U.S. Department of the Interior a U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Geological Survey

Programs in New Mexico

The various programs of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reflect a responsiveness to New Mexico’s needs for earthscience information. Since USGS topographers first arrived at Fort Wingate, New 

Mexico, in 1880, the USGS has provided 

the earth-science information on which 

many decisions regarding New Mexico’s 

natural resources have been based. 

Hydrologic Monitoring

Because New Mexico has limited water 

resources, hydrologic data are essential for 

administering and managing these resources and for monitoring and assessing trends 

in hydrologic conditions. The USGS has a 

network of data-collection stations (fig. 1) 

at selected locations throughout New Mexico that record information on streamflow 

and stage, reservoir and lake storage, 

ground-water levels, spring discharge, and 

the quality of surface and ground waters. 

These stations, which are funded in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, have been established to provide a 

long-term data base. The hydrologic datacollection program in New Mexico currently consists of 158 continuous streamflowgaging stations, 173 streamflow partialrecord stations, 46 precipitation stations, 

6,100 ground-water wells, and 54 waterquality stations. 

Philmont Scout Ranch Maps

Nearly 20,000 Scouts per year at the 

Philmont Scout Ranch, Boy Scouts of 

America, use USGS topographic maps as 

part of a planning packet to navigate on 

hikes and pack trips that range from 50 to 

100 miles. The Philmont Scout Ranch also 

finds these maps valuable for formulating 

fire suppression strategy, search and rescue, 

and general planning. The Ranch entered 

into an agreement with the USGS to produce three 1:24,000-scale sectional maps of 

the ranch and to update the 1:45,000-scale 

map that covers the entire Ranch. These 

maps were updated by the USGS in 1995 

with an additional 1:24,000-scale map produced that shows newly acquired additions 

to the Ranch. 

Water Quality in Eastern 

Bernalillo County 

The residents of eastern Bernalillo 

County are concerned about the current 

quality of ground water and its vulnerability to contamination. Because the county is 

undergoing rapid population growth and 

expanded development, demands on 

ground water (the only source of drinkingwater supplies) and the potential for 

ground-water contamination (particularly 

degradation from sewage effluent) are 

increasing. Many of the homes in unincorporated areas use septic systems. Concentrations of nitrate in ground water have 

exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) maximum contaminant level of 10 milligrams per liter in 

some parts of eastern Bernalillo County.

The USGS and the Bernalillo County 

Environmental Health Department entered 

into several cooperative agreements 

between 1989 and 1995 to collect groundwater data in several unincorporated areas 

of the county, including the eastern mountain area, the northeastern heights, and the 

northern and southern valleys of Albuquerque. Water from more than 100 wells in 

these areas was sampled and analyzed for a 

variety of chemical constituents; water levels were measured when possible. Many of 

the wells sampled contained water that 

exceeded the USEPA’s primary drinkingwater standards for nitrates and secondary 

drinking-water standards for dissolved solids, sulfate, chloride, iron, or manganese. 

Data collected indicate that concentrations 

of some constituents have increased significantly over the past 6 years and that, in 

most areas, the water table is declining. 

This monitoring effort will help the county 

determine the current state of ground-water 

quality and levels and possible changes in 

the future. 

Topographic Mapping

USGS 1:24,000-scale topographic maps 

(1 inch on the map represents 2,000 feet on 

the ground) have long been favorites with 

the general public for outdoor uses, including hiking, camping, exploring, and backcountry fishing expeditions. These maps 

Index of Subjects

Hydrologic Monitoring

Philmont Scout Ranch Maps 

Water Quality in Eastern Bernalillo County

Topographic Mapping

U.S./Mexico Border Mapping

Sharing Spatial Data

Middle Rio Grande Basin Studies

Ground-Water Depletion in the Albuquerque 

Basin

Effects of Ground-Water Withdrawal on Flow 

in the Rio Grande

Capitan Aquifer and Tansill Formation Data 

Collection

Water-Quality Study of the Vermejo Irrigation 

Project

Digital Map Coverage

National Water-Quality Assessment Program

Figure 1. Hydrologic monitoring stations and 

areas.

 EXPLANATION

 Colored areas show different 

 ground-water monitoring areas

 Streamflow-gaging station

 Water-quality station

Earth Science in the Public Service
MEXICO

UNITED STATES

USGS MAPPING IN PROGRESS 

NEW MEXICO BUREAU OF MINES AND MINERAL

RESOURCES/USGS COOPERATIVE MAPPING 

MAPPING SCHEDULED

EXPLANATION

BELEN 30- X 60- MINUTE

QUADRANGLE

ALBUQUERQUE

BASIN

BOUNDARY

RIO GRANDE

LOS ALAMOS

30- X 60-MINUTE

QUADRANGLE

ALBUQUERQUE

30- X 60- MINUTE

QUADRANGLE

depict basic natural and cultural features of 

the landscape, such as lakes and streams, 

highways and railroads, boundaries, and 

geographic names; contour lines are used to 

depict the elevation and shape of terrain. 

New Mexico is covered by 2,035 maps at 

this scale. 

Today, scientists and engineers increasingly depend on digital (computerized) 

base maps for their research and analysis. 

The USGS is working to ensure the availability of accurate digital cartographic data 

for the Nation to facilitate ground-water 

and hazards studies and resource-management activities. 

U.S./Mexico Border Mapping

Federal, State, and local agencies and 

other organizations in the United States and 

Mexico need cartographic data. The USGS, 

in cooperation with these agencies and other organizations, is developing digital map 

data for the U.S./Mexico border area 

(fig. 2). An area on each side of the border 

was selected for obtaining the cartographic 

data necessary to meet the mapping needs 

of the cooperating organizations. A variety 

of topological and water-resources projects 

also is underway, some of which extend as 

much as 250 miles on each side of the border. Color infrared aerial photography is 

being obtained during 1996 for the U.S. 

side of the border area. In 1997, the USGS 

plans to produce digital orthophotoquads 

(DOQ’s; see “Digital Map Coverage” on 

p. 4) from these photographs. The DOQ’s 

are useful for revising maps and other data 

sources along the border, including USGS 

1:24,000-scale topographic maps. The digital map data support a wide range of studies 

of the environment and resource management on both sides of the border.

To meet some initial user needs in 1996, 

the USGS is digitizing Boundary and Public Land Survey System data from USGS 

1:24,000-scale maps that cover the areas on 

each side of the border. The USGS also is 

producing 1:24,000-scale digital raster 

graphics (DRG’s) of the 1:24,000-scale 

maps in the area. DRG’s are scanned images of USGS topographic maps that can be 

used as a base to register, collect, and revise 

other data themes. Additional information 

about U.S./Mexico border mapping can be 

found at the U.S.–Mexico Border Field 

Coordinating Committee World Wide Web 

page at:

http://www.doi.gov/fcc/

Sharing Spatial Data 

The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) through the USGS established 

the Competitive Cooperative Agreements 

Program (CCAP) to help form data-sharing 

partnerships with the non-Federal sector 

and to provide funding to State and local 

government agencies, academia, and the 

private sector to encourage resource-sharing projects through technology, networking, and interagency coordination. The 

CCAP funded the development of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure clearinghouse around New Mexico’s Resource 

Geographic Information System (RGIS) 

Program by the University of New Mexico 

Earth Data Analysis Center. This project 

involves modifying the current RGIS Program metadata standard (metadata are used 

to describe data sets) to make RGIS Program and State agency data more compatible with FGDC metadata standards.

Middle Rio Grande Basin 

Studies

About one-half of the total population of 

New Mexico depends on the ground-water 

resources of the middle Rio Grande Basin. 

The population in this area is increasing 

rapidly, and urban planners in the municipalities and pueblos in the Santa Fe/Albuquerque urban corridor need geologic 

information. A complete characterization of 

these resources is hampered by a scarcity of 

data in the northern and southern areas of 

the Basin. In response, the USGS has created a program to provide additional data. 

Ongoing studies emphasize refinement of 

estimates of the processes and quantities of 

water moving through the ground-water 

system. The USGS is collecting and compiling data for 1:100,000-scale geologic 

maps, conducting areal geophysical surveys, and compiling maps of faults and 

related structures in the Basin. 

In 1995, the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) 

began a new project, which is called 

STATEMAP, that provides funding for 

important geologic mapping in New Mexico for the Los Alamos, the Albuquerque, 

and the Belen 30- by 60-minute quadrangles (fig. 3), which cover the area of the 

Santa Fe/Albuquerque urban corridor. The 

maps, which are prepared in cooperation 

with the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and 

Mineral Resources, the University of New 

Mexico, New Mexico Tech, and the Los 

Alamos National Laboratory, are being produced as multipurpose digital geographic 

information system data bases and conventional paper products to provide baseline 

geologic data.

Ground-Water Depletion in the 

Albuquerque Basin

The USGS, in cooperation with the city 

of Albuquerque, conducted a study during 

1993–94 that helped confirm that the most 

productive zone of the Santa Fe Group 

aquifer system is much less extensive and 

Figure 2. Spatial extent of a shared 

U.S./Mexico water-resources project.

Figure 3. Status of geologic mapping of the 

middle Rio Grande Basin.
EXPLANATION

LINE OF EQUAL SIMULATED DECLINE IN

HYDRAULIC HEAD--Interval 10 feet

CIBOLA

NATIONAL

FOREST

SANDIA

INDIAN

RESERVATION

CIBOLA

ALBUQUERUQUE

thinner than was previously assumed. 

Water-level declines are greater than predicted by hydrologic investigations in the 

1960’s, and nonpumping water levels in 

some city production wells have declined 

more than 100 feet in recent years. 

The ground-water flow model developed during the 1993–94 study was revised 

in 1995 (fig. 4) to include new information 

on the hydrogeologic framework of the 

Albuquerque Basin. Although the differences between the two versions of the 

model are significant, output from the 

revised model does not contradict previous 

conclusions about the effects of city 

ground-water withdrawals on flow in the 

Rio Grande or on the net benefits of an 

effort to conserve ground water. 

Effects of Ground-Water 

Withdrawal on Flow in the Rio 

Grande

The USGS and the City of Albuquerque 

are studying hydrologic relations between 

the Santa Fe Group aquifer system and the 

Rio Grande so that the effects of groundwater withdrawal from the aquifer on flow 

in the Rio Grande can be defined better. A 

1995 USGS study indicated that the aquifer 

is not being recharged by the river to the 

extent once thought. Ground water is the 

only water supply for Albuquerque, which 

is the largest municipality in New Mexico. 

To help determine the hydraulic connection between the aquifer and the river, 

a large-scale aquifer test was conducted at 

the Griegos well field in Albuquerque. 

This site is close to existing monitoring 

wells and to the Rio Grande and is isolated from other city production well fields. 

After 3 months of recorded ground-water 

recovery, the Griegos 1 well was switched 

on and pumped continuously for about 55 

days with an average discharge of 2,330 

gallons per minute. Twenty two monitoring wells were instrumented to provide a 

record of the changes in ground-water 

levels with time. 

Capitan Aquifer and Tansill 

Formation Data Collection

The Capitan aquifer is the primary 

source of freshwater for the city of Carlsbad and several other communities in 

Eddy County and also a source of irrigation water for southeastern New Mexico. 

Water moves from Lake Avalon through 

channels in the Tansill Formation and mixes with water in the Capitan aquifer. This 

water then becomes part of the flow of 

Carlsbad Springs. Previous studies of the 

aquifer have indicated that water with dissolved-solids concentrations from 3,000 to 

10,000 milligrams per liter (moderately 

saline) could be moving through the Tansill Formation and the Capitan Limestone 

from Lake Avalon to areas northwest of 

Carlsbad. 

The USGS and the New Mexico State 

Engineer Office are compiling historical 

water-level, water-quality, and aquifer-test 

data for the Capitan aquifer in Eddy and 

Lea Counties and the Tansill Formation 

between Lake Avalon and Carlsbad and collecting new data in selected areas. These 

data will help support a better understanding and sound management of the water 

resources of the Capitan aquifer. 

Water-Quality Study of the 

Vermejo Irrigation Project

The Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge 

in Colfax County is located near the center 

of the Vermejo Irrigation Project. The 

USGS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS), and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are cooperating in a study to determine if irrigation water from the project 

has significant potential to cause harmful 

effects to fish and wildlife or to impair other uses of the water in the wildlife refuge. 

Elevated concentrations of selenium in 

water, sediment, plants, and animals in the 

Figure 4. Simulated decline in hydraulic head in model layer 9 in the Albuquerque area 

assuming the current growth trend between 1995 and 2020.
For More

Information

-109 ̊W -108 ̊W -107 ̊W -106 ̊W -105 ̊W -104 ̊W -103 ̊W

37 ̊N

36 ̊N

35 ̊N

34 ̊N

33 ̊N

32 ̊N

31 ̊N

Available 7-meter Level-2 DEM's

Available 7-meter Level-1 DEM's

Available 15-meter Level-1 DEM's

In-Work DEM's

Cell size equals 7.5 minute Lat. 7.5 minute Long.

EXPLANATION

coverage in New Mexico includes Cimarron and the Taos and the Zuni Indian Reservations. The NRCS applies DOQ’s to soil 

surveys, conservation planning, and farm 

and ranch management. State agencies use 

DOQ’s for toxic waste site and facilities 

management. Information about USGS 

DOQ’s can be found on the World Wide 

Web at:

http://nsdi.usgs.gov/nsdi/products/doq.html

National Water-Quality 

Assessment Program

To provide nationally consistent information on water quality, the USGS implemented the National Water-Quality 

Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The goals 

of the NAWQA Program are to describe the 

status of and trends in the quality of a large 

representative part of the Nation’s surfaceand ground-water resources and to identify 

the natural and human factors that affect 

their quality. This is useful information for 

policymakers and water managers at the 

Federal, State, and local levels. The 

NAWQA Program is carried out through a 

series of study units that encompass important drainage basins and population centers. 

Two NAWQA Program studies are underway in New Mexico—in the Rio Grande 

Valley and the Southern High Plains. 

During the highly intensive phase of the 

Rio Grande Valley study (1993–95), shallow ground water in the Albuquerque area 

and the San Luis and the Rincon Valleys 

was sampled and analyzed for major ions, 

nutrients, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, trace elements, and radon. Surface 

water was sampled at a fixed network for 

major ions, nutrients, and suspended sediments. Surface-water studies were conducted in the Mesilla Valley for pesticides and 

nutrients and in the upper Rio Grande Valley for trace elements. Ecological data on 

habitat assessment, fish population, algae, 

and invertebrate populations have been collected throughout the study area.

The Southern High Plains study focuses 

on the water quality of the High Plains 

(Ogallala) aquifer in parts of eastern New 

Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. The study 

also characterizes the water quality and 

ecological diversity of the thousands of playa lakes that provide nesting and winter 

habitat for millions of migrating waterfowl 

each year.

USGS State representative

4501 Indian School Road NE,

Suite 200

Albuquerque, NM 87110-3929

(505) 262-5301

Fax: (505) 262-5398

Email: dc_nm@usgs.gov

Additional earth science

information can be found by

accessing the USGS Home Page

on the World Wide Web at

http://www.usgs.gov/

For more information on

all USGS reports and products

(including maps, images,

and computerized data), call

1-800-USA-MAPS

The USGS provides maps,

reports, and information to help

others meet their needs to manage,

 develop, and protect America’s water,

energy, mineral, biological, and land

resources. We help find the natural

resources needed to build tomorrow

and supply the scientific understanding needed to help minimize or mitigate the effects of natural hazards

and environmental damage caused

by natural and human activities. The

results of our efforts touch the daily

 life of almost every American.

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet FS-031-96

Figure 5. Status of 1:24,000-scale digital 

elevation model mapping in New Mexico.

wildlife refuge have been detected in previous USFWS studies. These elevated concentrations may adversely affect the 

wildlife on the refuge, especially the migratory and resident birds that breed there. 

Several potential sources of selenium and 

other contaminants in the watershed 

upstream from the irrigation project include 

soils and bedrock, agriculture, coal mining 

and processing, and atmospheric deposition. 

Digital Map Coverage

Digital elevation model (DEM) maps 

can be used to create three-dimensional 

perspectives of the landscape to assess 

slope and aspect for use in vegetation and 

habitat mapping. The USGS, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management 

and the U.S. Forest Service, has completed 

1:100,000-scale DEM coverage for New 

Mexico. The status of 1:24,000-scale DEM 

mapping is shown in figure 5. DEM data 

consist of an array of regularly spaced elevations keyed to a USGS quadrangle map. 

The DEM’s are merged at the University 

of New Mexico with satellite and aerial 

scanner data. 

The USGS, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

(NRCS), also is producing digital orthophotoquads (DOQ’s). A DOQ is a digital image 

of an aerial photograph with displacements 

removed that are caused by the camera and 

the terrain. A DOQ combines the image 

characteristics of a photograph with the 

geometric qualities of a map. Present DOQ