NPS Photo by Stella Carroll
From the mesa-top you have a spectacular view of the area. To the west (to your left) are the Jemez Mountains. To the east (straight ahead) are the Sangre de Cristo (Spanish for Blood of Christ) Mountains and the Rio Grande Valley. About 70 miles south are the Sandia (Spanish for watermelon) Mountains, just east of Albuquerque (behind you). The Rio Grande flows in the steep canyon just to the east. This entire area is part of a major geologic feature, the Rio Grande Rift. An unstable section of the earth’s crust, the Rio Grande Rift has seen repetitive cycles of major volcanism throughout its geologic history. These landforms play an important role in the beliefs of the Pueblo people of today and undoubtedly did in Ancestral Pueblo times as well.