Petrography and petrochemistry of latest Pliocene olivine-tholeiites of Taos area,northern New Mexico,U.S.A.

In north-central New Mexico, U.S.A., enormous volumes of basaltic rocks erupted in latest Pliocene time, forming large flat plateaus along the western foot of the Rocky Mountain Range.Petrographically, and also geologically, the volcanic rocks are divided into three series. Of these, the lava flows of the middle series accounted for more than ninety-five per cent of both area and volume. The first two series are composed of olivine-tholeiite while the last one is composed of calc-alkaline andesite.Twenty volcanic rocks, five groundmass plagioclases and five groundmass clinopyroxenes have been chemically analysed.The basalts are intermediate between tholeiitic and alkaline types and are rather similar to the high-alumina basalt from Oregon and the Cascade Range. However, the crystallization trends of groundmass plagioclase and clinopyroxene closely resemble those found in Japanese and Kilauean tholeiitic series.