Page 68 - The Geology and Ore Deposits of Sierra County, New Mexico - Bulletin 10

MINING DISTRICTS 67
TAYLOR CREEK TIN DEPOSITS LOCATION AND AREA
The writer spent only parts of two days in the Taylor Creek district, and hence much of the information contained in this section was necessarily abstracted from the report by J. M. Hill33 based on 10 days spent by him in the area. In the present report the map, figure 1, has been adapted from the one in Hill's report. This district is on the western slope of the Black Range, in the extreme northwest corner of Sierra County. Only about one- fourth of the district is within the county limits, the remainder being in Catron County to the north and west, as shown in fig- ure 1. The district is 70 miles in an air line southwest of Mag- dalena in Socorro County, with which it is connected by the Beaverhead highway. Chloride, 24 miles away, can be reached by trail. There are no towns in the district, and all supplies are shipped in by auto from Magdalena.
GEOGRAPHY
The Taylor Creek district is on the high volcanic plateau of
west-central New Mexico, commonly known as the Mogollon Plateau. The average altitude is about 7,400 feet, but Indian Peaks rise sharply to a maximum elevation of 8,328 feet to form a conspiCuous landmark. The drainage in the region is through Beaver Creek, which flows southward to the middle fork of the Gila River. The various feeders of Beaver Creek, as Railroad, Mule, Bear, Kennedy, Corduroy, Squaw, Taylor and Hoyt creeks, have all cut deep box canyons through the lava flows to a depth of 200 to 800 feet. Most of these canyons are dry except during wet seasons, but water can be obtained near the surface and in a few places in shallow pools in the stream beds.
GEOLOGY
Rhyolite, rhyolite tuff and basalt are the chief rocks
exposed in the Taylor Creek district. The canyons are floored with recently deposited sand and gravel, and are as much as a mile wide in places. Lindgren 34 believes that the rhyolites in the region are of Middle Tertiary age, and the basalts of very late Tertiary or of Quaternary age. It is probable that the rhyolite of the Taylor Creek area corresponds in general to the lower rhyolite of the Mogollon district as described by Ferguson. 35 These rocks are described in some detail by Hill. The rhyolites are the oldest rocks exposed in the area and are at least 700 feet thick, the base of the series not being exposed. Flow lines are prominent and give an appearance of stratification. In all ex-
33 Hill, J. M., The Taylor Creek tin deposits. New Mexico: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 725, PP. 347-359, 1922.
34 Lindgren, Waldemar. op. cit. (U. S. G. S. Pro'. Pape, m ?9.
35 Ferguson, H. G., The geology and ore deposits of the Mogollon mining district. N. Mex.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 715, pp. 171-204, 1927.