San Andres Mountains

Geobox|Range
name=San Andres Mountains


image_caption=Eastern escarpment of San Andres Mountains
country=United States
state=New Mexico
parent=
border=Organ Mountains
length_imperial=75| length_orientation=N-S
width_imperial=12| width_orientation=W-E
geology=Limestone |orogeny=| period=
highest=Salinas Peak
highest_elevation_imperial=8965
highest_lat_d=33|highest_lat_m=17|highest_lat_s=55|highest_lat_NS=N
highest_long_d=106|highest_long_m=31|highest_long_s=53|highest_long_EW=W


map_caption=Location of the San Andres Mountains within New Mexico

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.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] 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: [http://www.listsofjohn.com/NewMexico/NM.php NM peaks on Lists of John] ]

Desert bighorn sheep

The biggest and best desert bighorn sheep habitat in New Mexico is in the San Andres Mountains, which can host up to 400 bighorn. [http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/education/wildlife_notes/documents/desertbighornsheep.pdf New Mexico Game & Fish (2002) "Desert bighorn sheep" "Wildlife Notes"] An area of 57,215 acres in the southern portion of the San Andres Mountain range was set aside in 1941 as the San Andres National Wildlife Refuge [ [http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/sanandres/index.html San Andres National Wildlife Refuge official webpage] ] 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 the population from 200 to 75. Subsequent years brought further declines from scabies and other causes until the population consisted of one ewe in 1997. Reintroduction of desert bighorn sheep occurred in 2002 and the herd has now about 80 members. [ [http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/sanandres/desert%20bhs.html "Desert Bighorn Sheep" San Andres National Wildlife Refuge, March 2007] ]

References

* [http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=13555 "San Andres Mountains"] . Peakbagger.com. Retrieved June 3, 2005.
* [http://nmtourism.org/place/loc/outdoors/page/DB-place/category/294/place/166.html "San Andres Mountains"] .Dead link|url=http://nmtourism.org/place/loc/outdoors/page/DB-place/category/294/place/166.html|date=May 2008|date=May 2008 New Mexico Tourism Department. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9065261&query=San%20Andres%20Mountains&ct= "San Andres Mountains"] . Encyclopædia Britannica, online edition. Retrieved June 3, 2005.