The Alamo Hueco Mountains are a long mountain range, located in the southeast of the

New Mexico Bootheel The New Mexico Bootheel is a salient which comprises the southwestern corner of New Mexico. As part of the Gadsden Purchase it is bounded on the east by the Mexican state of Chihuahua along a line at extending south to latitude 31°20′0″N ...

region, southeast Hidalgo County,

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 ...

, adjacent to the border of Chihuahua state,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The range lies near the southern end of the mountains bordering the extensive north–south

Playas Valley The Playas Valley is a lengthy and narrow 60-mi (97-km) long, valley located in Hidalgo County, New Mexico in the Bootheel Region; the extreme south of the valley lies in Chihuahua. Playas, NM is located in the northeast. The valley is noteworth ...

; the Little Hatchet and Big Hatchet Mountains are adjacent, and mostly attached north; the mountain range series, ends south into the flatland plains of the Chihuahuan Desert. The much smaller Dog Mountains are adjacent south. While the

Continental Divide of the Americas The Continental Divide of the Americas (also known as the Great Divide, the Western Divide or simply the Continental Divide; ) is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from t ...

traverses the western perimeter mountains of the Playas Valley, the ''Continental Divide National Scenic Trail'' traverses the entire mountain ranges on the east side of the Playas Valley; the Scenic Trail continues south into the

Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lo ...

region of northwest Chihuahua state.

Description

The range is 15 mi long and only about 8 mi wide. It trends northwest by southeast and abuts the Dog Mountains to the south on the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border trave ...

. The Alamo Hueco Mountains lie in the southeast corner of New Mexico's 'Bootheel', so the Chihuahua border also lies to the east of the mountain range. The highest peak in the range is Pierce Peak (New Mexico), , near the range's center-northeast; the peak is located at .Pierce Peak, trails.com
/ref> Hat Top Mountain at is located on the extreme southeast of the range, and separated from the main northwest–southeast ridgeline.

''Continental Divide National Scenic Trail''

The Continental Divide lies north of the Big Hatchet Mountains and traverses the northern Playas Valley on its water divide. The ''Continental Divide National Scenic Trail'' comes through the Big Hatchet's in two trails, at the center and one in the north; also subtrails lead off southeasterly. The main traverse of the Scenic Trail exits from the southwest quarter of the range, to meet the northwest end of the Alamo Hueco Mountains. File:Horseshoe 2 Fire, Arizona.JPG, (at photo, bottom-right)
Animas and Playas Valleys, with Alamo Hueco Mountains, and south section of Big Hatchet Mountains

References

External links

Range Highpoint–Big Hatchet Peak
Pierce Peak, ''Trails Near Pierce Peak'', (coordinates)
---- Alamo Hueco Mountains
Alamo Hueco Mountains, peakbagger.com, (elevation: 5851 ft), coordinatesAlamo Hueco Mountains Wilderness Study Area Trails
{{Mountains of New Mexico, state=collapsed Mountain ranges of New Mexico Mountain ranges of Hidalgo County, New Mexico New Mexico Bootheel Great Divide of North America