This first volume of the Natural Treasure Guide series focuses on the
jewels of New Mexico's unique landscape that are hidden in plain sight:
its stunning mountain ranges and peaks.
With over a one hundred named mountain ranges (more than Colorado), the
mountains of New Mexico are much more than hiking trails and grand
vistas. For example, New Mexico has more volcanoes than anywhere else in
the US. Its mountains are full of geological wonders, historical dramas,
colorful characters, endangered plants, rare animals and some of the
oldest rocks on earth. Nowhere else but in New Mexico will you find a
mountain that was once an ocean, ancient footprints of Tyrannosaurs Rex,
plant species found nowhere else in the world, the second fastest mammal
on earth, sightings of Big Foot, and the oldest apple trees in the US.
Here's how the book works. First, there are a series of short,
informative pieces to help readers understand mountains in general and
give them a vocabulary for what's to come.
- What is a Mountain?
- When is a Mountain a Peak?
- How are Mountains Made?
- How do Mountains get their Names?
- Life Zones in the Western Mountains
Twenty mountains are featured. These mountains were chosen because they
have good stories to tell and are fairly well distributed throughout the
state. In this book, we refer to the mountains by three names when
possible: Indigenous, Spanish, and English.
For each one we include the following name and location information as
it applies and if it is available:
- Indigenous name(s) of peak and mountain range
- Spanish name(s) of peak and mountain range
- English name (s) of peak and mountain range
- Elevation of peak
- Mountain Range
- Pueblo or Reservation
- National Forest
- County or Counties
The story of each mountain is different, but generally the description
of each mountain includes the following:
- The name of the mountain peak and the mountain range
- The geology of the mountain range
- How the peak or mountain got its name
- History and stories of the mountain
- Flora and fauna of the mountain
Visually attractive with full color throughout, including dozens of
large, vivid photographs, the book is intuitively designed to allow many
different points of access, and appeal to a broad range of readers, from
age 12 and up.
