“A team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists recently completed an assessment of the potential for additions to oil reserves that could result from applying improved oil-recovery technologies in 18 large oil fields in the Permian Basin in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet.
The Rio Grande Rift
April 13, 2012 | New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources
“The river’s course through southern Colorado and New Mexico is controlled by a geologic feature known as the Rio Grande rift, which formed when Earth’s crust stretched and thinned in an east-west direction starting about 36 million years ago (36 Ma). The stretching and thinning of the crust allowed hot mantle to well upward, creating youthful volcanoes, hot springs, and mineral deposits, as well as forming a topographically low area along which the river flows.”
The-Vug.com has an impressive listing of mineral clubs organized by state. You might be surprised at how many clubs are listed and there is probably one that meets within a short drive of your home.
“Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial irrigation with groundwater in the aquifer area. This report presents water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer from the time before substantial groundwater irrigation development had occurred (about 1950 and termed “predevelopment” in this report) to 2009, from 2007-08, and from 2008-09. The report also presents change in water in storage in the aquifer, from predevelopment to 2009.” Quoted from the USGS report release.
Since 1972 the “Roadside Geology” series has provided introductory information on the geology of states and small regions of the United States. The books provide a combination of maps, travel logs, photos and commentary for the geology that can be seen along highways or visited at parks and public viewing areas. They are popular with geologists and others who are interested in the Earth.
Based upon the proportions of two vertebrae and a femur of Alamosaurus sanjuanensis found in New Mexico, researchers believe that the bones are from the largest dinosaur ever found in North America.
The folks at MyTopo.com are now printing supersized topo maps – large enough make a huge 5′ x 8′ (or 8′ x 5′) map that will look fantastic on the wall of your office, conference room, lobby, cabin or den. These maps are custom-centered on any location that you pick using their online map-making tool. Lots of smaller sizes are also available.
We are affiliates of MyTopo.com and receive a commission on sales.
Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a state in vibrant colors. These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. Use one to mark the locations of your work or company.
The Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research has prepared: Taxation of Natural Gas: A Comparative Analysis. This publication reviews the many methods of taxing natural gas 19 different states. You might be surprised at how many ways natural gas is being taxed.
“More of the United States was in exceptional drought in July 2011 than in any other month in the past 12 years, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The worst of the drought is spread across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and Louisiana. But 26 percent of the lower 48 states experienced severe to extreme drought in July. On the other hand, about 33 percent of the contiguous United States experienced exceptionally rainy weather in July. The wet weather occurred largely in the Northern Plains and Western states.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
The High Plains Aquifer underlies some of the most important agricultural land in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The Aquifer is in trouble because overpumping has dropped water levels in many areas over 100 vertical feet. This USGS report summarizes changes in the Aquifer from predevelopment to 2009.
“A crew member aboard the International Space Station, flying at an altitude of approximately 235 statute miles on June 27, 2011, exposed this still photograph of a major fire in the Jemez Mountains of the Santa Fe National Forest in north-central New Mexico.” Quoted from the NASA image release.
Surface disturbance from oil and gas wells in one square mile, Weld County, Colorado.
Colorado and New Mexico are endowed with multiple energy resources: oil and gas, shale gas, coal bed methane, uranium, geothermal, wind, and solar, and thus represent a microcosm of issues that affect the Western United States. Increased demand for energy—renewable and nonrenewable—drives the intensified development of all forms of energy in the region.
Resource managers and other decisionmakers are expected to balance the benefits of the rapid development of energy resources in light of their potential effects on these other resources.
In response to the many wildfires in the southwestern United States, the Arizona Geological Survey has a collection of online resources related to post-wildfire flooding and debris flow hazards.
Jessica Ball has a new blog post about hunting obsidian in the Santa Fe National Forest. It includes a link to the rules for low-impact, casual rock collecting on National Forest lands.
An article in the New York Times explains how record snowpacks that have persisted into late spring are a flooding threat throughout the western United States.
“A team of scientists led by Rice University has figured out why the Colorado Plateau – a 130,000-square-mile region that straddles Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico – is rising even while parts of its lower crust appear to be falling.” Quoted from the Rice University press release.
USGS has a new free publication that describes the basin fill aquifers of the southwestern United States titled: “Effects of natural and human factors on groundwater quality of basin-fill aquifers in the southwestern United States-conceptual models for selected contaminants.”
A Dinosaurfossil discovered in New Mexico has a short snout and over-sized teeth. These are characteristics of a predatory dinosaur which is uncommon for such an early point in history. The discovery also shows that dinosaurs made it into the Northern Hemisphere when Pangea existed.
The New York Times has an article titled “Federal Royalties for Gold and Copper?”. It explores the idea of the federal government collecting royalties on mineral extracted from federal lands. Since passage of the 1872 mining law, royalties have not been paid.
“The General Mining Law of 1872 declared all valuable mineral deposits in land belonging to the United States to be free and open to exploration and purchase. This law provides citizens of the United States the opportunity to explore for, discover and purchase certain valuable mineral deposits on the public lands.
The 1872 Mining Law also provided for the transfer of the land upon which a mining claim has been filed – as opposed to the minerals which were claimed – from federal to private ownership provided certain provisions were met. Transfers of land ownership – acquiring a patent to the land – are currently prohibited by a congressionally-imposed moratorium until Congress determines whether the law should be changed.” Quoted from the Bureau of Land Management website.
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