As I have written in previous posts, I’m always fascinated by the Gila country of southwestern New Mexico. I’m always finding something new in the landscape or in the culture of its human past.
On my most recent trip to help school children from Silver City release once endangered Gila trout into Lake Roberts, I drove by a certain rock formation that I had seen before. Looking at it with renewed interested, it dawned on me that it looks suspiciously like something I’ve seen elsewhere.
I’m sure all of you are marveling at the capabilities of 3D printing. A good friend of ours has recently developed a device he can make from various types of plastics to help humans overcome shoulder problems. Who knows how many other applications are being developed to help humans deal with health issues. Two of our own grandchildren have their own small 3D printer which they have used to make such things as copies of Lego bricks.
And I’ve seen recent videos of how a 3D “printing” process can form walls from concrete for residential and commercial structures. I captured this photo on the Internet showing a device shaping walls with ribbed layers of concrete on a construction project.
3D concrete printing. See if you see any resemblance with the rock formation below
So when I looked at the rock formation below along the highway between Lake Roberts and San Lorenzo, you can see why it caught my attention.
Look closely at the picture above and you can see the multiple horizontal layers of rock that are almost symmetrical in depth. It’s almost like a giant 3D printing device formed this rock structure in prehistoric ages.
I looked up the geology of the Gila country and most of it was formed about 30 million years ago. There are various phases of its development, including intense volcanic activity, continental movement and the presence of shallow seas. The New Mexico Geological Society has produced a guidebook about the geology of that region which you can purchase at this website https://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/59/. Much of it is much more technical than I understand and you can find more about the region’s geology on the Internet.
My uneducated suspicion is that this layered rock was built up over eons underneath a shallow sea which once covered much of the Southwest or was layered by some volcanic ash/lava flows. I’m going to try to do a little more research and will let you know what I discover.
In the meantime, on your rush to Lake Roberts or anywhere in the Gila, take some time to look at all the interesting geological features which make this region of our state so special.
aero-cordero.com 