WELCOME TO THE LYRIC POETRY WEBSITE

             PHOTOGRAPHS FROM DOCTORAL DISSERTATION OF RICHARD HAYES PHILLIPS:
         "PROSPECTS FOR REGIONAL GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION DUE TO KARST LANDFORMS
             IN MESCALERO CALICHE AT THE WIPP SITE NEAR CARLSBAD, NEW MEXICO"

LEFT:  Gypsum cave in the hills high above the Surprise Spring inlet to Laguna Grande
de la Sal.  The gypsum cave, 21 inches long and 12 inches high, is one of several in the
immediate vicinity.  They are evidence of a higher water table during the Pleistocene
Epoch.  In modern times, dry watercourses leading from these caves are fed only by
direct precipitation, even after major rainstorms.

RIGHT:  Discharge into Laguna Grande de la Sal from a small salt lake known informally
as Laguna Pequeña.  The stream channel is 12 feet wide; stream discharge is nearly
400 cubic feet per second.  A water sample yielded high levels of calcium, magnesium,
sulphate, bromide and fluoride, all due to dissolution and removal of dolomite and
gypsum from the Rustler Formation.

For a full discussion of the geologic context of these photographs see "Direct Testimony"
                         http://www.cardnm.org/techsecfrm_a.html