>The dike is dated to 26.55 million years ago
No wonder it was there when I was a child.
---
Frank C. Wimberly
140 Calle Ojo Feliz,
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505 670-9918
Santa Fe, NM
On Fri, Jun 21, 2024, 9:19 AM Stephen Guerin
<stephen.gue...@simtable.com> wrote:
Research last night on historical geologic maps got the name of
that as the "Galisteo Dike". composition and description in
attachment. There is one further with as well. Also known as the
Creston or Comanche Gap
https://galisteo.nmarchaeology.org/sites/creston.html
Basic formation given this description (chatGPT):
The Galisteo Dike is a geological formation characterized by its
composition and physical properties, indicating its formation
through volcanic activity. Here’s a detailed interpretation of its
formation based on the description provided:
1. **Composition Analysis**: The Galisteo Dike consists of
micro-monzonite, a fine-grained igneous rock. It contains a
mixture of minerals including plagioclase, potassium feldspar,
titan-augite, titaniferous biotite, apatite, and opaque grains in
a glass groundmass. This mineral composition suggests that the
dike formed from magma that cooled relatively quickly, preventing
the formation of large crystals.
2. **Physical Description**: The dike appears as a dark gray,
fine-grained rock with a salt and pepper texture. It weathers to
dark brown or grayish brown and forms a wall-like rampart. This
implies that the dike is resistant to weathering and erosion,
standing out in the landscape as a prominent feature.
3. **Structural Features**: The dike is described as comprising
many right echelon overlapping segments varying in length from 200
to 1200 feet and up to 18 feet thick. This pattern of overlapping
segments indicates that the magma was injected into pre-existing
fractures in the surrounding rock, likely under significant
pressure, causing the fractures to open and propagate in an en
echelon pattern.
4. **Geological Age**: The dike is dated to 26.55 million years
ago, placing its formation in the Oligocene epoch. This was a time
of significant tectonic activity in many parts of the world, often
associated with volcanic and plutonic intrusions.
### Formation Process
1. **Magma Intrusion**: The formation of the Galisteo Dike began
with the intrusion of magma into fractures in the Earth's crust.
The magma, originating from deeper within the mantle, was rich in
the minerals described and had a high temperature, allowing it to
flow and penetrate the fractures.
2. **Cooling and Crystallization**: As the magma moved upward
through the fractures, it began to cool and solidify. The rapid
cooling near the surface resulted in the fine-grained texture of
the rock, with minerals crystallizing quickly in the groundmass of
glass.
3. **Fracture Propagation**: The injection of magma caused the
fractures to propagate, leading to the characteristic right
echelon overlapping segments. This suggests that the fractures did
not open uniformly but rather stepped along the strike, with each
segment forming as a discrete intrusion event.
4. **Weathering and Erosion**: Over millions of years, the
surrounding rock may have eroded away, leaving the more resistant
dike exposed as a wall-like structure. The weathering of the dike
itself results in the observed dark brown or grayish brown coloration.
In summary, the Galisteo Dike was formed by the intrusion of magma
into fractures in the crust, followed by rapid cooling and
crystallization, resulting in a fine-grained igneous rock with
distinct mineral composition and structural features indicative of
significant volcanic activity during the Oligocene epoch.
____________________________________________
CEO Founder, Simtable.com
stephen.gue...@simtable.com
Harvard Visualization Research and Teaching Lab
stephengue...@fas.harvard.edu
mobile: (505)577-5828
On Fri, Jun 21, 2024, 9:08 AM Nicholas Thompson
<thompnicks...@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Stephen,
Thank you for prompting me to respond to this inquiry. I was
having some trouble getting the image to behave on my
computer, and so was reluctant to wade in.
Indeed, just as nature abhors vacuums, she abhors straight
lines, and so any line as straight as this one requires a
special explanation. To me, that the line points
southwestward toward the radar site NW of ABQ suggests a radar
artifact, perhaps the shadow or some distant hill. As we
watched the animated radar image, we could see a persistent
weakness in the radar echo along that line, even as the clouds
crossed it.
Speaking of abhorrent straight lines, during our conversation
with Frank, we spent quite a lot of time discussing another
line, a berm of sand that runs across the Galisteo Basin in
roughly the same orientation, perhaps 50' high?. I had
noticed this feature on topo maps and always assumed it was an
old railway embankment. Frank, who knows the area well,
thought that idea was absurd. So, we were left with the
puzzle of a highly linear geological formation several miles
long.
Could it be that this geological straight line accounts for
the straight line cloud formation that Mr. Kadlubek sees? As
the dry line breaks down in anticipation of the SW Monsoon,
moist air does indeed move northward, following the river
valleys up from TX. AT some point, it will be raised enough
that its moisture is condensed leading to the release of
latent heat and the further development of clouds. If the
structure that raises it is a straight line, then the clouds
themselves will be arranged in a straight line. We can see
this effect often along linear coast lines as a sea breeze
front topped by (usually) fair weather cumulus. However,
given all the dramatic topography in the area, it's hard for
me to imagine that this low lying feature would be determining
very often.
I, too, live for the weather. I don't live for Face Book,
however. So if you have any way to put in touch with Mr.
Kadlubek, he and I could perhaps have coffee when I get back
to Santa Fe in the fall.
Yours faithfully,
Nick Thompson
"Behavioral Meteorologist"
On Wed, Jun 19, 2024 at 7:06 PM Stephen Guerin
<stephen.gue...@simtable.com> wrote:
Nick,
It's your time to shine! Respond to Vince.
In the comments, local knowledge refers to it as the
"prison line" as weather is different on either side of
the prison on 14.
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