Picuris Mountains

Picuris Mountains
Picuris Mountains north of Picuris Pueblo, New Mexico
Highest point
Peak10,801 ft (3,292 m), Picuris Peak
Dimensions
Length15 mi (24 km) east-west
Width10 mi (16 km) north-south
Naming
EtymologyKeres Pee-koo-ree-a, "those who paint"[1]
Geography
Picuris Mountains is located in New Mexico
Picuris Mountains
Picuris Mountains
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
Range coordinates36°15′N 105°42′W / 36.250°N 105.700°W / 36.250; -105.700

The Picuris Mountains are a mountain range in northern New Mexico. They are considered a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.[1]

Geography

The mountains are located to the east of Dixon and surround Picuris Pueblo to the west, north, and east. The range resembles a triangle with its base to the east, along the valley of the Rio Grande del Rancho. The northwest face lies along the valley of the Rio Grande and the southern face lies along Rio Pueblo and Embudo Creek.

History

The area was first visited by Europeans on July 13, 1598, when Juan de Oñate visited Picuris Pueblo.

Geology

The range is underlain by Precambrian rock beds of the Hondo Group and Vadito Group.[2] It is the namesake for the Picuris orogeny.

Economy

Mining has been historically important in the Picuris Mountains. The Harding Pegmatite Mine was operated off and on from about 1900 to 1958, when it was donated to the University of New Mexico as an outdoor geological laboratory. At one time, the mine made New Mexico the leading producer of beryllium among the United States.[3] Copper has been mined at Copper Hill north of the Harding Mine. Other commodities historically mined in the range include tungsten, optical calcite, bismuth, and aluminosilicates. As of 2004, the MICA mine was the only producer of muscovite west of the Appalachian Mountains.[4]

See also

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References

  1. ^ a b Julyan, Robert (1998). The Place Names of New Mexico (2 ed.). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 266. ISBN 0-8263-1689-1.
  2. ^ Jones, James V. III; Daniel, Christopher G.; Frei, Dirk; Thrane, Kristine (2011). "Revised regional correlations and tectonic implications of Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks in northern New Mexico, USA: New findings from detrital zircon studies of the Hondo Group, Vadito Group, and Marqueñas Formation". Geosphere. 7 (4): 974–991. doi:10.1130/GES00614.1. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  3. ^ Jahns, Richard H.; Ewing, Rodney C. (1976). "The Harding Mine Taos County New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 27: 263.
  4. ^ McLemore, V. T.; Mullen, K. E. (2004). "Mineral resources in Taos County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 55: 383–390. Retrieved 6 July 2022.


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