San Andres Mountains

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The San Andres Mountains are a mountain range in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico, in the counties of Socorro, Sierra, and Doña Ana. The range extends about 75 miles (120 km) north to south, but are only about 12 miles (19 km) wide at their widest. The highest peak in the San Andres Mountains is Salinas Peak, at 8,965 feet (2,733 m).

The San Andres Mountains form part of the eastern edge of the rift valley of the Rio Grande, and are made up of west-dipping fault blocks made primarily of limestone.^[1] Gypsum deposits washed from these mountains are the main source of the the dunes in White Sands National Monument. Though nearly contiguous with the Organ Mountains to the south, the two are very distinct geologically and botanically. The much lower Oscura Mountains to the north are separated from the San Andres Mountains by an 8-mile (12 km) gap. The mountains are dry and barren and are inaccessible to the general public, lying almost entirely within the restricted White Sands Missile Range.

Significant summits include:^[2]

Mountain	Height (ft)	Height (m)	Coordinates	Prominence (ft)
Salinas Peak	8,965	2,733	33.2986° N 106.5315° W	3,625
San Andres Peak	8,235	2,510	32.6760° N 106.5369° W	2,525
Chalk Hills High Point	7,988	2,435	33.1796° N 106.7226° W	1,728
Unnamed (Point 7,646)	7,646	2,331	32.9045° N 106.5803° W	1,899
Gardner Peak	7,534	2,296	32.8242° N 106.5624° W	2,052
Black Brushy Mountain	7,521	2,292	32.5976° N 106.5189° W	1,701
Capitol Peak	7,098	2,163	33.4068° N 106.4249° W	1,833

[edit] References

^ 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
^ NM peaks on Lists of John