Geologic Tour of New Mexico

Sugarite Canyon State Park, once the site of a thriving coal-mining camp, was established as a state park in 1985, but the canyon has been a recreational attraction in northeastern New Mexico for decades. Sugarite Canyon State Park is located about 5 miles northeast of Raton via NM-72 and NM-526 (paved). The elevation in the park ranges from about 6,900 ft to 8,400 ft. This heavily wooded mountain park has something for everyone year round. Trails are maintained through the ruins of the settlement and past coal dumps and mines.

Bandelier National Monument, best known for its cultural significance and well-preserved cliff dwellings, also offers visitors a chance to observe the volcanic geology that made the area so well-suited for prehistoric Puebloan civilization. The rock in most of the monument is Bandelier Tuff, a light-colored, soft volcanic rock that formed during two very large, explosive volcanic events that occurred 1.6 and 1.2 million years ago. These two large eruptions, which together produced hundreds of cubic miles of rock, created the thick sheets of white-to-pink volcanic ash and ignimbrite seen in cliffs in many parts of the Jemez Mountains. This rock, composed of pumice, ash, and volcanic crystals, is not very strongly cemented, and, in many places, has a chalky texture. The soft and easily eroded nature of this rock allowed the deep Frijoles Canyon to be incised by Frijoles Creek, and then provided the perfect setting for the prehistoric Puebloan civilization. These people carved cliff dwellings and building blocks for structures from the volcanic rocks. They occupied this idyllic setting until around A.D. 1,100, when climate change or a combination of factors forced them to abandon the dwellings, the remains of which we see today.

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park was established in 1971 to preserve and display the wide variety of animals, plants, and natural environments found in the Chihuahuan Desert. Located north of Carlsbad on US–285, Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park offers a variety of outdoor and indoor exhibits depicting the natural, geologic, archaeological, historical, and mineral wealth of the area.

Sumner Lake State Park is approximately 16 miles northwest of Fort Sumner on US-84 and NM-203 at the junction between the Pecos River and Alamogordo Creek. It was established in 1960 as Alamogordo Reservoir; the name was changed in 1974 to avoid confusion with the growing town of Alamogordo in south-central New Mexico. Sumner Lake was named after nearby Fort Sumner, which honors Col. Edmund Vose Sumner, who commanded the 9th Military District and built Forts Craig, Union, Thorn, and Fillmore (Julyan, 1996). Alamogordo (Spanish for big cottonwood) Creek was named after the abundant, large cottonwood trees along the river valleys.

El Morro, which means "bluff" or "headland" in Spanish, is an imposing cliff made of Middle to Late Jurassic (155 to 165 million years old) Zuni Sandstone capped by Late Cretaceous Dakota (~95 to 96 million years old) sandstone and shale. Travelers, including Native Americans, Spaniards, and citizens of the United States, have carved their symbols, names, messages, and dates of their passage into the soft cross-bedded Zuni Sandstone for centuries.

Spectacular exposures of Permian Yeso Group overlain by tilted and faulted late Oligocene to Pleistocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks are preserved at the head of Church Canyon to the east of Jemez Springs in Cañon de San Diego in the southwestern Jemez Mountains. This area is on private land owned by the Catholic Church; therefore, permission must be obtained from the church offices in Jemez Springs before visiting these outcrops.

Cabezon Peak is one of the best-known and most visible landmarks in northwest New Mexico. This giant volcanic plug is visible for tens of miles in all directions, and as far away as Placitas. Cabezon means “big head” in Spanish, and it is aptly named. It is the largest of several dozen widely scattered rocky monoliths, called the Rio Puerco necks. Rising above the Rio Puerco valley floor, they are some of the best-preserved examples of volcanic necks in the world. The craggy black peaks stand in sharp contrast to the sparsely vegetated, buff-colored lowlands from which they emerge. Mt. Taylor looms majestically to the southwest, Mesa Prieta borders the valley to the east, and the Jemez Mountains are visible to the north. This starkly beautiful landscape is unique in New Mexico. At an elevation of 7,786 ft, Cabezon Peak towers more than 1,100 ft above its base, and 2,000 ft above the Rio Puerco nearby.

Jemez State Monument is in scenic Cañon de San Diego, which is located to the southwest of the Toledo and Valles calderas, large collapse features that formed during voluminous volcanic eruptions 1.6 and 1.25 million years ago in the Jemez Mountains. The monument lies near the mouth of Church Canyon, a tributary to the Jemez River within Cañon de San Diego. Two main rock units, the Pennsylvanian Madera Group and Permian Abo Formation, are exposed in and adjacent to the monument (Figures 3 and 4). Both limestone from the Madera Group and sandstone from the Abo Formation were incorporated into the walls of the 15th century pueblo and the 17th century Spanish mission at Jemez State Monument. Large rounded boulders of early Jemez volcanic field basalt and andesite lavas that were eroded from the high cliffs of Cañon de San Diego and carried by the Jemez River and flash floods in Church Canyon to the vicinity of the monument are also included in the walls of the structures.

Manzano Mountains State Park, established in 1973, is located eighteen miles northwest of the town of Mountainair and is south of the village of Manzano in the foothills of the Manzano Mountains. “Manzano” is Spanish for apple and refers to old apple orchards found in the town of Manzano. The apple trees were planted after 1800 as determined by tree ring growth, although local legends claim that the apple trees were planted in the 17th century by Spanish missionaries traveling to the nearby Indian pueblos. The few remaining trees are probably the oldest apple trees in the United States. There are no apple trees at Manzano Mountains State Park, but Gambel oak, Emory oak, piñon, ponderosa pine, and alligator juniper trees are abundant. The alligator juniper is named for the checkered pattern on the bark of older trees, which resembles an alligator's hide. Nearby, Tajique, Torreon, and 4th of July Canyons in the Manzano Mountains contain some of the largest stands of Rocky Mountain and big-toothed maple trees in the Southwest; spectacular fall colors attract visitors from throughout the area. The Manzano Mountains also play an important role as a raptor flyway during spring and fall migrations. Some species of birds may fly 200 miles in a day and several thousand miles in a season. The park has a field checklist available to visitors who enjoy bird watching.

Lincoln State Monument encompasses most of the community of Lincoln, New Mexico and commemorates the lives of many of the key players in the Lincoln County War (1878-1881). Lincoln, which is located in south-central New Mexico, can be access via U.S. Highway 380. The community was originally named La Placita del Rio Bonito (village of the pretty river); the stream that runs along the north side of the village is called the Rio Bonito. The legislature of the territory of New Mexico, encouraged by local citizenry, renamed the village Lincoln in 1869, in honor of President Lincoln, who was assassinated 4 years earlier.

The main visitor’s center for the monument is located near the east end of town on the north side of the highway. The Lincoln County Courthouse Museum, which highlights the escapades and legal troubles of William H. Bonney (Billy the Kid), is the other main attraction associated with the monument. The courthouse is on the west end of town on the south side of the highway. Admission tickets ($5 for adults, children under 16 free) may be purchased at the visitor’s center or at the courthouse. Other buildings that can be visited as part of the tour include the Montaño store, the San Juan mission, the torreon, the post office and Turnstall Museum, and Dr. Wood’s home.