Organ Needle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Organ Needle | |
|---|---|
 View of Organ Needle from the west |
|
| Elevation | 8,990 ft (2,740 m) |
| Location | Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States |
| Range | Organ Mountains |
| Prominence | 3,730 ft (1,137 m)[1] |
| Coordinates | |
| Topo map | USGS Organ Peak (NM) |
| Easiest route | Off-trail hike/scramble (Class 3+ or 4) |
Organ Needle is the highest point of the Organ Mountains in the south-central part of the US state of New Mexico. It lies in Doña Ana County, 13 mi (20 km) east-northeast of Las Cruces and 4 mi (6 km) southwest of White Sands (headquarters of the White Sands Missile Range. It is at the southeast end of a narrow ridge of vertically-jointed granite (more specifically, quartz monzonite) called The Needles.
Organ Needle is one of the most dramatic peaks in the state. True to its name, it is a steep, pointed summit. Moreover, it rises 4,000 feet (1,220 m) above the edge of the Tularosa Basin to the northeast in only 2 mi (3.2 km), and 5,100 ft (1,555 m) above Las Cruces, giving it as large and steep a degree of local relief as any peak in the state, including Big Hatchet Peak, Sandia Crest, and Shiprock.
Climbing Organ Needle involves tricky route-finding, a great deal of vertical gain (around 4,000 feet/1,220 m) and difficult scrambling (Class 3+ or 4).[2]
[edit] Reference
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
- Surrounding area map from Google Maps
- Location in the United States from the Census Bureau
