Radar imaging of Spanish Peaks, Colorado geological feature

Johnson, R. B.

English

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tUNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF Tf-IE IN TERIOR	 Technical. Letter\'.~ 	 GEOLOGICAL, SURVEY NASA-47
M L^cl "° WASF-I I NGTON, U,C. 20?.42
	
October 1966
Dr. Peter C. Badgley
Chief, Natural Resources Program
Office of Space Science and Applications
Code SAR, NASA Headquarters
Washington, D. C. 20546
Dear Peter:
Transmitted herewith are 3 copies of:
TECHNICAL LETTER NASA-47
GEOLOGIC EVALUATION OF RADAR IMAGERY
OF THE
SPANISH PEAKS REGION, COLORADO*
by
Ross B. Johnson**
Sincerely yours,
William A. Fischer
Research Coordinator
Earth Orbiter Program
*Work performed under NASA Contract No. R-09-020-015
*-xU. S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado
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UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
TECHNICAL LETTER NASA-47
GEOLOGIC EVALUATION OF RADAR IMAGERY
OF THE
SPANISH PEAKS REGION, COLORADO*
-	 by
Ross B. Johnsonx-*
October 1966
These data are preliminary and should
not be quoted without permission
Prepared by the Geological Survey
for the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA)
Work performed under NASA Contract No. R--09-020-015
**U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado
Photo copies of illustrations are available for viewing at the
following places:
Author(s); Discipline Coordinators; NASA Data Bank (Houston);
Remote Sensing Evaluation and Coordinaton Staff (RESECS) and
the U.S. Geological Survey Libraries (Denver, Menlo, Washington).
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GEOLOGIC EVALUATION OF RADAR IMAGERY
u
k
OF THE
SPANI SH PEAKS REGION, COLORADO
by
Ross B. Johnson
The area of the radar imagery strip (fig. 1 and fig. 2) extending
from Alamosa to Aguilar, Colorado at the latitude of the Spanish Peaks
37°22'30' 1 N. Lat. has been m apped ( fig. 3 in recent ears b(	 )	 pp	  g	 )	 Y	 Y
geologists of the Southern Rocky Mountains Branch (Johnson, R. B.,
1.
1961). Inspection of the radar image revealed conspicuous northwest-
southeast striking lineaments (circled areas in fig. 2) in Tertiary
sedimentary rocks of continental origin. These lineaments do not show
on aerialhoto ra hs and were not rec ognized on the round durin gP	 g P 9	 9	 g	 g
field mapping. The lineaments at first were believed to be faults
of small displacement, narrow shear zones, tension ,points, or easily
eroded lamprophyre dikes; however, close inspection in the field
subsequently did not reveal any geologic feature responsible for the
lineaments n the radar.,	 	 o	 e	 d  stri.p.	 I
Radar imagery, at least of the quality of this strip, does not
seer to be adequate for geologic mapping. Flat-lying beds cannot be
distinguished from vertical beds; Precambrian metamorphic and igneous
rocks, Tertiary lava flows, Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, and semi-
consolidated Tertiary gravels are not distinctive. Folds and faults,
even of regional size, cannot be seen. However, the dikes associated
with the Spanish Peaks are wall displayed, and show their remarkable
i
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pattern. The "Stonewall" formed by the vertical bed; of the Dakota
Sandstone shows up well owing to easily eroded shales above and
below the sandstone. A known fault along the eastern front of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains, mapped on the ground, can be traced on
the radar image for several miles.
Radar imagery may be more useful in geomorphic and physiographic
investigations. Physiographic units such as the San Luis Valley, the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the highly dissected Park Plateau, and
the Great Plains are plainly seen over an area of about 1,000 square
features such as streams and edimented surfacesmales. Natural 	 ,	 p	 , are
easily seen; but cultural features, such as paved highways and towns,
are seen only locally. The most conspicuous feature on the strip is
Smith Reservoir, which is a small fluctuating storage reservoir for
irrigation purposes in the San Luis Valley southwest of Fort Garland,
^-	 Colorado.
r
	
^^	 • Reference
Johnson, R. B., 1961, Coal resources of the Trinidad coal field in
	
1	 Nuerfano and Las Animas Counties Colorado ; U. S. Geological
	
9	 !	 g
Survey Bulletin 1112-E, p. 128-180.
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Geological evaluation of radar imagery of the Spanish Peaks region, Colorado

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