THE  ENGLE  COAL  FIELD,  NEW  MEXICO. 
Bv  W.T.Lee. 
The  Engle  coal  region  takes  its  name  from  the  town  of  Engle,  a  station  on  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railway  about  100  miles  north  of  El  Paso,  Tex.  It  is  the  southern- 
most of  the  small  coal  areas  of  central  New  Mexico  and  lies  aliout  70  miles  south  of  the 
Carthage  area,  in  which  occur  the  southernmost  productive  mines  of  this  region. 
The  coal  outcrops  in  the  western  limb  of  the  great  syncline  of  the  Jornada  del  Muerto, 
and  the  eastward-dipping  beds  disappear  beneath  the  surface  detritus  occupying  the  center' 
of  that  syncline.  The  western  edge  of  the  trough  in  this  region  consists  of  the  Caballos 
and  the  Fra  Cristobal  rang''-,  separated  by  a  gap  several  miles  wide,  in  which  the  plain 
of  the  Jornada  extends  westward  to  the  Rio  Grande. 
The  geological  formations  are  steeply  upturned  and  are  particularly  well  exposed  in  the 
Caballos  Mountains.  Those  beneath  the  coal  range  in  age  from  pre-Cambrian  to  Benton. 
The  coal-bearing  strata  consist  of  sandstones  and  shales  several  thousand  feet  in  thickness 
and  occupy  the  gap  between  the  Caballos  and  Fra  Cristobal  mountains  west  of  Engle, 
extending  north  and  south  of  this  gap  for  several  miles  before  they  are  finally  covered 
by  the  surface  detritus  of  the  Jornada. 
Lignite  coal  deposit-  occur  at  in'  near  the  base  of  the  series,  while  the  middle  and  upper 
layers  contain  large  quantities  of  petrified  wood.  The  upper  part  of  the  series  is  composed 
of  red  clay,  sandstone,  and  conglomerate  and  has  been  mistaken  by  some  for  the  "Red 
Beds,''  which  occur  at  a  lower  horizon.  These  red  strata,  however,  contain  the  bones  of 
Triceratops,  a  repl  ile  characteristic  of  latest  Cretaceous  time. 
The  relation  of  the  Engle  coal  deposit  t<»  those  farther  north  is  not  certainly  known. 
Its  position  in  contact  with  the  Benton  suggests  an  early  Cretaceous  age,  while  the  abundant 
plant  remains,  as  well  as  the  Triceratops,  a  supposed  Laramie  reptile,  seem  to  correlate  it 
with  such  later  Cretaceous  coal  formations  as  occur  in  the  Cerrillos  or  the  Raton  area. 
Little  development  has  been  accomplished  in  the  Engle  area  and  its  importance  as  a  coal 
field  is  doubtful.  Only  one  serious  attempt  has  been  made  to  open  a  mine.  At  the  time 
of  the  wrter's  visit  to  this  region,  in  the  summer  of  190,5,  a  shaft  was  being  sunk  on  one 
of  tin'  veins  at  the  base  of  the  series,  about  10  miles  southwest  of  Engle.  The  coal  is  soft, 
resembling  the  lignite  of  other  parts  of  New  Mexico,  and  is  apparently  of  good  quality. 
The  coal,  so  far  as  developed,  is  about  1  foot  thick,  although  the  carbonaceous  shale  asso- 
ciated with  it  is  2  or  3  feet  thick.  The  prospect  of  finding  a  deposit  of  workable  thickness 
was  considered  promising  enough  to  warrant  investigation. 
The  possible  occurrence  of  coal  in  this  locality  assumes  importance  on  account  of  its 
proximity  to  the  proposed  Government  reservoir  at  Elephant  Butte.  The  dam  site  of  this 
reservoir  is  but  a  few  miles  from  the  coal  outcrops.  Coal  in  workable  cpjantities  would 
greatly  facilitate  the  work  of  the  Government  in  the  construction  of  this  reservoir,  as 
well  as  benefit  the  large  number  of  people  that  will  settle  in  the  vicinity  after  the  reservoir 
is  built. 
240 
