A water budget and analysis of water chemistry for the Pine Canyon watershed, Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas

The Chisos Mountains are located along the southern edge of the Trans-Pecos volcanic province, with Pine Canyon being located on the eastern side of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park, Texas. The volcanism in this area occurred during the Middle to Late Eocene. At least two calderas are present in the Chisos complex, the younger Pine Canyon Caldera located in the northeastern region and the older Sierra-Quemada Caldera located in the southern region of the Chisos Mountains. These volcanic rocks are underlain by sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous age. In areas around the Tertiary volcanic mountains the Cretaceous rocks are overlain by Quaternary alluvium, which fan out from the highlands over the desert floor. These alluvial deposits are the source for many small aquifers in the Big Bend region.; The Pine Canyon watershed is a small alluvium-fill aquifer that was chosen for scientific investigation due to its semi-arid climate, remote location and pristine setting. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...