The Sandia Mountains are a mountain range located in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, immediately to the northeast of of the city of Albuquerque in New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The range is largely within the Cibola National Forest. Its highest point is Sandia Crest at 10,678 ft (3,255 m) in elevation, while South Sandia Peak is at 9,702 ft (2,957 m). A mountain range (Sierra in the Spanish language) is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... Location in the state of New Mexico Formed Seat Albuquerque Area  - Total  - Water 3,027 km² (1,169 mi²) 7 km² (3 mi²) 0. ... Sandoval County is a county located in the state of New Mexico. ... Nickname: The Duke City Official website: http://www. ... Official language(s) None Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq. ... The Cibola National Forest stretches from western Oklahoma to western New Mexico. ... Sandia Crest is the highest point of the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico. ...

Sandia means watermelon in Spanish, and is popularly believed to be a reference to the red color of the mountains at sunset. Also, when viewed from the west, the profile of the mountains is a long ridge, with a thin zone of green conifers near the top, suggesting the "rind" of the watermelon. However, Robert Julyan notes in The Place Names of New Mexico, "the most likely explanation is the one believed by the Sandia Indians: the Spaniards, when they encountered the Pueblo in 1540, called it Sandia, because they thought the squash growing there were watermelons, and the name Sandia soon was transferred to the mountains east of the pueblo." He also notes that the Sandia Pueblo Indians call the mountain Bien Mur, "big mountain." Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ...

A panoramic view of the Sandia Mountains after a heavy snow storm. (Photo: Tony Dutson. ©2001 Tony Dutson Photo Gallery, courtesy of byways.org)

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2563x575, 147 KB) Summary A panoramic view of the Sandia Mountains after a heavy snow storm. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2563x575, 147 KB) Summary A panoramic view of the Sandia Mountains after a heavy snow storm. ...

Layout of the range

The Sandias are a small range, consisting of a single north-south ridge, which rises to two major summits, Sandia Crest and South Sandia Peak. The range measures approximately 17 miles (26 km) north-south, and the width in the east-west direction varies from 4 to 8 miles (6 to 12 km). The west side of the range is steep and rugged, with a number of sheer rock walls and towers near Sandia Crest. The east side has a gentler slope.

Geology

The Sandia Mountains are a fault block range, on the eastern edge of the Rio Grande Rift Valley. The core of the range consists of Sandia Granite, approximately 1.4 billion years old (there is also some metamorphic rock of age 1.7 billion years). This is topped by a relatively thin layer (approximately 300 feet/100 metres) of sedimentary rock (mostly limestone, and some sandstone) of Pennsylvanian age (circa 300 million years ago). The Sandias were uplifted in the last 10 million years as part of the formation of the Rio Grande Rift. Fault-block mountains are produced when normal (near vertical) faults fracture a section of continental crust. ... The Rio Grande flowing in Big Bend National Park The Rio Grande in its lower course, between Matamoros and Brownsville Known as the Rio Grande in the United States and as the Río Bravo (or, more formally, the Río Bravo del Norte) in Mexico, the river, 3,034... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... The term Metamorphic can be associated with a number of meanings:- Metamorphic rock The term for rocks that have been transformed by extreme heat and pressure. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Sandstone near Stadtroda, Germany Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... The Pennsylvanian is a geologic (sub)period lasting from roughly 325 million years before the present (BP) to 286 million years BP. As with most other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain by...

The Sandia Mountains at sunset, looking east from Bernalillo.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (979x600, 100 KB) Summary The Sandia Mountains at sunset, looking east from Bernalillo. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (979x600, 100 KB) Summary The Sandia Mountains at sunset, looking east from Bernalillo. ...

Ecology

The Sandias encompass four different named life zones due to the large elevation change, and the resulting changes in temperature and amount of precipitation, from base to top. The grassland at the western base of the mountain (the edge of the city of Albuquerque) is part of the Upper Sonoran Zone. From 5,500 feet elevation to 7,200 feet (all of these elevations are approximate), the Upper Sonoran Zone continues, but notable differences occur: one first finds a zone of primarily juniper, then a mixed Piñon-Juniper zone. From 7,200 to 7,800 feet, in the Transition Zone, Ponderosa Pine dominates. From 7,800 to 9,800 feet, a mixture of conifers occurs in the Canadian Zone. Finally, from 9,800 feet to Sandia Crest at 10,678 feet, spruce and fir dominate the Hudsonian Zone.

Access and recreation

There are two easy ways to reach the top of the Sandias. The Sandia Peak Tramway ascends from the west side to a point on the crestline about 1.5 miles south of Sandia Crest, at the top of the Sandia Peak Ski Area, located on the east side. A road (NM 536) from the east provides access to the bottom of the ski area and also to Sandia Crest itself, where there is a gift shop, restaurant, and a large electronic communications site. Along the road there are numerous picnic and recreation sites. The Sandia Peak Tramway, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, is the worlds longest aerial tramway. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

There are no developed campgrounds in the Sandias. Numerous hiking trails exist on both sides of the range. Much of the west side of the range is included in the Sandia Mountain Wilderness; the trails on that side are steeper, and water is very scarce. Beautiful natural scenes are common hiking destinations Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

The rock walls and pinnacles on the west side of the range provide abundant rock climbing opportunities, from bouldering and top-roping to multiday big wall climbs on the Shield, the largest rock feature on the mountain. However the long hikes (often off-trail) required to reach many of the climbs, and the variable quality of rock (often poor), prevent the Sandias from being a major climbing destination. Climbers on Valkyrie at the Roaches. ... Bouldering is undertaken without a rope and is normally limited in respect to the height the climber ascends the route so that any fall will not risk significant injury. ...

History

The Sandias contain a location notable for prehistoric archaeology: the Sandia Cave is believed to have been inhabited 10000 to 12000 years ago by the Sandia Man. The cave can be accessed via a 1/2 mile trail in Las Huertas Canyon, on the northeast side of the range, near Placitas, New Mexico. Placitas is a census-designated place located in Sandoval County, New Mexico. ...

Ancestral and early Pueblo peoples have lived in the Sandia Mountains area for thousands of years. Examples of previous Pueblo settlements, now unoccupied, include Tijeras Pueblo and Pa'ako Pueblo, both founded around 700 years ago. Sandia Pueblo is a modern pueblo, abutting the Sandia Mountains on the northwest side of the range. Some of the foothills of the range are on Sandia Pueblo land; there have been disputes in the past between the Pueblo, the Forest Service, and private landowners over rights to various parts of the range. The people of Sandia Pueblo consider the mountains a sacred place. Pueblos are traditional Native American communities of the Southwest United States of America. ... Sandia Pueblo is a nation of Native American Pueblo people inhabiting a 22,877-acre reservation of the same name in the eastern Rio Grande Valley in central New Mexico, located three miles south of Bernalillo off Highway 85. ...

Sources

• Robert Julyan, Mary Stuever, eds., Field Guide to the Sandia Mountains, UNM Press, Albuquerque, 2005.
• Robert Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico (revised edition), UNM Press, 1998.
• Mick Schein, Sandia Rock, Sharp End Press, Boulder, 2003.
• Halka Chronic, Roadside Geology of New Mexico, Mountain Press Publishing, 1987.

External links

• Sandia Peak Ski Area
• Sandia Crest web site
• Topozone map of the Sandias