The Albuquerque Basin (or Middle Rio Grande Basin[1]) is a structural basin and ecoregion within the Rio Grande rift in central New Mexico. It contains the city of Albuquerque.
Geologically, the Albuquerque Basin is a half-graben that slopes down towards the east to terminate on the Sandia and Manzano mountains.[2] The basin is the largest and oldest of the three major basins in the Rio Grande rift,[3] containing sediments whose depth ranges from 4,407 to 6,592 meters (14,459 to 21,627 ft).[4]
The basin has a semi-arid climate, with large areas that count as semi-desert.[1] Paleo-Indian traces dating back 12,000 years show that the climate used to be wetter and more fertile than it is today.[5] The Rio Grande flows through the basin from north to south, and its valley has been irrigated for at least 1,000 years.[6] Intense irrigation began in the late nineteenth century with new dams, levees and ditches and has caused environmental problems.[7]
In times of low water levels in the Rio Grande, Albuquerque relies on groundwater for its potable water supply. The aquifer is composed of deposits from the ancestral Rio Grande and the size of its annual recharge follows fluctuations in weather and climate phenomena.[4] There may be natural gas in the basin, but opponents of gas extraction fear the impact on the groundwater and on the quality of life.[8]
The AlbuquerqueBasin (or Middle Rio Grande Basin) is a structural basin and ecoregion within the Rio Grande rift in central New Mexico. It contains the...
bottom of the Albuquerquebasin to 3,300 metres (10,800 ft) above sea level in the nearby Sandia Mountains, which flanks the Albuquerquebasin to the east...
The Albuquerque volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the AlbuquerqueBasin in New Mexico, United States. It is located about 7 miles (11 km)...
Basin, Poland, northern Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, the North Sea, and Scotland Turgay Basin, Kazakhstan Southern Basin, Trinidad Albuquerque Basin...
sediment-filled basin to another, cutting canyons between the basins and supporting a fragile bosque ecosystem on its flood plain. From Albuquerque southward...
the center of the state that supports a bosque habitat and distinct AlbuquerqueBasin climate. One–third of New Mexico's land is federally owned, and the...
extending from the Liard River valley in northern British Columbia to the AlbuquerqueBasin in New Mexico, not including the Mackenzie, Richardson and British...
east-tilted fault-block range forming part of the eastern edge of the AlbuquerqueBasin in the Rio Grande rift. They are separated from the Sandia Mountains...
and the geomorphic development of the Rio Grande Valley, Northern AlbuquerqueBasin, Central New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Burea of Geology and Mineral...
geologic formation exposed near Albuquerque, New Mexico. It records deposition of sediments in the AlbuquerqueBasin of the Rio Grande Rift after full...
locations in Arizona and New Mexico, including the Rio Chama, the AlbuquerqueBasin, the Pajarito Plateau, and the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains...
tapped for human use. * Connell, Sean D. (2001). "Stratigraphy of the AlbuquerqueBasin, Rio Grande Rift, Central New Mexico: A progress report". New Mexico...
formation of the Rio Grande Rift. They form the eastern boundary of the AlbuquerqueBasin. The core of the range consists of Sandia granite, with a U-Pb age...
Conservancy District, which manages irrigation and flood control in the Albuquerquebasin of central New Mexico Middle Rio Grande Development Council, a voluntary...
(2008). "Refinements to the stratigraphic Santa Fe Group, northwestern Albuquerquebasin, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geology. 38 (1): 14–35. Retrieved 11...
Vermillion, Douglas L. (1994). Irrigation Management Transfer in the Columbia Basin: Lessons and International Implications. IWMI. p. 5. ISBN 978-92-9090-303-1...
the Jemez Mountains. The Jemez Mountains lie to the north of the AlbuquerqueBasin in the Rio Grande rift. In north-central New Mexico lies the Jemez...
in 1925 to manage the irrigation systems and control floods in the AlbuquerqueBasin. It is responsible for the stretch of river from the Cochiti Dam in...
(2008). "Refinements to the stratigraphic Santa Fe Group, northwestern Albuquerquebasin, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geology. 38 (1): 14–35. Retrieved August...
north of the state. Also there are communities in the Albuquerque metro and AlbuquerqueBasin, in mountain ranges like the Sangre de Cristo, Sandia–Manzano...
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