The Tusas Mountains are a mountain range in northern

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, extending slightly into southern

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. They are considered the southeasternmost part 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 ...

. Grouse Mesa, , is the highest peak in the range. The mountains are located to the west of

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico ** Taos Pueblo, a Native American ...

and northwest of Santa Fe. The Tusas Mountains are a wide region of upland mesas and gently sloping mountains, dissected in places by deep canyons.

Geography

The eastern part of the range is primarily located in the

Carson National Forest Carson National Forest is a United States National Forest, national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers (1.5 million acres) and is administered by the United States Forest Service. The Forest Serv ...

, bordered by the

Taos Plateau volcanic field The Taos Plateau volcanic field is an area of extensive volcanism in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. It is the largest volcanic field in the Rio Grande Rift, spreading over . The total erupted volume is estimated at . The age of most of ...

and

Rio Grande del Norte National Monument The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is an approximately area of public lands in Taos County, New Mexico, United States, proclaimed as a national monument on March 25, 2013, by President Barack Obama under the provisions of the Antiquitie ...

to the east. It provides the headwaters for the Rio San Antonio, a tributary of the

Conejos River The Conejos River is a tributary of the Rio Grande, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 31, 2011 in south-central Colorado in the United States. It d ...

(which flows into the Rio Grande in Colorado), and further south the Rio Tusas and Rio Vallecito, which form the

Rio Ojo Caliente The Rio Ojo Caliente (or Ojo Caliente River) is a tributary of the Rio Chama mostly in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, with a small part near Ojo Caliente in Taos County. Course From the confluence of the Rio Vallecitos and Rio Tusas near La ...

, a tributary 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 abo ...

(also a Rio Grande tributary). Numerous volcanic features are located along the eastern edge of the range bordering the Taos plateau including nearby San Antonio Mountain. Much of the western part of the range, also known as the Brazos Mountains, is in the privately owned

Tierra Amarilla Land Grant The Tierra Amarilla Land Grant in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado consists of (929 sq miles) of mountainous land. The government of New Mexico awarded it to Manuel Martinez and his offspring ...

. The terrain consists of harder granite and metamorphic rock, and is more rugged than the eastern side. It includes features such as the Brazos Cliffs and several small mountain lakes including Hidden Lake and Sugar Loaf Lake. It is drained primarily by the Rio Chama and its tributary the Rio Brazos.

Climate

Grouse Mesa Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondria ...

, the highest peak in the Tusas Mountains, has a

subalpine climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfc'').

History

Gold and silver were discovered in the Tusas in 1881, but the deposits were of low quality and the area never saw significant mining activity. In 1986 the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

redefined the Brazos Mountains, originally considered a separate mountain range, as part of the Tusas Mountains, although the old name is still locally used.

Highest peaks

References

Works cited

*{{cite book, title=The Mountains of New Mexico, last=Julyan, first=Robert, publisher=UNM Press, year=2006, isbn=0-82633-516-0 Mountain ranges of New Mexico Mountain ranges of Colorado San Juan Mountains (Colorado)