84-686: The Big Spring Correctional Center ( BSCC ) is a privately operated prison located in Big Spring , Howard County, Texas , operated by the GEO Group under contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons . It houses federal "deportable alien" detainees. BSCC should not be confused with the federally owned and operated Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring in the same town, or its satellite camp. BSCC consists of four separate physical locations: In August 2016, Justice Department officials announced that
168-483: A depth of 12,621 feet (3,847 m). In the nearby Apache and Glass Mountains, the basement rock is made of metamorphosed sandstone and Precambrian-aged granite. The entire area is also underlain by layered mafic rocks, which are thought to be a part of Pecos Mafic Igneous Suite, and extends 220 miles (360 km) into the southern US. It has been dated to 1163 mya. Each period from the Paleozoic Era has contributed
252-785: A different formation was formed in the different parts of the Permian Reef Complex. The Cisuralian Epoch contained two ages, the Wolfcampian and the Leonardian , both of which have a geological formation in the Permian Basin named after them. The Wolfcampian Formation lies conformably on top of the Pennsylvanian Formation and is the first formation from the Permian Period. Its composition varies depending on its location in
336-583: A max thickness of 660 feet (200 m). During the formation of the Atoka, uplift was still occurring in the region, leading to increased sedimentation as the surrounding highlands were eroded. The increased sedimentation led to the formation of medium- to coarse-grained sandstone. In the Atoka Formation, the first reef structures that formed in the Delaware Basin are visible. The Strawn Formation formed after
420-582: A maximum thickness of 1,150 feet (350 m) but thins out significantly as it approaches the basin margins due to transgressive onlap . The Brushy Canyon Formation also contains small reef patches, ripple marks , and crossed bedded strata , that indicate that the Delaware Basin had a shallow water environment at this time. The next unit of the Delaware Mountain Group is the Cherry Canyon , which had multiple different sub-units and extended into
504-457: A rapid enough pace to keep up with rising sea levels . The Capitan Reef also found a stable foundation on the reef debris and talus that rested on its slopes, and this foundation allowed the reef to grow outward. In some locations, nutrients and minerals were so abundant that the Capitan Reef grew out almost 50 km from the starting point. The third stage of the Capitan Reef is the death of
588-685: A source of water, and the Delaware Basin was located near a marginal sea. Thanks to the Hovey Channel, this sea transported water into the Delaware Basin. Global temperatures during this time were warm, as the world climate was changing from icehouse to greenhouse. This rise in global temperatures also led to the melting of ice masses located towards the South Pole, which then led to a rise in sea levels. The Permian Period has been split up into main Epochs , each of which has separate subdivision. In each sub epoch,
672-544: A space shuttle's collision with an alien spacecraft and the ensuing government cover-up. Several local residents were used as on-screen extras. In 1999, a New York energy company erected the first 80-metre (260 ft) tower for one of North America's largest wind turbines for that time at Big Spring. The FAI World Hang Gliding Championship was hosted by Big Spring in August 2007. The area's "big spring", long dry but recently modified to draw water from Comanche Trail Lake,
756-829: A specific lithology to the Tobosa Basin, accumulating into almost 6,600 feet (2,000 m) of sediment at the start of the Pennsylvanian Period (323.2–298.9 mya). The Montoya Group is the youngest rock formation in the Tobosa Basin and was formed in the Ordovician Period (485.4–443.8 mya), and sit directly on the igneous and metamorphic basement rocks. The rocks from the Montoya Group are described as light to medium grey, fine to medium grained crystalline calcareous dolomite . These rocks were sometimes inter-bedded with shale , dark grey limestone, and, less commonly, chert .
840-530: A thickness of 1,480 feet (450 m) in some places. Karstification of the Fusselman Formation shows that a drop in sea level occurred, but sea levels rose again during a transgressive event, which lead to the creation of the Wristen Formation. Sea levels would then drop again, which led to major exposure, erosion, and karstification of these formations. The Thirtyone Formation was developed during
924-627: Is a large sedimentary basin in the southwestern part of the United States . It is the highest producing oil field in the United States, producing an average of 4.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2019. This sedimentary basin is located in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico . It is named after the Permian geologic period, the final period of the Paleozoic era, as it contains some of
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#17328840815991008-823: Is called the Bone Spring Limestone , which reaches a max thickness of 2,000 feet (600 m) and lies directly below the Capitan Reef Complex . The Bone Spring limestone can be divided into two formations: the Victorio Peak Member, which consists of massive beds of limestone measuring up to 98 feet (30 m); and the Cutoff Shale Member, which is formed from black, platy, siliceous shale and shaley sandstone. The Bone Spring Limestone consists of several fossils, such as bryozoans, crinoids, and spirifers , but lack algae and sponges that are plentiful in
1092-412: Is divided into generalized facies belts differentiated by the depositional environment in which they formed, influenced by sea level, climate , salinity , and access to the sea. Lowering sea level exposes the peritidal and potentially, the shelf margin regions, allowing linear channel sandstones to cut into the shelf, extending beyond the shelf margin atop the slope carbonates, fanning outward toward
1176-418: Is expected to be renewed as it approaches expiration. 33°12′04″N 101°22′24″W / 33.201142°N 101.373200°W / 33.201142; -101.373200 Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County , Texas , United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20 . The population was 26,144 at the 2020 census . Big Spring
1260-401: Is important to keep in mind that tectonics played a major part. During this period, the supercontinent of Pangaea , which lasted from 335 to 175 mya, started undergoing breakup. Pangea was clustered together near the equator and surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa, with the Permian Basin located on its western edge within 5–10 degrees of the equator. Any reef building environment would need
1344-542: Is improbable since the debris came from the reef, which was not dolomitic. The Bell Canyon Formation is the next unit in the Delaware Mountain Group, and it is the age equivalent unit to the Capitan Reef Formation which formed on the shelf. The Bell Canyon Formation consists of "un-fossiliferous, dark-gray to black, platy, fine-grained limestone". All the Cherry Canyon Formation and the bottom part of
1428-675: Is more consistent and is characterised as a thick bedded dolomite which integrates into the San Andres Formation as it moves toward the shelf. The middle unit of the Cherry Canyon Formation is the South Wells Member, which is composed of sandstone and integrates itself into the Goat Seep Reef as it moves towards the basin shelf. The upper unit is the Manzanita Member, which consists of dolomite, and gets pinched out underneath
1512-416: Is the establishment of the reef and its rapid growth. Due to the slower rates of subsidence of this time, the reef was able to build itself up quickly. Once the reef reached sea level, it began to grow horizontally, since it could not grow vertically anymore. The reef environment during the first stage of development was described as warm (around 68 °F (20 °C)), shallow, high energy, clear water that
1596-682: Is thought to indicate the dehydration and rehydration process of the gypsum and anhydrites. There is also evidence of evaporite calcitization . The reef system was buried until it was exposed in the Mesozoic Era as a result of tectonic activity by the Laramide Orogeny . The deep water shale and carbonate reefs of the Delaware and Midland Basins and the Central Basin Platform would become lucrative hydrocarbon reservoirs. The Permian basin
1680-574: The Atoka Formation . The Morrow is an important reservoir consisting of clastic sediments , sandstones and shales, deposited in a deltaic environment. The Pennsylvanian Period also led to the development of other geologic formations, although none had the importance of the Morrow Formation. The Atoka Formation lies conformably on top of the Morrow Formation, and is characterized by its fossil-rich limestone inter-bedded with shale, reaching
1764-490: The Capitan Formation as it moves into the basin margins. All four members of the Cherry Canyon Formation have undergone dolomitization near the basin margins. This is evident since the calcite / aragonite bioclastic debris that existed as a part of this formation has been preserved as molds in dolomite. It has been suggested by some authors that the clasts and debris might have been dolomitic upon deposition, but that
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#17328840815991848-464: The Colorado River . Interstate 20 runs through the northern side of the city, with access from exits 174 through 182. I-20 leads east 108 miles (174 km) to Abilene and west 40 miles (64 km) to Midland. U.S. Route 87 (Gregg Street) until recently ran through the center of Big Spring, leading north 106 miles (171 km) to Lubbock and southeast 86 miles (138 km) to San Angelo. A bypass to
1932-584: The Delaware Mountain Group , which can be further subdivided into rock divisions based on location in the Permian Reef Complex. The first formation that makes up the Delaware Mountain Group is the Brushy Canyon Formation , and it lies in the Delaware Basin. The Brushy Canyon Formation is made up of thin interbedded layers of alternating fine grained and massive quartz sandstone, as well as shaley brown to black sandstone. This formation reaches
2016-537: The Devonian Period . This formation is characterized by its limestone, chert, and shale beds, some of which had a peak thickness of 980 feet (300 m). this formation had many different types of limestone, including light-colored siliceous, chert -dominated, crinoid -rich, and sandy limestone. The Thirtyone Formation is very similar to the formation of the Mississippian Period, which is likely because there
2100-714: The Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring in Big Spring. The nearby Big Spring Correctional Center is privately operated ( GEO Group ) on behalf of the BOP. The Colorado River Municipal Water District operates a reclaimed water treatment plant in Big Spring, the first of its kind in Texas, the product of which is then delivered to the potable water treatment plants of Big Spring, Stanton, Midland, and Odessa . Permian Basin (North America) The Permian Basin
2184-555: The Fusselman Formation , is mostly made up of light grey, medium to coarse grained dolomite. The thickness of this formation varies from 49 to 164 feet (15 to 50 m), and parts of the Fusselman Formation were also subject to karstification , which indicates a drop in sea level. The second rock group that formed during the Silurian Period is called the Wristen Formation, which is mud, shale, and dolomite rich rock that reaches
2268-525: The Ouachita–Marathon thrust belt separated by the Central Basin Platform. The basin contains sediment dating to Pennsylvanian , Wolfcampian ( Neal Ranch and Lenox Hills Formations ), Leonardian ( Avalon Shale ), and early Guadalupian times. The eastward-dipping Delaware basin is subdivided into several formations (figure 2) and contains about 25,000 feet (7,600 m) of laminated siltstone and sandstone . Aside from clastic sediment,
2352-497: The Precambrian supercontinent and the formation of the modern Permian Basin geometry, shallow marine sedimentation onto the ancestral Tobosa Basin characterized the passive margin , shallow marine environment. The Tobosa Basin also contains basement rock that dates back to 1330 million years ago (mya), and that is still visible in the present-day Guadalupe Mountains . The basement rock contains biotite-quartz granite, discovered at
2436-482: The 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s was Webb Air Force Base . It initially opened during World War II as the Big Spring Bombardier School. Following the war, it was converted to a US Air Force training base and was named for James Webb, a Big Spring native who died in action during World War II. Webb Air Force Base was active until 1977, when the base facilities were deeded to the city. Big Spring was featured in
2520-534: The 1969 film Midnight Cowboy , which starred Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight , and received the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1969. The opening scenes featuring Voight, then a relatively unknown actor, playing the character Joe Buck, were filmed in Big Spring and the neighboring city of Stanton . In 1980, Hollywood returned to Big Spring with the filming of Hangar 18 , a low-budget science-fiction movie about
2604-589: The Atoka, also during the Pennsylvanian Period, and reached a max thickness of 660 feet (200 m). In this formation, there was a significant increase in reef mounds . The Strawn Formation is primarily made up of massive limestone, along with "fine to medium-grained sandstone, dark to light-grey shale, and occasional reddish-brown, greenish-gray, bituminous shale". A great number of different fossil types were preserved in this formation, including brachiopods , foraminifera , bryozoans , corals , and crinoids. The Pennsylvanian Period also includes two other formations,
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2688-522: The Basin, with the northernmost part being more rich in shale. The thickness of this formation also varies, reaching a maximum of 1,600 feet (500 m). The Wolfcampian is made up primarily of grey to brown shale and fine-grained, chert-dominated, brown limestone. There are also interbedded layers of fine-grained sandstone found within the formation. The primary formation that remains from the Leonardian Age
2772-545: The Bell Canyon Formation have thin interbeds of dark-colored bioclastic limestone and fine-grained sandstone. As these formations move towards the basin margins, the sandstone wedges out and the limestone thickens into massive, meters thick beds, containing reef talus . The Goat Seep Reef Formation lies on the shelf margin and integrates with the Getaway Formation in the basin and the San Andres Formation towards
2856-540: The Big Spring District Parole Office in the city. The Texas Department of State Health Services operates a 200-bed psychiatric hospital, opened in 1939. The hospital has reduced its number of beds over the years, but remains one of the largest employers in Big Spring. The United States Postal Service operates the Big Spring Post Office. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) operates
2940-499: The Canyon and Cisco Formations, which are significant due to the major oil reservoirs discovered in them. The Permian Period was a time of major reef building to transform the Permian Reef Complex into a major reef system, with Permian-aged rock formations making up 95% of the present-day outcrops in the Permian Basin. When considering any type of reef building that occurred in the Permian, it
3024-786: The Capitan Reef being one of the most famous examples. In the Guadalupian, reefs were abundant globally, and grew in places such as the Delaware Basin, the Zechstein Basin in Eastern Europe, along the Tethys Ocean , and in cool water shelves in the Panthalassa Ocean . The end of this golden age for reef building occurred due to the "end-Guadalupian reef crisis", which involved global drops in sea levels and regional salinity fluctuations. The movement and collision of micro-continents during
3108-494: The Central Basin Platform, which is encircled by faults, and the Midland and Delaware Basins on either side. Mississippian sediments are absent either due to erosion or nondeposition. Marine shales were deposited in the center of the Delaware, Midland and Val Verde basins, while the basins' periphery saw the deposition of shallow marine, carbonate shelf and limestone sediments. The Early Pennsylvanian Morrow Formation underlies
3192-437: The Delaware Basin and the surrounding shelf environments. The Cherry Canyon Formation can be subdivided into four sub-units, each of which will be discussed briefly. The Lower Getaway member is a limestone that has different characteristics based on its location in the Delaware Basin, and contains patch reefs close to the basin margin. These reefs are often found on limestone conglomerate and breccias . The Upper Getaway Member
3276-537: The Delaware and Midland Basins that grade up-dip into siltstones and evaporites . The Eastern and Northwestern Shelves are subdivided into the San Andres , Grayburg , Queen , Seven Rivers , Yates , and Tansill Formations . The San Simon Channel is a narrow syncline that separated the Central Basin Platform from the Northwestern Shelf during Leonardian and Guadalupian times. The Sheffield Channel separates
3360-430: The Delaware basin also contains carbonate deposits of the Delaware Mountain Group , originating from the Guadalupian times when the Hovey Channel allowed access from the sea into the basin. The westward-dipping Midland Basin is subdivided into several formations (figure 4) and is composed of laminated siltstone and sandstone. The Midland Basin was filled by a large subaqueous delta that deposited clastic sediment into
3444-460: The FBOP would be phasing out its use of contracted facilities, because private prisons provided less safe and less effective services with no substantial cost savings. The agency had expected to allow current contracts on its thirteen remaining private facilities to expire. However, Attorney General Jeff Sessions criticized the August 2016 decision and reversed it on February 22, 2017. The prison's contract
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3528-408: The Guadalupian, the Permian Basin had adequate water circulation with fresh water coming in from the Hovey Channel. Evaporite growth along the bottom portions of the basin showed that the water column was most likely stratified and euxinic , meaning the water was both anoxic and sulfidic . The passageways between the Delaware and Midland Basins were restricted due to tectonic changes, and this caused
3612-679: The Midland Basin, consisting of 1,804 feet (550 m) of limestone accumulated in the Pennsylvanian and 1,099 feet (335 m) in the Permian , with 15 significant petroleum reservoirs from 6,099 feet (1,859 m) to 9,902 feet (3,018 m) in depth. The reef complex consists of Upper Pennsylvanian Strawn, Canyon and Cisco limestones, overlain by Lower Permian Wolfcamp sandstones and shales of terrigenous origin prograding northeast to southwest. The first production well, Seabird Oil Company of Delaware No. 1-B J. C. Caldwell,
3696-488: The Montoya Group sequence is made up of carbonate limestone and dolomite which is described as dense, impermeable, and non-porous, and is more commonly found in the Glass Mountains outcrop, with thickness varying from 151 to 509 feet (46 to 155 m). During the Silurian Period, the Tobosa Basin experienced dramatic changes in sea level which led to the formation of multiple rock groups. The first of these groups, called
3780-570: The Shelf. This formation is described as 1,150 feet (350 m) thick, one mile (1,600 m) long, and made up entirely of massive dolomite. In the bottom half of the formation, the dolomite is stratified into massive beds. This formation also contains molds of organisms destroyed by the dolomitization process. The Guadalupian Epoch is one of the most successful in history in terms of reef building, since most Permian reefs reached their maximum in size, diversity, extent, and abundance during this Epoch, with
3864-429: The Tobosa Basin being divided into three sections: the Delaware Basin, the Midland Basin, and the Central Basin Platform. The end of the Mississippian Period also led to the beginning of the formation of the modern Permian Reef Complex. The legacy of the early to mid Paleozoic is almost 6,600 feet (2,000 m) of sediments that were accumulated due to almost uninterrupted sedimentation. The Pennsylvanian Period marked
3948-536: The age of 18, 6.1% were under 5 years of age, and 11.3% were 65 and older. As of the 2010 census , there were 27,282 people, 8,267 households, and _ families residing in the city. The population density was 1,428.4 inhabitants per square mile (551.5/km ). There were 9,640 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 69.7% White , 7.8% African American , 0.9% Native American , 0.9% Asian , 0.0% Pacific Islander , 18.4% from some other races and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.1% of
4032-513: The area. Marcy marked the spring as a campsite on the Overland Trail to California . The site began to collect inhabitants, and by the late 1870s, a settlement had sprung up to support buffalo hunters who frequented the area. The original settlement consisted largely of hide huts and saloons. Ranching quickly became a major industry in the area; early ranchers included F.G. Oxsheer, C.C. Slaughter, and B.F. Wolcott. One notable early rancher
4116-842: The basin. Aside from clastic sediment, the Midland Basin also contains carbonate deposits originating from the Guadalupian times when the Hovey Channel allowed access from the sea into the basin. The Central Basin Platform (CBP) is a tectonically uplifted basement block capped by a carbonate platform . The CBP separates the Delaware and Midland Basins and is subdivided into several formations, from oldest to youngest Neal Ranch , Lennox Hills , Abo , Yeso , Glorieta , San Andres , Grayburg , Queen , Seven Rivers , Yates , and Tansill Formations (Figure 5). The sequence mainly comprises carbonate reef deposits and shallow marine clastic sediments. The Eastern and Northwestern Shelves are composed of shelf edge reefs and shelf carbonates flanking
4200-562: The beginning of geological processes that would shape the Permian Basin into what we see today. Rifting events during the Cambrian Period (early Paleozoic) left fault zones in the region. These fault zones acted as planes of weakness for faulting that was later initiated by the Ouachita Orogeny . These fault zones caused the Tobosa Basin to be transformed, due to tectonic activity, into the Permian Reef Complex, which comprises three parts:
4284-425: The break up of Pangea also caused the destruction of many Guadalupian Reefs. Even with the number of reefs from that epoch that have been destroyed, there are over 100 Guadalupian reefs that remain in the world, the most from any Permian epoch. The growth of the Capitan Reef, which is referred to as a "massive member" due to it being formed from massive limestone, can be described in three stages. The first stage
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#17328840815994368-528: The city of Big Spring. Long used by regional inhabitants, both permanent and nomadic, with a large number of locally collected artifacts testifying to its heavy occupation, the spring sat astride the several branches of the later-developed Comanche War Trail as they converged on this important water hole from beyond Texas, coming south across the Northern Plains and the Llano Estacado . From the Big Spring,
4452-471: The city's history was the discovery of oil in the region during the 1920s. The early discoveries in the area marked the beginning of the oil industry in the Permian Basin area of West Texas, and the oil industry has continued to be a dominant part of the area's economy. The oil industry in Big Spring reached its peak during the oil boom of the 1950s. Another major part of Big Spring's economy and life during
4536-413: The city. The population density was 1,382.3 inhabitants per square mile (533.7/km ). There were 9,965 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 64.6% White , 6.1% African American , 1.2% Native American , 1.3% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 11.9% from some other races and 14.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 53.0% of the population. 21.3% of residents were under
4620-423: The end of the Permian Period, the supercontinent of Pangaea was beginning its break up, which drastically changed the conditions that were previously favourable for reef growth. Change in tectonics limited the exchange of sea water in the Hovey Channel, which then led to a salinity increase in the Permian Basin. The reef could not survive this drastic change in water salinity , and was therefore destroyed. Up until
4704-450: The main area only 3,000 ft (914 m) wide and almost circular, with some ellipticity trending towards the west. The Cretaceous beds subsided about 280 ft (85 m) below their normal position, centered on the southeast quarter of Section 12, Block 33 T1S; T&P RR Co survey, and the entire stratum appears to be preserved within the sink, the surface topography roughly following the subsurface subsidence. This writing identifies
4788-508: The most prominent sponges that made up the Capitan Reef was the sponge family Guadalupiidae , a sponge that first appeared on Glass Mountains in the mid Permian and had spread into the Delaware Basin by the late Permian. There were more environmental changes to mark the second stage of the formation of the Capitan Reef. This period of growth was marked by eustatic changes in global sea levels, due to frequent glaciations . The reef experienced major growth vertically at this stage and grew at
4872-455: The oil production activities in the basin. The Permian Basin is also a major source of potassium salts ( potash ). Potash mines are located in Lea and Eddy counties , New Mexico, and are operated by the room and pillar method. Halite (rock salt) is produced as a byproduct of potash mining. The Delaware Basin is the larger of the two major lobes of the Permian Basin within the foreland of
4956-466: The overflow going only a short distance down the draw before it sank beneath the surface. The spring has mistakenly been described in other writings as being located in Sulphur Draw. It is actually located to the south, near the top of a small, rugged, unnamed draw running eastwards from the spring, and is itself a tributary to Beal's Creek, the name given to Sulphur Draw as it flows into, through, and past
5040-406: The plural in Big Spring, it should be explained that until about 1916, when for some unexplained reason the name dropped the final 's', the official name of the town was indeed Big Springs." The area had long been a popular watering hole for Native American residents and nomads, including members of the more recently established Jumano , Apache , and Comanche tribes. The first European to view
5124-556: The population. Big Spring is the site of several major hang-gliding championship tournaments, including the U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals. The city was also the site for the filming of parts of Midnight Cowboy and Hangar 18 . Following the 2011 redistricting, Howard County is represented in the Texas House of Representatives by the District 72 Republican Drew Darby of San Angelo. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates
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#17328840815995208-410: The reef system. Ocean currents in the Permian played a huge role in setting up the climate of the region and for aiding in the growth and death of the Capitan Reef. The climate of the basin region was hot and arid , which is shown in the evaporite deposits that can be found in the back reef region. The end in growth and accumulation of the Permian Reef Complex was influenced by tectonics . During
5292-492: The report states no other comparable deep sinks formed elsewhere on the Edwards Plateau. The same publication suggests the spring's discharge volume was in excess of 100,000 U.S. gallons (378,541 L) per day at the time of the railroad's arrival in the area in the late 1880s. The water was heavily mined by wells built by both the railroad and the early town of Big Spring, greatly in excess of its modest recharge rate, until
5376-530: The rest of the Permian Reef Complex. Rocks from the Bone Spring Limestone are predominantly found in the Delaware Basin, but the Victorio Peak Member extends into the shelf margin area. The Guadalupian Epoch was named after the Guadalupe Mountains , since this epoch in the Permian is when reef building was at its most efficient. Lasting from approximately 272–260 mya, this epoch was dominated by
5460-609: The salinity of the water to rise. The growing temperatures in the late Permian combined with the increase in salinity caused the extinction of the Capitan Reef, as well as the formation of evaporites with the basin. The layers of evaporites that formed as a result of increased salinity is called the Castile Formation . This formation consists of alternating layers of gypsum / anhydrite and limestone, as well as massive beds of gypsum/anhydrite, salt , and some limestone. The unit measures almost 4,300 feet (1,300 m) in total and
5544-445: The shale beds are "grey to black, hard, platy, pyritic, organic, and very siliceous". The Mississippian Limestone ranges from 49 to 171 feet (15 to 52 m) in thickness, while generally being thinner towards the southern part of the Tobosa Basin. The Barnett Shale is the second formation to have developed during the Mississippian Period. It consists mainly of silty brown shale and fine-grained sandstone and siltstone. This Formation
5628-419: The sink as one of a number of similar subsurface geologic features in the surrounding area, differing from the Big Spring sink only in the fact that the surface topography above the others, while showing some decline, does not dip low enough to intersect the top of the water tables; hence, no springs could form from the other aquifers. In a passing comment, enigmatic in its content and disappointing in its brevity,
5712-572: The site was probably a member of a Spanish expedition exploring the Great Plains from New Mexico . During the 1840s and 1850s, Big Spring was often where Comanches assembled and organized themselves before departing on large-scale raids into northern Mexico during the Comanche-Mexico Wars . Captain Randolph B. Marcy 's expedition in 1849 was the first United States expedition to explore and map
5796-410: The southern end of the High Plains , being, structurally, a collecting sink of lower Cretaceous (Fredericksburg) limestones and sands. The spring aquifer held a large quantity of water due to the great number of fractures, solution channels, and interstices in the rocks and underlying sands, although the areal extent of the Big Spring sink is estimated to be only 1 mi (2 km) in diameter, with
5880-402: The southern margin of the Midland Basin from the southern shelf and the Ouachita–Marathon thrust-belt during Leonardian and Guadalupian times. The Hovey Channel is a topographical low located on the southern edge of the Delaware Basin, allowing access to the Panthalassa sea during Guadalupian times. The Hovey Channel was originally an anticline which formed during Precambrian faulting, and
5964-402: The war trail continued south via three branches, one to the southeast through the western part of the Concho country; one going almost due south, heading for Castle Gap and Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River ; and one heading west to Willow Springs in the sand country southwest of present Midland, before turning south down the Pecos, all headed ultimately for Mexico . As whites began to settle
6048-433: The water table first dropped below the level of the spring outlet, and finally, was completely depleted by the mid-1920s. The city now artificially fills the spring from its current source of water as a means of allowing residents and visitors to maintain some idea of how it appeared in times past. Big Spring is located slightly south of the center of Howard County in the valley of Beals Creek, an eastward-flowing tributary of
6132-475: The west of the city now carries US 87, while the old route is now Business US 87. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 19.226 square miles (49.80 km ), of which, 19.138 square miles (49.57 km ) is land and 0.088 square miles (0.23 km ) is water. As of the 2020 census , there were 26,144 people, 8,320 households, and 5,333 families residing in
6216-517: The western territories, the spring continued to serve as a major watering place on the southern route of the Gold Rush Trail of the early 1850s and continued in use well beyond that time, as the cross-continental trail turned into a major road for later pioneers coming into the area. The spring was sourced from a relatively small aquifer situated on the northern end of the Edwards Plateau and
6300-509: The world's thickest deposits of rocks from the period. The Permian Basin comprises several component basins, including the Midland Basin, which is the largest; Delaware Basin , the second largest; and Marfa Basin, the smallest. The Permian Basin covers more than 86,000 square miles (220,000 km ), and extends across an area approximately 250 miles (400 km) wide and 300 miles (480 km) long. The Texas cities of Midland , Odessa and San Angelo serve as headquarters for some of
6384-573: Was Briton Joseph Heneage Finch, the Seventh Earl of Aylesford . Finch purchased 37,000 acres (150 km ) of ranchland in the area in 1883, and is credited with building Big Spring's first permanent structure, a butcher shop. The completion of the Texas and Pacific Railroad led to the founding in the early 1880s of Abilene, Colorado City , and Big Spring, three railroading and ranching cities where saloons and gambling dens flourished. More important in
6468-469: Was completed in 1948. The Permian Basin is the thickest deposit of Permian aged rocks on Earth which were rapidly deposited during the collision of North America and Gondwana ( South America and Africa ) between the late Mississippian through the Permian. The Permian Basin also includes formations that date back to the Ordovician Period , 445 million years ago ( mya ). Prior to the breakup of
6552-437: Was established as the county seat of Howard County in 1882; it is the largest community in the county. The city took its name from the single, large spring that issued into a small gorge between the base of Scenic Mountain and a neighboring hill in the southwestern part of the city limits. Although the name is sometimes still mistakenly pluralized, it is officially singular. "To the native or established residents who may wince at
6636-581: Was formed during the Lopingian Epoch . The individual layers ( laminae ) of gypsum/anhydrite are between 0.039 inches (1 mm) and 3.9 inches (10 cm) in thickness, which is thought to correlate with the basin salinity on a year by year basis. The Capitan Reef had been altered diagenetically early on in its history, especially after the deposition of the Castile Formation. There is evidence of fabric alteration throughout this formation, which
6720-521: Was free from debris and which had a normal salinity level of 27 to 40 ppt (parts per thousand). The basin water provided plenty of nutrients, since there was continuous upwelling of water that mixed newly brought marine water with anoxic water from the basin floor. The makeup of the reef is described as being built primarily from erect sponges, which have large, rigid skeletons, and abundant red algae , microbial micrite , and inorganic cement . The microbial micrite worked to trap sediment . One of
6804-411: Was little to no change in the environment during this time. The Mississippian Limestone is the main formation to develop during this Period. This formation, similar to the previously mentioned Thirtyone Formation, is composed primarily of limestone and shale. The limestone beds are described as being "brown to dark brown, micro-crystalline to very finely crystalline, commonly sandy, and dolomitic", while
6888-549: Was much thicker than the Mississippian Limestone, ranging from 200 to 460 feet (60 to 140 m). The increased thickness can be explained by increased sedimentation in the area, which was likely caused by tectonic activity in the region. The Ouachita Orogeny occurred during the Late Mississippian, leading to tectonic activity in the region. The subsequent folding and faulting caused by this Orogeny led to
6972-421: Was of major importance to all life in the surrounding area. In the early 1840s, it was the center of a territorial dispute between Comanche and Pawnee tribes, and has been a major watering hole for wildlife and prehistoric people in this semiarid area. Early military scouting reports and pioneer accounts describe the water as cold, clear, and dependable; the spring pool was about 15 ft (5 m) deep, with
7056-539: Was the main source of sea water for the Delaware Basin. The closing of the Hovey Channel towards the end of the Permian Period eventually caused the death of the Permian Reef, as without water being brought in through the Channel, salinity levels rose drastically in the Delaware Basin and the reef could not survive. The Horseshoe Atoll is a westward-tilting arcuate chain of reef mounds 175 miles (282 km) long located in
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