Near Eagle Nest in Colfax County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Wheeler Peak
Photographed by Bill Kirchner, July 23, 2011
1. Wheeler Peak Marker
Across Moreno Valley stands Wheeler Peak, 13,161 feet, highest peak in New Mexico. Rocks of Wheeler Peak and the Taos Range are highly resistant granites and gneisses of Precambrian age. Moreno Valley is underlain by soft sandstones and shales which are covered by stream and glacial deposits. Placer gold was mined at Elizabethtown north of here during the 1860's.
Erected by New Mexico Historic Preservation Division.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Natural Features • Natural Resources.
Location. 36° 30.418′ N, 105° 16.694′ W. Marker is near Eagle Nest, New Mexico, in Colfax County. It is at the intersection of U.S. 64 at milepost 282 and County Road B-9, on the left when traveling north on U.S. 64. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Eagle Nest NM 87718, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Northern New Mexico. It is also in the American Southwest, in the Mountain West, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Dust Bowl, and the Republic of Texas.
Other nearby markers. At least 7 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Elizabethtown (approx. 3.3 miles away); Eagle Nest Lake State Park (approx. 3.4 miles away); Vietnam Veterans National Memorial (approx. 4.7 miles away); Palo Flechado Pass (approx. 7.2 miles away);
this page online
Regarding Wheeler Peak. (From Wikipedia)
Formerly named Taos Peak, after the nearby town of Taos, New Mexico, it was renamed Wheeler Peak in 1950. A plaque at the summit states that the mountain was: Named in honor of Major George Montague Wheeler (18421905) who for ten years led a party of surveyors and naturalists collecting geologic, biologic, planimetric and topographic data in New Mexico and six other southwestern states.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. A marker at the Summit of Wheeler Peak
Photographed by Bill Kirchner, July 23, 2011
2. Wheeler Peak Marker Reverse
Photographed by Bill Kirchner, July 23, 2011
3. Wheeler Peak Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on November 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 7, 2011, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 1,335 times since then and 34 times this year. Last updated on July 30, 2025, by Bill Wingate of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 7, 2011, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
