Guadalupe Mountains facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Guadalupe Mountains |
|
|---|---|
Guadalupe Mountains
|
|
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Guadalupe Peak |
| Elevation | 8,751 ft (2,667 m) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 65 mi (105 km) |
| Width | 20 mi (32 km) |
| Geography | |
 Guadalupe Mountains
Location in Texas
|
|
| Country |  United States |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Permian |
| Type of rock | Carbonate sponge reef complex |
The Guadalupe Mountains (which means Sierra de Guadalupe in Spanish) are a mountain range found in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. This mountain range is home to Guadalupe Peak, which is the highest point in all of Texas. It stands tall at 8,751 feet (2,667 meters). Another famous peak here is El Capitan. Both of these amazing peaks are located inside Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
The Guadalupe Mountains have natural borders. To the east and north, you'll find the Pecos River valley and the Llano Estacado. To the south are the Delaware Mountains, and to the west are the Sacramento Mountains. One of the most interesting things about these mountains is that they show a very clear example of an ancient reef. This reef formed millions of years ago when the area was covered by a shallow sea. You can find fossils of sea creatures from the Permian time period in the rocks here. Scientists who study rocks (like stratigraphers) and ancient life (like paleontologists) love to study the geology of the Guadalupe Mountains.
Contents
History of the Guadalupe Mountains
Early People and Spanish Explorers
Archaeological findings show that people lived in the Guadalupe Mountains over 10,000 years ago. These early humans were hunter-gatherers. They hunted large animals and collected plants for food. Evidence of their lives includes old tools, baskets, pottery, and rock art found in the many caves and rock shelters.
The first Europeans to arrive were the Spanish in the 1500s. However, they did not try to settle in the Guadalupe Mountains. The Spanish brought horses to the area. Soon, local nomadic tribes, like the Mescalero Apaches, began using horses for hunting and traveling. The Mescalero Apaches moved around a lot, following game and gathering agave plants for food and fiber. The word "Mescalero" means "mescal-maker" in Spanish, referring to their use of the agave plant. You can still find old agave-roasting pits and other signs of their culture in the park today.
American Settlers and the Butterfield Overland Mail
The Mescalero Apaches lived in these mountains until the mid-1800s. After the American Civil War, new transportation routes challenged their way of life. In the 1840s and 1850s, many people traveled west through this area. In 1858, a place called Pinery Station was built near Pine Springs. It was a stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail, which was a stagecoach service that carried mail and passengers. This mail route crossed Guadalupe Pass, which is 5,534 feet (1,687 meters) above sea level.
Soldiers, including a group known as the Buffalo Soldiers, were sent to the area. Their job was to stop Native American raids on settlements and mail routes. In the winter of 1869, Lt. H.B. Cushing led his troops into the Guadalupe Mountains. They destroyed two Mescalero Apache camps. Eventually, the Mescalero Apache people were moved out of the area and onto Indian reservations.
Protecting the Mountains: From Ranches to a National Park
Felix McKittrick was one of the first European settlers to raise cattle in the Guadalupe Mountains in the 1870s. McKittrick Canyon is believed to be named after him. The Frijole Ranch was the first permanent ranch house, built in 1876 by the Rader brothers. It was an important building in the area, serving as a community center and post office from 1916 to 1942. Today, the Frijole Ranch House has been restored and is a museum.
In 1908, the Williams Ranch House was built. Later, Judge J.C. Hunter bought most of the smaller ranches in the area, combining them into the Guadalupe Mountain Ranch. A man named Wallace Pratt, who was a geologist for an oil company, was very impressed by the beauty of McKittrick Canyon. In 1921, he bought land there and built two summer homes for his family. In 1960, Wallace Pratt generously donated about 6,000 acres (24 square kilometers) of McKittrick Canyon. This land became part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. In 1978, the United States Congress set aside 46,850 acres (190 square kilometers) of the Texas side of the range as a wilderness area. This means it is protected and managed by the National Park Service.
Geography of the Guadalupe Mountains
The Guadalupe Mountains reach their highest point at Guadalupe Peak, which is the tallest spot in Texas at 8,751 feet (2,667 meters). The range is located southeast of the Sacramento Mountains and east of the Brokeoff Mountains. It stretches from Guadalupe Peak in Texas northward into New Mexico. The northern part ends about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southwest of Carlsbad, near White's City and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The southern tip, marked by El Capitan, is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of El Paso.
These mountains rise more than 3,000 feet (914 meters) above the dry Chihuahuan Desert floor. The Guadalupe Mountains are surrounded by the South Plains to the east and north, the Delaware Mountains to the south, and the Sacramento Mountains to the west.
A dramatic cliff known as "The Rim" marks the northwestern part of the range, extending far into New Mexico. The range is bordered by Four Mile Canyon to the north and the Pecos River valley to the east. On the west, it's bordered by several canyons like Piñon Creek and Dog Canyon. Much of the range is made from the ancient Capitan Reef. This reef formed at the edge of a shallow sea during the Permian period. The "Guadalupian" time period, part of the Permian, is named after these mountains. The "Capitanian" age within this period is named after the Capitan reef.
Because the range is mostly made of limestone, there is very little surface water in the higher areas. The only important surface water is McKittrick Creek, found in McKittrick Canyon. This creek flows out from the eastern side of the mountains, just south of the New Mexico border. The elevation at the base of the mountains ranges from about 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) on the western side to 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) on the east. Several peaks in the southern part are taller than 8,000 feet (2,438 meters).
The Guadalupe Mountains have hot summers and mild, calm autumns. Winters and early springs can be cool to cold. Snowstorms, freezing rain, or fog can happen in winter or early spring. Strong winds are common from winter through spring. Late summer brings monsoons, which cause thunderstorms. Even in summer, the nights are usually cool.
Geology of the Guadalupe Mountains
The rocks that make up the Guadalupe Mountains were formed during the Permian period. These sedimentary rocks were once sediments deposited in the Delaware Basin. This basin was a shallow ocean area at the southern edge of what was then the North American continent. Scientists think the environment was similar to places like the Bahamas or southern Florida today. In these warm, clear waters, tiny organisms that use sunlight to grow thrived. When these organisms died and were buried, their calcium carbonate shells formed Limestone rock. This process preserved fossils and clues about ancient life.
The limestone that formed in the Delaware Basin created the Capitan Reef. This is one of the largest and most continuous ancient limestone reefs visible on Earth today. Over time, buried organic matter in the basin also formed oil and natural gas. Because of this, about 250,000 wells have been drilled in the surrounding region to extract these resources.
The bedrock that formed in these ancient oceans was likely lifted up during the Cenozoic period. This uplift happened as a large tectonic plate called the Farrallon plate moved under the western United States. This movement thickened the continental crust and lifted up the Colorado Plateau. After the Farrallon plate was completely subducted, the pressure on the western edge of North America was released. This led to the formation of a transform plate boundary, like the San Andreas Fault. The Colorado Plateau then began to stretch, creating mountains and valleys in areas like the Basin and Range Province, which includes the Rio Grande rift west of the Guadalupe Mountains. Scientists believe a similar stretching process created the Guadalupe Mountains about 20 million years ago.
The Guadalupe Mountains have many canyons that run from northwest to southeast. These canyons expose the marine rocks that make up the mountains. In this dry, semi-arid environment, the continuous limestone of the Capitan Reef forms large, noticeable cliffs. These cliffs are often seen along the eastern edge of the park. Groundwater flowing through cracks in the rock dissolves the limestone. This process creates huge cave networks, including the famous Carlsbad Caverns.
Ecology and Wildlife
The Guadalupe Mountains are home to three main types of ecosystems. First, there are desert areas. On the western side of the national park, you can see salt flats and creosote desert plants. Lower elevations on the east side have grasslands, pinyon pines, and juniper trees like alligator juniper and one-seeded juniper.
Second, inside canyons like McKittrick, Bear, and Pine Springs Canyon on the southeast side, you'll find different kinds of deciduous trees. These include maple, ash, and chinquapin oak. These trees can grow in the desert because springs provide water, which is refilled by the wetter uplands.
Finally, the high mountain areas, known as "the Bowl," are above 7,000 feet (2,134 meters). These uplands have denser forests with ponderosa pine, southwestern white pine, and douglas-fir trees. You can even find small groups of aspen trees here.
The range also contains many amazing caves. Carlsbad Caverns is the most famous, but Lechuguilla Cave, discovered in 1986, is also world-class. The history of the range includes being home to ancient Pueblo and Mogollon peoples, as well as the Apache tribe and various American outlaws in the 1800s.
Images for kids
-
Guadalupe Mountains
-
Guadalupe Mountains in 2006
-
Hunter Peak
-
View of McKittrick Canyon from the Guadalupe Mountains
-
Gastropod fossil along Permian Reef trail (McKittrick Canyon, TX)
-
Native vegetation on the Guadalupe Peak Trail
See also
In Spanish: Sierra de Guadalupe (Texas) para niños
