Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Sangre De Cristo Mountains

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Sangre de Cristo Mountains

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish

Spanish language

Blood of Christ

The Blood of Christ in Christian theology refers to the physical blood actually shed by Jesus Christ on the Christian Cross, and the salvation which Christianity teaches was accomplished thereby; and the Eucharistic blood used at Holy Communion, under species of wine....
") are the southernmost subrange

Mountain range

A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by mountain pass or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or Fold mountains...
of the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
. They are located in northern New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
and southern Colorado

Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. The mountains run from Poncha Pass

Poncha Pass

Poncha Pass is a mountain pass in South-Central Colorado Colorado . It is one of the lowest mountain passes in the state . It lies between the San Luis Valley to the south and the valley of the Arkansas River to the north....
in South-Central Colorado

South-Central Colorado

South-Central Colorado is a region of the United States U.S. states of Colorado. It can be roughly defined by Chaffee County, Colorado in the northwest, El Paso County, Colorado in the northeast, Las Animas County, Colorado in the southeast, and Conejos County, Colorado in the southwest....
, trending southeast and south, ending at a point southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is the Capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the List of cities in New Mexico and is the county seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 62,203 at the United States Census, 2000; the estimate for July 1, 2006, is 72,056....
. The mountains contain a number of fourteen thousand foot peaks in the Colorado portion, as well as all of the peaks in New Mexico which are over thirteen thousand feet.

The name, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
for "blood of Christ", is said to come from the red color of the range at some sunrises and sunsets, especially when the mountains are covered with snow, alpenglow

Alpenglow

Alpenglow is an optical phenomenon. When the Sun is just below the horizon, a Horizontal plane red glowing band can sometimes be observed on the opposite horizon....
.

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Encyclopedia

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish

Spanish language

Blood of Christ

Mountain range

Rocky Mountains

New Mexico

Colorado

United States

Poncha Pass

South-Central Colorado

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Spanish language

Alpenglow

Alpenglow is an optical phenomenon. When the Sun is just below the horizon, a Horizontal plane red glowing band can sometimes be observed on the opposite horizon....
. However the particular origin of the name is unclear, and the name in fact only dates back to the early 19th century. Before that time the terms "La Sierra Nevada", "La Sierra Madre", "La Sierra", and "The Snowies" (used by English speakers) were used. Sometimes the archaic Spanish spelling "Christo" is used.

Prominent peaks

The 18 Peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains With At Least 500 Meters of Topographic Prominence
Rank Ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second....	Mountain Peak Summit (topography) In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematics, a summit is a local Maxima and minima in elevation....	Subrange Mountain range A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by mountain pass or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or Fold mountains...	Elevation	Prominence Topographic prominence In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height or shoulder drop or prime factor , is a concept used in the categorization of hills and mountains, also known as peaks....	Isolation Topographic isolation The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum horizontal distance to the nearest point of higher elevation. Topographic isolation represents a radius of dominance in which the summit is the highest point....
1	Blanca Peak Blanca Peak Blanca Peak is a fourteener in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is the fourth highest mountain in the state, and the seventh highest in the contiguous United States....	Sierra Blanca	4374.111 = 14,351 feet 4374 m	1623.365 = 5,326 feet 1623 m	00166.43 = 103.4 miles 166.4 km
2	Crestone Peak Crestone Peak Crestone Peak is the seventh highest peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is the second highest peak in the Sangre de Cristo Range after Blanca Peak....	Crestones Crestones The Crestones are a group of four 14,000 foot peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, Colorado, comprising:Crestone Peak Crestone Needle ...	4358.572 = 14,300 feet 4359 m	1388.059 = 4,554 feet 1388 m	00044.07 = 27.4 miles 44.1 km
3	Culebra Peak Culebra Peak Culebra Peak is the highest peak of the Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the United States. It is the southernmost fourteener in Colorado....	Culebra Range	4283.266 = 14,053 feet 4283 m	1471.270 = 4,827 feet 1471 m	00057.07 = 35.5 miles 57.1 km
4	West Spanish Peak West Spanish Peak West Spanish Peak is a high mountain peak in the US state of Colorado. It is the higher of the two Spanish Peaks, two large intrusions which form an eastern outlier of the Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains....	Spanish Peaks Spanish Peaks The Spanish Peaks are a pair of volcanic mountains in the southeastern part of the US State of Colorado. They lie in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as an eastern outlier of the otherwise non-volcanic Culebra Range....	4154.673 = 13,631 feet 4155 m	1123.188 = 3,685 feet 1123 m	00032.88 = 20.4 miles 32.9 km
5	Mount Herard	Sangre de Cristo Range Sangre de Cristo Range The Sangre de Cristo Range is a narrow mountain range of the Rocky Mountains running north and south along the east side of the Rio Grande Rift in southern Colorado in the United States....	4061.576 = 13,325 feet 4062 m	0621.792 = 2,040 feet 622 m	00007.47 = 4.6 miles 7.5 km
6	Wheeler Peak Wheeler Peak (New Mexico) Wheeler Peak is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is located northeast of Taos, New Mexico in the northern part of the state....	Taos Mountains	4013.300 = 13,167 feet 4013 m	1039.063 = 3,409 feet 1039 m	00060.12 = 37.4 miles 60.1 km
7	Bushnell Peak	Sangre de Cristo Range Sangre de Cristo Range The Sangre de Cristo Range is a narrow mountain range of the Rocky Mountains running north and south along the east side of the Rio Grande Rift in southern Colorado in the United States....	3996.141 = 13,111 feet 3996 m	0733.044 = 2,405 feet 733 m	00017.82 = 11.1 miles 17.8 km
8	Truchas Peak Truchas Peak Truchas Peak is the second highest independent peak in the US State of New Mexico. It is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, 26 mi northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico....	Santa Fe Mountains	3995.048 = 13,107 feet 3995 m	1219.505 = 4,001 feet 1220 m	00068.17 = 42.4 miles 68.2 km
9	Venado Peak Venado Peak Venado Peak is one of the major peaks of the Taos Mountains group of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. It is located in Taos County, New Mexico, New Mexico, about northeast of the town of Questa, New Mexico....	Taos Mountains	3882.973 = 12,739 feet 3883 m	0900.379 = 2,954 feet 900 m	00018.99 = 11.8 miles 19.0 km
10	East Spanish Peak East Spanish Peak East Spanish Peak is a high mountain peak in the US state of Colorado. It is the lower of the two Spanish Peaks, two large intrusions which form an eastern outlier of the Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains....	Spanish Peaks Spanish Peaks The Spanish Peaks are a pair of volcanic mountains in the southeastern part of the US State of Colorado. They lie in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as an eastern outlier of the otherwise non-volcanic Culebra Range....	3867.151 = 12,688 feet 3867 m	0726.338 = 2,383 feet 726 m	00006.78 = 4.2 miles 6.8 km
11	Santa Fe Baldy Santa Fe Baldy Santa Fe Baldy is a prominent Summit in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, United States, located 15 mi northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico....	Santa Fe Mountains	3850.100 = 12,632 feet 3850 m	0610.210 = 2,002 feet 610 m	00017.69 = 11.0 miles 17.7 km
12	Baldy Mountain	Cimarron Range	3793.300 = 12,445 feet 3793 m	0823.265 = 2,701 feet 823 m	00018.24 = 11.3 miles 18.2 km
13	Greenhorn Mountain Greenhorn mountain Greenhorn Mountain is the highest point in the Wet Mountains of Southern Colorado and at 12,347 feet above sea level is just high enough to pass tree line which is about 11,500 feet in this part of Colorado....	Wet Mountains Wet Mountains The Wet Mountains are a small range of mountains in southern Colorado named for the amount of snow they receive in the winter. They are also called the Sierra Mojadas....	3765.000 = 12,352 feet 3765 m	1151.230 = 3,777 feet 1151 m	00042.53 = 26.4 miles 42.5 km
14	Mount Zwischen	Sangre de Cristo Range Sangre de Cristo Range The Sangre de Cristo Range is a narrow mountain range of the Rocky Mountains running north and south along the east side of the Rio Grande Rift in southern Colorado in the United States....	3660.910 = 12,011 feet 3661 m	0690.677 = 2,266 feet 691 m	00007.31 = 4.5 miles 7.3 km
15	Cerro Vista	Cerro Vista	3640.448 = 11,944 feet 3640 m	0767.791 = 2,519 feet 768 m	00022.83 = 14.2 miles 22.8 km
16	Mount Phillips Mount Phillips Mount Phillips is a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located southeast of Gold River, British Columbia and southeast of Mount McBride....	Cimarron Range	3579.985 = 11,745 feet 3580 m	0890.321 = 2,921 feet 890 m	00012.09 = 7.5 miles 12.1 km
17	Mount Mestas	Sierra Blanca	3527.603 = 11,574 feet 3528 m	0679.399 = 2,229 feet 679 m	00026.28 = 16.3 miles 26.3 km
18	Iron Mountain	Sierra Blanca	3479.509 = 11,416 feet 3480 m	0594.665 = 1,951 feet 595 m	00011.18 = 6.9 miles 11.2 km

Land management and recreation overview

Much of the mountains are within various National Forests: the Rio Grande

Rio Grande National Forest

Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million acre U.S. National Forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agriculture :wikt:alpine valley....
and San Isabel

San Isabel National Forest

San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the states 54 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado....
in Colorado, and the Carson

Carson National Forest

Carson National Forest is a United States National Forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers and is administered by the United States Forest Service....
and Santa Fe

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 ....
in New Mexico. These publicly accessible areas are popular for camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity.The participants, known as campers, get away from urban areas, their home region or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or more nights, usually at a campsite....
, hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on trail. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous :Category:Hiking organizations worldwide....
, backpacking

Backpacking (wilderness)

Backpacking combines hiking and Camping in a single trip. A backpacker hikes into the backcountry to spend one or more nights there, and carries supplies and equipment to satisfy sleeping and eating needs....
, climbing

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up or across natural Rock formations or man-made climbing wall with the goal of reaching the Summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route....
, and cross-country

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles. It is popular in many countries with large snowfields, primarily Northern Europe, Canada, Alaska and the Upper Midwest....
and downhill skiing.

The mountains include two large wilderness areas, the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness in Colorado and the Pecos Wilderness

Pecos Wilderness

The Pecos Wilderness is a protected wilderness area located within the Santa Fe National Forest and Carson National Forest. The Pecos Wilderness is in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of north central New Mexico, easily accessible from the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the state capital....
in New Mexico, as well as some smaller wilderness areas, such as Latir Peak Wilderness

Latir Peak Wilderness

Latir Peak Wilderness is a wilderness area located within the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico, USA. Designated in 1980, the Wilderness is composed of dense forest, meadows, and alpine tundra on Latir Mesa in the northern portion....
. The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park located in the easternmost parts of Alamosa County, Colorado and Saguache County, Colorado, Colorado, United States....
lies on the southwest side of the mountains in Colorado.

Subranges

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are divided into various subranges, described here from north to south. Use of the terms "Sangre de Cristo Range" and "Sangre de Cristo Mountains" is inconsistent and either may refer to either the northernmost subrange, the southernmost subrange, or the mountains as a whole.

Sangre de Cristo Range

The Sangre de Cristo Range, the largest and most northerly subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, runs directly along the east side of the Rio Grande Rift

Rio Grande Rift

The Rio Grande rift is a rift valley extending north from Mexico, near El Paso, Texas through New Mexico into central Colorado. The upper Rio Grande flows south down the rift valley, but did not incise the rift valley....
, extending southeast from Poncha Pass

Poncha Pass

Walsenburg, Colorado

The historic City of Walsenburg is a Colorado municipalities#Statutory_City that is the county seat and the most populous city of Huerfano County, Colorado, Colorado, United States....
. They form a high ridge separating the San Luis Valley

San Luis Valley

The San Luis Valley is an extensive alpine valley in the US states of Colorado and New Mexico covering approximately and sitting at an average elevation of above sea level....
on the west from the watershed of the Arkansas River

Arkansas River

The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast and traverses the U.S....
on the east.

Culebra Range

The Culebra Range runs almost due north and south, with its northern limit at La Veta Pass in Colorado, and its southern limit at Costilla Creek, just south of Big Costilla Peak in New Mexico. Its highest point is Culebra Peak

Culebra Peak

Culebra Peak is the highest peak of the Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the United States. It is the southernmost fourteener in Colorado....
(14,047 feet/4,282 m), which is notable for being the only fourteener

Fourteener

In mountaineering terminology in the United States, a fourteener is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet above mean sea level. The importance of fourteeners is greatest in Colorado, which has the majority of such peaks in North America....
in Colorado which is on private land. Climbers wishing to ascend Culebra must pay a fee (currently US$

United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
100 per person), and the number of climbers per year is limited. Standing to the east of the main crest are the two prominent Spanish Peaks

Spanish Peaks

The Spanish Peaks are a pair of volcanic mountains in the southeastern part of the US State of Colorado. They lie in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as an eastern outlier of the otherwise non-volcanic Culebra Range....
(West: 13,626 feet/4,153 m; East: 12,860 feet/3,920 m). Unlike the rest of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, these are volcanic

Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
, with conical shapes and prominent dike

Dike (geology)

A dike or dyke in geology is a type of sheet intrusion referring to any geologic body that cuts discordantly across* planar wall rock structures, such as bedding or foliation...
s radiating outward. These peaks were important landmarks on the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th century transportation route through southwestern North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico....
.

Taos Mountains

The Taos Mountains span the western lobe of the range from Costilla Creek in the north, to Tres Ritos in the south. They include the highest point in New Mexico, Wheeler Peak

Wheeler Peak (New Mexico)

Wheeler Peak is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is located northeast of Taos, New Mexico in the northern part of the state....
(13,161 feet/4,012 m), which is part of the small Wheeler Peak Wilderness. Other notable peaks include Pueblo Peak (12,305 feet/3,751 m), which rises dramatically above Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos language speaking Native Americans in the United States tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and lies about 1 mile north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, New Mexico, United States....
, and Latir Peak (12,708 feet/3,873 m). Taos Ski Valley lies just to the west of Wheeler Peak. Much of the central portion of the Taos Mountains are on Taos Pueblo land.

The southern portion of the Taos Mountains, between Palo Flechado Pass and Tres Ritos (US Route 64 and NM Route 518), is lower and less dramatic than the northern section, with its high point being Cerro Vista, . The Fernando Mountains are a small subrange lying in this section, just south of US Route 64.

Cimarron Range

The Cimarron Range lies across the Moreno Valley to the east of the Taos Mountains. It is a lower range, with its highest point being Baldy Mountain (12,441 feet/3,792 m). The Philmont Scout Ranch

Philmont Scout Ranch

Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron, New Mexico covering approximately of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico....
lies on the east side of the Cimarron Range.

Rincon Mountains

This is a minor subrange, significantly lower than the rest of the Sangre de Cristos; it lies east of the southernmost portion of the Taos Mountains.

Santa Fe Mountains

Rounding out the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the Santa Fe Mountains, which include all peaks south of NM Route 518. This group lies near Santa Fe

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Pecos Wilderness

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
of the Pecos River

Pecos River

The Pecos River or Rio Pecos, as it is sometimes known in New Mexico, arises near Pecos, New Mexico, United States, and flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it empties into the Rio Grande near Del Rio, Texas....
. The peaks include Truchas Peak

Truchas Peak

Truchas Peak is the second highest independent peak in the US State of New Mexico. It is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, 26 mi northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico....
(13,102 feet/3,994 m) as their highest point. Other notable peaks are Santa Fe Baldy

Santa Fe Baldy

Santa Fe Baldy is a prominent Summit in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, United States, located 15 mi northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico....
(12,622 feet/3,847 m) and Jicarita Peak (12,835 feet/3,912 m). The Pecos Wilderness is crossed by many trails and is popular for backpacking and for fishing in its high alpine lakes.

In culture

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are referenced in the Paul Simon

Paul Simon

Paul Frederic Simon is an United States singer-songwriter and musician, perhaps best known for his partnership with Art Garfunkel in the duo Simon & Garfunkel....
song, Hearts and Bones

Hearts and Bones

Hearts and Bones is a 1983 rock album by Paul Simon. It is his fifth album in his solo career.The album was originally intended to be a Simon & Garfunkel reunion album called Think Too Much, following their The Concert in Central Park in 1981, and the world tour of 1982 - 1983....
.

Mike Tramp of the band White Lion wrote a song called 'Sangre De Cristo' as the opening track off the band's 2008 release 'Return of the Pride.'

Joy Harjo alludes to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in her poem, "Two Horses."

Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Prominent peaks

Land management and recreation overview

Subranges

Sangre de Cristo Range

Culebra Range

Taos Mountains

Cimarron Range

Rincon Mountains

Santa Fe Mountains

In culture

See also

External links