Field Guide to the Manzano Mountains, NM
GEOL 3402 Structural Geology
JD
P
F
SA
PP
A-
-A’
LEGEND
Figure 2.
Figure 1. Archean and Proterozoic terranes of Laurentia from Whitmeyer and Karlstrom (2007). Thick red lines represent continental truncations; black lines with teeth represent sutures or convergent boundaries. Also shown are the contemporary, active tectonic provinces of the
western Cordillera including the San Andreas transform fault, Gulf of California extensional provice (East Pacific Rise), Basin & Range, Cascade
convergent boundary, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Cross section A- A’ in Figure 7.
Red Cyn. CG map
60
60
Vaughn, NM
Pedernal Hills Stop
60
FT. Sumner, NM
60/84
Clovis, NM
60/84
Hiway 60 to Mountainair, NM
Mountainair, NM
60/84
Goat Draw/Hiway 60 map
Hi
gh
wa
y
84
84
to
N
Road map from Lubbock to
the southern Manzano Mts.
Cl
ov
is,
N
M
35 miles
LUBBOCK
Road map of southern Manzano Mountains & field areas
Estadio Cyn.
Entry to
Tierra Grande
‘development’
& Estadio Cyn.
N
47
Abo Cyn.
entry to FS rd. 422
Priest Canyon rd.
Junction 47 & 60
Overview Stop
R
TO
60 AINAI
W
T
H UN
MO
60
60
60
Goat Draw map area
Day 1 Itinerary & directions:
• Depart Lubbock at 7 AM via State Highway 84 toward Clovis, NM. We’ll stop here for the Whiz Palace and coffee; about 1.5 hrs.
Continue on 84/60 through Melrose and Ft. Sumner; stay on Highway 60 to Vaughn.
• Continue through hamlets of Yeso and we’ll stop in Vaughn for the whiz palace and coffee; about 3.5 hours of driving time from
Lubbock. Continue on 60 through Yeso toward Encino on Highway 60.
Geology Stop 1:
• About 9 miles west of Encino, stop at roadcuts in Pedernal Hills on north-side of road.
• Continue on highway 60 through Willard to Mountainair, NM, for a brief whiz palace stop.
• Continue on highway 60 through Abo Pass and park near turnout for junction of Highway 60 and 47 to Belen.
Geology Stop 2:
• Near junction of highways 47 and 60 we’ll stop and spend some time identifying and measuring fabrics in road cuts as well as
getting a brief over view of the southern Manzano Moutnains.
• Head to Red Canyon Camp Ground
2
>2.5 Ga
Jurassic
Sevier
Overthrust
belt
WYOMING
PROVINCE
B
105°W
110°W
t
e
Cheyenn
2-
1.
8
Ga
zal n
zat
Ma matio
or
def front
PR
O
VI
NC
E
Zo
n
itio
s
an
Tr
1.8-1.7 Ga
40°N
ne
M
OJ
AV
E
el
YAVAPAI
PROVINCE
MAZATZAL
PROVINCE
1.7-1.4 Ga.
0
Figures 3
and 4
SOUTHERN
GRANITE
RHYOLITE 35°N
PROVINCE
1.42-1.35 Ga
(subsurface)
vil
n
Gre
100
nt
ro
le F
GRENVILLE
PROVINCE 1.3-1.0 Ga
km
Figure 2. Regional index map of the southwestern United States. Exposed Precambrian metamorphic rocks (various shades of gray)
and igneous rocks (black) are shown. Also displayed are major Precambrian tectonic provinces that are juxtaposed across variably
exposed “sutures”, or regional contractional shear zones (teeth on hanging-wall). These provinces generally decrease in age from NW
to SE. Modified after Jones et al., 2009.
NOTES:
3
s
S an
dia
Albuquerque
Mo
un
tain
Figure 3. Physiography of the Manzano
Mountains and surrounding environments.
Green color is Federal public lands, including
National Forests, B.L.M. lands, and Nature
Preserves. Cross sectio X-X’ in Figure 6.
NOTES:
e
d
i
nc
ta
Es
al
aV
RED CANYON
CAMPGROUND
47
Pedernal Hills
ley
Manz
a
n
a
Tome Hill
Volcano
(3.5 Ma)
Andesitic
Salt Lakes
60
Willard
G
r
Figure 6.
no M
ount
ains
Los Lunas
Volcano
(1.2 Ma)
Andesitic
X
Sierra
Ladrones
60
MOUNTAINAIR
60
Los
Mo Pino
un s
tai
ns
o
Black Butte
R
i
X’
Abo Canyon
Soccorro
20 km
Sierra Magdalene
35°
MANZANITA
MOUNTAINS
range front
inferred
normal fault
35°
isleta shear zone
e
Monte Largo
pluton,
1656 Ma
PEDERNAL
HILLS
rg
a
eL
nt
Mo
to Belen
h
os
Phanerozoic fault
with likely late
Proterozoic ancestry
60
1680 Ma
Encino
MANZANO
MOUNTAINS
1438
Ma.
34°30’
285
e
on
z
ar
Proterozoic folds
Proterozoic thrust, teeth on
upper plate based on
aeromagnetic trends
Hell Canyon shear zone
Ojito pluton,
1659 Ma
34°45’
35°
1645 Ma
Priest pluton,
~ 1427 Ma
~1.4 Ga (?) Granite
inferred from
aeromagnetic highs
60
60
Mountainair
aul
t
sa
F
1662
106°45’
Mo
nto
1655
1658
1660
>1653
Los Pinos pluton
~1655 Ma
~1.65 Ga granite
0
LOS
PINOS
MOUNTAINS
10 km
20
N
106°
schist and phyllite, including
Blue Springs Schist
quartzite, including Sais,
White Ridge
1.67 Ga metarhyolite, including
Sevilleta Metarhyolite
amphibolite and
mafic schist
Figure 4. Tectonic map of the Manzano Mountains and related Proterozoic rocks and structures (modified from Karlstrom et al., 2004.)
4
Pennsylvanian outcrops at the crest of
the Sandia and Manzano Mountains
(~10,000’) and in the basin floor at >
10,000’ below sea-level!
NOTES:
Tertiary
Permian
Precambrian
Crystalline
Basement Rocks
Pennsylvanian
Figure 5. Schematic block diagram depicting the Albuquerque rift basin north of the Manzano Mts., thickness of Pennsylvanian through
Tertiary rocks, half-graben structure, and origin of some of the rift magmatism. Modified from Kelley (2012). Also note hypothetical
location of the brittle - plastic (ductile) transition and the the lower termination of the normal faults.
X
X’
from Cape et al., 1983
Figure 6. Schematic cross section across the Rio Grande rift zone At the latitude of Abo Pass based on COCORP seismic lines. To the east,
the thickness of the Paleozoic - Mesozoic section could be thinner than shown due to pre-rift Laramide erosion and a corresponding
increase in the thickness of the Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks to the west. 2:1 vertical exaggeration. From Cape et al. (1983).
5
Tectonophysics of the Rio Grande Rift
Figure 7. Cross section at 37.5°N (see Fig. 1B for
location) showing seismic results from the CREST
experiment. Tomographic cross section (Brandon
Schmandt, unpublished tomography) shows low
relative mantle velocity under highest topography (topography exaggerated ~20×) based on
data from the EarthScope Transportable Array,
CD-ROM, and CREST data (Mac-Carthy, 2010).
Moho interface (black line) is from P-wave
receiver function (RF) image (Steve Hansen,
unpublished data;Dueker et al., 2011). Negative
velocity interfaces from S-wave receiver function
image (Hansen et al., 2011) are interpreted to be a
lithosphere-asthenosphere mixing zone (LAMZ)
between 80 and 120 and 150–200 km interfaces
(dashed lines).
Absolute surface wave velocity contours
show low-velocity crust under highest topography, and asthenosphere-like 4.2 km/s surface
wave velocities at 80–100 km. Lithosphereasthenosphere mixing zone concept is supported
by xenolith localities in the region: A—Devonian
diamond-bearing xenoliths on the Stateline,
Colorado, district to the north (Farmer et al.,
2005); B—mantle lid xenoliths at ~900 °C in the
eastern Colorado Plateau region (Porreca et al.,
2006); C—lid xenoliths at ~140 km from Navajo
volcanic fi eld (Smith et al., 2004).
Low-velocity pipes in the deep mantle
suggest infl uence of 410 km discontinuity diapirs
(Dueker et al., 2011; Bercovici and Karato, 2003).
Any viable mantle geodynamic model needs to
explain correspondence of the highest elevations, thinnest crust, and low-velocity crust and
mantle. - From Karlstrom et al., 2012.
Road map to Red Canyon forest service campground from Mountainair, NM
LEFT (WEST) ON
CO. RD BO62/FS253
LEFT (WEST) ON
CO. RD BO63/FS253
RED CANYON
CAMPGROUND, NM
LEFT (WEST) ON
CO. RD BO64
RIGHT (WEST) ON
FS 253
55
FS Rd. 422 (from Priest Cyn)
~ 1 mi.
6
HW55
NORTH
FROM
MOUNTAINAIR,
a few miles to S.
55
Fun-n-games in the van!
NOTES:
cross word by Shari Kelley and
Douglas Bland, NM Bureau.
W
E
Figure 8. Eco zones in desert mountain regions such as the Manzano Mountains.
Shamelessly stolen from the internets. We’ll be camping on the “dip-slope” side of the
asymmetric Manzano Mts. in the “transition zone” of Ponderosa pines, various oaks,
and a few aspen. Our field work will occur in the “Upper Sonoran” zones of Juniper
(commonly - but inaccurately - referred to as “Cedar”) and Pinon pines.
Acknolwedgements.
We gratefully acknowledge the Tierra Grande Development Association and Sue
Moran for access to the Manzanou Mountains.
References
Cape, C., et al., 1983 GSA Bulletin, v. 94, p. 3-14.
Jones, J., et al., 2009, GSA Bulletin, v. 121, p. 247-264.
Karlstrom, K., et al., 2004, NM Geol. Soc. Sp. Publ., 11, p. 1-34.
Karlstrom, K., et al., 2012, Lithosphere.
Kelley, 2012. “Lite Geology”, NMT Publications.
7
8
Miocene to recent
Miocene-Pliocene
Figure 9. Block diagrams of the Rio Grande rift from
Black, 1982, NMGS Guidebook 33rd Conference. Star is
the approximate location of the Manzano Mountains.
The cross section in the lower diagram is approximately
at the latitude of the northern Manzano Mountains.
Compare with Figures 5 and 6.
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o
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t
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-w
av
in
g”
a
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ut
tec
to
n
ic-
sca
le
int
erp
ret
ati
o
ns
,h
ere
....
Figure 10. Cartoons depicting speculative model for the development and geometry of the Southern Rocky Mountain segment of the
Yavapi-Mazatzal tectonic boundary. (A) Arc terranes belonging to the Yavapai and Mazatzal provinces collide at north-dipping subduction
zone. (B) Subduction zone evolves into a low-angle thrust system as older Yavapai crust overrides Mazatzal arc. (C) Thrusting is facilitated
by detachment system in the thermally weakened middle crust. Gently-dipping S1 simple-shear foliation develops in mid-crustal rocks.
Fold-and-thrust deformation may have extended well into the foreland of the Yavapai crustal province. (D) Continued convergence
coaxially shortens crust and folds suture and older foliation producing steep S2 foliation in Mazatzal terrane and in southern part of
Yavapai province. Mazatzal front (MF) marks the limit of penetrative deformation associated with this late convergence. Mazatzal front is
the northern limit of this deformation. (E) Magmas migrate vertically across boundary leading to emplacement of plutons derived from
Mazatzal lower crust in Yavapai upper crustal country rocks. Finally, erosion exposes mid-crustal levels and complex metamorphic and
structural mosaic resulting from folded low-angle boundary. Different segments of the suture may have focused magmatism and fluid flow
through geologic time to create the Colorado mineral belt (CMB, 1700-50 Ma), Pikes Peak batholith ( ~1100Ma), San Juan volcanic field ( <
40 Ma), Jemez lineament volcanics ( < 10 Ma), and present mantle low-velocity anomaly.
9
Figure 11. Tectonic provinces & features of the western United States. Along the van ride to the mountains, work with your friends and colleagues to accurately locate and color
the following features on the map below. The van that submits neatest and most precise map at the end of the drive will get and extra day to turn in any future lab
plus a special surprise.
Plates
Juan de Fuca JDFP
Gorda GP
Pacific PP
North America NAP
Plate Boundary Features
San Andreas Fault SAF
East Pacific Rise EPR
Mendocino Triple Junction MTJ
Mendocino Transform MT
Juan de Fuca Ridge JDFR
Cascade Trench CT
Gorda Ridge GR
Tectonic Provinces
Rio Grande Rift RGR
Cascades Volcanic Arc CVA
Basin & Range BR
Colorado Plateau CP
Great Valley GV
Columbia River flood basalts CRB
Sevier Fold and Thrust Best SFTB
Franciscan Subduction Complex FSC
Klamath Mountains Province
Canadian Foothills Belt CFB
Peninsular Ranges batholith PRB
10
Tectonic Features
Salton Trough ST
Trans Pecos extensional corridor TP
Snake River - Yellowstone Hot Spot track YHS
Western edge of stable craton
Elsinore Fault
San Jacinto Fault
Hayward Fault
Walker Lane
Notable Cities
Salt Lake City Helena
Denver
Boise
Albuqureque Idaho Falls
Flagstaff
St. George
Los Angeles Phoenix
San Francisco Sacramento
Seattle
Portland
Reno
Calgary
Lubbock
Las Vegas
Geographic Features
Columbia River
Colorado River
Rio Grande R... (let’s not be redundant!)
Colorado Front Range
Rocky Mountains
Sierra Nevada Mountains
Mojave Desert
Sonora Desert
Chiuahua Desert
Coast Ranges
Wasatch Range
Uinta Mountains
Manzano Mountains
Big Bend National Park
Teton Mountains
Owens Valley
Pecos River
Four Corners
Gulf of California
Death Valley
Map drawing courtesy of Greg Davis, c. 1995.