Our Newest National Monument

Soledad Rocks (left)

On May 21, 2014 President Obama signed a proclamation designating nearly 500,000 acres in southern New Mexico to be preserved as the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.  It is the largest of the national monuments created under his presidency.  During the signing ceremony the president said:  "Anyone who's ever seen the Organ Mountains that overlook Las Cruces, New Mexico, will tell you that they are a spectacular sight.  You've got massive rocks that jut up 9,000 feet in the air and stretch for 20 miles, like the organ pipes of a giant. And they're home to many of God's smaller creatures, as well. Deer and antelope roam — falcons, mountain lions."

Within the new national monument are archaeological treasures; three different Native American cultures left their rock art on canyon walls and their mortar holes in the bedrock.  Other sites of note within the area are Billy the Kid's Outlaw Rock, Geronimo's Cave, and training sites for the Apollo Space Mission.  If you are interested in a detailed description of the new Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument you can read more about it in the Presidential Proclamation at this site:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/21/presidential-proclamation-organ-mountains-desert-peaks-national-monument
 

Flower buds of the Ocotillo (Ok-o-TEA-yo)

Sierra Norte Trail

From the high country to the lower desert

Flowers of the Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)

Single-track trail through the high desert

The rugged Organ Mountains (part of the Rocky Mountain chain)

Prickly Pear Cacti and Spanish Bayonets

The highest peak in the Organ Mountains is 9,000 feet

Ponderosa Pines grow in the higher elevations

Barrel Cactus

Rainbow Cactus

A large expanse of Chihuahuan Desert