Cerro Pedernal, locally known as just "Pedernal", is a narrow

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...

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 ...

. The name is

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 ...

for "flint hill". The mesa lies on the north flank 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. ...

, south of

Abiquiu Lake Abiquiu Lake is a reservoir located in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Water of the Rio Chama is impounded by the earth-filled Abiquiu Dam, 1,800 feet (550 m) long and 340 feet (104 m) high, complete ...

, in the Coyote Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest. Its

caprock Caprock or cap rock is a more resistant rock type overlying a less resistant rock type,Kearey, Philip (2001). ''Dictionary of Geology'', 2nd ed., Penguin Reference, London, New York, etc., p. 41.. . analogous to an upper crust on a cake that is ha ...

was produced in the Jemez Volcanic Field. Its highest point is at . Pedernal is the source of a

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a ...

used by the prehistoric Gallina people. Its cliffs are popular with rock climbers.

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Ame ...

made many paintings of it, and her ashes were scattered on its top.

References

External links

Cerro Pedernal review with photos
Climb.Mountains.com.

New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. * Jemez Mountains Landforms of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Mesas of New Mexico Tourist attractions in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Climbing areas of New Mexico {{NewMexico-geo-stub