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RESULTS OF A DETAILED GRAVITY SURVEY I N THE ALANOSA AREA, ALANOSA COUNTY, COLORADO
bY
Claron E. Vackelprang
September, 1983
DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency Thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
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00E/ID/12079-109 E SL -126
RESULTS OF A DETAILED GRAVITY SURVEY I N THE ALAMOSA AREA, ALAMOSA COUNTY, COLORADO
Claron E. backelprang
September, 1983
I
I
!
1
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NOTICE T h i s report was prepared t o document work sponsored by the United States
Government.
Department of Energy, nor any Federal employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors o r their employees, makes any warranty, express or imp1 Sed, o r assumes any 1egal 1iabi 1i t y o r responsi bi 1i t y f o r the accuracy, completeness, o r usefulness o f any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, o r represents t h a t its use would not infringe privately owned r i g h t s .
.
NOTICE Reference t o a company or product name does not imply approval o r recommendation of the product by the University of Utah Research Institute o r
the U.S.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT.
............................................................. INTRODUCTION. ......................................................... GENERAL GEOLOGY.. ..................................................... Gravity Data. .................................................... Survey Survey Results. ............................................. Model R e s u l t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Procedure.............................................5
. l
. 2 . 2
.3
-5
GEOLOGIC I M P L I C A T I O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
11 12
APPENDIX B.................................,
Location Map
A1 amosa Basin Geologic Cross-Seci ions
Simple Bouguer Gravity Map o f thc A1 amosa Area, A1amosa County, Colorado 1 Alamosa Area, Colorado
21/2- Dimensional Gravity Model Ba I ' , Alamosa Area, Colorado 21 / 2 Dimensional Gravity Model
,'B
ABSTRACT
paleoval l e y s and/or down-dropped f a u l t blocks w i t h i n t h e Precambrian horst. The City o f Alamosa l i e s d i r e c t l y over a l o c a l g r a v i t y low. Volcanic rocks
area v i a a q u i f e r s f r o m t h e west (San-Juan Mountains) and/or f r o m t h e Rio Grande R i f t zone with t h e f l u i d s r i s i n g along f r a c t u r e s w i t h i n and bordering
\
t h e horst.
INTRODUCTION
heating o f motels, shopping malls and p u b l i c swimming pools. The City o f Alamosa, through p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e DOE/DGE User-Coupled D r i l l i n g Program, had contracted t o d r i l l f o r thermal f l u i d s which would be used f o r d i s t r i c t heating and i n d u s t r i a l processing.
A d r i l l s i t e had been
rough copy o f t h e Bouguer g r a v i t y map was presented and i t s general i m p l i c a t i o n s were discussed. Unfortunately, t h e i n i t i a l d r i l l s i t e was
d r i l l e d i r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e g r a v i t y results. GENERAL GEOLOGY The generalized geology of t h e Alamosa area presented i n t h i s r e p o r t i s , f o r t h e most part, a summary o f Colorado Geological Survey Special P u b l i c a t i o n
The City o f Alamosa i s located a t t h e south-central end o f an intermontane s t r u c t u r a l depression. This v a l l e y i s approximately 40 m i l e s
wide and 70 m i l e s long (Figure 1) and i s designated t h e Alamosa Basin. Trending north-south through t h e center o f t h e Alamosa Basin i s a buried bedrock horst. The City o f Alamosa l i e s d i r e c t l y above t h i s h o r s t which
consists o f Precambrian rocks and has been penetrated a t a depth o f about 5400 f e e t by a d r i l l t e s t located roughly 10 m i l e s n o r t h o f town i n t h e CSESW Sec. 16, T.29N.,
R.1OW.
A d d i t i o n a l d r i l l i n g s t i l l f u r t h e r t o t h e n o r t h o f town has shown t h a t t h e two grabens formed on e i t h e r s i d e o f t h e Alamosa Horst (Plate I ) have developed a t d i f f e r e n t times g e o l o g i c a l l y and t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t depths. The Baca Graben which formed t o t h e east o f Alamosa has an This
accumulation o f v a l l e y f i l l estimated t o be a t l e a s t 19,000 f e e t t h i c k . graben was w e l l formed p r i o r t o t h e l a t e Eocene. formed west o f t h e h o r s t d u r i n g t h e Pre-Miocene and has accumulated about
10,000 feet of m a t e r i a l which contains ash-flow t u f f s and volcanoclastics from t h e San Juan volcanic f i e l d s t i l l f u r t h e r t o t h e west.
'
n o t thought t o extend, i n any s i g n i f i c a n t thickness, across t h e Alamosa Horst nor are they present i n t h e Baca Graben t o t h e east. G r a v i t y Data
/
i n part, o f USGS data presented on Map GP-895 by Behrendt and Gajwa (1974); a Masters Thesis, U n i v e r s i t y o f Texas approximately 3500 s t a t i o n s f r o m th Paso (Davis, 1979) which included of t h e Department of Defense
g r a v i t y l i b r a r y ; and recent unpublished datal f r o m t h e Colorado School o f Mines. With t h e exception o f t h e Colorado School o f Mines data, these g r a v i t y
Figure 1.
a '
Avenues.
1967 (Wool lard, 1979). Survey Resul t s The r e s u l t s o f t h e survey are presented as t h e Simple Bouguer Gravity Map
*'
This p r o f i l e indicates
t h e western edge o f t h e Alamosa h o r s t as a steep l o c a l gradient which i s superimposed upon a strong regional g r a v i t y gradient. The regional trend
undoubtedly continues westward i n t o t h e t h i c k volcanic section comprising t h e San Juan volcanic f i e l d . The g r a v i t y p r o f i l e across t h e h o r s t indicates t h a t The Colorado School o f Mines data This p r o f i l e was The eastern
edge o f t h e h o r s t appears t o be located approximately one m i l e east of t h e p o i n t where t h e School o f Mines p r o f i l e ended, ( a t s t a t i o n 1822). While t h e
ESL extension d i d not completely cross t h e Baca graben, s u f f i c i e n t data were acquired t o i n d i c a t e t h i s graben i s l i k e l y formed f r o m several down-faulted b l ocks Three g r a v i t y highs, separate and d i s t i n c t from each other, were delineated within t h e l i m i t s o f t h i s survey. These occur t o t h e northwest, This
northeast and south o f town and border t h e l o c a l g r a v i t y low a t Alamosa. low i s centered roughly midway between main s t r e e t (Highway 160) and t h e airport. amplitude. The low i s l o c a l i z e d An east-west t r e n d
Monte V i s t a and Baca grabens. and i t i s these "troughs" t h a t These "troughs" then form an i n being a t t h e i r junction. Model Resu?t s
I
r t e d "T" (
1 ) with the
l o w on t h e h o r s t
I
I
The g r a v i t y data presented on P l a t e I1 were i n t e r p r e t e d i n terms o f subsurface s t r u c t u r e by computing two and one-half dimensional and three-
The r e s u l t a n t models,
shown as P l a t e I11 t o Plate V, are excellent f i t s t o t h e Bouguer g r a v i t y data. I n t e r p r e t a t i o n a l ambiguities include t h e density, depth of b u r i a l and
thickness of t h e various rocks units, and these r e s u l t i n a non-unique i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e g r a v i t y data. I n computing t h e three-dimensional model, rectangular prisms o f varying dimensions and density a r e combined t o approximate i r r e g u l a r i t i e s i n t h e subsurface bedrock. The parameters f o r t h e model determined t o be a "best
The model on P l a t e I11 suggests t h e two northern g r a v i t y highs are caused by Precambrian rocks occurring a t depths between 4,750 f e e t and 5,600 feet. The g r a v i t y low between t h e northern highs i s formed i n t h e model by p l a c i n g a down-dropped block a t a depth o f 5,600 feet. This block has an i n f e r r e d The
g r a v i t y low upon which Alamosa i s l o c a t e d was modeled with two down-dropped blocks. The f i r s t , ceqtered on t h e
Finally,
t h e g r a v i t y high t o t h e south o f town was modeled w i t h Precambrian rocks a t a depth o f 5,000 feet. Plates I V and V show model r e s u l t s using a o r i g i n a l l y devel oped by
USGS (Cady, 1977).
- dimensional algorithm
This algorithm i s 2l/2-
Two p r o f i l e s , labeled B-B' and D-D', were computed as north-south and east-west p r o f i l e s , respectively, across t h e survey area ( P l a t e 11). c o n t r o l f o r these p r o f i l e s i s taken from P l a t e I o f Burroughs, 1981. Geologic This
geologic cross-section crosses t h e Alamosa h o r s t t o t h e n o r t h o f t h e survey 'area and u t i l i z e s deep d r i l l hole data f o r c o n t r o l . GEOLOGIC IMPL ICATIONS Obviously t h e top o f t h e Alamosa h o r s t i s very i r r e g u l a r , t h e most l i k e l y cause being s t r u c t u r a l deformation ( f a u l t i n g ) o f t h e h o r s t i t s e l f due t o rifting.
,
t h e computer models, i t i s hypothesized t h a t t h e "troughs" d e f i n e down-faulted blocks w i t h i n t h e horst. The g r a v i t y highs are more s t a b l e p o r t i o n s of t h e
h o r s t and t h e l o c a l g r a v i t y low centered on Alamosa i s p o s s i b l y due t o an i n t e r s e c t i o n o f east-west and n o r t h t r e n d i n g f a u l t sets which may have caused a small block t o be down-dropped a few hundred feet. Cuttings f r o m t h e d r i l l hole r e c e n t l y completed f o r t h e City o f Alamosa show t h e presence o f a s i g n i f i c a n t thickness o f Oligocene ( ? ) v o l c a n i c l a s t i c s f i l l i n g i n t h e "troughs". These v o l c a n i c l a s t i c s were encountered a t a depth
o f -approximately 5,300 f e e t and continued u n t i l t h e Precambrian was i n t e r s e c t e d a t 6,370 f e e t ( J . Z e i s l o f pers. comm.). This d r i l l hole was
t h e g r a v i t y highs.
8
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It i s a l s o possible t h a t t h e g r a v i t y highs a r e
i n d i c a t i v e of Precambrian rocks without associated volcanic cover as assumed by t h e 3-D model. I n any event, t h e recent d r i l l - h o l e has shown the presence
o f t h e v o l c a n i c l a s t i c s w i t h i n t h e l o c a l g r a v i t y low and these very probably extend throughout t h e postulated "troughs". EXPLORATION TARGET
I
Burroughs (1981) has mentioned t h e presence o f paleoval leys and/or downdropped blocks along t h e Alamosa h o r s t and has discussed t h e i r importance t o t h e discovery o f geothermal f l u i d s . The d e t a i l e d g r a v i t y survey completed by
h o r s t i n a n o r t h and east-west d i r e c t i o n and could a l l o w f o r communication o f water between t h e Monte Vista and Baca grabens. Services, The hole d r i l l e d by Energy
comprise p a r t o f what i s c a l l e d t h e "confined a q u i f e r " t h e r e appears t o be adequate r e s e r v o i r p o t e n t i a l f o r ponded geothermal f l u i d s p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h i n t h e areas o f t h e down-dropped blocks. The source o f t h e t The area i s p a r t o f t h e R i waters i s possible. t e r s w i t h i n t h e Alamosa area i s n o t known. e R i f t zone so ep c i r c u l a t i o n o f meteoric
I
f a u l t s o f t h e Alamosa h o r s t and could conceivably f i l t e r through. t h e h o r s t along t h e f r a c t u r e s o f t h e down-dropped blocks. A l t e r n a t i v e l y , thermal waters
could be moving l a t e r a l l y away f r o m a heat source i n t h e San Juan volcanic f i e l d and i n t o t h e Alamosa area as postulated by Burroughs (1981). t h e h i g h heat flow measurements (2.85 Certainly
The eastward d i p o f t h e
volcanic rocks w i t h i n t h e Monte Vista graben would place t h e Alamosa area down d i p and along t h e hydrologic gradient. Regardless o f t h e thermal f l u i d source, i t i s s t i l l possible t o formulate an e x p l o r a t i o n t a r g e t i n t h e Alamosa area.
I f t h e volcanics form a r e s e r v o i r
f o r thermal f l u i d s , then an area such as t h e l o c a l g r a v i t y low centered on Alamosa would l i k e l y have a t h i c k e r volcanic s e c t i o n and hence a greater chance f o r development o f a s i z a b l e reservoir. Not a l l volcanic flows have
A
t h e same t e x t u r e or, more importantly, t h e same p o r o s i t y and permeability. d r i l l - h o l e centered on t h e g r a v i t y low would l i k e l y i n t e r s e c t t h e greatest
thickness of v o l c a n i c l a s t i c s and thus increase t h e odds f o r a productive well. Since f l u i d s might be flowing along f r a c t u r e s as w e l l as through aquifers, an a l t e r n a t i v e d r i l l l o c a t i o n could t e s t a major f r a c t u r e zone. While t h e major bounding f a u l t s t o t h e Alamosa h o r s t can not be overlooked as p o t e n t i a l targets, a b e t t e r area might be found on t h e h o r s t i t s e l f along one o f t h e borders t o t h e postulated down-faulted blocks. An area could be Such an
I d e n t i f i e d where two o r more o f these blocks and/or f a u l t s i n t e r s e c t . area may e x i s t along t h e northern s i d e o f t h e l o c a l g r a v i t y low.
, *
It would be
i s area.
10
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks a r e given t o Dr. Ralph C. Holmer o f t h e Colorado School o f Mines f o r h i s time spent i n discussing t h e geophysical data i n he Alamosa Area and f o r permission t o use t h e g r a v i t y data acquired by t h e School o f Mines along Highway 160. Thanks are a l s o given t o Bear Creek M ning Company
11
REFERENCES
Behrendt, John C., and Bajwa, LaCretia Y., 1974, Bouguer Gravity Map of Colorado, Geophysical Investigations Map GP-895. Burroughs, Richard L., 1981, A Summary o f t h e Geology o f t h e San Luis Basin, Colorado-New Mexico w i t h emphasis on t h e Geothermal Potential f o r t h e Monte Vista Graben. Colorado Geological Survey Special Publication 18. 35 PP. Davis, Gene Howell, 1979, A Gravity Study o f t h e San Luis Basin, Colorado. Thesis, Master of Science, U n i v e r s i t y o f Texas a t E l Paso. Wool l a r d , G. P . , 1979, The New Gravity System--Changes i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l g r a v i t y base values and anomaly values. Geophysics, v. 44, no. 8, p. 1352-1 366.
APPENDIX A
Project name: Model : Units i n Feet A1 amosa Area, Col orado Gravity Survey
PRISM
1
x1
x2
Y1
-85000. 10560. 20000. 10000. 29568. 15840. -18480. -18480. -85000. -10560. -10560. -18480. -18480. -85000. 47520. 6500. -85000. -85000.
Y2
265000. 27984. 25000. 15840. 32736. 40000. -7392. -5280. -18480. 6500. 2112. 265000. 47520. 265000. 265000 47520. 265000. 265000. 265000.
D1
0.
D2
20000. 5200. 5200. 5200. 5200. 5200. 5600. 5600. 20000. 7000. 6500. 20000. 20000. 8000. 20000. 6200. 10000. 20000. 20000. 20000. 5600. 5600.
Dc
-0.83 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 -0.45 -0.45 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 6 3 0 . 8 3 -0.45 0 . 3 5 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3 0 . 8 3
-85000. -21 120. -12144. 15840. 8448. 21120. 18480. -13728. -26400. -2640. 8448. 31680. -26400. -85000. -26500.
100000. -2640. -7392. 24816. 21120. 24816. 31680. -2640. 52800. 8448. 18480. 52800. 31680. -26400. 31680. 8448. -26400.
2 3 4
5
7
8 9 10
5400. 5300.
5000.
5600. 5600. 7000.
5600.
11
12 13 14
16
17
18
5000.
20 21
-85000.
6500. 6500.
265000.
40000.
10000.
5200.
40000. . 5200.
13
Grid Parameters Gravity Model Number of Grid Points i n X Direction: Number of Grid Points i n Y Direction: Grid Spacing i n Feet: 5280.00 X Offset i n Feet: 0.00 Y O f f s e t i n Feet: 0.00
19 15
15
I'
. E
4
-2
4
'a
E t & .
L.
...
1
<
ii
I!
. -
I1
L.
.... .- -- . . ... -
... -.. .
.. -. - -
. . . . . . . .- -. .._.- . .
. . .
. . . . . .
. .
...
-. .. - ....
. . . .
.. ._ . .
. . . . .._ " .~
_._..
. . .
-*
..
0
c
b ... , @!
...
...
L d
,
LJ
@!
I ,
3p=
'WJ
s
..
ALAMOSA HORST
PLATE 1
U .-
.
8 .I
I . )
SSR = 3 . 8 8
Xf:
h)
I I
cn
10.56
* I
2 1.82
. I
31.68
42.24
52.80
63.36
K ILOFEET
OLYGON OBSERVED= 0 CRLCULATED= X
1 2
# '
1
I ,
WRFRCE
7;;a
U
1
alluvium
,N. a a
KILOFEET
PLATE I V
10.56
21.12
31.68
42.24
52.80
'
6S36
73.92
84.48
55.04
115.60
116.16
KILOFEET
OBSERVED= 0 CRLCULATED- X
OLYGON OENSUY
-0.s5oou -0.4soee
-0.43000
1 .
-o.ssoeo
,
W I Y t
1
allavian