Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Geology: Blue Hole, Carlsbad Cavern, Chuska Mountains, Manzanos Mountains, Mimbres, Rio Grande Gorge, Rio Grande, Rio Puerco, Sacramentos Mountains, Sangre de Christo Mountains, San Mateo Mountains, Shiprock, Pecos River, Valles Caldera National Preserve, White Sands, Zuni Mountains

Sangre de Cristo Mountains

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in the United States. The mountains run from Poncha Pass in South-Central Colorado, trending southeast and south, ending at a point southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mountains contain a number of fourteen thousand foot peaks in the Colorado portion, as well as all of the peaks in New Mexico which are over thirteen thousand feet.

The name, Spanish for "blood of Christ", is said to come from the red color of the range at some sunrises and sunsets, especially when the mountains are covered with snow, alpenglow. However the particular origin of the name is unclear, and the name in fact only dates back to the early 19th century. Before that time the terms "La Sierra Nevada", "La Sierra Madre", "La Sierra", and "The Snowies" (used by English speakers) were used.