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 (121 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).
7-752: Salinas Peak is the highest point in the San Andres Mountains of south-central New Mexico , in the United States. It lies near the northern end of the range, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Alamogordo and 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Socorro . To the east lies the Tularosa Basin , while to the west is the Jornada del Muerto . The peak is located within the White Sands Missile Range , and hence
14-468: Is closed to the public. However a road on the northwest side leads to the top, where there are radio towers and a heliport. About 20 miles (32 km) to the north lies the Trinity Site , where the first atomic bomb test occurred in 1945. Bighorn sheep , mule deer , and mountain lion are present in the area, which has retained much of its wilderness character outside of the few installations of
21-653: Is in the San Andres Mountains, which can host up to 400 bighorn. An area of 57,215 acres (231.54 km ) in the southern portion of the San Andres Mountain range was set aside in 1941 as the San Andres National Wildlife Refuge to help preserve the desert bighorn sheep, which at the time numbered 33. In the mid-1970s there were around 200 sheep in the refuge; however, in 1979, a scabies mite epizootic reduced
28-684: The rift valley of the Rio Grande , and are made up of west-dipping fault blocks made primarily of San Andres Formation limestone , but also with extensive exposures of reddish Abo Formation sandstone on the western side, and quartz monzonite on the eastern side. Gypsum deposits washed from these mountains are the main source of the dunes in White Sands National Park . Significant summits include: The biggest and best desert bighorn sheep habitat in New Mexico
35-479: The Missile Range. Like many of the San Andres Mountains, Salinas Peak is rugged, rising sharply 4,900 feet (1,500 m) out of the surrounding basins. This makes it one of New Mexico's largest peaks in terms of local relief. It is a northwest-tilted fault-block , with a steep southeastern escarpment . The peak juts out to the east by a few miles from the main ridge trend, leading to deeply incised canyons on
42-544: The north and south sides of the peak. Only a small section of the northwestern side is moderately angled. This New Mexico state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . San Andres Mountains Though nearly contiguous with the Organ Mountains to the south, separated by St. Augustine Pass (elevation 1,717 m (5,633 ft)) and U.S. Highway 70, the two are very distinct geologically and botanically. The Oscura Mountains to
49-414: The north are separated from the San Andres Mountains by Mockingbird Gap (elevation 1,631 m (5,351 ft)) and the much lower Little Burro Mountains. The San Andres Mountains are comparatively dry and do not support extensive woodlands. They are mostly closed to the public, lying almost entirely within the restricted White Sands Missile Range . The San Andres Mountains form part of the eastern edge of
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