BRN 9-2 (uncompressed) - Flipbook - Page 47
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of Fluorite Ridge (which is named) reßects the increased
mining of ßuorite to harden steel. As the geology of this
region became better known the diversity of minerals mined
in the area grew, reßecting the strong linkage between
cultural developments and natural history.
Harrison Schmitt, who was a crew member on Apollo 17.
Schmitt was born in Santa Rita before the town was moved.
Quite literally, he was Òborn in spaceÓ now above a huge
open pit mine.
At the lower left of the map the Kneeling Nun geologic
formation is noted (see Ò10Ó). ÒThe Kneeling Nun, Santa
Rita, New MexicoÓ describes some of the geology and
cultural history associated with the formation. This map
includes the various mines in the area as cultural features.
The mining, the Kneeling Nun, and other features are all
indicative of an area which has been very geologically active
in the past.
Map 9 is a special edition of the Santa Rita quadrangle
dating from 1907. The scale is 1:24,000. Among other
things it shows a town which no longer exists, or no longer
exists at the location indicated. Santa Rita was moved so
that the open pit mine now called the Chino Mine (in some
sources the Santa Rita Mine - in the past it was called Santa
Rita del Cobre) could be dug. La Esperanza Vineyard and
Winery which is located near the mine, in the Mimbres
Valley, sells a semisweet red wine called ÒBorn in SpaceÓ.
The wineÕs name is a multi-layered pun acknowledging
By 1931 (see Ò11Ó) most mine shafts and adits were shown
but not named, and Santa Rita was about to be moved.
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