Plains of San Agustin

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Location of the San Agustin Plains within New Mexico

The Plains of San Agustin [1] (sometimes listed as the Plains of San Augustin) are found in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico in the San Agustin Basin, south of U.S. Highway 60. They are located about 50 miles (80 km) west of the town of Socorro. The plains extend roughly northeast-southwest, with a length of about 55 miles (88 km) and a width varying between 5-15 miles (8-24 km). The basin is bounded on the south by the Luera Mountains and Pelona Mountain (outliers of the Black Range); on the west by the Tularosa Mountains; on the north by the Mangas, Crosby, Datil, and Gallinas Mountains; and on the east by the San Mateo Mountains. The Continental Divide lies close to much of the southern and western boundaries of the Plains.[2]

The Plains are probably best known as the site of the Very Large Array, a radio astronomy observatory. The plains were chosen for the observatory because of their isolated location away from large population centers, and the partial shielding effect of the surrounding mountain ranges.


Very Large Array, on the Plains of San Agustin
Very Large Array, on the Plains of San Agustin


Geologically, the Plains of San Agustin lie within the Datil-Mogollon Volcanic Field, just south of the southeast edge of the Colorado Plateau, and west of the Rio Grande Rift Valley. The basin is a downdropped block which subsided between parallel faults. The flat floor of the Plains was created by a Pleistocene lake.[3]

Ecologically, the Plains lie near the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert (though the ranges surrounding the Gila River headwaters intervene), which is dominated by shrublands. The edges of the plains have sites of archaeological interest such as a prehistoric rockshelter known as Bat Cave.

[edit] References

  1. ^ GNIS server
  2. ^ New Mexico Atlas and Gazetteer, Second Edition, DeLorme Mapping, 2000.
  3. ^ Halka Chronic, Roadside Geology of New Mexico, Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, 1987, ISBN 0-87842-209-9.


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