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KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO ...

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<strong>BASE</strong>-WIDE PLAN<br />

composed of Precambrian crystalline and Paleozoic marine carbonate rock. The western portion of the<br />

base lies within the Albuquerque-Belen Basin. Geologic features in this area of the basin include<br />

travertine and unconsolidated and semi-consolidated pediment deposits; and aeolian, lacustrine, and<br />

stream channel deposits. In general, the surficial geology is characterized by recent deposits (i.e.,<br />

mixtures of sandy silt and silty sand with minor amounts of clay and gravel), Ortiz gravel (i.e., alluvial<br />

pediment sand and gravel deposits), and the Santa Fe Group (i.e., a mixture of sand, silt, clay, gravel,<br />

cobbles, and boulders). A geologic map of Kirtland AFB and the surrounding area is depicted in Figure<br />

3-3.<br />

Generally, unconsolidated geologic units dominate the northern and western portions of Kirtland AFB;<br />

consolidated units predominate in the eastern half of the base.<br />

Kirtland AFB lies within the eastern portion of the Albuquerque-Belen structural basin that contains the<br />

through-flowing Rio Grande river. The basin is approximately 90 miles long and 30 miles wide. The<br />

deposits within the Albuquerque-Belen Basin consist of interbedded gravel, sand, silt, and clay. The<br />

thickness of basin-fill deposits in most of the basin is greater than 3,000 ft, although the thickness varies<br />

considerably because of the large amount of faulting in the basin.<br />

The geologic materials of primary importance within the basin are the Santa Fe Group and the piedmont<br />

slope deposits. The Santa Fe Group is comprised of beds of unconsolidated to loosely consolidated<br />

sediments and interbedded volcanic rocks. The materials range from boulders to clay and from wellsorted<br />

stream channel deposits to poorly sorted slopewash deposits. Coalescing alluvial fans of eroded<br />

materials from the surrounding mountains were deposited unconformably over the Santa Fe Group,<br />

extending westward from the base of the Sandia and Manzano Mountains to the eastern edge of the Rio<br />

Grande floodplain. The fan sediments range from poorly sorted mudflow material to well-sorted stream<br />

gravel, and the beds consist of channel fill and interchannel deposits. The fan deposits range in thickness<br />

from 0 to 200 ft and thicken toward the mountains.<br />

Kirtland AFB is located near the western edge of the Manzaño uplift, near a zone of pervasive faulting at<br />

the uplift margin. This fault zone is approximately 35 miles long and 2 miles wide. The Hubbell Springs<br />

fault exhibits outstanding fault scarps in the area. The Hubbell Springs fault is significant due to its<br />

apparent control over groundwater movement. It has been reported that east of the fault, depths to<br />

groundwater are generally less than 100 ft. Springs have been observed along the fault alignment. West<br />

of the Hubbell Springs fault, depths to groundwater abruptly increase to 400 ft to 500 ft below the ground<br />

surface.<br />

Surface soils consist predominantly of well-drained gravelly sands containing varying amounts of silts<br />

and clays. The following associations and their geologic attributes have been mapped within Kirtland<br />

AFB:<br />

Deep Soils on Flood Plains and Dissected Terraces<br />

― Gila-Vinton-Brazito Association, consisting of well-drained loamy soils<br />

― Bluepoint-Kokan Association, which consists of sandy, gravelly soils<br />

Kirtland Air Force Base<br />

Base-Wide Plans for the Environmental Restoration Program 8 April 2004

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