Abstract
The Plio-Pleistocene Puye Formation, north-central New Mexico, is a coarse-grained conglomeratic wedge of primary and reworked volcanic deposits that prograded eastward into an actively aggrading floodbasin of the central Rio Grande rift. This alluvial system grew in response to the degradation of dacitic and rhyolitic lava domes in the northeastern part of the Jemez Mountains volcanic field. Analysis of Puye deposits shows that fan sedimentation was governed by the complex interaction of explosive volcanism, rift-basin tectonics, and the highly variable localized ephemeral processes common to arid-region alluvial systems. Preserved in this well exposed sequence are complex associations between primary pyroclastic facies related to explosive eruptions from lava domes, and reworked tuffs that record the rapid emplacement of poorly consolidated pumice and ash. The sporadic availability of water in this semi-arid region, and the episodic flood frequency and runoff that accompanied individual eruptions, largely controlled Puye facies characteristics. Important among the combined influences of explosive eruptions and ephemeral processes were: (1) fluvial transport and reworking of pumice sequences, (2) remobilization of loosely consolidated volcanic talus and tuffs by mass flow, and (3) marked downslope changes in mass-flow deposits and fallout tephra emplaced into lakes.
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