Saline ground-water resources of the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico
Links
- Document: Report (pdf)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
This report describes the location, extent, and quality of saline ground water in the Tularosa Basin, a north-trending elongated, intermontane, desert basin in south-central New Mexico. There are no through-flowing streams; runoff from the bordering mountains flows to ephemeral lakes in the center of the basin.
Fresh-water supplies in the Tularosa Basin are limited; however, large volumes of saline ground-water underlie most of the basin.
Consolidated rocks ranging from Precambrian through Cretaceous in age form "bedrock" aquifers in the basin. Where these rocks are exposed in the mountains bordering the basin, and in the north part of the basin, they may yield up to 150 gallons per minute, although yields are usually less than 20 gpm. Water at shallow depths in these rocks usually contain 1-3 g/l. Water quality deteriorates with depth, and more than 35 g/l water is present in some rock units. Few wells have penetrated these rocks beneath the alluvial deposits in the central part of the basin, where well yields and water quality are generally unknown.
The most widely developed aquifer in the basin is the alluvial fill of Tertiary to Holocene age which exceeds 6,000 feet in thickness in the southern part of the basin. Well yields of as much as 1,400 gallons per minute have been measured. Fresh water lenses occur in the alluvial fill adjacent to the mountains on the east and west sides of the southern part of the basin. The water below the fresh-water lenses in the alluvial fill increases in salinity with depth. Salinity also increases toward the center of the basin.
The altitude of isosaline surfaces and thickness of the saline-water zones are shown on maps of the entire basin and of the following detailed areas within the basin: Alamogordo, Tularosa, Carrizozo, and the western margin of the basin.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Federal Government Series |
| Title | Saline ground-water resources of the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico |
| Series title | Research and Development Progress Report |
| Series number | 561 |
| Year Published | 1970 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Government Printing Office |
| Publisher location | Washington, D.C. |
| Description | ix, 128 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |