The Rio Grande rift is a north-trending continental rift zone. It separates the Colorado Plateau in the west from the interior of the North American craton on the east.[1] The rift extends from central Colorado in the north to the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, in the south.[2] The rift zone consists of four basins that have an average width of 50 kilometres (31 mi).[1] The rift can be observed on location at Rio Grande National Forest, White Sands National Park, Santa Fe National Forest, and Cibola National Forest, among other locations.
The Rio Grande rift has been an important site for humans for a long time, because it provides a north–south route that follows a major river. The Rio Grande follows the course of the rift from southern Colorado to El Paso, where it turns southeast and flows toward the Gulf of Mexico. Important cities, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, Española, Las Cruces, El Paso, and Ciudad Juárez, lie within the rift.
- ^ a b Chapin, Charles E.; Cather, Steven M. (1994). "Tectonic setting of the axial basins of the northern and central Rio Grande rift". In Keller, G. Randy; Cather, Steven M. (eds.). Basins of the Rio Grande Rift: Structure, statigraphy, and tectonic setting. Geological Society of America Special Paper No. 291. Boulder, Colo.: Geological Society of America. pp. 1–3. ISBN 0-8137-2291-8.
- ^ Kluth, C.; Schaftenaar, C. (1994). "Depth and geometry of the northern Rio Grande rift in the San Luis basin, south-central Colorado". In Keller, G. Randy; Cather, Steven M. (eds.). Basins of the Rio Grande Rift: Structure, statigraphy, and tectonic setting. Geological Society of America Special Paper No. 291. Boulder, Colo.: Geological Society of America. pp. 27–37. ISBN 0-8137-2291-8.