Ute Mountain (New Mexico)

Ute Mountain is a 10,093-foot elevation (3,076 m) summit located in Taos County, New Mexico, United States.

Ute Mountain
South aspect
Highest point
Elevation	10,093 ft (3,076 m)[1][2]
Prominence	2,483 ft (757 m)[3]
Isolation	10.75 mi (17.30 km)[4]
Listing	Highest major summits of the US
Coordinates	36°56′15″N 105°41′02″W[5]
Naming
Etymology	Ute[6]
Geography
Ute Mountain Location in New Mexico Show map of New Mexico Ute Mountain Ute Mountain (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Rio Grande del Norte National Monument
Country	United States of America
State	New Mexico
County	Taos
Parent range	Sangre de Cristo Mountains Rocky Mountains
Topo map	USGS Ute Mountain
Geology
Rock age	3.9 Million years[7]
Mountain type	volcanic cone
Rock type	Dacite[7]
Volcanic field	Taos Plateau volcanic field
Climbing
Easiest route	class 2 hiking[4]

Description

Ute Mountain is part of the Taos Mountains which are a subset of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.^[3] The isolated landmark is the highest point of the Cerro del Yuta Wilderness and Rio Grande del Norte National Monument which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management.^[4] The remote mountain is situated 35 miles north of the town of Taos and four miles south of the New Mexico–Colorado border. Ute Mountain is a free-standing, dacitic, extinct Pliocene volcanic cone set within the Taos Plateau volcanic field.^[8] Ute Mountain has a base diameter of five miles and topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,500 feet (760 meters) above the surrounding sagebrush-covered basalt plains.^[2] The slopes of the mountain are covered with stands of pinyon pine, ponderosa pine, aspen and Douglas fir.^[9] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains to the Rio Grande which flows through a gorge along the western base of the mountain.

Etymology

The mountain is also known in Spanish as "Cerro del Yuta" (Mountain of the Ute).^[10] The origin of the word Ute is unknown; it is first attested as Yuta in Spanish documents. The mountain is named after the Ute people whose self-designation is Núuchi-u, meaning 'the people'.^[11] The state of Utah is also named after the Ute people. This landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names,^[5] and has appeared in publications since at least 1875.^[12]

Gallery

• 
  Ute Mountain and Rio Grande
• 
  Northeast aspect from Jaroso, Colorado
• 
• 
  East aspect from Costilla, New Mexico

See also

• List of mountain peaks of New Mexico
• Mountains portal
• Rio Grande rift