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 ...
in
northern New Mexico. 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, Ca ...
for "flint hill". The mesa lies on the north flank of the
Jemez Mountains, 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, com ...
, 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
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. T ...
. 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
The Gallina or Largo-Gallina culture was an occupation sequence during the pre- Hispanic period in the American Southwest from approximately 1050 to 1300. The culture was located in north-central New Mexico roughly north of the Jemez Mountains, and ...
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
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