Rio Grande Village Nature Trail Stop #16

Sierra del Carmen and the Rio Grande

NPS/M. Schuler

Quick Facts

Location:

Rio Grande Village Nature Trail

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot

In front of you loom the Sierra del Carmen, a range of massive limstone cliffs that reflect pink and purple hues at sunset. The limestone rock was deposited by ancient seas around 130 million years ago. The same mountain-building forces that created the Rocky Mountains lifted these imposing cliffs along a fault line, causing them to stand high above the surrounding landscape. You are standing on the down-dropped block which consists of the same kind of rock found at the top of the Sierra del Carmen, rising almost one mile in elevation above you.