New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources Bulletin 117 Geology of Carlsbad Cavern and other caves in the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico and Texas

COVER

PREFACE

ABSTRACT

PART I: SPELEOGENESIS

INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE
PREVIOUS WORK

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING

GEOLOGIC SETTING

SUMMARY OF GEOLOGIC HISTORY
STRATIGRAPHY
   Permian deposits
   Tertiary deposits
   Stratigraphic controls on cavern formation
STRUCTURE
   Regional structure
   Structural controls on cavern formation
HYDROLOGY
   Regional hydrology
   Hydrologic controls on cavern formation

DESCRIPTION OF CAVES

TOPOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS
CAVES STUDIED
   Carlsbad Cavern
   Cottonwood Cave
   Slaughter Canyon caves
   McKittrick Hill caves
CAVE METEOROLOGY
CAVE GEOMORPHOLOGY
   Passage forms
   Karren forms
CAVE HYDROLOGY

DESCRIPTION OF CAVE DEPOSITS

CLASTIC DEPOSITS
   Breakdown
   Breccia
   Cobble gravel
   Sand and silt
   Calcified siltstone
   Mud
GYPSUM BLOCKS AND RINDS
   Spatial distribution
   Textural features
   Dissolution features
CHERT
ENDELLITE-MONTMORILLONITE-PALYGORSKITE
SULFUR
SPELEOTHEMS
   Types related to speleogenesis
   Corrosion features
BAT GUANO
ANIMAL BONES

STRATIGRAPHY OF CAVE DEPOSITS

STRATIGRAPHIC PROBLEMS
STRATIGRAPHIC SEQUENCE OF DEPOSITS

ANALYTICAL METHODS AND RESULTS

SULFUR-ISOTOPE METHOD
   Fractionation processes
   Sulfur-isotope values of cave gypsum and sulfur
   Sulfur-isotope values of pyrite
CARBON- AND OXYGEN-ISOTOPE METHODS
   Fractionation processes
   Carbon-oxygen-isotope values of spar
   Carbon-oxygen-isotope values of cave rafts
   Carbon-oxygen-isotope values of speleothem cores
   Carbon-oxygen-isotope values of bedrock
FLUID-INCLUSION METHOD
DATING METHODS
   Carbon-14 dating of bone and bat guano
   Uranium-series dating of speleothems and bone
   Electron Spin Resonance dating of speleothems and gypsum
   Potassium-argon dating of montmorillonite clay
   Paleomagnetic dating of silt and speleothems
CHEMICAL ANALYSES
Whole-rock analyses
Sulfate content of limestone
Insoluble residue in limestone
Sulfuric-acid experiment on limestone
WATER ANALYSES

DISCUSSION OF DEPOSITS AND EVENTS

PERMIAN DEPOSITS AND EVENTS
   Deposition of bedrock
   Solution Stage I
   Origin of breccia
PERMIAN-TERTIARY DEPOSITS AND EVENTS
   Solution Stage II
   Origin of montmorillonite clay
PLIOCENE-PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS AND EVENTS
   Solution Stage III
   Origin of spar
   Origin of calcified siltstone-cave rafts
   Origin of cobble gravel
   Origin of endellite
   Origin of sand and silt
   Origin of chert
   Origin of gypsum blocks and rinds
   Breakdown fall
   Speleothem deposition
   Origin of sulfur
   Condensation-corrosion
   Bat guano
   Animal bones

IMPORTANCE OF GUADALUPE CAVES TO REGIONAL GEOLOGY

AGE OF GUADALUPE CAVES
CAVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE PRESENT EROSION CYCLE
RATE OF CANYON DOWNCUTTING
GUADALUPE CAVES AND PLEISTOCENE CLIMATE
RELATIONSHIP OF GUADALUPE CAVES TO OIL AND GAS FIELDS OF DELAWARE BASIN
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF INTRACRATONIC BASINS
   Mississippi Valley-type ore deposits
   Other cave systems fringing basins

OTHER MODELS OF SPELEOGENESIS FOR GUADALUPE CAVES

FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS

SUMMARY

PART II: MINERALOGY

INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE
PREVIOUS WORK

CARBONATES

DEPOSITION
STABILITY
SPELEOTHEMS
   Anthodites
   Balloons, cave
   Boxwork
   Coatings and crusts
   Conulites
   Coralloids
   Coral pipes
   Draperies
   Flowstone
   Folia
   Helictites
   Moonmilk
   Pearls, cave
   Rafts, cave
   Rims
   Rimstone dams
   Shelfstone
   Shields, cave
   Spar
   Stalactites
   Stalagmites

SULFATES

DEPOSITION
STABILITY
SPELEOTHEMS
   Coralloids
   Coral pipes
   Crusts
   Fibrous sulfates
   Flowers, cave
   Helictites
   Needles, selenite
   Rims
   Stalactites
   Stalagmites

OTHER MINERALS

PHOSPHATES
SILICATES

COLOR OF SPELEOTHEMS

AGE AND GROWTH RATE OF SPELEOTHEMS

SUMMARY

REFERENCES

INDEX (omitted from the online edition)

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Original Printing, 1987
Reprinted, 1982

Published under the Authority of State of New Mexico, NMSA 1953 Sec. 63-1-4
Printed by University of New Mexico Printing Services, June 1992.
Available from New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources, Socorro, NM 87801.
Published as public domain, therefore reproducible without permission. Source credit requested.

Dedicated to
the Joint Venturers
of the Cave Research Foundation

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1—Location of study area

2—Landsat image of Guadalupe Mountains area

3—Aerial photograph of Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico

4—Stratigraphic units of Northwest Shelf, reef, and Delaware Basin during Permian time

5—Geologic map of Guadalupe Mountains showing physiographic features, bedrock units, and cave locations

6—Spiriferid brachiopod in a passage near Mabel's Room, Carlsbad Cavern

7—Gypsum Plain as viewed from Big Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains

8—Location of Ogallala gravel remnants on surface near Carlsbad Cavern

9—Ogallala gravel remnants on Carlsbad Cavern Ridge

10—Four zones of preferential solution in Guadalupe Mountains

11—Structural map of Guadalupe Mountains

12—Location of Huapache monocline in Delaware Basin

13—Comparison of water levels and topographic levels in Capitan reef with those in Gypsum Plain

14—Model of bathyphreatic flow in Guadalupe Mountains

15—Boneyard passage, Carlsbad Cavern

16—Rillenkarren in limestone bedrock, Boneyard, Carlsbad Cavern

17—Graphical representation of levels and passages in Carlsbad Cavern with respect to surface topography

18—Sedimentary facies map, Carlsbad Cavern

19—Cave soil temperature, Carlsbad Cavern

20—Annual variation in air temperature, Carlsbad Cavern

21—Annual variation in relative humidity, Carlsbad Cavern

22—Annual variation in carbon-dioxide content of air, Carlsbad Cavern

23—Air-flow velocity at Carlsbad Cavern entrance

24—Air-flow direction in Carlsbad Cavern as inferred from orientation of popcorn

25—Air-flow direction in Carlsbad Cavern as inferred from radon concentration

26—Distribution of rillenkarren in Carlsbad Cavern

27—Rillenkarren in bedrock and flowstone, Bell Cord Room, Carlsbad Cavern

28—Rillenkarren formed on upper surface of a piece of breakdown, Bell Cord Room, Carlsbad Cavern

29—Spitzkarren in breakdown, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

30—Distribution of breccia, Carlsbad Cavern

31—Proposed travel route of cobble gravel, Carlsbad Cavern

32—A "nest" of rounded cobbles, Main Corridor, Carlsbad Cavern

33—Cobble gravel in Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

34—Cross section of trench in Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

35—Distribution of silt deposits in Carlsbad Cavern

36—Excavated silt bank, Left Hand Tunnel, Carlsbad Cavern

37—Entrenched silt banks, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

38—Cream-colored silt underlying a gypsum block, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

39—Cave rafts overlying calcified siltstone, Guadalupe Room, Carlsbad Cavern

40—Distribution of calcified siltstone—cave rafts, Carlsbad Cavern

41—Gypsum block, Talcum Passage, Carlsbad Cavern

42—Gypsum rind, Left Hand Tunnel, Carlsbad Cavern

43—Overgrowth crust on a gypsum block, Balcony, Dry Cave

44—Remnant gypsum pillar, Middle Maze, Endless Cave

45—Compacted gypsum block, Middle Maze, Endless Cave

46—Gypsum block in relationship to dipping beds, McKittrick Cave

47—Sloping gypsum blocks, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

48—Gypsum block thinning into a rind, Lower Maze, Endless Cave

49—Archway of gypsum, Gyp Joint, Hell Below Cave

50—Breccia texture in a gypsum block, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

51—Limestone inclusions in a gypsum block, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

52—Reaction rim around a dolomite inclusion in gypsum, upper Gypsum Passage, Cottonwood Cave

53—Lower part of a gypsum block which flowed into a crack, Talcum Passage, Carlsbad Cavern

54—Possible replacement or recrystallized gypsum, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

55—Drip tube and splash undercut, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

56—Drip tube in gypsum filled by a stalagmite, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

57—Comparison of commode holes and drip tubes

58—"The Commode," a composite commode hole-rim in a gypsum block, Lower Maze, Endless Cave

59—Scallops in a gypsum block, lower Gypsum Passage, Cottonwood Cave

60—Dogtooth spar crystals, Guadalupe Room, Carlsbad Cavern

61—Spar molds in limestone bedrock, Secondary Stream Passage, Carlsbad Cavern

62—Distribution of popcorn line in Carlsbad Cavern

63—Creeping Ear stalagmite, Lake of the Clouds Passage, Carlsbad Cavern

64—Corroded cloud linings, Lake of the Clouds Passage, Carlsbad Cavern

65—Bush ox bones in Musk Ox Cave

66—Thin crustal rind of gypsum pushed outward from wall by seeping-water-type popcorn, Left Hand Tunnel, Carlsbad Cavern

67—Sequence of deposits and events with respect to breccia and spar, Guadalupe Room, Carlsbad Cavern

68—Sequence of breccia, spar, calcified siltstone—cave rafts, and popcorn crust, Guadalupe Room, Carlsbad Cavern

69—Sequence of events and deposits in Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

70—Sequence of montmorillonite, endellite, silt, chert, flowstone, and silt—breccia, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

71—Gypsum blocks overlying limestone bedrock, Talcum Passage, Carlsbad Cavern

72—σ³⁴S values for various geologic environments

73—σ¹⁸O and σ¹³C values for various types of spar and speleothems in Guadalupe Mountains and Guadalupe Mountain caves

74—Oxygen- and carbon-isotope data and uranium-series ages for Georgia Giant stalagmite, Main Corridor, Carlsbad Cavern

75—Oxygen- and carbon-isotope data and uranium-series ages for Texas Toothpick stalagmite, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

76—Carbon-oxygen-isotope data for bedrock, Carlsbad Cavern

77—Frequency histogram of radiometric ages for Georgia Giant stalagmite, Carlsbad Cavern

78—Natural remanent magnetism of Georgia Giant stalagmite, Carlsbad Cavern

79—Comparison of metal ions in bedrock and gypsum, Guadalupe caves

80—Sulfate content in a limestone bedrock core, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

81—Gypsum which precipitated on top of bedrock, chemistry experiment

82—Schoeller-Berkaloff diagram of drip and pool water in Carlsbad Cavern

83—Sequence of geologic events in Carlsbad Cavern

84—Location of castile buttes underground, Gypsum Plain

85—Location of Carlsbad Cavern with respect to oil, sulfur, and castile buttes in Delaware Basin

86—Progressive dissolution of halite beds from west to east in Delaware Basin and its effect on cave development in Guadalupe Mountains

87—Model of gas ascension from basin into reef along Bell Canyon Formation

88—Proposed bathyphreatic flow routes and spring outlets, Carlsbad Cavern

89—Model of hydrogen-sulfide reaction with dissolved oxygen near water table

90—Proposed sequence of events producing calcified siltstone-cave raft sequence, Carlsbad Cavern

91—Proposed model for emplacement of cobble gravel into early bathyphreatic cave passages, Carlsbad Cavern

92—Colloidal formation of chert and color-banded iron in silt of Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

93—Horizontal view of corrosion features in Lake of the Clouds area, Carlsbad Cavern

94—Vertical view of corrosion features in Lake of the Clouds area, Carlsbad Cavern

95—Location of best examples of various speleothem types, Carlsbad Cavern

96—Evolution of cave water in Guadalupe caves

97—Ca/Mg ratio in vadose water, Carlsbad Cavern

98—Carbon-oxygen-isotope composition of different speleothem types, Carlsbad Cavern

99—Flowstone issuing from a bedding plane, Tansill Formation, Carlsbad Cavern

100—Influence of bedding and permeability on speleothem type, Carlsbad Cavern

101—Hydromagnesite balloon, Left Hand Tunnel, Carlsbad Cavern

102—Conulite in moonmilk, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

103—Grape-shaped coralloids, Hell Below Cave

104—Cave coral, Ogle Cave

105—Monocrystalline rhombohedral popcorn, Carlsbad Cavern

106—Rosette-shaped calcite blades, Carlsbad Cavern

107—Five stages of popcorn growth in Guadalupe caves

108—Tower coral, Ogle Cave

109—Coral pipes in bat guano, Mystery Room, Carlsbad Cavern

110—Drapery formed along an inclined ceiling, Carlsbad Cavern

111—Cascade of flowstone, Hell Below Cave

112—Bell canopy, Three Fingers Cave

113—Crinkled flowstone composed of huntite and dolomite, Carlsbad Cavern

114—Flowstone containing a high proportion of silt, New Mexico Room, Carlsbad Cavern

115—Beaded helictites, New Mexico Room, Carlsbad Cavern

116—"Snake-dancer" helictites of Virgin Cave

117—"Nest" of cave pearls, Cave of the Madonna

118—Vent-shaped rims, Carlsbad Cavern

119—Rimstone dams in Hidden Cave

120—"Chinese Wall" of New Cave

121—Shelfstone ledges in Cave of the Madonna

122—Shield in Ogle Cave

123—Soda-straw stalactite, Carlsbad Cavern

124—Deflected stalactite in Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

125—"Broomstick" stalagmites, Deep Cave

126—Stalagmite known as "Snoopy," Ogle Cave

127—"Clansman" stalagmite, New Cave

128—Massive columns of Ogle Cave

129—"Before" and "after" pictures of gypsum needles and rope, Cottonwood Cave

130—Growth of cave coral on a drain pipe left by guano miners, Ogle Cave

131—Three generations of travertine growth displayed in a naturally cross-sectioned column, Ogle Cave

(omitted from the online edition)

1—Cross section of Guadalupe Mountains from Guadalupe Peak to Carlsbad, New Mexico, showing vertical extent of caves and approximate position of water table.

2—Map of Carlsbad Cavern. Courtesy of Cave Research Foundation, modified by C. A. Hill.

3—Profile of Carlsbad Cavern. Courtesy of Cave Research Foundation.

4—Position of Carlsbad Cavern and Spider Cave with respect to surface topography. Courtesy of Cave Research Foundation, modified by C. A. Hill.

5—Map of Cottonwood Cave. Courtesy of Cave Research Foundation.

6—Map of Ogle Cave. Courtesy of Cave Research Foundation.

7—Map of New Cave. Courtesy of Cave Research Foundation, modified by C. A. Hill.

8—Map of Dry Cave. Courtesy of Cave Research Foundation.

9—Diagrammatic presentation of stratigraphic relationships in Carlsbad Cavern.

1A—Breccia exposed in north wall of Guadalupe Room, Carlsbad Cavern

1B—Possible unconformity between cobble gravel and silt, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

2A—Laminated silt, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

2B—Brick-red silt, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

3A—Microfolded laminations in a gypsum block, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

3B—Slickensides on a gypsum block, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

4A—Bat guano in a gypsum block, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

4B—Silt banding in a gypsum rind, Pump Room, Carlsbad Cavern

5A—Remnant pillar of silt-laden gypsum, Expressway Passage, Dry Cave

5B—Alternating porous and micritic layers in a chert lens, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

6A—Gray-green montmorillonite clay partly filling a solution pocket, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

6B—Waxy, pure-white endellite in a red clay matrix, Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

7A—"Vein" of sulfur in ceiling gypsum, lower Gypsum Passage, Cottonwood Cave

7B—Canary-yellow, crystalline sulfur in a gypsum bock, lower Gypsum Passage, Cottonwood Cave

8A—Sulfur crystals overlying limestone, New Mexico Room, Carlsbad Cavern

8B—Sulfur crystals overlying gypsum flowers and crust, New Mexico Room, Carlsbad Cavern

9A—Etched spar crystal, Secondary Stream Passage, Carlsbad Cavern

9B—"Popcorn line," Big Room, Carlsbad Cavern

10A—Corroded, chalk-white stalactite, Ghost Chambers, Spider Cave

10B—Corrosion of ceiling travertine concordant with bedrock, Spider Cave

11A—Post-corrosion stalactites, Bell Cord Room, Carlsbad Cavern

11B—Frostwork anthodite, Carlsbad Cavern

12— Composite drapery-column, Virgin Cave

13A—Worm-like helictites, Hell Below Cave

13B—Cave rafts forming on surface of pool, Virgin Cave

14A—"Spanish moss" stalactites, lower Gypsum Passage, Cottonwood Cave

14B—Stalactite about to join with its counterpart stalagmite to form a column, Black Cave

15A—Epsomite cotton, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

15B—Epsomite soda straws and stalactites, lower Gypsum Passage, Cottonwood Cave

16A—Temple of the Fire God, Three Fingers Cave

16B—Black onyx flowstone, Sand Passage, Carlsbad Cavern

1—Major stratigraphic and time divisions, southeastern New Mexico

2—Water analyses for Capitan Limestone aquifer at Carlsbad and White City, New Mexico

3—Major cave levels in Guadalupe Mountains

4—Temperature and humidity of Guadalupe caves other than Carlsbad Cavern

5—Temperature, humidity, and carbon-dioxide content of air, Left Hand Tunnel, Lake of the Clouds, and New Section, Carlsbad Cavern

6—Radon and gamma-ray measurements, Carlsbad Cavern

7—Breccia deposits in Guadalupe caves

8—Cobble-gravel deposits in Guadalupe caves

9—Data on gravel excavated from a trench in Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

10—Petromorphic description of sand, silt, and mud deposits in Guadalupe caves

11—Sediment bank elevation, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

12—Porosity and permeability of bedrock, Carlsbad Cavern, and of Bell Canyon Formation, Delaware Basin

13—Calcified siltstone-cave raft deposits in Carlsbad Cavern

14—Gypsum block and rind deposits in Guadalupe caves

15—Insoluble residue and hydrocarbon content of gypsum blocks, Guadalupe caves

16—Chert deposits in Carlsbad Cavern

17—Endellite-montmorillonite-palygorskite deposits in Guadalupe caves

18—Native-sulfur deposits in Guadalupe caves

19—Comparison of elevation of gypsum blocks and "popcorn line," Carlsbad Cavern

20—Composition of bat guano in Carlsbad Cavern and New Cave

21—Paleontology of Guadalupe caves

22—Sulfur-isotope analyses of cave gypsum, cave sulfur, gypsum speleothems, and pyrite

23—Sulfur-isotope fractionation in oxidation—reduction reactions

24—Age dates of speleothems and other deposits in Guadalupe caves

25—Paleomagnetism of silt, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern

26—Whole-rock analyses of limestone and gypsum blocks, Guadalupe caves, and anhydrite, Gypsum Plain

27—Insoluble residue in bedrock, Carlsbad Cavern

28—Geochemical character of vadose water in Carlsbad Cavern

29—Sequence of geologic events in Carlsbad Cavern

30—Number of occurrences of minerals in speleothems, Carlsbad Cavern

31—Major and trace elements in aragonite flowstone, Carlsbad Cavern