San Bernardino Valley (Arizona) Explained

San Bernardino Valley
Photo Size:335px
Country:United States
State:Arizona
Region:Sonoran Desert
Region1:Chihuahua Desert
Region Type:Regions
District:Cochise County, Arizona
District1:Hidalgo County, New Mexico
District Type:Counties
City:Chiricahua, AZ
City1:Bernardino, AZ (historical site)
City Type:Communities
Coordinates:31.557°N -109.1681°W
Border:Chiricahua Mountains
Border1:San Simon Valley
Border2:Peloncillo Mountains
Border3:Guadalupe Mountains
Border4:San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge
Border5:Sierra del Tigre
Border6:Perilla Mountains
Border7:Pedrogosa Mountains
Length Mi:35
Length Orientation:NE x SW
Width Mi:12
Map:USA Arizona
Map Size:250
Label Position:top

The San Bernardino Valley of Arizona is a 35miles northeast-by-southwest trending valley in extreme southeast Cochise County, Arizona.[1] The north end of the valley merges into the northwest-by-southeast trending San Simon Valley; both merge in western perimeter Hidaldgo County, New Mexico. The valley is an asymmetric graben.[2]

Valleys border all flanks of the Chiricahua Mountains massif (and some attached sub-ranges); The San Bernardino Valley borders the southeast of the Chiricahua Mountains; the San Simon Valley borders the northeast. San Bernardino Valley abuts the Peloncillo Mountains of New Mexico on the east, and the smaller adjoining range to its south, the Guadalupe Mountains. To the south, the valley borders Sonora, Mexico and the north regions of the Sierra del Tigre range, of Mexico. At the northern end of the Sierra del Tigre, the Rio San Bernardino joins the Bavispe River, then heads south to Mexico. To the northwest and west, the San Bernardino Valley abuts the Chiricahuas, Pedregosa, and Perilla Mountains.

At the very south of the valley, north of Douglas, ArizonaAgua Prieta, Mexico lies the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, grasslands, and wetlands are part of the south and southwest-flowing Yaqui River of Mexico that reaches the northeast region of the Gulf of California.

Geronimo–San Bernardino volcanic field

The San Bernardino Valley floor is covered by basaltic lava dating from 0.27 to 1.0 Ma[3] (million years ago). The Geronimo–San Bernardino volcanic field is part of the larger Boot Heel volcanic field.

The field covers some 850 km2 and consists of olivine basalt flows, tuff rings and maars with 130 identified volcanic vent areas and cinder cones.[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: San Bernardino Valley Geography . azwater.gov . October 17, 2010.
  2. Book: Wood, Charles A. . Jürgen Kienle . Volcanoes of North America . . 1993 . 287–289 . 0-521-43811-X .
  3. http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/5171010-OaVhTU/native/5171010.pdf M. J. Aldrich and A. W. Laughlin, 1981, Age and Location of Volcanic Centers < 3.0 M. Y. Old in Arizona, New Mexico and the Trans-Pecos Area of West Texas, LA-881 2-MAP, Revised
  4. http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM64/AM64_249.pdf Evans, Stanley H. and W. P. Nash, Petrogenesis of xenolith-bearing basalts from southeastern Arizona, American Mineralogist, Volume 64, pp. 249–267, 1979