Petroleum Potential of 

Wilderness Lands in 

New Mexico

By Robert T. Ryder

PETROLEUM POTENTIAL OF WILDERNESS LANDS IN THE 

WESTERN UNITED STATES

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 902-1

This chapter on the petroleum 

geology and resource potential of 

Wilderness Lands in New Mexico 

is also provided as an accompanying pamphlet for Miscellaneous 

Investigations Series Map 1-1543

CONTENTS

Abstract 

Introduction 

Geologic framework 

Physiographic provincesWilderness Lands 

Tectonic provinces and tectonic history 

Colorado Plateau and Great Plains physiographic 

provinces 

Southern Rocky Mountain physiographic province 

Basin and Range physiographic province 

Transitional zone_____________________

Petroleum geology -

USGS petroleum province boundariesOil and gas fieldsThickness and origin of sedimentary rocks 

San Juan basin 

Page

II

1

2

2

2

2

2

7

9

14

16

16

16

17

17

Delaware basin, Northwest Shelf, and Central bas;n 

platform 

Pedregosa basin 

Raton and Las Vegas basins 

Basins in the Rio Grande Rift 

Source rocks, hydrocarbons shows, and thermal

maturity 

Pennsylvanian and Permian black limestone and

shale - 

Upper Cretaceous shale and coal 

Devonian black shaleMiddle Jurassic limestoneReservoirs and traps 

Summary statementPetroleum potential of Wilderness LandsSummary 

References cited 

118

18

18

19

20

20

20

21

21

21

22

23

28

29

ILLUSTRATIONS

Geologic cross section C-C' through the Acoma basin and Lucero uplift 

Geologic cross section D-D' through the Sangre de Cristo uplift and the Raton basin 

Geologic cross section E-E' through the Tucumcari basin and Sierra Grande uplift

FIGURE 1. Maps of New Mexico showing distribution of Wilderness Lands, counties, and selected towns and cities. A, P' ysiographic and tectonic provinces; B, Major outcrops of igneous and metamorphic rocks and lines of cross sections; C, Oil and gas field data 

2. Upper Cretaceous time-stratigraphic section A-A' from the Zuni basin through the San Juan (top) and geologic 

cross section B-B' (bottom) through the San Juan basin 

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Page

Restored stratigraphic cross section F-F' of the Pennsylvanian System and Lower Permian Series through the

Northwest shelf and the Delaware basin 

Restored stratigraphic cross section G-G' of the Leonardian (part), Guadalupian, and the Ochoan Series of the

Permian System through the Northwest shelf and the Delaware basin 

Geologic cross section H-H' through the Guadalupe Mountains uplift 

Geologic cross sections /-/' and J-J' through parts of the Pedregosa basin and the superimposed Early Cretaceous

rift basins - 

Geologic cross sections through the Espanola basin (K-K\ Albuquerque basin (L-L1), and Tularosa basin and

Sacramento Mountains uplift (M-M1) 

Geologic cross section N-N' through the Sacramento Mountains and part of the Guadalupe Mountains uplift 

Map showing the qualitative estimate of petroleum potential for Wilderness Lands in New Mexico 

13

6

7

8

8

10

12

13

13

14

15

24

III

PETROLEUM POTENTIAL OF WILDERNESS LANDS IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Petroleum Potential of Wilderness Lands in New Mexico

By Robert T. Ryder

ABSTRACT

On the basis of in-depth geologic framework and petroleum 

geology studies, the oil and gas potential of Wilderness Lands 

in New Mexico is rated qualitatively on a scale from high to 

zero. A high rating is assigned to Wilderness Lands that are 

located near or along the projected trend of hydrocarbon production and that have all the geologic attributes of the producing area. A medium rating is assigned to Wilderness Lands 

that have all the attributes, including shows, of an oil and gas 

producing area but presently lack commercial production. In 

contrast, low, low to zero, and zero ratings are assigned to 

Wilderness Lands that have few or no attributes of an oil and 

gas producing area. Usually a zero rating is reserved for regions having autochthonous igneous and metamorphic rocks 

at or near the surface.

The Wilderness Lands in New Mexico are grouped into 18 

clusters, each containing one or more tracts that have the same 

or similar geologic characteristics and the same hydrocarbon 

potential. Of the 2,676,856 acres of Wilderness Lands in New 

Mexico the potential acreage can be summarized as follows: 

high potential, 96.6 thousand acres; medium potential, 115.3 

thousand acres; low potential, 1,237.3 thousand acres; low to 

zero potential, 158 thousand acres; and zero potential, 1,069.6 

thousand acres.

INTRODUCTION

New Mexico is among the leading producers of 

oil and gas in the United States and has the potential for yielding significant undiscovered oil and 

gas resources (Dolton and others, 1981). Much of 

New Mexico is still a frontier area in terms of oil 

and gas exploration. Future oil and gas discoveries in the sedimentary basins of New Mexico 

will likely depend on imaginative, but geologically 

sound, interpretations of the complex structural, 

depositional, and magmatic history of the State 

and on the testing of these interpretation * with 

reflection seismic profiles and deep drillir#. To 

date, drilling outside the regions of known f»xxiuction has been disappointing. The purpose of this 

investigations is to provide qualitative estiirites 

complete with written documentation of the future oil and gas potential of the 2,676,856 a "res of 

Wilderness Lands in New Mexico. Thes^ estimates are based largely on data derived from current published literature. Future estimates may 

vary as new data and concepts become available.

This report is divided into three parts. TH first 

part, the geologic framework section, is intended 

to acquaint the reader with the physiograpHc and 

geologic provinces of New Mexico and th-? complex tectonic and magmatic history that shaped 

the provinces and ultimately helped control the 

distribution of oil and gas. The second pa~t, the 

petroleum geology section, consists of a funeral 

treatment of several key elements related to the 

generation and entrapment of oil and gas n New 

Mexico. The third and final part, the pet-oleum 

potential of Wilderness Lands, contains the qualitative estimates of the oil and gas potential of the 

Wilderness Lands in New Mexico.

II
GEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK 

PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCES

New Mexico is divided into four major physiographic provinces: the Colorado Plateau, the Basin 

and Range, the Southern Rocky Mountain, and 

the Great Plains (fig. LA)(Fenneman, 1931). The 

Great Plains and Colorado Plateau provinces occupy the eastern half and northwest quarter of the 

State, respectively, and are separated by the 

northward-tapering, wedge-shaped Basin and 

Range province (fig. LA). A transitional zone between the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range 

provinces is situated in southwest New Mexico. 

The Southern Rocky Mountain province is restricted to two lobes which flank the northern extremity of the Basin and Range province.

WILDERNESS LANDS

The 2,676,856 acres of Wilderness Lands in 

New Mexico are distributed over the four physiographic provinces (fig. LA). Two-thirds of the 

Wilderness Lands is located in the Basin and 

Range province (31 percent) and the transitional 

zone (34 percent); the remainder of the Wilderness 

Lands is distributed mainly between the Colorado Plateau (18 percent) and the Southern 

Rocky Mountain provinces (15 percent). Only 2 

percent of the Wilderness Lands is in the Great 

Plains province.

TECTONIC PROVINCES AND 

TECTONIC HISTORY

The physiographic provinces, and to a large extent the hydrocarbon accumulations within them, 

are controlled by the tectonic framework of the 

underlying rocks. The major tectonic features 

which shaped New Mexico's physiographic provinces are identified and discussed in the following 

sections.

COLORADO PLATEAU AND GREAT PLAINS 

PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCES

The Colorado Plateau and Great Plains provinces represent a part of the North American 

craton which has been relatively stable since the 

late Precambrian. Structural features in the Colorado Plateau province are characterized by broad 

basins flanked by monoclines. Depending on the 

magnitude of the uplift involved, the structurally 

high blocks of the monoclines are manifested at

EXPLANATION 

(For figures 1A, B, and C)

Metamorphic and igneous rocks Precambrian 

Intrusive igneous rocks Mesozoic and Tertiary 

Volcanic rocks Quaternary, Tertiary, and Mesozoic 

Wilderness Lands 

Oil, natural gas, and carbon dioxide fields

Drill hole

Shell Oil Company, Santa Fe Pacific No. 1 drill hole

KCM No. 1 Forest Federal drill hole

Humble No. 1 State BM drill hole

Grimm et al. No.l Mobil-32 drill hole

Line of geologic cross section

Boundary between physiography provinces

 - Boundary between USGS petroleum provinces

 Boundary between tectonic provinces

 Approximate leading edge of Cordilleran fold 

and thrust belt (Corbitt and Woodward, 1973)

the surface as either structural terraces capped by 

gently dipping strata or mountain ranges with a 

core of granitic basement rocks. F^st-order structural features in the Colorado Plateau province 

are the San Juan Basin, Defiance uplift, Zuni uplift, Four Corners platform, Chama basin, Zuni 

basin, Acoma basin, and Lucero rnlift of probable 

Laramide age (Woodward, 1974; Davis, 1978), the 

Paradox basin of Pennsylvanirn age, and a 

Pennsylvanian precursor to the Defiance and Zuni 

uplifts (Peterson and Ohlen, li^; KottlowsM, 

1971) (figs. LA, 2, 3). The San Juan Basin has 

a combined thickness of 9,000 to 10,000 feet of 

Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks and 3,000 feet of 

Pennsylvanian rocks (Peterson and others, 1965; 

Molenaar, 1977) (fig. 2). Many of the first-order 

structural features have been controlled by an underlying basement block mosaic which probably 

developed in Precambrian time and was reactivated by later episodes of structural instability 

(Kelley, 1955; Davis, 1978). In the vicinity of the 

Four Corners platform and the Paradox basin, 

several episodes of early Paleozo;« block faulting

12
SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN 

PROVINCE

106° 104°

DALHART BASIN oT|

EARLY PERMIAN

AND PENNSYLVANIAN AGE

PARADOX BASIN Of 

PENNSYLVANIAN AGE

FOUR CORNER 

PLATFORM

COLORADO " M

I j DEFIANCE PLATEAU A S\

PROVINCE

UPLIFT TUCUMCARI BASI

 / o

OF EARLYr"PERMIAN

AND PENNSYLVANIAN

ROOSEVELT UPLIFT OF 

JLBENNSYLVANIAN AGE

DATIL-MOGOLLON 

LCANIC FIELD

DELAWARE 

PERMIA

SILLA, 

BASIN (

PEDREGOSA BASIN 

F EARLY PER 

ANDHENl 

SYLVANIAN AI

OROGRANDE BASIN OF BROKEOFF HILLS

EARLY PERMIAN AND UPLIFT 

j PENNSYLVANIAN AGE

RIO GRANDE RIFT 

0 50

I

100 MILES

0 50 100

I 

150 KILOMETERS

FIGURE LA. Physiographic and tectonic provinces. Outline and tectonic features of the Rio Grande Rift are from Woodward and others (1975).

13
108°

36'

34'

100

I 

150 KILOMETERS

FIGURE IB. Major outcrops of igneous and metamorphic rocks and lines of cross sections. Distributk n of igneous and 

metamorphic rocks are based on the geologic map of New Mexico (Dane and Bachman, 1965)

14
108

BATON BASIN-SIERRA GRANDE 

UPLIFT

SAN JUAN BASIN

PALO DURO 1 

BASIN, I

SOUTH CENTRAL 

NEW MEXICO

100 150 KILOMETERS

FIGURE 1C. Oil and gas field data and petroleum provinces (Dolton and others, 1981). Oil and gas fields are from Bieberman

and Weber (1969) and David (1977).

15
A'

SAN JUAN BASIN

BISTI FIELD | BLANCO GAS FIELD

EXPLANATION 

j I Marine shale 

773 Marine and coastal barrier sandstone

3 Nonmarine deposits 

"V] Limestone or very calcareous shale \

Section removed by pre-mid-Tertiary erosion

Tertiary-Holocene erosion 

\

0 20 40 MILES

t- -r -i- -r Greenhorn Limeston

4000-

SEA 

LEVEL4000

8000-

	EXPLANATION

r°«'»l Tertiary sedimentary rocks;

I I Cretaceous sedimentary rocks

fc=\ Jurassic sedimentary rocks

|1 11 Triassic sedimentary rocks

fcvkl Permian sedimentary rocks

OH Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks

V//A Pre-Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks

|fivi| Precambrian basement rocks

10 20 MILES

FIGURE 2. Upper Cretaceous time-stratigraphic section A-A' from the Zuni basin through the f ui Juan 

Basin (top) and geologic cross section B-B' (bottom) through the San Juan Basin. Lines of section are 

shown on figure IB. Cross section A-A is from Molenaar (1977) and section B-B' is from Peterson 

and others (1965).

16
C'

ACOMA BASIN ,,, I ALBUQUERQUE 

LUCERC? BAS|N

Quaternary basalt 

Tertiary sedimentary rocks 

frr] Cretaceous sedimentary rocks 

Triassic sedimentary rocks

Permian sedimentary rocks 

Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks

Pre-Pennsylvanian sedimentary 

rocks

Precambrian basement rocks

FEET

-3000

-2000

-1000

12 8

MILES

FIGURE 3. Geologic cross section C-C' through the Acoma basin and Lucero uplift. Line of section is shown in figure IB. Cross

section is from Wengerd (1959).

are well documented (Stevenson and Baars, 1977). 

First-order structural features in the Great 

Plains province are the Raton and Las Vegas basins of Laramide age (Baltz, 1965) and the Delaware basin, Tucumcari basin, Dalhart basin, 

Roosevelt uplift, Northwest shelf, Central basin 

platform, Sierra Grande uplift, and Pedernal uplift 

of Early Permian and Pennsylvanian age 

(Bachman, 1975) (figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). Many of these 

structures are controlled by fault blocks in the 

Precambrian basement (Kelley, 1971; Woodward 

and Snyder, 1976; Roberts and others, 1976). For 

example, major faults of primarily Early Permian 

and Pennsylvanian age border the west side of the 

Central basin platform and the east side of the 

Guadalupe Mountains uplift (fig. 8), along which 

Precambrian basement rocks have been uplifted at 

least 5,000 feet with respect to the adjacent Delaware basin. The precursor to the Raton and Las 

Vegas basins of Laramide age was the Rowe-Mora 

basin of Permian and Pennsylvanian age (Read 

and Wood, 1947). Approximately 5,000 feet of 

Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian (Wolfcampian) 

rocks were deposited in the Delaware basin

(Meyer, 1966) (fig. 6); the total Permian-Pennsylvanian section in the Delaware basin totals 18,000 

feet (Silver and Todd, 196^; Hartrr<m and

Woodard, 1971) (fig. 7).

I

SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN 

PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCE

The Brazos, Nacimiento, and Sangre c1^ Cristo 

uplifts of the Southern Rocky [Mountain province 

are fault-bounded blocks of Precambrian granitic 

basement that have 10,000 to 20,000 feet of structural relief with respect to the Precambrian basement in the adjacent basins (Baltz and1 others, 

1959; Baltz, 1965, 1967; Woodward and others, 

1972; Woodward, 1974) (figs. LA, 4). THse uplifts in the Southern Rocky fountain province 

have resulted from intense episodes of compressional deformation in the late Paleozoi? (Early 

Permian and Pennsylvania^ and a^ain in 

Laramide time (Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary) (Chapin and Seager, 1975). Post-Laramide 

block faulting controlled the present topographic 

expression of the uplifts (Epis and Chaph, 1975). 

The Jemez volcanic province (figs. LA-15), contain17
SANGRE DE CRISTO UPLIFT

RATON BASIN

3000

10 20 MILES

EXPLANATION

o

Drill hole T 

sed

0 

 

» « 

»%

'.:;

;§£

-~'-?

ertiary Tertiary Cretaceous Jurassic and Permian Pennsylvanian Precambrian 

mentary intrusive sedimentary Triassic sedimentary sedimentary basement 

rocks rocks rocks sedimentary rocks rocks rocks 

rocks

FIGURE 4. Geologic cross section D-D through the Sangre de Cristo Uplift and the Raton basin. Line of section is shown in

figure IB. Cross section is from Baltz and others (1959).

LAS VEGAS

BASIN SIERRA GRANOE UPLIFT

FEET 

5000

SEA 

LEVEL

5000 J

TUCUMCARI BASIN 

o o

Conti- Nearshore Open Basinal Drill Tertiary Pre- Precambrian 

nental marine shelf no|e sedimentary Pennsylvanian basement

rocks sedimentary rocks 

rocks

£'

FEET 

r5000

SEA 

f-LEVEL

5000

10 20 30 MILES

FIGURE 5. Geologic cross section E-E' through the Tucumcari basin and Sierra Grande uplift. Line of section is shown in

figure IB. Cross section is from Roberts and others (1976).

18
ing a thick sequence of late Cenozoic volcanic 

rocks (Bailey and others, 1969), is included with 

the Southern Rocky Mountain province.

BASIN AND RANG! PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCE

The Basin and Range province, with its complex 

history of crustal extension, plutonism, and volcanism, represents a far more mobile sector of the 

North American craton than the Colorado Plateau 

and the Great Plains provinces. Major crustal instability appeared in the Basin and Range province in Early Permian and Pennsylvanian time 

and resulted in the development of the Pedregosa 

basin in southwesternmost New Mexico, the 

Orogrande basin centered over the Tularosa and 

Jornada del Muerto basins of late Tertiary age, 

and the Uncompahgre-San Luis and Nacimiento 

uplifts centered, respectively, over the Brazos and 

Nacimiento uplifts of Laramide age (Tweto, 1975; 

Chapin and Seager, 1975; Greenwood and others, 

1977) (fig. lA).The Pedregosa basin trends northwestward from its depocenter in north-central 

Chihuahua, Mexico, through southwesternmost 

New Mexico, into southeasternmost Arizona 

(Greenwood and others, 1977). Pennsylvanian and 

Lower Permian marine carbonate rocks have a 

combined thickness of 5,000 feet in the New 

Mexico part of the Pedregosa basin (Ross, 1973) 

and 3,000 to 4,000 feet in the Orogrande basin 

(Greenwood and others, 1977).

In Mesozoic time, the crust in the Basin and 

Range physiographic province of southwestern 

New Mexico was deformed by a Late Cretaceous 

(through early Tertiary) magmatic arc (Thorman 

and Drewes, 1978; Dickinson, 1981), Early Cretaceous rifting (Bilodeau, 1982), Laramide compression (Drewes, 1978; Corbitt and Woodward, 

1973), and Laramide extension (Hamilton, 1978). 

Many of the geologic complexities that resulted 

from these tectonic and magmatic events are illustrated in figure 9.

Early Cretaceous rift basins were superimposed 

on the Pedregosa basin by an aulacogen which extended into southwest New Mexico and southeast 

Arizona from the Chihuahua trough in Mexico 

(Bilodeau, 1982) (fig. 1A). Lower Cretaceous 

rocks in these basins are collectively known 

as the Bisbee Group (Hayes, 1970) or locally in 

New Mexico by names such as the Mojado (top), 

U-Bar, and Hell-to-Finish (base) Formations (Zeller, 1965). The nonmarine and marine deposits of 

the rift basins are between 10,000 and 15,000 feet

thick (Hayes, 1970; Kottlowski, 1971; Greenwood 

and others, 1977).

Corbitt and Woodward (1973), Woodward 

(1974), and Drewes (1978) believe that many of 

the thrust faults and folds in southwes* New 

Mexico represent a structural link between the 

Cordilleran fold and thrust belt of scnthern 

Nevada and southeast California and the 

Chihuahua fold and thrust belt of northern 

Mexico. Hamilton (1978), Davis ^1979), Dickinson 

(1981), and Matthews (1982) disagree with such a 

linkage on the grounds that neither the ftratigraphic facies nor the structural features are present. The leading edge of the Cordilleran fold and 

thrust belt as defined by Corbitt and Woodward 

(1973) is shown in figure IA.

According to Hamilton (1978), the Laramide 

basement uplifts in New Mexico occurred along 

the eastern border of the northward-moving, 

clockwise-rotating Colorado Plateau crustal plate. 

Laramide crustal extension originated aloig the 

southern trailing edge of the Colorado Plateau 

crustal plate (Hamilton, 1978).

Rifting began in what is today the Bapn and 

Range province of New Mexico with the evening 

of the Rio Grande rift (fig. IA) about 2^ to 30 

m.y. ago (late Oligocene) (Chapin and T^ager, 

1975; Eaton, 1979). A second major episode of rifting began in the late Miocene! and (or) early 

Pliocene (3-8 m.y. ago) and lasted into the late 

Pliocene and Holocene (2 m.y. ago to present) 

(Chapin and Seager, 1975; Seager and Horgan 

1979). The eruption of basaltic andesites al nut 20 

to 26 m.y. ago and basalts about 5 m.y. age in the 

Rio Grande rift seems to have been a direct consequence of the major rifting episodes, but lagged 

behind the rifting by 3 to 5 m.y. (Chapin aM Seager, 1975).

The Rio Grande rift cuts across major certers of 

Oligocene calc-alkaline volcanism (30 to 88 m.y 

ago; Elston, 1976), such as in the Datil-Mogollon 

volcanic province (figs. IA, B), subparallel to 

north-trending zones of crustal weakness inherited 

from late Paleozoic and Laramide uplifts (Chapin 

and Seager, 1975; Eaton, 1979; Kelley, 1979). 

Structural basins in the rift are grabens and half 

grabens, which, from north to south, include the 

San Luis basin, Espanola basin, Albuquerque 

basin, Estancia basin, Jornada del Muerto basin, 

Tularosa Basin, and the Mesilla basin (fig's, IAIB, 10). Through a system of retyy faults, ramps, 

and benches, the Albuquerque, Espanola, and San

19
F

o

NORTHWEST SHELF

LEONARDIAN^ 

xw ^ SERIES ^ 

~ -(PART)-

WOLFCAMPIAN 

SERIES

MISSOURIAN SERIES*,

MISSISSIPPIAN RC°.KS

EXPLANATION 

Brown anhydritic dolomite

PRECAMBRIAN ROCKS

 .-;?.: ;.'' Quartzose sandstone

0 6 12 

MILES

Light-colored fossil if erotic limestone 

and variegated shale

Dark brown and black limestone

Dark gray, brown and black shale 

and siltstone

o Drill hole

FIGURE 6. Restored stratigraphic cross section F-F of the Pennsylvanian System and Lower Permian Series through the Northwest shelf and the Delaware basin. Line of section is shown in figure IB. Restored section is from Meyer (1968).

110
F'

o

YESO FORMATION DELAWARE BASIN

111
G'

E L A W A R 

BASIN

O O O O

NORTHWEST

O O OO 

SHELF

/ SEVEN RIVERS FORMATION / 

/ / /.i L I 

V/\ Shelf evaporite 

* ' A and carbonate

fcv^ Basin detrital

EXPLANATION

i i Shelf-margin 

' ' carbonate 

Basin 

carbonate

10TO

 Shelf detrital 

O Drill hole L

0 1 2 

MILES

'Goat Seep Dolomite

'Getaway Limestone Member of Cherry Canyon Formation

FIGURE 7. Restored stratigraphic cross section G-G' of the Leonardian (part), Guadalupian, and Ochoa" Series of the Permian System through the Northwest shelf and the Delaware basin. Line of section is showirin figure IB. Restored section is from Silver and Todd (1969).

Luis basins have been set in a right en-echelon 

pattern (Kelley, 1979) (fig. LA-IB). The 10,000 

feet-thick Santa Fe Group in the Espanola basin is 

the most complete outcrop section of the rift-forming deposits (Galusha and Blick, 1971; Kelley, 

1979). In the Albuquerque basin, only about a 

fourth of the 12,000 to 13,000 feet of rift-filling 

nonmarine strata are exposed (Kelley, 1979).

Major horsts and tilted fault blocks adjacent to 

and within the Rio Grande rift include the San 

Andres Mountains uplift, Sacramento Mountains 

uplift, and Caballo Mountains uplift (figs. 1A, 

10, 11). Basins and uplifts outside the Rio Grande 

rift proper, but tectonically akin to the rift, include the Guadalupe Mountains uplift, Brokeoff

Hills uplift, and the Salt basin of southeast New 

Mexico (figs. LA, 8,11).

The Basin and Range province in southwest 

New Mexico and adjacent southeas* Arizona had a 

different history than the Rio Grande rift. First, 

crustal extension began in southwest New Mexico 

about 30 to 29 m.y. ago, but rather than being 

expressed as rifting the extension was confined 

to plastic stretching of the lower crust of the kind 

which produced the metamorphic core complexes 

in southern Arizona. (Coney, 1978 Eaton, 1979). 

Secondly, rifting in southwest Nev Mexico began 

later (20 m.y. ago; Elston and others, 1973; Deal 

and others, 1978) and ended earHe*1 (10 m.y. ago; 

Eaton, 1979) than rifting in the IS Grande rift.

112
H

BROKEOFF

HILLS 

FEET UPLIFT GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS UPLIFT NORTHWEST SHELF

5000-

SEA j 

LEVEL:

5000:

5 MILES

EXPLANATION

Permian

sedimentary

rocks

Pennsylvanian

sedimentary

rocks

Pre-Pennsylvanian

sedimentary

rocks

Precambrian

basement

rocks

FIGURE 8. Geologic cross section H-ff through the Guadalupe Mountains uplift. Line of section is shown in figure IB. Cross

section is from Hayes (1964).

Quaternary 

alluvium

Tertiary

intrusive

rocks

Cretaceous Permian and Mississippian Cambrian and Precambrian

sedimentary Pennsylvanian and Devonian Ordovician basement

rocks sedimentary sedimentary sedimentary rocks

rocks rocks rocks

BIG HATCHET MOUNTAINS 

HELL-TO-GET-TO 

FAULT

J'

BUGLE RIDGE

SEA 

LEVEL

2 MILES

FIGURE 9. Geologic cross sections /-/' and J-J' through parts of the Pedregosa basm and the superimposed Early Cr^aceous 

rift basins. Lines of sections are shown in figure IB. Cross section I-F is from Drewes and Thorman (1980) and cror< section 

J-J" is from Zeller (1975). Place names used in this figure do not appear on figures LA, IB, and 1C.

113
10,000'

ESPANOLA BASIN

FEET 

10.000 T

ALBUQUERQUE BASIN

SEA

LEVEL'

10.000-

20.000-

10 MILES

EXPLANATION

Quaternary and

Tertiary 

sedimentary rocks

Pre-Pennsylvanian

sedimentary

rocks

10,000

Quaternary alluvium

and Tertiary 

sedimentary rocks

FIGURE 10. Geologic cross sections through the Espanola basin (K-K), Albuquerque basin ( L-L'), and TV'arosa basin and Sacramento Mountains uplift (Af-Af). Lines of section are shown in figure IB. Cross sections K-K and L-L' are from Kelley 

(1979) and cross section Af-AT is from Oetking and others (1967).

In adjacent southeast Arizona, major rifting may Plateau and the Basin and Ran<re physiographic

have lasted only between 13 and 10 m.y. ago (Eb- provinces (fig. LA) is an eastward extension of the

erly and Stanley, 1978). Finally, the rift basins in transitional zone in Arizona (Wilson and Moore,

southwest New Mexico are generally much shal- 1959) and the central Arizona transition zone of

lower than the rift basins in the Rio Grande rift Lucchitta (1978), who suggests that this

(Seager and Morgan, 1979), a difference that could zone with its extensive vofcanism, orogeny,

be attributed to either the longer duration or a deep erosion, and mineralization may mark a

greater intensity of rifting in the Rio Grande rift. former plate boundary.

TRANSITIONAL ZONE

The transitional zone between the Colorado

114
N

FEET 

10.000n

SACRAMENTO 

MOUNTAINS

UPLIFT

LEVEL

Drill hole Quaternary and

Tertiary sedimentary

rocks

Permian

sedimentary

rocks

EXPLANATION

Pennsylvanian

sedimentary

rocks

Pre-Pennsylvanian

sedimentary

rocks

PEDERNAL UPLIFT

10.000 FEET

FIGURE 11. Geologic cross section N-N through the Sacramento Mountains and part of the Guadalupe Mountains uplift. Line 

section is from Black (1975).
PETROLEUM GEOLOGY 

USGS PETROLEUM PROVINCE BOUNDARIES

The State of New Mexico is subdivided into 

seven petroleum provinces by the U.S. Geological 

Survey for which oil and gas resource estimates 

have been prepared (Dolton and others, 1981). 

The petroleum province boundaries do not perfectly match the physiographic and tectonic province boundaries because the USGS petroleum 

provinces often follow county lines to simplify the 

tabulation of oil and gas data (figs. LA, C).

OIL AND GAS FIELDS

New Mexico is among the leading producers of 

oil and gas in the United States. In 1980, New 

Mexico ranked fourth and seventh in the nation, 

respectively, for gas and oil production 

(Broadhead, 1982). Oil and gas fields are confined 

to the San Juan Basin and the adjacent Four Corners platform in the northwest corner of the State 

and to the Delaware basin, Northwest shelf, and 

Central Basin platform in the southeast corner of 

the State (fig. 1C). Both the northwest and southeast producing provinces have been in existence 

since the early 1920's (Arnold and others, 1981). 

The ultimate recovery (cumulative production plus 

reserves) for the northwest province is estimated 

to be 178 million barrels of oil (Foster and others, 

1978) and 23 trillion cubic feet of gas (Pritchard, 

1972). For the southeast province, the ultimate recovery is estimated to be nearly 5 billion barrels 

of oil (Foster and others, 1978) and 22.5 trillion 

cubic feet of gas (American Petroleum Institute 

and American Gas Association, 1980). Gas in 

northwest New Mexico is predominantly nonassociated, whereas in southeast New Mexico 75 

percent of the gas is associated.

Oil in the San Juan Basin and adjacent Four 

Corners platform comes largely from stratigraphic 

traps in the Upper Cretaceous Tocito Sandstone 

Lentil (Molenaar, 1977, 1983) (fig. 2). The largest 

fields in this trend are Bisti and.Horseshoe, both 

of which are shallow-marine bar complexes and 

have an ultimate recovery of about 40 million barrels of oil (Sabins, 1963, 1978; McCubbin, 1969; 

Pritchard, 1972; McEachin and Royce, 1978). Oil 

fields of lesser importance in the San Juan Basin 

and adjacent Four Corners platform produce from 

structural and stratigraphic traps in the Pennsylvanian Paradox Formation (Spencer, 1978), Jurassic Entrada Sandstone (Vincelette and Chittum, 

1981), Upper Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone (Black, 

1978; Luce, 1978), and Upper Cretaceous Mancos 

Shale (Mallory, 1977).

Most of the gas in the San Juan Basin is produced from the giant, hydrodynamnally controlled 

Blanco Basin gas field located along and adjacent 

to the axis of the basin (Pochard, 1972; 

Molenaar, 1977) (figs. 1C, 2). Major producing 

horizons in the Blanco Basin field are the Upper 

Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone (Deischl, 1973; 

Hoppe, 1978), Point Lookout Sar-istone (Pritchard, 1973, 1978), Cliff House Sar<lstone (Pritchard, 1973, 1978), and the Pictured Cliffs 

Sandstone (Brown, 1973; 1978) (fi-*s. 1C, 2). Except for the lower part of the Dakota Sandstone 

which is nonmarine in origin, all the above 

sandstone units are shallow marine in origin 

(Molenaar, 1977) (fig. 2).

Major oil-bearing horizons in southeast New 

Mexico are the Lower Ordovicrn Ellenburger 

Group (Symposium Committee, 1956; Sharp, 

1956), Middle Ordovician Simpscn Group (Hill, 

1971), Upper Ordovician Montoya Dolomite (Hill, 

1971), Lower and Middle Siluran Fusselman 

Dolomite (Hill, 1971), unnamed dolomite units of 

the Devonian System (Bender, 195*»; Lewis, 1956), 

limestone from the Missourian and Virgilian Provincial Series (Upper Pennsylvanian) (Stipp and 

others, 1956; Meyer, 1966; Hartman and 

Woodard, 1971) (fig. 6), and doloriite, limestone, 

and sandstone from the Wolfcamprn, Leonardian, 

and Guadalupian Provincial Series of the Permian 

System (Stipp and others, 1956- Meyer, 1966; 

Hartman and Woodard, 1971) (figs. 6, 7).

Oil in Permian-aged rocks of southeast New 

Mexico is widely distributed in stratigraphic and 

structural traps across the Northwest shelf and 

the Central Basin platform. The fields are 

strongly controlled by deposition?! fades. Rocks 

in the back reef and shelf facies ar^ the dominant 

habitat for oil in the Permian System, as 

exemplified by the giant Hobbs (McPeters and 

Kelly, 1956), Eunice-Monument (Babcock, 1956), 

and Vacuum (Milks, 1956) anticlir^l fields where 

production is from dolomites and srndstones of the 

San Andres Limestone and GrayHrg Formation 

(figs. 1C, 7). Permian rocks represented by basinal facies yield some oil in the Delaware basin, but 

the production is generally limited to thin 

sandstone units (Leonardian-Guadalupian) interbedded with dark carbonate rocvs (Symposium

116
Committee, 1960; Nottingham, 1960; Broadhead, 

1982, 1983) (figs. 1C, 7). Guadalupian shelf-margin 

reefs are poor reservoirs and produce very little 

oil (fig. 7). In contrast, the dolomitized shelf-margin reefs of the Abo trend (Leonardian) are responsible for large oil accumulations such as the 

Empire field (Le May, 1960; Wilson, 1960).

Oil fields in the Ellenburger Group, Simpson 

Group, Montoya Dolomite, and Fusselman Dolomite are confined to structural traps on the Central Basin platform whereas oil fields in the Devonian dolomites are located in structural traps on 

the Central Basin platform and the Northwest 

shelf (Stipp and others, 1956). Missourian and Virgilian limestones yield oil from stratigraphic and 

structural traps on the Northwest shelf (Stipp and 

others, 1956; Meyer, 1966) (fig. 6).

At the end of 1979, over three-fourths of the ultimate recoverable gas in southeast New Mexico 

was estimated to come from gas associated with 

the oil fields (American Petroleum Institute and 

National Gas Association, 1980). However, new 

discoveries have added significantly to the nonassociated gas reserves, probably to the point where 

the ultimate recoverable gas is divided about 

equally between associated and nonassociated gas. 

For example, sandstone interbedded with gray to 

black shale of Morrowan and Atokan age contains 

abundant nonassociated gas in southeast New 

Mexico (Meyer, 1966; David, 1977; Anderson, 

1977) (fig. 6). This gas comes from stratigraphic 

and structural traps in the Delaware basin and 

Northwest shelf. Wheatley (1981a) reports that 

the Morrowan sandstone trend alone may contain 

reserves of 10 trillion cubic feet of gas. The Abo 

Formation (Wolfcampian) (Meyer, 1966) with interbedded sandstone and red shale units is a relatively new producer of nonassociated gas in the 

Northwest shelf and it has been estimated to have 

reserves of 3 trillion cubic feet of gas (Wheatley, 

1981b). Other stratigraphic horizons with significant quantities of nonassociated gas in southeast 

New Mexico are the Ellenburger Group, Fusselman Dolomite, unnamed dolomites in the Devonian System, and Desmoinesian, Missourian, and 

Virgilian Series of the Pennsylvanian System 

(Galley, 1971; Hill, 1971; Hartman and Woodard, 

1971; David, 1977).

The only commercial oil and gas production 

from other than northwest and southeast New 

Mexico is from the Wagon Mound gas field in the 

Las Vegas basin (fig. 1C). This field produces from

the Cretaceous Dakota sandstone and the Upper 

Jurassic Morrison Formation along the cref t of a 

southeast-trending anticline (Arnold and others, 

1978). Carbon dioxide is produced from the Tubb 

sandstone (Leonardian), an economic unit, in the 

northeast part of the State adjacent to the Sierra 

Grande uplift (Broadhead, 1982) (fig. 1C). S weral 

now-abandoned carbon dioxide gas fields on the 

west flank of the Estancia basih produced from 

Permian and (or) Pennsylvanian rocks (Beaumont, 

1961) (fig. 1C).

THICKNESS AND ORIGIN OF 

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

The combined thickness of Paleozoic, Me^ozoic, 

and Tertiary sedimentary rocks is 10,000 feet or 

greater in (1) the San Juan Basin, (2) the Delaware basin and adjacent Northwest shelf anl Central Basin platform, (3) Pedregosa basin and 

superimposed Lower Cretaceous rift basics, (4) 

Raton and Las Vegas basins, arid (5) at le^st six 

Tertiary basins in the Rio Grande rift (Foster and 

Grant, 1974).

SAN JUAN BASIN

Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the Sar Juan 

Basin range in thickness from about 2,500 to 5,000 

feet (Momper, 1957; Peterson and others, 1965). 

Strata of the Cambrian, Devonian, and Mir-fissippian System are relatively thin or absent and, 

where present, generally have a combined thickness of less than 500 feet (Loleit, 1963; Parker and 

Roberts, 1963). Pennsylvanian rocks in tH San 

Juan Basin composed of marine carbonate rocks, 

black shale, and evaporite in the center and on the 

southwest flank of the Paradox basin and equivalent nonmarine arkose and red shale on the northeast flank of the Paradox basin attain a 

maximum thickness of about 3,000 feet (Peterson 

and others, 1965). Permian rocks in the San Juan 

Basin are largely nonmarine in origin and have a 

maximum thickness of about 2,lOO feet (Peterson 

and others, 1965).

Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks in the San Juan 

Basin have a maximum combined thickness between 11,000 and 12,000 feet. The Triassic and 

Jurassic rocks are largely nonmarine in ori|pn and 

have a combined thickness ranging from slightly 

less than 2,000 feet to 3,000 feet (Peterson and 

others, 1965). As much as 6,500 feet of Cret"<?eous 

rocks are present in the San Juan Basin owing 

largely to the deposition of offshore marine shale,

117
nearshore marine sandstone, paludal shale, 

sandstone, and coal, and alluvial plain sandstone 

and shale at or near a northeastward prograding 

shoreline (Molenaar, 1977, 1983). Tertiary rocks in 

the basin are nonmarine and attain a maximum 

thickness of about 3,500 feet (Peterson and others, 

1965; Fassett and Hinds, 1971).

DELAWARE BASIN, NORTHWEST SHELF, AND CENTRAL BASIN 

PLATFORM

In southeast New Mexico, Paleozoic sedimentary rocks attain a combined thickness of between 

9,000 and 23,000 feet (Meyer, 1966; Oriel and 

others, 1967; Hill, 1971; Hartman and Woodard, 

1971; Bachman, 1975). The Paleozoic rocks generally thicken from the Northwest shelf and Central 

Basin platform into the Delaware basin. A relatively thin section of Triassic and Tertiary rocks, 

with a combined thickness of 2,000 feet or less, 

overlies the Paleozoic section throughout most of 

southeast New Mexico (Stratigraphic Research 

Committee, 1956).

The Cambrian through Mississippian strata in 

southeast New Mexico have a combined thickness 

between 1,000 and 5,000 feet and primarily consist 

of shelf carbonates with minor amounts of 

sandstone and black shale (Hill, 1971; Wright, 

1979). These strata were removed from the northern extremity of the Northwest shelf by prePennsylvanian and pre-Permian erosion (Stratigraphic Studies Committee, 1953; Stratigraphic Research Committee, 1956). Pennsylvanian rocks 

thicken from about 1,000 feet on the Northwest 

shelf to a maximum of about 3,000 feet in the Delaware basin (Meyer, 1966; Bachman, 1975). The 

Pennsylvanian rocks consist of shelf carbonate 

rocks and minor intercalated red shale on the 

Northwest shelf and basinal sandstone and gray to 

black shale and limestone in the Delaware basin 

(Meyer, 1966; 1968) (fig. 6). Permian strata thicken from about 7,000 feet on the Northwest shelf 

to a maximum of about 14,000 feet in the Delaware basin (Oriel and others, 1967; Hartman and 

Woodard, 1971). Shelf, shelf-margin, and basinal 

carbonate fades are well defined in the Penman 

rocks, particularly in the rocks of the Guadalupian 

Series (Stratigraphic Studies Committee, 1953; 

Meyer, 1966; Silver and Todd, 1969) (figs. 6, 7).

PEDREGOSA BASIN

Southwest New Mexico has as much as 7,500 

feet of Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks in the

Pedregosa basin and as much as 15,000 feet of 

Lower Cretaceous rocks in the superimposed rift 

basins (Greenwood and others, 1977). More than 

5,000 feet of Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian 

(Wolfcampian) shelf carbonate rocks, shelf-margin 

carbonate rocks, and basinal black shale and carbonate rocks were deposited in the Pedregosa 

basin (Ross, 1973). The remaininfr 2,500 feet of 

Permian rocks is represented largely by shelf carbonates of the Leonardian Stage (Greenwood and 

others, 1970). Deposits of the Early Cretaceous 

rift basins began with conglomerate of alluvial fan 

origin, but eventually evolved into shallow marine 

limestone, shale, and sandstone (Hayes, 1970). 

Cambrian through Mississippian rocks with a 

maximum combined thickness of as much as 4,000 

feet (Kottlowski, 1971; Greenwood and others, 

1977) and Tertiary sedimentary an<* volcanic rocks 

locally as much as 6,000 feet thick (Thompson and 

others, 1978) further contribute to the already 

thick sedimentary section in southwest New 

Mexico. Because of the complex history of uplift, 

erosion, and plutonism, the above-mentioned rock 

units are not uniformly distributed throughout the 

area (fig. 9). Nonetheless, the overall thickness of 

this depocenter is impressive.

RATON AND LAS VEGAS BAf'NS

Sedimentary rocks reach a maximum combined 

thickness of between 14,000 and 2C,000 feet in the 

Raton basin (Baltz, 1965; Roberts and others, 

1976) and 12,700 feet in the Las Vegas basin 

(Baltz, 1965). The sedimentary section in these basins is largely comprised of Pennsylvanian (about 

5,500 feet maximum, Baltz, 196£; Roberts and 

others, 1976), Permian (abou* 2,000 feet 

maximum, Dixon, 1967; Robert^ and others, 

1976), Cretaceous (4,100 feet maximum, Molenaar, 

1983), and Tertiary (5,000 feet maximum, Speer, 

1976) rocks. The Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian rocks in the Rowe-Mora basin consist of dark 

basinal shale in the lower part of the Pennsylvanian System (Morrowan, Atokar, lower Desmoinesian) which are flanked on tl ? west by nonmarine arkosic sandstones and on the east by shelf 

carbonate rocks (Roberts and others 1976; Casey, 

1980) whereas the upper part of the Pennsylvanian System and the lower part of the Permian 

System (Wolfcampian) are represented by nearshore carbonate rocks flanked on the north, west, 

and east by arkosic sandstone and conglomerate 

(Roberts and others, 1976). Most of the arkosic

118
rocks were derived from the adjacent Sierra 

Grande and Uncompahgre-San Luis uplifts 

(Roberts and others, 1976). Nearshore marine 

sandstone and shelf carbonate rocks dominate the 

upper part of the Permian System (Leonardian 

and Guadalupian) (Roberts and others, 1976).

A nearly complete section of Cretaceous and 

Tertiary rocks is preserved in the Raton basin, 

but in the Las Vegas basin only the lower part of 

the Cretaceous section is present. The majority of 

the Cretaceous rocks in both basins are shale and 

sandstone deposited in offshore marine, nearshore 

marine, paludal, and alluvial plain environments, 

along or near an easterly prograding shoreline 

(Speer, 1976).

BASINS IN THE RIO GRANDE RIFT

Sedimentary rocks attain a thickness of 10,000 

feet or more in the Albuquerque, Espanola, Jornado del Muerto, Mesilla, Tularosa, and San Luis 

basins (fig. LA).

Approximately 7,300 feet of Pennsylvanian 

through Cretaceous strata underlie the 10,000 to 

12,000-foot-thick rift-filling Tertiary deposits of 

the Albuquerque basin (Black and Hiss, 1974). 

The pre-rift rocks encountered in the Shell Santa 

Fe No. 1 (fig. 1C) are as follows: 600 feet of 

Pennsylvanian sandstone, fossiliferous limestone, 

and black, gray, and reddish brown shale of 

largely marine origin; 1,400 feet of Permian reddish brown sandstone and mudstone of nonmarine 

origin and nearshore marine limestone; 2,000 feet 

of Triassic and Jurassic nonmarine sandtone, variegated mudstone, and local gypsum and dark 

gray limestone; and 3,300 feet of Cretaceous 

sandstone and gray shale of offshore marine, nearshore marine, and paludal origin (Black and Hiss, 

1974). The Pennsylvanian section in the Albuquerque basin probably thickens southward and westward against the adjacent Lucero uplift 

(Wengerd, 1959) (fig. 3).

Pre-rift rocks beneath the 10,000-foot-thick riftfilling Tertiary deposits of the Espanola basin 

probably have about the same thickness and 

lithologic characteristics as the pre-rift rocks in 

the Albuquerque basin (Black, 1979a; Ingersoll 

and Kelley, 1979). However, Permian and 

Pennsylvanian rocks may be thinner in the Espanola basin than in the Albuquerque basin and 

contain a greater proportion of nonmarine rocks.

In the San Luis basin the Pennsylvanian and 

Permian section thins to a zero edge over the Uncompahgre-San Luis uplift, except possibly along 

the east side of the basin where several thousand 

feet of proximal Pennsylvanian rocks may have 

been preserved (Baltz, 1965; Rascoe and Baars, 

1972; Mallory, 1972). Triassic, Jurassic, and probable Cretaceous rocks also thuji from so'ith to 

north across the San Luis basin (Baltz, 1965). Lipman and Mehnert (1979) suggest in a diagrammatic cross section through the San Luis basin that 

at least 9,000 feet of Tertiary rift deposits fill the 

deepest part of the basin. , The Jornada del Muerto (about 6,700 feet 

maximum), Mesilla (about 10,10Q feet maximum), 

and Tularosa (about 8,800 feet maximum) basins 

have a slightly greater thickness^ of pre-rifl rocks 

than the northern rift basins (Greenwood and 

others, 1977). Moreover, the pre-rift rocks of the 

Jornada del Muerto, Mesilla, and Tularosa basins 

are nearly all Paleozoic in age. Cambrian tl rough 

Mississippian rocks in the southern rift basms are 

largely shelf carbonate rocks with secondary 

sandstone and black shale (Kottlowski, 1971; 

Greenwood and others, 1977). The thickr^ss of 

these rocks ranges between zero and 2,800 feet in 

the Jornado del Muerto and Tularosa basins and 

between 2,500 and 3,600 feet in the Mesillr basin 

(Greenwood and others, 1977). Most of the 

Paleozoic rocks are absent in the northern part of 

the Jornada del Muerto and Tularosa basins 

(Greenwood and others, 1977).

The Tularosa Basin is situated over the center 

of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Orogrande basin, 

whereas the Jornada del Muerto and Mesilla basms are located on the flanks 0f the Ororrrande 

basin (Meyer, 1966; Greenwood aWl others, 1977). 

Pennsylvanian rocks attain a maximum thickness 

of about 3,500 feet in the center of the Tnlarosa 

Basin and thin to about 2,000 feet or less in the 

Jornada del Muerto and Mesilla basins (Greenwood and others, 1977). Shelf carbonate rocks, 

sandstone, and variegated shale of marir^ and 

nonmarine origin are the dominant rock types in 

the Orogrande basin (Meyer, li)66); however at 

times, particularly in the Virgilian, basinal shelf 

margin, and shelf facies developed in the Orogrande basin. Locally, dark gray basinal shrle and 

shelf-margin bioherms are present (Pray, 1961; 

Kottlowski, 1971).

Permian rocks in the Orogran4e basin ar^ similar to the Pennsylvanian rocks except that the 

Permian section contains more sandstone, red 

shale, and evaporite. Shelf-niargin carbonate

119
rocks and basinal dark shale and carbonate rocks 

are present in the Wolfcampian (Meyer, 1966; 

Kottlowski, 1971). The maximum thickness of the 

Permian rocks is about 2,000 feet in the Jornada 

del Muerto basin and about 3,000 feet in the 

Mesilla and Tularosa basins (Greenwood and 

others, 1977).

Approximately 1,000 feet of Lower Cretaceous 

rocks are present in the southern basins of the Rio 

Grande rift and about 700 feet of marine Jurassic 

rocks are present in the Mesilla basin (Thompson 

and Bieberman, 1975; Greenwood and others, 

1977). The combined thickness of the pre-rift and 

rift-filling Tertiary rocks is about 3,000 feet in the 

Jornada del Muerto basin (Sanford, 1968), about 

6,000 feet in the Tularosa Basin (McLean, 1970), 

and 12,000 feet in the Mesilla basin (Thompson 

and Bieberman, 1975).

SOURCE ROCKS, HYDROCARBON SHOWS, 

AND THERMAL MATURITY

Organic-rich rocks, which have generated or are 

capable of generating significant quantities of oil 

and gas in New Mexico, are Pennsylvanian and 

Permian black marine limestone and shale, Upper 

Cretaceous offshore marine shale, Upper Cretaceous paludal carbonaceous shale and coal, Upper 

Devonian marine black shale, and Middle Jurassic 

lacustrine(?) black limestone. Depending upon burial history, regional geothermal gradient, and 

proximity to magmatic activity, these rocks have 

attained a variety of maturation levels with respect to hydrocarbon generation ranging from 

immature to overmature.

PENNSYLVANIAN AND PERMIAN 

BLACK LIMESTONE AND SHALE

Pennsylvanian and Permian black shale and 

limestone are unquestionably the source for the 

numerous oil and gas accumulations in Pennsylvanian and Permian reservoirs of the Northwest 

shelf, Central Basin platform, and Delaware basin 

(Jones and Smith, 1965; Meyer, 1966). Moreover, 

oil and gas fields in Pennsylvanian rocks of the 

Four Corners platform were probably supplied by 

Pennsylvanian black shale beds. The weight percent organic carbon of the Pennsylvanian black 

shales in that area ranges from less than 1 to 

about 1.5 (Ross, 1980).

Black shale and limestone units of Pennsylvanian and (or) Permian age are present in many 

deep and thermally mature, but presently nonproducing, basins such as the Albuquerque basin, 

Jornada del Muerto basin, Las Vegas basin, 

Mesilla basin, Pedregosa basin, Rrton basin, and 

Tularosa Basin. Oil and gas shovrs in Paleozoic 

rocks of these basins probably originated from 

Pennsylvanian and (or) Permian bhck shales (Petroleum Information Well History Control System 

(WHCS) files);(Northrop and otherr 1946; McCaslin, 1974; Foster and Grant, 1974; Thompson and 

Bieberman, 1975; Thompson and others, 1978). A 

positive correlation between oil and gas shows in 

Paleozoic rocks and the presence of Pennsylvanian 

and (or) Permian black shale is rlso evident in 

marginally mature basins and uplifts such as the 

Estancia basin, Tucumcari basin, rnd Lucero uplift (Beaumont, 1961; Kottlowski, 1971; Reese, 

1975; McCaslin, 1982, 1983).

Detailed geochemical studies of samples from 

the KCM No. 1 Forest Federal driT hole (fig. 1C), 

Humble No. 1 State BA (fig. 1C) drill hole, and 

nearby outcrops suggest that the Pennsylvanian 

and (or) Permian black shales anc1 limestones in 

the Pedregosa basin have a maximum weight percent organic carbon value of slightly less than 1 

and have kerogen types which are fas prone (Cernock, 1977; Cernock and Bayliss, ir77; Thompson, 

1980). A Conodont Alteration Index (CAI) of 5 in 

the KCM No. 1 Forest Federal driT hole indicates 

that the Paleozoic rocks in this well have been 

heated above the limit of dry fas generation 

(Behnken, 1977; Harris and otherr 1978). However, this CAI value is strongly influenced by a 

quartz monzonite pluton encountered in the drill 

hole at a depth of 4,116 feet (Thompson, 1977) and 

thus may not be indicative of the regional 

paleotemperature. B. R. Wardlow and A. G. Harris (unpub. data) have shown, in the Pedregosa 

basin of Arizona, that once the ercessively high 

CAI values near plutons have bee^ removed the 

CAI values range between 3 and 4. If the 

Pennsylvanian and Permian rockr in the New 

Mexico part of the Pedregosa basin have similar 

CAI values, the implied burial history would be 

favorable for the generation of gas.

UPPER CRETACEOUS SHALE ANT COAL

The Upper Cretaceous Manco,** Shale, with 

weight percent organic carbon values up to 2, is 

the probable source for most of tve oil fields in 

Cretaceous rocks in the San Juar Basin (Ross, 

1980). In contrast, most of the gas in the San Juan 

Basin was probably generated fx>m thick se120
.ences of carbonaceous shale and coal of paludal 

origin (Buckner, 1976; Rice and Threlkeld, 1983). 

Gas in the Wagon Mound field was probably generated from carbonaceous shale units in the 

Dakota, but in light of the thin Cretaceous and 

Tertiary overburden in the Las Vegas basin, the 

gas may be biogenic rather than thermal in origin. 

Thick, thermally mature sequences of Upper Cretaceous gray marine shale, carbonaceous shale, 

and coal are present in the Albuquerque basin and 

undoubtedly these rocks have been the source of 

oil and gas shows reported in the Cretaceous section (Black, 1979a). Oil and gas shows in Cretaceous rocks of the Espanola (Black, 1979b) and 

Raton (Speer, 1976) basins were probably generated from gray offshore marine shale and paludal 

carbonaceous shale beds.

DEVONIAN BLACK SHALE

An Upper Devonian marine black shale, between 100 and 400 feet thick, extends across most 

of southern New Mexico (Greenwood and others, 

1977; Wright, 1979). In southeast New Mexico 

this black shale unit is known by some geologists 

as the Woodford Shale and is commonly thought 

to have been the source of much of the prePennsylvanian oil and gas on the Northwest shelf 

and Central Basin platform (Greenwood and 

others, 1977; Wright, 1979). In south-central and 

southwest New Mexico this black shale unit is 

called the Percha Shale, but the source-rock characteristics remain the same. The Percha Shale 

may have been the source for the oil and gas 

shows in the pre-Pennsylvanian rocks of the Pedregosa (Thompson and others, 1978) and Mesilla 

(Thompson and Bieberman, 1975) basins.

MIDDLE JURASSIC LIMESTONE

The black limestone member of the Middle 

Jurassic Todilto Formation is the probable source 

of the oil fields in the Jurassic Entrada Sandstone 

of the San Juan Basin (Ross, 1980; Vincelette and 

Chittum, 1981). In the San Juan Basin this limestone unit is thermally mature, yields up to 24 gallons of oil per ton, and has a maximum weight 

percent organic carbon value of about 1 (Ross, 

1980; Vincelette and Chittum, 1981). Tanner (1974) 

suggests that the Todilto Formation may be lacustrine in origin. The organic-rich limestone unit in 

the Todilto Formation extends as far east as the 

Albuquerque basin where it is the probable source 

of oil shows in the Entrada Sandstone (Black, 

1979a).

Thompson and Bieberman (1975) sugges* that 

an organic-rich, marine Jurassic unit (limestone?) 

in the Mesilla basin has the potential for bmg a 

petroleum source rock. However, the area! extent 

of this unit in New Mexico seems to be rather limited (Greenwood and others, 1977).

RESERVOIRS AND TRAPS

Major reservoir characteristics and tr*»Dping 

conditions have already been discussed for the hydrocarbon fields of the San Juan Basin, Northwest 

shelf, Central Basin platform, and De^ware 

basin. The following discussion will ir^ntion 

briefly those stratigraphic units where hydrocarbons would most likely reside in presently unproductive basins of New Mexico and what the mode 

of entrapment might be.

The Epitaph Dolomite (Permian), Concha 

Limestone (Permian), and the shelf-margin dolomite units of the Horquilla Limestone (Pennsylvanian-Permian) seem to be the most prospective reservoir units in the Pedregosa basin (Greenwood 

and others, 1977; Thompson, 1980). Reservoirs of 

secondary importance in the vicinity of tin Pedregosa basin include local rudistid reefs in the UBar Formation (Lower Cretaceous), shallow 

marine sandstone in the Mojado Formation 

(Lower Cretaceous), and shelf carbonates and 

dolomites in the El Paso Limestone (Ordo^ician), 

Montoya Dolomite (Ordovician), and Fus^elman 

Dolomite (Silurian) (Thompson and others, 1978). 

A wide variety of structures, some in combmation 

with stratigraphic variations suitable for hydrocarbon traps, are present in the Pedregosa basin.

Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian shelf carbonate rocks with local sandstone and shelf-margin 

carbonate rocks (Magdalena Group) and dolomite 

in the Permian San Andres Limestone seen to be 

the most important potential reservoir unitf in the 

Jornada del Muerto and Tularosa basins (Greenwood and others, 1977; Thompson and others, 

1978). Both structural and stratigraphic tr*aps are 

available. The El Paso Limestone, Montoya Dolomite, and Fusselman Dolomite may also b-? important reservoirs in the Jornada del MueHo and 

Tularosa basins, particularly in areas where truncation traps are available (Kottlowski, 1971; Foster and Grant, 1974). The favorable reservoirs in 

the Jornada del Muerto and Tularosa basins also 

are present in the Mesilla basin; in addition, 

Lower Cretaceous sandstone units are possible reservoirs in the latter (Foster and Grant, 1974).

121
Potential traps in the Mesilla basin are largely of 

the structural variety (Foster and Grant, 1974).

The primary stratigraphic units with reservoir 

potential in the Albuquerque basin, and probably 

the Espanola basin, are Upper Cretaceous shallow 

marine sandstones such as the Dakota, Gallup, and 

Point Lookout Sandstones, the Middle Jurassic 

Entrada Sandstone, and shelf carbonates in the 

Pennsylvanian Madera Limestone. Faults and 

drape folds associated with individual fault blocks 

provide a trapping mechanism, in addition to the 

southward pinch out (truncation) of the Entrada 

Sandstone across the southern part of the Albuquerque basin and fades variations and pinch 

outs in the Cretaceous sandstones (Black, 1979a; 

Kelley, 1979).

Shallow marine sandstone units in the Upper 

Cretaceous Trinidad Sandstone and the Lower 

and Upper Cretaceous Dakota Sandstones have 

the best potential as petroleum reservoirs in the 

Raton and Las Vegas basins (Baltz, 1965; Speer, 

1976). Shelf carbonates of the Pennsylvanian Madera Limestone and nearshore marine conglomeratic sandstones of the Sandia Formation may also 

be good reservoir units in the Las Vegas basin 

(Baltz, 1965; Foster and Grant, 1974). Both anticlinal and stratigraphic traps are present in the 

Raton and Las Vegas basins. Other traps may be 

formed by the updip truncation of the Madera 

Limestone and Sandia Formation hi the northern 

part of the Las Vegas basin beneath the PermianPennsylvanian Sangre de Cristo Formation (Baltz, 

1965; Foster and Grant, 1974).

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Aside from the San Juan Basin, Delaware basin, 

Northwest shelf, and Central Basin platform, 

much of New Mexico is a frontier area in terms of 

oil and gas exploration. However, given the complex tectonic and magmatic history and the susceptibility of many of the potential reservoir rocks 

to flushing by freshwater, the hydrocarbon potential in these frontier areas is considered by the author to be low to moderate. One of the major 

problems that may have precluded large hydrocarbon accumulations from forming in the present 

frontier areas of the State is that the oil and gas 

may have been redistributed from primary traps 

to secondary and tertiary traps as various generations of faults evolved in a given rift system. Commonly, these redistributed hydrocarbons escaped

to the atmosphere. Another probhm is that many 

hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon so'irce rocks may 

have been destroyed by high thermal regimes associated with plutonism and volcarism.

The Pedregosa basin with good source rocks, 

good reservoirs, and local hydrocarbon shows 

seems to be one of the more premising frontier 

areas in New Mexico for oil and gas exploration. 

Unfortunately, most of the oil and gas in the area 

probably was generated during o^ shortly after a 

thick section of sedimentary rocks was deposited 

in the superimposed Early Cretaceous rift basins; 

thus oil and gas accumulations were subject to redistribution or destruction by Laramide, middle 

Tertiary, and late Tertiary tectonic and magmatic 

episodes that followed.

The question of whether or not the Cordilleran 

fold and thrust belt extends across southwest 

New Mexico and adjacent Arizona is still unresolved. However, the results of the Phillips Arizona 

State No. A-l drill hole (Reif and Robinson, 1981) 

strongly suggest that if the thrust belt does extend through southwest New Merico, it is not expressed as a major allochthon of crystalline rocks 

that overlies a thick, previously unknown and unexplored section of Paleozoic and Mesozoic 

sedimentary rocks (Hansen anc1 others, 1980). 

Therefore, this unanswered question concerning 

the presence or absence of the tlmst belt probably does not significantly affect the overall assessment of the oil and gas potential of southwest 

New Mexico.

Rift basins in the southern part of the Rio 

Grande rift, such as the Jornada del Muerto, 

Mesilla, and Tularosa basins, also are promising 

areas for oil and gas exploration because of good 

source rocks, good reservoir rocl s, and local hydrocarbon shows. However, tHse basins are 

plagued by the same problems that exist in the 

Pedregosa basin and superimposed Early Cretaceous rift basins, namely, repeated1 episodes of extensional tectonism, magmatism, and volcanism.

The better opportunities for firming oil and gas 

in the Pedregosa basin and tin basins in the 

southern Rio Grande rift probably exist in the 

deep parts of the basins where initially trapped 

hydrocarbons were least affected by repeated extensionaJ tectonism and flushing by freshwater. 

Known centers of plutonism and volcanism should 

be avoided for petroleum exploration. Tertiary 

strata near the flanks of the basics may also have 

trapped hydrocarbons which were redistributed

122
from preexisting oil and (or) gas accumulations 

in pre-rift rocks.

Commercial oil and gas accumulations may also 

be found in the Albuquerque basin, but deep drilling here has proven disappointing to date. Only 

one major gas show has been reported 

(Broadhead, 1983). A major difficulty could be the 

recognition of a trap that is well sealed and predates the migration of hydrocarbons. Despite 

these economic failures, the recent deep drilling 

by the oil industry in the Albuquerque basin 

exemplifies the type of action that must be taken 

if commercial hydrocarbons are to be found in the 

Rio Grande rift.

The Espanola and San Luis basins are not as attractive for hydrocarbon exploration as the Albuquerque basin but, nonetheless, may have some 

potential. The best exploration objectives are Cretaceous rocks in the Espanola and San Luis basins, supplemented by Pennsylvanian rocks in the 

Espanola basin. Major drawbacks to exploration 

in these basins, in addition to multiple phases of 

extensional tectonics and the recognition of a suitable trap, may be the proximity of the Jemez volcanic province to the Espanola basin and the probable lack of Pennsylvanian reservoir and source 

rocks in the San Luis basin.

Other basins and uplifts along the Rio Grande 

rift that may yield commercial hydrocarbons include the Salt basin and the Guadalupe Mountains 

uplift (fig. LA). Basins and uplifts such as the 

Estancia basin, Caballo Mountains uplift, Sacramento Mountains uplift, and San Andres Mountains uplift are less desirable because many of the 

reservoir objectives are exposed and are susceptible to flushing by freshwater.

Of the basins outside the Rio Grande rift and 

the southwestern part of the Basin and Range 

province, the Las Vegas basin, Raton basin, and 

possibly the Tucumcari basin have the best potential for yielding commercial hydrocarbons. Basins 

and uplifts such as the Acoma basin, Chama basin, 

Lucero uplift, Sierra Grande uplift, and Zuni basin 

are not as favorable for oil and gas accumulations 

because of their thin sedimentary cover and their 

susceptibility to flushing by freshwater.

PETROLEUM POTENTIAL OF 

WILDERNESS LANDS

On the basis of the geologic framework and petroleum geology outlined in the previous sections,

the hydrocarbon potential of the Wilderness 

Lands in New Mexico is rated qualitative^ on a 

scale from high to zero. A high rating is assigned 

to Wilderness Lands that are located 

near or along the projected trend of hydrocarbon 

production and have all the geologic attributes of 

the producing area. A medium rating is aligned 

to Wilderness Lands that have all the attributes, 

including shows, of a future petroleum producing 

area, but lack commercial production. In contrast, 

low and zero ratings are assigned, respectively, to 

Wilderness Lands that have few or no attributes 

of a future petroleum producing area. Usually a 

zero rating is reserved for regions characterized 

by autochthonous igneous and metamorphic rocks. 

For ease of discussion, the Wilderness Lands in 

New Mexico are grouped into 18 clusters (f 7. 12), 

each containing one or more tracts that hrve the 

same or similar geologic characteristics and the 

same hydrocarbon potential.

Cluster 1

Cluster 1 is comprised of a single tract of Wilderness Land along the west flank of the Mesilla 

basin in south-central New Mexico near the 

Mexico and Texas border (figs. LA, 12). Quaternary basalt is exposed throughout the tract (Dane 

and Bachman, 1965). Judging from the sedimentary rocks in the nearby Grimm et al No. 1 Mobil32 drill hole, the author believes a thick section of 

Paleozoic rocks probably exists beneath the 

basalts (Thompson and Bieberman, 1975) (fig. 1C). 

Oil and (or) gas shows were reported in the 

Grimm No. 1 drill hole from Tertiary rocks, 

Lower Cretaceous rocks, Pennsylvanian rocks, 

and the Ordovician Montoya Dolomite (Thompson 

and Bieberman, 1975). Because of the hydrocarbon shows and the thick section of sedur^ntary 

rocks in the Grimm No. 1, the hydrocarbon potential of the tract in cluster 1 is rated medium. Units 

having the best reservoir potential are Lower 

Cretaceous rocks, Pennsylvanian and Permian 

rocks, the Fusselman Dolomite, the Montoya 

Dolomite, and the El Paso Limestone. Units having the best source rock characteristics in the cluster are the Devonian Percha Shale, Permian black 

shale, and Jurassic marine rocks (Thompson and 

Bieberman, 1975). Anticlines, faulted anticlines, 

and tilted fault blocks are the most probable 

traps. Negative aspects of cluster 1 in tenr<* of oil 

and gas exploration are adjacent centers of volcanism and complex faulting associated with the 

development of the Rio Grande rift.

123
EXPLANATION

High Medium Low : : ##:} Low to zero Zero

FIGURE 12. Map showing the qualitative estimate of petroleum potential for Wilderness Lands in New Mexico. The heavy lines 

and associated numbers define clusters of Wilderness Lands that have the same or similar geologic characteristics and the 

same hydrocarbon potential.

124
Cluster 2

Cluster 2 contains 12 tracts of Wilderness 

Lands in southwesternmost New Mexico that are 

distributed across the Pedregosa basin, Early 

Cretaceous rift basins, and the southern part of 

the Rio Grande rift (figs. LA, 12). The hydrocarbon potential of these tracts is rated low.

The tracts in the Pedregosa basin and superimposed Early Cretaceous basins have a thick section of Paleozoic and Lower Cretaceous rocks. 

Some of these rocks are allochthonous (fig. 9, section J-J'). Source rocks, reservoir rocks, structural traps, and thermal history are at least locally 

favorable for the generation and entrapment of 

hydrocarbons. By analogy to the thermal history 

of the Pedregosa basin in Arizona (B. R. Wardlaw 

and A. G. Harris, unpub. data), the thermal history of the Pedregosa basin in New Mexico probably favors the generation of gas over oil. Kerogen 

types in the Pennsylvania black shale and limestone also favor the generation of gas over oil 

(Thompson, 1980). Both oil and gas shows have 

been reported from drill holes near the tracts 

(Thompson and others, 1978). However, hydrocarbons generated in these tracts are very prone to 

leakage and destruction owing to the presence of 

several generations of faults and plutons, many of 

which postdate the major phase of oil and gas generation and migration. Elston (1976) estimates 

that as much as a third of southeast New Mexico 

may be underlain by plutons such as the one encountered in the KCM No. 1 Forest Federal drill 

hole (Thompson, 1977). The location of the tracts 

along structurally high fault blocks, which permit 

the entry of freshwater, further reduce their hydrocarbon potential.

The easternmost tract in the cluster is located 

on an intrarift horst block between the GoodsightrCedar Hills depression and the Jornada del 

Muerto basin (fig. LA). Pennsylvanian and Permian sedimentary rocks intruded by thick rhyolite 

sills crop out at the surface and are very susceptible to flushing by freshwater. No shows were reported in a nearby drill hole that reached Precambrian basement rocks (Thompson and Bieberman, 1975). A small piece of this tract is grouped 

with cluster 6 for the quantitative petroleum assessment because it falls across the south-central 

petroleum province boundary, but for this discussion it will be included in cluster 2.

The tracts in the easternmost part of cluster 2 

are in or adjacent to the Goodsight^Cedar Hills

depression, a large cauldron filled with up to 2,000 

feet of ash-flow tuff and lava flows (fig. LA, F). Two 

nearby drill holes indicate that about 3,500 feet of 

Paleozoic rocks are present beneath the cover of 

volcanic rocks (Thompson and Bieberman, 1975; 

Thompson and others, 1980). One of the drT holes 

is about 5 miles southeast of the northernmost 

tract in the depression. This drill hole yielded no 

oil and gas shows and the reservoirs have probably been flushed by freshwater (Thompson and 

Bieberman, 1975). The second drill hole is in the 

southwest corner of the large tract south of the 

Goodsight-Cedar Hills depression. Gas shows 

were reported in this well from the El Paso 

Limestone (Thompson and others, 1980). T^ hydrocarbon potential of the large tract south of the 

Goodsightr-Cedar Hills depression is rated1 lower 

than the adjacent tract in the Mesilla basin (cluster 1) because the sedimentary section in.tire tract 

near the Goodsightr-Cedar Hills depression is thinner and is cut by more dikes, sills, and volcanic 

pipes than the tracts in the Mesilla basin.

Clusters 3 and 8

Clusters 3 and 8 consist of three small tracts of 

Wilderness Lands that are in or adjacent to the 

transitional zone between the Basin and Range 

and Colorado Plateau physiographic provinces 

(figs. LA, 12). The hydrocarbon potential of these 

clusters is rated low to zero. The eastern tract in 

these clusters has Paleozoic and Cretaceour strata 

at the surface intruded by a Cretaceous and (or) 

Tertiary pluton. The western tracts probably contain no Paleozoic rocks and only a thin section of 

Cretaceous rocks (Dane and Bachman, 1965); Precambrian rocks crop out a few miles northwest of 

both groups of tracts.

Cluster 4

Cluster 4 is comprised of a single tract of Wilderness Land in the northern part of the Jornada 

del Muerto basin (figs. LA, 12). Quaternary basalt 

is exposed throughout the tract (Dare and 

Bachman, 1965) (fig. IB). The hydrocarbon potential of this tract is rated medium because of the location of the tract near the axis of the basin and 

because 5,000 to 6,000 feet of Pennsylvanian, Permian, and Upper Cretaceous rocks are present beneath the cover of volcanic rocks. Some prePennsylvanian sedimentary rocks may also be present. Also, oil and gas shows have been reported 

from several drill holes in the deep part of the Jor125
nada del Muerto basin about 25 miles south of 

cluster 4. Strata in cluster 4 are probably thermally immature because of their thin overburden, 

so for hydrocarbons to be present they had to 

migrate there from the south. Pennsylvania!! 

rocks and the Ordovician El Paso Limestone are 

the most likely exploration objectives. Tilted fault 

blocks and (or) associated anticlines are the most 

probable traps, although traps involving the 

northward truncation of the El Paso Limestone 

are possible. Perhaps the most negative aspect of 

the tract, in terms of oil and gas exploration, is 

that freshwater could easily enter the basin 

through outcrops of Paleozoic rocks along the west 

flank of the basin reducing the potential for petroleum.

Cluster 5

Cluster 5 is represented by a single tract of Wilderness Land in the Brokeoff Hills uplift of southeast New Mexico, a highly faulted subblock of the 

Guadalupe Mountains uplift (figs. 1A, 12). The wilderness tract is about 20 miles west of the nearest 

gas field on the Northwest shelf (fig. 1C). Permian 

rocks of the Guadalupian Stage are exposed 

throughout the tract (Dane and Bachman, 1965). 

The numerous northwest trending faults that 

transect the wilderness tract were probably 

formed during the late Tertiary phase of rifting in 

the Basin and Range province and, thus, postdated the major late Paleozoic phase of oil and gas 

generation and migration in the Delaware basin 

and Northwest shelf. Most likely, any hydrocarbons trapped in the Brokeoff Hills area as a result 

of the late Paleozoic phase of generation and migration would have been severely dislocated by the 

extensional faulting and escaped to the atmosphere. Drill holes near the wilderness tract have 

not yielded oil and gas shows. The hydrocarbon 

potential of cluster 5 is rated low.

Clusters 6 and 14

Clusters 6 and 14 consist of numerous tracts of 

Wilderness Lands spread across the southern part 

of the Colorado Plateau province, the eastern part 

of the transitional zone, and the southern part of 

the Rio Grande rift (figs. 1A, 12). The hydrocarbon potential in these tracts is rated low.

The tracts in the Colorado Plateau province occupy parts of the Zuni basin, Zuni uplift, Acoma 

basin, Lucero uplift, and the northern flank of the 

San Augustin basin (figs. 1A, 12). Quaternary and

Tertiary basalts, Upper Cretaceous marine and 

nonmarine rocks, and Triassic mnmarine rocks 

are the most commonly exposed rocks in these 

tracts and the total sedimentary section is less 

than 5,000 feet thick. It is doubtful if the strata of 

source rock quality in these trr"ts have been 

buried deeply enough to generate oil and gas. 

Only one of a half dozen or more drill holes in or 

near the tracts has yielded hydrocarbon shows.

Rocks of the Datil-Mogollon vc^anic field are 

exposed throughout the tracts of the transition 

zone. The interior parts of the vohanic field, such 

as clusters 7 (part) and 18, are mc^t likely underlain by a large pluton or compT ex of plutons 

(Elston and others, 1976). However, around the 

fringes of the volcanic field, where tracts in clusters 6 and 14 are located, Paleozoic rocks and possibly Cretaceous rocks with adequate source and 

reservoir characteristics may underlie the cover of 

volcanic rocks.

All but one of the remaining tracts in clusters 6 

and 14 are astride intrarift horst bT ocks in the Rio 

Grande rift between the San Augustin and Jornada del Muerto basins. The exception is a tract 

on the northwest flank of the Sierra Blanca basin, 

a northern extension of the Tularosa Basin (figs. 

1A, 12). Many of the intrarift horst blocks are 

comprised of 3,000- to 4,000-foot-thick sections of 

Pennsylvanian, Permian, and Up^er Cretaceous 

rocks. Commonly, these tracts are capped by volcanic rocks of the Datil-Mogollon volcanic field and 

by Tertiary rift-filling deposits. Y «. rocks in the 

horst blocks are probably thenrsdly immature, 

and even if hydrocarbons had been generated they 

would have been very susceptible to flushing by 

freshwater. The most probable sites for hydrocarbon accumulations in these tracts are in the Tertiary rift basins that adjoin several of the intrarift 

horst blocks. Of the half dozen or so drill holes adiacent to these tracts, only one (about 18 miles 

south of Socorro) has a hydrocarbon (gas) show.

The single tract on the northwest flank of the 

Sierra Blanca basin is comprised o* about 1,800 to 

2,000 feet of Pennsylvanian rocks (Meyer, 1966), 

about 5,000 to 6,000 feet of Permian rocks (Meyer, 

1966; Petroleum Information WHCS file), and a 

cover of Quaternary basalt. The sedimentary section is thicker by about 500 to 1,000 feet if the 

Mesozoic rocks along the eastern margin of the 

tract are included. A large northeast trending 

anticline, which has been tested without shows to 

as deep as the Precambrian basement, extends

126
through the northern part of the tract (Woodward 

and others, 1975). Oil and gas shows have been reported from Permian rocks in several drill holes 

less than two miles northeast of the tract. The hydrocarbon potential of this tract is not rated 

higher because part of the section has been intruded by Cretaceous and (or) Tertiary plutons 

(Dane and Bachman, 1965) and many of the units 

having reservoir potential are susceptible to flushing by freshwater.

Cluster 7

Cluster 7 contains tracts in the western part of 

the transitional zone, along the flanks of the Jornada del Muerto and Tularosa basins, and near the 

center of the Sierra Blanca basin (figs. LA, 12). 

The hydrocarbon potential of these tracts is rated 

low to zero.

The three westernmost tracts in cluster 7 have 

volcanic rocks of the Datil-Mogollon volcanic field 

at the surface. These tracts are rated low to zero 

because Paleozoic rocks are probably absent 

(Greenwood and others, 1977) and those sedimentary rocks that are present have probably been intruded by major plutons (Elston and others, 

1976).

The tract on the east flank of the Jornada del 

Muerto basin, south of the San Andres Mountains 

uplift, is dominated by a large Cretaceous and (or) 

Tertiary pluton which has pervasively intruded 

adjacent Paleozoic rocks. Hydrocarbons, if present 

at all in the area, would be located beneath the 

Tertiary rift deposits adjoining the westernmost 

part of the tract.

The tract in the Sierra Blanca basin has also 

been intruded by a large Cretaceous and (or) Tertiary pluton. Sedimentary rocks beneath the pluton (in cluster 18) have probably been severely altered. In contrast, sedimentary rocks along the 

northwest fringe of the pluton (in cluster 7) may 

have escaped destruction and might be adequate 

reservoir units. One good gas show was reported 

from Pennsylvanian rocks about 10 miles southwest of the tract (McCaslin, 1974).

The tract on the Sacramento Mountains uplift 

has Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks at the surface which seem to be free of igneous intrusions. 

However, the tract is given a low to zero rating 

because freshwater would have easy access to all 

the possible reservoir units.

Cluster 9

Cluster 9 consists of three tracts along the

southwest flank of the San Juan Basin (fi^rs. LA, 

12). The hydrocarbon potential of this cluster is 

rated high because the cluster is located along 

several major producing trends in the basin. Several producing oil wells, probably drilled rs stepout wells to the Bisti field, are present in the 

northernmost tract, and numerous subsurface oil 

and gas shows have been reported from Upper 

Cretaceous rocks in and around the other two 

tracts in the cluster. Oil fields in the Juraf sic Entrada Sandstone are located within 5 or 6 miles of 

the southernmost tract. The most probable exploration objectives in cluster 9 are stratignnhically 

trapped oil and gas accumulations in Upp^r Cretaceous nearshore-marine sandstones and in the 

Jurassic Entrada Sandstone.

Cluster 10

A single tract of Wilderness Land along the 

southern flank of the San Juan Basin comprises 

cluster 10 (figs. LA, 12). Several Upper Cretaceous sandstone and shale units and local Tertiary 

basalts crop out in the tract (Dane and Bf *hman, 

1965). On the basis of the presence of Jurassic and 

Upper Cretaceous oil fields about 10 milef to the 

north, oil shows in nearby drill holes, and favorable reservoir and stratigraphic traps in Upper 

Cretaceous nearshore marine sandstones and the 

Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, the hydrocarbon potential of cluster 10 is rated medium. The hydrocarbon potential is not rated high because numerous small Cretaceous and (or) Tertiary plutons are 

scattered about the tract and freshwater r accessible to the rocks beneath the tract from c'ltcrops 

flanking the Nacimiento and Zuni upliftr Also, 

one unsuccessful test has been drilled to the Precambrian basement in this tract.

Clusters 11 and 13

Clusters 11 and 13 are comprised of 6 tracts of 

Wilderness Lands which extend from the southern 

part of the Chama basin, across the western margin of the Nacimiento uplift, to the southeast 

corner of the San Juan Basin (figs. LA, 12). Despite the nearby oil fields and oil and gas shows, 

the hydrocarbon potential of these tracts is rated 

low.

A low rating is assigned to the tractf in the 

southern Chama basin because the Upp^r Cretaceous reservoir units have been removed by erosion and the Pennsylvanian reservoir units are 

very susceptible to flushing by freshwater

127
Upper Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Pennsylvanian 

rocks are possible exploration objectives beneath 

the western margin of the allochthonous Precambrian basement rocks of the Nacimiento uplift. 

However, the units with reservoir potential are 

steeply dipping and would require very efficient 

traps to retain hydrocarbons.

The two tracts in the southeastern San Juan 

Basin are rated low because the westernmost 

tract is intruded by a small Cretaceous and (or) 

Tertiary pluton and the easternmost tract has 

been tested without success to the Precambrian 

basement. The strata with reservoir potential in 

these tracts are closer to the Nacimiento uplift 

than the strata in cluster 10 and thus are more 

susceptible to flushing by freshwater.

Cluster 12

Cluster 12 consists of a single tract of Wilderness Land along the west flank of the San Luis 

basin (figs. 1A, 12). Basalts of Tertiary and (or) 

Quaternary age crop out throughout the tract 

(Dane and Bachman, 1965). The hydrocarbon potential of the tract is rated low because the 

sedimentary section here is probably limited to a 

thin section of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary 

rocks.

Cluster 15

Cluster 15 is represented by a single tract of 

Wilderness Land on the eastern fringe of the 

Jemez volcanic province (figs. LA, 12). A thick section of volcanic rocks is present at the surface, 

and it is very likely that intrusive rocks associated 

with these volcanic rocks have disrupted the underlying sedimentary rocks of Late Cretaceous, 

Jurassic, and Pennsylvanian age and any hydrocarbons trapped within. The hydrocarbon potential of cluster 15 is rated low to zero.

Cluster 16

Cluster 16 consists of several tracts of Wilderness Lands along the rim of the Delaware basin 

and one tract of Wilderness Land on the Northwest shelf (figs. 1A, 12). Shelf-margin carbonates 

of the Guadalupian crop out across the southern 

tracts whereas shelf carbonates of the Guadalupian crop out across the northern tract (Dane and 

Bachman, 1965). Oil and gas fields extend to the 

borders of both groups of tracts, and for this 

reason the hydrocarbon potential of these tracts is 

rated high.

Gas in Morrowan sandstones and pre-Pennsylvanian carbonates, in either stratigraphic or structural traps, is the most likely exploration objective in the southern tracts. Some oil may be present in the dark basinal carbonate rocks of the 

Permian System (Broadhead, 1983).

In the northern tract, the main exploration objective is gas in shelf carbonates and intercalated 

sandstones of the Wolfcampian anrl Leonardian. 

Stratigraphically trapped hydrocarbons would be 

the most likely type of accumulation.

Cluster 17

Cluster 17 has a single tract of Wilderness Land 

on the Sierra Grande uplift of Permian and 

Pennsylvanian age (figs. 1A, 12). Jurassic and 

Triassic rocks that crop out throughout the tract 

cover a sequence of Permian and Pennsylvanian 

rocks less than 3,500 feet thick (Dane and 

Bachman, 1965; Roberts and others, 1976). The 

hydrocarbon potential of the tract is rated low because suitable reservoirs in the Pennsylvanian and 

Permian rocks are generally absert and because 

no hydrocarbon shows have been recorded from 

nearby drill holes.

Cluster 18

Cluster 18 consists of numerous tracts in northcentral and central New Mexico having autochthonous Precambrian crystalline Hsement rocks 

or Cretaceous and (or) Tertiary intrusive rocks at, 

or near, the surface (figs. 1A,B, 12),The hydrocarbon potential of these tracts is rated zero. Any 

sedimentary rocks in the tracts thH rest on Precambrian rocks are very thin and hf ve been highly 

dissected by modern drainage. Those sedimentary 

rocks that may exist beneath laccolith-type plutons of Cretaceous and (or) Tertian7 age are probably very thin and pervasively intrided by satellite intrusions. The large tract in southwest New 

Mexico has volcanic rocks of the Datil-Mogollon 

province at the surface and a large pluton or complex of plutons at depth (Elston and others, 1976).

SUMMARY

Of the 2,676,856 acres of Wilderness Lands in 

New Mexico the potential acreage can be summarized as follows: high potential, 96.6 thousand 

acres; medium potential, 115.3 thousand acres; 

low potential, 1,237.3 thousand acres; low to zero 

potential, 158 thousand acres; and zero potential, 

1,069.6 thousand acres. The petroleum potential

128
by acreage of all Wilderness Land categories in 

the Western United States is shown in this circular by B. M. Miller in table 1, chapter P.

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