m a lr e s o u r c e si nt h e
area.
a l o n gA r r o y oC o l o r a d od i s c h a r g ec o l d
of
However, t h e a c t i v e s p r i n g s
waters.
Although no d e t a i l e d
h e a t - f l o wm e a s u r e m e n t sh a v eb e e nm a d e ,t h ep o t e n t i a lf o rg e o t h e r m a l
energyinthe
oil
Petaca P i n t a r e g i o n
a n dg a s
i s poor.
are theonlynaturalresourcecommoditiesfor
which t h e Petaca P i n t a area h a s s i g n i f i c a n t r e s o u r c e p o t e n t i a l .
O i l andgaspotential
p r e p a r e d by R.A.
are d i s c u s s e d i n a f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n ,
Bieberman.
10
Base Metal and Uranium P o t e n t i a l
A zone o f a l t e r a t i o n
is present along the eastern margin
Blue Water Mesa w i t h i nt h e
WSA ( F i g . 2 ) .
of
i s a l o n gt h e
Thiszone
projectionofthenorth-south-trendingalterationzoneeastof
was d e s c r i b e db y
Acoma P u e b l ot h a t
zone d e s c r i b e d byMaxwell,
Maxwell ( 1 9 7 6 b ) .
A s w i t ht h e
thealterationaffectsprincipallythe
J u r a s s i cS u m m e r v i l l eF o r m a t i o na n dZ u n iS a n d s t o n e ,w i t hr e l a t i v e l y
m i n o ra l t e r a t i o ni nt h eb a s a l
The a l t e r a t i o n i s
DakotaSandstone.
characterizedbybleaching,corrosionofsandgrains,kaolinitic
v o i d - f i l l i n g s ,t a b u l a rz o n e si nw h i c hc a r b o n a c e o u so rm a n g a n i f e r o u s
m a t e r i a lc o a t ss a n dg r a i n s ,a n dc r o s s - c u t t i n gc o n c e n t r a t i o n so f
p y r i t e ,w h i c hw e a t h e rt ol i m o n i t ea n dg o e t h i t e .C o n c e n t r a t i o n so f
limoniteandcarbonaceousormanganiferous
material cemented by
of a l t e r a t i o n .
c a r b o n a t ea r ea b u n d a n ti nt h ez o n e
y e l l o w i s h - b r o w n" l i e s e g a n g "b a n d s
Dark-brownand
are common a l o n g t h e b o r d e r s o f
thealterationzone.
S e m i q u a n t i t a t i v es p e c t r o g r a p h i ca n a l y s i s
1 9 8 1 ,p e r s o n a lc o m m u n i c a t i o n )
a l t e r a t i o nz o n e s
and Zn.
are h i g h (10-500 ppm) i n Mn, B a , Co, Cu, N i ,
The b l e a c h e d core of o n er o l l - l i k es t r u c t u r e
i nt h eS u m m e r v i l l ec o n t a i n s
V,
shows t h a t w h i l e t h e b l e a c h e d c o r e s o f
are r e l a t i v e l y low i n most trace metals, c o n c r e t i o n s
i nt h ea l t e r a t i o nz o n e s
Pb, Sc, S r , V,
of samples(Maxwell,
5-30 ppm o f Co, C r , Cu, Mo, Pb, S r , and
and 1 5 0 - 2 0 0 ppm o f Mn and B a .
S u m m e r v i l l es h o w sv a r i a b l ee n r i c h m e n t
C r , Cu, Pb, S c , S r , and V.
fractureorjointfillings
" L i e s e g a n g "b a n d i n gi nt h e
( 5 t o 3 0 0 ppm) i n Mn, B , B a ,
C a r b o n a t e -a n di r o n - r i c hv e i n l e t sa n d
show v a r i a b l ee n r i c h m e n t
ppm) i n Mn, B a , Co, C r , Cu, P b , S r , V , and Zn.
(1.5 t o 300
Copies of t h e
analytical
results
are
included
The significance of
in
the
thealteration
appendices
of this report.
zone
is
problematical.
The presence of a very similar larger, north-south-trending
alteration
zone
alteration
may
north
of the
be
Petaca
regionally
Pinta
significant
area
suggests
and
that
that
the
the
alteration
'zone is stratigraphically controlled. The alteration pattern has
numerous similarities to the Grants-type sandstone uranium
mineralization
in
the
Jurassic
system
north
of the
Petaca
Pinta
area: Eh-pH-controlled mineralogy, elevated concentrations of
Cu, Mo, and V, tabular geometry of carbonaceous zones. The most
obvious differences are the apparent absenceU and
of the absence
of stream
and
channel sands and conglomerates where the permeability
porosity
would
be sufficiently
high
to
allow
significant
ore
accumulation. Elevated values of Ba, Sr, Pb and Zn, which are
characteristic of sedimentary basin "brines" (Hanor, 1979) together
with Cu, Co, Mo, and V, which are easily carried in vadose waters
or oxidizing, shallow groundwaters (Garrels and Christ, 1965),
suggests
that
the
zone
of alteration
at the interfaceof oxygenated,
may
shallow
represent
a redox
groundwaters
boundary
and
oxygen-
poor, deep basin brines, a model recently developed for the formation
of some sandstone uranium deposits
in southeastern Utah(M.B.
Goldhaber, 1981, personal communication). Alternatively, the
alteration
maybe related
to
deep
weathering
along
fractures
buried by the Dakota Sandstone. Unconformity-related uranium
deposits in Upper Cretaceous sandstones in the Datil Mountains
of
west-central
.
(1981)
New
Mexico
have
been
described
recently
by
Chamberlin
The true natureof the alteration zone needs much more
work.
Whether U was never present in this alteration zone, or
of the
whether U was removed during later leaching
oxidizing groundwaters cannot be resolved
on the
zoneby
basis
of
the
present data. Water from a well
on the southeast marginof the
WSA (Fig. 3 ) contains a slightly anomolous concentration of
This suggests that
1980).
17 ppb uranium (Planner and. others,
uranium
may
have
been
leached
from
the
near-surface
portion
of
the altered zone. Alternatively, there may be subsurface uranium
mineralization that is unrelated to the zone of alteration.
While the alteration zone and one
the
U value
provide
some
support
for
anomolous
uranium
water-well
mineralizatios,
the
is relatively
author believes for3 reasons that the potential
U
low within the WSA. First, thereis no direct evidence for
in the alteration zone. Second, most
of the alteration zone
lies outside the WSA; it has apparently been removed by erosion
along Blue Water and East Mesas.
Third, only one of10 water
U anomaly, and that value is less than
wells tested shows any
a
factorof two
derived
from
Geochemistry
greater
than
sedimentary
of
Spring
the
10 ppb value common for waters
terrains.
Deposits
Semiquantitative spectrographic analyses of travertine from
active springs along Arroyo Colorado (Maxwell,
1981, personal
communication), show very high (700-10,000 ppm) SrMnand
and high
but variable (10-150 ppm) values for Ba, Co, Cu, and Ni.
Detectible
(1-3 ppm) amounts of Ag,Be, and Cr are present. Pb, Zn, and V
13
limits o f d e t e c t i o n .
a r e a t o r b e l o wt h e
metals.
d e p o s i t sc o n t a i n se c o n o m i cq u a n t i t i e so f
s o u r c e areas f o r t h e
Oil
-
metals are up hyd::olngic
WSA a n d t h e
south,outsidethe
None o f t h e s p r i n g
Potential
gradienttothe
mapped a r e a .
and Gas P o t e n t i a l
Commercial o i l a n d / o r g a s p r o d u c t i o n h a s n o t , a s y e t , b e e n
N e w Mexico.
found i nC i b o l aC o u n t y ,
p r o d u c t i o n t o t h e Petaca P i n t aA r e a
T. 15N.,
t h en o r t h w e s ti n
R.
S t u d i e s made b yF o s t e r ,
low.,
The n e a r e s tc o m m e r c i a l
i s l o c a t e da b o u t5 5
miles t o
McKinleyCounty.
1 9 5 7 , andWengerd,1959,have
shown
that an excellent petroleum possibility exists in eastern Cibola
County, New Mexico.
Shows o f o i l
t e s t wells, a n dF o s t e ra n dG r a n t ,
CibolaCounty
andgashavebeenreportedfrom
1 9 7 4 , h a v ec l a s s i f i e de a s t e r n
as a c l a s s 2 e x p l o r a t i o n area i n a systemwhere
1 i s m o s tf a v o r a b l ea n d
class 4 i s l e a s t f a v o r a b l e .
must be made i n Wengerd'sstudy
class
Some m o d i f i c a t i o n
in regard to thethicknessof
P e n n s y l v a n i a nm a r i n er o c k s .V e r yf e wc o n t r o lp o i n t so nt h e
time ofWengerd's
Pennsylvanian existed at the
showing t h e t h i c k n e s s o f P e n n s y l v a n i a n m a r i n e
t h eP e n n s y l v a n i a n
wouldhave
work a n d h i s
map
rocks s u g g e s t s t h a t
a t h i c k n e s s of a b o u t 1 8 0 0 f e e t i n t h e
Petaca P i n t a a r e a . S u b s e q u e n t d r i l l i n g i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f t h e
PetacaPintaarearevealsthatthePennsylvanianshouldhave
t h i c k n e s so fa b o u t
700 f e e t .
Cretaceousrocksaspotentialreservoirs
t h eP e t a c aP i n t a
n o r t hi n
a
area.
are n o t p r e s e n t i n
T h e s er o c k sa r et h eb i gr e s e r v o i r sf a r t h e r
McKinley,Sandoval,SanJuan,andRioArribacounties.
The P e t a c a P i n t a a r e a h a s
a stratigraphicsectionapproximately
I4
feet in thickness, comprising Pennsylvanian, Permian,
4,800
and Triassic rocksof marine and non-marine origin. The
Triassic rocks are largely continental in origin and are not
considered
Two
to
test
have
wells
a
petroleum
have
been
Petaca Pinta area (Fig. 4 ) .
the # l - M
Santa Fe in
potential.
drilled
in
In 1 9 5 9 , Spanel
the
&
vicinity
of
the
Heinze drilled
Section5, Township 5 North,
Range7 West.
The footage location of the test 7 0is
0 feet from the South line
5.
Precambrian
and 1070 feet from the West line of Section
4 feet and the
granite was encountered at a depth4 9 7of
test
4 9 9 2of
feet. In
was abandoned as a dry hole at a total depth
1960,
Sun Oil Co. drilled the # l Pueblo of Acoma in Section 2,
Township 7 North, Range 7 West.
The footage location of the
9 0 0 feet from the
test is 1900 feet from the South line 1and
2.
East line of Section
Precambrian granitic gneiss was
7 0 2 feet and the test was abandoned
encountered at a depth 4of
4 7 9 4 feet.
as a dry hole
at a total depth of
The
Spanel
test
was spudded in the Cretaceous Dakota sandstone
on Half Dome, a structure along the Red Lake Fault. The Permian
0 0 5 feet and consistedof, in
was reached at a depth 2of
descending order,3 3 5 feet of limeston, dolomite, sandstone and
shale
of
the
San
Andres
2 4 0 feet of Glorieta
Formation,
Sandstone,
1 1 3 0 feet of sandstone, shale, anhydrite, limestone, and dolomite
of the Yeso Formation,
and 6 2 4 feet of siltstone, shale, and
sandstone of the Abo Formation. Pennsylvanian rock were reached
at a
depth
4 3 3 4 feet and consisted of about
6 4 0 feet
of
of
limestone,
shale, and sandstone. Igneous sills (diorite?), two and thirty
feet and thickness, were encountered in the Triassic and San Andre
15
and two sills, fifteen and twenty feet in thickness, were found
in the Yeso Formation. Slight shows of gas were reported
from drill stem tests made 4 4at
3 0 - 4 5 3 3 feet and 4 5 3 7 - 4 6 3 7
in the Pennsylvanian.
The
Sun
test
started
in
the
Triassic
on a structure
known
as the Acoma Nose. The Permian was reached at a depth
1 7 6 5 of
feet and consistedof, in descending order,4 2 5 feet of
limestone, dolomite, sandstone, and shale of the San Andres
8 7 0 feet of limestone,
Formation, 150 feet of Glorieta Sandstone,
of the Yeso Formation, and
silty dolomite, and silty sandstone
3 7 2 feet of siltstone,
shale and sandstone of the Abo Formation.
The Pennsylvanian, at a depth
of 3 8 8 2 feet, consisted of8 2 0
feet of limestone, shale, and sandstone. An igneous sill
1 8 3 0 and 1 9 2 0 feet in the San Andres
(diorite?) was found between
Formatiol. A show of gas was reported
'Ln the San Andres at
in
a depth of2 0 9 6 feet and heavily gas-cut mud was recovered
a drill stem test at
4 4 8 6 - 4 5 2 6 in the Pennsylvanian. Gas from
this
drill
stem
test
was sent
to
the
Oil Co. Research
Sun
Laboratory for analysis. It was found to contain9 5 % carbon
dioxide and 0 . 1 3 % helium.
The remaining fraction was not
identified.
The
petroleum
potential
of the Petaca
Pinta
area
is
in
rocks of Permian and Pennsylvanian ages. Suitable source and
reservoir rocks occur in the stratigraphic section. Carbonate
reservoirs may be expected
in the San Andres Formation, Yeso
Formation and Pennsylvanian. Sandstone reservoirs may also
be expected in these formations as well as in the Glorieta
Sandstone.
are p r e s e n t i n t h e
Numerous f a u l t a n d a n t i c l i n a l s t r u c t u r e s
vicinity of the
Petaca P i n t a a r e a a n d
some a r e p r e s e n t w i t h i n t h e
P e t a c aP i n t aa r e a
itself (Fig. 5 ) .
structuraltraps,
numerous p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r s t r a t i g r a p h i c a n d
I na d d i t i o nt op o t e n t i a l
exist.
c o m b i n a t i o ns t r u c t u r a l - s t r a t i g r a p h i ct r a p s
CARBON D I O X I D E POTENTIAL
C a r b o nd i o x i d eh a s
a g r e a t many u s e s i n a d d i t i o n
and d r y ice and i s becoming
insoftdrinks,fireextinguishers,
oil.
i n c r e a s i n g l yi m p o r t a n ti nt h ee n h a n c e dr e c o v e r yo f
dioxide is highly soluble in crude oils
p r e s s u r e sa n dt e m p e r a t u r e s .
t o i t s use
a n dw a t e r
Carbon
a t reservoir
When o i l and water c o n t a i n a s u b s t a n t i a l
amount of d i i s s o l v e d c a r b o n d i o x i d e , t h e i r v i s c o s i t i e s , d e n s i t i e s ,
and compressibilities
are m o d i f i e d i n a d i r e c t i o n w h i c h h e l p s
to
increase the oil-recovery efficiency.
A t p r e s e n t time, o i l companies are e a g e r t o h a v e u n d e r c o n t r a c t
a s u p p l yo fc a r b o nd i o x i d e .
The i n c r e a s i n g p r i c e
make it e c o n o m i c a l l y more a t t r a c t i v e i n t h e
t o r e c o v e ra d d i t i o n a l
c a r b o nd i o x i d e
are b e i n g d e v e l o p e d i n n o r t h e a s t e r n
C o l o r a d o .P i p e l i n e s
oil.
of c r u d e o i l w i l l
coming y e a r s t o i n j e c t
C a r b o nd i o x i d ef i e l d s
New Mexico a n d s o u t h w e s t e r n
w i l l t r a n s p o r tt h ec a r b o nd i o x o d et oo i l
f i e l d s i n west Texas a n d s o u t h e a s t e r n
N e w Mexico.
The s o u r c ef o rc a r b o nd i o x o d ea c c u m u l a t i o n sb e n e a t ht h e
s u r f a c eo ft h ee a r t h
i s n o tc l e a r l yu n d e r s t o o d .
t h a t it mightbegeneratedthroughthermalaction
a r ei n t r u d e d
by i g n e o u sr o c k s .I ft h i st h e o r y
PetacaPintaarea
One t h e o r ys u g g e s t s
when l i m e s t o n e s
i s c o r r e c t ,t h e
may have a p o t e n t i a l f o r c a r b o n d i o x i d e p r o d u c t i o n .
Numerous v o l c a n i c p l u g s o c c u r i n t h e v i c i n i t y , a n d t h e S p a n e l a n d
Sun t e s t wells r e v e a l e d t h e p r e s e n c e
of i g n e o u s s i l l s a t d e p t h
a n dl i m e s t o n ei nt h eP e r m i a na n dP e n n s y l v a n i a n .I na d d i t i o n ,
gas r e c o v e r e d i n
a d r i l l stem t e s t i n t h e Sun well was f o u n d t o
c o n t a i n 95% c a r b o nd i o x i d e .
REFERENCES
Chamberlin, R.M.,
1 9 8 1 ,U n c o n f o r m i t y - r e l a t e du r a n i u md e p o s i t si n
Datil Mountains Area, west-
Upper C r e t a c e o u ss a n d s t o n e s ,
c e n t r a l N e w Mexico ( a b s . ) :
P e t r o l .G e o l . ,
Rocky MountainSection-Am.
2 9 t h AnnualMeeting,
Assoc.
Program w i t h A b s t r a c t s .
1 9 5 7 , S t r a t i g r a p h y of w e s t - c e n t r a l New Mexico:
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,
Guidebook 2, p . 6 2 - 7 2 .
SOC.
a n dG r a n t ,
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P.R.,
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N e w Mexico's
Bur.MinesMineralResources,
Resource Map 3.
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1 9 8 0 ,C a r b o nd i o x i d es o u r c e sa n du s ef o re n h a n c e d
New Mexico I n s t .M i n i n ga n dT e c h . ,
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73 p.
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C.L.,
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i n B a r n e s , H.L.
PRRC
450 p .
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( e d . ) , G e o c h e m i s t r y of Hydrothermal O r e
D e p o s i t s( 2 n de d i t i o n )
:
N e w York, JohnF?ileyandSons,
p.137-172.
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1 9 1 7 , Geology of t h eN a v a j o
Country-A r e c o n n a i s s a n c e
of p a r t s o f A r i z o n a , New Mexico,andUtah:
Geol. Survey
161 p .
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Harshbarger, J . W . ,
U.S.
Repenning, C . A . ,
a n dI r w i n ,
J.H.,
1957,
S t r a t i g r a p h y of t h e u p p e r m o s t T r i a s s i c a n d J u r a s s i c r o c k s
theNavajoCountry:
J i c h a , H.L.,
SJ.S.
Geol.SurveyProf.Paper
J r . , 1 9 5 8 ,G e o l o g ya n dm i n e r a lr e s o u r c e s
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of
74 p .
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N e w Mexico:
N.M.
Bureau of Mines Mineral Resources B u l l . 56, 6 7 p .
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N.M.
1 9 5 0 ,R e g i o n a ls t r u c t u r eo ft h eS a nJ u a nB a s i n :
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1 9 5 5 ,R e g i o n a lt e c t o n i c so ft h eC o l o r a d oP l a t e a ua n d
relationship t o the origin
New MexicoPubs.Geology
,
and d i s t r i b u t i o n of uranium:Univ.
No. 5 , 1 2 0 p.
J r . , 1 9 4 6 , Geology of t h eL u c e r o
and Wood, G . H . ,
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Geol. Survey O i l and Gas I n v . Prelim. Map 4 7 .
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Landis, E.A.,
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andCobban,
W.A.,
t e r m i n o l o g y of t h e DakotaSandstoneand
w e s t - c e n t r a l N e w Mexico: U . S .
Machette, M . N . ,
Mancos S h a l e ,
Geol. SurveyBull.1372-J,
1 9 7 8 ,P r e l i m i n a r yg e o l o g i c
q u a d r a n g l e ,c e n t r a l
1 9 7 3 ,S t r a t i g r a p h i c
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4 4 p.
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Geol.SurveyOpen-file
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1 9 7 6 a , Geologic map o f Acoma P u e b l oq u a d r a n g l e ,
New Mexico: U.S.
,
Geol. Survey Geol. Quad. Map GQ-1298.
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r e g i o n , New Mexico: ,N.M.
Acoma
Geol. SOC. S p e c i a l P u b l i c a t i o n
6,
p. 95-101.
,
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1 9 7 9 , Geologic map Eoaf s t
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U.S..
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1 9 6 4 , Geology o fS o u t hB u t t eq u a d r a n g l e ,
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,
Map GQ-1522.
map o f Laguna q u a d r a n g l e , New Mexico
Geol. SurveyGeol.Quad.
,
U.S.
Geol. SurveyGeol.Quad.
Mesa q u a d r a n g l e , N e w
a n dS c h l e e ,
J.S.,
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Map GQ-355.
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andWhite,
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M.E.,
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1977, Vegetation
Bur.Mines
Min. Res.
Resource Map '8.
Planner, H.N.,
and o t h e r s , 1 9 8 0 , Uranium hydrogeochemicaland
stream s e d i m e n t r e c o n n a i s s a n c e d a t a
release f o r t h e S o c o r r o
NTMS Q u a d r a n g l e , New Mexico, i n c l u d i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n s
f o r t y - t w oa d d i t i o n a le l e m e n t s :
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Wengerd,
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1 4 5 p.
S i l v e r , Caswell, 1 9 4 8 , J u r a s s i c o v e r l a p
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i
I
3 2 , p . 68-81.
1 9 5 9 ,R e g i o n a lg e o l o g yr e l a t e dt ot h ep e t r o l e u m
potentialoftheLuceroRegion,west-central
N.M.
of
Geol. SOC. Guidebook 1 0 , p . 121-134.
New Mexico:
Fig. 1
GEOLOGICMAP OF THE PETACA PINTA WSA
COMPOSITE
STRATIGRAPHIC
COLUMN
- PETACA
PINTAWSA
TRAVERTINE DEPOSITS (HOLOCENE)- Calcium carbonate
(travertine) with minor gypsum and silica, deposited
by active springs.
EOLIAN DEPOSITS (HOLOCENE)- Recent windblown sand and
silt in sheets and small longitudinal duces.
ALLUVIUM (HOLOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE)
- Fine s a d and silt
with lenses of coarser sand and gravel. Includes both
Qa and Qoa (old alluvial deposits) of Maxwell (1979).
COLLUVIUM (HOLOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE)
- Extensive mantleof
soil and colluvial and eolian deposits on Blue Water
Mesa and East Mesa.
-
LANDSLIDE DEPOSITS (HOLOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE) Toreva-block
(rotational slump block) slides composed of sandstone
or basalt and shale which have slid over shales of the
Chinle Formation (TRc). Landslides are generally older
than alluvium (Maxwell, 1979).
CALICHE AND OLD SOILS (HOLOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE)
- Partly
exhumed caliche pavement; includes some old soil zones
and remnants of old alluvium and gravel.
BASALTIC LAVA FLOWS (PLIOCENE)
- Black to dark gray,finegrained to porphyritic, alkali-olivine basalts (Jicha,
1959). Flow tops are scoriaceous to amygdaloidal.
Flows are probably2.5 to 3.1 m.y. (Machette, 1978).
-
CONGLOMERATE (PLIOCENE? AND MIOCENE?) Slightly indurated
alluvLal deposits composed of coarse sand, pebbles and
cobbles derived from Precambrian granite, Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks and Tertiary volcanics in a matrix
of sand andsilt, largely cemented by caliche.
UNCONFORMITY
-
DAKOTA SANDSTONE (UPPER CRETACEOUS) Comprises both the
basal unit and the Oak Canyon Member described by
Maxwell (1979). The Oak Canyon Member is composed
of light grayish-tan (weathers yellowish tan), finegrained, lenticular sandstone which is interbedded with
dark gray, silty shale. The basal unit is light gray
to white (weathers dark brown), medium- to coarse-grained,
poorly sorted sandstone and conglomerate.
The basal
unit truncates the underlying formations.
UNCONFORMITY
ZUNI SANDSTONE, SUMMERVILLE FORMATION AND ENTRADA SANDSTONE
Formations mapped as a single
unit where vertical cliffs
impractical at this scale.
make separation of formations
- Variably colored
ZUNI SANDSTONE (UPPER JURASSIC)
(white-gray-green), fine-to medium-grained, eolian
sandstone. A basal fluviatile sandstone was mapped
separately as the Bluff Sandstone the
in Acoma Pueblo
Quadrangle (Maxwell, 1976a). The Bluff Sandstone is
yellowish-gray to white, very fine-grained to mediumgrained, fairly well sorted, quartzose sandstone
cemented with calcite. The Zuni Sandstone, truncated
by the erosional interval which preceded deposition
of the Dakot Formation, is absent south of 19,
sect.
T. 6N., R. 6W.
JS
- White to pale brown,
SUMXERVILLE FORMATION (UPPER JURASSIC)
very fine-grained, medium-beddedto massive sandstone,
intervedded with grayish-green and light maroon siltstone and thin, brick-red to brown mudstone. South
of sect. 19, T. 6N., R. 6 W., the Summerville Formation
is the only Jurassic unit, and it is labeled
as Js in
this area.
UNCONFORMITY
- Very pale orange to
ENTRADA SANDSTONE (MIDDLE JURASSIC)
chalky white, fine- to coarse-grained, well-sorted
sandstone with basal pebble conglomerate. The pale
colors reflect a wide-spread zone of alteration
characterized by eroded sand grains and clots and
coatings of kaolinite (Maxwell, 1976b). The Entrada
Sandstone is truncated
by an erosional interval which
preceded deposition of the Summerville Formation and
is absent south of sect.
19, T. 6N., R. 6W.
UNCONFORMITY
TRr
ROCK POINT MEMBER
OF THE WINGATE SANDSTONE (UPPER TRIASSIC)
Pale- to moderate-red, thick-bedded
to massive
siltstone and shaly mudstone with local bleaching.
Present only in the southern half of the
area.map
UNCONFORMITY
TRc
CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC)
- Grayish-red and moderate
reddish-purple, shaly siltstone and mudstone with
inconspicuous stratification. Contains lenses of
very fine-grained sandstone. Largely covered by landslides.
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SEMIQUANTITATIVE6-STEPSPECTROGRAPHIC
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.
ANALYSIS
or below value shown
SEMIQUANTITATIVE 6-STEP SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
Repart No.
(CONTINUED) .
. Job. No.
.
.
M 176
.
. .
I
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lob No.
M 183
ults are to be identificd wlll geomemc
t are reported arbitrarily as mid-points
!ported value i s approximately plus or
:
.
ice
;ted. at
limit of detection
18 shown
but below limit of determination
value shown
SEMIQUANTITATIVE6-STEPSPECTROGRAPHICANALYSIS
(CONWED)
Job. No.
. Report
. No.
M 183
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