Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 312-325).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin, 1970. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-133).

Using a genealogy of the narratives of the Guadalupes, I explore three moral identities. The Mescalero Apache exist as caretakers of sacred space. Spanish and Anglo settlers exist as conquerors of a hostile land. The park service exists as captives, imprisoned in the belief that economic justifications can protect the intrinsic value of wilderness. The narrative shift from oral to abstract text-based culture entails a shift from intrinsic to instrumental valuation. I conclude that interpretation of narratives, such as those of the Guadalupes, is not by itself a sufficient condition for change. Interpretation is, however, a necessary condition for expanding the cultural conversation beyond merely instrumental justifications to include caring for wilderness's intrinsic values.

The San Andres and Grayburg Formations are important stratigraphic units for constructing correlation frameworks of the Guadalupe Mountains because these strata record the transition between the ramp profiles of the San Andres along the Algerita Escarpment and the reef-rimmed platforms of the Capitan Formation of the southern Guadalupe Mountains (Franseen et al. 1989). Sarg et al. (1999) and Kerans and Tinker (1999) have published significantly different models of shelf-to-basin correlations within this stratigraphic interval. Central to the debate is the correlation of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic strata exposed at Plowman Ridge in the Brokeoff Mountains to the better-constrained strata along the Shattuck Escarpment in the Guadalupe Mountains. This study applies high-resolution cyclostratigraphy, inorganic carbon isotope geochemistry, and sequence stratigraphic concepts to test the hypothesis that the strata exposed at Plowman Ridge are equivalent to Grayburg strata exposed at the Shattuck Escarpment in the southern Guadalupe Mountains (Kerans and Nance 1991, Kerans and Kempter 2002). The shelf-to-basin cyclostratigraphic framework of the Grayburg Formation used in this study was established at the Shattuck Escarpment with data compiled from nine detailed measured sections, high-resolution photopans, and petrographic analysis. Based on one- and two-dimensional cycle stacking analysis, the Grayburg Formation was divided into three high-frequency sequences (HFSs). The high-frequency sequences contain transgressive systems tracts separated by maximum flooding surfaces from the highstand systems tracts. The Grayburg high-frequency sequences are composed of between 6 and 20 high-frequency cycles (HFCs), which were identified and classified into vertical facies successions. The Grayburg succession at Shattuck section 7 (32.09ᵒ, -104.81ᵒ) was selected as the reference section from the Guadalupe Mountains for comparison with Plowman section PR1 (32.03ᵒ, -104.89ᵒ) in the Brokeoff Mountains. Correlation between sections is documented at the 3rd-order composite sequence, high-frequency sequence, and when feasible, high-frequency cycle scale. Three high-frequency sequences recognized at Plowman Ridge section PR1 are equivalent to the G10, G11, and G12 Grayburg sequences described at Shattuck section 7. Correlation of the Grayburg G10-G12 high-frequency sequences with the three sequences at Plowman Ridge is based on comparison of overall thicknesses, facies proportions, cycle number, vertical facies succession, stratigraphic position of diagnostic units, and excursions within the inorganic carbon isotope profiles taken from both sections. Establishing the links between Grayburg strata on the Shattuck wall with strata on Plowman Ridge corroborates the framework/correlation scheme of Kerans and Tinker (1999) in lieu of other published correlation frameworks. / text

Numerous recent studies have demonstrated the importance of syndepositional faulting as an inherent element of steep-rimmed carbonate margins. However, these studies have not emphasized the relationship to older shelf margins, multiphase deformation history, and complexity of fault zone internal structure. In the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, extensive syndepositional deformation parallels the Permian Capitan shelf margin reef and has developed in the absence of regional tectonic forces due to a combination of early carbonate cementation, gravitational instability, differential compaction, and variable progradation to aggradation at pre-existing shelf margins. This study focuses on the geometry, growth history, and internal fill type distribution within the Cave Graben Fault System (CGFS) in Slaughter and Rattlesnake Canyons of the Guadalupian (Capitan) shelf margin with the intent to understand the temporal and spatial evolution of deformation in front of the G24 shelf margin. Stratigraphy, faults and fractures exposed within the CGFS were mapped using high-resolution gigapan photos and GPS, along with RCRL Guadalupe airborne lidar, provides a geospatial database for 3D visualization, quantification, and interpretation. Detailed mapping reveals a high degree of variability in fault geometry, including the presence of vertical and lateral fault relays, antithetic and synthetic splays, and highly variable fault and fracture apertures, suggesting a complex deformational history. Hundreds of early-formed fractures have been mapped within the G24-G25 shelf margin system, but the development of significant faults with appreciable displacement only occurs in front of the G24 margin. Vertical fault displacement varies from 9 to 34 m in the CGFS. Breccias several meters in width fill the main faults and contain entrained sediment and clasts of variable age and composition. Stratal geometries reveal that movement and episodic growth occurred along the faults soon after deposition. Further investigation of the sediment and breccia fills suggests that a significant dissolution event along the fault allowed for the entrainment of much younger, post-Permian sediment. Based on these findings it appears that in Rattlesnake Canyon at least 30-60% of the CGFS vertical displacement occurs in the Permian, whereas up to 40-70% may develop post-Permian, providing a significant advancement in the understanding of timing of fault systems within the Capitan shelf margin. / text

This study qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes the geomorphology of alluvial fans in the Guadalupe Mountains Region (GMR) of west Texas and south-central New Mexico. Morphometric data for 31 alluvial fans and drainage basins ha ve been derived. The data set was subdivided into Guadalupe and Brokeoff Mountain fans and was further subdivided on the basis of their location along the two mountain ranges. A conventional morphometric analysis was conducted relating alluvial fan area and slope to drainage basin area in order to understand if and to what extent the alluvial fans of the GMR are dependent on the physical environment, including characteristics and processes of the drainage basin and depositional site. The results of the morphometric analysis indicate that the morphometric relationships that exist between the alluvial fans of the GMR and their contributory drainage basins are comparably to those of alluvial fans of the western United States. Morphologic and morphometric differences between the various groups primarily reflect geographic differences in the physiography and lithology of the contributory drainage basin, tectonics, and the various physical constraints imposed by the GMR.

The eastern side of the Guadalupe Mountains, located in New Mexico and west Texas, represents an erosional profile along the Capitan reef margin. A complete shelf-to-basin exposure of the Upper Permian Capitan shelf margin is found on the north wall of North McKittrick Canyon, which is nearly perpendicular to the Capitan reef margin. An excellent 2-D sequence stratigraphic framework for upper Permian backreef facies has been developed by previous workers for North McKittrick Canyon (Tinker, 1998) and Slaughter Canyon (Osleger, 1998), forming the basis for observations in this study. The goal of this study is to describe the sequence stratigraphic architecture of the Yates Formation, focusing on the Y4-Y6 high-frequency sequences (HFSs) found in the middle to outer shelf depositional systems, and to illustrate the use of airborne lidar data to quantitatively map at the cycle-scale. Seven measured sections were taken in North McKittrick Canyon. From airborne lidar, 3-D geometries of key sedimentary and structural features were mapped in Polyworks, in addition to the sequence boundaries delineating the Yates 4-6 HFSs. In general, major cycles exhibit asymmetry and shoal upward. Cycle boundaries are sometimes hard to delineate due to amalgamation, particularly in the shelf crest. High-frequency sequences are commonly asymmetric; they deepen and thicken upward toward the maximum flooding surface, and the boundaries between HFSs are usually marked by thick siltstones. Major HFS boundaries can be mapped across the entire dataset, and some component cycles can be observed for minimum distances of one kilometer in an updip-downdip direction. Also, some facies tract dimensions can be estimated directly from the lidar data. Measured sections indicate that the shelf crest facies tract shifts seaward with each successive HFS, while the outer shelf facies tract steps landward. Future work that could be done with the Y4-Y6 HFSs includes 8-10 more measured sections, collection of samples for thin sections, and tracing out of contacts between facies tracts. Extensive lidar data interpretation needs to be done so that digital outcrop models demonstrating facies distributions can be produced. This would enable the development of an outcrop analog model to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic reservoirs, which would be unprecedented in this area. / text

An appreciation of the extent of syndepositional fracturing, faulting, and cementation of carbonate platform margins is essential to understanding the role of early diagenesis and compaction in margin deformation. This study uses integrated lidar and outcrop data along the Capitan Reef from an area encompassing the mouths of both Rattlesnake and Walnut Canyons. Mapping geomorphic expressions of syndepositional faults and fractures at multiple scales of observation was the main approach to delineating zones of syndepositional fractures. Ridge- groove couplets visible in exposures of the Capitan Reef throughout the Guadalupe Mountains were targeted because the ability to identify these as signs of syndepositional fracture development would have implications for the entire reef complex. Results show that these ridgegroove couplets are the product of differential weathering of syndepositional as well as burial-related fractures. Recessive grooves have an average syndepositional fracture spacing of ~13 m whereas ridges have a spacing of ~33 m. vi Smaller (~5-20 m-wide) scale erosional lineaments common in the study area and mappable on airborne lidar are formed by differential erosion of planes of syndepositional faults. Maps of these fault lineaments on the lidar show that syndepositional faults extend laterally for 300 m - 2000 m and relay near the terminations of the faults at each end. Faults can be further grouped into fault systems consisting of sets of faults connected by fault relays that extend for at least the entire length (~12 km) of the study area. Although vertical displacement along faults is typically less than 11 m, syndepositional faults result in changes in structural dip domain of 1-6 degrees across an individual fault. Even smaller erosional lineaments (10 cm-1 m) are visible on the airborne lidar that form as a result of differential erosion of individual fractures. Larger fractures (> 20 cm) can be reliably mapped on the lidar, but smaller features (< 20 cm) cannot be reliably mapped with currently available data and can only be captured using field studies. Fracture fill types are heterogeneous along strike as shown by comparisons of field study locations. Siliciclastic-dominated fills are likely sourced from overlying siliciclastic units of the shelf, which, in this area, were from the Ocotillo Siltstone. These silt-filled fractures are broadly distributed, indicating preferential development and infill of syndepositional fractures during the deposition of the Ocotillo Siltstone in the G27/28 high-frequency sequences. Development of early fractures is also shown to have been influenced by mechanical stratigraphy with changes in fracture spacing between massive to thick-bedded shelf-margin (~17 m fracture spacing) and outer-shelf facies tracts versus thin-bedded outer-shelf and shelf-crest (~28 m fracture spacing). Ultimately, this study demonstrated that the Capitan shelf margin was ubiquitously overprinted by syndepositional fracturing and faulting and that this nearsurface structural modification influenced early diagenetic patterns and internal vii sedimentation throughout the reef margin. Before this study, the extent and nature of syndepositional fracture/fault development within the margin were largely unquantified. Here, by integrating field observations and surface weathering reflections of these fractures as observed in the lidar, we can demonstrate a widespread impact of early fracturing more akin to analogous early-lithified margins such as the Devonian of the Canning Basin of Australia. / text