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THE EL PAS0 GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY GUIDEBOOK FOURTH ANNUAL FIELD TRIP CENOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY Of THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AREA DORA ANA COUNTY NEW MEXICO MARCH 14, 1970 CENOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AREA DQk ANA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO John W. Hawley - Editor and Cmpi ler GUIDEBOOK FOURTH ANNUAL FIELD TRIP of the EL PAS0 GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY March 14, 1970 Compiled in Cooperati on with: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso Earth Sciences and Astronomy Department, New Mexi co State University Soi 1 Survey Investigations, SCS, USDA, University Park, New Mexico New Mexico State Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Socorro, New Mexico EL PAS0 GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS Charles J. Crowley Presi dent El Paso Natural Gas C. Tom Hollenshead Vice President El Paso Natural Gas Carl Cotton Secretary El Paso Indpt. School Dist. Thomas F. Cliett Treasurer El Paso Water Utilities Wi11 iam N. McAnul ty Counci lor Dept. Geol. Sci., UTEP Robert D. Habbit Councilor El Paso Natural Gas FIELD TRIP COMMITTEES Guidebook John W. Hawley Edi tor and compi 1er Soi 1 Survey Invest., SCS Jerry M. Hoffer Contributor and editing Dept. Geol. Sci., UTEP William R. Seager Contributor and editing Earth Sci. Dept. NMSU Frank E. Kottlowski Contributor and editing N. M. Bur. Mines & Min. Res. Earl M.P. Lovejoy Contributor and editing Dept. Geol. Sci., UTEP William S. Strain Contributor and editing Dept. Geol. Sci., UTEP Paul a Blackshear Typing Dept. Geol . Sci ., UTEP Robert Sepul veda Drafting Dept. Geol . Sci ., UTEP Caravan Earl M. P. Lovejoy Pub1 icity and Regi stration Charles J. Crowley Jerry M. Hoffer William E. King Earth Sci . Dept., NMSU LEADERS AT TOUR STOPS Rafael A. Garcia Dept. Geol . Sci ., UTEP John W. Hawley Jerry M. Hoffer Frank E. Kottlowski William S. Strain William D. Tipton Bureau of Land Management TABLE OF CONTENTS I tem Page Introduction i v Trip Summary 1 Stop 1. Vado Interchange - Interstate 10 7 Stop 2. Santo Tomas Basalt Flow - Stahmann Farms, Inc. 12 Stop 3. Fort Selden - North End Mesilla Valley 22 Stop 4. Selden Canyon - Broad Canyon 2 8 Stop 5. South Rincon Valley - Opposite Tonuco-San Diego Mtn. 3 1 Stop 6. Johnson Springs - Northwestern Rincon Hi 11s 36 Stop 7. Rincon Arroyo Overlook - Southern Jornada del Muerto Figure 1. ' Sketch Map of Middle and Northern Mesilla Valley Area Figure 2. Correlation of La Mesa Basal ts and Map of Santo Tomas Flows Figure 3. Cross Section of Mesilla Valley along U. S. High; ly 70 Figure 4. Sketch Map of Fort Selden-Selden Canyon Area Figure 5. Diagramnatic Section of the Santa Fe Group, Northern Dona Ana County, I1 lustrating Relations with Underlying Rocks Figure 6. Cross Sections, Tonuco Uplift to Cedar Hill and Valley of Rincon Arroyo Near Stops 5 and 7. Figure 7. Sketch Map of Rincon Area Table 1. Outline of Post-Santa Fe Group Valley Fi 11 Subdivisions Table 2. Outline of Santa Fe Group Subdivisions, Selden Canyon- Ri ncon Val ley Area Table 3. Outline of Pre-Santa Fe, Cenozoic Rock Units, Selden Canyon-Rincon Val 1ey Area Bibliography iii INTRODUCTION I The El Paso Geological Society welcomes you to its Fourth Annual Field Trip. This trip is staged for the purpose of viewing and studying the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Mesilla and Rincon Valley area. The age relationships of the various rocks and unconsolidated sediments will be emphasized. Units that form important ground-water reservoirs in the region will be seen in outcrop. Evidence for establishing times of major Tertiary structural deformation and episodes of mineralization wi11 be presented. Finally , current concepts of the geomorphi c evolution of the Rio Grande Val ley and adjacent intermontane basins wi11 be discussed dur- ing this tour. It is my hope that you will enjoy the trip, scenery and good fellowship as well as the geology. I wish to thank the individuals and organizations who have worked so diligently to make this field trip a success. In particular, grateful thanks is given to Dr. John Hawley whose contribution of time and effort made this trip possible. The Society is also indebted to Dr. Frank E. Kot tlowski , Senior Geologist, New Mexi co Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, for his contributions to the guidebook and assistance in lead- ing this trip. Permission by Mr. Dean F. Stahmann and Mr. Noel Castle to visit, respectively, parts of Stahmann Farms, Inc. and the Johnson Springs area is greatly appreciated. Charles J. Crowley, President El Paso Geological Society This guidebook is basically a compilation of road logs and other techni ca1 materi a1 from several pub1i shed sources, including: the New Mexi co Geological Society 4th, l6th, and 20th Fie1d Conference Guide- books (Kottlowski , et. a1 ., 1953; Fitzsimnons and Lochman-Bal k, 1965; and Cbrdaba, et. a1 ., 1969); DoZa Ana Historical Society Tour Guides (1968, 1969); and a Friends of the Pleistocene Guidebook (Hawley and Gi1 e, 1966). Sources such as technical reports, journal articles, theses, and personal comnuni cations are individual ly cited in the text. John W. Hawley , Editor EL rPsn ~XCLQEICPL SOCIETY FOURTH AbiNUAL FIELD TRIP Saturday, Varch 14, 1970 Leaders: John W. Hawley, Jerry Hoffer, Frank E. Kottlowski and William S. Strain. Assembly Points: Sun Bowl Drive, University of Texas at El Paso, east of Schuster Street Interchange; and Vado Interchange (15 miles south of Las Cruces), Interstate 10. Starting Times: 8:30 A.M. (UTEP); 9:00 A.M. (Vado Interchange). Registration: 7:30-8:30 A.M., Sun Bowl Drive, North of Schuster Street, University of Texas at El Paso. Late Registration: STOP 1, Vado Interchange - East Frontage Road. Driving Distance: about 150 miles. SUMMARY Much of today's route is in the Rio Grande Val ley of DoGa Ana County, New Mexico. This trip will emphasize the stratigraphy of Cenozoic rocks in the area, but discussions will also deal with older units, as well as the general geology of the region. Stops in the Mesi l la Val ley wi 11 be made at Vado Hill, Santo Tomas Basalt Flow (Stahmann Farms) and Fort Selden. Outcrops of volcanic and sedimentary rocks in the Selden Canyon and Rincon Hills and ancient Rio Grande beds in the Jornada del Muerto Basin will also be examined. Many of the volcanic and sedimentary units that will be seen have recently been dated by several methods, including Potassium-Argon and Carbon 14 isotope dating, vertebrate paleontology, and volcanic ash correlation. The K-Pr dating of igneous rocks in the DoKa Ana County region and the emerging chronology of the important episodes of Tertiary tectoni sm and mineralization wi 11 he particularly emphasized. Cumu 1at i ve Mi leage Road Log 0.0 Intersection of Schuster Avenue and Sun Bowl Drive. I Proceed on Schuster to Interstate Highway 10 North access road. 0 .O5 Turn right onto Interstate 10 North access road. 0.15 Join Interstate 10. Campus Andesite Hill at 12:OO to 1:OO. Cerro de Muleros (del Cristo Rey) at 11:OO. Juarez Andesi te hills, across the Rio Grande (Bravo) at 10:OO. According to Hoffer (1969d), "The Campus Andesi te represents a small pluton that crops out on the campus of The University of Texas at El Paso. .. The igneous mass is post-Cretaceous in age showing intrusive contacts with shale and marl of the Boquillas Formation and is surrounded by Quaternary a1 1uvi a1 and 1ake deposi ts, Textural ly , the intrusive is porphyritic.. .Phenocrysts , composed predominantly of pl agioclase (andesine) , comprise approximately 40% of the rock. .. The mineralogy.. .consists of phenocrysts of plagi o- clase, biotite, and hornblende with groundmass constituents of plagioclase, K-feldspar, and minor quartz and magnetite. Two chemical analyses.. .indicate a chemical composition intermediate between andesite and dacite." The rock has been potassium-argon dated at 47.1 (t2.3) mi 11 ion years (F. E. Kottlowski, N. M. Bur. Mines % Min. Resources, written comnuni cati on, 2/16/1970). 0.4 0.6 Cuts on right in Campus Andesite. 9-10:OO Sierra de Anda (Garcia, 1970, p. 2) andesite intrusive. 10:30 - light colored hills are felsite sills in upper Cretaceous shale. 0.5 Cut on right exposes Campus Andesite-Boquillas shale contact. 0.5 1.6 ASARCO slag tramway underpass. 0.5 2.1 Executive Center Blvd. .Underpass. Frank1 in Mountains from 1 :00 to 4:OO. Reddish Precambrf an rocks (rhyolite and granite) of North Franklin Peak at 1:OO. The South Franklin Peak- Franklin Mountain-Ranger Peak ridge to the south is a complex, west-tilted fault block of Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks. (See previous El Paso Geological Society Guidebooks). The upper, dissected benchlands along the west base of the mountains are primarily erosion surfaces cut on Upper Santa Fe Group basin fill (Camp Rice/Fort Hancock Formations - Strain 1969b), with thin gravel caps of mid- Pleistocene age forming the uppermost Santa Fe beds. In the area crossed by Interstate 10, erosional surfaces on the Santa Fe Group are veneered with terrace and fan gravels which are associated with graded surfaces marking several stages of mid- to late Pleistocene entrenchment of the Rio Grande Valley. The latter surfaces include (in arder of decreasing age and height above valley floor) the Kern Place-Tortugas , Gold Hi 11 -Pi cacho and Fort Selden surfaces (Kottlowski , 1958; Ruhe, 1964; Hawley, 1965; Metcal f, 1969). Concepts and terminology of pos t-Santa Fe valley-fill units are outlined in Table 1. 0.4 At 3:00 Crazy Cat slide block (with micro wave antenna on summit) extends along west side of Frank1 in Mountains from southernmost to northernmost T.