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Caja del Rio (
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: "
box A box ( plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and ...
of the river") is a
dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded such that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, ...
, of volcanic origin, which covers approximately 84,000 acres of land in northern
Santa Fe County Santa Fe County ( es, Condado de Santa Fe; meaning ''Holy faith'' in Spanish) is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,170, making it New Mexico's third-most populous county, after Bernalillo Cou ...
,
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, ...
, United States. The region is also known as the Caja, Caja del Rio Plateau, and Cerros del Rio. The center of the area is approximately 15 miles (23 km) west of
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...
. Most of the Caja is owned by the
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
and managed by the
Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 feet (4000 m) at the su ...
. Access is through New Mexico Highway 599, Santa Fe County Road 62, and Forest Service Road 24.


Geography

The landscape of the Caja del Rio Plateau is generally flat to rolling terrain, with numerous steep cones rising up to 800 feet above the plains. The highest points in the immediate area are the unnamed high point (7,472 feet), Cerro Micho (7,326 feet), Montoso Peak (7,315 feet), Ortiz Mountain (7,188 feet), and Cerro Rito (7,296 feet) The entire plateau is within the watershed of the
Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
; portions of the Caja drain into the larger river through two tributaries: the Santa Fe River and Cañada Ancha. Virtually the entire perimeter of the Caja is ringed by cliffs or
escarpments An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esc ...
. White Rock Canyon forms the northwestern edge of the plateau. This canyon, through which the Rio Grande flows, has a maximum depth of over 1000 feet.
Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Mos ...
lies directly across the river to the west of the plateau. Along the eastern edge is Canada Ancha, an ephemeral stream that flows northward into the Rio Grande near Buckman. Another deep canyon (approximately 400 feet in depth) runs along the southern edge of the Caja, cut by the Santa Fe River. The canyon of the Santa Fe River separates the Caja land grant from another land grant to the south: the Mesita de Juana Lopez Grant. At the southern part of the Caja is La Bajada Mesa, dominated by Tetilla Peak (7,203 feet). The western edge of the mesa is a large escarpment known as La Bajada (
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: "the descent"), which is easily visible to highway traffic traveling north on Interstate 25 from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. After crossing the Santo Domingo Basin and the reservations of
Cochiti Cochiti (; Eastern Keresan: Kotyit ʰocʰi̥tʰ– "Forgotten", Navajo: ''Tǫ́ʼgaaʼ'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. A historic pueblo of the Cochiti people, it is part of the Albuquerque M ...
and Santo Domingo Pueblo, the freeway makes a steep climb up the escarpment. Further north along La Bajada, at La Bajada Hill, is the site of the old route of
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro ( en, Royal Road of the Interior Land), also known as the Silver Route, was a Spanish road between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo (''Ohkay Owingeh''), New Mexico, USA, that was used from 1598 to 1882. It was ...
, the road from Mexico City to Santa Fe, which was also the original path of
Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
; it involves a tortuous series of 23 switchbacks up the bajada road, which is now closed. La Bajada traditionally forms the southern boundary of the or upper river area of New Mexico, also known as
Northern New Mexico Northern New Mexico in cultural terms usually refers to the area of heavy- Spanish settlement in the north-central part of New Mexico. However, New Mexico state government also uses the term to mean the northwest and north central, but to exclude ...
.


Geology

The Caja del Rio plateau is a monogenetic
volcanic field A volcanic field is an area of Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters of up to 100 volcanoes ...
, which includes approximately 60
cinder cones A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...
,
spatter cones Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...
, and
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low- viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More tha ...
outflows. The volcanism can be explained by the field's location, which is very close to the intersection of the
Rio Grande rift The Rio Grande rift is a north-trending continental rift zone. It separates the Colorado Plateau in the west from the interior of the North American craton on the east. The rift extends from central Colorado in the north to the state of Chihua ...
and the Jemez Lineament. These structural weaknesses create a thinned crust, and pathways for intrusion by magma originating in the mantle. The result has been a series of intracontinental basaltic eruptions. The Rio Grande rift is a result of extensional, (or divergent)
tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...
forces exerted upon the American Southwest. This feature runs southward from the vicinity of
Leadville The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...
,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, through the entire state of New Mexico, through the vicinity of
El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and into Chihuahua,
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 Gua ...
. The rift began forming approximately 30 million years ago during the late
Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...
Epoch.Sawyer, David A., Ralph R. Shroba, Scott A. Minor, and Ren A. Thompson (2002) U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2352, ''Geologic Map of the Tetilla Peak Quadrangle, Santa Fe and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico'' Version 1.
download
/ref> The Rio Grande rift takes the form of a series of basins, each offset to the right from the previous basin as one travels along the rift. The Caja del Rio volcanic field lies almost on top of the Bajada Constriction Zone, which is the zone of offset between the
Albuquerque Basin The Albuquerque Basin (or Middle Rio Grande Basin) is a structural basin and ecoregion within the Rio Grande rift in central New Mexico. It contains the city of Albuquerque. Geologically, the Albuquerque Basin is a half-graben that slopes down to ...
to the southwest and the
Espanola Basin The Espanola basin is a structural basin in northern New Mexico. It is located in the Rio Grande watershed and is part of the Rio Grande rift. The definition of its boundaries is not fully settled, but the basin is usually defined such that it i ...
to the northeast. The Jemez Lineament is another, older feature, which also represents a linear weakness in the crust. The Lineament trends southwest to northeast, and underlies a string of volcanic features across Arizona and New Mexico. Those features include the San Carlos volcanic field, Springerville volcanic field,
Zuni-Bandera volcanic field Zuni-Bandera volcanic field (also known as Bandera lava field, Grants Malpais and Malpais volcanic field) is a volcanic field located in the state of New Mexico, United States. The volcanic field has been considered for geothermal exploitati ...
, Mount Taylor volcanic field, the Jemez volcanic field, the Taos Plateau volcanic field, and the Raton-Clayton volcanic field. The Caja del Rio volcanic field lies in the southeastern part of the Jemez volcanic field. The lavas erupted in the Caja are diverse in their characteristics, ranging from basalt with a
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
content of 49% to
dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...
with a silica content of 63%. Most are
alkali basalt Alkali basalt or alkali olivine basalt is a dark-colored, porphyritic volcanic rock usually found in oceanic and continental areas associated with volcanic activity, such as oceanic islands, continental rifts and volcanic fields. Alkali basalt ...
s and
hawaiite Hawaiite is an olivine basalt with a composition between alkali basalt and mugearite. It was first used as a name for some lavas found on the island of Hawaii. It occurs during the later stages of volcanic activity on oceanic islands such as Ha ...
s, which are basaltic lavas low in silica and mildly enriched in alkali metal oxides. These originated in the
Earth's mantle Earth's mantle is a layer of silicate rock between the crust and the outer core. It has a mass of 4.01 × 1024 kg and thus makes up 67% of the mass of Earth. It has a thickness of making up about 84% of Earth's volume. It is predominantly sol ...
but mingled with melted crust on their way to the surface. The more silica-rich lavas incorporated more melted crust and are described as
evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation t ...
magmas. The hawaiites have unusual trace element compositions, suggesting they originated in the remnants of the
Farallon plate The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate. It formed one of the three main plates of Panthalassa, alongside the Phoenix Plate and Izanagi Plate, which were connected by a triple junction. The Farallon Plate began subducting under the west ...
known to lie below western North America. Eruptions came in three phases. The first and most voluminous phase lasted from about 2.7 to 2.6 million years ago. The lavas erupted during this phase were mostly basalt and
basaltic andesite Basaltic andesite is a volcanic rock that is intermediate in composition between basalt and andesite. It is composed predominantly of augite and plagioclase. Basaltic andesite can be found in volcanoes around the world, including in Central Ameri ...
. Because of their low silica content, these lavas were highly fluid, and spread out to form most of the plateau. The eruptive centers, which included Cerro Montoso, Cerro Colorado, and Tetilla Peak, are mostly large composite cinder cones. The second phase, which lasted from about 2.5 to 2.2 million years ago, was more prolonged but much less voluminous and included a wide range of compositions, including andesite that makes up much of the higher terrain of the Caja del Rio. The final phase, from 1.5 to 1.1 million years ago, was restricted to a small area in lower White Rock Canyon east of the Rio Grande. These flows were basaltic andesite and dacite, and all overlie the lower Bandelier Tuff (Otowi Member) and the youngest overlies the upper Bandelier Tuff (Tsherige Member). One of the
scoria cone Scoria is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock that was ejected from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains or clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) ''G ...
s of the Caja del Rio, the Cienega volcano (), has been quarried since 1919 for cinder. The quarry has exposed part of the deep plumbing of the volcano, which has been studied for clues to the nature of magmatic plumbing systems under cinder cones. The volcano itself has been radiometrically dated as 2.73 ± 0.06 million years old and erupted through three vents in at least two stages. Basalt flows on the west side of White Rock Canyon, across from the Caja, are considered geologically part of the Caja del Rio volcanic field. These are mostly composed of
tholeiitic basalt The tholeiitic magma series is one of two main magma series in subalkaline igneous rocks, the other being the calc-alkaline series. A magma series is a chemically distinct range of magma compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic magma ...
, which is similar to the basalt erupted at
mid-ocean ridge A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about and rises about above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a di ...
s. Many of the flows of the Caja del Rio are covered with a mantle of sand, probably originating in the Rio Grande floodplain to the southwest and brought in by prevailing winds. The Caja is not the only volcanic feature in this part of New Mexico. Approximately 20 miles (32 km) to its northwest is the
Valles Caldera Valles Caldera (or Jemez Caldera) is a wide volcanic caldera in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. Hot springs, streams, fumaroles, natural gas seeps and volcanic domes dot the caldera floor landscape. The highest point in the caldera ...
, a spectacular
caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber i ...
which lies at the heart of the
Jemez Mountains The Jemez Mountains are a group of mountains in Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico, United States. Numerous Puebloan Indian tribes have lived in the Jemez Mountains region since before the Spanish arrived in New Mexico. ...
. This mountain range has been created by a series of eruptions since the Miocene. The ages of the first eruptions are difficult to determine, since the older rocks have been almost entirely buried by the material from younger eruptions. The oldest exposed volcanic rocks in the vicinity are approximately 16 million years old. The Jemez area experienced an intense pulse of
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low- viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More tha ...
volcanism between 9 and 11 million years ago. The lavas from this cycle had little
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
, and originated in the mantle. Additional pulses of volcanism occurred between 7-10 million years ago, between 6-7 million years ago, between 3-6 million years ago, and between 2-3 million years ago. The last of these pulses is believed to have created the Cerros del Rio volcanic field, which covers the entire Caja del Rio Plateau.


Climate

The climate of the Caja del Rio is arid and continental. The average daily maximum temperature at
White Rock, New Mexico White Rock is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Los Alamos County, New Mexico. It is one of two major population centers in the county; the other is Los Alamos (the county seat). The population was 5,725 at the 20 ...
varies from 39.7 degrees Fahrenheit in January to 80.5 degrees in July. The average daily minimum temperature varies from 18.8 degrees in January to 54.4 degrees in July. That average annual maximum temperature is 60.0 degrees, with the average annual minimum at 35.8. The average annual precipitation is approximately 10-12 inches. Most of the annual precipitation is associated with summer thunderstorms, although the area also receives winter snow.


Ecology

Soils in the Caja del Rio are derived from
Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
volcanic basalt flows and cinder cone eruptions. Most are best characterized as stony or cindery loam, with shallow horizons. Soil surveys of the Caja generally describe the soils as unsatisfactory, with a reduced potential for hydrologic and nutrient function. Three primary plant communities are frequently found on the Caja del Rio plateau: pinon-juniper savanna, pinon-juniper woodland, and Great Basin sage scrub. The most prevalent vegetative communities consist of a pinon (''
Pinus edulis ''Pinus edulis'', the Colorado pinyon, two-needle piñon, pinyon pine, or simply piñon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group whose ancestor was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Geoflora (a group of drought resistant trees) and is native to the Unite ...
'') and juniper (''
Juniperus monosperma ''Juniperus monosperma'' is a species of juniper native to western North America, in the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado, western Oklahoma ( Panhandle), and western Texas, and in Mexico in the extreme north of Chihuahua. ...
'') overstory with a short grass understory. Tree densities often range between 100 and 300 trees per acre. Another large community consists of open grassland, with
blue grama ''Bouteloua gracilis'', the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season ( C4) perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and U.S. M ...
(''
Bouteloua gracilis ''Bouteloua gracilis'', the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season ( C4) perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and U.S. M ...
''), galleta ('' Pleuraphis jamesii''), and various species of ''
Stipa ''Stipa'' is a genus of around 300 large perennial hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, which also contains many species f ...
'' being the most common grasses. Common woody shrubs include chamisa ('' Chrysothamnus nauseosus''), Apache plume ('' Fallugia paradoxa''), four-wing saltbush ('' Atriplex canescens''), and big sagebrush (''
Artemisia tridentata ''Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or (locally) simply sagebrush, is an aromatic shrub from the family Asteraceae, which grows in ari ...
''). Predatory mammals known to live in the Caja del Rio include
black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
(''Ursus americanus''),
mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...
(''Felis concolor''),
bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the I ...
(''Lynx rufus''),
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological n ...
(''Canis latrans''),
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve s ...
(''
Vulpes '' Vulpes '' is a genus of the sub-family Caninae. The members of this genus are colloquially referred to as true foxes, meaning they form a proper clade. The word "fox" occurs in the common names of all species of the genus, but also appears ...
'' spp.),
gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon litto ...
(''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus''),
badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...
(''Taxidea taxus''),
long-tailed weasel The long-tailed weasel (''Neogale frenata''), also known as the bridled weasel, masked ermine, or big stoat, is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Centr ...
(''Mustela frenata''),
western spotted skunk The western spotted skunk (''Spilogale gracilis'') is a spotted skunk of western North America. Description With a total length of , the western spotted skunk is smaller than the striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis''). Males, which weigh , are ...
(''Spilogale gracilis''), and
striped skunk The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus '' Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on ac ...
(''Mephitis mephitis''). Non-predatory mammals known to be present include
Rocky Mountain elk The Rocky Mountain elk (''Cervus canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely wit ...
(''Cervus elaphus''),
mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...
(''Odocoileus hemionus''),
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
(''Procyon lotor''),
porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethiz ...
(''Erethizon dorsatum''), black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''),
desert cottontail The desert cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii''), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae. Unlike the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus''), they do not form social burrow ...
, (''Sylvilagus auduboni''), white-throated woodrat (''Neotoma albigula''), Botta's pocket gopher (''Thomomys bottae''), Colorado chipmunk (''Neotamias quadrivittatus''), pinyon mouse (''Peromyscus truei''), and deer mouse (''
Peromyscus ''Peromyscus'' is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, ''Mu ...
'' spp.). Sensitive mammalian species known to be present at the Caja include
Gunnison's prairie dog Gunnison's prairie dog (''Cynomys gunnisoni'') is one of five species of prairie dog. This species belongs to the squirrel family of rodents, and are predominantly related to the North American and Eurasian ground squirrels. Gunnison's prairie do ...
(''Cynomys gunnisoni''). A small herd of wild horses (consisting of approximately 50 individuals) lives year round on the plateau. Birds of prey found in or near the Caja include
bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...
(''Haliaeetus leucocephalus''),
golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...
(''Aquila chrysaetos''),
red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...
(''Buteo jamaicensis''),
ferruginous hawk The ferruginous hawk, (''Buteo regalis''), is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name is ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related rough-legged hawk (''B. lagopus''). ...
(''Buteo regalis''),
Swainson's hawk Swainson's hawk (''Buteo swainsoni'') is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond ...
(''Buteo swainsonii''),
American kestrel The American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of ...
(''Falco sparverius''), and
peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey ( raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey ba ...
(''Falco peregrinus anatum''). Other resident non-migratory birds include Merriam's turkey (
Meleagris gallopavo The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally ...
),
pinyon jay The pinyon jay (''Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus'') is a species of jay, and is the only member of the genus ''Gymnorhinus''. Native to Western North America, the species ranges from central Oregon to northern Baja California, and eastward as far as ...
(''Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus''), hairy woodpecker (''Picoides villosus''), and scaled quail (''Callipepla squamata''). Migratory birds found in or near the Caja include
turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of So ...
(''Cathartes aura''),
killdeer The killdeer (''Charadrius vociferus'') is a large plover found in the Americas. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Three subspecies are described. T ...
(''Charadrius vociferus''),
loggerhead shrike The loggerhead shrike (''Lanius ludovicianus'') is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike (''L. borealis'') occurs north of its range, however it ...
(''Lanius ludovicianus''),
common nighthawk The common nighthawk (''Chordeiles minor'') is a medium-sized crepuscular or nocturnal bird of the Americas within the nightjar family, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization. Typically dark (gray, black and brown), d ...
(''Chordeiles minor''),
mourning dove The mourning dove (''Zenaida macroura'') is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Carol ...
(''Zenaida macroura'', broad-tailed hummingbird (''Selasphorus platycercus''), ladder-backed woodpecker (''Picoides scalaris''),
downy woodpecker The downy woodpecker (''Dryobates pubescens'') is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America. Length ranges from . Downy woodpeckers primarily live in forested areas throughout the United States and Canada, with the exception of deser ...
(''Picoides pubescens''),
northern flicker The northern flicker or common flicker (''Colaptes auratus'') is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker speci ...
(''Colaptes auratus''), gray flycatcher (''Empidonax wrightii''), Say's phoebe (''Sayornis saya''), ash-throated flycatcher (''Myiarchus cinerascens''), Cassin's kingbird (''Tyrannus vociferans''), plumbeous vireo (''Vireo plumbeus''),
horned lark The horned lark or shore lark (''Eremophila alpestris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found across the northern hemisphere. It is known as "horned lark" in North America and "shore lark" in Europe. Taxonomy, evolution and systema ...
(''Eremophila alpestris''), violet-green swallow (''Tachycineta thalassina''), northern rough-winged swallow (''Stelgidopteryx serripennis''), blue-gray gnatcatcher (''Polioptila caerulea''),
western bluebird The western bluebird (''Sialia mexicana'') is a small North American thrush. Taxonomy The western bluebird was formally described by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1832 and given the binomial name ''Sialia mexicana''. Six s ...
(''Sialia mexicana''),
mountain bluebird The mountain bluebird (''Sialia currucoides'') is a small migratory thrush that is found in mountainous districts of western North America. It has a light underbelly and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and s ...
(''Sialia currucoides''), Townsend's solitaire (''Myadestes townsendi''),
American robin The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not clos ...
(''Turdus migratorius''), American pipit (''Anthus rubescens''), black-throated gray warbler (''Setophaga nigrescens''),
western tanager The western tanager (''Piranga ludoviciana''), is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), other members of its genus and it are classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's plu ...
(''Piranga ludoviciana''), chipping sparrow (''Spizella passerina''),
lark sparrow The lark sparrow (''Chondestes grammacus'') is a fairly large New World sparrow. It is the only member of the genus ''Chondestes''. Distribution and habitat It breeds in southern Canada, much of the United States, and northern Mexico. It is muc ...
(''Chondestes grammacus''), western meadowlark (''Sturnella neglecta''), and
brown-headed cowbird The brown-headed cowbird (''Molothrus ater'') is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the souther ...
(''Molothrus ater''). Waterfowl using the Rio Grande corridor include Canada goose (''
Branta canadensis The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...
''), mallards (''
Anas platyrhynchos The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...
''), northern pintails ('' Anas acuta''), and American wigeon ('' Mareca americana''). Sensitive bird species known to be present at the Caja include bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and gray vireos. Common reptiles include collared lizards ('' Crotaphytus collaris''), roundtail horned lizard (''Phrynosoma modestum''), striped whipsnake (''Masticophis taeniatus''), and
western diamondback rattlesnake The western diamondback rattlesnake or Texas diamond-backWright AH, Wright AA. (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). . (''Crotalus atrox'') is a rattlesnake species and member of the viper family, ...
(''Crotalus atrox''). Sensitive reptilian species include the desert kingsnake ('' Lampropeltis getula splendida'').


Human use and management

Prehistoric Puebloans built dozens of village sites across the Caja del Rio and Pajarito plateaus. In contrast to its western neighbor, however, the canyon walls of the Caja are frequently made of basalt, rather than welded tuff. The latter material is much easier to excavate, and as a result, the Pajarito contains many more cliff houses. Both areas, however, contain countless
petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
. Most of them have been pecked into the ubiquitous basalt. Europeans founded Santa Fe in 1610. It is likely that use of the Caja del Rio for the grazing of domesticated livestock began shortly thereafter. From the beginning of colonization until the 19th century, subsistence users treated the plateau as common property, and used it for summer grazing and timber harvesting. During the mid-19th century, commercial livestock ranching increased throughout New Mexico. By the 1890s, grazing levels throughout the Territory were as high as 9 million animal units. This overuse, combined with severe droughts in 1891 and 1892, led to the loss of top soils and major vegetative changes. Among the vegetative changes were the replacement of more palatable forbs and grasses by woody shrubs and trees. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Forest Service began to address the problem of degraded rangelands. The new solutions included the reduction of grazing permits and the institution of range improvement programs. In 1935, the government purchased portions of the Caja del Rio Grant and the Majada Grant under the "Land Program" of the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Admi ...
. That acreage forms what is today the Caja del Rio Unit of the Santa Fe National Forest. Range surveys, maps, and a range management plan were completed by 1939. In the same year, the Soil Conservation Service assumed administration of the federal lands pursuant to a cooperative agreement among the Indian Services, Resettlement Administration, and the SCS. Responsibility for management was passed to the Forest Service in 1953. The Caja is now managed as a geographically distinct unit of the Espanola District of the Santa Fe National Forest. This unit consists of approximately 67,197 acres in 2010. The Taos Field Office of the
Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's l ...
manages additional acreage just outside the forest unit. The Caja del Rio Allotment is now managed as a community grazing allotment. Beginning in 1941, most of the existing allotment improvement were repaired or reconstructed. From 1954 to 1972, the average actual use was 711 permitted cattle. In 2010, the Forest Service allows a maximum of 8,305 animal unit months. That capacity is divided among twelve permittees who graze 492 cow-calf pairs and 28 bulls on ten pastures, in a yearlong season. The allotment was restocked after 2002 due to drought, and has been below maximum rates since then. The allotment contains 18 earth tanks, 7 wells, 31 miles of pipelines, 14 drinking troughs, 10 storage tanks, and 77 miles of fencing. In 2006, the water supply was substantially improved by the completion of the Caja del Rio Pipeline.


Points of interest

From 2004, the Caja has been the focus of a grass roots campaign to develop recreational trail uses. The purpose of this campaign is to augment use of the Caja, rather than replacing grazing. The trail system is used primarily by mountain bike and horse riders.


Wild horses

The
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
has designated Caja del Rio a Wild Horse Territory, and manages a herd of
mustangs The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...
there. A separate band of
feral horse A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these ...
s in the vicinity is not managed; its members are thought to be domestic horses recently turned loose to fend for themselves.


Diablo Canyon

Caja del Rio Canyon (known locally as Diablo Canyon), is a popular local rock climbing area on the northern section of Canada Ancha, near its confluence with the Rio Grande. This area can be accessed by Camino La Tierra and Old Buckman Road. Although the area is not marked, it has an undeveloped but very large parking area at its east end. The canyon walls include impressive
trap rock Trap rock, also known as either trapp or trap, is any dark-colored, fine-grained, non-granitic intrusive or extrusive igneous rock. Types of trap rock include basalt, peridotite, diabase, and gabbro.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. ...
s. The flat, sand bottom of the canyon is subject to spectacular flash floods during the summer
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
season. The hike from Diablo Canyon to the Rio Grande is both scenic and easy White Rock Canyon. The wash is also popular with horse riders. After passing Diablo Canyon, Old Buckman Road continues to the site of Buckman, a former logging town and depot of the
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
Chili Line The Chili Line, officially known as the Santa Fe Branch, was a narrow-gauge branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW). It ran from Antonito, Colorado, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) began co ...
. The Rio Grande can be forded in some seasons at Buckman. In fact, this crossing was a major transportation route between Santa Fe and the Pajarito Plateau. Diablo Canyon was a filming location for the 2007 film '' 3:10 to Yuma''.


Caja trails

The Caja has around 100 miles of mapped trails.Monroe, Deirdre C. (2006) ''Caja del Rio, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Equestrian, Riding and Hiking Trails, Santa Fe National Forest'', Otowi Crossing Press, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Some of the more notable trails include: *Chino Mesa Trail – 8 miles (one way) of two-track road running north from 1100 Well to overlook of White Rock Canyon near Pinabete Tanks *Montoso Peak Trail – 12 miles (loop) of two-track road running west from 1100 Well around north end of Montoso Peak *Frijoles Canyon Overlook – 2.6 miles (one way) of hiking trail and two-track road running west from Montoso Peak to edge of White Rock Canyon, with descent into the canyon across from Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument *Sagebrush Flats Trail – 17 miles (loop) of two-track road running north from 1100 Well (or 700 Well) into the northern section of Caja above Diablo Canyon *Soda Springs Trail – 3.1 miles (one way) of hiking trail running southwest from Buckman, and climbing up to Sagebrush Flats *Caja del Rio/Diablo Canyon Trail – 1.3 miles (one way) of hiking trail running southwest from Diablo Canyon and climbing up to Sagebrush Flats *Twin Hills Loop – 18 miles (loop) of two-track road passing through 1200 Well, Headquarters Well * Soda Springs Loop is a way to connect the recognized Soda Springs Trail with the Diablo Canyon ascent trail, which is not recognized but is being improved by local hikers, cyclists, and rock climbers. Usually better done as a CCW loop, one parks at Buckman Water Diversion Station by the Rio Grande, walks or rides South down White Rock Canyon on the old Soda Springs road (TR306), then ascends the 900' scarp of the Caja plateau, also on TR306, then takes two-track forest roads (FR24J) East across Sagebrush Flats to a marked trail at the bottom of the first arroyo crossing ~1.5 miles East of the ascent, then proceeds North on this white post marked trail to the edge of the Diablo Canyon, where an old Spanish stock trail descends back to the desert floor, and then follow the wide and sandy Arroyo 1.5 miles West and back to your cars. The route is now under continual improvement by users, and the Diablo descent is ready for aggressive off-road cyclists, while it is Moderate Off-Trail for hikers. The rest is on old roads or improved trail, granting the entire loop a ModeratePlus designation.


Rio Grande Trail

The proposed Rio Grande Trail, if it extends north of Bernalillo, may pass along the base of Caja del Rio.


See also

*
Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Mos ...
* Cochiti Dam *
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located approximately southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, near Cochiti Pueblo. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), it was established as a U.S. National Monument ...
*
Los Alamos County, New Mexico Los Alamos County (English: "The Poplars" or "Cottonwoods") is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,950. The smallest county by area in the state, Los Alamos County was formerly administered ex ...
*
Pajarito Plateau The Pajarito Plateau is a volcanic plateau in north central New Mexico, United States. The plateau, part of the Jemez Mountains, is bounded on the west by the Sierra de los Valles, the range forming the east rim of the Valles Caldera, and on the ea ...
*
Rio Grande Rift The Rio Grande rift is a north-trending continental rift zone. It separates the Colorado Plateau in the west from the interior of the North American craton on the east. The rift extends from central Colorado in the north to the state of Chihua ...
*
San Ildefonso Pueblo San Ildefonso Pueblo ( Tewa: Pʼohwhogeh Ówîngeh ’òhxʷógè ʔówîŋgè"where the water cuts through" ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, and a federally recognized tribe, established c. 13 ...
*
Santa Fe County, New Mexico Santa Fe County ( es, Condado de Santa Fe; meaning ''Holy faith'' in Spanish) is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,170, making it New Mexico's third-most populous county, after Bernalillo Cou ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Santa Fe National Forest, Region 3, title=Proposed Action, Alternatives, and Preliminary Effects Analysis for 30 -Day Comment for the Caja del Rio Grazing Allotment, (2008) Project No. 25902 * United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Taos Field Office, City of Santa Fe Buckman Supplemental Wells Environmental Assessment (2003) * United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Taos Field Office, Camel Tracs Road Rehabilitation and Fencing Project Finding of No Significant Impact and Environmental Assessment (2003) Project No.DOI-BLM-NM-F020-2010-0048-EA.


External links


audubon.org: Important Bird Areatrails.mtbr.com: Caja Del Rio Plateaucajadelrio.com: Caja del Rio Landfill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caja Del Rio Lava plateaus Landforms of New Mexico Volcanic fields of New Mexico Colorado Plateau Plateaus of the United States Feral horses Landforms of Santa Fe County, New Mexico Protected areas of Santa Fe County, New Mexico Bureau of Land Management areas in New Mexico