Since 1978 the results of computational architectural models have been
widely used to aid interpretation of ancient alluvial successions: he
re we present the first quantitative test of such models. We parameter
ize variables from field and magnetostratigraphic data collected from
the well-exposed Pliocene-Pleistocene Camp Rice and Palomas Formations
of the Rio Grande rift in southcentral New Mexico. Computational runs
establish that the LAB (Leeder, Alien, and Bridge) model correctly pr
edicts the gross architectural patterns of ancestral axial Rio Grande
half grabens and full grabens. Convergence of tectonic subsidence rate
and mean sedimentation rate over the studied interval suggests that t
he dynamic basis of the models is correct; i.e., it is the tectonic ''
draw-down'' of axially supplied sediment that controls the net preserv
ation potential of alluvial successions.