Page 99 - The Geology and Ore Deposits of Sierra County, New Mexico - Bulletin 10

98 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF SIERRA CO., N. M.
scattered nature of the ore bodies, there appears to be a reason- able chance that a small and properly managed exploration cam- paign might encounter important runs of ore that would make it possible to rehabilitate the camp and to operate the mine at a substantial profit for a moderate period of time.
BLACK RANGE (KINGSTON) DISTRICT
LOCATION AND AREA
The Black Range (Kingston) district is on the east slope of the Black Range between the north and south forks of Percha Creek, and extends from near the crest of the range to a line 11/2 miles east of Kingston. It is about 9 miles long from north to south and 4 miles wide. Kingston is on the middle fork of Percha Creek. Hermosa is about 17 miles to the north, and Hillsboro is nearly 9 miles due east. From Kingston a trail leads over the Black Range to points on the west slope. Early in 1934 construction was under way on the part of U. S. Highway 180 across the Black Range to connect Kingston with San Lorenzo, to which point the highway has been built from the west. The topography of the area is rough and travel is difficult. The altitude just across the main street from the historic old hotel in Kingston is 6,249 feet above sea level. Water is present in the upper reaches of nearly all the streams during the entire year, or it can be found a short distance below the stream beds, and a moderate supply is available for mining operations and camp use in nearly all parts of the district.
GEOLOGY
In the Black Range near Kingston and for approximately 6 miles to the north and south of the town, pre-Cambrian rocks consisting of granite, gneiss and schist have been exposed along the base of a fault scarp through a vertical height of approxi- mately 600 feet. Overlying this core of basement rocks and dip- ping away to the west from the high point along the fault scarp are Paleozoic sediments, which have a total thickness of 2,200 feet and include formations ranging from Cambrian to Per- mian. These formations and their approximate thicknesses are as follows: Bliss sandstone, 75 feet ; El Paso limestone, 200 feet ; Montoya limestone, 230 feet; Fusselman limestone, probably 75 feet; Percha shale, 200 feet ; Lake Valley limestone, 200 feet; Magdalena limestone, 600 feet ; Abo sandstone and Tower beds of the Chupadera formation, about 600 feet. With the single excep- tion of the stratigraphic section in the Sierra Caballos on the east side of the Rio Grande, the generalized section in the Kingston area is more nearly complete than any in the county, and it is one of the best Paleozoic sections in the State. The type section of the Percha (Devonian) shale is in this area.
Thick andesitic and rhyolitic tuffs, breccias and flows overlie the Paleozoic rocks. West of the axis they dip gently to the west