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The Brazos Mountains is a range in far northern 
Rio Arriba County
Rio Arriba County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla. Its northern border is the Colorado state line.
Rio Arriba County comprises the Española, N ...
, in northern New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
in the southwestern United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The range is part of the Tusas Mountains (the southern portion of the San Juan Mountains
The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...
), which extended slightly into Colorado. A high crest runs from the border with Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
for over in a south-southeasterly direction. The high point of the range at is on Grouse Mesa,
at the Brazos Benchmark.
Two miles (3 km) to the southeast is the more distinctive Brazos Peak, at 11,288 feet (3440 m).
The range is mostly located in the privately held Tierra Amarilla Land Grant (the Carson National Forest is to the east and south). It is a distinctive part of the view from the west, including from Heron Lake. U.S. Route 64
U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...
crosses the southern end of the range at a 10,481 foot (3194 m) pass. This is the highest paved through road pass in New Mexico. Nearby are the photogenic Brazos Cliffs, headwaters of the Rio Brazos and part of the Rio Chama
The Rio Chama, a major tributary river of the Rio Grande, is located in the U.S. states of Colorado and New Mexico. The river is about long altogether. From its source to El Vado Dam its length is about , from El Vado Dam to Abiquiu Dam is abou ...
river system. These mountains overlook the Chama River, the largest tributary of the Rio Grande which lies to the east. In essence, these mountains are the southern extension of the South San Juan Range that lies in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.
Geology
The Brazos Mountains are the southwestern remnants of a Laramidepeneplain
390px, Sketch of a hypothetical peneplain formation after an orogeny.
In geomorphology and geology, a peneplain is a low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion. This is the definition in the broadest of terms, albeit with frequency the usage ...
resulting from the erosion of mountains formed 80 to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny
The Laramide orogeny was a time period of mountain building in western North America, which started in the Late Cretaceous, 70 to 80 million years ago, and ended 35 to 55 million years ago. The exact duration and ages of beginning and end of the ...
. To the east and northeast lie the Sangre de Cristo Mountains which share a similar geological history. The Brazos Cliffs, which form a dramatic backdrop to Tierra Amarilla, are formed of Precambrian quartzite.
References
External links
* * {{Mountains of New Mexico Landforms of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Mountain ranges of New Mexico