Summary of the geology of the northern part of the Sierra Cuchillo, Socorro and Sierra Counties, southwestern New Mexico

Florian Maldonado

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USGS · 70040498

Summary of the geology of the northern part of the Sierra Cuchillo, Socorro and Sierra Counties, southwestern New Mexico

Florian Maldonado

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Abstract

The northern part of the Sierra Cuchillo is located within the northeastern part of the Mogollon-Datil volcanic field west of the Rio Grande rift in the Basin and Range Province, approximately 50 km northwest of Truth or Consequences in south-central New Mexico. The Sierra Cuchillo is a north-south, elongated horst block composed of Tertiary volcanic and intrusive rocks, sparse outcrops of Lower Permian and Upper Cretaceous rocks, and sediments of the Tertiary-Quaternary Santa Fe Group. The horst is composed mainly of a basal volcanic rock sequence of andesite-latite lava flows and mud-flow breccias with a 40 Ar/ 39 Ar isotopic age of about 38 Ma. The sequence is locally intruded by numerous dikes and plugs that range in composition from basaltic andesite through rhyolite and granite. The andesite-latite sequence is overlain by ash-flow tuffs and a complex of rhyolitic lava flows and domes. Some of these units are locally derived and some are outflow sheets derived from calderas in the San Mateo Mountains, northeast of the study area. These locally derived units and outflow sheets range in age from 28 to 24 Ma.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 33.13065128220441° to 34.10725639663118° latitude; -107.7154541015625° to -106.37237548828125° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Florian Maldonado. 2012. Summary of the geology of the northern part of the Sierra Cuchillo, Socorro and Sierra Counties, southwestern New Mexico. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70040498

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