Animas Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Animas Mountains are a small mountain range in Hidalgo County
, within the "Boot-Heel" region of far southwestern New Mexico
, in the United States
. They extend north-south for about 30 miles (50 km) along the Continental Divide
, from near the town of Animas
to a few miles north of the border with Mexico
. The range is about 12 miles (20 km) wide at its widest. The highest point of the range is the southern summit of the mile-long Animas Peak massif, 8565 feet (2,611 m). (Animas Peak itself is the slightly lower north summit, 8,531 ft/2,600 m.)
The Animas Mountains lie between the Animas Valley on the west and the Playas Valley on the east. Nearby ranges include the Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)
, across the Animas Valley, and the Big Hatchet
and Little Hatchet Mountains, across the Playas Valley.
Physiographically, the range divides into two parts. The compact southern part, which includes Animas Peak, is higher and wider, rising up to 4,000 ft (1,200 m) above the nearby valleys. It has a sky island
character, with dense coniferous forests at the higher elevations. The longer, narrow northern portion is lower, reaching only 7,310 ft (2,228 m) at Gillespie Peak, and is characterized by grassland and piñon
-juniper
woods and shrubs.
The Animas Mountains lie near the Chihuahuan Desert
, the Sonoran Desert
, the Sierra Madre
of Mexico, and the mountains surrounding the headwaters of the Gila River
. Biotic influences from these regions, as well as the more distant Rocky Mountains
, give the southern portion of the range a great diversity of species, including "approximately 130 species of birds, 60 species of mammals, and 40 species of reptiles."
, which took the unusual step of selling it to the Animas Foundation, a private organization founded by rancher Drummond Hadley (as opposed to selling it to an arm of the U.S. government). The Foundation is intended to practice "sustainable agriculture in harmony with the environment." The Animas Foundation is one cooperating landowner within the Malpai Borderlands Group, a collaborative group in the region involving local landowners, local, state and federal agencies, universities, and environmental organizations. "The Animas Foundation is particularly important to the group in that they own more than a third of the planning area."
Access to the ranch, and hence to the Animas Mountains, is tightly controlled, with little or no public recreational use opportunities.
Hidalgo County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.3% White*0.6% Black*0.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.8% Two or more races*11.0% Other races*56.6% Hispanic or Latino...
, within the "Boot-Heel" region of far southwestern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They extend north-south for about 30 miles (50 km) along the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
, from near the town of Animas
Animas, New Mexico
Animas is an unincorporated community in west central Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States, in the southwestern corner of the state. It lies at the intersection of State Roads 9 and 338 south of the city of Lordsburg, the county seat of Hidalgo County. Its elevation is 4,406 feet , and...
to a few miles north of the border with Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The range is about 12 miles (20 km) wide at its widest. The highest point of the range is the southern summit of the mile-long Animas Peak massif, 8565 feet (2,611 m). (Animas Peak itself is the slightly lower north summit, 8,531 ft/2,600 m.)
The Animas Mountains lie between the Animas Valley on the west and the Playas Valley on the east. Nearby ranges include the Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)
Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)
The Peloncillo Mountains of Hidalgo County, , is a major 35-mi long mountain range of southwest New Mexico's Hidalgo County, and also part of the New Mexico Bootheel region. The range continues to the northwest into Arizona as the Peloncillo Mountains of Cochise County, Arizona...
, across the Animas Valley, and the Big Hatchet
Big Hatchet Mountains
The Big Hatchet Mountains are an 18 mi long, mountain range in southeast Hidalgo County, New Mexico, adjacent the northern border of Chihuahua state, Mexico....
and Little Hatchet Mountains, across the Playas Valley.
Physiographically, the range divides into two parts. The compact southern part, which includes Animas Peak, is higher and wider, rising up to 4,000 ft (1,200 m) above the nearby valleys. It has a sky island
Sky island
Sky islands are mountains that are isolated by surrounding lowlands of a dramatically different environment, a situation which, in combination with the altitudinal zonation of ecosystems, has significant implications for natural habitats. Endemism, vertical migration, and relict populations are...
character, with dense coniferous forests at the higher elevations. The longer, narrow northern portion is lower, reaching only 7,310 ft (2,228 m) at Gillespie Peak, and is characterized by grassland and piñon
Piñon
Piñon may refer to:* Pinyon pine * Pinon Airplant, Tillandsia excelsa-Places:* Piñon, Arizona, United States* Piñon, New Mexico, United States* Pinon, Aisne, a commune of the Aisne department in France...
-juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
woods and shrubs.
The Animas Mountains lie near the Chihuahuan Desert
Chihuahuan Desert
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert, and an ecoregion designation, that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra...
, the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
, the Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre may refer to one of several mountain ranges:*In Mexico:**Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona...
of Mexico, and the mountains surrounding the headwaters of the Gila River
Gila River
The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...
. Biotic influences from these regions, as well as the more distant Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, give the southern portion of the range a great diversity of species, including "approximately 130 species of birds, 60 species of mammals, and 40 species of reptiles."
History and current management
Most of the range is encompassed in the Diamond A Ranch (formerly the Gray Ranch), which is owned and managed by the Animas Foundation. The 300,000 acre (1,200 km²) ranch was bought in 1990 by The Nature ConservancyThe Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
, which took the unusual step of selling it to the Animas Foundation, a private organization founded by rancher Drummond Hadley (as opposed to selling it to an arm of the U.S. government). The Foundation is intended to practice "sustainable agriculture in harmony with the environment." The Animas Foundation is one cooperating landowner within the Malpai Borderlands Group, a collaborative group in the region involving local landowners, local, state and federal agencies, universities, and environmental organizations. "The Animas Foundation is particularly important to the group in that they own more than a third of the planning area."
Access to the ranch, and hence to the Animas Mountains, is tightly controlled, with little or no public recreational use opportunities.
External links
- http://peloncillo.org/images/front_map.jpgPeloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)The Peloncillo Mountains of Hidalgo County, , is a major 35-mi long mountain range of southwest New Mexico's Hidalgo County, and also part of the New Mexico Bootheel region. The range continues to the northwest into Arizona as the Peloncillo Mountains of Cochise County, Arizona...
& Animas Mtns, east of San Bernardino Valley (Arizona)San Bernardino Valley (Arizona)The San Bernardino Valley of Arizona is a northeast by southwest trending valley in extreme southeast Cochise County, Arizona.The north end of the valley merges into the northwest by southeast trending San Simon Valley; both merge in western Hidaldgo County, New Mexico...
; ] (Article)
