Normal faulting in the San Felipe Volcanic Field, New Mexico
A glance out the airplane window over New Mexico triggers a bit of web research and a new view of tectonic extension via Google Earth and geologic maps.
new mexico
A suite of new 3D models
A showcase of five new 3D digital models of awesome rock samples and outcrops, produced using Agisoft Photoscan.
Friday fold trio: Samples from UNM, ABQ
It’s Friday and that means “fold time” here at Mountain Beltway. Today, we feature a trio of samples on display in the halls of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico.
Friday fold: Castile Formation GIGAmacro
I’ve posted here before about the extraordinary intra-layer folds in the varved evaporite deposits of West Texas’ Permian Basin, but today I can go one better and offer a GIGAmacro look at these lovely folds: [gigapan id=”187629″] Link GIGAmacro by Callan Bentley Enjoy checking these amazing small-scale folds out. They will boggle your mind.
Pisolites in the Tansil Formation, Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
Pisolites are large primary concretions that develop in backreef or lagoonal settings such as the Permian Tansil Formation of New Mexico, into which is cut the enormous hole called Carlsbad Caverns.
Friday fold: the Castile Formation at the State line outcrop
The Friday fold visits the Permian basin of west Texas. There, the Castile Formation exhibits gorgeous inter- and intra-bed folding.
A preview of tomorrow’s post
That’s the State Line outcrop south of the Guadalupe Mountains, along the Texas / New Mexico border. Know what you can find there? Tune in tomorrow to find out…
Turitella in Buda Formation limestone
Back to Texas, today. Here’s a cross-sectioned Turitella snail from the Buda Formation limestone: It’s exposed in a block of rock on the north side of Mt. Cristo Rey. You can explore these GigaPanned blocks of the Buda in search of your own Turitella… How many can you find? [gigapan id=”129425″] link [gigapan id=”129426″] link … Read more
Faults disrupting the contact between the Muleros Andesite and Mesilla Valley Formation shale
Hark! What gleams on yonder contact? Well, there’s no glaciers to polish anything ’round these here parts (southernmost New Mexico + westernmost Texas), so I reckon it must be fault polish. Let’s test that hypothesis by looking for slickensides… Sure enough! There they are! Unlike the deformation we saw yesterday, this faulting of the contact … Read more
Deformation associated with the intrusion of the Muleros Andesite
Yesterday, I showed off a few views of the contact between the Cretaceous aged Mesilla Valley Formation shale and the hypabyssal Muleros Andesite which intruded into it during the Eocene at Mt. Cristo Rey (on the US/Mexico border where Texas meets New Mexico). Today, I’d like to look at some of the structure associated with … Read more