Last updated: 2/10/2012
Eastern New Mexico University
Roosevelt Hall
Portales, NM 88130
Monday - Friday
8 AM - 5 PM
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Dr. Jim Constantopoulos
phone: 575-562-2651
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A mineral and geological museum dedicated to educating the public on the beauty and utility of minerals.
Examples of a stoney (chondrite) and two iron meteorites are on display in the Miles Mineral Museum in Roosevelt Hall on the ENMU campus. A sample of the Macy meteorite found near Floyd was donated to the museum by Skip Wilson of Portales. A fragment of the Canyon Diablo meteorite that produced Meteor Crater in northern Arizona was also donated by Skip Wilson.
Another iron meteorite was recently verified and prepared for display. A cut surface on this meteorite was polished and etched to reveal the beautiful pattern produced by the intergrowth of the iron-nickel alloys. Anyone with a suspected meteorite is encouraged to bring it by for verification.
Minerals possess many properties. Color is usually the first and most easily observed. For many minerals, color is a reliable diagnostic property used for identification. For others, it is the most variable and unreliable property. But what causes color in minerals? This is something that was debated among geologists for years. It is only in the last 15–20 years that we have really begun to understand the causes.
Come and learn more about the world of minerals!!
When Fred Miles and his wife Gladys moved to Roswell, New Mexico in 1928, they began exploring along the Pecos River. There they found beautiful quartz crystals called Pecos Valley Diamonds. This was the beginning of a love affair with minerals and rocks that lasted 40 years and marked the beginning of the Miles Collection. The collection was displayed in a back room of Fred's Texaco service station on Second Street in Roswell. If you mentioned any interest in minerals or rocks, Fred would proudly show off his collection, which also included Native American artifacts.
In August of 1966, Fred Miles and Eastern New Mexico University entered into an agreement to purchase the collection, which included approximately 2,500 geological, archaeological and anthropological specimens.
Originally part of the larger Miles Museum since 1969 the geological specimes and archaeological artifacts were moved to seperate facilities in 1984. The Museum has occupied its present space next to the ENMU Natural History Museum since 1997.
Eastern New Mexico University Department of Physical Sciences
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