The Datil Mountains are a small range on the northern edge of the

Mogollon-Datil volcanic field The Mogollon-Datil volcanic field is a large () silicic volcanic field in western New Mexico (Mogollon Mountains- Datil, New Mexico). It is a part of an extensive Eocene to Oligocene volcanic event which includes the San Juan volcanic field in s ...

, just northwest of the Plains of San Agustin in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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, Ker ...

. The range lies in Socorro and Catron Counties, north of the town of

Datil, New Mexico Datil is a census-designated place in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 54. Located at the intersection of U.S. Route 60 and New Mexico State Road 12, Datil is on the edge of the Cibola Natio ...

and takes its name from the Spanish word for “date,” dating back over two hundred years. In ''The Place Names of New Mexico'', Robert Julyan suggests two possible explanations for the name: 1) that “the seedpods of the broad-leafed yucca sufficiently resembled dates” or 2) “the Spanish applied the name to the fruit of the prickly pear cactus.” The area includes the major ridgeline of Madre Mountain (elev. 9,556 feet), which is sacred ground to the

Acoma Acoma may refer to: * ''Acoma'' (beetle), a scarab beetle genus of subfamily Melolonthinae * Acoma Pueblo, a Native American pueblo * Acoma, Nevada, a ghost town * Acoma Township, McLeod County, Minnesota, US * , more than one ship of the US Navy ...

Laguna Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to: People * Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay * Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist * Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...

, and Zuni tribes, as well as several other unnamed peaks and ridges. The majority of the Datil Mountains are part of the Magdalena Ranger District of the

Cibola National Forest The Cibola National Forest (pronounced SEE-bo-lah) is a 1,633,783 acre (6,611.7 km2) United States National Forest in New Mexico, USA. The name Cibola is thought to be the original Zuni Indian name for their pueblos or tribal lands. The name was ...

. There are two Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs) within the Datil Mountains: the Datil (13,974 acres) and Madre Mountain (19,855 acres) IRAs. The landscape is expansive and natural with steep-sided hills cloaked with dense conifer forest. The jagged Sawtooth Mountains can be seen to the west.

Ecology

The Datils contain

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

, pinyon-juniper woodland,

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

forest, deciduous

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

areas. At lower elevations, grasses include

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and sideoats grama, poverty three-awn, burrograss, and

galleta grass ''Hilaria'' is a genus of North American plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as curly mesquite. They are found in the Southwestern United States, Mexico, and Guatemala. The generic name honors French naturalist Au ...

. Higher up, grass species include

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

and

hairy grama ''Bouteloua hirsuta'', commonly known as hairy grama, is a perennial short prairie grass that is native throughout much of North America, including the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies region, as well as Mexico and Guatemala Guatemala ( ...

, and

little bluestem ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

. Shrubs include

sotol Sotol is a distilled spirit from the Chihuahuan desert northern Mexico, western Texas sourced from the family of Asparagaceae; the genus Dasylirion and several species, most commonly: ''Dasylirion wheeleri'', Dasylirion durangense, ''Dasyliri ...

, cholla,

yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flo ...

, Apache plume,

mountain mahogany ''Cercocarpus'', commonly known as mountain mahogany, is a small genus of at least nine species of nitrogen-fixing flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native to the western United States and northern Mexico, where they grow i ...

shrub live oak ''Quercus turbinella'' is a North American species of oak known by the common names shrub oak, turbinella oak, shrub live oak, and gray oak. It is native to Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada in the western United State ...

gambel oak ''Quercus gambelii'', with the common name Gambel oak, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountains of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak. ...

, and alligator juniper. Wildlife includes

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

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 ...

, Merriam's turkey, black bears,

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 IUC ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, 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 ecologica ...

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 sp ...

es,

bald Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarrin ...

and

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 bird of p ...

prairie falcon The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&nb ...

kestrel The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour ...

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

s, and

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s as well as Gambel's, scaled, and Mearn's quail. The range contains important breeding ground for

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. I ...

and the southern portion is important for mountain lion connectivity.

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

identified the Datils as a key conservation area in New Mexico due to the range's ecological diversity and species richness.

Recreation

The Datil Mountains provide outstanding opportunities for hiking, camping, backpacking, hunting, rock climbing, horseback riding and other forms of primitive dispersed recreation given the natural and rugged character, high quality habitat, remarkable views, and size. Thompson Canyon features the challenging Enchanted Tower, and is a popular destination for rock climbers.

References

External links

Cibola National Forest official website

Socorro County InfoNet

New Mexico Game and Fish
{{Mountains of New Mexico Cibola National Forest Magdalena Ranger District Mountain ranges of New Mexico Mountain ranges of Socorro County, New Mexico Landforms of Catron County, New Mexico