Geology and geomorphology of 12 small watersheds in the Peloncillo Mountains, central portion of the Malpai Borderlands Project Area, Hidalgo County, New Mexico

Youberg, A.; Ferguson, C.A.

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Citation

Youberg, A. and Ferguson, C.A., 2001, Geology and geomorphology of 12 small watersheds in the Peloncillo Mountains, central portion of the Malpai Borderlands Project Area, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Arizona Geological Survey Open File Report, OFR-01-05, 1 map sheet, map scale 1:12,000, 22 p.

Publisher

Arizona Geological Survey (Tucson, AZ)

Description

This report summarizes the geology and geomorphology of 12 small watersheds in the Peloncillo Mountains, southwestern New Mexico. The study site is located in the central portion of the Malpai Borderlands project area, on the eastern piedmont of the southern Peloncillo Mountains (Figure 1). It consists of an eastward trending ridge with small dissected basins on either side, and is bordered on the north and south by Walnut and Whitmire creeks, respectively. These creeks flow eastward into southern Animas Valley. The U. S. Forest Service has selected 12 watersheds along the ridge (Figure 2) for a paired watershed experiment to compare effects of two burning seasons, spring and summer, on native vegetation, wildlife, surface water flow, slope stability and erosion (G. Gottfried, US Forest Service, pers. comm., October 2000). As part of this experiment, the Forest Service is installing a sediment trap and two different-sized flumes on each study watershed to record and compare sedimentation and surface flows before and after burning. One flume will be located about 50 feet downstream from the sediment trap and will record higher volume flows of up to 57 cubic feet per second (cfs). Another flume will be located 18 feet further downstream and will record lower volume flows of up to 4 cfs (G. Gottfried, US Forest Service, pers. comm., October 2000). A major concern with this study area is that local geology may provide pathways for surface water to infiltrate and flow between study watersheds, causing erroneous runoff results, or to circumnavigate the flumes altogether. Another concern is a potential increase in erosion rates, or decrease of slope stability, after burning. The purpose of this report is to describe the geologic and geomorphic framework of the study area, to delineate surficial deposits to help define potential erosion, and to provide information concerning potential for sub-surface flow between watersheds or under the flumes. Field investigations and mapping were done in November, 2000, and January, 2001. A 1:12,000-scale map showing bedrock and surficial geology is included with this report.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10150/630670

Additional Links

https://library.azgs.arizona.edu/

Language

Series/Report no.

OFR-01-05

Rights

Collection Information

Documents in the AZGS Document Repository collection are made available by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) and the University Libraries at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please contact azgs-info@email.arizona.edu.

North Bounding Coordinate

32.9349

South Bounding Coordinate

31.9894

West Bounding Coordinate

-107.534

East Bounding Coordinate

-106.128

Collections

AZGS Document Repository