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More details of Neoproterozoic
Paleozoic pre-Ancestral Rockies
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===Paleozoic (541-251 million years ago)===
===Paleozoic (541-251 million years ago)===
[[File:NM Paleozoic exposure map.jpg|thumb|Map of Paleozoic exposures in New Mexico]]
[[File:NM Paleozoic exposure map.jpg|thumb|Map of Paleozoic exposures in New Mexico]]
New Mexico at the start of the Paleozoic was dominated by the [[Transcontinental Arch]], an elevated region from [[Minnesota]] to northern New Mexico.<ref name="Carlson_1999">{{cite journal |last1=Carlson |first1=Marvin P |title=Transcontinental Arch — a pattern formed by rejuvenation of local features across central North America |journal=Tectonophysics |date=May 1999 |volume=305 |issue=1-3 |pages=225–233 |doi=10.1016/S0040-1951(99)00005-0}}</ref> Small quantities of alkaline magma were intruded in the early Cambrian along north-south faults, which may indicate incipient rifting of the [[New Mexico aulacogen]].<ref name="McMillan_McLemore_2004">{{cite journal |last1=McMillan |first1=Nancy J. |last2=McLemore |first2=Virginia T. |title=Cambrian-Ordovician magmatism and extension in New Mexico and Colorado |journal=New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Bulletin |date=2004 |volume=160 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/dea5/283a399d220a9d5e7c53603278ab4688eafa.pdf |accessdate=23 April 2020}}</ref> Later in the Cambrian, the sea began to advance northeast across New Mexico, beginning in the boot heel of the state ([[Sauk sequence]]) and sedimentary beds were deposited during the [[Cambrian]] through [[Silurian]], beginning with the Cambrian [[Bliss Formation]].<ref name="mack-2004C">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Mack |first1=Greg H. |year=2004 |title=The late Cambro-Ordovician Bliss and lower Ordovician El Paso Formations, southwestern New Mexico and west Texas |editor1-last=Mack |editor1-first=G.H. |editor2-last=Giles |editor2-first=K.A. |encyclopedia=The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11 |pages=95–136 |isbn=9781585460106}}</ref> The sea did not submerge the Transcontinental Arch until [[Mississippian]] time.<ref name="mamet-etal-2004">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Armstrong |first1=Augustus K. |last2=Mamet |first2=Bernard L. |last3=Repetski |first3=John E. |year=2004 |title=Mississippian System of New Mexico and adjacent areas |editor1-last=Mack |editor1-first=G.H. |editor2-last=Giles |editor2-first=K.A. |encyclopedia=The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history (Special Volume 11) |publisher=New Mexico Geological Society |pages=77-93 |isbn=9781585460106}}</ref>
At the end of the [[Neoproterozoic]], shortly before the beginning of the [[Paleozoic]] with the proliferation of multi-cellular life, western [[Laurentia]] experienced tectonic-related tilting and a [[marine transgression]] flooded the region. Sequences of [[sandstone]], [[siltstone]] and [[limestone]] deposited in the shallow sea and river deltas and floodplains preserved numerous marine fossils. For much of the early Paleozoic, no rocks deposited, or were removed by erosion.


By the late Paleozoic, in the [[Pennsylvanian (geology)|Pennsylvanian]] and [[Permian]], the [[Sonoma orogeny]] uplifted the ancestral Rocky Mountains. Simultaneously, a massive barrier reef developed in southern New Mexico, which developed large deposits of [[gypsum]], [[potash]] and salt. {{sfn|Chronic|1987|p=27-28}}
By the late Paleozoic, in the [[Pennsylvanian (geology)|Pennsylvanian]] and [[Permian]], the [[Sonoma orogeny]] uplifted the ancestral Rocky Mountains. Simultaneously, a massive barrier reef developed in southern New Mexico, which developed large deposits of [[gypsum]], [[potash]] and salt. {{sfn|Chronic|1987|p=27-28}}

Revision as of 19:01, 22 September 2020

The geology of New Mexico includes bedrock exposures of four physiographic provinces,[1] with ages ranging from almost 1800 million years (Ma)[2] to nearly the present day.[3] Here the Great Plains, southern Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau, and Basin and Range Provinces meet,[1] giving the state great geologically diversity.[4][5]

The geologic history of the state began with its assembly during the Yavapai and Mazatzal orogenies 1750 to 1650 million years ago (Mya).[6][7] This was followed by 200 million years of tectonic quiescence that ended in the Picuris orogeny. This event transformed the New Mexico crust into mature continental crust.[8] Over a thousand million years of tectonic quiescence followed, ending with the rise of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains in Pennsylvanian time, 300 Mya.[9] The Permian and most of the Mesozoic were another interval of relative tectonic quiescence, where gradual subsidence deposited formations that preserve an impressive stratigraphic record across the state. This ended with the Laramide orogeny, beginning around 70 Mya, which elevated most of the mountain ranges of modern New Mexico[10] and was accompanied by violent volcanic activity.[11] The opening of the Rio Grande rift commenced around 30 Mya,[12], and was followed by late Cenozoic volcanism along the Jemez Lineament,[13] particularly in the Jemez volcanic field.[14]

Most of New Mexico has a semiarid to arid climate,[15] and ground water in aquifers is an important geologic resource for farmers[16] and municipal areas.[17] Oil and gas production in the state totalled 1,820,963,878 MCF of natural gas and 331,460,749 barrels of oil in 2019,[18] yielding $3.1 billion in oil and gas taxes and revenues for the state.[19] Mining has historically been important, but accounted for just 3,763 jobs by 2018.[20]

Geologic hazards are infrequent in New Mexico, but potential dangers include erosion or flash flooding in arroyos; arsenic or other contamination of ground water or soil; sinkholes or other subsidence; earthquakes; mass wasting (such as landslides); mine hazards; oil field hazards; radon accumulation in homes; or volcanic eruptions.[21]

Stratigraphy, tectonics, and geologic history

Proterozoic

Map of Precambrian bedrock exposures in New Mexico

The crust underlying the state formed between 1.7 and 1.8 billion years ago as island arcs. This is recorded in the rocks of the Moppin Complex, the Gold Hill complex, and the Pecos greenstone belt in northern New Mexico. These are described as juvenile crust, because their Nd model ages are close to the crystallization ages determined from U-Pb dating. This indicates that the material making up the island arcs was extracted from the Earth's mantle only shortly before the island arcs formed. [22][23] These rocks are mostly amphibolites thought to be formed by metamorphosis of tholeiitic basalt.[24]

The island arcs were carried into a subduction zone along the margin of Laurentia, the ancient core of North America, around 1700 million years ago, an event called the Yavapai orogeny. The arcs accreted to the continental margin, forming a band of new continental crust stretching from Arizona to Newfoundland and from the Wyoming-Colorado border to central New Mexico..[7] These events are recorded in the rocks of the Vadito Group and Hondo Group.[25] A second set of slightly younger island arcs accreted to the continented shortly after, around 1650 to 1600 Mya, during the Mazatzal orogeny.[7] The Mazatzal beds now underlie most of southern New Mexico and the Mazatzal orogeny is recorded in the Manzano Group of the Manzano and Los Pinos mountains.[26][25][27]

Precambrian rocks crop out across approximately five percent of New Mexico and underlie the entire state. The rocks now exposed at the surface were uplifted during the Paleozoic, the early Cenozoic Laramide orogeny as well as block faulting and tilting in the more recent geologic past. For the most part, these rocks are exposed along the Rio Grande rift in the center of New Mexico, except in the Zuni Mountains and Burro Mountains. The total relief of Precambrian rocks is 11 kilometers.

The rocks are 70 percent plutons and 30 percent supracrustal formed between 1.765 and 1.4 billion years ago in the Proterozoic, based on uranium-lead dating. All of the rocks more than 1.65 billion years old show evidence of metamorphism ranging between greenschist and amphibolite grade on the sequence of metamorphic facies. An area in the Cimarron Mountains in the vicinity of Taos reached granulite facies. Geologists debate the extent of different terranes—sections of continental crust—that joined together. Metavolcanic rocks in the Tusas Mountains may be among the oldest, which are intruded by 1.65 billion year old trondhjemite, but display more than one metamorphic fabric.

Precambrian rocks formed volcanogenic polymettalic sulfides, rich in gold, silver and tungsten, kyanite, copper veins and pegmatite with beryllium, lithium, niobium, tantalum and mica.[28]

The region was tectonically quiescent until around 1400 Mya, when the poorly understood Picuris orogeny deformed and metamorphosed much of the crust of New Mexico. This event is recorded in the rock of the Trampas Group and in extensive batholiths intruded into the crust throughout the western United States.[29] Following the Picuris orogeny, northern New Mexico was again tectonically quiet, while southern New Mexico experience some deformation associated with the Grenville orogeny. This is recorded in the Allamore and Tumbledown Formations (about 1250 Mya) and the De Baca Group and Animas Formation (about 1200 Mya). Thereafter the region experienced steady erosion, which in some cases brought rock near the surface that had been buried as deep as 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).[6] This beveled much of New Mexico almost completely flat.[30]

Paleozoic (541-251 million years ago)

Map of Paleozoic exposures in New Mexico

New Mexico at the start of the Paleozoic was dominated by the Transcontinental Arch, an elevated region from Minnesota to northern New Mexico.[31] Small quantities of alkaline magma were intruded in the early Cambrian along north-south faults, which may indicate incipient rifting of the New Mexico aulacogen.[32] Later in the Cambrian, the sea began to advance northeast across New Mexico, beginning in the boot heel of the state (Sauk sequence) and sedimentary beds were deposited during the Cambrian through Silurian, beginning with the Cambrian Bliss Formation.[33] The sea did not submerge the Transcontinental Arch until Mississippian time.[34]

By the late Paleozoic, in the Pennsylvanian and Permian, the Sonoma orogeny uplifted the ancestral Rocky Mountains. Simultaneously, a massive barrier reef developed in southern New Mexico, which developed large deposits of gypsum, potash and salt. [35]

Mesozoic (251-66 million years ago)

New Mexico experienced terrestrial conditions and new mountains were uplifted by the Sevier orogeny and Nevadan orogeny. Highlands shed sand and gravel into alluvial fans, floodplains and deltas, interspersed with volcanic ash.

Volcanism was in-part associated with the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea as the Farallon Plate subducted beneath North America, generating volcanoes on the surface. Rising mountains in the west cut off moisture, creating a dry desert. By the Cretaceous the Western Interior Seaway flooded the region again. The Laramide orogeny, also powered by Farallon subduction, uplifting the Rocky Mountains and lasting into the Cenozoic. [36]

Cenozoic (66 million years ago-present)

In the Cenozoic, the Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up deposited significant ash falls across much of New Mexico. During the Oligocene, 30 million years ago, central New Mexico faulted, creating the Rio Grande rift and created isolated plateaus in the northwest.

The San Andreas fault disrupted the movement of the Farallon Plate, reducing the energy propelling it even as it continued to subside into the mantle. As a result, by the Miocene, southern New Mexico and neighboring areas had widespread horst and graben features associated with the Basin and Range Province. Major volcanic eruptions along the western Rio Grande rift showered the area in ash. The Rio Grande River and other waterways did not flow to the sea and with high rainfall, large lakes formed filling with sediment shed from the Rocky Mountains.

The Valles Caldera (or Jemez Caldera) formed one million years ago in the Pleistocene, exploding and the collapsing into its magma chamber. Small mountain glaciers formed in the Brazos and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. [37]

Natural resource geology

Under Spanish rule turquoise and lead were mined near Cerillos and copper was found at Santa Rita in the southwest in 1798. Artisanal mining for placer gold took place after an 1821 discovery in the Ortiz Mountains south of Santa Fe. New deposits, along with the reopened Spanish mine in Silver City prompted a boom in copper mining in the late 19th century. Placer gold mining expanded into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and along the Rio Grande, while lead mining got underway in Las Cruces. Coal was discovered near gold and copper mines and potentially recoverable gold deposits grew more numerous as prospectors traced placer gold back to the veins where it originated.

In 1863, silver was found in Magdalean, west of Socorro, followed by a large find in Grant County. Silver City, White Oaks, Ute Creek, Cerrillos, Elizabethtown, Twining, Chloride, Hondo Canyon, Red River Canyon and Socorro were soon discovered to also have silver. Rising costs and depleted ore bodies have led to widespread abandonment and ghost towns throughout the state, which remain comparatively well-preserved in the dry climate.

Mining is still a cornerstone of the New Mexico economy, although it has largely shifted to open-pit extraction. Coal is mined in the northwest and copper, silver, gold, manganese, zinc and lead are extracted near Silver City. Molybdenum is an important resource in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, including the Questa Mine. Uranium is still mined close to Grants, although production has dropped after high point between the 1950s and the 1970s. Gypsum, limestone, potash and salt are mined out of Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks in the east.

The San Juan Basin in the northwest has active oil and gas production, along with the small extent of the Permian Basin in the southeast. [38]

References

  1. ^ a b Thelin, Gail P.; Pike, Richard J. (1991). "Landforms of the conterminous United States: a digital shaded-relief portrayal". U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series. MAP I-2206. doi:10.3133/i2206.
  2. ^ McLemore, Virginia T. (2011). "Geology and mineral resources in the Hopewell and Bromide No. 2 districts, northern Tusas Mountains, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 62: 379–388.
  3. ^ Dunbar, Neila W. (May 1999). "Cosmogenic 36-Cl-determined age of the Carrizozo lava flows, south-central New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geology. 21 (2): 25–29. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  4. ^ Chronic, Halka (1987). Roadside geology of New Mexico. Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0878422098.
  5. ^ Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN 9781585460106.
  6. ^ a b Karlstrom, Karl E.; Amato, Jeffrey M.; Williams, Michael L.; Heizler, Matt; Shaw, Colin A.; Read, Adam S.; Bauer, Paul (2004). "Proterozoic tectonic evolution of the New Mexico region: A synthesis". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN 9781585460106.
  7. ^ a b c Whitmeyer, Steven; Karlstrom, Karl E. (2007). "Tectonic model for the Proterozoic growth of North America". Geosphere. 3 (4): 1–34. doi:10.1130/GES00055.1. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  8. ^ Daniel, Christoper G. and co-authors (2013). Making the case for the Picuris orogeny: Evidence for a 1500 to 1400 Ma orogenic event in the southwestern United States. Geological Society of America. p. 205.
  9. ^ Kues, B.S.; Giles, K.A. (2004). "The late Paleozoic Ancestral Rocky Mountain system in New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN 9781585460106.
  10. ^ Cather, Steven M. (2004). "Laramide orogeny in central and northern New Mexico and southern Colorado". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 203–248. ISBN 9781585460106.
  11. ^ McMillan, Nancy J. (2004). "Magmatic record of Laramide subduction and the transition to Tertiary extension: Upper Cretaceous through Eocene igneous rocks of New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 203–248. ISBN 9781585460106.
  12. ^ Baldridge, W.; Olsen, K.; Callender, J. (1984). "Rio Grande Rift: Problems and Perspectives". New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 35th field conference. pp. 1–11.
  13. ^ Aldrich Jr., M. J. (1986). "Tectonics of the Jemez Lineament in the Jemez Mountains and Rio Grande Rift". Journal of Geophysical Research. 91 (B2): 1753–1762. Bibcode:1986JGR....91.1753A. doi:10.1029/JB091iB02p01753.
  14. ^ Heiken, G; Goff, F; Gardner, J N; Baldridge, W S; Hulen, J B; Nielson, D L; Vaniman, D (May 1990). "The Valles/Toledo Caldera Complex, Jemez Volcanic Field, New Mexico". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 18 (1): 27–53. doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.18.050190.000331.
  15. ^ "CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO". New Mexico State University. Archived from the original on July 8, 2004. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  16. ^ Zeigler, K.E.; Podzemny, B.; Yuhas, A.; Blumenberg, V. (2019). "Groundwater Resources of Union County, New Mexico: A Progress Report" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 70: 127–137. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  17. ^ Hawley, John; Kernodle, Mike (1999). "Overview of the Hydrogeology and Geohydrology of the Northern Rio Grande Basin - Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas" (PDF). WRRI Conference Proceedings. 44. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Natural Gas And Oil Production". New Mexico Oil Conservation Division. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  19. ^ Mundahl, Erin (17 January 2020). "New Mexico State Revenues From Oil And Gas Set New Record In 2019". Western Wire. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Mining (except oil and gas)". New Mexico Workforce Connection. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Geologic Hazards". New Mexico Burea of Geology and Mineral Resources. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  22. ^ Davis, Peter; Williams, Mike; Karlstrom, Karl (2011). "Structural evolution and timing of deformation along the Proterozoic Spring Creek shear zone of the northern Tusas Mountains, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 62: 177–190.
  23. ^ Damiel, Christopher G.; Andronicos, Christopher L.; Aronoff, Ruth F. (2016). "Regional Al2SiO5 triple-point metamorphic rocks of northern New Mexico; A field trip to honor the career contributions od Lincoln Hollister to petrology and tectonics". The Geological Society of America Field Guide Series. 44: 201–229. ISBN 9780813700441.
  24. ^ Barker, Fred; Friedman, Irving (1974). "PRECAMBRIAN METAVOLCANIC ROCKS OF THE TUSAS MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO: MAJOR ELEMENTS AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES". New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series (25): 115–117. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  25. ^ a b Jones, James V., III; Daniel, Christopher G.; Frei, Dirk; Thrane, Kristine (2011). "Revised regional correlations and tectonic implications of Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks in northern New Mexico, USA: New findings from detrital zircon studies of the Hondo Group, Vadito Group, and Marqueñas Formation". Geosphere. 7 (4): 974–991. doi:10.1130/GES00614.1. Retrieved 15 April 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Luther, Amy (2006). History and timing of polyphase Proterozoic deformation in the Manzano thrust belt, central New Mexico [master's thesis]. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  27. ^ Holland, Mark E.; Grambling, Tyler A.; Karlstrom, Karl E.; Jones, James V.; Nagotko, Kimberly N.; Daniel, Christopher G. (September 2020). "Geochronologic and Hf-isotope framework of Proterozoic rocks from central New Mexico, USA: Formation of the Mazatzal crustal province in an extended continental margin arc". Precambrian Research. 347: 105820. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2020.105820.
  28. ^ Reed; et al. (1993). Precambrian: Coterminous US. Geological Society of America. p. 228–230.
  29. ^ Daniel, Christoper G. and co-authors (2013). Making the case for the Picuris orogeny: Evidence for a 1500 to 1400 Ma orogenic event in the southwestern United States. Geological Society of America. p. 205.
  30. ^ Armstrong, Augustus K (1967). "Biostratigraphy and Carbonate Facies of the Mississippian Arroyo Penasco Formation, North-Central New Mexico" (PDF). Memoirs of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources. 20. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  31. ^ Carlson, Marvin P (May 1999). "Transcontinental Arch — a pattern formed by rejuvenation of local features across central North America". Tectonophysics. 305 (1–3): 225–233. doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(99)00005-0.
  32. ^ McMillan, Nancy J.; McLemore, Virginia T. (2004). "Cambrian-Ordovician magmatism and extension in New Mexico and Colorado" (PDF). New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Bulletin. 160. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  33. ^ Mack, Greg H. (2004). "The late Cambro-Ordovician Bliss and lower Ordovician El Paso Formations, southwestern New Mexico and west Texas". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN 9781585460106.
  34. ^ Armstrong, Augustus K.; Mamet, Bernard L.; Repetski, John E. (2004). "Mississippian System of New Mexico and adjacent areas". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history (Special Volume 11). New Mexico Geological Society. pp. 77–93. ISBN 9781585460106.
  35. ^ Chronic 1987, p. 27-28.
  36. ^ Chronic 1987, p. 29-30.
  37. ^ Chronic 1987, p. 30-31.
  38. ^ Chronic 1987, p. 24-27.
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