Rock and Calcite Chemistry Within and Surrounding Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave
Dates
Publication Date
2020-06-16
Start Date
2008-05-01
End Date
2020-06-01
Citation
Blake, J.M., Ferguson, C.L., and Miltenberger, K.E., 2020, Rock and calcite chemistry within and surrounding Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P955GWO5.
Summary
The Fort Stanton-Snowy River cave system (FSC) is located in Lincoln County, New Mexico in the upper Rio Hondo Basin. The entrance of the cave is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land near the site of historic Fort Stanton. In 2001, the Snowy River Formation was discovered. This formation, a white calcite deposit that lines a streambed within the cave, is now considered to be the largest cave formation in the world. Initially thought to be hydrologically inactive, the Snowy River passage has intermittently flooded in response to large precipitation events such as the passage of Hurricane Dolly in 2008 and a large spring snowmelt runoff in 2010. There is interest in determining the source of the water that flows through the cave and [...]
Summary
The Fort Stanton-Snowy River cave system (FSC) is located in Lincoln County, New Mexico in the upper Rio Hondo Basin. The entrance of the cave is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land near the site of historic Fort Stanton. In 2001, the Snowy River Formation was discovered. This formation, a white calcite deposit that lines a streambed within the cave, is now considered to be the largest cave formation in the world. Initially thought to be hydrologically inactive, the Snowy River passage has intermittently flooded in response to large precipitation events such as the passage of Hurricane Dolly in 2008 and a large spring snowmelt runoff in 2010. There is interest in determining the source of the water that flows through the cave and deposits the Snowy River Formation. These data represent the rock chemistry from the geologic units surrounding the cave and chemistry from a calcite core drilled into the Snowy River Formation.
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Rock and Calcite Chemistry Within and Surrounding Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave.xml Original FGDC Metadata
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Purpose
The rock chemistry and calcite chemistry was collected to aid investigators in determining the source of the water that deposits the Snowy River Formation.
