Round Rio Rancho

Located about half way between Jemez Springs and Battleship Rock, Soda Dam is an unusual geologic structure located alongside Route 4 in the Jemez Mountains. The dam was formed over thousands of years by depositing of minerals – primarily calcium carbonate, in minute layers to eventually build this magnificent structure. The dam partially blocks the Jemez River, sometimes creating a pool upstream. The materials were deposited on the dam by groundwater which seeped into the natural fault located nearby, was heated by volcanic rock deep in the earth, and which carried the dissolved minerals and gases back to the surface.

A number of active springs within the dam structure continue to carve small caves and streak the surface with color from various trace minerals.