McKnight Mountain is the highest peak in the Black Range of southwestern

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. It is located about northeast of Silver City, in the

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Aldo Leopold Wilderness, along with Gila Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness, is part of New Mexico's Gila National Forest. It became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1980 by an act of the United States Congress and has a ...

of the

Gila National Forest The Gila National Forest is a protected national forest in New Mexico in the southwestern part of the United States established in 1905. It covers approximately of public land, making it the sixth largest National Forest in the continental U ...

. The mountain is topped by a flat ridge running roughly north–south for about one-half mile; the north and south ends of the ridge are both listed at 10,165 feet. The mountain is forested up to near its summit, which is rocky and provides panoramic views. Its west slopes are the headwaters of the East Fork of the

Mimbres River The Mimbres is a river in southwestern New Mexico. Course The Mimbres forms from snowpack and runoff on the southwestern slopes of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness in the Black Range at in Grant County. The river ends in the Guzmán Basin, a smal ...

, which flows through McKnight Canyon, and its northwest slopes also feed into the Mimbres. The east side is drained by Las Animas Creek, which flows into the Rio Grande at Caballo Lake. While the Continental Divide runs along much of the Black Range, McKnight Mountain is not on the divide itself, which separates from the crest of the Black Range at Red Peak a few miles to the north. McKnight Mountain is accessible via several trails. One is Trail 79, which runs along the crest of the Black Range, with a trailhead about south of the peak, located near McKnight Cabin at the end of Forest Road 152. Another, Trail 82, approaches the peak from the west through McKnight Canyon.

References

External links

* Mountains of New Mexico Landforms of Sierra County, New Mexico Landforms of Grant County, New Mexico Gila National Forest Mountains of Sierra County, New Mexico {{NewMexico-geo-stub