Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 123 Series^;

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR

GEOLOGY AND UNDERGROOND WATER CONDITIONS

OF THE

JOENADA DEL MUERTO, NEW MEXICO

BY

CHARLES ROLLnxr KEYES

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT-PRINTING OFFICE 

1905
t;? ' '

and Irrigation Paper No. 123 f B' D^riP^6 6«>logy, 66 

\ 0, Underground Waters, 36

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY

CHARLES 1). WALCOTT, DIRECTOR

GEOLOGY AND UNDERGROOND WATER CONDITIONS

 JOBSADA DEL MUERTO, NEW MEXICO

BY

CHARLES ROLLUST KEYES

WASHINGTON

GOVEENMBNT PRINTING OFFICE

1905
CONTENTS.

Page.

Letter of transmittal...................................................... 7

Introduction............................................................. 9

General character of the New Mexican plateau region....................... 11

Surface relief of the Jornada .............................................. 13

General features.................................................. 13

Central floor of the basin ............................ ............ 14

Eastern rim of the basin .......................................... 14

Western rim of the basin ......................................... 15

Northern rim of the basin......................................... 17

Southern side of the basin ........................................ 17

The formations........................................................... 18

General geologic relations......................................... 18

Archean system.................................................. 19

Algonkian system ................................................ 19

Hocks of early Paleozoic age ...................................... 20

Carboniferous system............................................. 20

Jurassic-Triassic systems. ......................................... 22

Cretaceous system................................................ 22

Tertiary and Quaternary systems.................................. 23

Eruptive rocks ................................................... 24

Structure ................................................................ 25

General characteristics............................................ 25

Structural relations of the formations .............................. 26

Descriptions of cross sections....................................... 27

Some minor structural features........... ........................ 28

Underground waters...................................................... 32

General consideration............................................. 32

Areal distribution of the water-bearing beds........................ 33

Area of water supply ............................................. 34

Climatic conditions affecting water supply.......................... 34

Permeable strata ................................................. 34

Water horizons................................................... 35

Wells of the Jornada del Muerto ................----...-.-... .... 37

Quality of the underground waters ................................ 38

Resume of underground water prospects .... ...................... 38

Irrigation........................................................ 39

Index ................................................................... 41

3
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Geologic sketch map of the Jornacla...___..........--.-..-.-...-.. 10

II. Cross section of the region, along the lines A-A, B-B, and C-C, PI. I. 12

III. A, View of northern end of the Jornada; B, Pena Blanca, the white

cliffs at lower end of Organ Mountains.._............-...------- 14

IV. A, Escarpment of the Chupadera Mesa; B, Penasco Rock.......... 16

V. A, Elephant Butte, view taken from big bend in Rio Grande; B,

Soledad Canyon, a mountain arroyo............................ 18

VI. A, Organ Mountains, New Mexico, showing break off or change in 

topography; B, View showing location of canal line running along 

small ridges directly back of Agricultural College.,.............. 20

VII. A, International reservoir site, 2J miles above international dam 

site; B, River bed at international reservoir site, view taken from 

big bend in river.............................................. 22

VIII. Topography of the Fort Selden eruptive area...................... 24

IX. A, Organ Mountains, New Mexico, showing a portion of the mountains; B, Natural dike near Elephant Butte..................... 26

FIG. 1. Location of the Jornada del Muerto................................ 9

2. Geologic column .................................................. 18

3. Mescal cone, resting on Cretaceous sandstones..'..................... 25

4. Basin Range structure of the Jornada............................... 26

5. Small reversed fault in western rim of Jornada...................... 29

6. Caballos Peak and thrust plane..................................... 29

7. Normal faulting at Napoleon mine.................................. 30

8. Normal faulting at El Capitan mine................................. 30

9. Basic dike in Cretaceous sandstone. ................................. 31

10. Basic dike disturbing level sandstones..,.....................----.- 31

11. Acidic dike in Carboniferous limestones...............--.---.----.-- 32
LETTER OF TRANSM1TTAL,

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

HYDROGRAPHIC BRANCH, 

Washington, D. £7., July 15', 1904-

SIR: I transmit herewith a report by Prof. Charles R. Keyes on the 

geology and. underground water resources of the Jornada del Muerto, 

in south-central New Mexico, and recommend that it be pub'ished in 

the series of Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers.

The work resulting in this report was done under the supervision 

of Mr. N. H. Darton, chief of the western section of the division of 

Irydrology. It presents new and valuable information regarding the 

geologic structure of this large desert area and shows that the conditions are favorable for the extensive occurrence of underground 

waters which, to some extent, are available for irrigation and domestic 

supplies. The region is one of fine climate and fertile soil, and the 

development of its underground waters will afford the means for 

sustaining settlers at a number of localities.

Very respectfully, F. H. NEWELL,

Ch ief En g in «y. 

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT,

Director United State* Geological Survey.

7
GEOLOGY AND UNDERGROUND WATER CONDITIONS 

OF THE JORNADA DEL MUERTO, NEW MEXICO.

By CHARLES ROLLJN KEYES.

INTRODUCTION.

Of the basin plains of southwestern United States the Jornada del 

Muerto, in south-central New Mexico, is, in many ways, one of tl °> most

;LEO

'TOrtRANCE) E? be

PIG, 1. Location of the Joroada del Muerto.

remarkable. This plain is typical of a very large number of dry 

sandy plains which characterize the arid region and which show but

9
10 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JOKNADA DEL MUEBTO. N. HEX. [NO. 123.

few signs of surface waters. As it is covered b}^ loose, porous soils of 

unknown depth all the rainfall is quickly absorbed and the streams 

entering the plain from the mountains around the periphery soon sink 

below the surface.

In the long period that preceded the coming of the European the 

adjoining country was thickly populated by races highly skilled in 

agriculture and well trained in the art of irrigation, yet no one of the 

native peoples was tempted to settle upon this great strip of desert. 

For three hundred and fift}^ years after the Spanish invasion the Jornada lay in the beaten path of travel from Mexico northward. For 

100 miles the famous El Paso and Santa Fe trail crossed its desert 

sands. In view of the horrors inspired by the trip across it from the 

time of Coronado to the advent of the railroad, the Spaniards who 

ventured within its borders might well be pardoned for calling it the 

"Journey of Death." The long white line of bleached bones of man 

and horse, which not so very long ago marked the trail, amply attested 

the fitness of the title.

Wallace a has described the Jornada in very somber tl ough highly 

fanciful terms as follows:

Near the southern boundary of New Mexico the Spanish explorers were opposed 

by a barrier of all on earth most to be dreaded a shadeless, waterless plateau, 

nearly 100 miles long, from 5 to 30 miles wide, resembling the steppes of northern 

Asia. * * *

The portion I speak of appears to have served its time, worn out, been dispeopled, 

and forgotten. The grass is low and mossy, with a perishing look the shrubs, soapweed, and bony cactus writhing like some grisly skeleton; the very stones are like 

the scoria of a furnace. You vainly look for the flight of a bird, sucl as cheered the 

eyes of Thalaba in the desert; no bee nor fly hums in the empty ai~; and, save the 

lizard (the genius of desolation) and horn frog, there is no breath of living thing.

Standing on the edge of the measureless waste, which is. trackless as water, the 

first explorers might ask, " What is this strange ocean of sand, with its stillness more 

awful than any sea?"

The spot I am trying to describe is the battle ground of the elements. In winter 

it is made fearful by raging storms of wind and snow. There men ard animals have 

been frozen to death, their bodies left the lawful prey of the mountain wolf. From 

the primeval years the Apache has harried the hungry waste, hunting for scalps; 

and, besides the savagest of savages, it'is now the favorite skulking j^ace of outlaws, 

an asylum for fugitives escaping justice in old Mexico and Texas.

In our times many a party cut off and many a traveler murdered makes good the 

name if bears, given by the first white men who dared its perils, Jornada del Muerto 

'* Journey of Death."

Repulsive as this picture is, it scarcely exaggerates the widespread 

impression which formerly existed concerning this conntry. Like 

much of the arid region, this district was considered waterless because 

no water appears on the surface. For three hundred ar d fifty years 

the traveler traversed this region without taking the trouble to dig 

beneath the surface of the plain for the moisture he so often longed for.

a Wallace, S. E., Land ot the Pueblos, New York, 1888, p. 140.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 123 PL.I

GEOJLOGIG 

SKETCH MAP

OT" THE

JORNADA DEL MUERTO 

NEW MEXICO

SHOWIN&THE

UNDERGROUND WATER, J^ 

CONDITIONS

BY 

CHARLE S R.KEYE S

19O4-

flections ftfotigr tine,? J\-A, S~2i. 

C-C. Sfp PL. 11

St'EPHANT Bl TTE 

f-S ,

x'-SAI^ AUGLIS- IN PASsl

Cretfl neons

fmvstly fn-erlttin. tn> Oun,femury}

Basio oruptivf rocks 

Faults M K X F C O

ffft/Xfrt « KCSSLCH CO. PH/1'
KEYES.] GENERAL CHARACTER OF REGION. 11

Apparently it was not suspected that, owing to certain local peculiarities in the geologic formations, abundant water lay at comparatively shallow depths. In 1871 a well 160 feet deep was dug in the 

middle of the plain by a ranchero, John Martin, and cool, soft water 

was obtained in great quantity, so that his ranch became the resting 

place of every traveler crossing the desert.

The geologic conditions in New Mexico are less known than in 

any other region of equal size in the United States. With the exception of a few comparatively limited areas studied by the Federal surveys, but little detailed investigation has been undertaken. The 

geologists connected with the early Government surveys have given a 

general idea of the geologic formations, but the exact age and relations of most of the rocks remain to be determined.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE NEW MEXICAN PLATEAU

REGION.

Among the most notable features of central and southwestern New 

Mexico are the broad desert plains, out of which the mountain ridges 

rise as abruptly as volcanic islands out of the sea. These plains 

are 20 to 30 miles wide, often 100 miles or more long, and at first 

glance appear nearly level. Closer inspection shows that they are 

basins inclined toward the center and devoid of marked drainage 

ways or drainage outlets.

With their usual keen distinctions of geographic features, the Spanish aptly call such an inclosed plain a " bolsone," meaning a purse. Of 

these plains a writer, who has brought their Spanish name into geographic usage, says:

These plains or "basins," as they are sometimes called, are largely structural in 

origin. Bolsons are generally floored with loose unconsolidated sediments derived 

from the higher peripheral region. Along the margin of these plains are ta,Hs hills 

and fans of bowlders, and other wash deposits brought down by mountain freshets. 

The sediments of some of the bolsons may be ot lacustral origin.

It is essential in both the geographic and the geologic discussion to bear in mind 

the distinction between bolson plains and plateau plains. The plateau plains and 

the mountains are genetically related, the strata composing the one being bent on to 

or flexing out into the other. The bolson plains, on the other hand, are never and 

later topographic features consisting of structural valleys between mountains or 

plateau plains, which have been partially filled with debris derived from the adjacent eminences. The plateau plains are usually destructional stratum plains. The 

bolson plains are constructional detritus plains filling old structural troughs. a

The distinction between the plateau plains and the bolson plains is as 

important as it is real. But the statement that bolson plains are constructional detritus plains in structural valleys does not convey a correct idea of the phenomenon, and, as generally understood, the term 

structural, as applied to these valleys, is very apt to be misinterpreted.

"Hill, R. T., Topographic Atlas U. S., folio 3, U. B. Geol. Survey, 1900, p. 8.
12 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JORNADA DEL MUERTO, N. MEX. [NO. 123.

In a carefully qualified sense the valleys occupied by the bolson plains 

might, perhaps, be considered structural vallej^s, but their history is 

very much more complex and very different from what might be suspected from casual observation.

The alternation in central New Mexico of narrow mountain ridges 

and broad plains, of which the Jornada is a characteristic example, 

presents some features which are not easily understood until the 

regions both to the east and to the west are taken into consideration. 

In both directions the basin character of the bolson plains is soon lost. 

The plains become confluent and more continuous, and the mountain 

ranges more disconnected and finally isolated altogether. Farther on 

the plain alone persists without notable mountains. This condition 

continues on the one hand to the Gulf of California and on the other 

to the Gulf of Mexico.

At the beginning of Tertiaiy time the region between the two great 

gulfs south of what is now the Colorado line must have been a vast 

lowland plain with but faint relief features. A large part of this plain 

was on the beveled edges of Cretaceous and older strata, as is shown 

now in its remnants still clearly discernible. The Las Yegas Plateau, 

the Llano Estacado, the bolson plains of central New Mexico, and 

some of the Jess broken plains of eastern Arizona se°,m to belong 

genetically together. To the east and the west a broad submarine 

platform was formed from the sediments derived from the planing off 

of the central land area. When the general uplift of t\ °, region took 

place later in the Tertiary the great plain formed was partly a peneplain of destructional land origin and partly a constructional plain of 

marine origin.

In the uprising, however, faulting took place on a large scale, giving rise to the numerous monoclinal block mountains in the region 

now within the boundaries of New Mexico. There were various halts 

in the general uplift, and the Mesozoic and younge'st Paleozoic beds 

were stripped off the mountain summits. Two or three times during 

halts in the uplift partial planation took place. With the progression of the uplift the mountain blocks finally became more and more 

tilted.

Between Tertiary and present time an enormous amount of erosion has taken place. The vast plain has been deeply dissected by the 

Canadian, Pecos, Rio Grande, and Colorado rivers old, mountain-born 

streams. The valleys of these water courses are very vdde and deep. 

On the east the Canadian flows 1,000 feet below the level of the old 

plain, the Pecos perhaps 2,500 feet, the Rio Grande about 1,500 feet, 

while the Colorado Canyon is a mile deep.

In the Llano Estacado the remnant of the great high plain has an 

area of 50,000 square miles. The bolsons are already beginning to 

give way to erosion agencies. In the valley of the Rio Grande nearly

KEYES.] SURFACE RELIEF. 13

all traces of one old plain are already destroyed. The displaced intermontane basins like the Jornada, which adjoin the long Rio Grande 

Valley, are being deeply dissected wherever the great river touches 

the borders.

SURFACE RELIEF OF THE JORNADA.

GENERAL FEATURES.

The Jornada basin is roughly pear-shaped in outline, with the stem 

end at El Paso (see geologic sketch map, PI. I). From this point the 

basin plain extends northward into central New Mexico, a distance 

of 200 miles. In width the plain expands to 30 or 40 miles.

Of late years only the central part of the basin has been called the 

Jornada del Muerto. As a physiographic feature the p'ain is 

unbroken from the Mesa Jumanes and the Cerro Montosa, which cuts 

it off to the north from the great Estancia bolson, to the canyon of 

the Rio Grande at El Paso. The Mesilla Valley is not a separate 

basin, as often reported, but a portion traversed by the Rio Grande, 

which enters the lower part of the plain.

In the central part the Jornada is a flat-bottomed basin, with borders 

turned abruptly upward on all sides like a miner's pan. Forming the 

rim are long-, narrow mountain ranges which rise to heights of 2,000 

to 3,000 feet above the plain. The floor of the basin slopes to the 

south. At the north end the altitude is about 6,300 feet, while at the 

southern extremity it is 3,800 feet. There is a descent of 2,500 feet 

in 200 miles, a rate of about 12 feet to the mile.

West of the Jornada, running its entire length, is the Rio Grande 

del Norte, which flows in a basin of its own. While at the north end 

the elevation of the Jornada is 1,600 feet above the river, at the southern limit where the stream cuts across the rim the height above the 

great water course is only about 100 feet. The river falls 1,000 feet 

in a distance of 200 miles; the fall of the plain in the same distance is 

2,500 feet or more.

Viewed from the railroad the plain appears even and level, the 

only features breaking the smoothness of its general surface being 

isolated and irregular volcanic cones which follow down the middle of 

the basin for its entire length. These, however, are recent outflows 

on the surface of the plain and genetically do not interrupt its continuity.

Where the Rio Grande touches the Jornada, and where it traverses 

its southern part, the plain is deeply dissected. At the foot of the 

mountains the smooth floor of the basin passes into slopes deeply 

incised by arroyos.

In the main the rocks of the Jornada basin form a synclinal trough 

(PI. II), but the dip of the beds is considerably greater than the 

slope of the land toward the center of the valley. As a result the 

beds are beveled, and toward the mountains on either side a thick
14 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JOEFADA DEL MUEETO, N. HEX. [NO. 123.

series of rocks is exposed wherever the surface gravels are removed. 

The basin is a destructional plain deeply covered by recert gravels and 

coarse deposits, with probably some lake sediments of limited extent.

Physiographically the bolson is very young. Erosion has as yet 

cut but little into the plain. The original constructional form of the 

present topographic cycle is everywhere in evidence. Only where 

the Rio Grande touches the borders of the plain have even the soft 

beds begun tp wear out into lowlands.

Of the drainage little need be said. In general all waters flow 

toward the center of the plain and there are are no cross drainage 

ways. The numerous watercourses coming down from the mountains 

are quickly imbibed by the porous deposits and beconle "lost rivers." 

This is true also of the few small perennial streams as v^ell as of the 

torrents which rush down the arroyos carrying only the storm waters.

On the west side of the basin the waters from the mountains do not 

drain out into the plains, but quickly disappear down deep canyons 

which debouch into the Rio Grande through gaps in the ranges.

In the central part of the basin are numerous shallow depressions 

into which the storm waters gather and form lakes of considerable 

size. Some of these retain their waters for several months and frequently through the year.

CENTRAL FLOOR OF THE BASIN.

As already stated, the Jornada presents the appearance of an almost 

level-plain (PI. Ill, A), slightly depressed in the middle. Closer inpection shows that the apparent smoothness is locally broken in various 

ways. The appearance of general evenness is due partly to optical 

illusion on account of the vastness of the field.

Low conical hills of volcanic origin rise above the plain at various 

points throughout its entire length. Most of these are unnamed, but 

some of the larger ones, especially in the southern part of the basin, 

have received specific designations. Dona Ana Hill,?, San Diego 

Mountains, and Cerro Roblero may be mentioned.

All of these volcanic cones are very recent, and some of them still 

have their craters perfectly preserved. Extensive basalt flows extend 

from some of the cones, one of which, located south of San Marcial, 

covers more than 100 square miles. Several remarkably symmetrical 

cones occur west of Engle station, near old Fort McRae. These are 

about 200 feet in height, while the Dona Ana Hills, for example, 

are more than four times this elevation.

EASTERN RIM OF THE BASIN.

On the east side of the Jornada basin is a ridge which r^'ses abruptly 

to a height of 3,000 feet above the plain. While there are a number 

of low passes through the ridge, no one of these is low enough to 

serve as a drainage outlet to the basin.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 123 PL. Ill

A. VIEW OF NORTHERN END OF THE JORNADA.

B THE WHITE CLIFFS AT LOWER END OF ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 

Shows Carboniferous limestone dipping west.
KEYES.] SURFACE RELIEF. 15

Through great faulting on the eastern side of the ridge the various 

mountain blocks have been tilted up so that the long back slopes form 

a part of the broad syncline of the region to the west.

Beginning at the south these blocks have received the nrme of 

Franklin Mountains, Organ Mountains, San Andreas Range, Oscura 

Range, and Chupadera Mesa. The last two ranges mentioned slope to 

the east instead of the west, the main fault passing between the Oscura 

and San Andreas sierras. Here two lofty fault scarps face eacl other, 

separated only by a comparatively narrow valley.

The characteristic aspect of the Franklin Range and the southern 

Organ Mountains is well shown by Pena Blanca (PI. Ill, B}. Tl ^ main 

mass is composed of Carboniferous limestone and rises nearly 1,000 

feet above the plain at the foot. The rugged character of the Organ 

Mountains is well displayed by the contour map of the region.

The great fault scarp of the Sierra Oscura is a mountain bloch rising 

about 3,000 feet above the plain. In the lower three-fourths the granites and schists occur, and the long back slope is a heavy plate of blue 

Carboniferous limestone nearly 1,000 feet thick. Farther northward 

the eastern rim of the Jornada is formed by the Chupadera Mesa, 

which rises in an abruptly westward-facing escarpment several hundred 

feet high. The view of the escarpment shown in PI. IV, A^ is from 

the plain at a distance of 2 miles. The face of the escarpment is composed'of Cretaceous sandstones, but a short distance back from the 

crest the surface of the mesa is made up of Carboniferous limestones. 

The sharp hill in the left foreground is a huge trachyte dike which 

extends away from the observer across the mesa a distance of 12 miles 

or more.

With the exception of the extreme northern portion the entire runoff of the eastern rim flows down the limestone incline to the foot of 

the ranges, then over red shales into the sandstone area forming the 

floor of the basin.

Since near the eastern ridge there is no large watercourse such as 

the Rio Grande, which flows along the western rim, the surface at the 

foot of the mountains presents but little,of the relief that occurs on 

the western border of the plain.

WESTERN RIM OF THE BASIN.

Like the eastern side of the Jornada, the western side consists of 

high ridges trending north and south and dipping toward the basin. 

Geologically the western rim is similar to the eastern and of about the 

same height. There is, however, this difference: The western portion 

is broken at several places and the Rio Grande has begun to make 

inroads into the plain. Toward the south that stream crosses a part of 

the plain, forming the Mesilla Valley.

The mountains forming the western boundary of the plain consist 

at the south of a number of rather low, unnamed ridges, lying on the
16 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JORNADA DEL MUERTO, N. MEX. [NO. 123.

western side of the Rio Grande. The Cerro Magdalena, southwest of 

Bincon, appears to be the most important of the ridges v^hich lie west 

of the river. The Sierra de los Caballos and Sierra Fra Cristobal are 

large ranges, comparable to those on the east side of the plain. Continuing northward is a long line of mountains from 8 to 10 miles east 

of the Rio Grande, which extend almost unbrokenly for a distance of 

50 miles to the Cerro Montosa. All of these mountains have a conspicuous fault scarp marking their western flank.

At the north end of the Sierra Fra Cristobal, where for a short 

distance the Rio Grande breaks the rim of t;he Jornada, erosion is 

beginning to cut into the plain and considerable indentation has been 

already made. By headwater erosion the small drainage ways (dry 

except in time of heavy rains, which happen only a few times each 

year) are rapidly cutting into the border. The local drainage for a 

distance of nearly a quarter of the way across the plain is now turned 

in this direction, and when the driving rains come powerful corrasion 

takes place along these arroyos. The Rio Grande is 800 to 1,000 feet 

below the plain, and the gradient of the arroyos is over 100 feet to 

the mile.

Other important gaps permitting the drainage waters of the plain 

to enter the Rio Grande are at the northern and the southern ends of 

the Caballos Range, and in the center at Palonias Canyon. The runoff of the Jornada side of this entire range is allowed to enter the 

Rio Grande instead of flowing out onto the plain and there sinking 

beneath the surface. A strip of country 4 miles wide on the average 

and 20 miles long thus drains into the Rio Grande. This belt is 

faulted in many places. It is traversed by basic dikes1 and is altogether a rough country. The difference in elevation of rear-by points 

is often as much as 300 feet. The canyons are numerous and labyrinthine, with high gradients. Mescal Canyon and Palomas Canyon 

are the two master drainage ways, into which all others empty before 

their waters cross the mountain axis and fall into the Rio Grande.

The tops of the hills in this rough strip are nearly all on a level, 

which is the same as that of the plain projected westward. Consequently, when viewed from the railroad train, at a distance of about 

12 miles, the plain appears unbroken to the very foot of the mountains.

In some places, as at the north end of the Sierra de los Caballos, 

are extensive lava beds which were poured out on the surface of 

the plain. Mescal Canyon cuts through one of these sheets, displaying fine sections of the beveled Cretaceous sandstones ar d the overlying gravels which once constituted the floor of the plain and which 

now form the floor beyond the limits of the lava flows. The bottom 

of the lava sheet is on a level with the tops of the hills of the neighborhood, also showing conclusively that at the present time erosion 

has progressed sufficiently to intricately and deeply dissect the country, 

but not far enough to destroy the last remnants of the «Tornada\s sur-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO 123 PL. IV

A. ^SCARPMEKT OF TI.E CH ^ I'r^

B. PENASCO ROCK.
KEYES.] SURFACE BELIEF. 17

face lying in this belt. North of this Mescal Canyon lava sheet is 

another similar one, a detached mass, known as Elephant Butte, near 

which is a reservoir site which, owing to prolonged litigation, has 

become one of the best known in the country.

At the south end of the Sierra de los Caballos the Rio Grande enters 

the Jornada and cuts a deep trench diagonally across this plair to the 

south end of the Franklin Range at El Paso. The distance is 65 miles. 

In passing through the central part of the plain the stream encounters 

several groups of volcanic mountains, which are known as the San 

Diego Mountains, the Dona Ana Hills, Cerro Roblero, etc. Tl is part 

of the river's course is a rather narrow canyon, the sides of which 

exhibit many benches at various elevations above the present level, 

showing that the lava flows acted as temporary dams. In this part of 

its course the real nature and relationships to the great bolson of the 

country adjacent to the river are so disguised that many of its features 

are apt to be misinterpreted.

At Mesilla the valley of the Rio Grande broadens out into a wide 

flood plain, known as the Mesilla basin. The Atchison, Topeka and 

Santa Fe Railroad follows, the banks of the Rio Grande for the entire 

distance from Rincon, where it comes down from the upland plain, t6 

El Paso. From Rincon southward the western rim of the Jornada, 

while still high, is not so sharply marked as farther northward.

NORTHERN RIM OP THE BASIN.

At the north end of the Jornada the rim of the basin does rot present the high mountainous aspects of the sides. There is, however, a 

broadly curved line of hills marking the boundary (PI. Ill, A). These 

are 500 to 800 feet high, and are produced by upturned strata. This 

chain of hills is broken through at a number of points by deep 

arroyos, whose storm waters are soon lost in the plain.

At one place, near the west side, a broad, flat-bottomed valley several miles in width opens out to the northward. It extends in that 

direction many miles and appears to be continuous with tl 3 floor 

of the Estancia bolson farther north. The deeply dissected Chupadera 

Mesa forms the northeastern wall of the basin.

Beyond the rim a considerable area is drained into the basin through 

arroyos. The principal one of these watercourses is located near the 

center of the north wall, and is known as the Arroyo Chupadera. At 

the point where it cuts the rim, in a deep canyon, is located the Ojo 

Chupadera.

SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE BASIN.

The southern side of the upland Jornada plain is a mountainous belt 

of country extending in long finger-like projections across the rational 

boundary from Mexico. These are the northern ends of several MexiIRR 123
18 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JOENADA DEL MUEETO, N. 3T EX. [NO. 123.

Quaternary and Tertiary

can ranges, the principal one of which is the Sierra de los Muleros. At 

El Paso the Rio Grande has carved its way through the hard mountain rock, forming a narrow canyon only wide enough to permit the 

passage of the river. At this point the east ridge is the southern 

extremity of the Franklin Range, which here represents the eastern 

rim of the basin. The high mountain to the west of the river is said

to be marked by lynches to a

i i , a ,-,. .,. a , i ,1 height 01 800 reet above the river 

level.

West of the Rio Grande the 

normal character of the great 

plain is greatly obscured by late 

protrusions of volcanic materials. Conspicuous cones rise out 

of the plain at many points, and 

extensive lava sheets cover the 

surface.

Carboniferous

Algonkian

orous gravels.

1'orous sandImpervious 

shales.

Hard Impervtous limestones. THE FORMATIONS.

GENERAL GEOLOGIC RELATIONS.

Sandstone.

Gneisses, schists, 

an(j granites.

The geologic formations of 

south-central New Mexico comprise five very marked classes of 

rocks (see tig. 2). At the base is 

a great mass of crystalline rocks, 

chiefly granites, gneisses, and 

schists, with some metairtorphic 

rocks which can not always be 

directly distinguished from the 

members of the fundamental 

complex. These c r y s t a 1 line 

rocks are, in grerter part at 

least, Archean and Algonkian in 

age. The later Paleozoic rocks 

are widely distributed, and are 

mainly thick blue limestones, 

mostly of Carboniferous age, 

which form chiefly the crests and 

back slopes of many of the principal mountain ranges. A third class 

of rocks is found in the thick and extensive beds of massive yellow 

sandstones of Cretaceous age. Over all these indurated rocks lies a 

mantle of soft clays, sands, and gravels, largely deposited during the 

late Tertiary and Quaternary periods. Later than all of these are 

outflows of igneous rock which also cover many thousands of square

FIG. 2. Geologic column.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 123 PL. V

_J

A, ELEPHANT BUTTE. 

View taken from big bend in Rio Grande.

B. SOLEDAD CANYON, A MOUNTAIN ARROYO.
KEYES.] GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS. 19

miles within the limits of New Mexico. The period during which these 

volcanic rocks were erupted extends from the early Tertiary down 

probably to within the time of the settlement of America by Europeans.

The stratigraphic relations of the several rock masses are represented in fig. 2. As will be noted, marked unconformities separate 

the different formations, the single exception being between the "Red 

Beds" and the Carboniferous. The geologic significance of these 

unconformities is of exceptional interest.

The thicknesses given are in all cases maximum measurements. 

The great thickness of the Tertiary gravels and the Cretaceous sandstones is found only in the middle part of the Jornada, and from this 

middle line there is a rapid diminution toward the eastern and western 

rims of the basin.

ARCHEAN SYSTEM.

In recent years geologic opinion regarding the crystalline rocks 

which underlie the great sedimentary succession in the New Itexico 

area has undergone some very radical changes, most of the extensive 

formations composed of granites, schists, gneisses, and slates, which 

form the core of many of the mountain ranges, being now classified in 

a later geologic age than the Archean.

It is thought that true Archean rocks are exposed only in the southern extremity of the Sangre de Cristo ranges within the boundaries 

of New Mexico. Possibly also some of the basement crystallines of 

the Mogollon and Burro mountains in western New Mexico and of the 

Sierra de los Caballos on the western rim of the Jornada may finally 

prove to be of Archean age. Even in these localities the area? which 

may be properly referred to the Archean are of limited extent.

ALGONKIAN SYSTEM.

Most of the mountain ranges of central New Mexico are hug?, tilted 

blocks, one side being a long slope and the other a steep face, originally a fault scarp. In the steep face a considerable portion of the 

basal part is often found to be made up of quartzites, micaceous and 

hornblendic schists, gneisses, and granites. The foliation of these 

highly metamorphosed rocks is usually nearly vertical. Whero they 

are overlain by the basal quartzites and limestones above tHy are 

sharply beveled off, and the stratification of the sedimentary beds is 

nearly at right angles to the planes of lamination beneath.

For a long time it was thought that this crystalline complex represented the Archean. Late investigation has shown conclusively that 

many so-called " quartz veins" are in reality quartzites, and in thin 

section under the microscope this rock is seen to be of sedimentary 

character. Many of the dark-colored schists were without doubt 

originally basic intrusives, and some of the gneisses were granites
20 GEOLOGY, ETC., OP JOKNADA DEL MUERTO, N. FEX. [NO. 123.

no.w profoundly sheared. These masses are frequently seen to be 

penetrated by later acid eruptives now forming vast irregular bodies 

and sheets of red granite, some of which probably are later than 

Algonkian.

These highly metamorphosed masses are referred to the Algonkian 

age. They are more or less mineralized in the various mountain systems, containing many of the extensive deposits of copper, iron, silver, 

gold, and some of the rarer metals. These rocks are well displayed 

in all of the ranges surrounding the Jornada plain.

The Algonkian rocks of the Grand Canyon section have not been 

recognized in New Mexico, and if they are represented it is not with 

the same characteristics and succession. It is possible, however, that 

more detailed study of the New Mexico field will disclose relationship 

to the Grard Canyon section. The main succession th°,re is as follows: (1) Vishnu quartzite at the base, (2) Grand Canyon sandstone 

with interbedded and cutting basic eruptives, and (3) Chuar shales and 

limestones.

ROCKS OF EARLY PALEOZOIC AGE.

At present there is no reliable evidence that any of the lower Paleozoic beds are represented within the limits of the region under consideration. The great Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, arid Devonian 

systems which are so extensively developed in other parts of the 

American continent have thus far not been observed in central New 

Mexico.

The Cambrian deposits, known elsewhere as the Tonto formation, and 

so well developed in the Grand Canyon district, may be represented 

in western New Mexico in some of the massive indurated sandstones. 

In central New Mexico, in the Sandia, Caballos, and P*»n Andreas 

ranges, there is a massive quartzite 50 to 100 feet in thickness, the 

lower part of which is a conglomerate, but it is conformable with the 

overlying Carboniferous limestones. The quartzite member reposes 

upon the upturned edges of the Algonkian formations, indicating 

clearly that an enormous erosion interval separated the two. It would 

not be surprising if this erosion plane represents all except the latest 

Paleozoic sedimentation in other parts of the country. In some of 

the New Mexico mountain ranges this quartzite carries" important 

copper deposits.

It was once believed that the formations subjacent to the great Carboniferous limestone were the metamorphosed beds of the lower Paleozoic; but this hypothesis does not now seem to have foundation.

CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM.

The rocks of the Carboniferous system appear to be the only part of 

the great Paleozoic sequence that are represented in central New Mex-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. ORGAN MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO, SHOWING BREAK OFF OR CHANGE IN

TOPOGRAPHY.

B. VIEW SHOWING I-*"' JN OF CANAL LIME RUNN'ING ALONG SMALL 

RIDGES DIRECTLY BACK OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE
KEYES.] GEOLOOIC FORMATIONS. 21

ico. With the standard Carboniferous section for the American continent, as represented in the Mississippi Valley, the New Mexico 

sections do not as yet admit of detailed comparison.

The Carboniferous rocks of New Mexico are very important formations. They are found in most of the principal mountain ranges and 

in most localities they are important ore carriers. As guide 1 orizons 

they deserve the fullest consideration in the location of all mineral 

deposits.

Four important formations belonging to the Carboniferous- system 

have been clearly made out in the district under consideration. They 

are the lower Carboniferous, the middle Carboniferous, the upper Carboniferous, and the so-called Permo-Carboniferous. The three series 

of Coal Measures of the middle Carboniferous so enormously developed 

in the Mississippi Valley have not been differentiated in tha. West. 

They are, however, doubtless represented entirely by limestones.

The lowest series of the Carboniferous has been recognized in a number of localities. Among these places is one just outside of the area 

here mapped, in the vicinity of Lake Valley, which deserves special 

mention. Here has been found an extensive limestone series carrying 

a rich fauna identical with that of the lower Burlington limestone in 

Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. Professor Herrick has also reported a 

similar lower Carboniferous from the east side of the San Andreas 

Range.

The great limestone sheets which cap the principal mountain ranges 

in south-central New Mexico, and which form their back slopes, are of 

upper and middle Carboniferous age. Immediately beneath these 

limestones is usually found a white quartzite which often passes downward into a coarse conglomerate. The q uartzite with its coarse beds 

rests unconformably on the upturned edges of a metamorphi? series, 

as already stated.

The great limestones are easily distinguished from all others of the 

region by their black and blue to gray colors, their peculiar compact 

texture, and the abundant characteristic fossils which they contain. 

The thickness of the formation is from 300 to probably more than 

1,000 feet. They are everywhere massively bedded and some localities contain thick beds of very pure white limestone. In most of 

the principal mining districts the Carboniferous limestone carries 

important lead and silver deposits. The quartzite frequently carries 

copper.

In the Sandia Mountains, to the north of the district J^ere described, 

several subordinate formations have been differentiated. Tv<3 basal 

conglomerate and associated sandstones have been called the Sandia 

quartzite. The next member is a black limestone. According to 

the best available evidence derived from the contained fossils these 

beds correspond to the earlier Pennsylvanian of the Mississippi 

Valley.
22 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JORNADA BEL MUERTO, tf. HEX. [NO. 123.

The upper part of the great limestone formation the blue to gray 

beds contains an abundant fauna that clearly points to late Pennsylvanian age. In the Sandia Mountains this formation is called the 

"Madera" limestone. It forms by far the most important portion of 

the Carboniferous in all of the mountain ranges mentioned.

Above the great blue limestones of the Carboniferous there is an 

important sandstone, and then a sequence of shales and sandstones conspicuous for their remarkable red coloration. "Bed Beds," they are 

generally called. These "Eed Beds'1 are followed by ofher red beds 

scarcely distinguishable lithologically. The latter are believed to 

belong not to the Carboniferous, but to the Jurassic-Triassic.

The so-called Permo-Carboniferous red beds are founc1 everywhere 

at the foot of the back slopes of the central New Mexico ranges. They 

are 200 to 1,000 feet thick, and often form a conspicuous1 feature.

In the Sandia Mountains the lower sandstone is called the '' Coyote " 

sandstone, from Coyote Springs. There is an upper shaly member 

representing the Cimarron.

JURASSIC-TRIASSIC SYSTEMS.

There appears to be but small doubt that the upper part of the great 

formation long called the "Red Beds" belongs to a b.ter geologic 

age than the Carboniferous, and the portion which occurs in New 

Mexico appears to be that termed in Kansas the Cimarron formation.

In New Mexico these beds are largely developed in the northeastern 

part in Cimarron, Canadian, and Pecos valleys, and in the central 

part in the Eio Grande Valley. The thickness probably is not greatly 

in excess of 500 feet.

CRETACEOUS SYSTEM.

The formations of Cretaceous age are the most extensive surface 

rocks in New Mexico, as they probably cover more than one-half of 

the whole area. Both the upper and lower Cretaceous sediments are 

well represented, but the serial sequence has not yet been definitely 

made out. The Jornada is everywhere immediately underlain by 

these rocks and they are the principal water carriers. In Canadian 

and Pecos valleys, particularly around the western and northern 

borders of the Llano Estacado, a remarkable sequence of sands, 

chalky rocks, and clays lies above the "Red Beds." These strata, 

comprising the Trinity sands, Fredericksburg limestone, and Washita 

sands, are thought not to be present in the district here described, and 

the Cretaceous begins with a formation believed to be the Dakota 

sandstone. This formation is at least 300 feet in thickness in this 

region and its basal sandstone is one of the chief water reservoirs. 

While not generally recognized, except in northeastern New Mexico,
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 123 PL. VII

A, INTERNATIONAL RESERVOIR SITE. 2J MILES ABOVE INTERNATIONAL

DAM SITE.

B. RIVER BED AT INTERNATIONAL RESERVOIR SITE. 

View taken from big bend in river.
KEYES.] GEOLOGIC FOEMATIONS. 23

it is probable that the Dakota is widely distributed and is to be found 

a short distance above the ; 'Red Beds. 11

Although clearly differentiated in northeastern New Mexico in 

particular, the Colorado formation is not so well defined to the southward. It comprises, chiefly, shales with numerous bands of limestone 

and several thick sandstones.

Attaining a development of 1,500 feet in northeastern New Mexico, 

the Montana shales will doubtless be found to be well represented 

elsewhere in the Territory. Certain beds in the Jornada district are 

thought to be the equivalents of this formation. The shales are mostly 

gray and drab, becoming yellowish above and blackish below.

In New Mexico the beds generally referred to the Laramie formation are about 2,000 feet in thickness. The rocks are chiefly gray 

sandstones and shales, with numerous beds of coal. Most of the Cretaceous of the region between the San Andreas and Caballos ranges 

seems to belong to this age.

TERTIARY AND QUATERNARY SYSTEMS.

Eocene. None of the sediments of the Jornada are as yet known to 

belong to the Eocene. In the bordering region of the Ric Grande 

Valley, however, there are large areas of gray shales and cla}Ts, reaching a maximum thickness of over 800 feet, which have been referred 

to the early Tertiary and are called the Puerco formation. A large 

vertebrate fauna has been obtained from them.

Later Tertiary. The later Tertiary beds are widely distributed over 

the plateau region. In eastern New Mexico the Llano Estacado formation, over 100 feet in thickness, appears to belong to this age. A considerable part of the sands and clay deposits underlying tho bolsons 

doubtless belongs to the Tertiary, though as yet they have not been 

differentiated from the other unconsolidated deposits.

Quaternary. To this age belong such beds as the bolson gravels, 

the arroyo gravels, alluvium, and many deposits of talus wasK besides 

some lake deposits.

The unconsolidated gravels and other surface deposits covering the 

plain of the Jornada del Muerto are probably in great par4! of comparatively recent origin. This opinion is based on the belief that the 

beveled plain itself is of Tertiary age, and that consequently the present topographic features are of recent date. The rock waste brought 

down from the mountain slopes and carried out into the plain is of 

comparatively recent origin and its deposition is still in progress. 

Apparently during Tertiary time the relief was less marked than at 

present, and if any deposits were spread on the plain at that time they 

were at best very meager.

The present unconsolidated surface deposits are of diverse origin. 

For the most part they are river deposits. Some are wind borne. A
24 GEOLOGY, ETC., OFJORNADA DEL MZTERTO, N. MEX. [NO. 123.

few of very limited extent may be lake deposits, but of this there is 

no direct evidence in the Jornada, though in other basins there is 

ample evidence of extensive lake beds. There are some irregular 

beds which may be the fine, light debris known as volcanic ash, 

derived from some of the many volcanic outbursts in the region in 

later geologic time. These superficial deposits do not appear to have 

near the enormous thicknesses that have been ascribed to them, but 

in places they are several hundred feet thick.

Most of the basaltic lava flows of the region doubtless belong to the 

Quaternary period.

ERUPTIVE ROCKS.

The eruptive rocks of the region are of three kinds. The most noteworthy are the surface flows of black basalt, which often cover many 

square miles. The great sheet which begins immediately south of San 

Marcial is perhaps the most extensive. It is of very late origin and 

lies on several hundred feet of soft materials. In the Rio Grande 

bluffs at San Marcial the lava capping is now 300 feet above the river. 

The bluffs at this point are nearly perpendicular and form a striking 

feature in the topography. This lava flow probably at one time 

dammed the river temporarily. Above the town terraces extend on 

either side of the river for many miles and gradually approach the 

water level in passing upstream.

Similar outflows from low volcanic cones occur at the northern end 

of the Jornada northwest of Ojo Chupadera. West of Engle station 

there are six or more low volcanic hills, none of them over 300 feet 

high, from which basalt flows extend for a distance of several miles. 

One cone 6 miles southwest of Engle appears to be the most important, 

as from it a broad tongue of lava extends a distance of 12 miles or 

more in a northwestward direction. This tongue is cut near its distal 

extremity by the deep Mescal Canyon. Four of these cones appear to 

be in a line running northeast and southwest. The rest ar? 5 to 6 miles 

apart.

Toward the north end of the line of volcanic cones there is one from 

which a broad sheet of lava extends into the Rio Grande Valley. Erosion has deeply dissected the river bluffs and has in several places 

isolated small areas of the original lava sheet which no^r form flattopped hills rising several hundred feet above the stream. One of 

these isolated, lava-capped hills is widely known as Elephant Butte. .

In the southern part of the plain, south of Afton, on the Southern 

Pacific Railroad, are similar lava flows covering many square miles of 

surface.

South of the Elephant Butte region the country is traversed by 

numerous basic dikes which are traceable for miles. So far as can he
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 123 PL. VIII

Las Graces sheet 19OO 1_______2_______3______ 4

t i i 

Contour interval 25 and 50 feet 

19O4

5 miles
KEYES.] GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE. 25

ascertained these dikes do not materially affect the water conditions, 

at least, so far as obtaining ample water supplies from shallow wells. 

In some situations springs issue from the strata in the vicinity of the 

dikes.

Of much older date are the trachytic and rhyolitic masses constituting the mountains near the point where the Rio Grande enters the 

Jornada. The San Diego Mountains and the Dona Ana Hills are all 

of this class. They rise abruptly out of the nearly level plain and 

form conspicuous features of the landscape.

On the northern rim of the Jornada near Ojo Chupadera the rocks 

are traversed by numerous nearly parallel dikes of trachyte. These 

dikes are 200 to 300 feet wide, trend northeast and southwest, are 2 to 

4 miles apart, and are traceable for miles across the country. In the 

vicinity of the dikes the rocks have been considerably disturbed, and 

at some localities the plane of intrusion appears to be a fault, as narrow belts of Carboniferous limestone are brought up into contact with 

Cretaceous sandstone.

STRUCTURE.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.

In its general structure the Jornada bolson is a section of a peneplain part of a vast Tertiary grade plain formed on the beveled 

edges of Mesozoic and Paleozoic strata (fig. 3). Through comparatively recent deformation the boundaries of the present bolson have 

been denned by locally intensified mountain uplift.

_, 4OO feet

FIG. 3. Mescal Cone resting on Cretaceous sandstones.

While in a general way the bolson under consideration is a broad, 

very shallow valley, and while with its rim abruptly upturned it has 

the appearance of a simple syncline, it is a district in which the synclinal structure has been developed at different times and under somewhat different conditions.

All the mountain ranges of central New Mexico may be corsidered 

as simple monoclinal blocks, so tilted as to present one steep side and 

an opposite side of more gentle slope. The crest and back slope of 

the different ranges consist chiefly of blue Carboniferous limestones. 

These limestones on the rim of the basin attain a thickness of over 

1,000 feet, and are underlain by granites and gneiss.
26 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JOKNADA DEL MTJERTO, N. MEX. [NO. 123.

In general structure, the ranges adjoining the great holson plain of 

the Jornada del Muerto are of the characteristic mountain type known 

as the Basin Range structure. This feature is best illustrated by tig. 

 4, which is a cross section in an east-west direction transversely to 

the long axis of the bolson and embraces the mountain ranges on either 

side.

Sacramento Mts.

,. _ . Sierra San Andreas Sierra De LosGaballos

FIG. 4. Basin Range structure of the Jornada.

In the various parallel bolsons and valleys which trend north and 

south through the high plateau region of New Mexico, the abrupt 

fault scarps on the sides face each other in some instances, while in 

others the longitudinal valleys are bounded by the long back slopes, 

giving the appearance of true synclines. The Jornada belongs in the 

main to the last-mentioned type. East of the Jornadr, is the great 

Jarilla bolson, a similar plain 150 miles long and 50 to 90 miles wide 

presenting opposed fault scarps on its longitudinal borders. To .the 

west of the Joruada lies the Rio Grande Valley, which is similarly 

constructed, though now owing to the enormous erosior by the great 

stream the original plain effects are nearly obliterated. The general 

relations of the mountain blocks are more clearly represented in the 

cross sections in PI. II. Near the mountains, especially on the west 

side of the plain, is a belt 3 to 4 miles wide, where the surface is 

trenched by intricately ramifying canyons, often several hundred feet 

deep, in which the formations are extensively exposed.

While the general slope of the plain toward the center is only 2° to 

3°, the dips of the strata are often as high as 30-' in the same direction, 

and in places they are vertical. On the beveled edges of the steeply 

inclined beds the plain gravels are laid down, and also broad sheets of 

basaltic lava, the latter spreading out from numerous low cones (see 

fig. 3).

The general synclinal character of the bolson holds good for only 

part of the Jornada. At its northern end the synclinal feature is 

completely lost. A monoclinal structure is present steep on the 

western rim of the basin, but soon flattening out to nearly a dead level 

eastward to the foot of the Sierra Oscura, where there is a fault of 

3,000 feet.

STRUCTURAL RELATIONS OF THE FORMATIONS.

The rini of the Jornada basin consists of limestones of Pennsylvanian 

age, which in the center of the synclinal trough lie beneath the sur-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 123 PL. IX

A. ORGAN MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO, SHOWING A PORTION OF THE 

MOUNTAINS.

B. NATURAL DIKE NEAR ELEPHANT BUTTE.
KEYES.] GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE. 2

face at a depth of more than 2,000 feet. Under these limestones are 

the crystalline schists and gneisses with intrusive granites. The formations to be considered with respect to the underground water conditions are those lying above the Carboniferous limestones and the 

overlying "Bed Beds." These are the Cretaceous sandstones end the 

mantle of porous, unconsolidated deposits which everywhere cover 

the country occupied by this plain.

These several geologic terranes, embracing all between the basal 

crystallines and the loose surface deposits, recline upon one another 

without discordance in dip. It is possible that marked unconformities 

exist locally between some of the sedimentary rocks, but as yet no 

evidence of the existence of these conditions has been found.

DESCRIPTION OF CROSS SECTIONS.

The geologic cross sections of the Jornada are especially instructive 

in their direct bearing on the underground water conditions. Three 

of these cross sections (PL II) suffice to represent the general conditions. These are called the northern, middle, and southern cross sections, and their locations are indicated on the geologic map (PL I), 

although their extremities extend somewhat beyond the area shown 

on this map. Each of the cross sections is about 50 miles long. The 

vertical scale in feet is given at the side of the drawing, as are also the 

heights above sea level.

Northern cross section. The northern section (section A-A on PL 

II), which may be called also the Socorro cross section, extends from 

the San Augustine Plains west of the Magdalena Mountains, through 

the old Socorro Volcano and the high range of hills on the east side 

of the Bio Grancle, to beyond the Sierra Oscura. The Jornp.da lies 

between the last-mentioned range and the high hills bordering the Bio 

Grande on the east.

In this part of its extent the substructure of the Jornada plain is a 

monocline abutting against the* Oscura Mountains. The latter rise 

abruptly out of the plain and for more than three-fourths of their 

height present crystalline rocks in the face of the escarpment they 

form.

Middle cross section. The middle section (section B-B, PL II) may 

be called the Palomas section, since the famous Palomas Canyon which 

bisects the Sierra de los Caballos is in its line. This is the most typical 

cross section of the Jornada plain. It shows a simple synclinal structure, with profound faults on the opposite sides of the marginal mountain ranges in either direction.

On the Bio Grande side of the Caballos Bange repeated faulting is 

indicated the river occupying the minor fault block next to tho great 

fault block of the main mountain ridge.
28 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JORNADA DEL MUERTO, K. MEX. [NO. 123.

The highest part of the Caballos Range exhibits very clearly the 

evidences of a profound thrust plane, the geologic age of which greatly 

antedates the period of normal block faulting which gives the present 

characteristic aspect to the region. The Carboniferous limestones 

for three-fourths of the distance to the summit of the range stand 

nearly vertical. Erosion has beveled the edges of the upturned beds 

at angles of about 35° the slope of the eastern side of range. This 

gives an appearance of great irregularity to the rocks, except at the 

top of the mountain, where horizontal beds cap the summit. The 

appearance is almost inexplicable until the existence of the fault thrust 

is recognized.

Immediately east of the western rim of the bolson and between the 

Sierra de los Caballos and Sierra Fra Cristobal are small lava cones 300 

to 400 feet high, each of which has sent out a basaltic flow for several 

miles in all directions. These flows appear to cover some of the 

earlier mesa gravels, and they are probably early Pleistocene in age.

The gentle syncline of the Jornada is, perhaps, its n ost characteristic structural feature. It is to be noted, however, that this region 

is not a simple trough, but a syncline which has experienced repeated, 

or rather continued, upturning of its margins while the process of 

general base-leveling was going on.

In the San Andreas Range there is found a simple monoclinal block 

with profound faulting on the eastern flank of the range. From the 

foot another broad bolson plain extends to the lofty Sierra Blanca.

/Southern cross section. The Las Cruces section (PI. II, section 

C-C) presents a number of features not displayed in the other two 

sections here mentioned. The Jornada continues to be a synclinal 

trough, but the Rio Grande has cut across the disturbed zone of the 

western rim and traverses the great bolson itself.

The Organ group of mountains, which forms a part of the eastern 

rim of the Jornada basin, is a mass of old crystalline recks which, on 

account of special local conditions, has been thrust upw&rd much more 

than any other part of the plain's periphery, and has been completely 

denuded of the sedimentary rocks, except at the very base of the 

range. Rising abruptly out of the plain half way between the Organ 

Mountains and the Rio Grande is Tortugas Hill, a small tilted limestone block.

SOME MINOR STRUCTURAL FEATURES.

The region to which this report relates exhibits mi.ny details of 

structure that probably are of sufficient interest to merit special notice 

here. Among the phenomena of this kind to be mentioned are faulting, jointing, folding, and fissuring. Most of the features are in the 

rim of the basin, and on the east slope of the Sierra de los Caballos 

are exemplifications of many interesting structural details.
KEYES.] GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE. 29

Reversed faulting. There is abundant evidence that while the present mountain uplifts are the products of normal faulting, this region 

has been subjected to some tangential pressure, causing overthrust 

faults. These occurred long after Carboniferous time, because they 

involve rocks of that age. Possibly some of the main lines of uplift 

of the present mountain ranges were initiated by the lines of weakness 

marked by the thrust planes.

In the Sierra de los Caballos the phenomena of reversed faulting 

are exceptionally well displayed. The east slope of the range presents 

some excellent examples on a small scale. One in which the th row is 

only 50 feet is represented in fig. 5.

FIG. 5. Small reversed fault in western rim of Jornada.

On the other hand, the immense thrust plane under the Caballos cone 

represent a movement of one or more miles. It is clearly exposed, 

with relations shown in fig. 6.

500feet

FIG. 6. Caballos Peak and thrust plane.

The tremendous effects of the tangential pressure of this period are 

further indicated in Las Palomas Canyon, where the strata are greatly 

corrugated and folded.

Normal faulting. The normal faults are of two series, of which 

the major produced the present monoclinal blocks forming tl Q. east
30 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JOROSTADA DEL MUERTO, N. MEX. [NO. 123.

and west sides of the great basin. These have a throw of about 4,000 

feet, and give the Basin Range structure to the region.

A minor series of normal faults trends at right angles to the axes of 

the mountain ranges. They were produced probably ir the warping 

of the great limestone masses which form the main portions of the

^ZOO feet

FIG. 7. Normal faulting at Napoleon mine.

mountains. That some of these transverse faults, even those of comparatively small throw, aft'ect great thicknesses of rock is shown by 

the fact that some of them are associated with true fissure veins of 

lead and copper ores. A cross section at the Napoleon mine is given 

in fig. 7.

FIG. 8. Normal faulting at El Capitan mine.

Another good illustration is at El Capitan mine, which is opened 

near the base of the unaltered sedimentary sequence, one side of the 

tunnel being the limestone and the other the crystalline complex 

(see fig. 8).
KEYES.] GEOLOGIC STKUOTURE. 31

Another feature of faulting is associated with the basic dikes which 

extend for miles across the country east of the Caballos Range and near 

the volcanic cones already mentioned. In some cases the dikes do not 

appear to have disturbed the sandstones in which they occur, but 

simply spread apart the two walls. A good example is shown in 

Mescal Canyon, below the spring of the same name. This is represented in tig. 9.

25 feet 

FIG. 9. Basic dike in Cretaceous sandstone.

There are often springs issuing from the base of the canyor walls 

in the immediate vicinity of dikes of this description. It may V*. that 

the dikes act as dams for the underground waters and serve to pond 

them. On the other hand, some of these dikes greatly disturb the 

sandstones for a distance of several hundred feet. This is bes* illustrated by fig. 1U.

FIG. 10. Basic dike disturbing level sandstones.

Still more prominent are some of the dikes on the northern border 

of the Jornada, east of the Ojo Ohupadera. The relationships of the 

rocks are shown in fig. 11.

A similar dike is shown in PI. IV, J., page 16. It cuts and upturns 

the Carboniferous limestones; but between the time of its intrusion 

and that of the deposition of the Cretaceous sandstones the whole 

region was elevated and beveled off.
32 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JORNADA DEL MUERTO, N. MEX. [NO. 123.

In these cases the direct influence of the dikes in tl 3 local water 

storage underground is traceable. At various points springs issue 

from near the line of contact of the dike rock and sandstones. This

PIG. 11. Acidic dike in Carboniferous limestones.

is especially noticeable wherever the rocks are slightly tilted. Reference will again be made to these various features in their bearings 

upon the local water supply.

UNDERGROUND WATERS.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

It will be seen from the foregoing description of the geologic relations that the Jornada del Muerto is underlain by extensive deposits 

of permeable materials. As the greater part of the rainfall sinks into 

these deposits, it is certain that they contain waters which are available for wells of greater or less depth. The appearance of a waterless 

waste which this plain presents loses much of its discouraging aspect 

to the settler when the real conditions are presented.

The peculiarities in geologic structure, composition and arrangement of materials, and climatic conditions of the Jornads, are similar to 

those of the other bolson plains of the region, including western Texas. 

The observations of Hill 05 on the Texan area are so directly applicable 

to the area under consideration that several paragraphs are here 

quoted. He says:

The influence of structure and imbibition is shown in the basin plains. Although 

unconsolidated, the rocks of the basin plains are alternations of porous and impervious beds, and hence are valuable artesian areas; by experimentation in boring in 

properly selected sites considerable water may be obtained. Nonfl owing wells have

a Hill, R. T., Final Rept. Artesian and Underflow Investigation, U. 8. Dept. Agric., pt. 8, 1892, p. 54.
KEYES.] UNDERGROUND WATEES. 33

been secured in many of the most unpromising plains, even in Death Valley; as 

furnishing water for stock, these wells are very important.

The geologic age of strata is of secondary importance in determining the occurrence of underground water. Approximately the same amount of rain falls upon a 

great diversity of country, some of which contains great stores of water, while other 

parts are entirely lacking in this essential. For instance, the mountains of the transPecos region are mostly composed of hard, impervious rocks compact limestones, 

quartzites, and eruptive rocks. Less than 1 per cent of the rain falling upon these 

rocks is absorbed, except such as finds its way into the structure by cracks and fissures or along lines of contact. As a result of this condition the water after every 

shower quickly flows down the slopes to the extensive flats which occupy the valleys 

between the mountain ranges. These flats, as well as the entire surface of the Llano 

Estacado, have a structure entirely different from the adjacent mountains, and are 

for the most part composed of loose, porous sands and gravels, so that every drop of 

rain that touches their surface is immediately absorbed and does not f ow off in 

streams. This explains the utter absence of running water on the surface of these 

flats and its abundance stored in the structure beneath. Not only does this basin 

and plain formation imbibe all the rain which falls upon its surface, but the great 

torrents which pour down the mountain sides and canyons disappear immediately 

upon reaching the plain, being imbibed by its porous structure. The constant 

streams also which flow from the snow-clad peaks or mountain springs, such as the 

Seven Rivers, the Tularosa, and the numerous lost rivers of New Mexico ?nd Texas, 

quickly disappear upon reaching the plain.

After the rain ceased an observer would be impressed by the fact that the'representative rocks of the different areas exhibited capacities different not only for imbibing water, but also for transmitting it through their structure by percohtion, and 

those rocks which imbibe the least water, like the limestones, porphyries, and quartzites of the Organ, the Guadalupe, and other trans-Pecos mountains, most slowly 

transmitted it, so that for days, perhaps months, springs and seeps flow from the 

crevices and contact plains of the high mountain slopes, keeping alive delicate ferns 

and rare plants. On the surface of the Llano, except where slight quantities of clay 

are mixed with sandy loam, in an hour or two there remains little evidence in the 

dry surface that a shower has fallen, the water having quickly penetrated to the 

depths beneath.

AREAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE WATER-BEARING BEDS.

By reference to the geologic map (PL I) the areal distribution of 

the several geologic formations will be seen. The greater part of 

the area is underlain by Cretaceous sandstone, which occupies the 

middle portion of the Jornada, probably four-fifths of the plains, and 

is more than 25 miles wide in places. On either side is a belt a mile 

or two broad of 4 ' Red Beds," chiefly impervious clays. Then come the 

Carboniferous limestones, forming the rim of the basin in a belt about 

6 miles wide. Except in the Sierra Oscura and the Organ Mountains, 

the crystalline rocks are exposed on the bolson side of the are*?,.

These various belts of formations extend in nearly parallel strips 

along nearly the entire length of the Jornada del Muerto district. 

Their proper recognition is necessary for an understanding of the 

hydrologic conditions to be expected in any particular part of the basin. 

This is especially true of the marginal portions of the area. 

IEE 123 05 3
34 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JOKNADA DEL MUEKTO, N. HEX. [NO. 123. 

AREA OF WATER SUPPLY.

The most important feature to be taken into consideration in connection with the area of possible water supply is the fact that the collecting ground is not confined to the marginal niourtains, as in 

many other regions, but the bolson imbibes all the water falling upon 

the surface. The underground reservoirs may be at different geologic horizons and at different depths from the surface, 1 'it, with the 

exception of a comparatively small amount of water which finds its 

way into the Rio Grande, all the rain finds lodgment in some part of 

the several porous formations.

As most of the mountain rock is hard and impervious, much of the 

rains run off the mountain slopes in torrents, which, as they spread out 

over the plain, are soon imbibed by the unconsolidated surface deposits. The arroyos of the Caballos Mountains carry streams 10 feet deep 

in time of heavy rainfall, flowing with terrific force and carrying away 

nearly all of the water, which is shed completely by the hiM'd rocks on 

the mountain slopes. In the San Andreas Range these torrential waters 

are being stored for irrigation purposes in the adjacent plain below.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS AFFECTING WATER SUPPLY.

As the Jornada is within the semiarid belt it presents cbaracteristics 

not found in more humid regions. The total annual rairfall is about 

12 inches, though in the mountainous rim, which rises 3,000 feet above 

the plain, the precipitation probably exceeds 15 inches a year.

The precipitation is mainly rain, but occasionally is in the form of 

snow, which covers the ground to a depth of 2 to 3 inches, but disappears in a few hours. Most of the rain falls during th^ months of 

July and August. Evaporation amounts to about 90 incl Q-s annually, 

and is facilitated by the dry air, high winds, and scant vegetation.

PERMEABLE STRATA.

One of the geologic peculiarities in the Jornada del Muerto is that 

it is in greater part overlain by unconsolidated porous deposits. These 

are the loose bolson gravels and sands which cover the underlying formations to considerable depth. Under fully two-thirds of the entire 

area of the plain the Cretaceous sandstones lie immediately beneath 

these bolson surface deposits. The next porous stratum is in the basal 

portion of the beds, where immediately above the Carboniferous limestones there often are beds of coarse sandstone.

There are, then, three distinct formations which permit the underground circulation of water. As these permeable formations extend 

throughout the whole Jornada, except a narrow belt around the mountainous rim, it is easy to understand the reason for the phenomenon of
XEYES.] UNDERGROUND WATERS. 35

a basin containing nearly 10,000 square miles, with an annual rainfall 

of 10 to 12 inches, yet having a total absence of running streams. 

Aside from the portion of rainfall which is evaporated, the V7hole of 

the annual precipitation is imbibed by the spongy surface formation, 

and percolates downward until it encounters some clayey layer or other 

impervious stratum.

WATER HORIZONS.

The water horizons in the three formations above described are as 

follows: (1) At the base of the bolson gravels, (2) at the base of the 

Cretaceous sandstones, and, locally, (3) at the base of the "Red Beds. 1 ' 

These are the horizons from which artesian flows are most likely to be 

obtained. There are, however, other minor horizons in the bolson 

gravels and sands and Cretaceous sandstones, to which wells may be 

sunk to secure ample water supplies.

The depth to which it is necessary to bore in order to reach the base 

of the bolson gravels and sands, which form the first of the principal 

artesian horizons, varies greatly. The thickness of these gravels has 

manifestly been greatly overestimated, as all recent data indicate that 

they probably nowhere exceed a thickness of about 16(0 feet.

Shumard,® one of the pioneer scientists, who traversed the Jornada 

in 1856, makes the following statement:

Wherever examined, the surface formation was found to consisi of detritus of rock 

debris, in all respects the same as those composing the neighboring mountains from 

which it was doubtless mainly derived. The precise thickness of this deposit could 

not be very accurately determined, as only a few natural sections were observed and 

these only near the base of the mountains. In two localities its observed thickness 

was nearly 500 feet.

Geologically speaking, the Jornada del Muerto may be considered as notl ing more 

than a single trough composed mostly of limestones, sandstones, and shales, and 

covered to the depth of 500 or 600 feet with loose detritus.

There is no place along the Jornada in which there is a section of 

bolson gravels showing any very great thickness. A^ these gravels 

slope down from the marginal mountains, the first inference would 

naturally be that the incline was produced b^y tilling up by the gravels 

on a level plain. This is not the case, for the gravels [lie on a sloping 

surface and their thickness is not great along the slopes, as night at 

first glance be expected.

Waters from wells sunk in the Cretaceous sandstones are especially 

satisfactory. Most of the waters of the Jornada del Muerto now in 

use are u hard," as they often contain relatively large amounts of lime 

in the form of the carbonate and the sulphate, but the actual amounts 

of these compounds is surprising^ small when the source of the water 

is considered.

a Shumard, G. G., Structure of the Jornada del Muerto: Trails. St. Louis Acad. Sci., vol. 1,1858, p. 341.
36 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JORNADA DEL MUERTO, N. I'EX. [NO. 123.

Some analyses of waters from an adjoining bolson, the Estancia 

plain, which presents almost identical geologic conditions, illustrate 

the point. These results of analyses are introduced for the reason 

that they represent even more extreme conditions than those in the 

Jornada. The' analyses were made by Prof. F. C. Lincoln, of the 

New Mexico School of Mines.

Chemical analysis of well water at Stanley, N. Mex.

[In grains per United States gallon.] 

Probable compounds:

Organic and volatile matter............ .............................. 3.644

Silica............................................................... 6.892

Alumina and ferric oxide ............................................ 4.555

Calcium carbonate................................................... 4.163

Calcium sulphate..--...--......-..-.-..-.---...-..---......----..-.. 1. 938

Calcium chloride.................................................... . 000

Magnesium carbonate..-.....--.-..--.....-.....----.....-......-.... 3. 052

Magnesium sulphate. _.__......_......__..............__...._........ . 000

Magnesium chloride................................................. . 000

Potassium carbonate................................................. .000

Potassium sulphate .................................................. 2.973

Potassium chloride.................................................. . 000

Sodium carbonate................................................... . 000

Sodium sulphate ............,.-.-.-...--.---.....-........-.....--.. 2. 708

Sodium chloride.......-..-.....--.--...----......-....-...-....--... 4.194

Total solids ...................................... ................ 34.119

Chemical analysis of water of spring-fed lake at Estancia, N. Mex.

[In grains per United States gallon.] 

Probable compounds:

Organic and volatile matter........................................... 2.125

Silica........................................ ...................... 1.682

Alumina (with ferric oxide) ........................................... . 666

Calcium carbonate................................................... 6.120

Calcium sulphate.................................................... 8. 332

Calcium chloride.................................................... . 000

Magnesium carbonate................................................ . 000

Magnesium sulphate....-.-...-.-.---.....--..-.............--....... . 000

Magnesium chloride ................................................. 4. 463

Potassium carbonate................................................. . 000

Potassium sulphate.................................................. 6.556

Potassi urn chloride ...--..-...--...-..----..-.----.............-.--.. . 000

Sodium carbonate ...-.----.......---......--.....-......---...-..--. . 000

Sodium sulphate.....-...-.....-..-.---..---...-.....---.-....-..-... . 000

, Sodium chloride..................................................... 2. 371

Total solids ....................................................... 32.315
KEYES.] UNDERGROUND WATERS. 37 

 WELLS OF THE JORNADA DEL MUERTO.

The wells of the region are of three classes, viz, shallow dug wells, 

deep drilled wells, and flowing wells.

The first important well in the Jornada del Muerto was sunk by 

John Martin in 1871. He dug a hole 160 feet deep in the middle of 

the plain and found a plentiful supply of good water. From that 

time onward Martin's ranch became the stopping place of every party 

crossing the then dreaded basin.

During the more than thirty years which have passed since the first 

well was dug a large number of wells have been sunk in nearly every 

part of the region. They rarely go down more than 50 to 75 feet, and 

the water is raised chiefly by windmills.

When the location is selected with consideration of topographic 

and geologic conditions, it is quite likely that there are but few spots 

in the Jornada which would not furnish adequate supplies of v^ater for 

all purposes to which the surrounding country is adapted. Most of 

the wells are now dug in the mesa gravels, but where they are in the 

Cretaceous sandstones there is apparently a larger flow, due probably 

to the more homogeneous texture and more uniform porosity of the 

formation.

It is probably unnecessary to mention in detail the various dug wells, 

as the}7 are so numerous and the phenomena presented are so much 

alike everywhere within the area. Practically nothing has b^en done 

to develop water supplies by means of deep wells, though the conditions appear favorable for abundant water from this source. The only 

serious attempt to sink a deep well within the limits of the Jornada 

appears to have been at a point a short distance northwest of Engle, a 

station on the main line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, on the high plain about halfway between San Marcial and Rincon. Engle is 300 feet above the first-named station and 700 feet above 

the second.

This well was drilled by the railroad company to a depth, as reported, 

of 1,200 feet. A good artesian flow was obtained, but the water was 

unfit for locomotives. The casing was withdrawn and the hole plugged 

at a depth of about 150 feet, where softer water is obtained. TMs water 

does not rise to the surface, but has to be pumped about 50 feet. The 

discharge goes into a large reservoir and is then piped to the station, 

about 2 miles distant. The present water supply appears to be obtained from the base of the mesa gravels. At a depth of 1,200 feet 

this boring probably failed to reach the base of the Cretaceous sandstones, the horizon in which artesian flows of good water may be 

expected.

A number of shallow wells are practically flowing wells. They have 

been dug near springs in some cases, and when properly curbed the
88 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF JORNADA DEL MUERTO, N. MEX. [NO. 128.

overflow is conducted through iron pipes farther down the valley. 

Such, for example, are some of the wells near the foot of the Caballos 

Range.

QUALITY OF THE UNDERGROUND WATERS.

In the arid regions the waters are so generally spoken of as "alkali 

waters" that many persons suppose that this character is the prevailing one. In most cases, however, the underground waters of such 

bolsons as the Jornada are often sufficiently good for domestic use. 

The so-called "'alkali," which often appears as a thin white coating 

in places where the water has evaporated, in most cases consists chiefly 

of common salt. Of the large number of well waters examined from 

the Jornada comparatively few were found to be unpalatable and, 

with a few exceptions, all were excellent for stock and for domestic 

purposes.

RESUME OF UNDERGROUND WATER PROSPECTS.

The geologic conditions of the Jornada indicate thr.t the most 

important water-bearing stratum lies at the base of the Cretaceous 

sandstone. How extensive this stratum is can only be determined by 

a few properly located drill wells; but all available data lately collected 

go to show that this water supply should be very considerable.

Since the trough of the basin pitches southward about 12 feet to 

the mile, it is questionable whether the artesian conditions extend 

beyond the southern half of the region. The deep well and a number 

of shallow wells in the sandstone near Engle indicate that artesian 

conditions exist at least that far north.

The dips in the synclinal trough of the Jornada are such that the 

main water-bearing stratum lies from 1,000 to 2,000 feet beneath the 

surface in the center of the valley, but rises rapidly on each side 

until at a distance of from 10 to 12 miles on either sid°s the water 

horizon reaches the surface under the gravels. The probp.ble distance 

that it is necessar}7 to drill in order to penetrate the principal water 

stratum may be thus estimated approximately. Moreover, there is 

another important and easily recognizable horizon which serves as a 

guide plane beyond which no one should go in his search for flowing 

water. The impervious "Red Beds" underlie the j^llov7 sandstones 

of Cretaceous age and effectually prevent water from sinking lower. 

This important fact should always be borne in mind in sinking deep 

wells, and it is also believed to be useless to seek for water in the 

"Red Beds." When the drill penetrates these beds sufficiently to 

establish their identity the boring should be abandoned.

There are also local condition^ that interfere with the artesian flow. 

Some of these obstructions have alreadj7 been considered at length, but 

they should be regarded as of but limited extent and wher met with a 

locality should not be condemned on account of a single fpilure.
KEYES.] UNDERGROUND WATERS. 39

The water-bearing stratum at the base of the mesa gravels is less 

clearly defined than that at the base of the Cretaceous sr.ndstone. 

It is not likely to furnish flowing wells except in a few favored localities. Its main value is in furnishing the water supply for shallow, 

dug wells. Another point to be taken into consideration in connection with the water horizon of the mesa gravels is that in many places 

impervious cla}^ separate the gravel beds. This brings important 

water-bearing levels much nearer the surface than would be ordinarily 

expected.

It is now a well-known fact that in the Mesilla Valley, where the 

Rio Grande traverses the Jornada plain, there is a vast underflow, 

from which water may be pumped in great volume for irrigation. 

As the Cretaceous sandstones rise near the surface in the Mesilla 

Valley, it is possible that a part of this underflow may be derived 

from the artesian stratum at the base of the Cretaceous sandstone, but 

it is here mainly in the Quaternary gravels filling the valley.

IRRIGATION.

Regarding the possibilities of the Jornada as a district for irrigation by well waters much might be written. It is possible that by 

systematic development many thousands of acres may be reclaimed 

for agricultural purposes. From artesian wells or even deep-drilled 

wells where pumping would have to be done, the outlook appears 

favorable for the irrigation possibilities. It is estimated that eventually at least one-tenth of the region should be brought under cultivation. The waters of the Rio Grande can be made available for the 

irrigation of large areas and the Elephant Butte reservoir at the end 

of the 'Sierra Fra Cristobal, now in contemplation, will bring an 

extensive portion of the flood plain under irrigation.

By the construction of reservoirs in the mountain am>3T os along the 

elevated margin of the plain, many local areas may be brought under 

cultivation. Some of these reservoirs have already been panned or 

are under construction. Their success will certainly encouirge many 

others to be built, and eventually a large strip of country bordering 

the mountain ranges, which at present is mostly used as grazing land, 

will thus be irrigated.
INDEX.

Afton, lava near............................

Algonkian rocks, occurrence and character of......................... 18-20

Alkali, occurrence of....................... -38

Archean rocks, 6ccurrence and character

of............................... 18-49

Basalt, occurrence and character of....... 14,24

Basin Range structure, figure showing..... 26

occurrence of........................... 26

Bokons, character of....................... 11

meaning of name of.................... 11 

underground water in.................. 32-39

Burlington limestone, c orrelation of....... 21

Burro Mountains, rocks of.................. 19

Caballos, Sierra de los, dikes near.......... 31

drainage of............................. 34

faults in................................ 28-29

figure showing..................... 29

location of.............................. 1(5

rocksof................................. 19

Canadian River, character of .............. 12

rocks on................................ 22

Canal, view of.............................. 20

Carboniferous rocks, dike in, figure showing ............................. 32

occurrence and character of........... 15,

18,20-22,25,33 

Cimarroii formation, occurrence of ........ 22

Cimarron River, rocks of................... 22

Chuar shales, occurrence of........ ....... 20

Chupadero, Arroyo, location of ............ 17

Chupaderb Mesa, location of............... 15,17

view of................................. 16

Colorado formation, occurrence and character of......................... 23

Colorado River, character of............... 12

Coyote sandstone, occurrence of ........... " 22

Cretaceous rocks, dike in, figure showing.. 31

occurrence and character of ........... 15,

18-19,22-23,27,33-34

Wells in.............................. 35,37-39

Dakota sandstone, occurrence and character of ........................... 22-23

Dikes, figures showing ..................... 31-32

occurrence of........................... 31-32

Dona Ana Hills, location of ................ 14,17

rocks of................................. 25

Drainage, character of .................. 14,17,35

El Capitan mine, faulting at, fignre showing ............................. 30

Elephant Butte, dike near, view of ........ 26

 dikes, near............................... 24-25

reservoir near .......................... 17,39

view of................................. 18

Engle station, volcanic cones near ......... 14,24

well near............................... 37-38

Eocene rocks, occurrence of................ 23

Erosion, progress of ..................... 14,16,24

Estancia, spring water at, analysis of ...... 36

Estancia bolson, location of................ 13,17

Faulting, figures showing.................. 29-30

occurrence and character of ........... 29-30

Fort Selden, view near.....................

Pra Cristobal, Sierra, location of ........... 16

Franklin Mountains, location of ........... 15,18

Fredericksburg limestone, occurrence of... 22 

Geologic column, figure showing........... 18

Geologic formations, classes of ............. 18

figure showing.......................... 18

occurrence and character of............ 18-25

permeability of......................... 34-35

Geologic structure of region................ 25-32

Geology of region .......................... 18-32

Grand Canyon district, rocks of ............ 20

Grand Canyon sandstone, occurrence of ... 20 

Herrick, C. L., on Carboniferous of New

Mexico ......................... 21

Hill, R. T., on bolsons ...................... 32-33

Igneous rocks, age of ...................... 19

occurrence and character of .. W, 16-19,24-25 

International reservoir site, views of....... 22

Irrigation, prospects for .................... 39

Jarilla bolson, location of .................. 26

Jornada del Muerto, age of................. 13

area of.................................. 35

character of ............................ 10

location of.............................. 9-10

map showing....................... 9

meaning of............................. 10

view in ................................. 14

Journey of Death. See Jornada del Muerto. 

Jurassie-Triassic rocks, occurrence of..... 22

Lake Valley, rocks of ...................... 21

Laramie formation, occurrence and character of ........................... 23

Lava, occurrence of ........................ 16-17

Lincoln, F. C., analyses by................. 36

Llano Estacado, area of.................... 12

Llano Estacado formation, occurrence of.. 23 

Madera limestone, occurrence of........... 22

Magdalena, Cerro, location of.............. 16

Map, geologic, of region.................... 10

Martin, John, well sunk by ................ 11,37

Mescal Canyon, dike in, figure showing ... 31 

location and character of .............. 16

Mescal Cone, section of, figure showing.... 25

Mesilla Valley, location and character of. 13,

15,17

41
42 INDEX.

Page. 

Mesilla Valley, underground water in...... 39

Mogollon Mountains, rocks of.............. 19

Montana shales, occurrence and character

of............................... 23

Moiitosa, Oerro, location of................. 16

Muleros, Sierra de los, location of.......... 18

Napoleon mine, faulting at, figure showing. 30 

New Mexico, geologic formations of....... 18

New Mexico plateau region, character and

h istory of....................... 11-13

Ojo Chupadero, rocks near................. 25

Organ Mountains, cliffs of, view of ........ 14

location of.............................. 15

rocks of................................. 28

views of............................. 14,10,26

Oscura Range, location of.................. 15

Paleozoic rocks, occurrence and character

of............................... 18,20

Palomas Canyon, location and character of. 16 

Pecos River, character of................... 12

rocks on................................ 22

Pefla Blanca, location and character of.... 15

view of................................. 14

Penasco Rock, view of..................... 16

Pennsylvanian rocks, occurrence of.... 21,26-27

Puerco formation, occurrence and character of ........................... 23

Quaternary rocks, occurrence and character of ........................ 18, 23-24

Rainfall, amount of ........................ 34

Red Beds, occurrence of ................ 22,33,38

Reservoirs, storage, construction of ........ 39

Rbyolite, occurrence of .................... 25

Rio Grande, bolsons near .................. 12-13

character of ......................... 12-13,18

course of................................ 17

irrigation from......................... 39

reservoir site on, views of.............. 22

Page. 

Rio Grande, valley of, character of......... 26

Roblero, Cerro, location of ................. 14,17

San Andreas Range, location of............ 15

rocks of ............................. 20-21,28

water of ................................ 34

San Diego Mountains, location of.......... 14,17

rocks of................................. 25

San Marcial, rocks at....................... 24

Sandia Mountains, rocks of ................ 20-22

Sangre de Cristo ranges, rocks of........... 19

Sections, geologic, descriptions of.......... 27-28

plate showing.......................... 12

Shumard, G. G., on Jornada del Muerto .... 35

Soledad Canyon, view of................... 18

Springs, occurrence of...................... 31

Stanley, well water at, analysis of ......... 36

Structure of region......................... 25-32

Tertiary rocks, occurrence and1 character

of............................ 18-20,24

Tonto formation, occurrence and character of ........................... 20

Topography of region ...................... 13-18

Trachite, occurrence o£ .................... 25

/Trinity sands, occurrence of ............... 22

Unconformities, occurrence of ............. 19

Vishnu quartzite, occurrence o f ............ 20

Volcanic cones, location of.............. 14,18,28

Wallace, S. E., on Jornada del Muerto ..... 10

Washita sands, occurrence of .............. 22

Water, underground, analyses of........... 36

depth to................................ 35,38

extent of ............................... 34

horizons of ....................... 34-35,38-39

occurrence of........................ 11,32-39

suppl y of, local obstruction s to......... 38-39

Wells, classes of ............................ 37

sinking of........................... 11,37-38

water of, quality of..................... 38

o
PUBLICATIONS OF UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

[Water-Supply Paper No. 123.]

The serial publications of the United States Geological Survey consist of (1) Annual 

Reports, (2) Monographs, (3) Professional Papers, (4) Bulletins, (5) Mineral 

Resources, (6) Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas of the 

United States folios and separate sheets thereof, (8) Geologic Atlas of the United 

States folios thereof. The classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 are sold at cost of publication; the others 'are distributed free. A circular giving complete lists imy be had 

on application.

Most of the above publications may be obtained or consulted in the following 

ways:

1. A limited number are delivered to the Director of the Survey, from whom they 

may be obtained, free of charge (except classes 2, 7, and 8), on application.

2. A certain number are allotted to every member of Congress, from whom they 

may be obtained, free of charge, on application.

3. Other copies are deposited with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 

D. C., from whom they may be had at-prices slightly above cost.

4. Copies of all Government publications are furnished to the principal public 

libraries in the large cities throughout the United States, where they may be consulted by those interested.

The Professional Papers, Bulletins, and Water-Supply Papers treat of a variety of 

subjects, and the total number issued is large. They have therefore been classified 

into the following series: A, Economic geology; B, Descriptive geology; C, Systematic geology and paleontology; D, Petrography and mineralogy; E, Chemistry and 

physics; F, Geography; G, Miscellaneous; H, Forestry; I, Irrigation; J, TTater storage; K, Pumping water; L, Quality of water; M, General hydrographic investigations; N, Water power; O, Underground waters; P, Hydrographic progress reports. 

This paper is the sixty-sixth in Series B, and the thirty-sixth in Seres O, the 

complete lists of which follow (PP=Professional Paper; B=Bulletin; WS=WaterSupply Paper):

SERIES B, DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY.

B 23. Observations on the junction between the Eastern sandstone and the Keweenaw series on

Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, by R. D. Irving and T. C. Chamberlin. 1£«5. 124 pp.,

17 pis.

B 33. Notes on geology of northern California, by J. S. Diller* 1*86. 23pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 39. The upper beaches and deltas of Glacial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Upham. 1887. 84 pp., 1 pi.

(Out of stock.) 

B 40. Changes in river courses in Washington Territory due to glaciation, by Bailey Willis. 1887.

10 pp., 4 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 45. The present condition of knowledge of the geology of Texas, by R. T. Hill. 1887. 94 pp. (Out

of stock.)

B 53. The geology of Nantucket, by N. S. Shaler. 1889. 55 pp., 10 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 57. A geological reconnaissance in southwestern Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1890. 49 pp , 2 pis. 

B 58. The glacial boundary in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and, Illinois, by G. P.

Wnght, with introduction by T. C. Chamberlin. 1890. 112 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 67. The relations of the traps of the Newark system in the NeW Jersey region, by IT. H. Darton.

1890. 82 pp. (Out of stoc k.)

B 104. Glaciation of the Yellowstone Valley north of the Park, by W. H. Weed. 1893. 41 pp., 4 pis. 

B 108. A geological reconnaissance in central Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1893. 10? pp., 12 pis.

(Out of stock.)

I
II ADVERTISEMENT.

B 119. A geological reconnaissance in northwest Wyoming, by G. H. Eldridge. 1891 72 pp., 4 pis. 

B 137. The geology of the Port Riley Military Reservation and vicinity, Kansas, by Robert Hay.

1896. 35 pp., 8 pis. 

B 144. The moraines of the Missouri Coteaii and their attendant deposits, by J. E. Todd. 1896. 71

pp., 21 pis. 

B 158. The moraines of southeastern South Dakota and their attendant deposits by J. E. Todd.

1899. 171 pp., 27 pis. 

B 159. The geology of eastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, by B. K. Emerson. 1899. 139 pp.,

9pK 

B 165. Contributions to the geology of Maine, by H. S. Williams and H. E. Gregory. 1900. 212 pp.,

14 pis. 

WS 70. Geology and water resources of the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles in eastern

Wyoming and western Nebraska, by G. I. Adams. 1902. 50 pp., 11 pis. 

B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. C. R -ssell. 1902. 192

pp., 25 pis. 

PP 1. Preliminary report on the Ketchikan mining district, Alaska, with an introductory sketch of

the geology of southeastern Alaska, by A. H. Brooks.- 1902. 120 pp., 2 pis. 

PP 2. Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by A. J. Collier.

1902. 70 pp.,11 pis. 

PP 3 Geology and petrography of Crater Lake National Park, by J. S. Diller and H. B. Patton.

1902. 167pp., 19 pis. 

PP 10. Reconnaissance from Fort Hamlin to Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, by way of Da.ll, Kanuti, Alien,

and Kowak rivers, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1902. 68 pp., 10 pis.

PP 11. Clays of the United States east of the Mississippi River, by Heinrich Ries. lf>3. 298 pp., 9 pis. 

PP 12. Geology of the Globe copper district, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1903. 168 pp., 27 pis. 

PP 13. Drainage modifications in southeastern Ohio and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Kentucky, by W. G. Tight. 1903. Ill pp., 17 pis.

B 208. Descriptive geology of Nevada south of the fortieth parallel and adjacent portions of California, by J. E. Spurr. 1903. 229 pp., 8, pis.

B 209. Geolggy of Ascutney Mountain, Vermont, by R. A. Daly. 1903. 122 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 78. Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by

I. C. Russell. 1903. 51 pp., 2 pis. 

PP 15. Mineral resources of the Mount Wrangell district, Alaska, by W. C. Mend?nhall and P. C.

Schrader. 1903. 71pp., 10 pis. 

PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred

and third meridian, by N. H. Darton. 1903. 69 pp., 43 pis. 

B 217. Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and sontheastern Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 1903.

83 pp., 18 pis.

B 219. The ore deposits of Tonopah, Nevada (preliminary report), by J. E. Spurr. 1903. 31 pp., 1 pi. 

PP 20. A reconnaissance in northern Alaska in 1901, by F. C. Schrader. 1904. 139 pp., 16 pis. 

PP 21. The geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1904.

168 pp., 29 pis. 

WS 90. Geology and water resources of part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by J. E.

Todd and C. M. Hall. 1904. 47 pp., 23 pis. 

PP 25. The copper deposits of the Encampment district, Wyoming, by A. C. Spencer. 1904. 107 pp.,

2 pis. 

PP 26. Economic resources of northern Black Hills, by J. I). Irving, with chapters by S. F. Emmons

and T. A. Jaggar, jr. 1904. 222 pp., 20 pis.

PP 27. Geological reconnaissance across the Bitterroot Range and the Clearwater Mountains in Montana and Idaho, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1904. 122 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 31. Preliminary report on the geology of the Arbuckle and Wichita mountains ir Indian Territory

and Oklahoma, by J. A. Taff, with an appendix on reported ore deposits in the Wichita

Mountains, by H. F. Bain. 1904. 97 pp., 8 pis. 

B 235. A geological reconnaissance across the Cascade Range near the forty-ninth parallel, by G. O.

Smith and F. C. Calkins. 1904. 103pp., 4 pis.

B 236. The Porcupine placer district, Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1904. 35 pp., 10 pis. 

B 237. Igneous rocks of the High wood Mountains, Montana, by L. V. Pirssoh. 1904. 208 pp., 7 pis. 

B 238. Economic geology of the lola quadrangle, Kansas, by G. I. Adams, Erasmus Ha worth, and

W. R. Crane. 1904. 83pp., 1 pi. 

PP 32. Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Darton. 1905.

433 pp., 72 pis. 

WS 110. Contributions to hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; M.G. Fuller, geologist in charge.

1905. 211 pp., 5 pis. 

B 242. Geology of the Hudson Valley between the Hoosic and the Kinderhook, 1 ' T, Nelson Dale.

1904. 63 pp., S pis. 

PP 34. The Delavan lobe of the Lake- Michigan' glacier of the Wisconsin stage of glaeiation and

associated phenomena, by W. C. Alden. 1905. 106 pp., 15 pis.
ADVERTISEMENT. Ill

PP 35. Geology of the Perry basin in southeastern Maine, by G. O. Smith and David White. 1905.

107 pp., 6 pis.

B 243. Cement materials and industry of the United States, by E. C. Eckel. 190o. 395 pp., !" pis. 

B 246. Zinc and lead deposits of north$astetti Illinois, by H. -EYBalri. 1905. 56 pp., 5 pis. 

B 247. The Fairhaven gold placers of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by F. H. Mofflt. 1905. 85 pp., 14 pis. 

B 249. Limestones of southwestern Pennsylvania, by F. G. Clapp. 1905. 52 pp., 7 pis. 

B 250. The petroleum fields of the Pacific coast of Alaska, with an account of the Bering- River coal

deposit, by G. C. Martin. 1905. 64 pp., 7 pis. 

B 251. The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska, by L. M.

Prindle. 1905. 89 pp., 16 pte. 

WS 118. Geology and water resovirces of a portion of east central Washington, by F. C. Calkins. 1905.

96 pp., 4 pis. 

B 252. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by I. C. Russell.

1905. 138 pp., 24 pis. 

PP 36. The lead, zinc, and fluorspar deposits of western Kentucky, by E. O. Ulrlch and W. S.

Tangier Smith. 1905. 218 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 38. Economic geology of the Bingham mining district of Otah, by J. M. Boutwell, with a chapter on

areal geology, by Arthur Keith, and an introduction on general geology, by S. F. Emmons.

1905. 413pp., 49 pis. 

PP 41. The geology of the central Copper River region, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. pp.

20 pis. 

B 254. Report of progress in the geological resurvey of the Cripple Creek district, C ilorado, by

Waldemar Lindgren and F. L. Ransoine. 1904. 36 pp.

B 255. The fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois, by H. Foster Bain. 1905. 75 pp., 6 pis. 

B 256. Mineral resources of the Elders Ridge quadrangle, Pennsylvania, by R. W. Stone. 1905.

86 pp., 12 pis. 

B 257. Geology and paleontology of the Judith River beds, by T. W. Stanton and J. B. Hatcher, with

a chapter on fossil plants, by F. H. Knowlton. 1905. 174 pp., 19 pis.

PP 42. Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1905. pp., 23 pis. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Mnerto, New Mexico, by C. R.

Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis.

SERIES O, UNDERGROUND WATERS.

WS 4. A reconnaissance in southeastern Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1897. 96 pp., 7 pis.

WS 6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth. 1897. 65 pp,, 12 pis.

WS 7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier. 1897. 50 pp.,3 pis.

WS 12. Underground waters of southeastern Nebraska, by N. H. Darton. 1898. 56 pp., £1 pis.

WS 21. Wells of northern Indiana, by Frank Leverett. 1899. 82 pp., 2 pis.

WS 26. Wells of southern Indiana (continuation of No. 21), by Frank Loverett. 1899. 64pp.

WS 30. Water resources of the lower peninsula of Michigan, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 7 pis.

WS 31. Lower Michigan mineral waters, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 4 pis.

WS 34. Geology and water resources of a portion of southeastern South Dakota, by J. E. Todd. 1900.

34 pp., 19 pis. 

WS 53. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. I, by I. C. Russell. 1901. 86

pp., 10 pis. 

WS 54. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. II, by I. C. Rvsell. 1901.

87-141 pp. 

WS 55. Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash., by G. O. Smth. 1901.

68 pp., 7 pis.

WS 57. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. I, by N. H. Darton. 1912. 60 pp. 

WS 59. Development and application of water in southern California, Pt. I, by J. B. Lippricott. 1902.

95 pp., 11 pis. 

WS 60. Development and application of water in southern California, Pt. II, by J. B. Lippincott.

1902. 96-140 pp.

WS 61. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. II, by N. H. Darton. 19T2. 67 pp. 

WS 67. The motions of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 1902. 106 pp., 8 pis. 

B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. C. Russell. 1902. 192

pp., 25 pis.

WS 77. Water resources of Molokai, Hawaiian Islands, by W. Lindgren. 1903. 62 pp., 4 pis. 

WS 78. Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I. C.

Russell. 1903. 53 pp., 2 pis. 

PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred

and third meridian, by N. H. Darton. 1903. 69 pp., 43 pis. 

WS 90. Geology and water resources of a part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by J. E.

Todd and C. M. Hall. 1904. 47 pp., 23 pis.

WS 101. Underground waters of southern Louisiana, by G. D. Harris, with discussions of their uses for 

 water supplies and for rice irrigation, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 98 pp., 11 pis.
IV ADVERTISEMENT.

WS 102. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, 1903, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 522 pp.

WS 104. Underground waters of Gila Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1904. 71 pp., 5 pis.

WS 106. Water resources of the Philadelphia district, by Florence Baseom. 1904. 75 pp., 4 pis.

WS 110. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; M. L. Fuller, geologist in

charge. 1904. 211 pp., 5 pis. 

PP 32. Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Barton. 1904.

433 pp., 72 pis 

WS 111. Preliminary report on underground waters of Washington, by Henry Landes. 1904. 85 pp.,

ipl. 

WS 112. Underflow tests in the drainage basin of Los Angeles River, by Hom°T Hamlin. 19C4.

55 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 114. Underground waters of eastern United States: M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 1904.

285 pp., 18 pis. 

WS 118. Geology and water resources of east-central Washington, by F. C. Calkins. 1905. 96 pp.,

4 pis. 

B 252. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by I. C. Russell.

1905. 138 pp., 24 pis. 

WS 120. Bibliographic review and index of papers relating to underground waters published by the

United States Geological Survey, 1879-1904, by M. L. Fuller. 1905. 128 pi. 

WS 122. Relation of the law to underground waters, by D. W. Johnson, 1905. 55 tp. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions o£ the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by C. R.

Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis.

The following papers also relate to this subject: Underground waters of Arkansas Valley in eastern 

Colorado, by G. K. Gilbert, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Preliminary report on artesian waters of a 

portion of the Dakotas, by N. H. Barton, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water resources of Illinois, 

by Frank Leverctt, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water reaonrces of Indiana and Ohio, by Frank 

Leverett, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; New developments in well boring and irrigation in eastern 

South Dakota, by N. H. Darton, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; Rock waters of Ohio, by Edward 

Orton, in Nineteenth Annual, Pt. IV; Artesian well prospects in the Atlantic coastal plain region, by 

N. H. Darton, Bulletin No. 138.

Correspondence should foe addressed to

THE DIRECTOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

WASHINGTON, D. 0. 

AUGUST, 1905.
LIBRARY CATALOGUE SLIPS.

[Mount each slip upon a separate card, placing the subject at the top of the 

second slip. The name of the series should not be repeated on the series 

card, but the additional numbers should be added, as received, to the first

entry.]

Keyes, Charles Rollin, 1864-

... Geology and underground water conditions of 

the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by Charles Rollin Keyes. Washington, Gov't print, off., 1905.

42, v p. illus. , IX pi. (incl. map) , cliagrs. 23cm. ( U. S. Geological survey. 

Water-supply and irrigation paper no. 123) 

Subject series: B, Descriptive Geology, 66; O, Underground waters, 36.

1. Geology New Mexico. 2. Water, Underground New Mexico.

Keyes, Charles Rollin, 1864-

... Geology and underground water conditions of 

| the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by Charles Rollin Keyes. Washington, Gov't print, off., 1905.

42, vp. illus., IX pi. (incl. map), diagrs. 23cm. ( U. S. Geological survey. 

Water-supply and irrigation paper no. 123) 

Subject series: B, Descriptive Geology, 66; O, Underground waters, 36.

1. Geology New Mexico. 2. Water, Underground New Mexico.

U. S. Geological survey.

Water-supply and irrigation papers

| no. 123. Keyes, C. R. Geology and underground water 

56 conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New

Mexico. 1905.

U. S. Dept. of the Interior.

| see also *

| U. S. Geological survey.