Geologic Tour of New Mexico — State Parks & Monuments

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.

Morphy Lake State Park offers fishermen, campers, hikers, and other visitors a rustic alpine setting in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Spectacular views are the result of complex geologic processes active since Proterozoic time (1,700 m.y. ago): two major periods of mountain building (called orogenies) and most recently erosion and sedimentation by glaciers and rivers.The state park is 7 miles southwest of Mora and 3 miles northwest of Ledoux in the eastern Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. It is the least accessible of the New Mexico state parks.

Navajo Lake State Park, which includes the second largest reservoir in the state, is in the Four Corners region of northwestern New Mexico, 25–30 mi east of Bloomfield. Navajo Dam was built in 1958–1962 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for flood control, recreation, sediment control, and to provide water to the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, one of the many projects of the basin-wide Colorado River Storage Project established in 1956. The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, founded in 1962, provides water for approximately 110,000 acres of farmland on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The dam traps water from the San Juan, Piedra, and Los Pinos Rivers and Sambrito and La Jara Creeks. The dam consists of an earth- and rock-filled structure that extends 3,648 ft across the San Juan River and is 402 ft high at an elevation of 6,085 ft. In the reservoir area, five cemeteries, 4 miles of Colorado state highway, and 6.5 miles of railroad were relocated. The city of Farmington has operated a 30-megawatt hydroelectric power plant at Navajo Dam since 1987. When full, the reservoir covers 15,590 acres.

Oasis State Park lies 18 miles southwest of Clovis and 7 miles north of Portales via US–60 and NM–467. It was established in 1961 to preserve the natural beauty of a true oasis in the sandy desert of the Llano Estacado or “staked plains” of the Great Plains physiographic province. The surrounding area is flat, treeless, featureless, and relatively dry. The summers are hot, the winters are cold, the wind seems to blow constantly. In contrast, the park offers shade trees and a small lake, as well as conveniences such as water, showers, electric hookups, and dump stations expected of picnic areas and modern campgrounds. Many of the facilities are accessible to people with disabilities. In addition to picnicking and camping, fishing, hiking, and bird watching are popular activities. The pond is stocked with catfish and trout. Trails weave up and down and around the sand dunes; watch carefully for lizards, snakes, and other wildlife that make the sand their home! A ballfield lies near the center of the park and there is a new visitor’s center. The Blackwater Draw Museum is located east of Oasis State Park on US-70, and the Blackwater Draw Archaeological Site is north of the state park.

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, at the mouth of Dog Canyon on the western escarpment of the Sacramento Mountains, opened in 1980, but the area has attracted visitors for several thousands of years. The 180-acre state park has a flowing stream and forms an oasis on the edge of the harsh desert of the Tularosa (Spanish, "reddish willows") Valley. The park is named for Oliver Lee (1865-1941), a prominent rancher and state legislator who settled near the mouth of Dog Canyon in the late 1880s. Lee was active in developing water-control projects in the area. Oliver Lee's ranch is one of the many exhibits at the state park. The Visitor's Center houses displays of the geologic and cultural history of the canyon area. Approximately 30,000 people enjoy camping, hiking, and picnicking in the park each year. An interpretative trail along lower Dog Canyon allows visitors a glimpse of vegetation and wildlife in the oasis as well as several cultural sites. The Dog Canyon Trail starts at an elevation of about 4,500 ft in the state park and climbs the steep escarpment of the Sacramento Mountains to the Eyebrow Trail to Joplin Ridge at an elevation of 7,753 ft, for a total one-way distance of about six miles.

Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus, New Mexico, was established in 1959 “in interest of preservation of the memory of the unique, historical occasion of the last hostile action by foreign troops within the continental United States”. It became the only park in the United States to be named after a foreign invader. The creation of the 60-acre park was a gesture of good will between the United States and Mexico. The town of Columbus has been designated a National Historic Site. Across the street from the park is the privately owned Pancho Villa Museum.

Percha Dam and Caballo Lake State Parks, located south of the town of Truth or Consequences, offer striking views of the Caballo Mountains and Red Hills, prominent uplifts in the southern Rio Grande rift. The Percha and Caballo dams were built for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Rio Grande Project in 1918 and 1936–38, respectively. Percha Dam, although only 18.5 feet tall, diverts water into the Rincon Valley, irrigating farmland where much of New Mexico’s famous green chile is grown, along with many other crops. Two miles upstream, the 96-foot-tall and 4,590-feet-wide earth-fill Caballo Dam stores water released from hydroelectric- power generation at Elephant Butte Dam and regulates delivery of that water to downstream users during irrigation season.

Rockhound State Park lies in the Little Florida Mountains southeast of Deming, New Mexico. It was established in 1966 as the first park in the United States that allowed collecting of rocks and minerals for personal use. Each visitor is allowed to collect as much as 15 lb of rocks and minerals from the 1,100-acre park; mineral dealers are not allowed to collect for sale. Rockhound State Park actually consists of two separate units, the main park and Spring Canyon Recreation Area. Spring Canyon lies in the northern Florida Mountains, south of the main park, and is open for day use only from Easter through November.

Santa Rosa, "the city of natural lakes", lies in the semiarid, upper Pecos River valley in Guadalupe County where numerous natural artesian-spring lakes abound. Blue Hole, one of these lakes located within the city limits, is well known for its crystal-clear water and attracts scuba divers. However, the largest lake in the area is man made—Santa Rosa Lake, located about seven miles north of the city on the Pecos River. The dam was completed in 1981 at a cost of $43 million for conservation of irrigation water and flood and sedimentation control. The name of the dam was changed from Los Esteros (Spanish for pond or estuary) in 1980 when the state park was authorized.

Smokey Bear Historical Park is in the center of the town of Capitan. In May 1950, a raging forest fire blackened approximately 17,000 acres of the Capitan Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest in central New Mexico. As forest fire fighters brought the blaze under control, a small black bear cub was found clinging to the remains of a charred tree. First aid was administered to the badly burned bear cub and he was sent to Santa Fe for further treatment. Although the fire fighters didn’t realize it then, a national symbol had been born. The story of the bear cub was told in newspapers and on radio throughout the country. The cub, named Smokey Bear, went to the National Zoo in Washington, D. C. and became the living symbol for fire prevention. Through many successful campaigns, Smokey not only was responsible for reducing the number of man-made forest fires but he also raised more than $27 billion through donations in the past 40 years.

Storrie Lake State Park is located four miles north of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and can be reached via New Mexico Highway 518. The 1400-foot long earthen dam that retains the water in Storrie Lake was built under the direction of Robert C. Storrie starting in 1916. Water from the Gallinas River, a southeasterly-flowing river with its headwaters in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the main water supply for the community of Las Vegas, is diverted for storage in Storrie Lake. The park offers camping, boating, fishing, beaches, and other water-related activities.

Storrie Lake State Park lies on the boundary between two important physiographic provinces, the Southern High Plains and the Southern Rocky Mountains. The lake is on the High Plains just east of the Rincon Range portion of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, a sub-province of the Southern Rocky Mountains.

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.

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.

Ute Lake State Park was established in 1964 at a cost of approximately $5 million and was named after Ute Creek, one of the tributaries of the Canadian River that is impounded by a dam. The small town of Logan is on the east side of the lake, and the lake extends upstream in both the Ute and Canadian Rivers. It is 25 miles northeast of Tucumcari on US–54, NM–39, and NM–540 and is approximately 20 miles west of the Texas–New Mexico state line. Most of the land surrounding Ute Lake is private. All the water is open to the public. The park is in the Pecos Valley section of the Great Plains physiographic province. It lies on the north edge of the Llano Estacado or “staked plains.”

Villanueva State Park lies in the western portion of San Miguel County and straddles the Pecos River where it enters a narrow canyon one mile south of the village of Villanueva. At the park, reddish-yellow and tan cliffs of sandstone tower up to 300 feet above the park and the river. The rocks in these cliffs tell a geologic story of ancient landscapes and seas. Younger gravels on benches along the river and the topography of canyon itself carry this narrative to the present day.