Academic Setting
Ernie Pyle Middle School is located in a lower income area. Ninety-five percent of the population is on the free lunch programs, and many of the students come from broken homes – many where neither of the parents are present. A large portion of the students are first-generation citizens of the United States, 25 percent speak only Spanish. The reading levels and Terra Nova Test scores are badly depressed, placing the school on probation.
The unit plan will pose the question; is the Rio Grande Rift dead (i.e.) inactive, or is it still an active rift system that can be looked to for topographical changes? Furthermore are there associated hazards? And lastly, if it is still active and hazardous, what can we do to protect ourselves? While answering these questions we will learn about plate tectonics, volcanism, and the effects of ground water on geologic processes.
By beginning with the immediate environment, the Rio Grande Valley and the Sandia Mountains with encouraging questions concerning them and their existence it is hoped that student engagement will be initiated and held. The intent is to make the material in this unit meaningful and interesting.
Context and Background
Defining the Subject
Initially I need to define the size and area of the rift. In the past when I thought of the Rio Grande Rift I thought of an area running roughly from Bernalillo to somewhere south of Socorro. It is a bit larger than this. Baldridge and Olsen (244) in their article The Rio Grande Rift state, “that it extends from central Colorado to West Texas and northern Mexico, a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers” (244). They further state “The Rio Grande Rift is part of a broad region of the western United States, known as the Basin and Range Province” (244).
Thus, the rift covers a very large area. But what of its depth? Is it merely a relative shallow depression that we see when coming into Albuquerque from the west? If it is deeper than we can see, how far down does it extend? Again sighting Chronic in her book Roadside Geology of New Mexico, “If it weren’t for the immense amounts of gravel and sand and lava and volcanic ash that fill the rift, a narrow sea way comparable to the Red Sea or the Gulf of California or the Imperial Valley of southern California would cut New Mexico in half” (79). She further states, “that a long sliver of crust has dropped thousands of feet between two irregular but very deep fault zones….in places 26,000 ft.- about 5 miles.” Baldrich and Olsen state, “If the sedimentary and volcanic rocks could be stripped from the rift basins, the offset would dwarf the topography of the Grande Canyon” (242).
There remains one more aspect of the fault to deal with. Had I thought about it, I would have assumed that at some point in time a single large gash appeared in the earth, the Sandia Mountains magically appeared, the valley was formed and the earth healed itself overnight. Guess what, this was not what happened. Geologic maps of the area show many faults, running in a generally north south direction, in the area bounded by Bernalillo on the north and Las Cruses on the south. It’s interesting to note that many, possibly, over half are on the west side of the river. Dr. Watt (interview) states: “faults tend to step to the west of the original faults as time passes.” I wonder about the relative age of the faults as one travels west from the Sandia Mountains?
Thus we can see that the Rio Grande Rift is a much more immense and complicated topographical entity than this author originally supposed, running the length of the state and more. It is extremely deep.
One observation about the Rio Grande that bears mentioning here, the river does not run in a normal river valley such as one carved by water erosion. The Rio Grande has far fewer tributaries than most rivers. Its valley was originally formed by the rift, rather than erosion, as most river valleys are formed.
How it came to be
At this time I feel I need to give a brief platetectonic lesson. In the next paragraphs we will be dealing with three types of plate boundaries, convergent, divergent, and transform. At convergent boundaries two or more plates collide head on, typically one will slide under the other. This process is called subduction. At divergent boundaries the plates move apart leaving a void to be filled, often by magma from below. A similar scenario led to the formation of the Rio Grande Rift. Lastly there are the transform boundaries. In this case two plates move in relative opposite directions, ripping and tearing at each other as they move.
Faults, Anticlines, Synclines, Domes, and Basins
There are several kinds of faults. Dip slip faults includes normal and reverse faults. A normal fault occurs when the footwall block (the rock below the fault) rises in relationship to the headwall block (the rock on top of the fault). It is easy to see that when a reverse fault occurs, the headwall block rises in relationship to the footwall block. Lateral faults occur when the rocks on either side of the fault grind against each other on a horizontal direction. There are two types of lateral faults: a left lateral fault occurs when the left moves toward the viewer on the left as he/she stands looking at it. In a right lateral fault the opposite occurs, with the right side to the fault as the viewer stands looking at it.
There are four other features of the geologic terrain that can be found around the state of New Mexico, including areas near the Rio Grande Rift. The first is an anticline. This is merely a fold in the earth where the layers are forced upward. A syncline is the opposite. Here we find the surface folded with the center downward. A dome is a bubble in the structure of the crust; a basin is a depression. All of these tend to erode exposing the center.
Volcanic Activity
Volcanic activity is the other noticeable feature of plate movement. Most of the time they form as a result of subduction found as part of convergent plate boundaries. As one plate is subducted under the other the cold, usually wet, plate is forced lower and lower into the mantle. Here it melts, becoming part of the magma. As more and more magma collect, pressure from the new material and the moisture tends to force it to rise to the surface. One result is an eruption. Volcanoes then are the result of this pressure being eased in the bowels of the earth.
“There are two main types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes, such as those found in Hawaii, consistently erupt liquid lava and form broad sloping cones. Stratovolcanoes, like those of the Colombia Andes are so named because of the way they grow; they are, literally, layered volcanoes” (Bruce 23).
Volcanic eruptions will have a dark magma at times and a lighter colored magma at another time, the darker shades of magma, referred to as mafic, are the result of an eruption emanating from deep in the earth. The lighter felsic stones will have their origins closer to the earth’s surface.
Geologic Time
In order to understand any geologic process, one needs to understand the geologic time scale. A geologist deals with time in terms of Ma. One Ma is one million years ago, 3750 Ma (approximately the age of the oldest rock found to date) is 3750,00,000 years ago. The earth is thought to be 4600 Ma old. The time span has been divided in to four major eras, the Precambrian (580Ma to 3800Ma), the Paleozoic (245Ma to 570Ma),Mesozoic (65Ma to 245Ma), and the Cenozoic (the present to 66.4Ma). The geologic deformation took place from the beginning and continues to this day. We have evidence of it happening as early as the early Precambrian period. At times New Mexico was in different latitudes such as the equatorial latitudes or near one of the poles.
The Rio Grande Rift began forming at about 300Ma with the elongation beginning about 60Ma and continuing to the present. Smaller mammals existed throughout its existence. The Rio Grande Rift has formed entirely during the Cenesoic era (we live in this era).
During the early days of its settlement by man, the west had a reputation for having been rough and tumble. Certainly in the very early days of its geologic birth and growth New Mexico lived up to this reputation, even though the reputation would come eons later. In Tectonic Framework of Albuquerque Country, Lee Woodward says “five major episodes of deformation occurred in the area. Including the Precambrian, late Paleozoic, Laramide (late Cretaceous – Early Tertiary), middle Tertiary, and late Cenozoic occurred” (1). This is not to say that The Rio Grande Rift was affected by all of these. The time span required for the above events to happen was in the neighbor hood of thirty five hundred million years (3500Ma). The Rio Grande Rift had its beginnings about thirty million years ago (30Ma), quite a difference.
During the period just prior to the Miocene Epoch (24Ma) the area was subjected to extensive subduction, building the thickness of the lithosphere. It is a brittle layer that lies over a semiliquid layer called the Athenosphere. As the Oligocene epoch ended, the Miocene epoch that began the subduction process ended, to be replaced by extension processes that continues to this day. It is the normal fault associated with extension that gave rise to the Rio Grande Rift and the valley as we know it today. The normal faults spread the area, allowing sediment to fill the low areas during the last 10 to 20Ma producing the valley.
Geologists have developed the art of reading about past events from the rocks, soils and their surroundings, such that fairly complete pictures of the far distant past can be made. Our present time is clear since we are now monitoring the earth and its movements on a daily basis. There is a period that is harder to know about. That is the period just past, our near history. The time span is too short for traditional geologic methods to be used and knowledge of what happened in this short period and how it relates to today is vital to our understanding of our world. Some copies of newspapers that made note of earthquakes nearby still exist, some people kept journals, which gave us a partial geologic history, and we could at times tell some things from tree rings. This is vital information if we are to be able to answer the question, is the Rio Grande Rift alive or dead?
A.R. Stanford reported over 600 quakes occurred from 1895 to 1961, 95% of these were located between Albuquerque and Socorro (231). This data was gathered from old newspapers. In 1935, a swarm of quakes occurred near Belen, in the Albuquerque Basin. In July 1906, and continuing to January 1907, the strongest quakes recorded in New Mexico were reported in newspapers. These were felt over an area of 200,000 to 250,000 square meters. In this same report A. R. Stanford produced a map (refer to maps section) of the approximant epicenters prior to 1968. Note that the centers seem to be concentrated in the area near Socorro and Albuquerque (see figure 5).
Nineteen sixty-two marked the advent of seismic measurement in New Mexico. The map showing the earthquake activity from 1962 to 1986 (Stanford 232) displays the spread field of activity; however, the concentration of quakes still remains in the Socorro/Albuquerque area (see figure 7). The final map of earthquake activity is one published by the USGS (see map section) showing in a clearer manner the earthquake epicenters in New Mexico for third period from 1977 to 1999. The centers appear to be more widespread, probably due to the quality of the seismic recording system. The Socorro area still remains the most active area in the Rio Grande Rift.
Potential Risk
Our professor, Dr. Watt, (interview) tends to feel that there is little risk of any geologic activity in or around the Albuquerque area, however she admits to buying earthquake insurance for a home she and her husband recently purchased. Risk is our next subject. Halka Chronic makes the statement in her book Road Side Geology of New Mexico, “The major pulling apart of the crust that is responsible for the rift may be due to the upward boiling of the mantle like that along ocean ridges. Possibly this pulling apart is the beginning of a narrow seaway similar to the Red Sea or the Gulf of California. And the Rio Grand Rift may eventually – millions of years from now widen to form a new ocean comparable to the size and origin of the Atlantic Ocean” (103). Whether we believe the above scenario or not it seems to the author that there is a risk associated with earthquakes and volcanic activity in the Rio Grande Rift in this area. The questions remain as to what, if anything, can be done to minimize our risk, either physical or financial.
In an article titled Quaternary Faults in the Albuquerque Area-an Update Stephen
Personas and others states:
after an extensive discussion of various faults around the Albuquerque Area, Empirical estimates of paleoearthquakes magnitude based on displacements of 1-2m and 20-30km rupture lengths indicate that many faults could generate surface-faulting quakes of M 7 or greater They go on to say that Such earthquakes could cause extensive damage (198).
In a seminar at the Sheraton Old Town, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ivan Wong discussed the risks of seismic damage to Albuquerque and the surrounding areas. He makes the point that Albuquerque is at a higher risk than the pure seismic data would suggest. Risk as he defines it is Hazard*vulnerability = Risk. A simple analogy of this is that the risk of getting serious sunburn is directly related to the length of exposure to the sun and the amount and quality of your sunscreen. In Albuquerque, we are at moderate seismic risk but our buildings are poorly constructed in terms of earthquake resistance. He conclude with the statement:
The most perplexing issue in evaluating seismic hazards in the Rio Grande Rift, as has been noted by others, is the difference between the predicted frequency of the large magnitude earthquakes based on historic record versus the paleoseismic record. Either the historical seismicity is reflecting a temporary period of quiescence in the rift or the current rate of extensional deformation across the rift is not as high as indicated by long- term estimates of the fault slip rates” (1).
Water and Risk
Another factor effecting earthquakes, especially when considering risk of a single building or area, is soil liquefaction. This is a measure of the amount of water contained in the soil. Maps provided to me by Robin White (interview) had this broken into very high, high, low, and very low concentrations of water. The more water present, the less stability the soil has, and the greater the ability of the soil to transmit the shock. It can be readily seen that a house close to a river is more likely to feel the shock of an earthquake than one on a dry mesa, all other factors being equal.
Robin White (interview) in an interview states that Albuquerque has a statistical risk factor that translates into a 6.5 M (Richter Scale) earthquake every 400 years. We have a recorded history of 150 years without this happening. Then he asks: “Is it possible that we are getting close to time for it to happen?”
Risk Management
One of the last subjects to be discussed is risk management. Should the Rio Grande Rift choose to reactivate suddenly and violently, there is little we could do but run for safety of another location. But what of an earthquake of 3.5 or even 5 magnitude, is there anything we can do to lessen our risk of physical or financial risk?
Initially, we can become more aware of where we are considering living. If we buy a home that is at the river’s edge, the risk has heightened. If there is a recently active fault zone near, the risk increases. So, it seems, that where we choose to live is the first risk management step we can take.
Building codes are constantly changing to deal with earthquakes and other risks. At present the nation has two building codes in use, one that was initiated in the east and copied by states elsewhere, and one that was initially prepared for California and adjoining states. There is a new code that is being promulgated for use throughout the country and possibly the world. It is called the International Building Code 2001 (White interview).
There are retrofit steps that can be taken if the home is old. A new home will, most likely, be built to the latest standards, including the newer technological advances that offer improved protection. Earthquake insurance riders to your homeowner’s policy can be added to offset financial loss.
Finally, each of us needs to have an emergency plan for our physical protection. This should include, at the very least, an escape route to exit the building before it falls. A planned meeting place for the family so that you are able to find your parents and siblings and knowledge of the emergency facilities and plans provided for by the community.
Implementation
Standards Addressed
The following New Mexico Standards and Benchmarks in Sciences will be addressed while teaching this unit.
Standard 1: Students will understand science concepts of order and organization. Benchmark A- organize evidence and B-make predictions based on evidence.
Standard 2: Students will use evidence, models, and explanations to explore the physical world. Benchmarks A- identify and organize evidence in order to predict changes in natural and artificial systems, B- form a hypothesis, and C-design and develop models.
Standard 3 Students will use form and function to understand the physical world.
Standard 5: Students will acquire the ability to do scientific inquiry. Benchmark A-Use the scientific method in the classroom environment.
Standard 6: Students will acquire the ability to do scientific inquiry. Benchmarks B- use their own understanding to guide an investigation, C- Use criteria to determine the truth of their conclusions. and F- describes the results of their investigations to others.
Standard 16: Students will know and understand the relationship natural hazards and environmental risks. Benchmark C- Predict the human and financial costs of natural events.
Overview of the Lessons and Plans
In order to develop student involvement early in the unit and to make it as meaningful to them I have chosen to begin the unit with where we live and what we live, the Rio Grande Rift. This area will become the benchmark that will be referred to, from time to time, for verification of student understanding. Traditionally the term platetectonics and its meaning are introduced at the first of the unit, then the other data needed to complete the unit are taught. We have the Rio Grande Rift so dominating our terrain that I felt the unit would mean more to the students if I could get to it as fast as possible, engaging the students quickly. In order to maintain this engagement I have included a number of hands on activities.
The students will keep a journal. Entries will be made in this journal during each class period; assignments will be kept in it, along with class projects, lecture notes, and homework assignments. It will become part of the evaluation process.
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1: Where We Live
In this, the initial lesson of this unit we will go out on campus to a spot that we can best see the Sandia Mountains. The students will be asked to discuss and make notes of what they observe about the mountain and any other geological features that may be observed (binoculars will be provided to aid in this process). Once back in the classroom, the students will write their initial report in this unit. This report should contain their observations and reasons for the geological features they observed. We will have a class discussion of what we observed, and what questions arose that need answering.
We now need to discuss the basic question that this paper concerns itself with, whether the Rio Grande Rift is alive or dead and if alive, what hazards do we need to be concerned with when we live on or near it?
Lesson 2: Faults Why and When they Occur
During this lesson, that very well may take several class periods, we will study the various types of faults; see slides of the different types both in diagram and photographic form.
We will complete models sketched on assignment papers and make 3D models of them with cardboard or colored clay. Three stress types are taught in this lesson: tension, compression, and shear. The three types of faults associated with these stresses are normal, reverse, and strike slip
The basic information is followed by discussions about these faults and what role they may have played in the formation of the Sandia Mountains. As in all lessons the basic information contained in any lecture, slide, or film must be entered in their notebooks.
Lesson 3: Anticlines and Synclines
This lesson will be concerned with folds in the earth’s crust; these are called anticlines, when they are bent upward and synclines, when they are bent downward in the center. During this lesson we will discuss domes and basins because of their similarity to anticline and synclines.
After a brief lecture and examination of diagrams and photos of each of these features, the students do a notebook exercise containing 3D sketches labeling the layers as to age. During this lab, faults, anticlines, synclines, domes and basins are made with different colored Jell-O Jigglers. I am including faults in this lab as a learning reinforcement. These models can be bent, cut, gouged, and, if you wish, eaten. They will be flexible and easily modified.
We will conclude with a discussion about whether these geologic features are part of the Sandia/Rio Grande area today. If so, what would be their importance? What information can we learn from them?
This lesson and its lab will take two to three class periods
Lesson 4: Volcanoes in the Albuquerque area?
Again we move to the fields, looking west this time we can see three small cones on Albuquerque’s west mesa. Class discussion; has anyone been there? If so, what did you see? Has anyone been to other volcanoes? Has any one seen a live volcano? Any additional questions that will draw on the student’s personal experience need asking.
The aim is to lead the discussion to volcanoes and how they form. Are there differences between them? We do not intend to answer all the questions today; this is reserved for later in the week.
Lesson 5: Volcanoes, What is Inside? Why does it Exist?
These and other questions will be answered here. We will discuss the different questions we raised yesterday, and separate into groups to find the answers. The students may use textbooks, encyclopedias, the Internet, personal experiences, or any other legitimate source for the answers. I have made sure in advance the resources needed were at hand. Once done each group, will prepare a report and present it to the class.
As part of their report some may choose to build volcano models. Some of these models can be made to simulate volcanic activity.
The usual origins and reasons for volcanic activity and types of volcanoes plus their place in the geologic scheme need to be taught in this lesson. The volcanic activity portion of this unit should take a week to complete. Then we need to know, does volcanic activity always result in volcanoes? And, if not, what is its result?
Lesson 6: The Rio Grande Rift
We have now discussed and hopefully learned a bit about faults anticlines, synclines, domes, and basins. We have discussed volcanoes, how the develop, why, and types of existing. We have talked about all this with regards to the Sandia Mountain/ Rio Grande Valley area. Now it is time to look at the larger picture, the Rio Grande Rift. Up to now I haven’t talked about the rift in any way other than to answer the inevitable question from a student who has heard of it. We will now discuss it and define it. Maps, that show the rift sand faults as well as aerial photographs will be shown and discussed to show what the Rio Grande Rift looks like (Refer to map section).
The students will be given a map of New Mexico (see map section) that is relatively blank. They will be asked to draw in the rift, label the key areas of it and add any cities or towns that are needed in mapping the fault. They will learn what the rift is, where it is, and how deep it is. No longer will it be phenomenon of the immediate Albuquerque area, no longer is it a shallow depression, but a major geologic entity.
After the map is completed a clay model of a section of the fault is done in teams. This will show the significant formations and where they are in relationship to each other at different points in the model.
Lesson7: How it came to be. Introducing Plate Tectonics.
During this lesson the concept of platetectonics will be introduced. We will be answering the question, how did the Rio Grande Rift come to be? To answer this question we must understand the concept of continental and oceanic plates and how geologists think they move about the earth. There are seven large plate systems and numerous smaller ones that make up the earth’s crust. They are relatively thin and brittle and constantly in motion. These are referred to as the Oceanic Crust and the Continental Crust. They coupled with the Subduction zone rest on a on a semi-liquid layer of rock “mush”(Watt) called the Athenosphere. This is what allows for and provides the engine for the plate movement.
Students will locate these and draw them on a world map.
Lesson 8: The case of the wandering continents.
Here we need to talk about the plate movements over the ages and Pangea, the large master continent thought to be a single land mass from which all the known continents have their roots.
Simple maps of the world will be given to each student or group of students. They will cut out the various continents and assemble them as on huge continent that we call Pangea. Awards will be given to the students that came as close as what the scientists feel is the original formation. If I can find a way to avoid the use of sharp instruments I would like to do this exercise with thick-skinned navel oranges or tangelos.
Slides and videos demonstrating the movements and theories of platetectonics will be shown and discussed. Then other evidence such as identical fossils in South America and Africa, similar plants and animals living thousand of miles apart on different continents, and identical geologic structures on continents across the ocean from one another.
Lesson 9: When the Earth Moves
To this point we have discussed the mechanics of the various folds, bends, and bumps that happen on this earth and how they come about. Now we will learn something about the results of these movements. When two plates move toward each other, compression results, and generally one will be subducted. That is, one plate will move under the other. If an oceanic and continental plate are involved, the oceanic plate generally subducts because it is usually heavier and thinner than a continental plate. When plates move apart relative to each other a divergent boundary occurs. The plates are stretched; new material usually rises from the mantle, making new crust. Often times a large piece of the crust will fall, sometimes hundreds of feet. This happened in the Rio Grande Rift. Finally, transform boundaries can be found where two plates move horizontally to each other. To summarize, tectotonic plates shorten, lengthen, or rub against each other. It forms mountains, seas, valleys, and canyons. During all of these events earthquakes and volcanic eruptions can occur.
Lesson 10: When Earthquakes Occur
We will now study maps showing earthquake epicenters and major faults in New Mexico and the world to determine if there is away to predict their occurrence and if so how. We will discuss what earthquake measurement scales are commonly used and what the readings on them mean.
At this time the remaining question will be posed. Are we at risk from the rift? If so, is there a way that we can predict areas of greater danger? What can we do to protect ourselves and our possessions from earthquake loss?
As a lab for this lesson the students will be asked to develop an experiment determining which of three types of soil, rocky, sandy, moist sand, or saturated sand would provide the greatest support for a home. A hypothesis is made, and the experiment is planned as follows. Four tubs will be filled with soil. One rocky soil, the next sandy, and the last two will be filled with sand and water, one only moist the other saturated. On these identical small buildings made from non-locking blocks is built on each. A large hammer is used to hit the tubs, the students observe the damage done to the buildings and come to a conclusion regarding the relative damage in each simulated situation and the correctness of the hypothesis. This experiment must involve at least four steps in the scientific method.
Lesson 11: Recap and Report
As a final lesson and part of the evaluation process, the students will be required to write a two page paper on some part of this unit that interested them. This report should not be simply a rehash of what was presented but an in-depth study of some portion of the unit that interests the student, developing it further than class time allowed. This will be presented to the class, orally. They will be encouraged to make posters, maps, or other presentation aids. Preparing these posters, models, and maps is strongly encouraged for several reasons. They help convey the material presented and they make the students job of presenting the material easier.
Lesson reinforcement and reflection
From time to time the students will return to the spot that we first viewed the Sandia Mountains. This visit is intended to allow for reflection and discussion of what we have learned, as well as trying to help answer the primary questions.
Evaluation process
At the beginning of the project, the students will be given a rubric for the course advising what is expected of them and how their grades will be determined. Evaluation of this unit will consist of evaluation of their journals, the various labs and demonstrations, the final oral and written report, and grades on assorted written class work and required maps. These projects, coupled with participation, motivation, and attendance will constitute their class grade. The report at the end of the unit will serve as the final. Prior to doing a project the student will be given a rubric for the course advising what is expected of them and how their grades will be determined.
Documentation
Bibliography.
Baldrich, W.S. and Olsen K.H. The Rio Grande Rift American Scientist Vol.77: Pages 240-247.
Bruce, Victoria. No Apparent Danger. New York: Harper Collins, 2001.
Chronic, Halka. Roadside Geology of New Mexico. Montana: Mountain Press, 1987.
Crumpler, L.S., Volcanism in the Mount Taylor Region. New Mexico Geological Society Guide Book 33rd Field Conference, Albuquerque Country II. 1982.
Kelley, V.C., The Right Relayed Rio Grande Rift, Taos to Hatch, New Mexico. New Mexico Geologic Handbook, 33rd Field Conference, Albuquerque Country II. 1982.
Kelson, K.I., Hitchcock, C.S., Randolf, C.E. Liquefaction Susceptibility in the Inner Rio Grande Valley near Albuquerque, New Mexico. California: Wm. Lettis and Associates, 1999.
New Mexico Standards – Science –Standards and Benchmarks. New Mexico Department of Education, 2002.
http://sde.state.nm.us/divisions/learningservices/schoolprogram/standards/science01.htmPazzaglia F.J. Woodward, L.A., Spencer, G.L., Anderson, O.J., Wegman, K.W., Estep, J.W. Phanerozoic Geologic Evolution of the Albuquerque Area. New Mexico Geological Guide Book 50th Field Conference. 1999.
Personius, S.F. Machette, M.N., Kelosn, K.L. Quaternay Faults in the Albuquerque Area-an Update. New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, Albuquerque Geology, 1999.
Sanford, A.R., Seismicty of the Rio Grande Rift in New Mexico. Neotectonics of North America. Geological Society of America, 1991.
Watt, P., The Geology of the Albuquerque Area. Albuquerque Teachers Institute, 2002.
White, R.S. Changes in Liquefaction and Seismic Analysis. USDA-National Recourses Conservation Service, 2000.
Woodard, L.A. Tectonic Framework of Albuquerque Country. New Mexico Geological Society Handbook, 33rd Field Conference, 1982.
Wong, I. Earthquakes and their Associated Ground Shaking Hazards in the Rio Grande Rift, Central New Mexico, Presentation: Albuquerque, 2001.
Student Reading List
There is an excellent selection of books on the subjects dealt with here complete with photographs and sketches and explanations clearly written for various ages. What follows are a few select publications.
Newton, David, Earthquakes. New York: Watts, 1993.
Greenburg, Carey, Volcanoes. Milwaukee: Raintree, 1990.
Dudman, J. Volcano. New York: Thomson, 1992.
Moores, E.M. Volcanoes & Earthquakes. Australia: Weldon Owen, 1995
Dudman J. Earthquakes. New York: Thomson, 1993.
Special Acknowledgement to Robin White
My special thanks to Robin White and USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service for the generous amount of time Mr. White allowed me and the patience he exhibited helping me with these technical subjects. Without his help this paper would have been far more difficult, and not anywhere near as complete as it is.