Much of COC's work is done in the field near "A" Mountain, just outside of Las Cruces. "A" Mountain is so called because of the huge A at the mountaintop. Historically, "A" Mountain was first discovered by the Don Juan de Oñate expedition which, in 1595, had moved out of Mexico across the Rio Grande to claim all of New Mexico Territory for the King of Spain. Two members of the expedition (purportedly Francisco "Poncho" de Leon and Jesus "Chuy" Hernandez) saw the A on the mountain and remarked surprisedly to each other about the likelihood of finding such a large vowel on a mountain in the New World. Because they were in trouble with Oñate for previously fraternizing with a couple of Manso Indian women on the north bank of the Rio Grande--near present-day El Paso--the men were reluctant to point out the letter to their comandante. But to these two men the mountain would always be called Montaña "A" (pronounced "Ah" en español), later Anglicized to "A" Mountain, the name by which it is currently known.
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