GEOLOGY OF THE BUCKMAN WELL FIELD AND NORTHERN CAJA ... · BUCKMAN WELL FIELD AND NORTHERN CAJA DEL RIO PLATEAU. Dan Koning. NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources ... •Age

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GEOLOGY OF THE BUCKMAN WELL FIELD AND NORTHERN CAJA DEL RIO PLATEAU

Dan Koning

NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

OutlineI. Structural setting

• Faults

• Structural uplift along Cochiti Cone and La Bajada faults

II. Stratigraphy

• Summarize lithologic units from late Paleozoic through late Cenozoic

III. Summary of groundwater flow

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View of Buckman are

Structure

•Study area lies at south-central end of the Española Basin

•The Cerrillos Uplift, a footwall uplift along the La Bajada fault (LB), plunges northward and likely continues along the footwall of the Cochiti Cone fault (CO)

•The Pajarito fault (PF), which is the master fault of the eastern Española Basin half-graben (EEBHG), splays into 2 strands to the south LB

CO

PF

EEBHG

Figure is slightly modified from Minor et al., 2013

From Koning et al., 2013

Image from Rodriguez and Sawyer, 2013

•Footwall uplift (i.e., the Cerrillos Uplift) along the La Bajada fault is certain, but how far north that uplift extends is unknown

•Rodriquez and Sawyer (2013) addressed that question by making resistivity models derived from the magnetotelluric method

Color shading in image shows the modeled depth of the Santa Fe Group, constructed primarily from gravity inversion (Grauch et al., 2009).

Small black circles = gravity stations

Orange circles = MT stations of Rodriguez and Sawyer (2013)

Red circles = borehole lithologic control

Image from Rodriguez and Sawyer, 2013

Color shading in image shows the modeled depth of the Santa Fe Group, constructed primarily from gravity inversion (Grauch et al., 2009).

Small black circles = gravity stations

Orange circles = MT stations of Rodriguez and Sawyer (2013)

Red circles = borehole lithologic control

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B’

B

Image from Rodriguez and Sawyer, 2013

Figures from Rodriguez and Sawyer, 2013

Part of Plate 1 of Koning et al., 2013

Part of Plate 1 of Koning et al., 2013

Figures are from Myer and Smith (2006)

Yates No. 2 well

From Myer and Smith (2006)

From

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From Koning et al. (2013)

Espinaso Fm: Lt gray, well-cemented volcaniclastic sandstone and conglomerate. Clasts dominated by latite and andesite lithologies

Annotated graphic column from Myer and Smith (2006)

Map showing Espinaso volcanoes and volcaniclastic deposition relative to modern topography

Outcrop of Espinaso Fm (36-28 Ma)

Outcrop of Espinaso Fm

Cieneguilla basanite: Vesicular basalt with pyroxene +/- olivine phenocrysts. Flows are interbedded with volcaniclastic sediment. This package interfingers to east and north with other early rift units. Widespread in Espanola Basin and generally returns radiometric dates of 26-25 Ma.

Sharp contact. Likely a disconformity

Annotated graphic column from Myer and Smith (2006)

Photos of lithosome E, volcaniclastic sediment

Outcrop of Cieneguilla basanite –earliest rift mafic volcanism (26-25 Ma)

Depositional setting of Santa Fe GroupModified from Koning and Read (2010)

Santa Fe Group comprises the Rio Grande rift basin fill and is 27-1 Ma

In Española Basin, it includes the Tesuque Fm (late Oligocene-late Miocene), Chamita Formation (mid-late Miocene), and Ancha Fm (Plio-Pleistocene)

The Santa Fe Group consists of several laterally adjacent lithofacies corresponding to specific depositional environments

In Española Basin, a marked coarsening of sedimentation occurs at 13.2-13.0 Ma; this coarser, younger sediment can be considered as the Chamita Fm in the Buckman area

Part of Plate 1 of Koning et al., 2013

Modified from Koning et al. (2007)

Coarser-grained Cuarteles Mbr (medial eastern alluvial slope lithofacies)

Muddy very fine to very coarse sand and pebbles with minor silt and clay beds

Greater than 15-20% coarse channel sediment; ribbon too broadly lenticular beds

Sand is arkosic; gravel dominated by granite with <1% Paleozoic clasts and <2% quartzite

Color: Reddish yellow to pink

Distal, finer-grained Cuarteles Mbr (distal eastern alluvial slope lithofacies)

Silty very fine- to fine-grained sand with subordinate silt and clay beds

Coarse channel sediment is sparse; ribbon to broadly lenticular beds

Sand is arkosic; gravel dominated by granite with <2% Paleozoic clasts and <2% quartzite clasts

Color: Pink to light brown

Vallito Member axial river deposits

Mostly channel-fills of fine- to coarse-grained, subrounded, “clean” sand

Channel-fills are wide and locally cross-stratified

Gravel composed of rhyolite-dacite with subordinate granite, quartzite, and Paleozoic sedimentary clasts

Color: Very pale brown to pink

Hernandez Member of Chamita Fm•180-370 m thick

•Gray pebble-cobble conglomerate channels

•Light brown floodplain deposits of fine sand and mud

•Gravel contains volcanic rocks with subordinate quartzite

•Age of 11.5 to 6 Ma

Hernandez Member of Chamita Fm

Younger rift stratigraphic package Ancha Fm type section

(east slope of Caja del Rio Plateau)

Modified from Koning et al. (2002)

Figure from Thompson et al., 2006

Volcanic rocks of the Cerros del Rio volcanic field>700 km2 and one of the largest basaltic volcanic fields in the Rio Grande rift

Three volcanic phases

•First-phase eruptions (2.8-2.6 Ma) formed large volcanoes with constructive topography

•Second-phase eruptions (2.5- 2.2 Ma) issued from numerous smaller-volume vents; the flows filled topographic lows between the older, larger volcanoes

•Third-phase eruptions were largely limited to small-volume eruptions in the western 1/3 of the volcanic field

Information is from Thompson et al. (2006)

Groundwater notes

Groundwater flows westward through the Tesuque Fm from the mountains towards the Rio Grande

Generally downward vertical gradients near the mountain front and upward vertical gradients in western part of map

The Cañada Ancha area is a discharge zone for regional groundwater flow

Uncorrected groundwater C-14 ages are 18,700 to 35,400 yrs (Manning, 2009)

From Johnson (2009)

Groundwater notes

Along the groundwater flow path, the waters changes from cool (<15° C) Ca-HCO3 waters to warm (>15° C) Na or mixed Na-Ca- HCO3 waters

There appears to be a thermal gradient high (>40° C/km) coincident with the Caja del Rio horst

Summarized from Johnson et al. (2013)

From Johnson (2009)

From Johnson et al. (2013)

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REFERENCES FOR TALK BY DAN KONING FOR SAGE, JUNE 26, 2013 Note: Ages for stratigraphic units are summarized in Koning et al. (2013) and Appendix A of this work. Johnson, P.S., 2009, Water-level elevation contours and groundwater-flow conditions (2000-

2005) for the Santa Fe area, southern Española Basin, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Open-file Report 520 (CD-ROM).

Johnson, P.S., Koning, D.J., and Partey, F.K., 2013, Shallow groundwater geochemistry in the

Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico: Evidence for structural control of a deep thermal source, in Hudson, M.R., and Grauch, V.J.S. (Tien), eds., New Perspectives on Rio Grande Rift Basins: From Tectonics to Groundwater: Geological Society of America Special Paper 494, p. 261-301, doi: 10.1130/2013.2494(11).

Koning, D.J., and Aby, S.B., 2005, Proposed Members of the Chamita Formation, north-central

New Mexico, in Lucas, S.G., Zeigler, K.E., Lueth, V.W., and Owen, D.E., eds., Geology of the Chama Basin: New Mexico Geological Society, 56th Annual Field Conference Guidebook, p. 258-278.

Koning, D.J., Connell, S.D., Pazzaglia, F.J., and McIntosh, W.C., 2002, Redefinition of the

Ancha Formation and Pliocene-Pleistocene deposition in the Santa Fe embayment, north-central New Mexico: New Mexico Geology, v. 24, no. 3, p. 75-87.

Koning, D.J., Broxton, D., Sawyer, D., Vaniman, D., and Shomaker, J., 2007, Surface and

subsurface stratigraphy of the Santa Fe Group near White Rock and the Buckman areas of the Española Basin, north-central New Mexico, in Kues, B.S., Kelley, S.A., and Lueth, W., eds., Geology of the Jemez Region II: New Mexico Geological Society, 58th Annual Field Conference Guidebook, p. 209-224.

Koning, D.J., Grauch, V.J.S., Connell, S.D., Ferguson, J., McIntosh, W., Slate, J.S., Wan, E., and

Baldridge, W.S., 2013, Structure and tectonic evolution of the eastern Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, north-central New Mexico, in Hudson, M.R., and Grauch, V.J.S. (Tien), eds., New Perspectives on Rio Grande Rift Basins: From Tectonics to Groundwater: Geological Society of America Special Paper 494, p. 185-219, doi: 10.1130/2013.2494(08).

Minor, S.A., Hudson, M.R., Caine, J.S., and Thompson, R.A., 2013, Oblique transfer of

extensional strain between basins of the middle Rio Grande rift, New Mexico: Fault kinematic and paleostress constraints, in Hudson, M.R., and Grauch, V.J.S. (Tien), eds., New Perspectives on Rio Grande Rift Basins: From Tectonics to Groundwater: Geological Society of America Special Paper 494, p. 345-382, doi: 10.1130/2013.2494(14).

Myer, C., and Smith, G.A., 2006, Stratigraphic analysis of the Yates #2 La Mesa well and

implications for southern Española Basin tectonic history: New Mexico Geology, vol. 28, no. 3, p. 75-83.

Rodriguez, B.D., Sawyer, D.A., 2013, Geophysical constraints on Rio Grande rift structure and stratigraphy from magnetotelluric models and borehole resistivity logs, northern New Mexico, in Hudson, M.R., and Grauch, V.J.S. (Tien), eds., New Perspectives on Rio Grande Rift Basins: From Tectonics to Groundwater: Geological Society of America Special Paper 494, p. 323-344, doi: 10.1130/2013.2494(13).

Thompson, R.A., Sawyer, D.A., Hudson, M.R., Grauch, V.J.S., and McIntosh, W.C., 2006,

Cenozoic volcanism of the La Bajada constriction area, New Mexico, Chapter C of Minor, S.A. (ed.), The Cerrillos uplift, the La Bajada constriction, and hydrogeologic framework of the Santo Domingo Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1720, p. 41-60