The Mud Springs Mountains (MSM) near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico is a large (10x2 km) northwest-trending intrabasinal fault block located within the northern part of the eastward-tilted Palomas half graben where the Black Range constitutes the western hanging wall and the Caballo Mountains constitute the eastern footwall. Well-exposed Pliocene-lower Pleistocene strata adjacent to the MSM provide a nearly three-dimensional view of basin-fill and records the interplay between small alluvial fans derived from the MSM, large alluvial fans derived from the Black Range, and the axial Rio Grande.
The distribution and interplay of facies assemblages record low and intermittent sediment yield from small (<1 km2) catchments in the MSM, as well as toe-cutting by the axial Rio Grande and by Black Range-derived fan channels, whose erosive power was related to high relief and high-elevation catchments with areas on the order of ~500 km2 in combination with contemporaneous faulting adjacent to the Caballo Mountains and eastward tilting of the half graben during most of the deposition. Additionally, stable carbon and oxygen isotopes from authigenic calcite were used as paleoclimate proxies to interpret climatic control on the extent of MSM-derived alluvial fans.
Ron Foster is a Supervising Engineering Geologist at the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) Central District, responsible for professional geologic oversight for underground injection control projects related to oil and gas operations. Prior to CalGEM, he spent ten years in exploration, operations, and development roles throughout the US mid-continent, Iraqi Kurdistan, and West Africa with Marathon Oil Co., over three years developing California heavy oil assets with Berry Petroleum, and managed geology and underground injection control service sets at Cornerstone Engineering Inc.
While majoring in communication studies at Santa Barbara City College, Ron’s fascination with geology was sparked during a five-day geology field course to the Death Valley area. Despite continuing to major in communication throughout his undergraduate studies he took as many geology courses as he could, including attending a summer field course - twice. While pursuing a master’s in communication at New Mexico State University, he regularly attended geology colloquia and found his way onto geology field trips. His passion for geology and field skills led to an invitation to conduct a mapping-based master’s thesis which was later incorporated into a published quadrangle through the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.
Ron recently served as San Joaquin Geological Society President in 2024-2025.
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