37 The Heat Beneath our Feet: Geologic Controls on Geothermal Resources in the Rocky Mountain Region

Geologic controls in the Rocky Mountains and other analogous environments that influence geothermal systems—from fault and fracture dynamics to stratigraphic and lithologic influences, heat flow, and fluid flow pathways

Wednesday, 20 May 2026
10:20 AM - 12:20 PM
Alvarado A

Public–Private Collaboration for Geothermal Development in the Tularosa Basin, NM

Paper number: 37-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 10:40 AM – 11:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

Located within the Rio Grande Rift, the Tularosa Basin is a large fault-bounded graben containing Paleozoic sedimentary strata overlain by Cenozoic–Quaternary volcanosedimentary basin fill. The basin exhibits multiple indicators of geothermal potential, including Quaternary faulting, young volcanism, and evidence for blind hydrothermal systems. Despite this prospectivity, the basin has remained underexplored for geothermal resources, largely due to restricted access associated with major U.S. Army installations, including White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) and Fort Bliss.

Subsurface investigation of the basin dates to shallow water wells and oil and gas wildcat drilling conducted between the 1930s and 1970s, which did not encounter commercial hydrocarbon accumulations. Geothermal exploration in the 1990s included geophysical surveys and test drilling focused near Davis Dome, where a blind hydrothermal system was identified but recorded temperatures were insufficient for commercial power generation. Subsequent regional data compilations, including a Play Fairway Analysis completed in the 2010s, further highlighted geothermal favorability; however, no advanced development projects have followed.

A new public–private collaboration is now underway to systematically reassess geothermal potential in the Tularosa Basin. Through Sandia National Laboratories’ BRIDGE program, new geophysical, geological, and geochemical datasets are being acquired to refine prospective fairways. These data are being integrated within a Teverra and Army Office of Energy Innovation–led framework designed to optimize exploration targeting, reduce subsurface uncertainty, and evaluate the feasibility of blind geothermal resource development both within Army-managed lands and across the broader basin.

This coordinated effort represents a critical step toward unlocking a historically underexplored geothermal province within the Rio Grande Rift. The work demonstrates how structured public–private partnerships, combined with modern play-fairway methods and legacy data integration, can accelerate geothermal resource identification in access-constrained basins and support regional energy security and economic diversification in New Mexico.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 4

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026RM-410727

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