IL I T E

A quarterly publication for educators and the pul~lic-contemporary geological topics, issues and events

Daisy could not believe her eyes, yet she knew theseonly could be the tracks of the legendary Cowasaurus.

This Issue:Earth Briefs--cows and inmatestiptoe through the Triassic

Have You Ever Wondered... AboutCoal?

The Origin of EnchantingLandscapesiphotos and geologicdescriptions of scenic places in NewMexico

Glossary of Coal Terms

Current topics in Earth SciencehighLites

what’s on-line?lnews about Earthscience information on the Internet

Winter ! 994

New Mexico Bureauof

Mines and MineralResources

(NMBM&MR)

Earth BriefsTriassic Tracks Trigger Dig onPrison Grounds

An ordinary day turned eventful forprison inmate Wayne Covington whenhe unearthed a section of the largestdinosaur trackway ever discovered inPennsylvania. The trackway is locatedon the grounds of Graterford Prison,outside of Philadelphia. The inmate,employed by the facility’s dairy farm,had just finished his rounds checkingcow fences when he took a shortcutthrough a ravine. As he passed by ashale outcropping along the ravinewall, he struck it with his fence-mending hammer and the rock splitopen, revealing a perfect, three-toedfootprint of a 220-million-year-olddinosaur.

The fossilized footprint (ichnite)trackway was examined by Dr. RobertSullivan, Curator of Paleontology andGeology at the State Museum ofPennsylvania, who determined thecreature might be Coelophysis, a small,sharp-toothed, meat-eating dinosaurthat walked on its hind legs. Atrackway of this size can containenough footprints to allowpaleontologists to study how thedinosaurs moved through the area andlearn something about their behavior.

Dr. Sullivan and other staff from theState MuseUm, along with BillKochanov, a geologist from thePennsylvania Geological Survey,joined several of the prison staffmembers and inmates in excavatinglarge pieces of the trackway forremoval to Harrisburg, where theichnites will be studied and exhibited.Prison officials have supported theinmates’ participation in the dig,saying that the men "feel they aremaking a contribution to society by

New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Winter 1994, Lib, Geology

discovering these prints and sharingthem with others."

Sources:Cass, J., "A Triassic find at Graterford": The

Philadelphia Inquirer, issue for Sunday,July 24, 1994, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sullivan, R.M., Randall, K., Hendricks, M.,Kochanov, W.E., 1994, The Graterforddinosaurs--tracking Triassic travelers:Pensylvania Geology (in press).

--story by S. Welch

Have You Ever Wondered...... About Coal? Coal-bearing rocks cover one-fifth of

Gretchen HoffmanSenior Coal Geologist, NMBM&MR

IntroductionCoal makes an important

contribution to New ,Mexico’s statebudget. It is the third largest source ofrevenues in the state from mineral andenergy production. In 1993, staterevenues from severance, resourcesexcise, and conservation taxes were$34.7 million. State revenues fromgross receipts taxes on the sale of coalwere $18.8 million. The state alsoreceives royalties and rentals from coalleases on state and federal lands,which was an aggregate of $11.8million in 1993. The coal industryemployed 2,022 people in 1993, addingto the general economy of the state(Hatton, 1994).

New Mexico, but most New Mexicanshave little direct contact with coal or the

coal industry. The following exp.loresthe nature of coal. Boldface termsare defined in the glossarybeginning on page 9. In the nextissue of Life Geology we will explorecoal production and uses, and how itis mined today.

Coal formationCoal is a readily combustible rock

formed by the compaction of decayingplant material deposited in ancientpeat swamps or bogs. Pressure fromthe weight of the overlying sediments,deposited over time by rivers, lakes,and seas, compresses the peat.Compaction of the plant materialforces out some oxygen, hydrogen, andother volatile matter, leaving carbon.

Figure 1--Geologic timescale, modified from Pressand Siever, 1974. Datesare from Decade of NorthAmerican Geology’, 1983.Numbers at sides ofcolumn are ages inmillions of years beforepresent (Ma).

--illustration by K. Glesener

Time term Epoch Period Era

Time-Rockterm Series System

HoloceneQuaternary

Pleistocene1.6"

Pliocene5.3.

Miocene23.7.

Oligocene Tertiary36.6.

Eocene57.6.

Paleocene

Cretaceous144Jurassic

Z08Triassic

Permian286 J Pennsyl-

Carbonif-~320 erous J Mis.~ass-360 I uppian

Devonian4O8

Silurian438

Ordovician505

Cambrian

.0

.66.4

Z45

Precambrian570 Ma

WintL, r 1994, Life Geology 2 New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources

GREAT PLAINS

PACIFIC

COA~,0 400 mi* i

t

0 400 mii

I’~ AnthraciteBituminous coal

i Lignite,~ Subbituminous coal

Coal-bearing region

Figure 2---Coal-bearing areas of the United States. Modified from Energy Information Administration, December, 1994.

--illustration by K. Glesener

It takes 15 to 20 feet of peat to make 1foot of coal. Heat, from nearbyigneous activity or from the regionalgeothermal gradient, along withtime are the most effective elements intransforming lignite or subbituminouscoal to bituminous coal or anthracite.

Land plants evolved on the Earthduring the Devonian Period (Fig. 1)about 400 million years ago (Ma) butplant cover was not abundant enoughuntil 320 Ma (Pennsylvanian Period) form peat swamps that would laterbecome coal. Although coal.depositsare found from most geologic timeperiods since 320 Ma, there are twomajor coal-forming ages throughout

the world. Pennsylvanian-Permiancoai deposits (320-245 Ma) make most of the anthracites and highgrade bituminous coals. Easterncoal fields in the Appalachian and inthe Interior provinces arePennsylvanian and Permian in age(Fig. 2). The second major coal-formingage, with deposits onevery majorcontinent, belongs to the Cretaceousand Terhary periods. These coalsrange in rank from lignite toanthracite. In the United States, coalsin the Rocky Mountains, NorthernGreat Plains, and the Gulf Coastregions (Fig. 2) are Late Cretaceous Terl~iary (95-2 Ma) in age.

United States coal reservesCoal makes up 82% of {he United

States recoverable energy reserves;this nation’s reserves represent 26% ofthe world’s total coal (Maksimovic andMowrey, 1993). Coal reserves andproduction arereported in short tons,equal to 2,000 pounds, referred to astons in this article. The Department ofEnergy’s .(DOE) DemonstratedReserve Base (DRB) for the UnitedStates is 483.8 billion tons (EnergyInformation Administration, February1993; Hoffman, 1994). Of the totalreserve base, 264.6 billion tons are"considered recoverable with presentmining techniques. Montana ranks

New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources 3 Winter 1994, Lite Geology

first with demonstrated reserves of119.92 billion tons. New Mexico’sdemonstrated reserve base is 12.6billion tons (Hoffman, 1994; EnergyInformation Administration; February1993, Pillmore, 1991), ranking ten outof twenty-six in state coal reserves..

\

Coal reserves ranking systemLignite’coal

Lignite coals in North Dakota,¯Montana, Colorado, and the GulfCoast region (Texas, Louisiana,Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama) makeup 9% of the U.S. coal reserves.Lignites are the lowest rank coal withheating values between 6,300 and8,300 Btu/Ib (moist, mineral-matter-free). States with the largestlignite reserves are Montana (15.7million tons) and Texas (13.3 milliontons).

Subbituminous coalMost o~ the nation’s subbituminous

reserves (37%)are in states west of the Mississippi River. The heating valuesof subbituminous coal range from8,300 to 11,500 Btu/lb (moist, mineral-matter-free). The largest reserves ofthese coals are in Montana (102 billiontons) and Wyoming (62 billion tons;Energy Information Administration,February, 1993). Most of New Mexico’sSan Juan l~hsin coal reserves and thosein smaller coal fields (9.3 billion tons)are subbituminous in rank (Fig. 3).Electrical generation is the primary useof the lignite and subbituminous coals.

Bituminous coalBituminous coal is the most

. common rank in the United States,particularly in the older, eastern coalfields, comprising 52% of the nation’stotal coal reserves. High volatilebituminous coal heating values rangefrom 11,500 to 14,000 Btu/lb (moist,mineral-matter-free). Medium and lowvolatile bituminous coals are classifiedaccording to their fixed carboncontent, ranging from 69 to 86%.

TlerraAmarillaField Raton

Rio SANTA FEPuerco

I

]I

!III

!

LakeField

\

~FieDatMountain

Id

SOCORROJornada

O~ FieldCarthageField

En¢

}

’~’~’~ "~ -RailroadI ~ Coal fieldI

e Coal-fired power plants1 San Juan Plant-

Public Service Co. of New Mexico2 Four Corners Power Plant-

Arizona Public Service Co.¯ 3 Escalante Generating Station-

Plains Electric Generating andTransmission Coop.

Hagan Fielderas Field

SierraBlancaField

Active Mines

11 La Plata? San JuanI San Juan Coal Co. of BHP Minerals3 Navajo (BLIP Minerals),4 Lee Ranch (Lee Ranch Co. of Hanson Natural

Resources)$ McKinley#6 Cimarron Underground7 East Ridge, Road Canyon ~ Pittsburg & Midway¯ Ancho ( Coal Mining Co.¯ York Canyon Surface II

Figure 3---Map of coal mines and. major coal fields in New Mexico. Modified fromNew Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, 1994.

--illustration by K. G lesener

@

Winter 1994, Lite Geology 4 New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources

L

Illinois has the largest bituminous.reserves (78.1 billion tons) in thenation. The Raton coal field innortheast New Mexico has significantreserves (1.3 billion tons) of highvolatile bitumirious coal, the lowestdivision of this rank. Coal beds in thenorthern San Juan Basin, along theNew Mexico-Colorado border, are alsohigh-volatile bituminous in rank.These coals make up two billion tonsof the state’s total reserves. The highrank of these beds is a product of depthof burial and heat generated from the

¯ San Juan volcanic complex, north of¯ the basin. Primary uses of bituminouscoal are electrical generation and mostof the coke production for the steelindustry. Industrial and commercialuses are a ~maHer part of bituminouscoal consumption in the United States.

AnthraciteMost of this country’s anthracite is

in north-central Pennsylvania (7.2billion tons). This area has undergonesignificant folding and faulting duringa major mountain-building period inthe Paleo~oic era (Fig. 1). Virginia,Arkansas, and Colorado have minoranthracite deposits and there is a smallreserve of anthracite in New Mexico,near Madrid, south of Santa Fe. Here,igneous sills came in contact with’ oneor two of the coal beds and raised therank of the coal from bituminous tosemianthracite and anthracite. Othercoal beds that were farther from theigneous intrusion are lower ranking,bituminous coals.

....................................... , ........................................ +2 ................. . . .+ .........

Quality of U.S. coalThe DOE divides the U.S. coal

reserves by heat (million Btu/tons) andsulfur content (Ibs of sulfur/millionBtu). There are 168.5 billion tons oflow-sulfur coal in the United States.Most (83%) of this low-sulfur coal,defined as containing less than 0.6 lbof sulfur/million Btu, is in the’westerncoa’l fields. Burning low-sulfur coalemits 1.2 pounds of sulfur dioxide orless for every million Btu produced.

This assumes total conversion of thesulfur to sulfur dioxide (SO2) withnone remaining in the ash.

Clean air actSulfur dioxide emissions are of

concern because they are consideredthe major cause of acid rain. The levelof emissions with low-sulfur coal meets .the 1971 Clean Air Act New SourcePerforman~:e Standards for powerplants without scrubbers (Energy’Information Administration, February1993). The 1990 Clear Air Act;revisionsrequire SO2 emissions from existinglarge power plants to be no greater than2.5 lb SOJmillion Btu by 1995.Emissions must be lowered to 1.2 lbSO2/million Btu by the year 2000 for allgenerating units that existed before1990. Several options are allowedunder the act to bring the power plantsinto compliance, including switchingto a lower sulfur fuel.

One third of New Mexico’s reservesare low-sulfur coal and the remainingreserves are.medium-sulfur coal (0.6 to1.67 lb sulfur/million Btu). NewMexico low-sulfur coal has thepotential for export to’eastern states tomeet the need for Clean Air Actcompliance coal. In 1990, the NewMexico Legislature reduced theseverance surtax on new coal contractsenabling Pittsburg and Midway tosecure a 15-year contract withWisconsin Electric Power Company,beginning in 1993. To help meet sl~ateand federal emission standards, twomillion tons per year of low-sulfur coalwill be transported from the RatonBasin to Wisconsin via the Atchison,Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad,Although this contract shows NewMexico can compete in the low-sulfurcoal market, the main rival for thismarket is Wyoming coal because of the.lower cost and better transportationnetwork. Blending or cleaning themedium-sulfur coal in New Mexicocould reduce the sulfur content to meetemission standards.

Sources:Energy Information Administration, February

1993, U.S. coal reserves--An update byheat and sulfur content: DOE EIA-0529(92), 86 pp.

Energy Information Administration,December 1994, Coal Industry Annual1993: DOE/EIA-0584(93), pp. 28, 30, 60,27-1"35, 138.

Decade of North American Geology, 1983,Geologic Time Scale: Geological Society ofAmerica.

New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and NaturalResources Department, 1994, Annualresources report, 1994: Energy, Minerals,and Natural Resources, pp. 25,’35-36, 40,44, 83-85.

Hatton, K., July 1994, New Mexico coal factsheet: New Mexico Energy, Minerals, andNatural Resources Department.

Hoffman, G. K., 1994, Demonstrated reserve. base for coal in New Mexico, Final Repor4:

Departraent of Energy--EnergyInformation Ad ministration CooperativeAgreement DE-FC0193E123974, 83 pp.

Maksimovic, S. D. and Mowrey, G. L., 1993,Basic geological and analyticalpropertiesof selected coal seams for coal ,nterfacedetection: U.S. Bureau of Mines,Information Circular 9296, pp. 3-12.

Pillmore, C. L., 1991, Geology and coalresources of the Raton coalfield; in Molina,C. L., Jobin, D. A., O’Conner, J. T., andKottlowski, F. E. (eds.), Coalfields of NewMexico--Geology and resources: U.S.Geological Survey, Bulletin 1972, pp. 45-68.

Press, F., Siever, R., 1974, Earth: W. H.Freeman and.Company, p. 64.,

Glossary begins on page 9.

New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources 5 Winter 1994, Lite Geology

The Origin of Enchanting LandscapesNew Mexico’s active geologic history has shaped its terrain into the enchanting scenery that New Mexicans and visitors

treasure. Here are photos of New Mexico landscapes along with descriptions (see page 8) of the local geology. How manydo you recognize?

Photo A

Winter 1994, Life Geology 6 New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources

l>hc~h> t~

New Mexico I~ureau of Mines and Mineral i,~esource,s 7 Winter 1994, l,ih’ G~’olo,s~y

Photo A-- Tent Rocks is a truly magical area! Delicately layered gravels and volcanic ashes ofthe Peralta Tuff Member of the Bearhead Rhyolil~e have been eroded into interesting shapes,including spires with a balanced rock at the top. The deposits are about 6.8 million years old andwere shed off volcanic domes of the Jemez volcanic field. Designated the "Tent Rock Area ofCritical Concern" by the Bureau of Land Management, this scenic area is located about 5 milesnorthwest of’ Cochiti Pueblo in Sandoval County.

Photo and description by Charie~s Chapin, NMBM&MR.

Photo B-- Mesozoic sedimentary rocks provide much of the beauty, mystique, and charm ofnorth-central New Mexico. This cliff scene near Ghost Ranch, is the result of hundreds oftl~ousands of years of erosion along the Chama River valley. Here a tributary of the Chama,Canjilon Creek, has carved into the Entrada Sandstone (Jurassic age) ° expose its s ubtle colors i na near-vertical cliff. The slightly darker, grayish edge capping the cliff is formed by the Todiito.Formation. The Todilto is composed of limestone (CaCO3) and Gypsum (CaSO~,2H20) precipitated from a salina lake associated with the southern margin of an inland seaway duringMiddle Jurassic time.

The talus at the base of the cliff conceals much of the fine-grained rock of the Chinle Group,which underlies the Entrada Sandstone. The upper part of the Chinle, known as the Rock PointFormation, Contains fossils of land vertebrates, the,most famous one being New Mexico’s statefossil, the dinosaur Rioarribasaurus colberti (formerly known as Coelophysis).

Photo by Jan Thomeas; description by Orin Anderson, NMBM&MR.

Photo C-- Morning sun illuminates a four-tiered landscape west of Bosque Del ApacheNational Wildlife Refuge, about 15 miles south of Socorro, New Mexico..On the lowest tier,salt cedar and cottonwoods in fall colors rise f~’om Rio Grande floodplain deposits that are lessthan 10,000 years old iHolocene age). These alluvial deposits bury still older sediments that fill broad channel cut by the ancestral river during the last ice age (Late Pleistocene--15,000 to 25,000years ago). This inner-valley fill is, in turn, inset against older river-channel and alluvial-fandeposits of middle Pleistocene to Pliocene age (0.15-5 million years old).

The top of the second lowest tier, above the bluffs, represents a time when the alluvial basinfloor was approximately 300 feet above this camera station. The alluvial basin south of Socorrooutlines the depressed half of an east-tilted fault block’ (half-graben) that formed during a latestage’ of crustal extension along the Rio Grande rift.

The uplifted halves of east-tilted blocks form the crest of the Chupadera Mountains in the.middle skyline (tier three) and the Magdalena Mountains on the ~iistant skyline (tier four). Thesetilted-fault-block ranges and more strongly tilted fault blocks within the ranges provide evidencethat the Earth’s crust has been ’extended (stretched toward the west) about 50 percent in the last28 million years. In other words, the 50-mile-wide north-trending zone of crustql extension nearSocorro known asthe central Rio Grande rift was only about 30-35 miles wide when it started topull apart 28 million years ago.

The Magdalena and Chupadera range blocks are superimposed on giant volcanic collapsestructures (calderas) that formed 29-32 million years ago, in Oligocene time. Several hundredcubic miles of red hot ash and crystals flowed out across the ancient land surface as theseenormous volcanoes sank into the underlying magma chambers.that were as much as 12 milesacross.

Photo by Dave Love, NMMB&MR; description by Richard Chamberlin, NMBM&MR.

t

Winter 1994, Lite Geology 8 New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources

Glossary of Coal Terms/

Agglomerate:---Collected into a ball ormass; agglomeration.

Anthracite--A rank class of coalsdefined as having more than 86 percentfixed carbon and less than 14 percentvolatile matter o~ a dry, mineral-matter-freebasis. This rank is divided intosemianthracite, anthracite, and meta-anthracite groups on the basis ofincreasingfixed carbon and decreasingvolatile matter.

Ash--The inorganic residue remainingafter complete incineration of coal.

Bog--Similar to peat swamps butgenerally lacking trees.

Bituminous coaI--A rank class of coalsdefined by the ASTM (see rank) having less than 86 percent fixed carbon,and more than 14 percent volatile matterand more than 10,500 Btu/Ib on a moist,mineral-matter-free basis. An overlap ofbituminous and subbituminous heatvalues from 10,500 to 11,500 Btu/Ib isdependent on whether an agglomeratebutton with swelling characteristics isformed during volatile matter analyses.There are sever~il divisions ofbituminous coal. High-volatile C, B, -and A are divided by increasing heatvalue. Medium and low-volatilebituminous coals are classified on thebasis of increasing fixed carbon anddecreasing volatile matter.

Btu--Btu is British thermal units. The/

Btu is the amount of heat needed toraise the temperature of 1 pound ofwater by 1 degree Fahrenheit,

Coal reserves--Parts of the in-placedemonstrat(,d resource that could beeconomically extracted at the time ofdetermination consideringenvironmental, legal, and technologicalconstraints.

Coal resourcesmDbposits occurring insuch forms and amounts that economicextraction is potentially feasible.

Coke--Material derived from heatingbituminous coal in the absence of air anddriving off the volatile constituents, sothat the fixed carbon and ash are fusedtogether.

Conservation taxmTax (0.18%) on salesvalue less Federal, State, and Indianroyalties. Revenues from this tax gointo the state’s general fund.

Demonstrated reserve base---A termused by the Department of Energy forthe part of the coal in the ground (coalresource) that meets certain criteria forgeologic reliabiUty and economicminability. The U.S. Geological Surveyused the term reserve base instead ofdemonstrated reserve base.

Dry, mineral-matter-free-basis~Acalculated, analytical value of h coalsample expressed as if total moistureand mineral matter had been removed.

Fixed carbonmThe solid residue, otherthan ash, remaining after the volatilematter has been liberated from coalduring combustion.

Geothermal gradientmThe increase intemlberature of the. Earth with depth.

Igneous activity-:--Formation of solidrock from molten material eitherbeneath the Earth’s surface or at thesurface, with the eruption of volcanoes.

igneous sills~A horizontal, tabularintrusive body of rock formed frommolten material.

Lignite---Lowest rank of coal, with lowheat values between 6,300 and 8,300Btu/Ib, moist, mineral-matter-free basis.

It takes 20 feet’ of peat to makeone foot of coal.

feet

2O

16

14

12

10

8

,

4

I footof coal

New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources 9 Winter 1994, Lite Geology’

Moist, mineral-matter-free basismAcalculated number based on basicanalytical data--Btu/Ib, ash and sulfur--to determine a number representativeof the value if mineral-matter had beenremoved and the natural moisture inthe coal retained. Used in determiningthe rank of coal.

Peat swampmA low, spongy land,generally saturated with moisture,dense with grasses, shrubs, and trees.

Rank--The classification of coalsaccording to their degree ofmetamorphism or coalification(maturation) in the natural series fromlignite to anthracite. Rank is defined inthe United States by the AmericanSociety Testing and Materials (ASTM)classification based on agglomerationcharacteristics, heat values, fixed carbon,and volatile matter content.

Recoverable energy reserves---Oil, gas,coal, and uranium that can beeconomically recovered after allowingfor environmental, legal, andtechnological controls.

Resources excise tax--Tax (0.75%) sales value of coal, less sales orroyaitie~ paid to State and Federalgovernments. Revenues from this taxgo into the state’s general fund. Two-thirds of the general fund helpssupport public schools and education.

Severance tax--Tax on number oftons sold or consumed instate or soldand transported out of state. Theseverance tax consists of two parts--abase tax ($0.57 per ton surface-mined,$0.55 underground) and a severancesurtax. The present surtax is $0.61 perton surface-mined and $0.59underground. For some new coalcontract sales the severance surtax hasbeen waived by legistation.

Scrubbers~Equipment used toremove sulfur oxides from combustion

gases of a boiler plant before dischargeto the atmosphe’re. Chemicals, such aslime, are used as scrubbing media.

Subbituminous coal--A rank class ofcoals having a heat value content ofmore than 8,300 Btu/Ib and less than11,500 Btu/lb on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. This class of coal is dividedby increasing heat value intosubbituminous C, B, and A coalgroups.

Volatile matterm-ln coal, thoseproducts, exclusive of moisture, givenoff as gas and vapor, determinedanalytically by prescribed methods.

Volcanic complex--A system of.volcanoes; vents in the Earth’s surfacefrom which molten material from theinterior of the Earth is ejected.

Glossary Sources:American Society of Testing Materials

(ASTM), 1990, Standard classification coals by rank in Annual Book of ASTMStandards---Gaseous fuels; coal and coke:ASTM, Philadelphia, PA, sec. 5, v. 05.05,pp. 193-196.

Energy Information Administration,December 1994, Coal Industry Annual1993: DOE/EIA-0584(93), pp. 28, 30, 60,138.

liatton, K., July 1994, New Mexico coal factsheet: New Mexico,Energy, Minerals, andNatural Resources Department.

New Mexico Mining and Minerals Divisionand University of New Mexico Institutefor Public Policy, 1990, An Economicdevelopment strategy for the extractiveindustries in New Mexico--a workingdocument: Mining and MineralsDivision,New Mexico Energy, Minerals, andNatural Resources Department, p. 48.

Press, F., Siever, R., 1974, Earth: W.H.Freeman and Company, pp. 905-922.

Wood, G.H., Kehn, T.M, Carter, M.D., andCulbertson, W.C., 1983, Coal resourceclassification system of the U.S. GeologicalSurvey: U.S. Geological Survey, Circular891, 65 pp.

COALIt may not be pret~--but ii burns. 0

Winter 1994, Life Geology 10 New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources

k.,

Sources for Earthscience informationTeachers can receive free materialsincluding curricula, student handouts,and reference materials for schoolresource media centers by contacting:

U.S. Bureau of MinesGuy Johnson, Staff EngineerBuilding 20Denver Federal CenterDenver, CO 80225-0086

A free teacher’s packet incl’uding aposter, lesson plans, activities, and alist of mineral resource information canbe obtained by calling or writing to:

Mineral Information InstituteJackie Evanger475 17th ,Street; Suite 510Denver, CO 80202(303) 297-3226

The Environmental Protection AgencyProvides a free information hotline forradon. Call:

1-(800) SOS-RADON

Information on Earth science programs,projects, reports, products and theirsources is available from:

US Geological SurveyEarth Science Information Center(USGS ESIC)Call 1-(800) USA-MAPS

or in New Mexico, contact:Amy BudgeEarth Science Information CenterEarth Data Analysis CenterUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerque, NM 87131(505) 277-3622

Information on earthquakes in NewMexico is available by contacting:

Bob ReddenProgram ManagerNew Mexico Earthquake

Preparedness ProgramDepartment of Public SafetyP.O. Box 1628Santa Fe, NM 87504(505) 827-9254

summer opportunities for teachers...National Minerals Education Conference, June 1"9-21, 1995 at the Regal RiverfrontInn, St. "Louis, Missouri

This conference is an opportunity for teachers to obtain valuable information andmaterials to become more effective in teaching mineral science. Participants willlearn about mineralsmhow and why they are mined, what they are used formandgain some hands-on techniques for classroom use. The Central New MexicoSection of the Society for Mining, Minerals and Exploration will send one NewMexico teacher to the conference with all expenses paid. If you are interested in agrant application form and more information about the conference, send yourname and school address to: George S. Austin, GEM Chair, Central New MexicoSection of SME, c/o New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,Campus Station, Socorro, NM 87801. Phone: (505) 835-5230, Fax: (505) 835--6333.

also...Minerals Education Workshop for teachers, August 10-12 in Farmington, NM.For more details, call Teri Conrad, Education Coordinator, at BHP Minerals, (505)327-6587 after 4:00 p.m.

Llte Geology evolves:Life Geology began as a small Earth science publication designed and scaled for

¯ .~New Mexico. Our subscnphon list has grown tremendously during the past twoyears, and now includes a large number of out-of-state readers. In order to keep upwith the demand for this publication from outside of New Mexico, we will charge$4.00 per year for out-of-state readers, which covers the cost of printing andmailing Life Geology. The subscription year begin’s with the Fall issue, and endswith the Summer issue to correspond with the academic year. If you reside outsideof New Mexico and wish to keep your subscription active, please return this formwith a check for $4.00, We thank all of our readers for their enthusiastic support,and hope that all of you will continue to subscribe. If you have questions aboutyour subscription, please call Theresa Lopez at (505) 835-5420¯ Thanks! ed.

*Please send me Life Geology

Name

Lite

DGeology

**($4.00 enclosed for out-of-state subscribers)

Mailing address

City State Zip

How did you hear about Lite Geology?

Are you a teacher?

At what school do you tea~:h?Grade levet?f

Subject(s)

*For in-state subscribers, please send in this form only once**Beginning with the Fall 1994 issue, out-of-state subscribers will

be charged $4.00 per year to cover printing and mailing costs.

New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources 11 Winter 1994, Lite Geology

. what’s on-llne?., NMBM&MRIHere’s an e-mail address for the Geologic Extension Service at New Mexico

Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources:

susie@sis.nmt.edu (via Intemet)./

Educators can join’a new geoscience educationdiscussion group on the Internetcalled GEOED-L, which has been created to enhance communication among thoseinvolved in t~ching the geosciences. The address is:

_ listserv@uwLec.uwf.edu (via lnternet).To subscribe, simply make the body Of yourfirst message: ,

Subscribe GEOED-L <your full name>

Do~ng so will automatically route any meemge posted on GEOED-L to you, androute your messages to everyone else on the GEOED-L list..We hope to see youon the Netl

----Susan Welch, Manager, Geologic Extension Service

.|

Somehow farmer Bob made a wrong turn and got on theinformation super highway bj, mistake.

L I_TE

is published quarterly by N~a Mexico Bureauof Mines and Mineral ~ (D~CharlesE. Chapin, Director and State Geologist), di vision of New Mexico Tech (Dr. Daniel H.Lopez, Presider).

Purpose: to build Earth science awarenessby presenting educators ~ the public withcontemporary geologic topics, issues, andevents. Use Lite Geology as a source for ideasinthe classroom or for public education.Reproduction is encouraged with properrecognition of the source. All rights reserve#on copyrighted O material reprinted withpermission within this issue.

/

"Lite Geology Staff Information "Edftor. Susan J. WelchGeological Editors: Dr. Dave Love, Dr.

Charles Chapin, and Gret~en HoffmanEducational Coordinator: Barbara PoppGraphic Designer: Jan ThomasCartoon/st: Jan Thomas with inspiration

from Dr. Peter MozleyEditorial Assistants: Toby Click and Lois

GollmerCreative and Technical Support..

. NMBM&MR Staff (Thanks Nancy!)

Mailing AddressNew Mexico Bureau of Mines and MineralResources, Socorro, NM 87801. Phone (505)835-5420. For subscription information,please call or write. Lite Geology is printed onrecycled paper.

LI T.E .

6OIIOgyNew Mexico Bureau of Mines

and Mineral ResourcesPublications OfficeSocorro, NM 87801

address correction requested.

Winter 1994, Life Geology

U.S, POSTAGE

PAID$OI~RRO. NEW gEXlCO

PERMIT NO, |

!

New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources