Below are links to resources on the geology of the Valles Caldera and the entire Jemez Mountains. Please see the Geology Section of our “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) page for more information on the geology of this area.
Resurgent Calderas and the Valles Caldera. Caldera in the Spanish language means “kettle” or “cauldron”; in geology, it has come to be known as a volcanic collapse crater.
Global Volcanism Study of the Valles Caldera, by the Smithsonian Institution.
Geologic History of the Valles Caldera, by the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities and Space Research Association.
Caldera Animation. Animation showing the formation of a giant Caldera, by the Center for Educational Technologies.
Geology of the Valles Caldera, by the Faculty of Geosciences of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland.
A Secret Garden: New Mexico’s Valles Caldera, by Jenna Beck. Geotimes: Travels in Geology, July 2007.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science: Jemez Mountains and Valles Caldera. Contains two large maps to download: a geologic map of the Jemez Volcanic Field, and a geologic/tectonic/volcanic history map of the Jemez Mountains.
Secrets of the Valles Caldera. UNM Geologists Peter Fawcett and John Geissman study sediment samples of an ancient lake bed to gain insight on the Earth’s climate history, by Robert Julyan. Quantum Magazine, University of New Mexico, 2007.
Geothermal Potential of Valles Caldera, New Mexico (PDF), by Fraser Goff. GHC Bulletin, Dec. 2002.
Valles Caldera Scientific Drilling, by Fraser Goff and Jeffrey M. Heikoop. Geotimes, Mar. 2004.
Report on the Scientific Drilling of a 269 Foot-Deep Hole on the Valle Grande in May 2004, by the DOSECC (Drilling, Observation and Sampling of the Earth’s Continental Crust).
Evolution of a Resurgent Caldera. The evolution of a resurgent caldera begins when gas-rich magma collects near the roof of a magma chamber bulging under older volcanic rocks. By “Views of the Solar System.”
Road Geology of Selected Sections in the Pajarito Plateau and the Jemez Mountains. Well-exposed geologic sections and spectacular panoramic views are characteristic features of the Pajarito Plateau and the Jemez Mountains of north central New Mexico.
Field Studies in Volcanology – Field Trip – Jemez Mountains. Overview of geology, stratigraphy, and thermal features of the Jemez Mountains Volcanic Field, including the Valles Caldera, by the Geology and Geochemistry Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
First Detailed Images of New Mexico Volcano Show that Valles Caldera Still Underlain by Magmatic Melt, Los Alamos National Laboratory Daily Newsbulletin, Dec. 17, 1996.
Scientific Journal Articles Online (Fee):
Sources of chloride in hydrothermal fluids from the Valles caldera, New Mexico: a 36Cl study, by U. Rao, U. Fehn, R. T. D. Teng, and F. Goff. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Volume 72, Issues 1-2, July 1996, Pages 59-70.
Valles Caldera geothermal systems, New Mexico, U.S.A., by Fraser Goff and Charles O. Grigsbya. Hydrogeothermal Studies 26th International Geological Congress, Journal of Hydrology, Volume 56, Issues 1-2, March 1982, Pages 119-136.
Stable isotope investigations of an active geothermal system in Valles Caldera, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, by Steven J. Lambert and Samuel Epstein, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Volume 8, Issue 1, August 1980, Pages 111-129.
Oxygen isotope disequilibrium between quartz and sanidine from the Bandelier Tuff, New Mexico, consistent with a short residence time of phenocrysts in rhyolitic magma, by John A. Wolff, Steven D. Balsley, and Robert T. Gregory. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Volume 116, Issues 1-2, July 2002, Pages 119-135.
Lithic fragments in the Bandelier Tuff, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, by John C. Eichelberger and Frank G. Koch. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Volume 5, Issues 1-2, February 1979, Pages 115-134.
