Hueco Mountains

Hueco Mountains
A photo of the Hueco Mountains from the distance
Hueco Mountains in sun and rain, with Cerro Alto prominent, as seen from the base of the tramway, El Paso, Texas, 30 miles (50 km) west of Cerro Alto
Highest point
PeakCerro Alto Mountain
Elevation6,703 ft (2,043 m)
Coordinates31°56′43″N 105°58′12″W / 31.945278°N 105.97°W / 31.945278; -105.97
Dimensions
Length71 mi (114 km) N/S
Width62 mi (100 km) E/W
Area2,562 sq mi (6,640 km2)
Geography
Map
CountryUnited States
State(s)Texas, New Mexico

The Hueco Mountains are a range of mountains that rise in southern Otero County, New Mexico and extend 27 miles (43 km) south into Texas, generally along the El Paso–Hudspeth county line just east of the city of El Paso, Texas. The highest point of the range is the Cerro Alto Mountain 6,703 feet (2,043 m) in Hudspeth County.[1][2]

The Hueco Bolson, a down-dropped area with an elevation of 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level, with sedimentary fill nearly 9,000 feet (2,700 m) thick, lies between the Hueco and Franklin Mountains. Shallow, stony soils in the Hueco Mountains support oak, juniper, and some mesquite. The mountains were part of the Rocky Mountain trend, forced upward as part of the Laramide mountain-building period during the late Cretaceous, 60 to 70 million years ago.

The word hueco is Spanish for hollow, gap, or hole.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Heuco Mountains". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  2. ^ "Hueco Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  3. ^ Erwin Gustav Gudde (1949). California Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. University of California Press. pp. 3–. GGKEY:403N5Z6QERG. Retrieved 27 March 2013.


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