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Geologic Map of the Albuquerque 30' X 60' Quadrangle, North-Central

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Geologic Map of the Albuquerque 30' X 60' Quadrangle, North-Central Geologic Map of the Albuquerque 30’ x 60’ Quadrangle, North-Central New Mexico Compiled by Paul L. Williams and James C. Cole Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 2946 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Mark D. Myers, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2007 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Williams, P.L., and Cole, J.C., compilers, 2007, Geologic map of the Albuquerque 30’ x 60’ quadrangle, north- central New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 2946, 31-p. pamphlet, 1 plate, scale 1:100,000. iii Contents Abstract .........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................1 Geography and Geomorphology ......................................................................................................2 Compilation Sources and Methods .................................................................................................2 Acknowledgments ..............................................................................................................................5 Geologic Setting ...........................................................................................................................................5 Proterozoic Rocks ...............................................................................................................................6 Layered Rocks ............................................................................................................................6 Intrusive Rocks ...........................................................................................................................6 Paleozoic Rocks ..................................................................................................................................6 Mesozoic Rocks ..................................................................................................................................7 Tertiary Sedimentary Rocks ..............................................................................................................7 Lower Tertiary Sedimentary and Volcaniclastic Units ........................................................8 Santa Fe Group ...........................................................................................................................8 Pre-Pliocene Units ............................................................................................................9 Pliocene Units .................................................................................................................12 Cenozoic Intrusive and Volcanic Rocks ........................................................................................13 Ortiz Porphyry Belt ...................................................................................................................13 Basalt Fields ..............................................................................................................................14 Small Igneous Bodies .............................................................................................................14 Quaternary Deposits .........................................................................................................................14 Alluvial-Slope Deposits ...........................................................................................................14 Major Stream Deposits ...........................................................................................................15 Other Quaternary Deposits ....................................................................................................16 Tributary Terrace Deposits ............................................................................................16 Eolian Deposits ................................................................................................................16 Colluvial Deposits ...........................................................................................................16 Lake-Related Deposits in the Estancia Basin ............................................................16 Mixed Deposits ...............................................................................................................17 Structure ......................................................................................................................................................17 Proterozoic Structures .....................................................................................................................17 Paleozoic and Mesozoic Structures ..............................................................................................17 Ancestral Rocky Mountains ...................................................................................................17 Laramide Orogeny ....................................................................................................................17 Cenozoic Structures .........................................................................................................................19 Ortiz Porphyry Belt ...................................................................................................................19 Rio Grande Rift .........................................................................................................................19 Sandia Uplift ..............................................................................................................................20 Summary and Discussion of Geologic History ......................................................................................20 References Cited ........................................................................................................................................25 iv Figures 1. Map showing geographic setting of the Albuquerque 30’ x 60’ quadrangle ....................3 2. Index map showing sources of geologic-map data ..............................................................4 3. Diagram showing evolution of stratigraphic nomenclature for the Santa Fe Group .....10 4. Sketch map showing principal structural features in the Albuquerque 30’ x 60’ quadrangle ............................................................................................................................18 Conversion Factors ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________To convert Multiply by To obtain inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm) inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter (mm) foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m) mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km) 2 2 ________________________________________________________________square mile (mi ) 2.590 square kilometer (km ) Abstract beds in the basin center are largely fine grained sand, pebbly sand, and sandy silt. No Pliocene cobble-gravel deposits, or thick crossbed sets indicative of major stream discharge, have The Albuquerque 30’ x 60’ quadrangle spans the Rio Grande rift between the Colorado Plateau and Great Plains been documented in the basin center. geologic provinces, and includes parts of the Basin and Range Considerable evidence indicates significant erosion began and Southern Rocky Mountain physiographic provinces. in late Pliocene time, coincident with and following eruption Geologic units exposed in the quadrangle range in age from of abundant basalt from several local centers at about 2.7–2.6 Early Proterozoic schist and granite to modern river alluvium. Ma. The onset of central valley erosion marks the initiation The principal geologic features of the area, however, chiefly of the first through-flowing, high-energy trunk stream (the reflect contractional folding and thrusting of the Late Creta- “ancestral” Rio Grande), which most likely was caused by integration of drainage southward through the Socorro region. ceous Laramide orogeny and the Neogene extension of the Rio No upper Pliocene fluvial deposits have been identified in the Grande rift. Significant parts of the history of the rift in this valley center; rather, a significant unconformity separates beds region are displayed and documented by the geology exposed with medial (or earliest late) Blancan fauna (older than about in the Albuquerque quadrangle. 2.2 Ma) from overlying beds that contain Pleistocene (Irving- Post-Laramide erosion, beginning at about 60 Ma, is tonian; younger than 1.8 Ma) fauna. The oldest Pleistocene recorded by the Diamond Tail and Galisteo Formations (upper fluvial deposits contain tephra beds from the 1.6 Ma eruption Paleocene and Eocene)
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