Zuni Mountains

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The Zuni Mountains are a mountain range in Cibola County of northwestern New Mexico. (A small portion extends into McKinley County.)^[1] The range is located largely in the Cibola National Forest,^[1] lying south of Interstate 40 from southeast of Gallup to southwest of Grants. The range is about sixty miles long and forty miles wide.^[2] The highest point is Mount Sedgwick, 9,256 feet (2,821 m); elevations in the range go down to 6,400 feet (1,950 m).^[2]

Nearby landmarks include the Zuni Indian Reservation, the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation, and El Morro National Monument to the southwest, El Malpais National Monument to the south, Acoma Pueblo to the east, and the Navajo Indian Reservation to the north.

Geologically, the Zuni Mountains form a northwest-southeast trending uplift with a granite core, surrounded by red sandstone. There are no dramatic peaks, but there are plateaus, cliffs, and canyons.^[2] The Zuni Mountains sit on the Continental Divide and form part of the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau.

The range is known for its fossils, and their importance to the Navajo. The range is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. Millions of years ago the mountains were well over 20,000 feet high, as evidenced by the amount of Mesozoic rock in the mountains.^{[citation needed]}

The history of the range includes ancient and continuing use of the mountains by local native peoples, including the Zuni, Acoma, and Navajo; extensive logging in the early half of the 20^th century; and agriculture and mining (including copper and fluorspar) in the mid-20^th century.^[2]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b New Mexico Atlas and Gazetteer, Second Edition, DeLorme Mapping, 2000.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Butterfield, Mike, and Greene, Peter, Mike Butterfield's Guide to the Mountains of New Mexico, New Mexico Magazine Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-937206-88-1