Geology of the Mount Taylor area

About this guidebook

The Mt. Taylor area is a crossroad where geologic history, human history, and societal impacts intersect. Situated on the eastern edge of the Colorado Plateau and flanking the transition zone to the Rio Grande rift, Mt. Taylor is a late Pliocene stratovolcano located on the Jemez Lineament, an enigmatic NE-trending alignment of late Cenozoic volcanic centers. Mt. Taylor lies along the southeast margin of the San Juan Basin bounded by the Zuni (south) and Nacimiento (east) uplifts. Mt. Taylor also has some of the richest uranium deposits in the United States.

The human history of the Mt. Taylor region is no less compelling. Indigenous communities lived here for thousands of years despite Spanish conquest and the establishment of land grants. In the 1800s, the area was settled as part of a U.S. territory, bringing with it commerce such as the railroad and timber industries, and later the uranium boom and its lasting legacy. Additional corridors of commerce opened with Route 66, succeeded by Interstate 40. The designation of Mt. Taylor as a Traditional Cultural Property recognizes the mountain’s importance to Native, Spanish and U.S. cultures.

The papers in this volume cover a spectrum of topics, ranging from geologic studies and mining history to the effects of mining on the population and the environment today.