geothermal resource potential of the safford-san simon basin, arizona

side of the mountains and coincide with shear zones mapped by Thorman
1981. These shear zones may be elements of the Morenci lineament. The
Morenci lineament appears to be a highly useful exploration concept for geothermal
resources because every hot spring with a temperature greater than
40 0 C in southeastern Arizona occurs within 20 kilometers of the median of the
lineament trace. Chapin and others (1978) first defined the lineament in a
geothermal and geologic context where it crosses the Rio Grande rift in New
Mexico.
The Morenci lineament may be a major crustal flaw.
The significance of the Texas Zone and Morenci lineaments for geothermal
resource exploration is important even though these lineaments are based on
highly diverse and sometimes sparse geologic data, which can be related in a
genetic sense using a somewhat speculative concept--major crustal flaw(s),
which localize and intensify faulting and plutonism.
Because highly fractured
rock and deep-seated zones allowing magmatic intrusion or deep circulation
of water is of prime importance in the localization of geothermal systems,
regional delineation of potential zones of highly fractured rock is
useful in the evaluation and interpretation of known shallow geothermal manifestations,
and exploration for deeper hidden geothermal systems.
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