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PROPOSED SITE FOR THE SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER (SSC)
IN CENTRAL NEW MEXICO
by'
New MexicoBureau of Minesand Mineral Resources S t a f f ,
.New Mexico I n s t i t u t e of Mining and Technology
Campus Station
Socorro, NM
December 2 , 1985
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
P 1GE
.........................
Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Precambrian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mississippian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction
Triassic
7
7
7
.......................
7
..........................
..........................
7
Pennsylvanian
Permian
1
..........................
Cretaceous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cenozoic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hydrogeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ValleyFillMaterial
....................
Jurassic
........
..................
15
15
15
16
19
19
San Andres Limestone and GlorietaSandstone
24
Abo and
Yeso
24
Formations
........................
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seismicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MaderaGroup
i
25
26
27
27
30
31
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LIST OF FIGURES
PAGE
FIGURE
1.
Topographic map of Albuquerque and northern
Estancia Basin withproposed SSC s i t e . Ring
diametersare 18 mi inside and 22 m i outside
The e l l i p s e - l i k e form w i t h i n the r i n g i s the
possibleshape of the SSC a s o f November 21,
1985. I t has maximum and minimum diameters
of 19.66 and 15.6 m i respectively.
FIGURE 2.
Perimeter profile of north-south ellipsoid
i n EstanciaValley.
FIGURE 3.
Land use map ofproposed s i t e ( a f t e r S t a t e
Engineer and I n t e r s t a t e Stream Commission of
New Mexico, 1968).
FIGURE 4.
Ownership map ofproposed s i t e ( a f t e r Bureau
of Land Management, 1982).
FIGURE 5.
Geologic map (surface) of proposed s i t e .
Originally printed a t s c a l e of1:500,000
( a f t e r Dane and Bachman, 1965).
FIGURE 6.
Stratigraphic column of geologicunits
present i n the Estancia Basin.
FIGURE 7.
FIGURE 8.
FIGURE 9.
8
9
Subcrop geologic map of rock units below
the Cenozoic v a l l e y f i l l .
10
Geologiccrosssectionthrough
proposed SSC
s i t e . Constructionalongeast-west
A-B l i n e
on Figure 7.
12
Isopach map of Cenozoic v a l l e y f i l l in
8 is
cross section A-B.
17
Possible maximum extent of latest Glacial
Lake Estancia a t maximum level and the
prominent Wisconsinan shoreline.
20
Principal sand and gravel(Cenozoic)
and
limestoneaquifers i n central New Mexico.
21
Depth t o watertable i n central New Mexico
( a f t e r Bureau o f Reclamation,1976).
23
northern EstanciaBasin.Figure
FIGURE 10.
FIGURE 11.
FIGURE 12.
FIGURE 13.
Historicalseismicepicenters
( A ) and major
f a u l t s i n central New Mexico. Roman numerals
indicate the i n t e n s i t y on the Mercalliscale,
Arabic numbers denote Richter intensities
( a f t e r Machette,unpublished data,1983).
S = Stanley, E = Edgewood,and M = Moriarty.
ii
28
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LIST OF FIGURES (cont. )
PAGE
FIGURE 14.
Seismicity map derived U.S.
by
Geological
Survey from a seismic network centered on
Albuquerque, NM. The studycovered a 66-month
period between January 1976 and November 1981.
Approximately 1,000 epicenters are plotted and
magnitudes range up t o 3.2 on the Richterscale
(after Jaksha, unpublished 1985).
data,
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
TABLE
1.
2.
Log o f well, 2 m i south o f
Moriarty ( a f t e r Smith,1957).
18
Summary o f aquifer characteristic,
Estancia
Valley.
22
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iii
INTRODUCTION
The northernpart
of the EstanciaValley,
o f Albuquerque ( f i g .
some 15 t o 30 miles due e a s t
l ) , i s the proposed s i t e for the
Superconducting
The valley i s i closed
Super Collider (SSC) i n central New Mexico.
topographic
depression
having
recharge
areas
Water enters upland
no external
drainage.
flows
on the valley margin and generally
dischargepointsassociated
toward
the southeasternpartof
w i t h playasin
lower
the
valley.
The center of the proposed s i t e i s 6 mi north of Moriarty and 3 mi north
of the SantaFe-Torrance
County Line a t the intersectionofsections13,
14, 23, and 24, T8E, RION.
Two rings, one w i t h a radius o f 9 mi and the
other w i t h a radius o f 11 mi, were drawn surrounding this locaticn ( f i g .
1). The r i n g , w i t h an 18 mi inside diameter and a 22 mi outsidediameter,
allowslocationflexibilityinevaluating
20-mile (or less)diameter.
the proposed SSC s i t e w i t h i t s
A preliminarysketch
by the SSC Central Design
Group (revision 1 dated 11/21/85) shows an e l l i p s o i d w i t h a minimua r a d i u s
o f 12.52 km (7.78 mi) and a maximum dimension
of
31.64
km (19.66 m i ) in
The circumference o f this configuration i s about
i t s longestdirection.
55.3 mi and this figure would f i t e a s i l y w i t h i n the proposed s i t e ( f i g .
1).
the r i n gi s
The lowest
elevation
within
the southeastern
part
thesouthwest
o f the proposed s i t e .
A s l i g h tt i l t
in
The highest points
are
in
and northwest portions of the r i n g and areabout
f t ) above the lowestpoint.
aroundthe
1875 m (6150 f t ) and
found
370 m (1190
o f the plane o f an SSC surface
low p o i n t and upward t o the northwest (striking N 28" E , d i p p i n g
,
n l l r ~1
Topographic map of Albuquerque and northern Estancia Basin
proposed
SSC s i t e .
Ring diametersare 18 mi inside and 22 mi outside. The ellipse-like form within
+h- *inn i s t h - qossible shape ofthe
SSC a s o f November 21, 1985. I t has maximum
um d
!ters o f 19.66 and 15.6 mi respectively.
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SSC so no point would be
more
0.32" SE) could r a i s et h e
than 215 m (700
f t ) below the
surface.
the
Ifnorth-south
oriented
ellipsoidal
shape
isselectedfortheSuperCollider,theplaneof
t o thesouth
2).
than 91 m (300 f t ) below t h es u r f a c e( f i g .
would
be
no
more
Once t h es i z e
a surface d i p p i n g s l i g h t l y
and shape i s f i n a l i z e dl, i n e a r e g r e s s i o n
can be used
t o optimize t i l t t o a m i n i m u m depth.
The Estancia
Valley
annually (Bachhuber,
1982).
Several
f e e t of
hundred
clay were deposited i n thevalley
t o 10,000 years ago.
of 1220 mm (48 inches)
has a d e f i c i t water
budget
for ranching and farming ( f i g . 3 ) .
now used p r i n c i p a l l y
(fig. 4).
arelocatedwithinthe
proposed SSC site,Moriarty
i n the south, Edgewood i n thewest-southwest,Stanley
northwest
(fig.
and Cedar Grove i n the
1).
All
i n thenortheast,
a reea s i l y
avoided by
SSC w i t h i n the area.
The proposedSuperconductingSuperCollider
from Albuquerque International
Airport
The a i r p o r ti ss e r v i c e d
up
The ownership ' i s dominantly
private
w i t h some s t a t e and minor federallands
properplacementofthe
and
i n a Quaternarylakethatexisted
The gentlyundulatingsurfaceis
Four small
communities
sand,
gra%rel
s i t e i s w i t h i n a shortdistance
and i n t e r s t a t e highways ( f i g . 1).
by six major c a r r i e r s :
American, Delta,Eastern,
TWA, United and Western airlines,
plus
Frontier,
Continental,
Southwest,
America West, and several commuter l i n e s .
Sandia
National
Laboratories
New Mexico.
Both are
sources
i s in
Albuquerque
aistsh U
e niversity
o f expertise and r e s e a r c hf a c i l i t i e s .
of
Los
4
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?
3.
L,
CI
map of proposed site
(after
State
ssion o f New Mexico, 1968).
Engi~
and I n t
__._-.,.
m
and the New Mexico I n s t i t u t e of Mining
and
Alamos National
Laboratory
two hours' d r i v i n g time of Albuquerque.
All
Technology are
within
are
part o f the Rio Grande Research Corridor.
The Albuquerque metropolitanarea
The c i t y has moderate
a
o f more than
470,000.
climate,excellentculturaladvantages,very
and a wide range
secondary
education
programs,
facilities.
has apopulation
of
good
nearby
recreation
New Mexico, Albuquerque offers
As the business
center
of
abundant skilled labor as well.
GEOLOGY
Precambrian
Precambrian
rocks
a r e exposed on the e a s t edge of the Estancia
Valley
a t Lobo Hill and on the northwest edge a t Monte Largo west ofSouth
(figs.
1, 5? and 6).
The Precambrian a t Monte Largo consists
mostly
and Morthrop,
o f gneiss and schist
(Kelley
Lobo Hill
(fig.
1975).
The Precambrian a t
1, mislabelled logo H i l l " ) i s schist
(Kelley,
1972),
although metamorphic q u a r t z i t e and granitic crystalline rocks
nearby i n the subsurface.
The exactsize
( f i g7. ) .
the areaoccupied
present
map below t h ev a l l e yf i l l
by Precambrian w i t h reasonableaccuracy
Lobo Hill may be the
surface
expression
f a u l t blockof
maybc
of the Precambrian body a t Lobo
Hill i s not known, b u t the geologic
subcrop
probablydepicts
Mountain
latePaleozoicage,
of compressional
a
b u t valleyfillobscures
and structure.
7
i t s geometry
1
. .
i :
s cpar lai ent t e d
o f 1:500,000
8
( a f t e r Dane and Bachman, 1965).
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Figure 6.
Stratigraphic column o f geologic units presentinthe
Estancia Basin.
9
I06O W
""_
""_
"
"
"
3m
-35ON
. . . . . . . .. .. .. .
0
106"W
Drillholepenetrating
ore-vallev fill u n i t s
FfFEZjC r e t a c e o u s
11Jurassic
E lTriassic
~
Subcropgeologic
v a l l e y fill.
[
1-1
.
B e r n aFl m ,
SonAndresFm.
~
G l o r i~e t o Ss.!
vrA Yeso Frn.
1-L
Ab,?Fm.
F 1Permton
Pennsylvantan
. ltrnestone
: ( iinnManzano
cludes basal
Mrns)
mj
F i g u r e 7.
~
%.
Precambrian
map o f rock u n i t s belowtheCenozoic
10
~
Mississippian
Scattered b u t small erosional remnants oftheMississippian
i n thesubsurface
Formation areprobablypresent
Data from theSandia
of theEstanciaValley.
Mountains (Kelley and Northrop, 1975) i n d i c a t et h a t
these remnants are
probably
less
than
consistsdominantly
Arroyo Penasco
100 f t thick.
i t i s present i n theEstanciaValley,
of limestone.If
i t will be a t depthsgreater
The Arroyo Penasco
than 2,000 f t and
would
not be enc”mntered
d u r i n g construction of the Super Collider.
Pennsylvanian
Pennsylvanian s t r a t a of the
Sandia
. .
i n the Manzanoand
Formation and
Madera
Group
Sandia Mountains. along^ thewestern
b u t theeasternmost
1,500
The Sandia and
Madera
2,000 f t i n thesubsurface
(Titus, 1973).
p a r t of theEstanciaValley
Average combined
i s probablyabout
1976).
f t i n the Manzano Mountains (Myers and
McKay,
Group
Hills.
Formation andMaderaGroup
thickeneastwardtoapproximately
Pennsylvanian
p a r t oftheEstanciaValleynear
Lobo Hi1 1 , El Cuervo Butte, and the Pedernal
thickness o f theSandia
edge oftheEstancia
7 and 8 ) .
Valley and d i p eastwardintothesubsurface(figs.
s t r a t au n d e r l i ea l l
crop
out
o f thewestern
The Sandia Formation and
Madera
consist
predominantly
interbedded
of
limestone,
fireto
coarse-grainedsandstone,
and calcareousshale.
partsoftheEstanciaValley,the
In the southern and central
uppermost partofthe
Madera
G-oup
is
Permian i n age.
Permian
The Abo Formation i s the o l d e s t mappable stratigraphicunitof
I t i s present
throughout
the
age in
the
Estancia
Valley.
the
eastern
two-thirds
of
the
valley
11
but
is
truncated
Permian
subsur‘ace
by
of
Cenozoic
rt.
rt
v)
m
s
I
rt
v)
e,
m
Ip
2
i
0
W
m
rt
a.
v)
3
Ip
0
S
-I
=r
ELEVATION. FEET
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just west
of
Moriarty
valley-fill
sediments
( f i g s . 7 and 8 ) .
i s approximately 1,000 f t thick i n the
subsurface
(Titus, 1973).
of
the
Estancia
Valley
of the central
part
t o lessthan
Itth i n s
the easternflank
of the valleynear
consistsprimarily
of interbeddedredshale
The Abo
El Cuervo Butte ( f i g . 8 ) .
300 f t on
The Abo
and lenticular,well-iniurated,
fine- t o coarse-grained,ferruginous,arkosicsandstone.
The Yeso Formation overlies the Abo Formation in the Estancia
Valley.
Similar t o the Abo, the Yeso i s present in the subsurface of the eastern
two-thirds
of the Estancia
Valley
f i l l near
Moriarty
b u t i s truncated by Cenozoic valley
The Yeso i s approximately 500 f t
(figs. 7 and 8 ) .
thick i n the Sandia Mountains (Kelley and Northrop,1975)
a t El Cuervo Butte.
of
the
cIot n s i s t s
limestone,
dolostone,
gypsum, anhydrite,
salt,
t o medium-grained,
somewhat friable
sandstone.
of
and evenly
bedded,
fine-
Although no s i g n i f i c a n t
Mountains (Titus, 1980) or a t El Cuervo Butte
(fig.
there and a tl e a s t
interbedded
shale,
appear t o be present i n the Manzano
amounts of gypsum, a n h y d r i t e ,o rs a l t
indicate
that
several
f t thick
The Yeso i s a t l e a s t 1,000 f t thick i n the subsurface
central
Estancia
Valley.
i n thecentralpart
and530
of theEstanciaValley
5), wells
drilled
south of the proposed SSC s i t e
hundred f e e t of gypsum
and
anhydrite
are
present
as f a r n o r t h a s the town of Estancia (Titus, 1973).
I t i s n o t known i f s i g n i f i c a n t amounts of gypsum or anhydritearepresent
i n the subsurface o f the centralEstanciaValleyasfar
north as the town
o f Moriarty.
The GlorietaSandstoneoverlies
I ti s
presentinthesubsurface
the Yeso Formation in the EstanciaValley.
of the eastern two-thirds of the valley
13
just e a s t o f Moriarty ( f i g . 8).
b u t i s truncated by Cenozoic v a l l e yf i l l
The G l o r i e tias
Northrop,
Hill
65-125 f t thick i n the Sandia Mountains (Kelley and
1975) and 150-200 f t thick
in
the
outcrop
area
east
of
Lobo
(Read and others, 1944).
Similar
thicknesses
are
probably
present
i n thesubsurfaceofthecentralpart
i s a clean,
white,
The Glorieta
of theEstanciaValley.
Bedding i s usually
medium-grained quartz
sandstone.
massive and texture varies from f r i a b lteo
well
cemented
(Kelley and
Northrop, 1975).
The San Andres Formation overliestheGlorietaSandstone
Valley.
i n the Estancia
The San Andres has a maximum thickness o f 200 f t i n t h e Sandia
Mountains (Kelley and Northrop,
1975),
200-300 f t on Chupadera Mesa a t
the southern end of the
valley
(Bates
and others,
1947),
f t a’t the northern rim of the
Estancia
Valley
(Read
and
In the S a n d i a Mountains, the San Andres consistsmostly
thin-
t o medium-bedded,
1975).
others,1944).
of grey tcblack,
The limestone i s
finely
crystalline
limestone.
and Northrop,
locally
cavernous
(Kelley
and only 100
Some gypsum, anhydrite,
and sandstoneare also present i n the San Andres Formation (Titus, 1973).
The Bernal
Formation
isolated,
erosional
overlies
remnants
of
Mountains and Estancia
Valley.
the San Andres
the Bernal
are
present
Only small,
i n the Sandia
The Bernal i s u p t o 75 f t thick i n the
Sandias where i t consists of tan-brown,
w i t h localthinlimestone
Formation.
f i n e -t o
medium-grained sandstone
beds; gypsum is.notapparent(Kelley
1975).
14
and Ncrthrop,
Triassic
i n the EstanciaValleyconsist
Triassicrocks
and the Chinle Formation.
of the Santa Rosa Sandstone
The Santa Rosa i s 100-400 f t thickinthe
Sandia
Mountains and the Chinle has a maximum thickness of 1300-1400 f ti n
and Northrop,
Sandias
(Kelley
1975).
the
of
Only t h i n erosional
remnmts
the Santa Rosa and Chinleare
present i n the Estancia Valley.
Rosa consistsmostlyofwhite
t o brown, fine- t o coarse-grained,locally
conglomeraticsandstone
Tbe Santa
and minor reddish-brown mudstone beds; the Chinle
consists
predominantly
of
reddish-brown
mudstone
with
numerocs
thin
sandstone beds (Kel l e y and Northrop, 1975).
Jurassic
present only i n thenorthernmostpart
J u r a s s i cs t r a t aa r e
Valley,(fig.
7).
of theEstancia
o f , in ascending
The Jurassicsection(fig.6)consists
and the Morrison Formation.
order:
Entrada
Sandstone,
Todilto
Limestone,
In the S a n d i a Mountains, the Entrada i s 60-120 f t thick and consists of
The Todilto
fine- t o medium-grained, well-sorted,
cross-bedded
sandstone.
consists of a lower gypsummember
as thick as
190 f t andan
upperlimestone
The Morrison i s 760-915 f t thick i n the Sandia
member 5-20 f t thick.
Mountains and consists of
sandstone, mudstone,
and conglomerate
(Kelley
and Northrop,1975).
Cretaceous
A Cretaceoussection
s e c t i oins
i s preserved north of Stanley(fig.
composed o f ,
i n ascending
order:
Dakota
is
5-50
coarse-grained
sandstone.
The Cretaceous
Dakota Sandstone, Mancos
In the Hagan Basin north ofStanley,
Shale, and the Mesaverde Formation.
the
4).
f t thick and consists
dominantly
The Mancos
may
be
15
as
thick
as
of
medium-
to
1,500 f t and
i s l o c a l l y carbonaceous or s i l i c e o u s .
consistsofgreytoblackshalethat
The Mesaverde may be as thickas
fineto
coarse-grained
sandstone
carbonaceousshale(Kelley
3,000 f t and consists
of
int?rbedded
and grey toblack,
noncarbonaceous t o
and Northrop, 1975).
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic Era ranges from 66 millionyears
d i v i d e d i n t o theTertiary
ago t o the present and i s
Although the Cenozoic
and Quaternary
Periods.
Era i s well represented by rocks north and westof
were eroded or
never
deposited
Valley, most of
these
rocks
area o f the SSC r i n g .
Threemajorgroups
shallowtongue-shapedigneous
the Ortiz Mountains.
the northernEstancia
w i t h i n the
ofrocksarerepresented.
First,
intrusive rocks make up South Mountain and
These Tertiaryintrusivesrange
from 27 t o 37 million
years i n age and locally contain economic metallic ore deposits.
The second
group
of
Cenozoic
sand and gravel shed
deposits
consists
of
from the mountains t o the west and range i n age from about 4 t o 12 million
years
old.
The deposits
range
the margins of the
basin.
up t o 50 f e etth i c k
where prese-ved on
The stable upper surface of these
deposits
has been indurated by a zone o f caprock caliche.
The t h i r d group o f deposits i s the basin f i l l of the northern Estancia
Valley.
The deposits
consist
f t thick ( f i g .
s i d e sa s
of gravel,
sand,
s i l t , and clay
o'rer
400
9 and Table 1). The sediments were eroded from the valley
the Estanciabasin
The lowestdepositsinthebasin
group ofdepositsdescribedabove,
began t o sag
only
a few millionyears
ago.
may be equivalent i n age t o the second
b u t most of the basin f i l l i s l a t e s t
16
e
1.i-. . . . .
DRILL HOLES PENETRATING VALLEY FILL
V A L L E Y FILL A B S E N T
CONTOURINTERVAL
0
1
= 100 F'T
20
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MILES
Figure 9.
Isopach map of Cenozoic valley f i l l i n northernEstancia
Basin.Figure
8 i s crosssection A-6.
17
Table 1. Log of well 2 mi southofMoriarty(afterSmith,
Material
Thickness
(feet)
Quaternary and Tertiary(?) valley f i l l
3
Soi 1
Caliche
40
Clay,sticky
C1 ay, sandy
Sand and gravel; water
C1ay
Sand and gravel;water
C1ay
Gravel ; water
C1ay
Sand and gravel; water
155
Clay,sandy
Sand and gravel
C1 ay
Sand and gravel
192
Gravel
C1ay
Sandstone shells
Gravel
Sand and gravel ’
220
Gravel
241
Conglomerate
248
Clay and gravel
Conglomerate
278
C1ay
Probably Abo formation
2
28
Clay,light-red
287
Sandstone,red
Clay,red
Conglomerate
Red bed
18
3
9
28
31
5
22
4
10
6
10
6
21
8
8
9
12
6
4
8
5
5
21
7
23
7
4
5
6
7
3
1957)
Depth
(feet)
12
71
76
98
102
112
118
128
134
163
171
180
198
202
210
215
27 1
293
300
303
Tertiary and Quaternary i n age.
stream sediments,
alluvial
The d e p o s i t as t
the surface
consist
lake
deposits,
and windbloxn
fans,
The soils developed on much of the sediment indicatethat
years ago.
A large
the basin below 6225 f t between 10,000 and 20,000
may have f i l l e d the basin t o
Earlierlakesoflargerextent
a s i l l a t an elevation between 6340
and
6350
ofactiveerosion
dunes.
the landscape
higher t h a n 6225 f t has been stable for more than 100,000 years.
Wisconsinan lakeoccupied
of
f t ( f i g . 10).
Presentareas
t o streamvalleys,
and depositionareprimarilyconfined
sand-dune f i e l d s , and activeagriculturalareas.
HYDROGEOLOGY
Ground waterflows
from uplandrechargeareas
on theEstanciaValleymargins
discharge p o i n t s associated w i t h playas i n the southeastern
toward
lower
part of the valley.
Pumpage and zones of higher
conductivity
complicate
this otherwise simple flow system.
by f i l l of .late
Pliocene
The f l o o r of the v a l l e yi s
( ? ) t o Pleistocene
age.
Underlying
this
i s a sequence o f gently
eastward-dipping
Paleozoic
Each of these materialsservesas
7 and 8 ) .
part
of
covered
the valley ( f i g .
11).
i n Table 2 and arenotrepeated
bedrock units (figs.
a principalaquiferfor
Aquifer
characteristics
are
below.
fill
some
summarized
Depth t o water i n t h ev a l l e yi s
shown i n Figure 12.
Valley F i l l Material
Valley f i l l i s the principal
aquifer
in
Valley
(Smith,
by the logof
1957; f i g . 11).
the main part of the
Estancia
Heterogeneity o f this material i s shown
a well 2 mi south of Moriarty(Table
1). The f i l li s
f t thick 6 m i south of Moriarty a n d 405 f t thick 2 milessouth
19
340
of Stanley
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r
35”N
35’N
5 possiblemaximumlakeIeveI
Lf
$
..
Wisconsinanshoreline
Figure 10.
Possible maximum extent o f latestGlacial Lake Estancia
a t maximum level and the prominentWisconsinan shx-eline.
20
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106OW
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'N
350N
106OW
a
Gravel Aquifers
LimestoneAquifers
Figure 11.
Principal sand and gravel(Cenozoic)
i n central New Mexico.
21
and limestoneaquifers
Table 2.
Lithology
Summary of AquiferCharacteristics,EstanciaValley.
Depth
t o Water
(ft)
Aquifer
(ft)
405
-
200
-
200
>3,000
700
-
625
3,000
-
900
Total
Dissolved
Sol i d s
(PPd
0207
-2,300250
gravel,
sand,clay
0
Glorieta
Sandstone
sandstone
025
Yeso
Formation
sandstone,
shale,limestone,
anhydrite
380 20
-
Abo
Formation
sandstone,
mudstone
300
-
1,000
5
Madera
Group
limestone,
s h a l e ,s i l t s t o n e ,
conglomerate,sandstone
50
-
2,700
1,100
- 1,100
*
Yield
(gpm)
-
Val l e y Fi 11
N
Maximum
1 = Smith (19571, 2 = Mourant (1980), 3 = Jenkins (1982), 4 = Titus (1980)
10
Source*
-
6,170
1,2
592
-
5,270
1
220
-
12,300
1
258
-
<459
504
1
1,2,3,4
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(Smith, 1957; see also f i g . 9 ) .
Titus (1980)reported
was near the base of the v a l l e yf i l l
thewatertable
t h a t near Edgewood
or i n theunderlying
In response t o i r r i g a t i o n pumpage, ground-water l e v e l s
Paleozoic
bedrock.
By 1971, declines of a s much as 40 f t were otserved
in
have declined.
the v i c i n i t y of the Torrance/Santa Fe County l i n e north of Moriarfy(Bureau
o f Reclamation,
1976).
o f a good v a l l e y - f i l l
The average
yield
years ago was 1200 gpm ( S m i t h , 1957).Quality
of water from the valley
f i l l varies w i t h location.Salinityincreasesalong
i s s a t i s f a c t o r yf oar l l
the
water
well 30
flow l i n e s .
uses; in
others
In places,
i t is u i t a b l oe n l y
for use by livestock ( S m i t h , 1957).
San Andres Limestone and 61orieta Sandstone
No significant
wells
are completed in the San Andres Limestone,
fractured GlorietaSandstone
i s the principalaquifer
i n the northeastern
Locally,
yields
are
part of the valley ( S m i t h , 1957).
drawdown.
but
high with l i t t l e
north o f Moriarty,
only
For example, a t well
10.8.35.211,
6
f t of drawdown resulted from the pumping a t more than 3,000 gpm ( S m i t h ,
1957).
Water q u a l i t y i s highlyvariable
by Smith (1957).
based on fiveanalyses
Poor qualitywaterisprobably
reported
due t o hydraulicconnection
w i t h the anhydrite-bearing Yeso Formation below.
Yeso and
The
Yeso
Ab0
Formations
the southernanieastern
Formation istheprincipalaquiferin
parts of
the
valley
(Smith,
1957).
Porosity
s i g n i f i c a n tf r a c t u r e
axes (Smith,
1957).
Wells
i n the Yeso.
ilsa r g e l y
zones associatedwith
secondary w i t h
movement alongmajorstructural
i n Mountainair
yielded
100 gpm from limestone
Elsewhere, yields range from those
suitable
for
windmills
24
t o 3,000 gpm.
of
rock
Qualityof
water i n the Yeso varies w i t h location and type
According t o Smith (1957),
the
penetrated by the well.
Formation i st h ep r i n c i p a l
Abo
aquifer only i n the extreme southwestern part
of the valley outside the area of the proposed s i t e .
Madera Group
the western margin of
i s the principal
aquifer
along
The
Madera
Group
the Estancia
Valley
(Smith,
especially true
1957;
Jenkins,
1982; f i g .
11).
This i s
in a narrow b e l t where the o v e r l y i nvga l l efyi li ls
generallylessthan
100 f t thick.
Shallow depths t o water areassociated
w i t h the western part of the valley.
According t o Smith (1957),initialyields
may be h i g h , b u t sustainedyields
are more on the order of a few hundred gpm.
Titus (1980) gave a n average
yield of 1 2 gprn f o r 46 wells yielding less t h a n 100 gpm.
Wells
in
the
fractures,
Madera
from secondary
porosity:
joints,
produce
water
Two zones of
and solution
cavities
(Jenkins,
1982).
conductivityare
known i n the westernEstanciaBasin.
R7-8E and may be associated w i t h karstfeatures.
miles north of Edgewood intheBachelor
R7E and Sec. 31, TlON,
R8E).
high
One occurs i n T6-8N,
The other l i e s a few
Draw area (betweenSec.
Considerable
variability
30, T l l N ,
i n well success
has been experienced i n the Edgewood area n o r t h of 1-40, between NM 344
and the
county
l i n e (Jenkins,
1982).
Least
favorable
locations
appear
t o be those between the east-west-trending
drainageways
ridge
roughly
following
the
county l i n e .
projections of thesedrainageways,
i n thelimestone
The best
wells
lie
along
which reportedly are fault controlled.
25
Most water i s potable and meetscounty
(Jenkins,
1982).
However,
of magnesium,
sodium,
and statewater-qualitystandards
Titus
(1980)
noted
locally
elevated
values
potassium,
fluoride,
porosity, which enhanceswellyields
and n i t r a t e .
i n the Madera Group, also makes this
aquiferverysusceptibletopollution(Jenkins,
anomalies
reported
by Titus
(1980)
The secondary
1982).
may
be
Some of t h en i t r a t e
a t t r i b u t etdroe c i r c u l a t i o n
of sewage e f f l u e n t t h r o u g h open f r a c t u r e s and solution channels.
Recomnendations
oftheprevious
works done on theEstanciaValley.Additionalsite-specific,
hydrogeologicdatawill
f o rt h e
i n b u t a few
i s based on existingdata,aspresented
Thisbriefoverview
be requirednot'onlyfordeveloping
SuperCollider,
a watersupply
b u t a l s o for thevariousengineeringactivities
associated w i t h i t s construction.
In order t o obtainthequantity
and qualityofwater
needed (2,COO gpm;
a t l e a s t 500 gpm potable), i t i s recommended t h a tt h ef a c i l i t yh e a d q u a r t e r s
and/orwatersupplyequipment
Valley,
near
be located on thewesternside
Edgewood ( f i g . 1). The
Madera
Group
of the Estancia
i s an excellentsource
of water there.
As
noted
elsewhere,
installation
of
the
Super
Collider
may
require
excavation i n t o the Madera in
the
southwestern
part
of
the
ring.
excavationwill
no d o u b t encounterwater
required.
properly
If
designed,
the
water-collection
dewatering may also
serve
as
the
Such
and dewatering
measures
system
means of obtaining
project
water.
If
26
may
be
used
in
additionalwater
it.
i s needed, conventionalwells
i n the Madera should provide
Alternatively, depending on the location and depth of excavation,
dewatering of other aquifers may providewater
courseof
i n otherareasalong
the
the Super Collider.
view o f thevulnerability
importantin
This i s especially
must be carefullyplanned.
Any waste-disposalactivities
of the water
supply
i n the area
(Titus, 1980; Jenkins, 1982).
SEISMICITY
Earthquakedata
f o r New Mexico was summarized by Sanford,Olsen,
and Jaksha
(1981).
Information
on locations and strengths of earthquakes
prior
1962 i s basedmostly
on noninstrumentallydeterminedvalues
intensity.
to
No seismic
centers
1962 (Sanford,
Olsen,
to
o f earthquake
were detected w i t h i n the r i n g area prior
and Jaksha,
1981).
Similarly,
no epicenters
w i t h magnitudes of greater than 2.5 (Richter) .were recorded from 1961
t o 1982 i n the' proposed s i t e (Machette,unpublisheddata,
Jaksha
(unpublished
data,
1985;
fig.
1 4 ) , however,
w i t h a Richter magnitude o f lessthan
seismiccenters
area for the period between 1976 and 1981.
magnitudeof
lessthan
1 . 5 areimperceptible
1982; f i g . 13).
does indicate some
1.5 w i t h i n the r i n g
Earthquakes w i t h a Richter
t o most people and a-eonly
measured by the most s e n s i t i v e instruments.
Recommendations
Although the
northern
Estancia
Valley
of v a l l e yf i l l
i s nearly
aseismic,
the
presence
w i t h water-bearinggravel,sand,
as 450 f t ( S m i t h ,
s i l t , and clayasthick
1957) means t h a t nearby
earthquakes
27
may cause some
so
N
35O N
'!
,:
L
-"
"
"
"
"_I
. 3.0
a n
E ;
$6
: A
?
IO
.
.
20
. ." -
30rniles
I
)socorro
3 4"N
I(
mr
/\E
I
'W
Figure 13.
106"W
Historicalseismicepicenters
( A ) and major fault; i n
central New Mexico. Roman numerals indicate the i n t e n s i t y
on theMercalliscale,Arabic
numbers denoteRichte" intens i t i e s ( a f t e r Machette,unpublished
data, 1983).
S = Stanley, E = Edgewood, and M = Moriarty.
28
i4"N
.
i
Figure 14.
Seismicity map derived by U . S . GeologicalSurvey from a seismic
network centered .on Albuquerque, NM. The study cove-ed a 66-month
period between' January 1976 and November 1981. Approximately
1,000 epicenters are.'plotted and magnitudes range up t o 3 . 2 on
theRichterscale(afterJaksha,unpublisheddata,1985).
29
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movement and h i g h amplitudes w i t h i n t h ev a l l e yf i l l
of the rirg areaas
compared t o the underlying
bedrock.
Susceptibility
of
the
valley
fill
t o s e i s m i c i t y should be tested.
ACKNOWLEDGPIENTS
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This report was compiled by the e f f o r t s of a great many s t a f f members
of the New Mexico Bureau o f Mines and MineralResources.
In alphabetical
order, theyare:
George Austin, James Barker, Danny Bobrow, Mark Bowie,
Ronald Broadhead,
Annette Carroll,
Charles
Ferguson,
Hemingway, John Hingtgen,
Gary Johnpeer, Frank Kottlowski, David Love,
Glen Osburn, JoAnne~Osburn, Cherie Pelletier,Irean
Deborah
Shaw,
William
John Hawley, Mark
Rae, CindieSalisbury,
Stone, Judy Vaiza, and Michael Wooldridge.
All
worked a s much as was necessaryto
complete t h i s proposal i n a veryshort
time.
Ronald Broadhead i s chieflyresponsiblefor
David Love contributing
material
the 'section on hydrogeology.
and seismicity
sections.
Bobrow,
Mark
Hemingway,
Gary
the geology section, b u t w i t h
on the Cenozoic.
William
Stone
wrote
George Austin contributed the introduction
All of the authors, p l u s James Bark'?r, Danny
Johnpeer, Frank Kottlowski, and Deborah
Shaw,
reviewed themanuscript a t various stages
30
and offeredsuggestions..
REFERENCES CITED
Bates, R. L . , Wilpolt, R. H . , MacAlpin, A. J . , and Vorbe, G . , 1947, Geology
ofthe
Gran Quiviraquadrangle, New Mexico: New Mexico Buresu of Mines
and Mineral Resources,Bulletin 26, 52 p.
Bureau o f Land Management, 1982. State o f New Mexico Land S t a t u s Map:
Department of t h e I n t e r i o r , 1:100,000.
Bureau Reclamation,
of
1976,
planningpurposes:
U.S.
New Mexico water
resources
assezsment
for
U.S. Bureau ofReclamation,
218 p.
Dane, C. H., and Bachman, G.
GeologicalSurvey,1:500,000.
O.,
1965, Geologic Map of New Mexico: U.S.
Jenkins, 0. N . , 1972,
Geohydrology
of the Madera Group, western
Estancia
Basin, New Mexico:
New Mexico GeologicalSociety
Guidebook, 33rd Field
Conference, p. 361-366.
Kelley, V. C., 1972, Geology of the Fort Sumner sheet, New Mexico: New Mexico
Bureau of Mines and MineralResources,
Bulletin 98, 55 p .
Kelley, V. C . , and Northrop, S. A., 1975, Geology o f Sandia Mountains and
v i c i n i t y , New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau-of Mines and Mineral Resources,
Memoir 29, 136 p.
Mourant, W. A., 1980, Hydrologic maps
and
data
for
Santa
Fe County, New
Mexico: New Mexico S t a t e Engineer, Basic Data Report, 180 p.
Myers, D. A . , and McKay, E. J . , 1976,Geologic
map ofthe
n o r t h end ofthe
Manzano Mountains, Tijeras and Sedillo
quadrangles,
Bernalillo
County,
New Mexico: U.S. Geological
Survey,
Miscellaneous
Investigations
Map
1-968,1:24,000.
Read, C.
B . , Wilpolt, R. H., Andrews, D. A . , Summerson, C. H., and Wood,
G. H., 1944, Geologic map and stratigraphic
sections
o f Permian and
Pennsylvanian
rocks
of parts of San Miguel,
Santa
Fe, Sandoval, Bernalillo,
Torrance,
and Valencia
Counties,
north-central
New Mexico:
U.S.
Geological
Survey,
Oil and Gas Investigations
Preliminary
Map
OM-21.
Sanford, A. R . , Olsen, K. H., and Jaksha, L. H . , 1981.
Mexico, 1849-1977: New Mexico Bureau of Mines
and
Circular 171, 20 p .
Earthquakes i n New.
Mineral
Resources,
Smith, R. E . , 1957, Geoloar and around-water
resources
of Torrance Countv.
New Mexico: New Mexqio Bureau o f Mines
and
Mineral
Resources,
Ground
Water Report 5, 186 p.
Titus, F. B . , 1973, Hydrogeologic
evolution
o f Estancia
Valley,
basin
in
central
New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines
and
Resources,Open-fileReport69,
210 p.
a closed
Mineral
Titus, F. B . , 1980, Ground water in the Sandia and northern Manzano Mountains,
New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,Hydrologic
Report5, 66 p .
31