Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 188 . Series { §

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR

WATER RESOURCES

OF THE

RIO GRANDE VALLEY IN NEW MEXICO

AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT

BY

WILLIS T. LEE

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1907

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction............................................................. 7

Geography....................^........................................... 8

Relation to other regions ............................................. 8

Eastern margin....................................................... 8

Western margin...................................................... 8

Central area.......................................................... 9

Mountains ........................................... ........... 9

Plains........................................................... 9

Slopes........................................................... H

Terraces ......................................................... 11

Erosion basins and canyons....................................... 12

Introductory statement................... ................... 12

Espanola Valley ............................................... 12

White Rock Canyon.......................................... 12

Santo Domingo Valley........................................ 13

San Felipe Canyon ........................................... 13

Albuquerque Valley.......................................... 13

Isleta Narrows ............................................... 13

Belen Valley................................................. 13

San Acacia Gorge ............................. .............. 14

Socorro Valley............................................... 14

Engle Valley ................................................ 14

Elephant Butte Canyon. .........................*............. 14

Las Palomas Valley .......................................... 15

Selden Canyon............................................... 15

Mesilla Valley ....................................... ....... 15

El Paso Canyon.............................................. 15

El Paso Valley............................................... 16

Geology ................................................................. 16

Introduction......................................................... 16

Rock formations...................................................... 16

Consolidated sediments........................................... 16

Unconsolidated sediments......................................... 16

Igneous rocks .................................................... 17

Structure ............................................................ 17

General characteristics............................................ 17

Eastern border................................................... 18

Western border .................................................. 18

Central area...................................................... 18

Topographic development............................................. 19

Erosjon................................ ........................ 19

Sedimentation. .................................................... 19

Tertiary ..................................................... 19

Quaternary .................................................. 19

3
4 CONTENTS.

Geology Continued. Page.

Tertiary and Quaternary history....................................... 20

Surface deformation and first volcanic eruption..................... 20

First accumulation of gravels...................................... 20

Second volcanic eruption.......................................... 21

First epoch of erosion............................................. 21

Ancient course of the Eio Grande.............................. 21

Second accumulation of gravels.................................... 22

Third volcanic eruption........................................... 22

Diversion of the Rio Grande ...................................... 23

Second epoch of erosion........................................... 23

Accumulation of silt.............................................. 24

Reservoir sites............................................................ 25

Introductory statement............................................... 25

International reservoir................................................ 25

Engle reservoir. _ i.................................................... 26

Location......................................................... 26

Rock formations ................................................. 26

Structure ........................................................ 26

Spillway......................................................... 27

Constructional materials .......................................... 28

Building stone ............................................... 28

Cement material............................................. 28

Coal......................................................... 29

San Acacia reservoir................................................... 29

San Felipe reservoir .................................................. 29

Espanola reservoir ................................................... 30

Water supply .......................................................... '.. 30

Surface waters ....................................................... 30

Rainfall ......................................................... 30

Evaporation ..................................................... 31

Drainage ........................................................ 31

Underground waters.................................................. 33

Santa Fe district.................................................. 33

Albuquerque district ............................................. 34

Beleii district........................-..---....-.-------..-..--.- 35

General conditions ...............-..........-.--..-...---...-. 35

Wells ........._.....................,............:.......... 35

Jornada district....-.-.............-..-.-...-..-...-.-.-....---.. 37

Geologic structure...'..........-....-............-.-...-.---.. 37

Flowing wells................................................ 37

Nonflowing wells................... .......................^.. 38

Indications of artesian water .................................. 39

La Mesa district.................................................. 39

Mesilla district................................................... 40

Location and character ....................................... 40

Water table.................................................. " 41

Wells of Mesilla Valley....................................... 41

General statements.. ..................................... 41

Wells at Agricultural College.............................. 41

Wells of F. C. Barker ..................................... 42

Well of Mrs. E. M. Boyer................................. 43

Well of Frank Burke..................................... 43

 Well of J. C. Can-era-.................................... 43
CONTENTS. 5

Water supply Continued. PageUnderground waters Continued. 

Mesilla district Continued.

Wells of Mesilla Valley Continued.

Well of Robert Elwood ................................... 43

Well of W. N. Hager..................................... 43

Well of A. L. Hines...................................... 43

Wells of Horace Ranch Company .........................^ 44

Las Cruces city well....._....-....--------.------ ........ 44

Well of Theodore Roualt ................................. 44

Well of Shalam Colony................................... 45

Well of ,T. R. Thompson .................................. 45

Well of G. H. Totten................ ................... 45

Table showing well records in Mesilla Valley..-.....--..-.. - 46

Underflow of the Rio Grande region.....,..........-..-.......--...--- 48

Water plane ..................................................... 48

Quantity of underflow............................................ 48

Origin of underflow.--.--.-.......--..-........--.-.----..-....--- 49

Course of underflow .............................................. 50

Chemical character of Rio Grande waters.............................. 50

Mesilla district................................................... 50

Other districts ................................................... 51

Applications......................................................... 55

Utilization of underflow .......................................... 55

Shallow wells................................................ 55

Deep wells. ................................................^. 55

Seepage ditches.............................................. 55

Water storage.................................................... 55

Index ......__......................................................... 57

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATE I. Topographic sketch map of the Rio Grande region................. 7

II. A, Face of terrace west of Caballos Mountains; B, Albuquerque volcanoes and lava flow .......................................... 12

III. Cross sections of the Rio Grande region........................... 14

IV. A, Lava-capped mesa at San Marcial; J5, Side gorge at the entrance

to White Rock Canyon, near Espanola dam site ................. 16

V. A, Tertiary strata in Arroyo Salado at the base of Sierra Ladron;

B, Canyon in Tertiary sediments west of San Acacia, N. Mex...... 18

VI. A, Sandia Volcano; a volcanic cone of recent origin west of Isleta,

N. Mex.; B, Caballos Mountains............................... 20

VII. A, Western face of the Fra Cristobal Mountains, showing two faults;

B, Fault plane at western base of the Fra Cristobal Mountains... 22 

VIII. Geologic map of Elephant Butte region........................... 26

IX. Engle dam site.................................................. 28

X. Map of Mesilla Valley........................................... 42

FIG. 1. Sketch section illustrating the detrital deposits of Rio Grande Valley . 20 

2. Section across White Rock Canyon near Espanola dam site .......... 30

M

O O

H 1 ^ o" 

00?°

I -3 s 

&> I

Xt

^i* i / , i wI

cl t-f| 

HT> I-HI 

-^t h>' H ^i > M 

	W

oo 3? f CD S 

,,.

p,hcj O CD H n 

CO0

Or

-oW

I 

CD3

'-? o » m

*

CK;

OIU S 

t 6} a i 

fed P s 3 s s 

£3 ^ 

*d

Q

H 

O ^M

fe o S ^ Q 8 §

MATEO SAN 

o

o s: > H 

*

SIERRA

VAULEV fRO 

(ft o < 

£3

o 

m 

r~ OO

g o
WATER RESOURCES OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY IN 

NEW MEXICO, AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT.

By WILLIS T. LEE.

INTRODUCTION.

The investigations described in this paper were undertaken for the 

purpose of gathering information which might aid in the development of the water resources of the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico. 

Two general lines of observations were followed, one pertaining to 

underground waters and their utilization, the other to the storage and 

conservation of the surface waters. The work was done during the 

field seasons of 1904 and 1905 under the general direction of Mr. 

N. H. Darton. The area examined extends along the Rio Grande 

from the southern boundary of New Mexico northward to Santa Fe.

The valley of the Rio Grande, lying west of the Rocky Mountain 

uplift, extends in a north-south direction through a part of New Mexico which is characterized by comparatively small and more or less isolated mountain groups separated by basinlike depressions partly 

filled with rock debris. The valley is a part of the semiarid region of 

the southwestern part of the United States, in which the rainfall 

is insufficient for agriculture without irrigation.

A comparatively small amount of the water derived from the mountains to the north sustains a small but permanent flow in the river 

in the northern part of the region, but this water gradually disappears 

and the river bed in the southern part is often dry.

The Rio Grande is essentially a storm-water stream, subject to 

great and sudden floods. Within the area described only three permanent streams the Rio Puerco, Rio Jemes, and Galisteo Creek 

enter the Rio Grande, and their discharge, except in times of storm, 

is comparatively small. The rainfall in the region occurs principally 

in the form of violent showers or "cloud-bursts," which fill the dry 

stream courses with turbulent floods of short duration. When these 

showers occur simultaneously in many parts of the region they cause 

more or less destructive floods in the river. For these reasons the 

fertile irrigable lands along the river are sometimes unproductive

7
8 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

for want of water and at other times crops are ruined because the 

fields are submerged or irrigation ditches destroyed by floods.

Much of the diminution in the volume of flow downstream is due to 

the fact that a large part of the water of the river sinks beneath 

the surface into the porous material of the valley bottom. Many of 

the tributary stream courses that are dry where they join the river 

contain flowing water in their upper reaches, the water sinking 

beneath the surf ace when it reaches the detrital material of the valley. 

The water entering the ground from the river and from the tributary streams is sufficient in volume to warrant its development for 

irrigation.

GEOGRAPHY.

RELATION TO OTHER REGIONS.

New Mexico consists of four general geographic provinces the 

plains, occupying its eastern part; the Rocky Mountain province 

occupying its central part; the plateau province, in its northwestern 

part; and the basin range province, in its southwestern part. The 

Rocky Mountains proper terminate in northern New Mexico, but the 

general mountain uplift extends southward across the Territory as a 

succession of comparatively small mountain groups. These have not 

been generally recognized as parts of the Rocky Mountains, altho 

they belong to the same general system. The Rio Grande region .lies 

between the Rocky Mountain province on the east and the plateau 

and basin range provinces on the west.

EASTERN MARGIN.

The crest of the Rocky Mountain uplift, consisting of the southern 

extremity of the Rocky Mountains proper, the Sandia and Montoso 

mountains, Sierra Oscura, San Andreas Range, and the Organ and 

Franklin mountains, form the eastern boundary of the area here described. The uplift becomes progressively lower toward the south, 

the maximum altitudes varying from 13,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains east of Santa Fe to 7,000 feet in the Franklin Mountains in the 

southern part of the region, and the minimum altitudes from 7,500 feet 

in Glorietta Pass near the northern end of the region to 3,700 feet at 

the southern end where the Rio Grande cuts through the uplift at The 

Pass. The rocks consist of granites and sedimentary rocks that range 

in age from pre-Cambrian to Tertiary.

WESTERN MARGIN.

The western margin of the Rio Grande Valley is much more irregular than the eastern margin, in both outline and altitude. It is 

formed by the Jemes Mountains at the north, by the Ladron, Socorro, 

Magdalena, and San Mateo mountains in the central part, and by the
GEOGRAPHY, CENTEAL AREA. 9

Good Sight and Potrillo mountains farther south. These groups are 

more or less widely separated, either by imdrained detrital plains like 

La Mesa, lying between the Potrillo Mountains and Cerro Magdalen, 

or by broad valleys like that of the Rio Puerco.

 The older sedimentary formations extend over the same wide 

range of geologic age as those in the eastern margin, but the exposures 

are small, the greater part of the surface being occupied by effusive 

rock and unconsolidated detritus.

CENTRAL AREA. 

MOUNTAINS.

Three large groups of mountains, the Caballos, the Fra Cristobal, 

and Cerro Magdalen (not to be confused with the Magdalena Mountains) occur within the limits of the Rio Grande region, and several 

small groups and isolated peaks, like the Dona Ana Hills, Cerro 

Robledo, and Cerro Cuchillo.

The Caballos and Fra Cristobal ranges consist of granite and overlying sediments dipping eastward beneath the Jornada del Muerto. 

(PI. VI, B.) The Socorro Mountains, Cerro Magdalen, the Dona Ana 

Hills, and a large number of smaller hills in the central part of the 

region are of eruptive origin, but many of the hills, such as Cerro 

Robledo (see PI. Ill), Tortuga, Cerro Cuchillo, and Sierra Ladron, 

are tilted blocks of sedimentary rocks. '

PLAINS.

In the southern half of the Rio Grande region there are two broad 

plains, which, on account of their important bearing on questions connected with underground-water conditions in the Rio Grande region, 

require special description. These are the Jornada del Muerto and 

La Mesa. The Jornada has been described in a former water-supply 

paper, a but certain characters directly affecting the problems here 

discust require further consideration.

In the paper above cited b the Jornada del Muerto is regarded as 

including Mesilla Valley on the south and the plain lying northeast 

of San Marcial between Sierra Oscura and Cerro Montoso, thus comprising an area having a length of about 200 miles and an avefage 

gradient of 12 feet per mile. This extension of the Jornada proper 

may be advisable in describing the structural geology, but it is 

thought best to use here the name in its original meaning, applying it 

only to the high plain between Las Cruces and San Marcial, since, thus 

defined, it corresponds not only with the local usage but also with the 

ancient course of the Rio Grande described on page 21.

 , oKeyes, C. B., Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 123, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905. 

6 Ibid., p. 13.
10 WATER RESOURCES OP RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

The Jornada del Muerto, according to this usage, is the nearly 

level detrital plain, 10 to 20 miles or more in width, extending from 

San Marcial southward to Las Cruces, between the San Andreas and 

the Caballos-Fra Cristobal mountain ranges a distance of about 100 

miles. It has no drainage lines except at the southern end, near 

the river, but throughout its length slight depressions occur near its 

center, in which storm waters gather and form small temporary 

lakes. The altitude of the plain at the northern end, near San Marcial, is about 4,700 feet, and at its southern end 4,250 feet, a difference in surface elevation of 450 feet in the .100 miles of length, or 

an average gradient of 4.5 feet per mile.

The rocks exposed in the mountain slopes on either side of the 

Jornada are the upturned sedimentary rocks forming the floor of 

the syncline described by Keyes in the report previously referred to. 

The central plain, however, is covered to a depth of at le&st several 

hundred feet with detritus, consisting of sand, gravel, and angular 

rock debris. As indicated by well records, the material in the central part of the Jornada is largely sand and rounded pebbles of 

quartzite and argillite, while angular detritus, consisting mainly of 

limestone and sandstone, is apparently more abundant near the 

sides.

The second plain, locally known as "La Mesa," lies in the southern part of the Rio Grande region west of Mesilla Valley, and extends 

from the vicinity of Las Cruces southward into Mexico. It is similar to the Jornada in many ways. Its altitude is the same as that 

of the southern end of the Jornada, and the two formed a single 

plain previous to the excavation of Mesilla Valley. La Mesa has a 

width of 20 miles or more and is undissected by erosion and entirely 

wantirg in lines of surface drainage. It contains several broad, 

shallow depressions, but, unlike those of the Jornada, these do not 

retain storm waters for any appreciable length of time. Although 

inclined slightly to the south, the surface appears practically level 

over an area of more than 1,000 square miles.

To a depth of at least 945 feet, the depth of the deepest well, the 

material in La Mesa consists of clay, sand, and rounded pebbles of 

quartzite, argillite, and a great variety of hard igneous and metamorphic rocks, with a subordinate amount of angular debris. The 

surface is notably more sandy than that of the Jornada, and wells 

sunk in it encounter a greater proportion of fine material than occurs 

in the Jornada.

In the northern part of La Mesa there are gravel beds of considerable size at the surface, but these become less numerous toward 

the south, until near the Mexican boundary sand alone is exposed 

and the surface becomes practically level. The region was not 

explored south of the Mexican boundary for the purposes of this
GEOGRAPHY, CENTRAL AREA. 11

report, but from the summit of the Potrillo Mountains the sandy 

plain appeared to continue southward unbroken as far as the eye 

could reach. It is probable that La Mesa is the northern extremity of the broad interior basin of northern Mexico, the lowest parts 

of which, containing undrained lakes, occur 25 to 50 miles south of 

the international boundary. At some former time this basin was 

probably occupied by a large lake, the northern extremity of which 

covered La Mesa.

SLOPES.

The greater part of the surface of the' Rio Grande region is made 

up of long, corrugated slopes, extending from the bordering mountains to the river. East of the river the slope varies in length from 

5 to 20 miles. Near Santa Fe it is 12 miles long and has an average 

gradient of 125 feet per mile. East of Albuquerque it is about 10 

miles long and has a gradient of about 70 feet per mile, and east of 

Las Cruces it is 10 miles long and has a gradient of about 100 feet 

per mile. In places where the river is located near the mountains, 

as at the northern end of the Sandia and west of the Caballos Mountains (PL VI, B), the gradient is 250 to 300 feet per mile.

The slopes of the western part of the Rio Grande region are much 

more varied than those that lie east of the river. Some are short, 

steep, and deeply dissected; others are many miles in length and 

perfectly graded, and still others, like those drained by Arroyo 

Salado and Rio Puerco, are but slightly inclined.

The material exposed on the corrugated slopes consists of angular 

rock fragments derived from the mountains. These fragments vary 

in coarseness with the variations in the hardness of the rock from 

which they were formed and with the gradient of the slopes on which 

they are deposited. In general, they are large near the hills and on 

the steep slopes and small on the lower grades and near the foot of 

the slopes, where they are often found intermingled with sand and 

pebbles that have been rounded by-stream action.

TERRACES.

The long slopes terminate more or less abruptly near the river in 

bluffs or terraces, two of which are more or less conspicuous throughout 

the Rio Grande region. The highest is not continuous. It is represented west of Santa Fe by the lava-capped detrital bluffs exposed 

in the canyon of Santa Fe Creek, where it forms a shelf 500 feet 

above a lower terrace and about 800 feet above the river, as shown 

in the Santa Clara sheet of the United States Geological Survey. 

West of Albuquerque it is represented by the broad, sandy plain 

upon which the lava flow from Albuquerque volcanoes rests, 500 

feet above the lower terrace and 800 feet above the river. (See PI.
12 WATEE KESOUKCES OF EIO GEANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

II, B, and section D-D on PL III.) Near the southern end of the 

region a similar relation occurs, the high detrital plain west of Cerro 

Robledo- being 500 feet higher than La Mesa and 800 feet higher than 

the river, as shown in the Las Cruces sheet of the United States 

Geological Survey. The ancient surface represented by these remnants apparently had the same gradient as the Rio Grande has at 

the present time.

On either side of the river, at altitudes about 500 feet lower than 

the isolated remnants of the high terrace, are well-defined terraces, 

which are practically continuous from White Rock Canyon to El 

Paso. They are remnants of a surface that was formed principally 

by aggradation and later dissected by the river and its tributaries. 

This surface is represented at Albuquerque by the wide shelf between 

the lava flow and the river, shown in the foreground of PL II, B. 

Farther south it is represented by the Jornada and La Mesa. (See 

sections of PL III.) The surface was formed, first, by the deposition of river sand and gravel; second, by the erosion of previously deposited gravels and volcanic tuffs, illustrated in PL II, A; 

third, by lava flows, such as those near San Marcial (PL IV, A) and 

San Acacia, and, fourth, by the planation of upturned sedimentary 

rocks, like those exposed at the surface along the eastern base of the 

Caballos Mountains in the vicinity of Engle, shown in PL IX.

EROSION BASINS AND CANYONS.

Introductory statement. Along the Rio Grande there are erosion 

basins, separated by rock canyons, as shown in PL I, and limited in 

form and size by the character of the material in which they were 

excavated. These basins are parts of the valley of the Rio Grande 

\that have been broadened on account of the easy erosion of unconsolidated material while the narrower canyons were being cut in the 

hard rock.

Espanola Valley. This valley extends from the head of White 

Rock Canyon northward beyond the region here considered. The 

southern end of the valley has been described as a possible reservoir 

site, a and a contour map of it has been made. The valley is excavated in unconsolidated sand, gravel, and rhyolitic tuff. The gravel 

beds are exposed in bluffs several hundred feet high and are protected from erosion by the overlying igneous rock, consisting of 

rhyolitic tuff and basalt flows. The depth of the sands and gravels 

beneath the river is not known.

White Rock Canyon. This canyon begins south of Espanola Valley, 

at a point where the Rio Grande enters a narrow gorge about 20 miles 

in length. The canyon owes its existence to sheets of hard igneous

a Twenty-first Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 4,1899-1900.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 188 PL. II

rrr: , <*-£'. .^ ; -. -. - i,/ *':-»<.*"-.;,.» '- ^' 

'"ajSf -:^gk;'t;' 3firi ^ ^--^*- ,' » ^:^>-c--''-'-x- r.

A. FACE OF TERRACE WEST OF CABALLOS MOUNTAINS. 

Showing stratified sand and gravels overlain by rhyolitic tuff.

. ALBUQUERQUE VOLCANOES AND LAVA FLOW.

Lower terrace, 300 feet above the river, in the foreground. Lava flow, capping the detritus, 800 feet

above the river.

GEOGRAPHY, CENTBAL ABEA. 13

rock, which protect the underlying sands and gravels. West of the 

river this rock is principally light-colored rhyolite, the color of which 

suggested the name White Rock Canyon, but east of the river it is 

basalt, of which there are two sheets, separated by a few feet of sand. 

The structure is indicated in a general way in fig. 2 and PL IV, B.

Near the mouth of the canyon a stream entering the Rio Grande 

from the east has carved a gorge, exposing about 400 feet of basalt. 

This gorge (PL IV, B}, although comparatively small, illustrates the 

rugged character of the topography in the vicinity of White Rock 

Canyon.

Santo Domingo Valley. This valley extends from the mouth of 

White Rock Canyon to a point 7 miles south of the Indian pueblo of 

Santo Domingo. It is 1 to 3 miles wide and contains about 13,000 

acres of bottom land, which is owned mainly by the Santo Domingo 

Indians and has been irrigated by them for many years. The greater 

part of this land lies only a few feet above the bed of the river and is 

subject to frequent overflow.

San Felipe Canyon. This is a short gorge separating Santo Domingo Valley from Albuquerque Valley. The canyon walls are composed of unconsblidated sand and gravel, capped by sheets of basaltic 

lava.

Albuquerque Valley. This valley extends from San Felipe Canyon 

southward to Isleta, where it narrows on account of the basaltic lava 

which extends thence westward over a large part of the Sandia Mesa. 

The valley is about 35 miles long and 1 to 5 miles wide and comprises 

an estimated area of 70,000 acres of bottom land. It is terminated 

abruptly on either side by steep bluffs of sand and gravel forming 

the terraces previously described. The bluffs west of the valley consist of sand and clay, capped in places by sheets of basalt. Those to 

the east are. composed of stratified sand overlain by coarse unstratified 

gravels separated from the underlying sands by erosional unconformities.

Isleta Narrows. The constriction through which the river flows at 

Isleta is not properly a canyon. The broad Albuquerque Valley here 

narrows on account of the presence of the hard igneous rock of Isleta 

Volcano, an extinct volcanic cone west of the town. The lava occurs 

not only in the bluffs west of the river but extends nearly across the 

valley at the town of Isleta.

Belen Volley. This valley, so named from the principal town 

within its area, extends from Isleta to San Acacia, a distance of about 

45 miles, and contains an estimated area of 65,000 acres of bottom 

land. The Rio Puerco and the Arroyo Salado, the two largest tributaries of the Rio Grande, join the river in this valley. The Rio 

Puerco flows across the broad stretch of unconsolidated and horizontally bedded sand and gravel, locally known as Albuquerque Mesa.
14 WATER EESOUECES OF EIO GEANDE VALLEY,, N. MEX.

It is a sluggish, muddy stream, practically impassable on account of 

quicksand, except at times of low water. The Arroyo Salado enters 

the valley through a canyon in the partly consolidated and upturned 

Tertiary strata illustrated in PI. V, A.

San Acacia Gorge. This is the narrows at the southern end of 

Belen Valley. The mesa east of the river near San Acacia is covered 

by a sheet of basalt, which originally extended farther northwestward across the present course of the Rio Grande. The river has cut 

thru an arm of this lava sheet, making a short narrow gorge, the 

walls of which, about 250 feet high, are composed of sand and gravel, 

protected by the cap of igneous rock.

The portion of lava left west of the river is less than one-half mile 

in length. West of this, and 75 feet higher than the river level, is a 

wide sand and gravel plain, which evidently marks the course of the 

Rio Grande previous to the time the river broke through the lava at 

the gorge. Still farther west the beds of loose sand and gravel give 

place to the Tertiary sediments shown in PL V, B.

Socorro Valley. This valley, so named from its principal town, 

extends from San Acacia Gorge southward to San Marcial, a distance 

of about 40 miles, and includes an estimated area of about 60,000 

acres of bottom land. It is similar to Albuquerque and Belen valleys, except that the mountains on its sides are nearer and the corrugated detrital slopes correspondingly steeper and more eroded than 

those bordering the valleys previously described.

Engle Valley. This valley extends from San Marcial to Elephant 

Butte, a distance of about 40 miles. This valley differs from the 

others described in being very narrow, as shown in PI. I, and in its 

lack of bottom land. The northern half has been described and 

mapped as a reservoir site. a From this map it appears that the 

contour marking elevations 100 feet above the river incloses a strip 

of land varying in width from about 800 feet to 2 miles. The southern half of the valley is somewhat wider in places. According to the 

reports of the United States Reclamation Service the maximum area 

to be submerged in the Engle reservoir, described on pages 26-29, 

is about 38,400 acres, contained in a strip 40 miles long and about 

1J miles in average width.

Altho Engle Valley is cut in detritus, it is not so broad as the valleys 

to the north and to the south. West of the rock hills, near Elephant 

Butte, the detrital beds extend continuously southward (PI. VIII) 

and seem to present an easy passage for the river, but it does not follow the course thus afforded.

Elephant Butte Canyon. A few miles north of Elephant Butte the 

river leaves the detrital beds and enters a narrow rock canyon, which

a Twelfth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, p. 203.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

MESA

POTRILLO MTS.

Consolidated sediments Flood plain deposits Crystalline rock Sand, gravel, a

Vertical scale 

2000. o 2000 4ooo 6000 feet

1

CROSS SECTIONS OF THE RIO GRAND

A-A, at New Mexico-Mexico boundary; B-B, n^ar Las Cruces; C-C, at northern 

GEOGKRAPHY, CENTEAL AEEA. 15

it occupies thence southward to the end of the Caballos Mountains. 

This canyon is described in detail as the Engle dam site (see pp. 

26-29) and need not be further discussed in this connection.

Las Palcrmas Valley. This valley, extending from Elephant Butte 

to Rincon, a distance of about 50 miles, is much broader than Engle 

Valley. The bottom lands form a -part of the irrigable area, 26,000 

acres in extent, under the proposed Engle reservoir. The terrace 

bluffs bordering this valley are especially conspicuous. West of the 

river they consist of well-stratified sands and gravels, but east of the 

valley they are more varied in both form and composition, containing 

not only stratified sand and gravel, but volcanic tuffs, as shown in PI. 

II, A.

Selden Canyon. This canyon, extending from Rincon to the head 

of Mesilla Valley, a distance of about 18 miles, is not so uniformly narrow as some of the other canyons. At some places, as at Penasco 

Rock, where a dike crosses the course of the river, the canyon is narrow. At other places it broadens to considerable dimensions. It 

contains about 8,000 acres of bottom land.

MesiUa Vattey. This is the largest of the erosion basins of the Rio 

Grande region, extending from old Fort Selden southward to The 

Pass, a distance of about 50 miles. It has a maximum width of 8 

miles and includes about 150,000 acres of bottom land, of which 

100,000 acresiare irrigable. It contains the principal body of land to 

be irrigated from the proposed Engle reservoir, and has been surveyed 

in detail by the United States Reclamation Service, as shown hi PI. X. 

The valley is cut in the unconsolidated sand and gravel, typically 

exposed in the bluffs, 300 feet or more in height, bordering La Mesa 

on the west.

As in the Elephant Butte region, the detrital bed in which Mesilla 

Valley is cut extends uninterruptedly southward, west of the rock 

hills near El Paso; but the river, instead of following this seemingly 

easy course, abandoned the detrital bed and cut a canyon through the 

hard rock ridge at El Paso.

El Paso Canyon. This is a rock gorge through which the Rio 

Grande, formerly a stream of the interior basin region of New Mexico 

and Mexico, past and became thenceforth a part of the Gulf drainage. The character of this canyon and its relation to the mountain 

ridge and th& ancient course of the river La Mesa is indicated hi 

section A-A of PI. III. Rock terraces at the same altitude as the surface of La Mesa indicate that after the river had formed a graded 

surface over the region, principally by building up its course, it found a 

way across the rock ridge at The Pass. The epoch of erosion that 

followed was not of sufficient duration to cut more than the narrow 

canyon in the hard rock of The Pass, although the broad Mesilla Valley 

was excavated at the same time.
16 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

El Paso Valley. This valley is similar to Mesilla Valley in being a 

broad basin cut in unconsolidated sand and gravel. It lies outside of 

the Territory of New Mexico, and is therefore not properly included in 

this paper, although it contains part of the land included in the Rio 

Grande reclamation project. The valley has been described by Richardson a and by Slichter.5

GEOLOGY.

INTRODUCTION.

No attempt is made to discuss the geology of the Rio Grande 

region further than is necessary to give an understanding of the 

physical conditions likely to affect the storage of the surface waters 

and the occurrence and development of the underground waters; but 

in order to describe these conditions some knowledge of the rocks is 

necessary. Three kinds of rock are recognized in this report. The 

first consists of granites, gneisses, and consolidated sediments, 

including sandstones, limestones, and shales. The second consists of 

unconsolidated sediments or detritus of comparatively recent origin, 

including river sands and gravels and mountain wash. The third 

comprises effusive rocks, mainly of Tertiary and Quaternary age.

ROCK FORMATIONS. 

CONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS.

The older sedimentary rocks of the Rio Grande region include 

strata that range in age from Algonkian to Cretaceous and that are 

well exposed throughout the area described. ' These, together with the 

underlying granites, form the rock basins that contain the waterbearing formations and to some extent are themselves water bearing. 

The consolidated sediments have special importance near Elephant 

Butte, where the Rio Grande cuts a sharp gorge through them at the 

Engle dam site, and near El Paso, at the site of the proposed International dam.

UNCONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS.

Unconsolidated material, consisting of clay, sand, and water-worn 

gravel, occurs generally in the lowlands along the river, in the terraces 

on either side of the Rio Grande Valley, in the central part of the 

Jornada del Muerto, and in La Mesa, west of Mesilla Valley. The 

slopes lying between the river and the mountains consist largely of 

angular rock debris, derived as wash from the mountains.

The older detrital beds are partly cementecl, but the younger ones 

are wholly unconsolidated and allow water to pass freely through them.

a Richardson, G. B., Reconnaissance in trans-Pecos Texas: Bull. Univ. Texas No. 23, 1904, pp. 95-108. 

&Slichter Charles S., Observations on the ground waters of the Rio Grande Valley: Water-Sup, and 

Irr. Paper No. 141, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, pp. 9-51.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 188 PL. IV

A. LAVA-CAPPED MESA AT SAN MARCIAL.

The sheet of basalt resting upon the sand and gravel is the edge of the great flow covering the north 

end of the Jornada del Muerto.

B. SIDE GORGE AT THE ENTRANCE TO WHITE ROCK CANYON, NEAR ESPANOLA DAM SITE. 

Showing columnar basalt in the foreground, and the rhyolite west of the river in the background.

GEOLOGY, IGNEOUS ROCKS. 17

The detritus has a great, though unknown thickness. A well at Santa 

Fe penetrates it nearly 1,000 feet; another at Sandia, N. Mex., 893 feet; 

one at Lanark, west of Mesilla Valley, 945 feet; and one in a neighboring basin,a near El Paso, 2,285 feet, but in none of these wells has bed 

rock been reached. Where the older and partly cemented beds have 

been upturned and exposed to view in Arroyo Salado, they have an 

observed thickness of several thousand feet. Their character is indicated in PL V, A, B. The younger or uncemented sands and gravels 

are well exposed in the terraces on either side of the river.

. IGNEOUS ROCKS.

The igneous formations that are important in a discussion of the 

water supply are principally of Tertiary and Quaternary age, and 

occur in the form of massive flows, beds of tuff, volcanic necks, dikes 

and sheets, and crater cones. The older effusive masses, consisting of 

andesites, rhyolites, and other rocks closely related to these, occur in 

more or less isolated masses at many places throughout the Rio Grande 

region and are perhaps best represented by the thick beds of tuff on 

the eastern slope of the Jemes Mountains in the northern part of the 

Rio Grande region, by the Socorro Mountains and Cerro Magdalen in 

the central part, and by the Dona Ana Hills in the southern part. 

Their formation antedates the accumulation of at least the upper 

part of the detritus as fragments of the rock are contained in the 

detrital beds.

The younger igneous rocks consist of dark-colored basalts, occurring 

mainly in sheets capping the detritus and in crater cones which retain 

their original form in great perfection, as shown in PL VI, A. Basaltic 

rock also occurs in dikes and volcanic necks penetrating the older 

rocks. Among the more conspicuous sheets capping the detritus may 

be mentioned those west of Santa Fe, through which the river has 

eroded White Rock Canyon, those covering parts of the mesa west of 

Albuquerque (see PL II, B), the San Marcial flow (see PL IV, A,) and 

the basalt flows of La Mesa west of Mesilla Valley. The dikes and volcanic necks become important in the vicinity of the Engle reservoir 

(PL IX), where they will probably supply building stone for the 

proposed dam.

STRUCTURE. 

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.

The geologic structure of the Rio Grande region is complicated, and 

much detailed investigation is necessary before it can be adequately 

described. The main structural features, however, are known in a 

general way. Great synclines, such as the Jornada del Muerto, occur,

o Richardson, G. B., Reconnaissance in trans-Pecos Texas: Bull. Univ. Texas No. 23,1904. p. 96, 

IRR 188 07 2
18 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

and monoclinal mountains, formed by faulting and the tilting of crust 

blocks. The rocks thus flexed and faulted are mainly of pre-Tertiary 

age, but the Tertiary beds are strongly upturned in places, indicating 

that some crustal movement took place after these beds were formed. 

(PL V, A). The older valleys of erosion and the troughs formed by 

the tilted blocks have been partly filled with unconsolidated detritus 

consisting of sands, waterworn gravels, and angular mountain wash.

EASTERN BORDER.

The eastern part of the Rio Grande region is occupied by the Rocky 

Mountain uplift, which extends through central New Mexico. The 

southern end of the Rocky Mountains, terminated at the south by 

Glorieta Pass, is a granitic mass upon which lie strata that dip away 

from it to the east, south, and west. But south of this pass the 

underlying granite is covered, more or less completely, with sedimentary rocks dipping in various directions. The strata of Glorieta Mesa 

incline toward the south, and those of the Sandia Mountains, the 

Manzano Range, and Sierra Oscura toward the east. The strata of 

Chupadera Mesa are nearly horizontal, while those of the San Andreas 

Range and the Organ and Franklin mountains dip toward the west. 

Numerous faults occur, with displacements measured in hundreds of 

feet and several with displacements of thousands of feet.

WESTERN BORDER.

The western part of the Rio Grande region is less mountainous than 

the eastern part, and a greater proportion of it is covered with detritus, which obscures the structure to a large extent. In the Rio 

Puerco Valley strata dip to the east and are believed to pass beneath 

the Rio Grande Valley, while strata of the same geologic age occur in 

the Sandia Mountains, several thousand feet above the Rio Grande 

Valley, the difference in elevation being due to faulting along the 

western face of the Sandia Mountains and the eastward tilting of the 

Sandia block, as indicated in section D-D of PL III. On the other 

hand, the crust block forming Sierra Ladron, a few miles south of 

Rio Puerco, has been tilted steeply to the west.

In the western part of the region many of the mountain groups, 

such as Jemes and Socorro mountains and Cerro Magdalen, are 

composed principally of effusive rock.

CENTRAL AREA.

The structure of the Rio Grande region is best shown in the central 

portions, where the river has removed the detritus in many places, 

exposing the consolidated rocks. The Caballos and Fra Cristobal 

ranges, forming the western limb of the Jornada syncline, are cut off
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 1»8 PL. V

K-W. - jf J' ^-_ "> - 

F ' ' m* tsfJfc* *k«. .

TERTIARY STRATA IN ARROYO SALADO AT THE BASE OF SIERRA LADRON.

62§s*S^~-5^S?

 »=_;. o," : -w-" .- m^f*i» %*. JW*,- 

i

' ,.?*-- -; J * 

.B. CANYON IN TERTIARY SEDIMENTS WEST OF SAN ACACIA, N. MEX.

TOPOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT. 19

abruptly on the west by great faults which are plainly exposed and 

traceable forlongdistances. (See PL VII.) Cerro Robledo furnishes 

a characteristic type of structure. (See PL III.) East of the river 

Carboniferous limestone, dipping westward, passes beneath the Rio 

Grande Valley. The same limestone occurs in the hills to the west 

2,000 feet above the river, the difference in altitude being due to 

faulting and the tilting of the Cerro Robledo block.

Displacements by faults much greater than that at Cerro Robledo 

are evident at a number of places. The western face of the Caballos 

Mountains (see PL VI, B) and the Fra Cristobal Mountains (PL VII) 

are fault scarps, and Cerro Cuchillo is an excellent example of a tilted 

block. With the exception of the Jornada del Muerto, the Rio Grande 

region may be properly said to consist of a series of block mountains 

with troughlike depressions intervening between them.

TOPOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT. 

EROSION.

Altho the elevations and depressions constituting the Rio Grande 

region are due principally to crustal deformation, the topography has 

been -more or less modified by erosion and deposition. Many of the 

mountain slopes are precipitous and show little modification by erosion, as illustrated in the Caballos Mountains. (PL VI, B.) Other 

slopes are comparatively mature. Along the eastern base of the 

Caballos and Fra Cristobal ranges, particularly in the vicinity of 

Engle, the stratified rocks dipping eastward beneath the Jornada 

have been practically base-leveled over a considerable area. Whether 

the base-level extends beneath the Jornada generally, as stated by 

Keyes/* or is local, can only be conjectured at the present time, as the 

older rocks within the syncline are exposed over a comparatively limited area, being for the most part buried to unknown depths by 

detritus.

SEDIMENTATION.

Tertiary. The older portions of the detritus contained in the rock 

basins consist of well-stratified beds 'of sand, gravel, and mountain 

wash, more or less faulted in places and otherwise disturbed by 

crustal movements. They are undoubtedly of Tertiary age. In 

other places sediments, apparently of Tertiary age, are not separable 

at present from the younger or Quaternary deposits.

Quaternary. The unconsolidated sands, gravels, and "wash" covering the greater part of the Rio Grande region is of Quaternary age 

and occurs in at least two distinctly separable formations. The more 

extensive one, locally known as the mesa gravels, occurs in the terraces along the river and forms the corrugated slopes lying between

o Keyes, C. R., Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 123, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, p. 25.
20 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

the river and the bordering mountains. The second occurs in the 

flood plains in all of the erosion basins previously described. IT: the 

Jornada del Muerto and La Mesa the sand and gravel beds belonging 

to this formation are not dissected by erosion, but lie practically as 

they were deposited, at an altitude 300 to 350 feet above the present 

bed of the river.

The mesa gravels originally filled the basins to altitudes represented by the terraces, and in them the erosion basins were cut. The 

depth to which these were excavated and later filled is not definitely 

known, but the general relations of the various gravel beds to each 

other and to the rock basins containing them are illustrated in fig. 1.

TERTIARY AND QUATERNARY HISTORY. 

SURFACE DEFORMATION AND FIRST VOLCANIC ERUPTION.

The crustal movements that produced the structural and geographic features described began at the commencement of or sometime during the Tertiary period with the formation of monoclinal 

mountains and troughlike intermontane valleys. About the same

FIG. 1. Sketch section illustrating the detrital deposits of Rio Grande Valley, r, Rock basin; c, 

detritus of the higher terrace: u, detritus of the lower terrace; /, flood-plain deposits.

time great masses of andesite and rhyolite were extruded, remnants 

of which are now found in the Jemes Mountains, the Socorro Mountains, the Dona Ana Hills, and elsewhere. This deformation and 

volcanic activity evidently occurred late in the Tertiary period, as 

Tertiary strata are upturned and in places intersected by rhyolite.

FIRST ACCUMULATION OF GRAVELS.

The structural troughs between the tilted mountain blocks formed 

natural lodgment areas for sediment. It can not be state$ at present 

whether the sediments are partly of lacrustrine origin or wholly 

subaerial, nor is their maximum thickness known, but well records 

indicate a thickness of thousands of feet. The material exposed in 

the terraces and penetrated by the shallow wells, consisting mainly of 

coarse sand and gravel, is presumably of river origin, but some of the 

deep wells penetrate thick beds of sandy clay, possibly of lacustrine 

accumulation. The surface of this first gravel accumulation is preserved in a number of places, where it forms the upper terrace, 800 

feet above the river, described on page 11.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 188 PL. VI

A. SANDIA VOLCANO, WEST OF ISLETA, N. MEX. 

A volcanic cone of recent origin, composed of basaltic cinders.

B. CABALLOS MOUNTAINS. 

Showing the western escarpment and the corrugated alluvial slope at its base.

TERTIARY AND QUATERNARY HISTORY. 21 

SECOND VOLCANIC ERUPTION.

After the depressions had been filled to altitudes represented by the 

upper terrace, extensive sheets of basalt were outpoured over the 

sands and gravels. In the lava fields west of Santa Fe, and in those 

near Bernalillo, two sheets of basalt occur, separated by a few feet of 

gravel, as shown in fig. 2. West of Albuquerque (PL II, B), and also in 

the extensive lava fields west of Isleta, the older sheets apparently 

belong to this epoch of eruption, and it is probable that many of the 

older masses' of basalt in other parts of the Rio Grande region were 

extruded at about the same time.

FIRST EPOCH OF EROSION.

The second volcanic eruption was apparently accompanied by some 

change, possibly climatic, which caused the Rio Grande to erode its 

channel. During this epoch the river probably flowed through the 

Jornada del Muerto south of San Marcial, across La Mesa west of El 

Paso, and southward into the basin region of northern Mexico, eroding 

a valley 10 to 20 miles wide.

Ancient course of the Rio Grande. Many facts point to the inference that the ancient course of the Rio Grande was not the same as its 

present course south of San Marcial. Some of the data leading to 

this inference have been given and others will be presented in the 

following paragraphs. Briefly stated, the facts are these:

The Jornada and La Mesa have the geographic position, form, surface elevation, and gradient that would be expected in a debris-filled 

valley; they contain unconsolidated sands and gravels as deep as wells 

have penetrated; their surface elevations and gradients indicate that 

they are parts of a graded surface' that formerly extended throughout 

the Rio Grande region and is now represented north of San Marcial by 

the low terrace previously described, this ancient surface having the 

same gradient as that of the river at the present time.

At the point where the river leaves this old valley the surface is 

covered by an extensive basalt flow (the San Marcial lava sheet, 

covering about 160 square miles) resting on sand and gravel beds. 

The lava is not eroded at the surface and is covered only by windblown sand. Large quantities of loose shifting sand lie immediately 

north of the lava beds.

Engle and Las Palomas valleys are much narrower than the other erosion basins, and are cut in detritus which contains gypsum in places. 

The beds are cemented.to some extent, and are associated with rhyolite, presumably much older than the basalt and its underlying detritus at San Marcial.

The measure of consolidation, presumably due to difference in age, 

is indicated in the size of the erosion basins. While the river cut can-
22 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

yons in hard rock it excavated narrow valleys in the cemented detritus west of Caballos and Fra Cristobal mountains and broad basins 

like Socorro and Mesilla valleys in the unconsolidated detritus to the 

north and south.

From these facts the inference is drawn that the ancient Rio Grande 

flowed through the Jornada and La Mesa into the interior basin of 

Mexico, and that in comparatively recent geologic time changes 

occurred which turned it out of its valley and away from the interior 

basin toward the Gulf of Mexico.

SECOND ACCUMULATION OF GRAVELS.

During.the second epoch of deposition the river filled its valley with 

sand and gravel to the grdde represented by the lower terrace (uu of fig. 

1) and by the surface of La Mesa and the Jornada del Muerto. In Lft 

Mesa the ancient valley is about 20 miles wide and the filling is mainly 

fine sand near the surface and somewhat coarser sand and gravel beneath. In the Jornada del Muerto the filled valley is. narrower and 

the material is coarser, many of the pebbles having a diameter of several inches. In Albuquerque Valley the quantity of filling during this 

epoch is much less than in La Mesa and the Jornada, and is best represented by the coarse gravel deposits of the bluffs near Albuquerque. 

Still farther north, in Santo Domingo Valley, near the northern end of 

the Rio Grande region, the deposits are very limited, and the river 

here was apparently employed mainly in broadening its valley. 

 The graded surface formed by the river during this epoch was one 

mainly of erosion in Santo Domingo Valley, where a broad shelf was 

cut 500 feet below the surface of the older gravels; one formed partly 

by erosion and partly by deposition in Albuquerque Valley; and one 

mainly of deposition in the Jornada and La Mesa. Throughout the 

Rio Grande region this surface, represented now by the terraced 

bluffs, is about 300 feet above the river, except where it has been cut 

down by later erosion.

THIRD VOLCANIC ERUPTION.

Near the close of the second period of sedimentation extensive volcanic disturbances occurred throughout the Rio Grande region, resulting again in the outpouring of great sheets of basalt. The most conspicuous of these are near San Marcial (PI. IV, A) and on La Mesa west 

of Mesilla Valley. The San Marcial flow, covering about 160 square 

miles, was outpoured on the Jornada del Muerto, then occupied by the 

Rio Grande, and probably created a dam that formed a temporary 

lake in which were accumulated the great quantities of sand found oil 

the Jornada north of the lava sheet.
I). S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. WESTERN FACE OF THE FRA CRISTOBAL MOUNTAINS. 

Showing two faults, a and b.

*« * »

*s ^''

teML,

- jjf/ *^t**- i» ». '«r. ,t 

'* :*

" " ^^SKrf^ ^54ffr/rb Thy^. '^ -^'"jy 

vi/ * ^ ~" mpi?**-i--* syt^W-^

B. FAULT PLANE MI i HE WESTERN BASE OF FRA CRISTOBAL MOUNTAINS. 

Showing near view of a, above.

TERTIARY AND QUATERNARY HISTORY. 23 

DIVERSION OF THE RIO GRANDE.

There is no evidence that the river ever flowed over the San Marcial lava sheet. The surface of this sheet is not eroded and, so far as 

observed, is devoid of foreign matter except a small amount of windblown sand. The volcanic dam, aided possibly by surface movements 

accompanying the volcanic eruptions, evidently diverted the river 

from its old valley in the Jornada to a new course for a distance of 

about 100 miles west of the Caballos and Fra Cristobal mountains. 

At Dona Ana it returned to the old debris-filled valley, which it crossed 

diagonally and abandoned again at El Paso.

Several phenomena which otherwise are difficult to explain are 

made clear by a recognition of this change in the course of the 

river.

First, as previously stated, the surface of the Jornada between San 

Marcial and Mesilla Valley has an average gradient of 4.5 feet per 

mile, which is practically the gradient of the river at the present 

time.

Second, the detrital beds cut by the river west of the Fra Cristobal and Caballos mountains are associated with rhyolite, apparently 

extruded at the same time as the rhyolites previously described as of 

Tertiary age, indicating that the detritus is older and probably more 

difficult to erode than the loose sands and gravels that were deposited 

later.

Third, near Rincon, and again in Selden Canyon, gypsum was noted 

in the detrital beds, but nowhere was any indication of gypsum found 

in the mesa gravels referable to the epoch in which the Jornada and 

La Mesa were filled.

Fourth, as previously stated, Engle Valley is much narrower than 

the other erosion basins formed at the same time as, for example, 

Mesilla and Belen valleys, whieh have been excavated from river sands 

and gravels known to be of recent origin. This difference is due, no 

doubt, to the greater resistance to erosion of the older detritus.

SECOND EPOCH OF EROSION.

The volcanic eruptions and the change in the course of the river 

were followed by a second epoch of erosion. In again eroding a valley, the river worked principally in the unconsolidated sands and 

gravels previously deposited, excavating the erosion basins, but at a 

number of places where it had wandered from its old course it cut its 

channel in hard rock, forming the various canyons. The result is the 

succession of comparatively broad basins and short rock canyons that 

characterize the Rio Grande region.
24 WATER RESOURCES 'oF-RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX. 

ACCUMULATION OF SILT.

The second epoch of erosion was followed by the deposition of the 

silt and sand that now form the flood plains of the erosion basins. 

The depth of this third valley filling is not great-. Borings indicate a. 

maximum depth of 85 feet at the International dam site in El Paso 

Canyon and of 72 feet at the Engle dam site, near Elephant Butte. 

The depth within the basins probably does not differ greatly from 

that in the canyons, but this can not be stated positively.

The well records" given in the section on underground waters indicate that the mesa gravels (uu of fig. 1) are probably encountered at 

depths of 30 to 80 feet. The first " cemented* sand " in the Albuquerque well (p. 34)- is presumably a hardened layer of the Tertiary beds, 

and the gravel beds in the Mesilla Valley wells (pp. 41-46), encountered 

at depths of 30 to 75 feet, are interpreted as belonging to the mesa 

gravels. The depth of flood-plain deposit thus indicated corresponds 

well with the known depth of filling in the canyons.

The deposition of sand and silt in the erosion basins causes frequent 

changes in the course of the river, so that bayous, sloughs, arid oxbow 

lakes are common in the bottom lands. This is well illustrated in 

Mesilla Valley (PL X), where many abandoned courses occur, particularly near the southern end, some still occupied by streams and others 

nearly filled with silt. A characteristic change in the channel of the 

river occurred in 1905 near the head-gate of Las Cruces canal, at 

the northern end of Mesilla Valley. During the spring fldods of that 

year the river broke through the narrow neck of land on the western 

side of the valley, leaving the head-gates about a mile from the new 

channel.

B. M. Hall, supervising engineer of the United States Reclamation 

Service, in charge of the Rio Grande project, has made computations 

of the amount of silt carried by the Rio Grande. He arrives at the 

conclusion that the river carries, on the average, 14,580 acre-feet of 

mud a year, or enough when dry to cover 14,580 acres 1 foot deep. 

The computation, although made for the purpose of estimating the 

time required to fill the reservoirs with mud, is useful in this connection in indicating the possibilities of rapid accumulation wherever 

opportunity is offered.

During times of flood the river naturally carries its maximum 

amount of silt, which is thus admitted to the sloughs and overflow 

districts and gradually fills them to the common level of the flood 

plain. A similar action takes place in the irrigation ditches, which 

rapidly fill with silt. Some of the older ditches have thus been built 

up many feet above the level at which they were originally constructed.
WATER BESOUBCES OE BIO GRANDE VALLEY, ~S. MEX. 25

RESERVOIR SITES. 

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT.

The alternation of erosion basins and rock canyons in the Rio 

Grande Valley is especially favorable for the construction of reservoirs and the conservation and use of the flood waters of the river. 

Available dam sites occur in the canyons, while the broad basins are 

suitable for storage reservoirs or for irrigation, according to location 

and character. Several reservoir sites have been selected and the 

two most promising ones the International reservoir, at the southern end of the region, and the Engle reservoir, west of the Fra Cristobal 

Mountains have been investigated in detail.

INTERNATIONAL RESERVOIR.

 The proposed International reservoir is located at the southern end 

of Mesilla Valley and was designed by its promoters to store water to 

be used in El Paso Valley, which lies partly in Texas and partly in 

Mexico. The dam site is in the canyon about 4 miles north of the 

city of El Paso.

El Paso Canyon is a narrow gorge carved in solid rock, consisting of 

Lower Cretaceous sediments and eruptive rocks. The strata have 

been considerably fractured and faulted. Rodadero Peak, to the 

west, has a granitic core overlain by highly inclined Lower Cretaceous sandstones, shales, and limestones. East of the river the strata 

lie more nearly horizontal, while in the Franklin Mountains, still 

farther to the east, strata older than Cretaceous dip steeply to the 

west. The shattered and faulted state of the rock is apparently the 

only geologic condition unfavorable to El Paso Canyon as a good 

dam site. The gorge is narrow, the rock abutments are firm, and the 

depth to bed rock in the channel is not prohibitive, as it is found at a 

maximum depth of little more than 80 feet. The site has been 

described in detail in the report of the International (Water) 

Boundary Commission/*

Although'the dam site of the proposed reservoir is a good one, 

geologic conditions are not favorable to the successful storage of 

water in the^ southern part of Mesilla Valley. As previously pointed 

out, the old gravel-filled valley of the Rio Grande passes southward 

into Mexic® west of Rodadero Peak. The water of the reservoir 

would be ihipounded in the basin eroded from the unconsolidated 

gravels of the old valley fillings and would undoubtedly escape to some 

extent through these gravels until such time as they might become 

impervious from silting. It is an open question how much time would 

elapse before this silting would become effective in preventing leakage.

^Proceedings International (Water) Boundary Commission, United States and Mexico, 1903; vols.l 

and 2.
26 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

ENGLE RESERVOIR. 

LOCATION.

The proposed Engle reservoir site is located in Engle Valley, west of 

the Fra Cristobal Mountains, and is best reached from Engle, a small 

town on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The site of 

the proposed dam is in the rock canyon near Elephant Butte, a large 

volcanic neck standing near the river, as shown in PI. IX.

ROCK FORMATIONS.

The rocks near the proposed reservoir are of several kinds. In the 

mountains, a few miles distant, there are pre-Cambrian granites overlain by Paleozoic and Mesozoic sandstones, shales, and limestones, 

and in the valleys there are Tertiary and Quaternary sands, gravels, 

and eruptive rocks. The rocks that will probably be of economic 

importance in building the proposed dam are the Carboniferous limestones and shales of the Caballos Mountains, the Cretaceous sandstones forming the abutments of the dam and comprising the greater 

part of the area mapped in PI. VIII as "rock," also shown in the foreground of PI. IX, and the basaltic rock found in Elephant Butte and 

in the dikes of that vicinity, as well as in the lava flows and crater 

cones on the Jornada to the east, shown in the distance in PI. IX.

The unconsolidated sands and gravels of Tertiary and Quaternary 

age are mainly of negative importance, since they form the floor and 

confining walls of the reservoir and endanger leakage.

STRUCTURE.

The geologic structure in the vicinity of Elephant Butte has been 

described in a general way under the heading "Central area " (pp. 9-16), 

where it is shown that the face of the Fra Cristobal and Caballos 

mountain ranges (see PI. VII) are due to faulting and that the detrital valleys are due to the filling of the troughs thus formed with rock 

debris. The structure is illustrated in detail in the Elephant Butte 

area, a map and cross section of which are given in PI. VIII. The 

fault at the western base of the mountains passes through this region, 

separating the unconsolidated detrital beds to the west from the rock 

formations to the east. The rocks, consisting mainly of Upper 

Cretaceous sandstones and shales, are more or less fractured near 

the fault and incline in a general easterly direction, the dip varying 

from about 10° to 90°.

The high lava-covered surface, shown at the right in the section 

PI. VIII and in the distance in PI. IX, is the western edge of the Jornada 

del Muerto. About 300 feet below this level and 150 feet above the 

river a broad terrace is cut in the sandstones east of the fault line and in
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 183 PL. VIII

oooo aooo -tooo rax> eoco jooo «wo 3000 iooo moo OFCCT

GEOLOGIC MAP OF ELEPHANT BUTTE REGION.

Showing the areal distribution of the rocks, the fault line between consolidated rock and detritus, and the superimposed course of the

Rio Grande.

ENGLE RESERVOIR, SPILLWAY. 27

the detrital beds west of the fault. This terrace is traceable throughout the length of Engle and Las Palomas valleys and is most conspicuous 

west of the river, where it forms a shelf several miles wide in places. 

It differs from the terraces illustrated in fig. 1 in being a surface 

mainly of erosion, probably formed at a time when the down cutting 

of the river was temporarily arrested, for some reason as yet unknown, 

during which time the river cut laterally, flowing in part over the rock 

and in part over the detrital beds to the west, crossing and recrossing 

the fault line. When the river resumed its down cutting it eroded a 

canyon partly in rock and partly in detritus, as shown in PL VIII, 

instead of taking the course to the west, where no hard rock would 

have been encountered.

SPILLWAY.

The ease with which erosion is accomplished in the detrital beds is 

well illustrated in the three oxbows formed west of the fault line, 

where the river passes from the rock into the detritus. The southern 

and middle bows are now only 2 miles apart and are separated by a 

ridge of detrital material already partly eroded away. The spillway 

of the Engle reservoir has been located tentatively in this depression. 

Considered from the topography alone the depression is an excellent 

location for a spillway, since the waters from the overflowing reservoir 

would escape at a point far enough away from the dam to insure the 

safety of that structure. The nature of the rock, however, mus^also 

be considered.

A small valley heading in the spillway at the summit of this ridge 

is indicated in PL VIII. The map was not completed to the south 

but a similar valley extends from the spillway southward to the bend in 

the river at the northern end of the Caballos Mountains. These valleys have been carved from the unconsolidated sediments by such 

temporary streams as result from the drainage of a very small area, a 

fact distinctly unfavorable to the location of the spillway of a great 

reservoir in material so easily eroded.

The proposed spillway is close to the fault line and it is possible that 

solid rock might be found at no great depth beneath the surface. In 

a small valley south of the spillway sandstones occur in a nearly vertical position. But whether these are near enough to the surface to 

warrant the establishment of a spillway at the point proposed remains 

to be determined.

A spillway constructed near the dam might have the disadvantage 

of greater cost, since it would require the excavation of a considerable 

amount of hard rock, but the advantage of greater durability and the 

absence of danger from rapid erosion along the course of the overflowing waters would probably more than compensate the additional 

cost.
28 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

CONSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.

Building stone. Several varieties of building stone are found within 

the Elephant Butte area. Massive limestones and red sandstones of 

Carboniferous age occur in the Caballos Mountains, "^He northern end 

of which is 1J miles distant from the site of the proposed dam. Massive sandstones of Upper Cretaceous' age occur at the dam site in the 

walls of the canyon. Field observations indicate that these will 

probably prove valuable for purposes of construction. But the 

strongest and most durable as well as the most accessible building 

stone is the basalt of Elephant Butte, which occurs close to the dam 

site. (PL VIII.)

Cement material. The problem of procuring cement for the construction of the dam is important. Cement must either be hauled 

about 12 miles from the nearest railway station or manufactured near 

the dam site. Cement material is available in the Elephant Butte 

area. In the northern end of the Caballos Mountains, at the mouth 

of Mescal Canyon, limestone and shale occur in abundance. Samples 

of each were taken and were analyzed in the laboratory of the United 

States Reclamation Service at Berkeley, Cal. The samples were not 

selected by one familiar with the technical requirements of cement 

manufacture, and probably more suitable material may be found. 

The analyses of these samples, given below, must be regarded as preliminary, but indicate that good cement materials may be found near 

the dam site.

Analysis of limestone from the northern end of Caballos Mountains. 

[C. II. Stone, analyst.]

Silica (SiO2) and insoluble matter.. 7. 94 

Alumina (A12O3) and ferric oxide

(Fe2O3) ....................... 0.80

Lime (CaO)...................... 44. 99

Magnesia (MgO) .................. 1. 23

Copper oxide (CuO)............... 0. 38

Potassa (K2O) ................... 0.09

Soda (Na2O)..................... 0. 28

Sulfur trioxide (SO3) .'............. 0. 30

Carbon dioxide (CO2) calculated to

combine with CaO........'...... 39. 29

95.30 

Moisture..................'...... 0. 11

Analysis of shale from the northern end of Caballos Mountains.

Silica (SiO2)..................... 63.74

Ferric oxide (Fe2O3) .............. 6. 44

Alumina (A12O3).................. 17. 33

Lime (CaO)...................... 5. 51

Magnesia (MgO)............ ..... 1.86

Soda (Na2O) ....................Undet.

Potassa (K2O) ...................Unde.t.

Sulfuric trioxide (SO3)............. Trace :

Ignition loss (H2O, CO2) ............

94.88

RATIONAL ANALYSIS.

Clay substance..................-.................-..---..-..-----.-..-- 27.20

Quartz -..........-..-..................--..-.-.-.----------.------------ 3.25

Feldspathic detritus..................................................... 69. 55
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 188 PL. IX

ENGLE DAM SITE. 

Showing Elephant Butte at the right, the edge of the Jornada del Muerto in the distance, the tilted Cretaceous sandstones in the foreground, and the dry bed of the Rio Grande.
ftV
SAN ACACIA AND SAN FELIPE EESEEVOIES. 29

The ratio-T^ ^ . 2* i r\ =2.6 is well within the limits of the ratio 12U3

>2.3 or <3,6. "fee MgO content is low, and the absence of SO3 makes 

this material one? of the purer clays, considered from a technical 

point of view.

Coal. Coal htts been found in Mescal Canyon about 4 miles south 

of Elephant Butte. Where exposed at the surface1 the beds are only 

a few inches thick, but are associated with a considerable amount of 

carbonaceous shale. The coal is in the same formation that contains 

valuable deposits of coal at Carthage and other places farther north, 

but the prospects have not been developed.

SAN ACACIA RESERVOIR.

The narrow gorge at San Acacia is one of the proposed dam sites of 

the Rio Grande region. The broad Belen Valley, to the north, narrows abruptly at this point on account of the sheet of basalt which 

here covers the detritus. Measurements made at this point by Mr. 

R. H. Chapman, of the United States Geological Survey, indicate that 

a dam 50 feet high would be 1,200 feet in length and would flood about 

18 square miles to an average depth of 25 feet, thus impounding about 

288,000 acre-feet of water. A higher but longer dam might be constructed, but the maximum possible height is less than 75 feet above 

the river bed, the limiting factor being the broad sand gap to the northwest, the surface of which is about 75 feet above the river level.

Probably the most serious objection to San Acacia Gorge as a dam 

site is found in the nature of the rock. The hard basalt, which maintains the steep walls of the gorge, is a comparatively thin sheet resting 

on unconsolidated sand and gravel, cut by basalt dikes representing 

the vents .through which the material of the sheet was extruded. 

Judging from surface indications, there is little prospect of finding 

solid rock sufficiently near the surface to be useful as a foundation for 

a dam, and the loose gravels would probably allow serious loss of 

impounded waters by leakage.

SAN FELIPE RESERVOIR.

Little can be added to the published description 0 of this gorge as a 

reservoir site. The proposed dam would be 2,350 feet long .and would 

submerge only 1,511 acres. San Felipe gorge is similar to that at San 

Acacia in being formed by flows of basalt capping unconsolidated 

sands and gravels. At this point there are two flows of basalt separated by a few feet of sand, as shown in the cross section of White

a Newell, F. H., Twenty-first Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 4, 1901, pp. 275-276.
30 WATER RESOURCES -OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, 1ST. MEX.

Rock Canyon, given in fig. 2. The material to an unknown depth 

beneath the lava sheet is sand and gravel, rendering the gorge undesirable as a dam site.

ESPANOLA RESERVOIR.

The Espanola dam site, located at the head of White Rock Canyon' 

has been described a as consisting of clay beds in which blocks of basalt 

are embedded, the unconsolidated material extending indefinitely 

beneath the bed of the river. Near this site thick beds of rhyolite 

tuff, west of the river, and basalt, to the east, rest on the detrital beds, 

as shown in the section forming fig. 2 and in PI. IV, B. The absence

SvVoi°^0SSand°aricl°oraveI pV°-

FIG. 2. Section across White Rock Canyon near Espanola dam site.

of bed rock near the surface makes this locality of doubtful value as 

a dam site.

The proposed reservoir covers 5,437 acres and has a capacity of 

186,861 acre-feet.

WATER SUPPLY.

SURFACE WATERS. 

RAINFALL.

On account of the great differences in altitude of places that lie 

within short distances of one another in the Rio Grande region the 

amount of rainfall varies greatly from place to place, the mountain 

peaks serving as foci about which local storms gather. Few storms 

occur in which precipitation is uniform over a large area. The greater 

part of the rain falls as local showers close to the hills in which they 

originate. This fact is indicated quantitatively in the following table 

of rainfall, in which the stations nearest the hills show the greatest 

precipitation. At Santa Fe, situated at the base of the Ro'cky Mountains, the average yearly precipitation is 14.56 inches, wThile at San 

Marcial, situated near the center of the Rio Grande region and far 

from high mountains, the average is 4.84 inches and the minimum 

is only 1.17 inches.

a Newell, F. H., Twenty-first Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 4,1901, pp. 265-269.
SUKFACE WATERS.

TABLE 1. Rainfall in the Rio Grande region, New Mexico, in inches.

31

 Locality.

El Paso..............

Engle. ...............

Hillsboro.... ........

1896.

7.02

7.89

9 79

10.84

8.08

12.21

7.65

7.99

6.5.5

14.28

1897.

9.74

11.49

16.89

17. i3

8.96

11.74

20.40

10.61

1898.

5.82

14.38

7.78

9 30

10.54

11.21

11.13

I9 97

1899.

(7. 45)

6.89

7 30

7.72

6. 25

(11.59)

9.67

6.78

1900.

5.90

4.89

7 95

6.03

10.20

15. 89

7.05

1901.

7.7i

8.68

8.49

16 49

.......

1.17

17.41

10.06

1902.

4.94

6.64

10.60

1903.

5.83

8.02

10.29

. 

9.79

1904.

11.46

11.30

10.45

10.13

14 19

1905.

4.20

17.80

17.09

17.22

22.40

Average for 

the 

years 

recorded.

6.85

7.39

5.96

10.82

10.72

8.08

12.30

10.18

8.71

10.65

11.44

4.84

14.56

11. 57

General average for the Rio Grande region.

i

9.57

EVAPORATION.

Evaporation throughout the Rio Grande Valley greatly exceeds the 

rainfall. Records for only three years are obtainable, but these were 

made near the extremities of the region here considered, and probably 

represent adequately the evaporation for the entire area. The first 

was made at the International dam site near El Paso during the year 

1890. a Those for the years 1900 and 1903 were made at the Climatological Laboratory of the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. 6

TABLE 2. Evaporation in the Rio Grande rsgion, in inches.

*

May................

July................

At International 

reservoir 

site for 

1890.

2.0

2.0

7.0

7 3

9

c

At Albuquerque 

for 1900.

2.63

6.17

6.82

11.78

At Albuquerque 

for 1903.

1.81

5.21

10.05

10 98

At International 

reservoir 

site for 

1890.

11.4

9.2

6.8

4.6

2 Q

84.8

At Albuquerque 

for 1900.

10.21

8.00

4.38

1.73

1.40

77.87

At Albuquerque 

for 1903.

11.73

9.65

6.62

4.21

1.88

87.90

Average for three years, 83.5.

DRAINAGE.

The drainage area of the Rio Grande north of El Paso, according 

to the reports of stream measurements made by the United States 

Geological Survey, is 38,000 square miles, of which 7,695 square 

miles lie north of Cenicero, Colo., leaving abqut 30,000 square miles 

as the area of the drainage basin within New Mexico.

The Rio Grande is mainly a flood-water stream and is subject to 

great fluctuations in volume. Its permanent flow is slight and is

a Thirteenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 3, 1890-91, p. 411.

6 Wejn;?irl, John, Bull. Hadley Climatological Laboratory, Univ. New Mexico, vol. 11, No. 10,1905, pp. 5~~o.
32 WATER RESOURCES OP RIO GRANDE VALLEY, JST. MEX.

derived mainly from the mountains north and east of the area 

described. The tributaries within the Rio Grande region yield little 

permanent supply, although Galisteo Creek and Rio Puerco contribute 

small volumes of water during the greater part of the year. Man/ 

of the tributary channels carry small permanent streams near their 

heads in the hills, but the water in most of these sinks beneath the 

surface before reaching the river.

The floods that supply the greater part of the flow of the Rio 

Grande are of two general kinds, one due to the annual melting of 

snows in the mountains, often accompanied by general rain storms, 

the other due to local showers or "cloud-bursts." The first occur 

regularly, but those due to local showers are very irregular, both in 

volume and in time of occurrence. Sometimes the river bed is dry 

for several months and at other times it carries disastrous floods, 

the yearry discharge, for example, at El Paso, varying from 50,768 

to 2,011,794 acre-feet, or a proportion approximating 1:40.

The records of discharge kept by the Geological Survey since 

1897 at El Paso, San Marcial, and Ildefonso, and since 1899 at Cenicero, near the Colorado and New Mexico boundary, are as follows:

TABLE 3. Monthly discharge of the Rio Grande, in acre-feet. 

EL PASO, TEX.

Month.

July............

September.. ....

1897.

18, 754

10, 774

4,427

103, 537

511,088

362, 677

81, 770

8,116

41,950

67, 359

41,812

1, 360, 360

1898,

30, 129

97, 944

2,262

119

5,718

669,298

1899.

12, 912

7,071

8,807

0

430

0

119

2,828

1900.

8,110

5,680

460

300

93 100

70

0

16,483

0

738

1901.

' 278

4,502

3,669

0

77, 038

12, 576

60,655

21,005

7,993

363, 967

1902.

8,291

5,772

635

7,904

307

20

14,499

9,313

298

1,775

50,768

1903.

615

1,289

22, 602

49,468

586, 909

158,202

4,334

1,031 

2 *298 033

2,440

1,032,844

1904.

972

387

0

0

0

0

0

7,398

10,959 

366, 486

48, 397

38, 182

472, 781

1905.

35,920

43, 309

188, 489

t97, 911

851,147

58,800

19,785

3,322 

4,225

25, 458

37,478

2,011,794

Total for nine years, 6,205,066; average for nine years, 689,452.

SAN MARCIAL, N. MJCX.

Month.

Mky. ...........

July............

September. .....

November ......

1897.

19, 553

212, 548

366, 426

6 149

114,188 

281,677

175, 715

2,215,257

1898.

59 425

271,458

167,062

4,641 

1,230

11, 722

964,677

1899.

27,854

27,546

54,089

35,048

QCO

28 407

6,' 395

2,916 

676

9,521 

21,828

1900.

oc noo

on of)*?

i *>** PIQO

123

0

73, 190

2,440 

10 ' 084

1901.

25 468

23,683

96, 178

ac CLOJ

37. 607

20,053

1902.

22,731

17,435

40, 106

26,787

6,407

49 210

13, 349 

823

4,641 

11,286

200, 729

1903.

17, 197

21 927

46,790

100,007

318, 367

660, 476

77,841

3,064

1,438 

545

5,534 

18,883

1,272,069

1904.

16,840

18,902

6,060

0

0

0

10,532

55,974

44,727 

463, 240

51,769 

41, 752

709,7%

1905.

39, 114

63,868

217, 904

279, 392

962, 221

714, 268

35, 782

20,093

5,276 

7,349

42, 397 

34, 344

2,422,008

Total for nine years, 9,168,966; average for nine years 1,018,774.
UNDEB6BOUND WATEBS. 83

TABLE 3. Monthly discharge of the Rio Grande, in acre-feet Continued. 

ILDEFONSO, N. MEX.

Month.

Mliy. ...........

July............

1897.

28,715

30,101

303, 113

702,254

366,128

97, 274

97 493

40,463

136,196

71,881

32,220

1,896,518

1898.

21, 705

24, 936

33,449

265,864

200,328

161,590

19, 279

21,890

35,583

39,168

1,086,933

1899.

26,009

35,599

176, 430

117,687

oq 7>i9

36,647

53,137

26,563

44 985

38,184

682, 344

1900.

36, 770

32,322

52, 818

51,531

211,517

m

OQC

18,262

. oe: OOQ

OQ noo

707,472

1901.

24,410

36,543

45,624

83,425

319, 367

130,850

44, 824

50,850

34, 512

30,190

27 491

856,554

1902.

29,643

27,183

33,709

97,577

73,567

16,730

34,165'

28,790

17, 157

19,220

424, 342

1903.

23, 127

24,724

75,193

172,324

406, 612

709,468

136, 780

26,563

22,314

21,828

25,170

23,611

1,667,714

1904.

20,910

24,220

21,340

27, 310

24,160

17,020

15,130

*91,990

148,300

252,800

49,450

35,420

728,050

1905.

43,470

51,590

158,100

218,900

785,200

572, 700

53,740

38,680

23,150

25,950

37,960

37,940

2,047,380

Total for nine years, 10,097,307; average for eight years, 1,121,923.

CENIOERO, COLO.

Month.

May...........................

July...........................

November. .............

Year.........................

1899.

(a)

(a)

(a)

(<*)

(a)

2,582

3,259

6,069

7,194

15, 412

19, 553

1900.

35,847

20,826

84, 734

1,783

1 3W

1,845

2,275

9,223

35,109

362, 304

1901.

36,524

32, 267

22,443

16,542

103, 299

61,408

5,041

3,689

2,975

3,320

4,284

20,721

312, 513

1902.

32,035

42,097

33,757

30,129

6,783

1,353

1,045

1,547

1,968

1,785

2,275

173, 518

1903.

1,537

1,388

2,091

18,684

123, 713

379, 339

72,432

2,890

5,355

3,935

12, 674

18,569

642, 607

1904.

18,820

23,990

7,563

9,104

1,322

1,208

1,076

8,608

11,660

97, 770

24,750

53,310

259, 181

1905.

59,640

66,370

53,490

44, 270

399,300

507,600

15,860

9,469

3,725

6,044

12,850

31,730

1, 210, 000

a No record. 

Total for six years, complete, 2,960,123; average for six years, 493,354.

UNDERGROUND WATERS.

The Rio Grande region embraces several more or less separate geologic provinces and the underground-water resources may be most 

conveniently described by districts.

SANTA FE DISTRICT.

The Santa Fe district is located in the Rocky Mountains region on 

the Rio Grande north of Galisteo Creek. The strata, composed of 

partially consolidated sands, gravels, and beds of mountain wash of 

Tertiary age, dip to the west away from the mountains. The inclination of the strata and their exposure in the region of greatest precipitation within the area described are favorable to the occurrence 

of artesian water.

Only two deep wells have been sunk in these deposits, and in neither

of them was water found under notable pressure. The first one,

drilled several years ago in search of artesian water, is 8 miles south

of Santa Fe. In this no surface flow was obtained. The second,

IER 188 07 3
34 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, 1ST. MEX.

drilled in 1905 at the Santa Fe Indian School, is a 12-inch well, 989 feet 

deep, and penetrates angular wash principally except for 75 feet of 

conglomerate encountered at a depth of 225 feet. Water was found 

at a depth of 100 feet and rose 44 feet, but its volume is small and the 

supply is easily exhausted by pumping. Water was also obtained in 

the 75 feet of conglomerate and in several thin gravel strata not 

recorded. This well is on comparatively high ground, its altitude 

being about 7^,000 feet, and near the eastern or highest part of the 

detrital formation. It is probable that on lower ground, nearer the 

river, water might be found under pressure sufficient to produce surface flows. Water emerges from this formation as springs along the 

river at an altitude about 1 ; 500 feet lower than that at Santa Fe and 

along the lower reaches of Santa Fe Creek. At La Cienaga, 12 miles 

southwest of Santa Fe and about 700 feet lower, there are several 

springs of sufficient volume to irrigate a considerable tract of land.

Record of well, at Santa Fe Indian School.

- Feet. 

Mountain wash.......................................... 0-225

Conglomerate....................... ................... 225-300

Mountain wash.......................................... 300-989

ALBUQUERQUE DISTRICT.

The Albuquerque district may be considered as extending from 

Galisteo Creek southward to Isleta. The geologic formations, so far 

as they have been penetrated by wells, are composed of unconsolidated 

material and carry no water under pressure. Water saturates the 

flood-plain material to the level of the river and is found in abundance 

wherever wells penetrate to that level.

A few wells sunk on the "mesa" east of Albuquerque obtain water 

at horizons somewhat higher than that of the river. A well at the 

University of New Mexico," 1 mile east of Albuquerque, is 240 feet 

deep and contains water at a depth of 200 feet, ubout 20 feet higher 

than the river level, while the "military well," 7 miles east of Albuquerque, contains water at a depth of 420 feet, or about 130 feet above 

the river level.

The deepest well in this district, 710 feet, is in Albuquerque, at the 

city waterworks. It is a 12-inch double-steel-cased well, to which 

water is admitted only below a depth of 350 feet. In addition to this 

deep well the water company owns seven 6-inch wells and one 12-inch 

well, each 291 feet deep, and a 65-foot dug well, from the bottom of 

which 25 pipes are driven to depths of 35 feet, the water being admitted only from the bottom of these pipes, or 100 feet below the surface.

«Weinziii, John, Bull. Hadley Climatological Laboratory of University of New Mexico, vol. 10, 

1905, p. 12.
UNDERGROUND WATERS, BELEN DISTRICT. 35

All the wells together yield an average of 3,000,000 gallons a day, or 

2,083 gallons a minute.

The 710-foot well has been tested alone and yielded 600 gallons a 

minute, with a local depression of the water surface within the well of 

18 feet.

Record of the city waterworks well at Albuquerque, N. Hex.

Feet. 

Soil.................................................... 0- 10

Sand and coarse gravel................................... 10- 35

Clay................................................... 35-40

Sand and coarse gravel................................... 40- 7J.

Cemented sand......................................:... 71- 75

Clay................................................... 75-80

Cemented sand and bands of "sandstone".................. 80-179

Sand and gravel ...*...................................... 179-185

Clay................................................... 185-189

Cemented sand and clay-.................................. 189-243

Yellow clay............................................. 243-292

Cemented sand.......................................... 292-320

Yellow clay............................................. 320-362

Sand and clay........................................... 362-386

Shale and sand..............!........................... 386-397

Cemented sand.......................................... 397-442

Yellow clay............................................. 442-456

Cemented sand.......................................... 456-471

' Sand and clay........................................... 471-487

Clay, sand, and gravel.................................... 487-572

Quicksand.............................................. 572-614

Clay and cemented sand.................................. 614 710

BELEN DISTRICT.

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

The Belen district extends from Isleta southward to a point a few 

miles north of Socorro, where the Rio Grande Valley narrows between 

the encroaching hills, as shown in PI. I. Through the center of this 

district extends the erosion basin known as Belen Valley. The surface 

of the broad flood plain formed by the deposits flooring the valley 

stands only a few feet above the river bed, and the material composing 

the deposits is saturated with water. Shallow wells throughout the 

bottom land reach this water at depths of 5 to 15 feet and readily 

obtain it in large quantity.

WELLS.

*

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's well, 1.5 

miles south of Belen, is the only one within this district from which a 

large and constant supply is pumped. It is a dug well, 15 feet deep 

and 20 feet in diameter, and contains 7 feet of water. It has yielded
36 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

50,000 gallons a day, and would probably yield more if necessary. 

The well is situated on the flood plain of the river in gravel and coarse 

sand, and the water level in the well rises and falls with that of the 

river.

No important deep wells have been sunk on the lowlands of the 

Belen district. One at the Belen flour mill, 35 feet deep, owned by 

John Becker, and another at the Catholic Church, 85 feet deep, are 

the deepest.

Three deep wells have been bored in the mesa gravels. One at Colorado siding, on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway bra::ch, 

known as the Belen cut-off, is 500 feet deep and contains 34 feet of 

water. This well is 9 miles southeast of Belen (altitude, 4,788 feet), 

at an elevation of 5,012 feet, or 224 feet higher than Belen, the water 

level in this well being 234 feet lower than the water at Belen.

Record of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's well at Colorado siding, New

Feet. 

Soil.................................................... 1-24

Sand................................................... 24-290

Light-colored clay...........'............................. 290-340

Red sandy clay.......................................... 340-500

At Becker siding, 15 miles southeast of Belen, the railway company 

has a 6-inch bored well, 427 feet deep, with water standing 364 feet 

below the surface. The altitude at the well is 5,140 feet, or 352 feet 

above Belen, making the water level in the well 4 feet lower than that 

in the valley at Belen.

Record of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's well at Becker siding, New

Mexico.

Feet.

Cemented gravel......................................... 0-100

Red clay............................................... 100-150

Red clay and gravel...................................... 150-275

Red clay............................................... 275-290

Red clay and gravel...................................... 290-300

Red clay and gravel, with bowlders .......................... 300-340

Gravel................................................. 340-345

Red clay %nd gravel, with bowlders ........................ 345-378

Gravel................................................. 378-388

Red clay and gravel...................................... 388-400

Water bearing gravel .................................... 400-420

Gravel and clay.......................................... 420-427

At Sandia, a siding on the main line of the Atchison, Topeka and 

Santa Fe Railway, west of Isleta, the railway company bored a 12- 

inch well 893 feet deep during the summer of 1905. It is in sand, 

gravel, and clay throughout, and encountered water at a depth of 

445 feet.
UNDERGROUND WATERS, JORNADA DISTRICT. 37

Record of Atckison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's well at Sandia, N. Hex.

Feet. 

Unconsolidated sand ...................................... 0-340

Sand, with clay bands.................................... 340-400

Clay........"........................................... 400-440

Sand................................................... 440-480

Gravel................................................. 480-490 .

Sand, with clay bands .................................... 490-530

Sand................................................... 530-585

Clay................................................... "585-640

Sand and clay........................................... 640-893

JORNADA DISTRICT.

GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE.

The Jornada district extends from San Marcial to Las Graces, 

between the San Andreas and the Caballos-Fra Cristobal mountain 

ranges. The geologic structure of the Jornada del Muerto has been 

described a as a syncline, in which the older or consolidated rocks pass 

underneath the unconsolidated material which covers the surface.

Along the eastern base of the Caballos-Fra Cristobal range the 

upturned Cretaceous sandstones are truncated and exposed in such a 

way as to freely admit the water crossing them as streams from the 

mountains, as well as that falling upon them as rain. These sandstones are not exposed elsewhere within the Jornada district, and it is 

uncertain whether they occupy the entire trough of the syncline, as 

stated by Keyes.&

The Jornada del Muerto, as has been previously stated, is probably 

a part of the old Rio Grande Valley that has been filled with unconsolidated sands and gravels of comparatively recent origin. This 

material has been penetrated by wells to a depth of 360 feet, but its 

total depth has not been determined and very little is yet known of 

the underground conditions in this region. The Cretaceous sandstones may extend without interruption beneath the detrital filling, 

or, if they were originally present, may have been largely eroded 

away previous to the deposition of the detritus.

FLOWING WELLS.

In the vicinity of Engle Sowing water is obtained from three wells, 

which penetrate the Cretaceous sandstones. One about 10 miles 

northwest of Engle, near the base of the Fra Cristobal Mountains, is 

said to be 260 feet deep. The flow is not sufficient to water a few 

hundred cattle for which it is used, and the water is pumped to 

increase the yield.

« Keyes, C. R., Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 123, IT. S. Geol. Survey, 1905. 

b Ibid., p. 10 (geologic map).
38 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

The other wells belong to the Santa Fe Railway Company and the 

water is pumped to Engle for railway use. The wells are located in 

the canyon leading from Engle to the Rio Grande. One near old 

Fort McRae was drilled to a depth of about 1,200 feet in search of 

coal. No coal was found, but water was encountered under pressure 

sufficient to produce a considerable'surf ace flow but not great enough 

to raise it to the level of the town. From this well and a second one 

put down about 2 miles farther east water is pumped into a reservoir 

on the Jornada, from which it flows to Engle by gravity.

NONFLOWIJ.G WELLF-.

A number of wells have been bored in the Jornada del Muerto, but 

definite records of only a few of them are obtainable. Those near the 

western border of the plain, along the railroad, penetrate the Cretaceous sandstones and find water under slight pressure, tut the greater 

number have been bored in depressions along the center of the plain 

and penetrate only unconsolidated sand, gravel, and wash. The 

record of Mr. Linger's well may be taken as representative of the 

material found in the center of the Jornada.

Record of well of G. W. Linger & Company, 5 miles east of Upham.

Feet. 

Red clay............................................... 1-10

Cement................................................ 10-19

Sand and silt............................................. 19-235

Bowlders (maximum diameter, 8 inches) .................... 235-240

Partial records obtained of a few of the wells are given in the following table:

TABLE 4. Records of bored wells in the Jornada del Muerto.

Owner.

J. D. Isaacks....... 

Do.............

Do.............

J W Taulnr

A.,T.andS.F.Rwy 

Do.............

Do.............

L. Baldwin & Co...

Cattle Co 

Do.............

G. W. Linger.& Co.

Location,

Sec. 35, T. 20 S., R. 2 E..

Sec. 13, T. 208., R.2 E.. 

Sec 17 T 19 S R 2 E/

8 miles west of Engle ....

Upham.

Total 

depth

Feet. 

265

330

115

1,200 

480

400

140

200

500

240

Depth to 

water.

Feet. 2,'0

292

95

Flow. 

140

140

492

300(?)

Power 

used.

Wind.....

Wind..... 

.....do....

Gasoline..

Steam ....

.....do....

.....do....

Remarks.

Penetrates 35 feet soil; 

23 feet sand and 

gravel

gular material, with 

15 feet rounded bowlders 

In sandstone and 

shale.

Water raised 100 feet.

Water raised 327 feet.

(maximum 6 inches 

in diameter) at bottom. Water raised 

102\feet.
UNDERGROUND WATERS, MESA DISTRICT. 39

INDICATIONS OR ARTESIAN WATER.

The occurrence of water under pressure in several wells near Engle 

indicates the presence of artesian conditions beneath a small area of 

the Jornada, but in areas lying beyond the immediate vicinity of 

Engle the presence or absence of artesian water must be inferred 

entirely from surface indications. Since water is found in the Cretaceous sandstones near Engle it might be expected in wells that 

penetrate these sandstones elsewhere, provided the sandstones extend 

uninterruptedly beneath the surface in this region. Their extent, 

however, and their depth beneath the surface over the greater part 

of the Jornada are unknown.

The water in the unconsolidated gravel beds may perhaps be confined beneath impervious layers, since the Jornada del Muerto slopes 

southward at an average rate of 4| feet to the mile, but nothing now 

known proves either the presence or absence of such layers. The 

surface indications are moderately favorable to the occurrence of 

artesian water in certain areas, particularly at the southern end of 

the Jornada and still farther south, in the Mesilla Valley.

LA MESA DISTRICT.

La Mesa district lies in the southern part of the Rio Grande 

region west of Mesilla Valley. Wells have been sunk in various parts 

of this district, both for railroad use and for stock purposes. No 

solid rock was encountered in any of the wells, most of which 

find water in abundance, but at a considerable depth, as indicated 

in Table 5. The deepest well on La Mesa, 945 feet, was bored by 

the Southern Pacific Railway Company at Lanark. The company 

owns two other wells at the same place, one 648 feet and one 615 

feet deep, the three yielding 50 gallons of water a minute. The 

material penetrated is sand with small waterworn pebbles, and contains water below a depth of 380 feet.

Since the altitude of Lanark is 4,156 feet, the altitude of the water 

surface is 3,776 feet, while that at Bosque Seco, in Mesilla Valley, 

15 miles northeast of Lanark, is 3,800 feet 24 feet higher than at 

Lanark. At Noria, the altitude of which is 4,114 feet, the water 

surface, 358 feet below the surface of the land, is 3,756 feet above 

sea level. In the 12 miles between Lanark and Noria the water 

surface inclines to the south 20 feet, or at an average rate of 1.7 

feet per mile. A line drawn through Bosque Seco, Lanark, and 

Noria would run somewhat west of the center of the old debrisfilled valley of the Rio Grande for a distance of 27 miles. Along 

this line there is a fall of the water surface of 44 feet, or an average 

of 1.7 feet per mile. The gradient of the water table in Mesilla 

Valley between Bosque Seco (3,800 feet) and the southern end of
40 WATER RESOURCES OP RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

Mesilla Valley (3,680 feet), a distance of about 32 miles, is 3.7 feet 

per mile. It is evident from these facts that the surface of the 

underground water has a regular gradient down the old channel 

through La Mesa, although it is less than the gradient of the river. A 

line of wells a few miles farther east in the center of the old valley 

would probably show a steeper gradient of the water plane.

The facts upon which the determination of gradient rests are not 

sufficiently numerous to make it conclusive. The depths to water 

determined and the indications that La Mesa is a part of the 

ancient debris-filled valley naturally leads to the inference that the 

course of the underflow should be southward through the detritus of 

La Mesa. It is possible, on the one hand, that additional data 

will show a gradient steeper than 1.7 feet per mile. On the other 

hand, it is possible that the original course of the underflow down 

the old channel has been reversed by reason of the down cutting of 

the river in Mesilla Valley and the accumulation of surface water in 

the gravels of La Mesa. The latter possibility is strengthened by the 

facts that La Mesa is nearly level and the material so porous that 

rain enters it without producing even temporary streams.

TABLE 5. Records of bored wells in La Mesa district.

Owner.

Henry Brock......

Do............. 

Do.............

J. F. Kilburn......

Do.............

S. P. Rwy. Co......

J. B. Stabling......

Do.............

El Paso and S. W.

Rwy. 

Do.............

Location.

Sec. 30, T. 25 S., R. 2 W.. 

Sec. 7, T. 24 S., R. 1 W...

Mountain.

Noria. 

T. 278., R.I W. ........

Lanark. 

Lanark .................

Lanark.

Total 

depth.

Feet. 

240

430

435

<»478

388

945 

365

6460

350

94A

438

Depth to 

water.

Feet. 

221

386

170

350

408

370

380 

340

440

311

220

358

Power 

used.

Gasoline.. 

.....do....

.....do....

Steam ....

.....do....

.....do....

Material encountered.

Sand and waterworn 

gravels. 

Do.

Plow

Do.

gravel. 

Do.

a 170 feet in bottom of crater, 6 200 feet in bottom of crater.

MESILLA DISTRICT.

LOCATION AND CHARACTER.

The Mesilla district is confined to Mesilla Valley, the southernmost 

of the erosion basins of the Rio Grande region. During floods the 

river submerges a large part of the valley floor, a level flood plain 

formed by the deposition of silt and fine sand. As previously stated 

(p. 24), Mesilla Valley was once deeper than it is now, and has been 

recently filled to some extent by flood-plain deposits. The geologic
UNDERGROUND WATERS, MEBILLA DISTRICT. 41

formations and their relation to one another are indicated in the sections on PL III. The rock basin was partly filled with debris, in 

which a secondary valley was eroded and later partly filled with sand 

and silt.

WATER TABLE.

Underground water is found throughout Mesilla Valley at practically the river level. The depth to water was measured in the wells in 

the valley, and the results were plotted on the contour maps prepared 

by the United States Reclamation Service, and from these the map 

forming PL X has been prepared, which shows by contours the depth 

to water.

The water table changes position to some extent, according to 

changes in the volume of water in the river. Professor Slichter a has 

shown that the ground water of the valley is derived largely from the 

river and that the gradient of the water plane in a direction parallel 

to the river is practically constant at 4.64 feet per mile where measured near Mesilla Park, while the gradient away from the river varies 

from 0.4 foot per mile during low water to 2.3 feet in times of flood. 

A rise of the water table of 5 feet is reported near the river during the 

six months for which records were kept.

WELLS OF MESILLA VALLEY.

General statements. A number of wells have been bored in Mesilla 

Valley for pumping water in large quantities, mainly for irrigation. 

Twelve of these have been carefully tested by Professor Slichter 6 

with a view to ascertaining their capacity, the cost of pumping, etc. 

Some of his results are included in Table 6 (p. 47). It should be noted, 

in comparing the figures of the column showing depth to water 

with the map (PL X), in which depth to water is indicated by contours, that these wells are usually placed on ground high enough 

to allow the water to flow over the land to be irrigated. The depth 

to water is therefore somewhat greater than the average depth indicated on the map.

Wells at Agricultural College. Several wells have been bored for the 

Agricultural College at Mesilla Park.

A bored well at the college building is 75 feet deep and 4 inches in 

diameter. Water was encountered at a depth of 43 feet in 1896, but 

in 1903 it was found to have lowered to 53 feet.

Another 4-inch well at the college machine shop is 120 feet deep. 

Saline water was found at this depth and the pipe was drawn back to 

75 feet, where better water was found.

An irrigation plant was established in 1902 at the experiment station of the Agricultural College, consisting of one 12-inch and one

a Slichter, C. S., Observations on the ground waters of Rio Grande Valley: Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper 

No. 141, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, pp. 22-29. 

6 Slichter, C. S., ibid., p. 34.
42 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRAFDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

6-inch well, each 48 feet deep. This plant has been described by 

members of the college faculty" in a bulletin of the experiment station. The wells penetrate gravel beds, from which water is readily 

obtained, the yield being about 1,000 gallons a minute.

Record of experiment station well.

Feet.

Soil...................................................... 0-5

Sand..................................................... 5-32

Sand and gravel........................................... 32-47

Sand.................................................... 47-48

During the summer of 1905 a pumping plant was installed on the 

horticultural-farm near Mesilla Park station. A 12-inch well was 

bored 62Jeet deep and an 18-foot strainer was placed at the bottom. 

A pit 8* feet square was dug to water level, 19 feet below the surface. 

It contains a centrifugal pump with gasoline engine, which discharges 

1,000 gallons of water per minute.

Wells of F. C. Barker. Mr. Barker has three pumping plants. 

One, at Las Cruces, pumps from a 6-inch well 53 feet deep, which is 

capable of supplying about 150 gallons of water per minute. The 

well penetrates a gravel bed 35 feet thick, which supplies the water.

Record ofF. G. Barker's well at Las Cruces

Feet.

Soil....................................................... 0-3

Sand..................................................... 3-18

Gravel and bowlders....................................... 18-53

Mr. Barker's second pumping plant is situated about 1 mile south 

of Las Cruces and consists of a 6-inch well 48 feet deep, supplied with 

pump and gasoline engine which raise 131 gallons of water per

minute.

Record of F. C. Barker's well, 1 mile south of Las Cruces.

Feet.

Soil...................................................... 0- 8

Sand..................................................... 8-16

Sand and gravel........................................... 16-30

Coarse gravel............................................. 30-48

A third plant is reported to have been established during the summer of 1905 near the second. An 8-inch well was bored to a depth of 

85 feet and supplied with centrifugal pump and gasoline engine, which 

raise a volume of water estimated at 800 gallons per minute.

Record ofF. C. Barker's 8-inch well.

Feet.

Soil...................................................... 0-17

Quicksand................................................ 17-36

Sand and gravel........................................... 36-58

Gravel and bowlders....................................... £8-75

Caliche................................................... 75-79

Sand and gravel........................................... 79-85

a Vernon, John J., andLester, Francis E., Bull. No. 45, New Mexico College Agric. and Mechanic 

Arts, Mesilla Park, N. Mex., 1903.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER No. 188, PL. X

Selden

. Old Fort 

'Selden

39oo

W\ ^%L\HEADGATES m^^T^* **

'. / 

^ i~ -fi f ^'Vft,/-

/ Vt / .

. OShaJam/ t !

s>w ^^ / 4- * O^ona Ana

I»V 

IK-.t^

I it1 N. V

*r?

rt ^

i/v

.^^^

A Hints

.-JOMesttla /-

.- /' {A. & M, A. ,.$l*«illa

> JS25

Bosque 'Secfxfe

_ O v

G'J

«//

 * v ^iWv > 'G% 

Sa^-rMiJuet-.

 r^)\\

- a .... ?**' 

r

s \ o r x>^' ) / t*}

 *>-\ ) Earl k-^S

:4a XT JS^'^^/.

'

U1 3750

9°,

F ' i^« h>; i^ r 

U.'V

/./^ ^a&

) Vinton

MAP OF

(^ WSites 

MESILLA 

Spur

VALLEY

NEW MEXICO

Scale in miles

0

**

»

Topography from surveys Toy 

U. S. Reclamation Service

Datum is mean sea level

Pumping plants 

"Water contours ..... -.. 

Figures show depth to water in feet
UNDERGROUND WATERS, MESILLA DISTRICT. 43

Well of Mrs. E. M. Boyer. Mrs. Boyer's well is located on her 

ranch, about one-fourth mile north of the railroad station at Las 

Cruces. It is a 6-inch bored well, 52 feet deep, with a 12-foot strainer. 

Water is raised by a centrifugal pump and 12-horsepower gasoline 

engine at the rate of 658 gallons per minute.

Record of Mrs. E. M. Boyer's well.

Feet. 

Soil...................................................... 0-2

Sand..................................................... 2-22

Sand and gravel........................................... 22-52

Well of Frank Burke. Mr. Burke's well is located one-half mile 

south of Mesilla Park. It is a 12-inch well, 60 feet deep, with a 12-foot 

strainer. Water is raised by a centrifugal pump and 21-horsepower 

gasoline engine at the rate of 755 gallons per minute.

Record of Frank Burke's well.

Feet. 

Soil...................................................... 0- 8

Sand..................................................... 8-22

Sand and gravel........................................... 22-60

Well of J. C. Carrera. Mr. Carrera's well is located about 1 mile 

south of Las Cruces. It is a 6-inch well, 58 feet deep, with a 15-foot 

strainer. Water is raised by a centrifugal pump and 8-horsepower 

gasoline engine at the rate of 648 gallons per minute.

Well of Robert Elwood. Mr. Elwood, of Las Cruces, constructed a 

pumping plant for irrigation during the summer of 1905, in which two 

8-inch wells 40 feet apart are connected with a 5-inch centrifugal pump 

and 12-horsepower gasoline engine. The first well was bored 100 

feet deep, but the casing was later withdrawn to the 64-foot level, 

where the most productive gravel bed occurs. The second well is 64 

feet deep, and both are supplied with 24-foot strainers. The yield is 

estimated at 800 gallons of water per minute.

Record of Robert Elwood's well.

Feet. 

Sand and gravel ........................\................. 0- 32

Clay.................................................... 32- 35

Sand and gravel.......................................... 35- 50

Cemented sand........................................... 50- 52

Coarse sand and gravel.................................... 52-100

Well of W. N. Eager. Mr. Hager's well is located one-half mile 

west of Mesilla Park. It is a 10-inch well, 63 feet deep, with a 12-foot 

strainer. Water is raised by a centrifugal pump and 12-horsepower 

gasoline engine at the rate of 325 gallons per minute.

Well of A. L. Hines. Mr Hines's well is located 1 mile northeast 

of Mesilla. It is a 6-inch well, 59 feet deep, with an 8-foot strainer.
44 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

Water is raised by a centrifugal pump and 8-horsepower gasoline 

engine at the rate of 271 gallons per minute.

Record of A. L. nines's well.

Soil.

Feet. 

0- 8

Sand..................................................... 8-19

Quicksand................................................ 19-47

Sand and gravel........................................... 47-59

Wells ofHoraco Ranch Company. The Horace Ranch Company.has 

three wells separated by a few hundred feet and located west of Berino.

No. 1 is an 8-inch well, 75 feet deep, with an 18-foot strainer. Water 

is raised by a centrifugal pump and 12-horsepower gasoline engine at 

the rate of 837 gallons per minute.

No. 2 is a 10-inch well, 53 feet deep, with an 18-foot strainer. Water 

is raised by a centrifugal pump and 12-horsepower gasoline engine at 

the rate of 191 gallons per minute.

No. 3 is a 10-inch well, 62 feet deep, with an 18-foot strainer. Water 

is raised by a centrifugal pump and 12-horsepower gasoline engine at 

the rate of 750 gallons per minute.

Las Cruces city well. During the summer of 1905 a pumping plant 

was constructed to furnish the city of Las Cruces with water. A 

6-inch well was bored to a depth of 63 feet and an 18-foot strainer 

placed at the bottom of the pipe in a bed of gravel, occurring below 

the depth of 46 feet. A pit 8 feet square and 20 feet deep contains an 

Advance steam pump, which is placed 2 feet above normal water 

level. The water is drawn by suction from the capped casing at a 

rate of 300 gallons per minute.

The water drawn from a depth lower than 46 feet is apparently 

much better for domestic use than that obtained from the surface 

wells of Las Cruces. An analysis of the water made by Geo. W. Lord 

Company, of Philadelphia, Pa., is as follows:

Analysis of water from Las Cruces city well.

Total solids.........

Calcium (Ca)........

Magnesium (Mg)....

Sodium (Na)........

Sulfate radicle (SO)4.

Parts per million. 

....... 998

........ 156

....... 19

....... 159

....... 338

Parts per million. 

Chlorine (Cl).................... 133

Silica (SiO2).................... ' 27

Carbonate radicle (COS).......... 120

Organic and volatile............. Trace.

Well of Theodore Roualt. Mr. Roualt's well is located on his ranch 

near the river, 3 miles northwest of Las Cruces. It is a 10-inch well, 

48 feet deep, with a 10-foot strainer. Water is raised by a centrifugal 

pump and 18-horsepower steam engine at the rate of 351 gallons per 

minute.
UNDERGROUND WATERS, MESILLA DISTRICT. 45

Well of Shalam Colony. Several years ago an elaborate pumping 

plant was constructed for irrigation purposes at Shalam Colony, west 

of Dona Ana. A circular pit 18 feet in diameter was sunk to a dejgth 

of 30 feet and its sides and bottom were cemented. In the bottom of 

this pit five wells were bored, three of which are 6 inches in diameter 

and 90 feet deep (60 feet below the bottom of the pit), one is 12 

inches in diameter and 90 feet deep, and one 6 inches in diameter and 

19.7 feet deep. At a depth of 90 feet there is a 3-foot gravel stratum, 

which apparently yields the greater part of the water. The sand 

beneath this stratum entered the pipe so freely that it was impracticable to draw water from horizons lower than 90 feet.

A storage reservoir, covering an area of 1 acre and 5 feet deep, 

was constructed, and into this a 60-horsepower steam engine pumps 

water at the rate of 1,500 gallons per minute.

The ground water at this place is 9 feet beneath the surface, making 

a normal depth of 21 feet of water in the pit. The pump lowers the 

water surface 18 feet to a level at which it remains stationary, the 

flow from the wells equaling the discharge of the pump.

Well of J. R. Thompson. Mr. Thompson's well is situated at the 

eastern edge of the valley, about 2 miles south of Earlham. It is a 

6-inch bored well, 138 feet deep, and obtains water from the coarse 

sand at the bottom of the well. An accurate driller's record was 

obtained as follows:

Record of J. R. Thompson's well.

Feet.

Sand and silt........................................... 0-80

Clay .................................................. 80-100

Sand........................................*.......... 100-118

Clay................................................... 118-128

Coarse sand............................................. 128-138

Well of G. H. Totten. Mr. Totten's well is located 1 mile west of 

Mesilla. It is a 10-inch well, 62 feet deep, with 24 feet of strainer. 

Water is raised by a centrifugal pump and 28-horsepower gasoline 

engine at the rate of 464 gallons per minute. When tested the well 

contained only 12 feet of strainer, which had been placed in the upper 

sand layer. Later the well was lowered and a second 12-foot strainer 

was added, greatly increasing the flow.

Record of G. H. Totten's well.

Feet. 

Soil...................................................... 0-17

Sand..................................................... 17-51

Clay..................................................... 51-53

Sand and gravel........................................... 53-62

Samples of the waters were taken from both sand layers of this well 

to ascertain if they varied in quality. The analyses, made by Prof.
46 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, N. MBX.

R. F. Hare, of the New Mexico agricultural experiment station, 

indicate that the waters vary in the amounts, but not in the kinds of 

salts they contain, that from the upper sand containing 1,566 parts 

and that from the lower sand 1,123 parts of total solids per million 

parts of water.

Table showing well records in Mesilla Valley. The following table 

comprizes data concerning wells in Mesilla Valley. Descriptions of 

pumping tests for the first twelve wells of the table may be found in 

Prof. Charles S. Slichter's paper on ground waters of Rio Grande 

Valley : a _____________________________________

a Water Sup. and Irr. Paper No. 141, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, pp. 51-73.
TABLE 6. Records of wells in Mesttla Val

1

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31

Owner.

1

W. N. Hager... .............

Q. H. Totten.................

A., T. &S. F. Rwy.. .......

.....do......................

Catholic Church............

R. Elwood.................

W.S. Qilliam...... ........

.....do......................

Location.

.....do........................................

.....do........................................

.....do........................................

.....do........................................

.....do........................................

Total depth.

Feet. 

48 

52 

60 

58

63

59

48

62

48

75 

53 

62 

66 

51 

25 

62 

46 

53 

85 

64 

36 

63 

100 

52 

260 

330 

35 

197 

83 

35 

138

Depth to water.

Feet. 

14 

20 

14

20

17

5 

8 

8 

26 

21 

10 

19 

35 

18 

16 

34 

34 

22 

17 

16 

Dry 

Dry 

20 

9 

17 

25

Yield per minute.

Gals. 

131 

658 

755 

648 

325 

271 

351 

464 

1,000 

837 

191 

750 

300 

130 

40 

1,000 

30 

150 

800 

35 

50 

300 

800 

800

1,500

30

Water lowered 

by pumping.

Feet. 

22.48 

19.76 

22.85 

8.48 

15.20 

14.08 

23.86 

22.50 

11.37 

13. 75 

23.64 

18.55
48 WATER RESOURCES OF RIO GRANDE VALLEY, 3ST. MEX.

UNDERFLOW OF THE RIO GRANDE REGION. 

WATER PLANE.

In Mesilla Valley the surface of the ground water is practically at 

the river level, as has been previously stated. The water plane in the 

valleys farther north can not be accurately represented for lack of 

detailed topographic maps, but the depths to water in wells situated 

in the bottom, lands throughout the Rio Grande region indicate that 

the surface of the ground water is always at or very near the river level. 

The water plane determined for Mesilla Valley and mapped in PI. X 

is probably typical, and the map doubtless expresses with sufficient 

accuracy the relation of the water table to the river and to the land 

surface for the entire region.

QUANTITY OF UNDERFLOW.

The investigation of the quantity and rate of underflow in Mesilla 

Valley, carried on in 1904 by Professor Slichter,a shows (pp. 1-1-13) that 

there is practically no underflow through the canyon near El Paso, 

but (pp. 25-29) that near Mesilla Park, where a series of experiments 

were made, water enters the underflow both from the river and from 

the drainage of the mesas. His conclusions are tabulated as follows:

TABLE 7. Amount of water contributed to the underflow of the Rio Grande near Mesilla Park, 

N. Hex., between September 20 and October 23,1904.

Dates.

September 20 to October 1 ...

October 9 to 16 ..............

October 16 to 23 .............

Number of 

days.

11

8

7 

7

33

Amount of ground water contributed by each mile of the 

river.

Cubic feet 

of water 

per 24 

hours.

110, 500 

640,000 

248,000 

117, 200

b 8, 900, 000 

270,000

Cubic feet 

per second.

1.28 

7.40 

2.87 

1.36

3.03

Gallons 

per minute.

575 

3,330 

1,290 

745

1,360

Amount of ground water contributed by rainfall upon 

mesa east of the valley per 

mile of river valley.

Cubic feet 

of water 

per 24 

hours.

S

500 

000 

29,900 

5,950

61,517,000

45,800

Cubic 

feet per 

second.

0.47 

1.7d 

.35 

-.069

.515

Gallons 

per minute.

211 

794 

155 -31

232

"Heavy flood on October 5,1904.

6Total amount contributed for each mile of the valley in thirty-three days. By converting cubic 

feet into acre-feet it is found that the river lost 204 acre-feet of water to the gravels of the underflow in 

thirty-three days, and that 34.8 acre-feet were contributed by the rainfall in the same period. These 

amounts are for each mile of the valley.

If the amounts shown by these figures are applied to Mesilla Valley 

as a whole the result is large. The valley is about 50 miles long, and 

if the seepage amounts to 204 acre-feet of water per mile a total of 

10,200 acre-feet of water was contributed to the underflow of the valley by the river during the thirty-three days included in the table.

"Slichter. Charles S., Observations on the ground waters of Rio Grande Valley: Water-Sup, and 

Irr. Paper No. 141, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905.
UNDERFLOW OF THE KIO GEANDE REGION. 49

During the same time a total of 1,741 acre-feet was contributed by the 

rainfall, making a grand total for the valley of 11,941 acre-feet in the 

thirty-three days, or about 362 acre-feet a day.

No measurements are available for the valleys farther north, but 

judging from the uniformity of conditions throughout the region a like 

amount probably enters the ground in the other valleys.

ORIGIN OF UNDERFLOW.

The waters of the underflow are derived mainly from the Rio 

Grande. The rainfall is comparatively unimportant as a source of 

supply, since the rains are usually violent and of short duration, and 

although the material upon which the rain falls is very porous the 

greater part of the water enters the river. According to Slichter's 

table just quoted, the local rainfall contributes about one-seventh of 

the underflow. The tributary streams evidently contribute some 

water, but since they are small and intermittent the amount is probably negligible, leaving the Rio Grande as the main source of supply. 

Measurements of the flow of the Rio Grande demonstrate the fact that 

the river is continually losing water, the greater volume of flow being 

measured at the upstream rather than the downstream gaging stations. This is made clear by an inspection of the tables of discharge 

previously quoted (pp. 31-33). For purposes of convenient comparison the following table of totals is given:

TABLE 8. Discharge of the Rio Grande in acre-feet.

El Paso.

6,205,066

4,101,906

San Martial.

9,168,966

5,749,197

Ildefonzo.

10,097,307

6,431,512

Cenicero.

2,960,123

From this table it appears that during the nine years recorded a 

loss of 32 per cent of the flow at San Marcial occurred between San 

Marcial and El Paso, a distance of about 140 miles, and that within the 

same period a loss of 38 per cent of the'Ildefonso flow, over and above 

the total amount entering the Rio Grande from tributary streams 

during those years, occurred in a distance of about 280 miles. This loss 

is due to evaporation, diversion for irrigation, and absorption into the 

gravels. It is probable that could the discharge of the tributary 

streams be included the loss would be about double that shown by the 

river alone. To illustrate: During the nine years recorded the river 

lost 3,892,241 acre-feet in the 280 miles between Ildefonso and El 

Paso, in addition to the total discharge of such important tributaries 

as Galisteo Creek, Rio Jemes, Rio Puerco, Arroyo Salado, and scores 

of smaller tributaries. It is evident that the actual loss is much 

greater than that indicated by measurements of river discharge alone,

IKR 188 07 4
50 WATEE KESOUKCES OF EIO GEANDE VALLEY, E". MEX.

An effort has been made to determine what percentage of the 

known loss is due to irrigation and what to seepage and evaporation. 

The discussion may be found in the Proceedings of the International 

(Water) Boundary Commission, United States and Mexico, vol. 2, pp. 

405-424. The results indicate that .there is a notable loss of water 

over and above that diverted for irrigation. An average of three 

comparisons (p. 417) shows that 13 per cent of the San Marcial flow 

was lost by seepage and evaporation above El Paso.

COURSE OF UNDERFLOW.

All known facts point to the conclusion that a large amount of 

water is continually passing from the river into the underflow, and 

must either return to the surface and evaporate or find some underground passage by which to escape. Professor Slichter's" investigation proves that the escape is not through the canyon at El Paso.

The debris-filled valley west of El Paso and the apparently regular 

gradient of its water plane suggest that the course of the underflow 

may be down this old valley to the basin region of northern Mexico. 

On the other hand, the meager data available seem to show that this 

gradient is lower than that for Mesilla Valley, and that the flow 

should be toward the river rather than away from it, as would be the 

case if the course of the underflow was down the old valley. The 

data available at the present time are not adequate to solve this 

problem.

A more probable means of escape is by evaporation. Accepting 

Slichter's measurements of 362 acre-feet a day, contributed in Mesilla 

Valley, about 132,000 acre-feet of water would enter the gravels in a 

year. The evaporation of approximately 7 feet a year would remove 

from the 150,000 acres of Mesilla Valley about 1,050,000 acre-feet if 

the water were freely exposed, or about 8 times the amount of water 

entering the underflow. Over a considerable part of the valley the 

water plane is near enough to the surface for considerable loss by 

capillary action.

CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF RIO GRANDE WATERS. 

MESILLA DISTRICT.

A large number of chemical analyses of waters of Mesilla Valley 

have been published by Goss.6 Others have been collected from 

various sources and preserved in the records of the United States 

Geological Survey. It appears from these analyses that the total 

solids are not high as compared with those found in waters used elsewhere for irrigation, and that the salts are not those most deleterious

oSlichter, C. S., ibid., pp. 9-13.

6 Goss, Arthur, Principles of water analysis: Bull. No. 34, New Mexico College of Agric. and 

Mech. Arts, 1900.
CHEMICAL CHAEACTEE OF EIO GBANDE WATEES. 51

to crops. "Black alkali" (Na2CO3 ) is wholly absent from both river 

and ground waters. "White alkali" is abundant and accumulates as 

incrustations of salts due to the evaporation of water brought to the 

surface by capillary action.

The well waters are not very satisfactory for domestic uses. The 

quantities of magnesium, sodium, and sulfuric acid, probably 

present in the form of Glauber's salt (sodium sulfate = Na2SO4) and 

Epsonisalt (magnesium sulfate='MgSO4 ), indicate that the waters of 

the valley in general are not very good for drinking purposes. The 

river water contains the same substances that are found in the wells, 

but in smaller amounts.

Waters obtained from the mesa gravels at El Paso, Deming, and 

elsewhere are much better for domestic use than those derived from 

gravels that are obviously supplied from the river. This is probably 

true of the Mesilla region, though not enough data are at hand concerning the mesa waters to permit positive statements. Two analyses 

have been made of samples of water taken west of Mesilla Valley. 

One, from J. F. Kilburn's well, contained 1,315 parts per million of 

dissolved solids, and is more saline than many in the valley; the 

other, from the railway well at Lanark, contained 585 parts per 

million of total solids, and is better than that from many of the valley 

wells.

OTHER DISTRICTS.

Little can be said of the chemical character of water from the Rio 

Grande region north of Mesilla Valley, few complete analyses being 

available. Those that could be obtained are included in Table 10. 

These analyses have been collected from various sources and are 

nearly all to be found in the records of the United States Geological 

Survey.

In the lowlands throughout the Rio Grande region the salts contained in the waters accumulate as white incrustations over the soil. 

In Albuquerque Valley these accumulations are particularly abundant 

and in many, places prevent the growth of vegetation. This condition 

is probably caused by crude methods of irrigation. The land thus 

affected has been for many years in the possession of Mexican ranchmen, who seldom take proper care of the land.
TABLE 9. Analyses of Rio Grande water. a

AVERAGE SAMPLES TAKEN DAILY FROM ACEQUIA NEAR AGRI

[Parts per million.]

Date.

June, 1893............................................... .. . .......

July, 1893..................................................................

September, 1893................................. . .......

October, 1893 ...................................................... .......

December, 1893 &. ....................... ... .......

January, 1894. ........................................... . . .......

February, 1904. ...........................................................

March, 1904. ............................ . . .......

April, 1904. ................................................. .......

May, 1904. .................................................................

June, 1904. ................................ ......... .......

Suspended 

matter.

2,680

11,090

OC Q7f»

23, 760

8,870

2,610

2,570

2,160

3,380

4,360

5, 860

4,070

8,314

Total 

solids.

196

478

626

793

470

417

439

360

462

360

267

426

441

Calcium 

(Ca).

29

64

91

75

48

54

60

35

56

51

39

55

59

Magnesium

(Me;).

4

10

10

19

10

1

11

9

1

9

7

6

8

d

(N

SAMPLES TAKEN FROM MIDDLE OF RIVER AT EARL

Julv 23, 1899 ............................................. .......

December 4, 1899.. .................. . .... .......

107, 800

11. 470

1,615

1,911

536

230

225

65

39

43

12

« Goss, Arthur, Principles of water analysis: Bull. No. 34, New Mexico College of Agric. and Mech. Arts
TABLE 10. Analyses of well waters from the Rio 

[Parts per million.]

Location of well.

Mesilla Valley.

La Mesa district.

Jornada district.

Belen district.

J. F. Chaves.........................................................

Date of taking sample.

July, 1894

May, 1904 

Dec., 1901 

July, 1893 

Aug., 1894 

Aug., 1894 

Aug., 1895 

May, 1900 

Oct., 1902 

Oct., 1904

.....do......

.....do......

.....do......

.....do......

.....do......

Sept., 1895

Aug., 1896

Total 

solids.

6,700 

1,026 

960 

1,041 

1,235 

656 

633 

745 

1,912 

680 

1,566 

1,123

1,128 

823

777

1,315

585

1,057 

678 

573 

898 

579

3,139 

2,820

487

Calcium

(Ca).

131 

161 

131 

181 

161 

108 

105 

82 

246 

108

161 

115 

105

16

48 

110 

40 

4 

86

531 

443 

102

Mag

nesiu

(Mg)

1

2

2

3

2

1

1

1

3

8

2

1

2

1

1

1

- 

10

14

1

a Samples taken by the writer and analyzed by R. F. Hare of the Ne
TABLE 10. Analyses of well waters from the Rio Grande 

Location of well.

Albuquerque district.

Santa Fe district.

Date of taking sample.

TQAK

1QO4

1904.........

May, 1899

Total 

solids.

307

197

326

365

828

one

40

85

Calcium 

(Ca).

41

30

34

61

64

55

60

5

14

Magnesium 

(Mg). 

2

8

TO

8

14

1

 4
WATER SUPPLY. 55

APPLICATIONS. 

UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW.

Shallow wells. The flood-plain material of the lowlands along the 

river, although saturated, does not, in general? allow the water to pass 

through it freely enough for the successful use of shallow irrigation 

wells. In certain places, however, as at Belen, where the railway well 

is dug in coarse sand, large volumes of water are readily obtained from 

this material.

Deep wells. Beneath the fine silt of the flood plains there is coarser 

material, from which large quantities of water are obtained, as in the 

various irrigation wells in Mesilla Valley and the city wells at Albuquerque. A considerable amount of fine sand and silt occurs in the 

gravel beds as well as hi the flood-plain deposits and prevents the 

rapid movement of water through them, causing the high lift and to a 

large extent the great cost shown in Table 6. In. spite of its great 

cost, however, the pumping of water for irrigation has proved profitable in El Paso and Mesilla valleys. In the valleys farther north the 

gravels are apparently coarser and water could probably be pumped 

at less cost than in Mesilla Valley. In Mesilla Valley the quantity of 

water recovered might be greatly increased by additional wells, and 

pumping plants might be established with profit in Palomas, Socorro, 

Belen, and Albuquerque valleys. Although the data at hand show that 

in this region, as compared with other valleys of the Southwest, the 

underflow is small and the water not readily obtainable on account of 

the fineness of the material in which it is contained, enough water may 

be pumped from the sands and gravels to warrant development.

Seepage ditches. The construction of seepage ditches as a means of 

obtaining the waters of the underflow has been proposed for the Rio 

Grande Valley, but no such ditches have been dug, and the large proportion of fine sand and silt is apparently unfavorable to this method 

of procuring the water.

WATER STORAGE.

The alternation of broad basins and narrow canyons along the 

course of the river i§ apparently favorable to the establishment of 

storage reservoirs, but at only two points are the rock formations 

suitable for the construction of masonry dams. These are in El Paso 

canyon, the dam site of the proposed International reservoir, and at 

Elephant Butte, the dam site of the proposed Engle reservoir.

From a geologic standpoint the Engle reservoir is much more favorable for water storage than the International reservoir. The most 

important geologic considerations favoring the location of a storage 

reservoir in Engle Valley are (1) a narrow canyon with hard rock
56 WATER KESOUKCES OF EIO GEANDE VALLEY, N. MEX.

walls; (2) rock foundation for the proposed dam; (3) good building 

material near the dam site, and (4) a long, deep, narrow storage reservoir, in which loss by evaporation will be comparatively small and 

from which the mud may to some extent be removed by sluicing.

No other good reservoir sites were found within the Rio Grande 

region, nor are the geologic conditions favorable to the occurrence of 

good sites. Since the Rio Grande Valley is a succession of debrisfilled intermontane troughs it is only where the river in its superimposed course has left the old filled valleys and cut channels in the hard 

rock that good dam sites are found. This action has occurred at only 

two places in the region described one near El Paso and one near 

Elephant Butte. In the other canyons the unconsolidated detritus 

beneath the sheets of basalt extends to some unknown depth beneath 

the river and prohibits the construction of bed-rock dams.
INDEX.

Page. 

Academy Loretto, well of, record of........ 47

Agricultural college, river water at, analyses

of............................... 52

well of.................................. 41-42

well of, record of........................ 42,47

water of analyses of................ 53

Albuquerque, evaporation at............... 31

rainfall at.............................. 31

rocks near ............................... 17

terraces at and near.................... 11-12

volcanoes and lava flow at, view of...... 12

wells at and near....................... 34-35

record of............................ 35

water of, analyses of................ 54

Albuquerque district, wells of.............. 34-35

wells of, record of....................... 35

water of, analyses of............... 54

Albuquerque Valley, description of......... 13,22

salts in.................................. 51

wells in................................. 55

Ames, P. S., well of, record of.............. 47

Andes!tes, occurrence of.................... 17,20

Arroyo Salado, location of.................. 13-14

thickness of valley fill in................ 17

view showing..................... 18

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway,

wells of......................... 36

wells of, records of................ 36,37,38,47

Baldwin (L.) & Co., well of, record of ...... 38

Barker, F. C., wells of...................... 42

wells of, records of...................... 42,47

Barncastle, J. B., well of, water of, analysis

of............................... 53

Basalts, occurrence of...................... 17,21

Bascom (F. H.) & Co., well of, record of ... 47 

Bean, S. F., well of, record of .............. 47

Beeker siding, well at....................... 36

well at, record of........................ 36

Belen, water of, analysis of................. 53

wells at and near ....................... 35-36

Belen district, description of............... 35

wells in................................. 35-37

wells in, records of...................... 36,37

water of, analyses of............... 53

Belen Valley, description of............. 13-14,29

wells in.................................

Berino, wells near..........................

well near, record of.....................

Bernalillo, rainfall at......................

well at, water of, analysis of ..........

Bosque Seeo, well at, water of, analysis of 

Boyer, E. M., well of.......................

Brock, Henry, wells of, records of.......... 40

Burke, Frank, well of...................... 43

well of, record of ....................... 43,47

Caballos Mountains, rocks of............... 9,19

rocks of, view of.. ..................... 12

view of................................. 20

Cambray, rainfall at........................ 31

Can-era, J. C., well of....................... 43

well of, record of........................ 47

Catholic Church, well of, record of.......... 47

Cenicero, Colo., flow at...................... 33

Cerro Cuchillo, rocks of.................... 9,19

Cerro Magdalen, rocks of................. 9,17,18

Cerro Robledo, rocks of.................... 9,19

Chapman, R. H., on San Acacia dam....... 29

Chaves, J. F., well of, water of, analysis of . 53

Colorado siding, well at..................... 36

well at, record of........................ 36

Darton, N. H., work in charge of........... 7

Deformation, history of.................... 20

Deming, wells at, water of, analyses of..... 51

Dona Ana, wells at and near............... 45

wells at and near, water of, analyses of.. 53

Dona Ana Hills, rocks of................... 9,17

Drainage, description of.................... 31-33

Earlham River, water near, analyses of..... 52

well near................................ 45

record of................................ 45,47

Elephant Butte Canyon, dam site in....... 15

description of..................... 14-15,55-56

region of, geologic map of............... 26

El Paso, Tex., depth of valley fill at........ 17

flow at.................................. 32

rainfall at.............................. 31

wells at, water of, analyses of.......... 51

El Paso and Southwestern Railway, wells

of, records of ................... 40

El Paso Canyon, description of............. 15,24

reservoir site at..................... 25,55-56

El Paso Valley, description of.............. 16

Elwood, Robert, well of.................... 43

well of, record of........................ 43,47

Engle, rainfall at........................... 31

wells near............................... 37-38

Engle reservoir, dam site at, view of......... 28

description of..................... 26-29,55-56

materials for............................ 28-29

spillway for............................. 27

Engle Valley, building stone in............. 26,28

cement material in...................... 28-29

analyses of.......................... 28

coal in.................................. 29

description of........................ 14,22,23

57
58 INDEX.

Engle Valley, reservoir site in.............. 14,26

rocks in................................. 26-27

structure in........ t ...........I........ 26-27

Erosion, effects of.................... 12-16,19,27

history of............................... 21-23

Espanola, rainfall at........................ 31

Espanola Valley, description of............ 12

reservoir site in......................... 30

Triew near........................... 16

Evaporation, amount of.................... 31,50

Faults, occurrence of....................... 19

views of................................. 22

Floods, occurrence of....................... 7

Fort Fillmore, wells at, records of.......... 47

wells at, water of, analysis of........... 53

Fort McRae, well near...................... 38

Fra Cristobal Mountains, rocks of.......... 9,19

rocks of, views of....................... 22

Galisteo, rainfall at......................... 31

Geography, description of.................. 8-16

Geology, description of..................... 16-24

Glorieta Mesa, rocks of..................... 18

Goss, A., well of, water of, analysis of...... 53

Gravels, accumulations of.................. 20,22

Gypsum, occurrence of..................... 23

Hager, W.N., well of....................... 43

well of, record of........................ 47

Hall, B. M., silt computations by.......... 24

Hawkins, , well of, record of............ 40

Herrington, Robert, well of, record of...... 40

Hillsboro, rainfall at....................... 31

Hines, A. L., well of........................ 43-44

well of, record of..................... 43-44,47

Horaco Ranch Co., wells of................. 44

wells of, records of...................... 47

Igneous rocks, description of.....'.......... 17

Ildefonso, flow at........................... 33

International reservoir, description of... 25,55-56

evaporation at.......................... 31

Irrigable lands, disadvantages of........... 7-8

Irrigation, pumping for.................... 55

Isaacks, J. D., wells of, records of.......... 38

Isleta, well at, water of, analysis of........ 53

Isleta Narrows, description of.............. 13

Jemes Mountains, rocks of.................. 17,18

Jornada del Muerto, character of. 9-10,21,22,23,37

wells in................................. 38

records of........................... 38

Jornada district, artesian water in......... 39

structure of............................. 37

wells of................................. 37-39

records of........................... 38

water of, analyses of................ 53

Kilburn, J. F., wells of, records of.......... 40

wells of, water of, analysis of........... 51,53

La Cienaga, springs at...................... 34

La Mesa, description of......... 10-11,21,22,39-40

lava flow on............................ 22

rocks of........--.-.-.-.-.-.-------.-... 17

wells on................................. 39

La Mesa district, wells in................... 39-40

wells in, records of...................... 40

water of, analyses of................ 53

Lanark, depth of valley fill at.............. 17

wells at................................. 39

water of, analysis of... I............ 53

Lane, Dr., wells of, records of.............. 47

Las Cruces, wells at..................... 42,43,44

wells at and near, records of............ 42,47

water of, analysis of................ 44,53

Las Palomas Valley, description of......... 15,22

wells in................................. 55

Lester, F. E., well of, water of, analysis of .. 53 

Lewis Brothers, well of, record of........... 40

Linger (G. W.) & Co., well of, record of...... 38

Loretto Academy, well of, record of......... 47

Los Lunas, rainfall at...................... 31

Map, of Mesilla Valley....................... 42

of Rio Grande region................... 7

Map, geologic, of Elephant Butte region.... 26

Mesa. See La MesaMesilla, wells near.................... 43-44,45-46

wells near, records of................ 44,45,47

water of, analysis of................ 53

Mesilla district. See Mesilla Valley .

Mesilla Park, rainfall at.................... 31

underflow at............................ 48

wells at and near................. 41-42,43,45

record of........................ 42,43,47

water of, analyses of............... 53

Mesilla Valley, deposits in.................. 24,41

description of........................ 15,40-41

irrigable land in........................ 15

map of...-.---...............-.-..---.-- 42

reservoir site in......................... 25

underground water in.................. 41

wells in ...........--.----.-.--.. -..-.... 40- 47

records of........................ 42-45,47

water of, analyses of............. 50-51,53

Misques, Francisco, well of, water of, analysis of.........-....-----..---.-- 53

Mountains, descriptions of................. 9

New Mexico, geographic provinces of, descriptions of.................... 8-16

Noria, wells at............................. 39

Plains, descriptions of...................... 9-11

Quaternary and Tertiary time, history in. 20-24 

Quaternary rocks, description of .......... 19-20

Quintero, L., well of, record of ............. 47

Rainfall, amount of......................... 30-31

character of............................ 7,30

Reservoir sites, descriptions of............. 25-30

Rhyolites, occurrence of................. 17,20,23

Rincon, rainfall at.......................... 31

well at, water of, analysis of........... 53

Rio G tande, ancient conrse of.............. 21-22

discharge of............................ 49

diversion of............................. 23

drainage area of........................ 31

erosion basins on....................... 12-16

flow of, absorption of................. 8,49-50

character of...................... 7,31-33

region of, cross sections of.............. 14

geography of........................ 8

map of.............................. 7

underflow in........................ 48-50

valley of, deposits In ................... 20-24

description of..................... 7,11-12

rainfall in........................... 30-31

section of, figure showing.......... 20

water of, analyses of................... 52-54

character of........................ 50-54
INDEX. 59

Page. 

B io Puerco, location of..................... 13

Rocks, character of..................... 8,9,16-17

Eocky Mountain uplift, description of...... 8,18

Rodadero Peak, character of.............. 25

Roualt, Theodore, well of.................. 44

well of, record of........................ 47

water of, analysis of................ 53

San A cacia gorge, dam site in.............. 29

description of........................... 14

view in................................. 18

Sandia, depth of valley fill at............... 17

well at.................................. 36

record of............................ 37

Sandia Mountains, rocks of................ 18

Sandia volcano, view of .................... 20

San Domingo Valley, character of.......... -22

San Felipe Canyon, dam site in............. 29-30

description of........................... 13

San Marcial, flow at........................ 31

lava flow near....................... 17,21,22

diversion of Rio Grande by......... 23

mesa at, view of........................ 16

rainfall at...........................:.. 30,31

well at, water of, analysis of........... 53

Santa Fe, depth of valley fill at............ 17

rainf al 1 at.............................. 30,31

well near, record of..................... 34

wells near............................... 33-34

Santa Fe Creek, terrace on................. 11

water of, analyses of................... 54

Santa Fe district, water of, analyses of..... 54

wells of................................. 33-34

wells of, record of .................. 34

Santo Domingo Valley, description of...... 13

Sedimentary rocks, consolidated, description of.............--..---...--. 16,19

Sedimentary rocks, unconsolidated, description of............... 16-17,19-20

Seepage ditches, objections to.............. 55

Selden Canyon, description of.............. 15

gypsum in............-..'..-............ 23

Shalam Colony, well of..................... 45

well of, record of........................ 47

water of, analysis of.............. 53

Sierra Ladron, rocks of..................... 9,18

view at................................. 18

Silt, accumulation of....................... 24

Slichter, C. S., on Mesilla Valley wells....... 41,46

on underflow............................ 48-50

Slopes, description of....................... 11

Snow, O. C., well of, water of, analysis of... 53 

Socorro, rainfall at................'..,...... 31

Socorro Mountains, rocks of.............. 9,17,18

Socorro Valley, description of.............. 14

wells in............................ .... 55

Southern Pacific Railway, well of, record of. 40 

Stabling, J. B.,rwellsof, records of......... 40

Steele, S. A., well of, record of ............*. 47

Stewart, W. G., well of, record of........... 47

Structure, description of.................... 17-19

Taylor, J. W., wells of, records of.......... 38

Terraces, description of..................... 11-12

Tertiary and Quaternary time, history in". . 20-24 

Tertiary rocks, description of.............. 19

view of.................................. 18

Thompson, J. R., well of................... 45

well of, record of........................ 45,47

Thornton, well at, water of, analysis of.... 54

Topography, description of................. 8-16

development of......................... 19-20

Totten, G. H., well of....................... 45-46

well of, record of........................ 45,47

water of, analyses of................ 53

Turner, , well of, record of.............. 38

Underflow, amount of...................... 48-49

course of................................ 50

depth of................................ 48

origin of................................ 49-50

utilization of............................ 55

Upham, well near, record of................ 38

Valley fill, depth of...................... 17,20,24

Victoria Land and Cattle Co., wells of, records of.......................... 38

Volcanic activity, history of................ 20-22

Water, storage of........................... 55-56

See also Water, underground; Water

supply; Wells, etc. 

Water, underground, occurrence of......... 33-47

Water supply, applications of.............. 55-56

description of........................... 30-56

Wells, depth of valley fill shown in....... 17,20,24

materials In............................. 20,24

water in................................ 55

White Rock Canyon, dam site in........... 30

description of........................... 12-13

gorge at, view of........................ 16

rocks of ................................ 17

section across, figure showing.......... 30

CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL

SURVEY.

[Water-Supply Paper No. 188.]

The 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 United 

States folios and separate sheets thereof, (8) Geologic Atlas of 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 can be had on application.

Most of the above publications can be obtained or consulted in the following ways:

1. A limited number are delivered to the Director of the Survey, from whom they 

can be obtained, free of charge (except classes 2, 7, and 8), on application.

2. A certain number are delivered to Senators and Representatives in Congress for 

distribution.

3. Other copies are deposited with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 

D. C., from whom they can 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 can 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, Water 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 one hundred and eighth in Series B, and the sixty-sixth in Series 

O, the complete lists of which follow (PP=Professional Paper; B=Bulletin; WS= 

Water-Supply 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. 1885. 124 pp., 17 pis. (Out

of stock.)

B 33. Notes on geology of northern California, by J. S. Diller. 1886. 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. F.

Wright, 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 N. H. Darton. 1890.

82 pp. (Out of stocTt.)

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. 108 pp., 12 pis,

(Out of stock.)

I
II SEEIES LIST.

B 119. A geological reconnaissance in northwest Wyoming, by G. H. Eldridge. 1894. 72 pp.,4 pis.

B 137. The geology of the Fort Riley Military Reservation and vicinity, Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1896. 

35 pp., 8 pis.

B 144. The moraines of the Missouri Coteau 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., 9 

pis.

B 165. Contributions to the geology of Maine, by H. S. Williams and H. E. Gregory. 1900. 212 pp., H 

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. Russell. 1902. 192pp., 

25 pis.

PP 1. Preliminary report on the. Ketchikan mining district, Alaska, with an introductory sketch of 

the geology of southeastern Alaska, by A. II. 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 Call, 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. 1903, 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. (Out of stock.;

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. Geology 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. Mendenhall and F. C. Schrader. 1903. 71 pp., 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 southeastern 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 the northern Black Hills, by J. D. Irving, with contributions by S. F. 

Emmons and T. A. Jaggar, jr. 1904. 222 pp., 20 pis.

PP 27. A geological reconnaissance across the Bitterroot Range and 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 in 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. 103 pp., 4 pis.

B 236. The Porcupine placer district, Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1904. 35 pp., 10 pis.

B 237. Igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains, Montana, by L. V. Pirsson. 1904. 208 pp., 7 pis.

B 238. Economic geology of the lola quadrangle, Kansas, by G. I. Adams, Erasmuth Haworth, and 

W. R. Crane. 1904. 83 pp., 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. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 

1905. 211 pp., 5 pis.

B 242. Geology of the Hudson Valley between the Hoosic and the Kinderhook, by T. Nelson Dale. 

1904. 63 pp., 3 pis. '

PP 34. The Delavan lobe of the Lake Michigan glacier of the Wisconsin stage of glaciation and associated phenomena, by W. C. Alden. 1904. 106 pp., 15 pis.
SEEIES LIST. 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. Eekel. 1905. 395 pp., 15 pis. 

B 246. Zinc and lead deposits of northeastern Illinois, by H. F. Bain. 1904. 56 pp., 5 pis. 

B 247. The Fairhaven gold placers of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by F. H. M^fflt. 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. 65 pp., 7 pis. 

B 251. The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska, by L. M.

Prindle. 1905. 16 pp., 16 pis. 

WS 118. Geology and water resources 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. Ulrich and W. S. Tangier

Smith. 1905. 218 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 38. Economic geology of the Bingham mining district of Utah, by J. M. Boutwell, with a chapter

on areal geology, by Arthur Keith, and an introduction on general geology, by S. F.

Emmons. 1905. 413 pp., 49 pis. 

PP 41. The geology of the central Copper River region, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 133 pp.,

20 pis. 

B 254. Report of progress in the geological resurvey of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by

Waldemar Lindgren and F. L. Ransome. 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. 1005. 85 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 the 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.' 295 pp., 24 pis. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by

C. R. Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis.

WS 136. Underground waters of Salt River Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 194 pp., 24 pis. 

PP 43. The copper deposits of Clifton-Morenci, Arizona, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1905. 375 pp., 25 pis. 

B 265. Geology of the Boulder district, Colorado, by N. M. Fenneman. 1905. 101 pp., 5 pis. 

B 267. The copper deposits of Missouri, by H. F. Bain and E. O. Ulrich. 1905. 52 pp., 1 pi. 

PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. C. Veatch and others. 1905.

394 pp., 34 pis.

WS 148. Geology and water resources of Oklahoma, by C. N. Gould. 1905. 178 pp., 22 pis. 

B 270. The configuration of the rock floor of Greater New York, by W. H. Hobbs. 1905. 96 pp., 5 pis." 

B 272. Taconic physiography, by T. M. Dale. 1905. 52 pp., 14 pis. 

PP 45. The geography and geology of Alaska, a summary of existing knowledge, by A. H. Brooks,

with a section on climate, by Cleveland Abbe, jr., and a topographic map and description

thereof, by R. M. Goode. 1905. 327 pp., 34 pis. 

B 273. The drumlins of southeastern Wisconsin (preliminary paper), by W. C. Alden. 1905. 46 pp.,

9 pis. 

PP 46. Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by

A. C. Veatch. 1906. 422 pp., 51 pis. 

PP 49. Geology and mineral resources of part of the Cumberland Gap coal field, Kentucky, by G. H.

Ashley and L. C. Glenn, in cooperation with the State Geological Department of Kentucky,

C. J. Norwood, curator. 1906. ' 39 pp., 40 pis.

PP 50. The Montana lobe of the Kee ,'itln ice sheet, by F. H. H. Calhoun. 1906. 62 pp., 7 pis. 

B 277. Mineral resources of Kenai peninsula, Alaska: Gold fields of the Turnagain Arm region, by

F. H. Moffit; and the coal fields of the Kachemak Bay region, by R. W. Stone. 1906. 80pp.,

18 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 154. The geology and water resources of the eastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, by C. N.

Gould. 1906. 64 pp., 15 pis. 

B 278. Geology and coal resources of the Cape Lisburne region, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 1906. 54 pp.,

9 pis. 

B 279. Mineral resources of the Kittanning and Rural Valley quadrangles, Pennsylvania, by Charles

Butts. 1906. 198 pp., 11 pis.

B 280. The Rampart gold placer region, Alaska, by L. M. Prindle and F. L. Hess. 1906. 54 pp., 7 pis. 

B 282. Oil fields of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain, by N. M. Fenneman. 1906. 146 pp., 11 pis. 

WS 157. Underground water in the valleys of Utah Lake and Jordan River, Utah, by G. B. Richardson. 1906. 81 pp., 9 pis.

PP 51. Geology of the Bighorn Mountains, by N. II. Carton. 1906. 129 pp., 47 pis. 

WS 158. Preliminary report on the geology and underground waters of the Roswell artesian area,

New Mexico, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 29 pp., 9 pis.
IV SEEIES LIST.

PP 52. Geology and underground waters of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by N. H. Darton.

1906. 90 pp., 28 pis. 

WS Ifi. Summary of underground-water resources of Mississippi, by A. P. Crider and L. C. Johnson.

1906. 86 pp., 6 pis. 

PP 53. Geology and water resources of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, by Cassius A. Fisher. 1906. 72

pp., 16 pis.

B 283. Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider. 1906. 99 pp., 4 pis. 

B 286. Economic geology of the Beaver quadrangle, Pennsylvania (southern Beaver and northwestern Allegheny counties), by I,. H. Woolsey. 1906. 132 pp., 8 pis. 

B 287. The Juneau gold belt, Alaska, by A. C. Spencer, and a reconnaissance of Admiralty Island,

Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1906. 161 pp., 37 pis. 

PP 54. The geology and gold deposits of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by W. Lindgren and

F. L. Ransome. 1906. 516 pp., 29 pis.

PP 55. Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1906. 174 pp., 24 pis. 

B 289. A reconnaissance of the Matanuska coal field, Alaska, in 1905, by G. C. Martin. 1906. 36 pp.,

5 pis. 

WS 164. Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an adjacent

area in Illinois, by L. C. Glenn. 1906. 173 pp., 7 pis. 

B 293. A reconnaissance of some gold and tin deposits of the southern Appalachians, by L. C. Groton,

with notes on the Dahlonega mines, by W. Lindgren. 1906. 134 pp., 9 pis. 

B294. Zinc and lead deposits of the upper Mississippi Valley, by H. Foster Bain. 1906. 155 pp.,

16 pis. 

B295. The Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska: Description of Circle quadrangle, by L. M. Prindle. 1906.

27 pp., 1 pi. 

B 2%. Economic geology of the Independence quadrangle, Kansas, by Frank C. Schrader and

Erasmus Haworth. 1906. 74 pp., 6 pis. 

WS 181. Geology and water resources of Owens Valley, California, by Willis T. Lee. 1906. 28 pp.,

6 pis. 

B 297. The Yampa coal field, Routt County, Colo., by N. M. Fenneman, Hoyt S. Gale, and M. R.

Campbell. 1906. 96 pp., 9 pis. 

B 300. Economic geology of the Amity quadrangle in eastern Washington County, Pa., by F. G.

Clapp. 1906. pp., 8 pis. 

B 303. Preliminary account of Goldfield, Bullfrog, and other mining districts in southern Nevada, by

F. L. Ransome, with notes on the Manhattan district, by G. H. Garrey and W. H. Kmmons.

1906. pp., 5 pis.

B 304. Oil and gas fields of Greene County, Pa., by R. W. Stone and F. G. Clapp. 1906. 110 pp., 3 pis. 

WS 188. Water resources of the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico and their development, by W. T.

Lee. 1906. 59pp., 10 pis.

SERIES O, UNDERGROUND WATERS.

WS 4. A reconnaissance in southeastern Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1897. 96 pp., 7 pis. (Out of

stock.) 

WS 6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth. 1897. 65 pp., 12 pis.

(Out of stock.)

WS 7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier. 1897. 50pp., 3 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 12. Underground waters of southeastern Nebraska, by N. H. Darton. 1898. 56pp., 21 pis. (Out

of stock.)

WS 21. Wells of northern Indiana, by Frank Leverett. 1899. 82 pp., 2 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS26. Wells of southern Indiana (continuation of No. 21), by Frank Leverett. 1899. 64 pp. (Out

of stock.) 

WS 30. Water resources of the lower peninsula of Michigan, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 7 pis. (Out

of stock.)

WS 31. Lower Michigan mineral waters, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 4 pis.- (Out of stock.) 

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. (Out of stock.) 

WS 54. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. 11, by I. C. Russell. 1901.

87-141 pp. (Out of stock.) 

WS55. Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash., by G. O. Smith. 1901.

68 pp., 7 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 57. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. I, by N. H. Darton. 1902. 60 pp.

(Out of stock.) 

WS 59. Development and application of water in southern California, Pt. I, by J. B. Lippincott. 1902.

95 pp., 11 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 60. Development and application of water In southern California, Pt. II, by J. B. Lippincott,

1902, 96-140 pp. (Out of stock.)
SEEIES LIST. V

WS 61. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. II, by N. H. Barton. 1902. 67 pp.

(Out of stock.)

WS 67. The motions of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 1902. 106 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.) 

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 Waldemar Lindgren. 1903. 62 pp., 4 pis. 

WS 78. Preliminary report on artesian basin 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.

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 Bascom. 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. Darton. 1904.

433 pp., 72 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 111. Preliminary report on underground waters of Washington, by Henry Landes. 1904. 86 pp.,

Ipl. 

WS 112. Underflow tests in the drainage basin of Los Angeles River, by Homer Hamlin. 1904.

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, b^ M. L. Fuller. 1905. 128 pp. 

WS 122. Relation of the law to underground waters, by D. W. Johnson. 1905. 55 pp. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by

C. R. Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis.

WS 136. Underground waters of the Salt River Valley, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 194 pp., 24 pis. 

B 264. Record of deep-well drilling for 1904, by M. L. Fuller, E. F. Lines, and A. C. Veatch. 1905.

106 pp. 

PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. C. Veatch and others. 1905.

394 pp., 34 pis. 

WS 137. Development of underground waters in the eastern coastal plain region of southern California,

by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 140 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 138. Development of underground watersin the central coastal plain region of southern California,

by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 162 pp., 5 pis. 

WS 139. Development of underground waters in the western coastal plain region of southern California,

by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 105 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 140. Field measurements of the rate of movement of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 1905.

122 pp., 15 pis. 

WS 141. Observations on the ground waters of Rio Grande Valley, by C. S. Slichter. 1905. 83 pp.,

5 pis.

WS 142. Hydrology of San Bernardino Valley, California, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 124 pp., 13 pis. 

WS 145. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, M, L. Fuller, geologist in charge.

1905. 220 pp., 6 pis.

WS 148. Geology and water resources of Oklahoma, by C. N. Gould. 1905. 178 pp., 22 pis. 

WS 149. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, second -edition, with additions, by

N. H. Darton. 1905. 175 pp. 

PP 46. Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by

A. C. Veatch. 1906 422 pp , 51 pis.

WS 153. The underflow in Arkansas Valley in western Kansas, 1>y C. S. Slichter. 1906. 90 pp., 3 pis. 

WS 154. The geology and water resources of the eastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, by C. N.

Gould. 1906. 64 pp., 15 pis. 

WS 155. Fluctuations of the water level in wells, with special reference to Long Island, New York,

by A. C. Veatch. 1906. 83 pp., 9 pis. 

WS 157. Underground water in the valleys of Utah Lake and Jordan River, Utah, by G. B. Richardson.

1906. 81 pp., 9 pis.

WS 158. Preliminary report on the geology and underground waters of the Roswell artesian area, 

New Mexico, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 29 pp., 9 pis.

IRR 188 07 5
VI SERIES LIST.

PP 52. Geology and underground waters of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by N. H.

Barton. 1906. 90 pp., 28 pis. 

WS 159. Summary of underground-water resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider and L. C. Johnson.

1906. 86 pp., 6 pis. 

PP 53. Geology and water resources of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 72 pp.,

16 pis.

WS 160. Underground-water papers, 1906, by M. L. Fuller. 1906. 104 pp., 1 pi. 

WS 163. Bibliographic review and index of underground-water literature published in the United

States in 1905, by M. L. Fuller, F. G. Clapp, and B. L. Johnson. 1906. 130 pp.

WS 164. Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an adjacent area in Illinois, by L. C. Glenn. 1906. 173 pp., 7 pis.

WS 181. Geology and-water resources of Owens Valley, California, by W. T. Lee. 1906. 28 pp., 6 pis. 

WS 182. Flowing wells and municipal water supplies in the southern portion of the Southern Peninsula of Michigan, by Frank Leverett and others. 1906. 292pp., 5 pis. 

WS 183. Flowing wells and municipal water supplies in the middle and northern portions of the

Southern Peninsula of Michigan, by Frank Leverett and others. 1906. 393 pp., 5 pis. , 

B 298. Record of deep-well drilling for 1905, by M. L. Fuller and Samuel Sanford. 1906. 299 pp. 

WS 184. The underflow of the South Platte Valley, by C. S. Slichter and H. C. Wolff. 1906. 42 pp. 

WS 188. Water resources of the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico and their development, by

W. T. Lee. 1906. 59 pp., 10 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 Bakotas, by N. H. Barton, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water resources of Illinois, 

by Frank Leverett, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water resources of Indiana and Ohio, by Frank 

Leverett, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; New developments in well boring and irrigation in eastern 

South Bakota, by N. H. Barton, 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. Barton, Bulletin No. 138.

Correspondence should be addressed to

THE DIRECTOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

JANUARY, 1907.

o