Cerro Grande is a
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
on the rim of the
Valles Caldera not far north of
New Mexico State Road 4, the main highway through
Los Alamos County. Like many mountains in the
Jemez, Cerro Grande was mainly covered with
conifer
Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
ous
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
, composed largely of
ponderosa pine and
aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
* ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'')
* ''Populus da ...
trees,
with a characteristic
rincon (meadow) on its slopes on and south of the summit.
In May 2000, a
prescribed burn on Cerro Grande got out of control and became the
Cerro Grande Fire, a
forest fire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), dese ...
that burned 48,000 acres (190 km²) and destroyed hundreds of homes.
[ Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives. Report Number GAO/T-RCED-00-273] Much of the forest on Cerro Grande itself was not damaged badly or at all. However, the whole mountain burned severely in the
Las Conchas Fire of 2011.
[ Click on the "multi image composite map" to see Cerro Grande within the burned area.]
The summit can be reached by a short hike
each way, with an elevation change of from a trailhead along State Road 4. From the summit, one can see into
Valle Grande to the west and into upper Frijoles Canyon to the south.
References
Mountains of New Mexico
Landforms of Sandoval County, New Mexico
Mountains of Sandoval County, New Mexico
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