Lasting View

Lasting View. Santa Fe National Historic Trail. The landscape before you has changed little over time. It remains remote and quiet, with little visible evidence of human influence. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains in front of you formed as ancient sedimentary rocks were faulted upward., Lying in the transition zone between the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, the landscape is rich with wildlife and prairie grasses., The Turkey Mountains present more than a passing resemblance to an eroded volcano in the Ocate volcanic field, with more than 50 cinder cones. Although the Turkeys are not volcanic, they have lava flows around their base., The water level is close to the surface even though only 15 inches of rain falls annually, mostly during summer thunderstorms. Harsh spring winds, warm summers, and cold winters influence the balance of a delicate environment., Sangre de Cristo Mountains , (Blood of Christ) , Often snow-covered, they are the most southern of the Rocky Mountains, rising to an elevation 13,161 feet at Wheeler Peak near Taos, New Mexico., Black Mesa , (Black Plateau) , This is the remains of an ancient lava flow that covered much of the area. At this location, it covered the Dakota Sandstone as a dark-colored cap rock., Cerro Pelon , (Baldy Peak) , A cinder cone volcano, rising to an elevation 8,871 feet, is part of the same volcanic activity that created the Black Mesa lava flow., Short Grass Prairie , Primarily composed of blue-grama grass and buffalo grass, these grasslands provided a lush environment for pronghorn, deer, and elk., Water on the Prairie , Water is in short supply on the prairie and any source of water is valuable to plants, animal life, and humans., Dakota Sandstone , An uplifted layer of ancient seabed deposits, this stone was used as a crucial weather-resistant building block in the construction of Fort Union. Its porous nature enhanced its capacity to store water., Graneros Shale , A fine-grained shale, washed out from the surrounding hills, fills the valley floor to a depth of about 150 feet. It was an excellent source of clay for making the sun dried adobe bricks used at the fort and community., Forest , The tree covered slopes, rising 2000 feet above the plain, provided lumber used in the fort’s construction. Fort residents also gathered fire wood all year long and hunted game seasonally in the mountains., Turkey Mountains , The Turkey Mountains are blanketed with piñon, oneseed and rocky mountain junipers, mountain mahogany, ponderosa pine, and the wavyleaf and gambel oaks. These common New Mexico woodlands occur on warm, dry mountain slopes, mesas, and plateaus.