Living DesertState Park, openedin June
1971,has been developedas an indoor-outdoor museumof native plants and animals.
Well-markedtrails take you on a self-guided
tour among extensivedesertgardens,an arboretum,and a zoo containingbirds, reptiles,
hooved animals, bears, and other species.
of the more than 2,000
Somerarer specimens
varietiesof cactusare displayedin the Succulentsof the World and the Entry buildings.
A display of unique and beautiful minerals
from all over the world is also housedin the
Entry building.The 360-acrepark is provided
with gift shopand restaurant.
An adjacenttracts,developedby the City of
Carlsbad,offers recreationaland picnicking
facilities. Motel-hotel accommodations,city
shops,and scheduledbus and airline services
areavailablein nearbyCarlsbad,4 mi by road
from the park.
Plants
Although irrigated bottomlandsalong the
Pecos River permitted the introduction of
agricultural crops characteristic of more
humid regions,native semidesertshrubsand
grasslandare of the Lower Sonoranzone of
the Chihuahuan Desert region. Typical indicator plants are cacti, creosotebush, mesquite, acacias, and ocotillo. The Upper
Sonoran zone beginsin the foothills to the
westand extendsupward into the Guadalupe
Mountainswherejuniper, pinon, oak, yucca,
arecharacteristic.
agave,and beargrass
Geology
park
The
is in the Ocotillo Hills, a low
roundedridgerunningnorth from the western
outskirts of Carlsbad.This ridge and other
hills around Carlsbad are formed by anticlines.Happy Valley to the southwestof the
Ocotillo Hills and the valley of the Pecos
Riverjust eastof the hills aresynclines.
Principal surfacerocks of theseanticlines
are the Tansill and Yates Formations (Per-
--:
I
l-
-
Z o o l o g i c o l - B o l o n i c o lG o r d e n s
Stote Pork of the Southwesl
mian).Theserocksweredepositedas sandand
limy mud along the edgeof the seasome230
m.y. (million years)ago. The deeppart of the
oceanlay to the south, and the margin betweenthe seaand the bank was a growingbarrier reef similar to the BahamaIslandsof the
Caribbeanor othersin the South Pacific today. CarlsbadCaverns,approximately25 mi
southwestof the park, is in thesesameformathereis similar
tions, and the greatescarpment
to the oceanwardsideof the reef as it existed
in Permiantime.
On the eastside of the PecosRiver eastof
Carlsbad.the Tansill and Yates Formations
and similarrock units are overlainby younger
Permianbedswhich containrich potashores.
On a clear day, headframesof the underground potash mines are visible to the east,
northeast, and southeast.Beyond on the
northeasthorizonis the southernmostpart of
the High Plains, called Llano Estacadoor
StakedPlains.Northwardthe PecosRivervalley is the greenswath leadingto Artesia and
Roswell.SevenRiversHills and AzoteaMesa
to the west are cappedby rocks similar to
thosein the park. The bold limestonecliffs of
the GuadalupeMountainsto the southwestare
formed mainly by slightly older reef rocks,
althoughin many placesthey are also capped
by theTansilland YatesFormations.
The typelocationfor the Tansill Formation
is on the eastflank of the Ocotillo Hills, approximatelyI mi north of Park headquarters.
The name Tansill, taken from Tansill Dam,
Norlh
Norlhwesl Polosh
mtnl
P o l o s h C o r p o r o l i o no f
Americo mine
Nolionol
Polosh mine
DuvolPotosh
ml
Seven Rivers
Hiils
Kerr-McGee
Potosh minc
PecosRiver
Ar oleo
Meso
Corlsbod
I n l e r n o l i o n o lI V i n e r o l s
Polosh mine
G u o d o l u p eM o u n l o i n s
wasalsothe family nameof an earlyCarlsbad
settler.TansillDam impoundsthe PecosRiver
for 2 mi north of Carlsbad,creatingthe beautiful recreationallake visible from the park
center.
Park facilitiesare on gray limestonebedsof
the Tansill and the rock is usedin somewalls
and gardensalong the paths. The YatesFormation liesbeneaththe Tansill and is exposed
only in the small canyonswhich have eroded
throughthe Tansill.The contactbetweenbeds
of these formations is clearly exposedin a
road cut along the easternaccessto the park.
This exposureis 0.5 mi from US-285. The
YatesFormation is mostly fine rusty-yellow
sandstonethat contrastsmarkedly in color
limestone.
with the cement-gray
History
Man has increasinglyleft his imprint upon
Ice
this regionsincethe end of the Pleistocene
of glacial ice sheets
Age, when a succession
coveredthe northern tier of states.Although
the earliestrecord is dimly perceivedin the
park vicinity, more than I 1,000 yrs ago
huntersin the plainseastof the PecosValley
tracked now-extinct mammoth, bison, and
other large herbivorousmammals;undoubtedly, huntersalso stalkedtheir quarry in the
park area.More abundantevidenceof foraging activitiesby succeeding
culturesof the ArchaicStageis manifestedby stonemiddencircles, milling stones, dart points, basketry,
bone and vegetalrefuse,and burialsfound in
numerousopen sitesand sheltercaves.These
people,referredto as CarlsbadBasketmakers,
dependedupon the varied resourcesof native
plantsand modernspeciesof largenand small
animalsthat abounded.The span of Archaic
occupationis unknownbut probablyextended
from severalthousandyearsB.C. to approximately 1,000yrs A.D. Ancestorsof modern
ApacheIndians,who may haveenteredthe region during their southward migration
roughly500yrs ago, later wereto becomethe
scourgeof travelersand settlersin the area.
The first white visitorswere with Don Antonio de Espejo'sexpeditionthat returnedto
Mexico in 1583through the PecosValley. In
1590,GasparCastafiode Sosaled 170 men,
women, and children along the Pecos into
northern New Mexico in an unsuccessful
attempt to found a colony. The country, fav-
U S Polosh Compony
Mi t l
New Mexico Geology
May 1982
Field Engineering Corporation, Technical
Library,P.O. Box 1569,GrandJunction,CO
303-242-8621,
ext. 278).
81501.(Telephone:
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I
ored haunt of the Mescalero Apache, was on
the establishment of ranches along the Pecos
the westernfringe of Comancheterritoryiby
the middle 1700's;hence,it was the 1850's
before American military expeditionsand
patrols beganto report, with little favor, on
thephysicalfeaturesand resources
of the area.
These reports, together with the consthnt
threat of Apacheraiding parties,discouraged
both travelersand settlersuntil the 1860's.The
demandfor beef at military postsand Indian
reservationsfollowing the Civil War provided
a marketfor Texascattleand eventuallyled]to
Valley.
Introduction of irrigated agriculture sigsettlementof the
naleda periodof accelerated
valley.Carlsbad,originallynamedEddy after
owesits origin
oneof the principaldevelopers,
to this industry.The discoveryof potashmineralsin Permiansalt bedseastof Carlsbadin
1925led to a new industrialboom centeredon
mining potash salts for use as fertilizers.
Carlsbad mines are now the leading potash
n
producersin the UnitedStates.
.
Map references
Regional geological interpretation of aerornagnetic and gravity data for Rowe-Mora area,
New Mexico, by G. E. Andreasen, M. F.
Kane, and Isidore Zietz, in Prof. Paper
400-8, p. 238-239,1960
Aeromagnetic and gravity studies of the Precambrian in northeastern New Mexico, by
G. E. Andreasen, M. F. Kane, and Isidore
Zietz, Geophysics, v. 2'7, no. 3, p. 343-358,
1962, (tig.3 is an aeromagnetic map)
The Rio Grande trough near Albuquerque,
New Mexico, by H. R. Joesting, J. E. Case,
and L. E. Cordell, rn Prof. Paper 424-D, p.
282-286, 1961, (fie. 392.4 shows magnetic
profiles; reprinted in New Mexico Geological
Society, Guidebook 12th field conference,
l96l)
survey and
CE){ 59.4.24-Aeroradioactivity
geology of the Gnome (Carlsbad) area, New
Mexico and Texas (ARMS-l), by J. A. MacKallor, scale 1:250,000, 1965, (published by
the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, available from U.S. Department of Commerce,
Service,
National Technical Inforrnation
Springfield, VA2216l)
Aeromagnetic map of the San Simon Valley
area, Cochise, Graham, and GreenleeCounties, Arizona, and Hidalgo County, New
Mexico, 2 sheets,scale l:125,@0, (OF Rept.
66-139), 1966, (copies on file at l, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6,8,ll)
Bull. 126l-E-Mineral resources of the Blue
Range Primitive Area, Greenlee County,
Arizona, and Catron County, New Mexico,
by J. C. Ratt6 and others, with a section on
aeromagnetic interpretation by G. P. Eaton,
9l p.,1969, (pl. I is a geologic-aeromagnetic
map, scale 1:62,500)
resources of the Black
Bull. l3l9-E-Mineral
Range Primitive Area, Grant, Sierra, and
Catron Counties, New Mexico, by G. E.
Ericksen and others, 162 p., 1970, (pl. I is a
geologic-aeromagnetic map, scale I :63,360)
Aeromagnetic map of part of south-central
New Mexico, scale 1:62,500, (OF Rept.
7l-288), I971, (copies on file at l, 2, 3, 4, 7,
8,9, l0)
Aeromagnetic map of the Jemez area, New
Mexico, scale l:250,000, (OF Rept. 72-391),
1 9 7 2 ,( c o p i e so n f i l e a t 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 , l 0 )
Aeromagnetic map of an area northeast of
Santa Fe, New Mexico, scale l:62,500, (OF
Rept. 73-290), 1973, (copieson file at l, 2, 3,
Aeromagnetic
andaeroradiometric
maps
andprofiles
jbytheU.S.Geological
published
Survey
0ropen-filed
indexmapsshowthe loThe accompanying
cation of aeromagneticand aeroradiomet[ic
surveysfor which resultsare availableto the
public. A supplementallist of publicaticins
and open-filereports is keyed to eachindex
map. AIso included are aeromagnetic and
aeroradiometric
mapspublishedor open-filed
by various statesand available only from A.he
slafes. Not included are airborne maps apd
profiles by other governmentagenciesand p;ivate industry except when incorporatedin
USGSor individualstatepublications.
Many of the publicationslisted are GgophysicalInvestigations
Maps (GP). Theseand
other Surveymaps can be purchasedfrom the
Branch of Distribution,U.S. GeologicalSqrvey, Bldg. 41, Box 25286, Federal Centdr,
Denver, CO 80225,for areaswestof the Mississippi River, including Alaska and Louisiana.
Professionalpapers and bulletins that {re
not out of print can be purchasedby mNil
from EasternDistribution Branch, Text Products Section,U.S. GeologicalSurvey,604 $.
Pickett Street,Alexandria, VA 22304and oter
the counterfrom the U.S. GeologicalSurvpy
Public InquiriesOffices (P.I.O.'s) located[n
Anchorage, Dallas, Denver, Los AngelQs,
Menlo Park, Reston, Salt Lake City, Sp
Francisco,Spokane,and Washington,D.C. 1
Most all open-file reports are available ln
May 1982
New Mexico Geology
microfiche or paper duplicate copies from
Open-FileServicesSection,U.S. Geological
Survey,Box 25425,FederalCenter,Denver,
303-234-5888)
CO 80225.(Telephone:
Pricesfor the abovepublicationsare published in the monthly listing "New Publicationsof the GeologicalSurvey."Currentprice
and availability information for older publications can be obtainedby callingor writing the
appropriatelocationlistedabove.Prepayment
is requiredwhenordering.Order by seriesand
number(GP-233,OF77-123,etc.)and title.
Do not mix orders for maps, professional
papers and bulletins, and open-files.Each
location.
must be orderedfrom a separate
Someof the maps and profiles appearas illustrationsin professionaljournals, technical
books, and out-of-print governmentpublications. Thesemay be viewedat USGSlibraries
and many universitiesand public libraries.
Open-file releasesmay be examinedat librariesand certainofficesof the USGS,statesurveys, and universities. These locations are
notedin thestateindex.
The U.S. Departmentof Energy has completed an aerial radiometric and magneticreconnaisancesurvey program over the conterminous United Statesand part of Alaska in
support of the National Uranium Resource
Evaluation (NURE) program. Information on
these surveyscan be obtained from: Bendix
4 , 7, 8 , r 0 )
Wilderness
and
of thePecos
Mineralresources
adjacentareas,SantaFe, SanMiguel,Mora,
Rio Arriba. and Taos Counties, New Mexico, by U.S. GeologicalSurvey,U.S. Bureau
of Mines,and New MexicoBureauof Mines
and Mineral Resources,ll7 p., aeromagneticmap scalel:62,500,(OF Rept.80-382),
1980,(copieson file at I, 2, 3, ?, 8, 9, l0)
Aeromagneticmap of parts of the SilverCity
and Las CrucesI o by 2" quadrangles,southwesternNew Mexico, scale l:250,000, (OF
Rept.7,1-l107),1974,(copieson file at l, 2,
3, 4, 7, 8, l0; copiesof the l:62,500maps
from whichthe l:250,000map wasprepared
may be orderedfrom l0)
Aeromagneticmap of parts of the Socorroand
TularosaI o by 2' quadrangles,southwestern
New Mexico, scalel:250,000,(OF Rept. 7,trI 108),1974,(copieson file at I, 2, l, 4,7 , 8,