Continental rift zone in the southwest United States
Locality map showing the Rio Grande rift extending from southern Colorado to Chihuahua, Mexico. The Rio Grande follows this rift for much of its course.
The Rio Grande rift is a north-trending continental rift zone. It separates the Colorado Plateau in the west from the interior of the North American craton on the east.[1] The rift extends from central Colorado in the north to the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, in the south.[2] The rift zone consists of four basins that have an average width of 50 kilometres (31 mi).[1] The rift can be observed on location at Rio Grande National Forest, White Sands National Park, Santa Fe National Forest, and Cibola National Forest, among other locations.
The Rio Grande rift has been an important site for humans for a long time, because it provides a north–south route that follows a major river. The Rio Grande follows the course of the rift from southern Colorado to El Paso, where it turns southeast and flows toward the Gulf of Mexico. Important cities, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, Española, Las Cruces, El Paso, and Ciudad Juárez, lie within the rift.
^ abChapin, Charles E.; Cather, Steven M. (1994). "Tectonic setting of the axial basins of the northern and central Rio Grande rift". In Keller, G. Randy; Cather, Steven M. (eds.). Basins of the Rio Grande Rift: Structure, statigraphy, and tectonic setting. Geological Society of America Special Paper No. 291. Boulder, Colo.: Geological Society of America. pp. 1–3. ISBN 0-8137-2291-8.
^Kluth, C.; Schaftenaar, C. (1994). "Depth and geometry of the northern Rio Grande rift in the San Luis basin, south-central Colorado". In Keller, G. Randy; Cather, Steven M. (eds.). Basins of the Rio Grande Rift: Structure, statigraphy, and tectonic setting. Geological Society of America Special Paper No. 291. Boulder, Colo.: Geological Society of America. pp. 27–37. ISBN 0-8137-2291-8.
The RioGranderift is a north-trending continental rift zone. It separates the Colorado Plateau in the west from the interior of the North American craton...
The RioGrande (/ˌriːoʊ ˈɡrænd/ or /ˌriːoʊ ˈɡrɑːndeɪ/) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ˈβɾaβo...
Chihuahua, Mexico. The rift began forming approximately 30 million years ago during the late Oligocene Epoch. The RioGranderift takes the form of a series...
last several million years. The RioGrande Gorge and its river follow a topographical low within the larger RioGrandeRift; a mixture of volcanic activity...
crust's plates, such as in the East African Rift and the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and RioGranderift in North America. Volcanism away from plate...
The Albuquerque Basin (or Middle RioGrande Basin) is a structural basin and ecoregion within the RioGranderift in central New Mexico. It contains the...
and was accompanied by violent volcanic activity. The opening of the RioGranderift commenced around 30 Mya, and was followed by late Cenozoic volcanism...
earthquake. The fault scarps bounding the East African Rift Valley. The fault scarps bounding the RioGrandeRift in New Mexico. The Bree fault scarp of the Roer...
Its southernmost point is near the Albuquerque area adjacent to the RioGranderift and north of the Sandia–Manzano Mountain Range. Being the easternmost...
result of extensive volcanism and erosion of the valley within the RioGrandeRift. Although some trail advocates would like to see the trail extended...
geological feature known as the Reelfoot Rift, which likely formed during the Cambrian Period. The Reelfoot Rift was first described by Ervin and McGinnis...
above sea level. The valley is a section of the RioGrandeRift and is drained to the south by the RioGrande, which rises in the San Juan Mountains to the...
Potrillo volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field located on the RioGrandeRift in southern New Mexico, United States and northern Chihuahua, Mexico...
of the Carrizozo Malpaís. The volcanic field is associated with the RioGrandeRift, a region of the Earth's crust that is being slowly pulled apart. This...
United States, running north and south along the east side of the RioGrandeRift. The mountains extend southeast from Poncha Pass for about 75 mi (121 km)...
basin in northern New Mexico. It is located in the RioGrande watershed and is part of the RioGranderift. The definition of its boundaries is not fully...
across the RioGranderift. To the west of the rift, the lineament follows the southeastern margin of the Colorado Plateau. East of the rift, the lineament...
basalt flows. The area is part of the RioGranderift, where the Earth's crust is being stretched and thinned. The rift is characterized by deep sedimentary...
Basin in the RioGranderift. In north-central New Mexico lies the Jemez Mountain range, spanning altitudes from 1590 meters at the RioGrande to 3,526 meters...
* Connell, Sean D. (2001). "Stratigraphy of the Albuquerque Basin, RioGrandeRift, Central New Mexico: A progress report". New Mexico Bureau of Mines...
faults, the Great Basin, the Walker trough, the Owens graben, and the RioGranderift, for instance. The large volume eruptions in the Basin and Range Province...
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