Red Rock State Park is a unique attraction blending spectacular views of red sandstone cliffs with in impressive array of public fa- cilities ranging from a rodeo arena to a con- vention center to a museum (Fig. 1). The

'f | Red Rock state Park

itors. Red Rock State Park opened in 1972

l't!Zi Yiix,Xj .lj-''-Y-.1li):l/)), l'rffi,:$ ,;,6i;i.:':V)(Pi!a') ,Siffil'& com- and is administeredand maintainedby the code talkers, who served as Marine city of Gallup. The $6million complex(Young, munication specialistsduring World War II 1984)is probably the most frequently visited (Brown, 1977).Eventually 420Navaios served &,3d statepark in New Mexico. in the group and their codewas the only one never 6rok-enby the Japanese(Paul' 1973)- ' $r*\ I The museum features an art gallery where Facilities in Red Rock State Park 1#fi5'm,:JHffi: The main attraction seum offer colorful arena used for var- is an 8,000-seat outdoor :rt vegetation. Corn, from Motocross com- ious events ranging re grown during the petitions to outdoor concerts (Fig. 1). Some summer in a Pueblo "waffle garden," the tra- 25 rodeos and numerous Indian dances are ditional method of agriculture in the area. held from until mid-November. The In- fune Two campgrounds offer campers modem ter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial and All-Indian convenienies including restrooms with Rodeo are held at the arena every year in picnic tables, electrical and water August. The Lions Club rodeo in is one showers, Oua June hookups, and a sanitary dump station. Sta- of the state's finest. The Shrine Circus and bles for boarding horses are also available' the Square Dance Festival are annual events f attuviatdeposits The main campground features the Outlaw at the park. The Red Rock Balloon Rally in Tradins Post, alog cabin built in 1888and December attracts balloonists from all over Jurassic now uied as a generalstore, laundry, U.S' the world. Office, and information centerfor camp- Additional public facilities at the park in- Post Morrison Formation ing arrangementsand listings of daily events. clude the Red Rock Convention Center, which Piinic areas and a playground are also lo- will accommodate conventions, meetings, F_+_=_E Recaot u re M e m be r cated at the main campground (Fig. 3). concerts, shows, weddings, and private par- Hiking along the one-mile nature trail north ties. The auditorium accommodates 800 peo- Springssandstone the Outlaw Trading Post (Fig. 1.)takes the Wcow ple and has a floating stage and fleible of into undevelopedportions of the park. lighting for diverse events. The seats and visitor Wanakah Formation ground squirrels, prairie dogs, cot- N stage can be lowered to allow banquets with Skunks, rabbits, lizards, gopher snakes, and BeclabitoMember seating for as many as 600 people and a dance tontail may be seen.Other animals,such ffi floor or display area. Seven meeting rooms rattlesnakes Todilto Limestone Member bobcat, and red fox, come to the with capacities of 20 to 150 people and a din- as coyote,-on z park rare occasions.Birds, such as the ing room with 125 seats add to the versatility bluebird, raven, robin, house EntradaSandstone of this center. The outdoor plazaarea can be binon iay, ffi starling, flicker, rock wren, hawk, used forbarbecues, square dances, and trade iparrow, dove, are seen in the park, es- shows (Fig. 2). A restaurant is open on a and morning in crevicesin the massivecliffs. Grama 1. Museum,convention hall, arena seasonal basis and for special events. The pecially rice grass,rabbit brush, salt- complex Inter-Tribal Indian offices are housed at the grass,-Indian and various cacti grow in the valley 2. West campground convention center. 6ush, between pinon and juniper trees. In the 3 Balloonlaunching field At the Red Rock Museum, visitors and higher elevationsof the park, ponderosapine 4. Main campground,historic Outlaw throughout the year can view exhibits and and Gambel oak trees qrow. TradingPost, and U.S. PostOffice displays depicting the history and culture of 5. Naturetrail local and regional Indian tribes, including Navaio, Rio Grande Pueblo, Zuni, Acoma, FIGURE l-Geologic map of Red Rock State Park, History Hopi, and Plains Indians. Pottery, rugs, crafts, sec 11, T15N RlnV (simplified from Green and siteswithin the park reveal up- and paintings are on display. The museum Archaeological fackson, 1975, with stratigraphic terminology occupied by Archaic from Condon and Peterson, 1986, and Con- includes a collection of Zuni Kachina dolls. that the area was once dated Anasazi don et al., 1988) showing location of public facilities. Another exhibit is dedicated to the Navaio (3000 BC), Basketmaker (300 AD),

May 1989 Nm Mexico Geology FIGURE_2-Outdoor plaza area with gardens (Fig. 1, location 1). Massive FIGURE 3-Main campground at Red Rock State Park (Fig. 1, Iocation 4) cliffs of EntradaSandstone are in the blckground" offers camping facilities all year long.

-Today (1000-1100AD), and finally Navalo Indians. end of a severe winter, the Navaios were and supply coal to the railroad. it is Ancestors of the Navajo and Apache In- defeated;in March 1864they began a 300-mi one of the larger cities in New Mexico. dians migrated into the Southwest about 1500 journey to the Bosque Redondo Reservation Fort Wingate was deactivated in 1911,was AD. The Navaios settled in the Four Corners at Fort Sumner in eastem New Mexico (Young, reopened as Wingate Ordnance Reserve De- region of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and 1968;Bahti, 1968).In 1858, the Navajos were pot in 1918 (james, 7967), and is scheduled Colorado whereas the Apaches settled in allowed to return to their homeland. Fort to close once again in the near future. eastern and southern New Mexico and Wingate, originally located at San Rafael (Fig. southern Arizona. Through contact with the 4), was moved to the abandoned site of Fort Pueblo Indians and Spanish settlers the Na- Lyon in order to be closer to the Navaios. Geology vaios became more dependent on farming With the Indian threat removed, north- Rocks exposed in Red Rock State Park are and grazing, but they continued to raid westem New Mexico could be settled. In 1880, Jurassic (180-140 m.y.) and Quaternary (less neighboring communities. The Spanish and David L. Gallup, a paymaster for the Atlantic than 1 m.y.) in age (Fig. 1); however, Triassic Mexicans perpetuated these raids by attack- and Pacific Railroad, established headquar- (220-200 m.y.) rocks are seen from the park ing and enslaving the Navajos (Strawn, 1967; ters for crews constructing the railroad and are described briefly here. The oldest Young, 1968). (Pearce, 1965) and a town, Gallup, devel- rock unit in the vicinity of Red Rock State General Stephen Kearney conquered New oped around the site. In 1881, the railroad Park is the Triassic Chinle Formation that Mexico in 1846 for the United States and reached Gallup, which continued to prosper promised to end hostilities with the Indians. Peace treaties were signed with various chiefs of the Navalos but all were broken. Fort De- fiance was established in eastern Arizona in 1851(Fig. 4). In 1860,FortFauntleroy, named Navajo Reservation for the Department Commander' Colonel cft'/ .9 Fr Defiance1851-1861 | ( Thomas Fauntleroy, was established at the P .'rr I i site now occupied by Fort Wingate. Because raids by the Navajos increased, Fort Defiance $ ;\ -"-"r"r,,,:88o.)'*gi::i q | \ .i/ (o'(rl I L-J X.state "_",Park i lr, Fauntlero_yFauntleroy 1860l860-1861[:i 1861f:l z '""'r-." '--v \ to join the Confederate forces. Fort Lyon was lFt. w,nsate iL.il';"i p'sist$\1rr,.,,,,",,,,,..,./t4", Mt. Taylor abandoned in December 1861when-the gar- 1, rison was transferred to Fort Craiq near So- __j i4n,. i;".:= corro to meet the Confederate Arirv. which '\) had invaded New Mexico. ,'%un - Navajos increased their raids | ,rn, to'""''.r,,,,, -The during ! o "r"o,oo^''* ),nOr*\.,. i_i.tT]tr"rT:J"t:i 1861and 1862.The defeat of the Confederate ' u,:::D_rJffi forces at Glorieta Pass east of Santa Fe al- lowed General James Carleton to transfer troops into the Navajo country to subdue the ---- :i;9 i> I raoz,rsoeo Acoma puebto Indians. A new fort, Fort Wingate, was es- tablished in 1862at San Rafael, south of Grants (Fig. a). In 1863, Colonel Kit Carson and about EiE_NA 800 men were ordered to pursue the Nava- jos. Carson was unable to engage the Na- vajos in major battles, but he did wipe out their economic base by burning fields and hogans and slaughtering livesiock. By the FIGURE 4-Forts of the Navajo country, New Mexico and Arizona (modified from James, 1967).

NrzoMexico Ceology May 1989 35 crops out south of the park (Green and Jack- brown sandstone, siltstone, and shale be- sequences of shale and sandstone. Sand, mud, son, 1975). The formation consists of red, longing to the Beclabito Member. The Becla- and organic remains were deposited in chocolate-brown, purplish-white, and gray bito Member is as much as 50 ft thick and swamps and fluvial environments marginal shales, siltstones, and shaly sandstones; it was deposited in a shallow-water coastal plain to the seas, later forming sandstone, shale, underlies much of the plains south of the environment marginal to the Todilto marine and coal. The rocks were subsequently park. These rocks were deposited by rivers embayment or saline lake (Condon and Pe- eroded, mainly by wind and rain, to form and streams and associated flooding events. terson, 1986). mesas and spires such as Navajo Church. The oldest and most prominent rocks within furassic Cow Springs Sandstone overlies Erosion of the rock continues today and con- Red Rock State Park are the red sandstones the Wanakah Formation (Fig. 1) and consists tributes to Quaternary alluvium and uncon- belonging to the jurassic Entrada Sandstone of 190 ft of green-gray to pink, well-ce- solidated wind-blown (eolian) sand and silt (Fig. 1). The spectacular massive cliffs form- mented sandstone (Green and fackson, 1975). deposits in the park. ing the background for the public facilities This unit was deposited in an arid environ- in the park (Figs. 2, 5) belong to this unit. ment as sand dunes (Condon and Peterson, Summary The Entrada Sandstone is divided into three 1986). Red Rock State Park takes its name from members: Iyanbito Member (oldest), a mid- The furassic Morrison Formation overlies the spectacularred sandstonecliffs sur- dle siltstone member, and an upper sand- the Cow Springs Sandstone and consists of rounding the impressive array of public fa- stone member (youngest). The basal Iyanbito three members: Recapture (oldest), West- cilities, including a rodeo arena, convention Member is not exposed at Red Rock State water Canyon, and Brushy Basin (youngest). center,museum, and camp grounds.The park Park. The middle iiltstone member consists Only the Recapture Member is present in the offerssomething for everyoneincluding geo- of 40-60 ft of reddish-brown to reddish-or- park (Fig. 1) and consists of 100 ft of reddish- logical features, archaeology,history, camp- ange silty sandstone and siltstone that form brown to brick-red siltstone interbedded with ing, hiking, horsebackriding, and just plain slopes at the base of the massive cliffs. The white to green to yellow sandstone (Green enjoyment of the scenery. upper sandstone member forms the spectac- and fackson, 1975). The Recapture Member AcxNowrrpcMEN"rs-Special thanks to the ular cliffs and consists of 100-400 ft of red- is well exposed at the base of Navajo Church, staff of Red Rock State Park for their assis- dish-orange, well-cemented, thick-bedded seen from the Outlaw Trading Post (Fig. 6). tanceand allowing accessto variousfacilities The Recapture Member was deposited in both at the park. Robert Weber,Frank Kottlowski, fluvial and eolian, sand-dune environments. and Dave Love reviewed the manuscript; The Westwater Canyon Member is not ex- Lynne McNeil typed it; and Michael Woold- posed within the park boundaries, but it is ridge drafted the figures. visible on some of the mesas north of the park and at the top of Navajo Church (Fig. References 6). This unit consists of 130-230 ft of red to Bahti, Jo, 1958,Southwestern lndian tribes: KC Publica- orange sandstone with thin lenses of silt- tions, Las Vegas,NM, 72 pp. "1977, by silica and calcite from ground water and stone and shale (Green and Jackson, 1975). Brown, C. S , Cozy Stanley Brown, code talker, Pacific (ed compacted to form the massive rock cliffs The Westwater Canyon Member was depos- theater; ln Johnson, B H ), Navajos and World War II: Navajo Conmunity seen today. CollegePress, Tsarle, ited in a fluvial environment. It is host to Arizona, pp 51-63 (This book is composedof personal The Jurassic Wanakah Formation overlies most of the uranium resourcesin the Gallup- accounts of participation in World War II and other the Entrada Sandstone (Fig. 1). The Wanakah Grants area. activities ) Condon, Formation is a newly defined rock unit con- The Brushy Basin Member also is not ex- S M, Huffman,A C ,Jr, Peterson,Fred, and Aubrey W. M 1988,Revisions to stratigraphic sisting of the Todilto , nomen- Limestone Member (for- posed within the park boundaries but crops clature ofJurassicand Cretaceousrocks of the Colorado merly a formation) and the Beclabito Member out north of the park (Green and fackson, Plateau:U S. GeologicalSuruey, Bulletin 1,633A-C,69 (formerly the Summerville Formation; Con- 1975). k consists of green to purple to gray PP don and Peterson, 1986;Condon et al., 1988). shale, siltstone, and Condon, S. M., and Peterson, Fred, 1986,Shatigraphy sandstone. of Middle The Todilto Limestone and Upper Jurassicrocks of the San fuan Member is the older Cretaceous seas covered Red Rock State Basin: Historical perspective, current ideas, and re- unit and forms a white to gray, resistant cap maining problems; iz Turner-Peterson,C E., Santos, on top of the Entrada Sandstone. It consists of as much as 20 ft of fine-grained limestone that was deposited in either a marine em- bayment (Ridgley and Goldhaber, 1983)or a saline lake. Overlying the Todilto are slopes of interbedded white, pink, and reddish-

FIGURE 6-View of Navajo Church (a prominent rock spire also known locally as Church Rock) from north of the Outlaw Trading Post near the hiking trail. fe, Entrada Sandstone; Jwt, Todilto Limestone Member of the Wanakah Formation; Jwb, Beclabito Member of the Wanakah Formation; fcs, Cow Springs Sandstone; Jmr, Recapture Member of the Morrison Formation; FIGURE S-High-angle crossbedsor layers are visible in cliffs of Entrada |mw, Westwater Canyon Member of the Morrison Formation (stratigraphic Sandstone. nomenclature from Condon and Peterson, 1986; Condon et al., 1988).

May 1989 Nao MexicoGeology E. S., and Fishman,N. S. (eds.),A basinanalysis case study: The Morrison FormationGrants uranium re- Abstracts gion, New Mexico:American Associationof Petroleum Geologists, Studies in Geology 22, pp.7J6. New Mexico Mineral Symposium Green, M. W., and fackson, T. J., 7975,Geologic map of The 9th annual Mineral Symposium was held the Church Rock quadrangle, McKinley County, New November 12-13, 7988, at New Mexico Institute Mexico: U.S. GeologicalSurvey, Open-file Report 75- 258, scale 1:24,000. of Mining and Technology,Socorro. Following are abstracts James, H L., 1957, The history of Fort Wingate: New from talks given at the meeting that con- Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook to 18th Field cem New Mexico. The numbers in parentheses Conference,pp. 151-158. refer to locations on the map. Paul, D A., 1973,The Navaio code talkers:Donance and Company, Philadelphia, 170 pp. Losr Pnone MNE-FAcr oR FtcrroN?by RussellE. Pearce,T. M.,1965, New Mexico placenames: Universitv Clemons,New Mexico State Universitv. Las of New MexicoPress, Albuquerque, 198 pp. Cruces,NM 88003(l) Ridgley, f. L., and Goldhaber,Martin, 1983,Isotopic evi- dence for a marine origin of the Todilto Limestone, It is said . . . that Padre La Rue came to Mexico in 1796and was assigneda small pastorateabout 10 days journey south of Pasodel Norte. An old soldier told him of a gold prospect in the Sierra Organos near a Spirit Sprins.Spring. Some yearsvears later, after the soldier had died, drought hit the Padre's fields. He and his followers ioumeyed north and succeeded in finding the girld plicers and rich - . versity of New Mexico Press,Albuquerque, 160 pp. ti Young, R. W.,1968, The role of the Navaio in the South- vein(s), but they neglected to report this to the l----/ westerndrama: The Gallup Independentand Robert church in Mexico City. Aman named Maximo Mil- spectus,descriptive catalogue,and report on the mines Young,Gallup, 94 pp. liano was sent north to find them. Upon learning ' -by of the Organ Mountain Mining and Smelting Associ- VirginiaT. McLemore of the approaching expedition, the miners hid the ation Ltd. Office, 821 Cheny St., Philadelphia, PA, 68 gold and the location of the mines. Milliano and PP. his expedition eventually located the Padre and his mining camp but were refused admittance.Al- Mrrusnalocv or C,Anlssao CavERNAND orHER cAVEs Iegedly, the Padreand some of his followers were N rHE CUADALUPEMouNrA,rNs, by Cnrol A. HiII, tortured and killed, but none revealedthe location Box5444A, Route 5, Albuquerque, NM 87123 (2) of the gold. A variety of carbonateand sulfate speleothems - Most reports of lost mines are based on some have formed in Guadalupe caves from dripping, facts. Typically, there are also many variations in flowing, seeping, pooling, and condensingwater. background narratives. The Organ Mountain Min- Examplesof these are stalactites,stalagmites, col- ing and Smelting Association's 1881-82prospec- umns, draperies, flowstone, coral pipes, coral- tus suggestedthe Padremine had been worked in loids, helictites,shields, cave pearls, rirnstone dams, Fillmore Canyon on the west side of the Organ shelfstone, baldachino canopies, rims, frostwork Mountains, about 8 mi east of Las Cruces. Sir anthodites, moonmilk, selenite needles, cave cot- Kingsley Dunham indicated, in his 1935geologic ton, and cave rope. Evaporation and carbon diox- rePort on the Organ Mountains, that Col. A. J. ide loss have been prime factors in the deposition Fountain may have found the mine shortly before of the magnesium-carbonate minerals, hydro- his mysterious disappearance. Dunham also re- magnesitemagnesite, huntite, and dolomite, and in the for- ported that a local goat herder, Tirso Aguire, was mation of certain speleothemssuch as moonmilk a descendantof one of the original miners. L. H. and popcorn. Native sulfur and endellite deposits TheState Geological Survey- Davis had written in 1917that TesoAguirri (Tirso in the caves and the pronounced condensition- Aguire?) had shown a local prospector the cavein corrosion of speleothemsare the result of the pe- a History which the Padre lived. Henry fames in his 1953 culiar H2S-CO2,sulfuric-acid speleogeneticorigin book, The Curseof the SanAndres, wrote that he of Guadalupe caves. had found recordsin SantaFe of PadreLa Rue. Guadalupespeleothemsarefamousfortheirim- Jamesfurther wrote that he believedthe lost Padre mensity, piofuieness, and beauty. Size and pro- mine was in Hembrillo Canyon of the SanAndres fuseness result from: a) a sulfuric-acid mode of Mountains. Frank Kottlowski, in a 1966paper on cave dissolution createdhuge chambersin which the lost Padremine for Nan MericoMagazine, qtlte speleothems could grow laige; b) tains the history, o{ganization,and functions the caves are conclusivelypointed out the technicalinaccuracies very old and, therefore, there has been sufficient of each of the 50 State GeologicalSurveys in in James'book. fim Kelly, in an article on the lost time for speleothemsto grow; c) wet climatic ep- individual chapters prepared by the respec- Padre mine and the Organ mining district pub- isodesearlier in the Pleistoceneprovided the moii- tive Surveys. The chapter on New Mexico lished in the 1975New Mexico Geo'iogicalSoiiety ture necessary for speleotheri growth; and d) was written by Frank Kottlowski, George Guidebook, indicated that historic and geologic speleothem-depositingsolutions eisily entered the Austin, and CandaceMerillat. evirlence suPPort the likelihood that the mine ex- undergroundthroughlointedlimestoneuncapped More than 30 of the State Surveys origi- isted-near the east slope of San Agustin Pass. by impermeable strata. nated over L00 years aqo and the accounts Kelly also provided the'Padre withlwo names, Philip La Tnr BletcnenD MINE-NEwoevn-oRurxrs, of the developnientand activities Rue. The searchcontinues. by Rn- of Amer- mon S. DeMark, 6509 Dodd Place, NE, Albu- ica's State Geological Surveys shed light on References querque/ NM 87110(3) a major componentof geologicmapping Dunham,K and C., 1935,The geology of the OrganMoun- Intensive mining for specimensand exploratory research tains:New Me{co Bureauof Minesand MineralRe- that has beenachieved in the United activity at the Blaichard mine in 19ggresulted in States.Geologists in government, academia, ..ll}li"i:,tlfji|l.t;.t/ionl;,tua vaueyor theGadsden a number of unexpected,as well as-expected,dis- and industry, and all who are interested in P"uichase:L. C. BrorisonPrinting Co., Mesilla,New coveries.Activity was widespread throughout the geologic achievements will find this illus- Mexico,128 pp. various tunnels, numerous prospects, and out- trated publication informative and thor- James,Henry, 1953, The curse of theSan Andres: Pageant crops. In mid-fune a backhoewas brought in with oughly readable. -- 1..*: {"*_^Y9:k,_16_pp._ . ^ three specific goals in mind: 1) opening the Sun- Kelly,T. 8., 1975,The Lost Padremine and the Organ shine #6 tunn*elthat had been biastedbuildozed TheState Geological Suraeys--+ History may miningdistrict: NewMexico Geological Society, Guide- shu! 2) exploratory trenching in the ClarenceBar_ be ordered from the Geological Survey of book to the 16thField Conference, pp. 153-155. rett workings;-3) develoPing the working Alabama, P.O. Box O, Tuscaloosa,AL Kottlowski,F. E., 1966,The Lost padre mine: New Mexico area in 35486. the- vicinity of the ore bin in the Portales/Glory The price is $20.00(includes shipping). Make Magazine,O.i., pp. i-n, U, Se. StoesiK.D.,1957, iire storyof danAgustineRanch: The Hole area. check payable to: Association of American New MexicoStockman, tvtarch, ppl36, OO_O1. The Sunshine #6 tunnel was closed in7979by StateGeologists. The OrganMountains of New Mexico:1881-1882 pro- [F

Nm Mexico Geology l;s{,.ay1989