Features of New Mexico

Landforms Unique to New Mexico

Continental Divide  Formed by a series of mountain ridges extending from Alaska to Mexico.  The ridge divides the flow of water - to its left, the water flows west to the Pacific and to its right, the water flows east to the Atlantic.

Rio Grande Rift  A rift is where the earth is stretching apart.  When the Rio Grande Rift began spreading apart, it triggered volcanos in the region.  The Rio Grande Rift runs the entire length of the state, from Mexico to Colorado.  It is so named because it follows the same path as the river.

Carlsbad Caverns  Created by chemical weathering.  A series of 119 different, but connected, caves. The largest could house more than 6 football fields!  Discovered and explored by a teenager using a handmade rope ladder.  Located in southeast New Mexico, in the Great Plains province.

Mountains

Sandia Mountains  The Sandia Mountains are on the east edge of the Rio Grande Rift.  Composed of mostly granite rock.  The Sandias form part of the southern Rockies.  They are in Albuquerque.

Sangre de Cristo Mountains  Spanish for "Blood of Christ“  The southern-most “sub” range of the Rocky Mountains.  They begin in Colorado, and run down through the central part of the state to Santa Fe.  They are the location of all the peaks in New Mexico which are over thirteen thousand feet.  The Pecos River originates here.

Wheeler Peak  At 13,161’, Wheeler Peak is the highest point of elevation in New Mexico.  The lowest point (at 2,842 feet above sea level) is at the northern end of the Red Bluff Reservoir on the Pecos River. FYI: This is the highest “low point” in any state!

Volcanos  Compared to other states, New Mexico is among the largest:  Number of volcanos  range of ages  diversity of types  range of preservation  And, some of the best examples of each type.

The center of the Jemez Mountains is a slumbering supervolcano. The last time it exploded, it created a plateau of volcanic ash, which turned into rock up to 900 feet deep. They are in the north/central part of the state, including Los Alamos. Jemez Mountains

Capulin Volcano is near the border of Colorado in the center of the state. It is near the old town of Folsom, once one of the largest cattle towns in New Mexico, until it was wiped out by a flash flood in Capulin Mountain

Located about 50 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, near the town of Grants. Mount Taylor: 11,301 feet

Natural Resources  New Mexico ranks 7th in mineral production in the United States. -Petroleum (oil) -Natural gas -Coal -Potash (used in agriculture as a fertilizer) -Uranium (used in bomb-making and in nuclear power plants as fuel) -Copper -New Mexico’s mountains and hills have many other valuable minerals in lower quantities, including gold, silver, and gravel.

Natural Gas  There are two main oil & gas producing regions in New Mexico:  The San Juan Basin  Located in northwest NM  In the Colorado Plateau province  Near the city of Farmington  The Permian Basin  Located in southeast NM  In the Great Plains province  Near the cities of Hobbs and Carlsbad

Coal  New Mexico ranks 12 th in the nation for coal production.

Agriculture The TOP agricultural products from NM: 1.Milk 2.Beef 3.Hay 4.Greenhouse 5.Field Crops 6.Onions 7.Chile 8.Pecans 9.Vegetables 10.Eggs 11.Cotton 12.Corn for Grain