Cerro Pedernal
Encyclopedia
Cerro Pedernal, locally known as just "Pedernal", is a narrow mesa
in northern New Mexico
. The name is Spanish
for "flint hill". The mesa lies on the north flank of the Jemez Mountains
, south of Abiquiu Lake
, in the Española Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest
. Its caprock
was produced in the Jemez Volcanic Field. Its highest point is 9,862 feet (3,006 meters).
Pedernal is the source of a chert
used by the prehistoric Gallina
people. Its cliffs are popular with rock climbers. Georgia O'Keeffe
made many paintings of it, and her ashes were scattered on its top.
Mesa
A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
in northern New Mexico
Northern New Mexico
Northern New Mexico may simply mean the northern part of New Mexico, but in cultural terms it usually means the area of heavy Spanish settlement in the north-central part....
. The name is Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for "flint hill". The mesa lies on the north flank of the Jemez Mountains
Jemez Mountains
The Jemez Mountains are a volcanic group of mountains in New Mexico, United States. The highest point in the range is Chicoma Mountain at an elevation of 11,561 feet . The town of Los Alamos and Los Alamos National Laboratory adjoin the eastern side of the range while the town of Jemez Springs...
, south of Abiquiu Lake
Abiquiu Lake
Abiquiu Lake is a reservoir located in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Water of the Rio Chama is impounded by the earth-filled Abiquiu Dam, 1,800 feet long and 340 feet high, completed in 1963 and raised in 1986...
, in the Española Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest
Santa Fe National Forest
The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers 1,567,181 acres . Elevations range from 5,300 feet to 13,103 feet at the summit of Truchas Peak, located within the Pecos Wilderness...
. Its caprock
Caprock
The Caprock is a region in the Panhandle of Texas . It is the land to the west of the Caprock Escarpment, which separates it from plains stretching to the east at a much lower elevation....
was produced in the Jemez Volcanic Field. Its highest point is 9,862 feet (3,006 meters).
Pedernal is the source of a chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
used by the prehistoric Gallina
Gallina
The Gallina or Largo-Gallina culture was an occupation sequence during the pre-hispanic period in the American Southwest from approximately 1050 to 1300...
people. Its cliffs are popular with rock climbers. Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist.Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists...
made many paintings of it, and her ashes were scattered on its top.