Redondo Peak
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| Redondo Peak | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 11,254 feet (3,431 metres) |
| Location | New Mexico, USA |
| Range | Jemez Mountains |
| Prominence | 2454 feet (748 meters) |
| Coordinates | |
| Type | resurgent dome |
| Easiest route | Hike |
Redondo Peak is a conspicuous summit in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. It is located entirely within the Valles Caldera National Preserve. It is the second highest summit in the Jemez (after Chicoma Mountain), and it is the most visually prominent peak in the range when viewed from the south, for example, from Albuquerque. However from many other directions it is less prominent or not visible, due to its location in the center of the Valles Caldera, well away from the Caldera's rim.
Redondo Peak is an example of the volcanic feature known as a resurgent dome. It was formed some time after the main caldera-forming eruptions of about 1.4 million and 1.1 million years ago, but is not itself an eruptive feature. This is known from the fact that the summit of the mountain is composed of tuff ejected by the more recent caldera-forming eruption, rather than of subsequent volcanic ejecta. It is forested all the way to its summit. Controversy concerning logging practices on the mountain (known locally as "the Rape of Redondo Peak"[citation needed]) contributed to the pressures to create the Valles Caldera National Preserve, within which logging is presently restricted. Redondo Peak is sacred to various of the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico, and as a result, hiking and other recreational activities on the mountain are also sharply restricted (as of 2005).
[edit] References
- Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program: Valles Caldera
- Heiken, Grant; et al (1990). "The Valles/Toledo Caldera Complex, Jemez Volcanic Field, New Mexico" (abstract). Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 18: 27–53. doi:.
