| Title | Rio Grande Rift Geothermal Exploration Case History: Elephant Butte Prospect, South Central New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sanford, Robert M.; Bowers, Roger L.; Combs, Jim |
| Year | 1979 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | Hot Springs; Geothermometers; Volcanoes; Heat Flow; USA; New Mexico; Elephant Butte; Resistivity; Fault; Thermal Gradient; Ground Water; Low Temperature; Hunt Energy Corp; Geothermal Services Inc |
| Abstract | The Elephant Butte Prospect, situated within the Rio Grande Rift of south central New Mexico, was selected as a geothermal prospect due to the hot springs and Quaternary volcanics in the vicinity. Subsurface temperatures calculated from silica and Na-K-Ca geothermometers appear to less than 150°C. An extensive electrical resistivity survey primarily provided determinations of depths to electrical basement and the delineation and extension of know faults. Fourteen shallow heat flow boreholes indicate that the Prospect area is characterized by an average heat flow of 2.0 HFU, compared with the regional value of 2.5 HFU based on published data. The low heat flow values appear to be the result of groundwater circulation. Exploration costs of about $6.15/hectare failed to define any positive indication of economic high temperature geothermal resources situated within the Prospect. The geothermal leases evaluated by this exploration effort were therefore dropped. |