MODFLOW 6 and MODPATH models used to simulate the steady-state hydrologic system surrounding the Zuñi Salt Lake, west-central New Mexico

The terminal Zuñi Salt Lake is in a broad, low relief volcanic crater, or maar, in west-central New Mexico and contains hypersaline water that has long been used by Native Americans for religious purposes and the collection of salt. In 1986, ownership of the Zuñi Salt Lake was transferred to the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, which has managed it as a natural and cultural resource for the continued use by Native American people. Presently (2026) the area hosts regional Tribal ceremonial events and salt collection activities. In the early 1990s, the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District proposed development of a surface coal mine, the Fence Lake Mine, approximately 8–10 miles northeast of the Zuñi Salt Lake. Although the mining proposal was withdrawn in 2003, development of mineral or water resources remains of concern to the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. The Zuñi Salt Lake hydrologic flow model was developed to provide a tool for analyzing the potential hydrologic responses of the lake and surrounding groundwater-flow system to resource development in the region under different water-use scenarios, which is vital to negotiations that would help protect future use of the lake. This USGS data release contains input and output files for the model simulation documented in the associated model report (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20265034).