Dan J. Koning and Frank J. Pazzaglia, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, UNM 

We will lead a half day, pre-meeting field trip to two outstanding 

exposures of the Alamogordo fault that allow for paleoseismic 

reconstructions of this impressive late Pleistocene scarp at the base of 

the Sacramento Mountains. The field trip will begin at Oliver Lee State 

Park which is approximately 12 miles south of Alamogordo and end at the 

FOP campsite at Water Canyon in the Magdalena Mountains. 

Transportation is by private vehicle (of course). 

DIRECTIONS: 

Alamogordo is easily reached via rt 54 from the north and south, and rts. 

70 and 82 from the east and west. Oliver Lee State Park is located 

approximately 12 miles south of Alamorgordo on rt. 54. It is well marked 

with brown State Park signs. The park is approximately a 4 hour drive 

from Albuquerque, 1 hour from Las Cruces, 2 hours from Roswell, and 11 

hours from Denver. 

TRANSPORTATION: 

By private vehicles. Four wheel drive is not required but preferred. At 

a minimum, your vehicle MUST have high clearance. Typical passenger cars 

cannot negotiate the roads we must take. Sport utility vehicles and 

pick-up trucks are fine. We can car-pool at the park for those without 

access to the high-clearance vehicles. 

ITINERARY: 

Meet at Oliver Lee State Park at 12:00 noon on Thursday, September 10th. 

We will eat lunch there and then have a brief overview of the geologic and 

geomorphic setting. 

We leave for the fault exposures at 1:00 PM. 

Stop 1 at Mule Canyon from ~1:30 to 3:00 PM. 

Stop 2 on the Alamogordo fan from ~ 3:45 to 5:00 PM 

Depart Alamorgordo at 5:00 PM and drive to the FOP at Water Canyon campsite in 

the Magdalena Mountains. The drive takes about 2.5 hours so plan to 

arrive about 7:30 PM. 

EQUIPMENT: 

Come prepared for HOT weather. Bring lots of water (at least 2 litres per 

person). Sturdy hiking boots and long pants or gaiters are necessary to 

ward off the dense cacti and mesquite. 

INFORMATION and CONTACTS 

Dan J. Koning (505) 277-4204 djk1@unm.edu 

Frank J. Pazzaglia (505) 277-5384 fjp@unm.edu