The Rio Grande river runs a north-south course, in New Mexico and Colorado, along the Rio Grande rift. Southern boundary line of NM added for clarity Credit:larger image of NASA Astronaut photograph. Mission-Roll-Image STS100-704-152
The area is presently quiescent, but significant geological activity has occurred in the area over the last 20 million years. The Sangre de Cristo Range lies to the east of the north portion of the rift. The Valles Caldera National Preserve is a huge caldera by the Jemez river, nearby. The Colorado Plateau, to the west, includes the San Juan Volcanic Field and the San Juan Mountains. The Rio Grande river follows the course of the rift from southern Colorado to El Paso; it starts a southeast course out of New Mexico at the pass between the Franklin mountains and the Sierra Juarez, which ends at the Gulf of Mexico.
In the late Oligocene Epoch regional tensional forces became dominant and rifting was initiated as the crust began tearing apart.
However, the Jemez Mountains themselves are not primarily a feature of the rift; rather, the range on the west side of the graben corresponding to the Sangre de Cristos is the lower and less well-known Nacimiento Mountains.
The RioGrande follows the course of the rift from southern Colorado to El Paso; it starts a southeast course out of New Mexico at the pass between the Franklin Mountains and the Sierra Juarez, which ends at the Gulf of Mexico.
Use of the water of the RioGrande is regulated by the RioGrande Compact, an interstate pact between Colorado, New Mexico and Texas; and a treaty between the United States and Mexico.
The RioGrande rises in high mountains and flows for much of its length at high elevation; El Paso is 1147 m (3762 feet) above sea level.
In New Mexico the river flows through the RioGrandeRift from one sediment-filled basin to another, cutting canyons between the basins and supporting a fragile bosque ecosystem in its floodplain.
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