New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte
The plummeting gorge, towering volcanic mountains and untamed grasslands of northern New Mexico are some of the wildest lands left in the United States. And thanks to the 310,000- acre Rio Grande del Norte becoming a national monument in March 2013 – one of the most recent in the United States – the region should stay that way. The designation is the incredible result of 10 years of effort by people more often seen as diametrically opposed to one another: ranchers, environmentalists, business owners, anglers, hunters and politicians all joined together to set aside the high-altitude area for conservation. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte, Rio Grande Rift
The Rio Grande Rift cleaved some 20 million years ago, spilling miles-thick flows of basalt and rhyolite lava across what is now northern New Mexico. The inferno raged on and off until about two million years ago, when the last of the soaring volcanic plugs that dot the national monument pushed through the volcanic foundation and climbed into the sky. Even today the great rift hasn’t stopped moving: it continues to pull the western half of the monument away from its eastern portion, slowly widening the gorge and allowing volcanic-heated water to bubble up in hot springs. Pictured here, the forested slopes of the volcanic plug Cerro de la Olla (Wind Mountain) tower over the savannah grasslands. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte, Sangre de Cristo Mountains
After the volcanic activity settled somewhat, several rivers flowing from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains joined to cut through the lava flows, forming the Rio Grande Gorge. Starting at 200ft deep near the Colorado border, the Gorge eventually reaches a depth of 900ft along an 18-mile stretch known as the Taos Box – a part of the canyon so rugged it is only accessible by boat. Stretching across the Taos Box is the massive Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, known as the “High Bridge” by locals. Completed in 1965, the 1,280ft-long crossing is the seventh highest steel arch bridge in the United States. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument
For such a remote region, the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument has hosted an impressive number of civilizations over the last 13,000 years. “Evidence of Paleo Indians, Jicarilla Apache, Ute, Comanche and Pueblo people are all indicated by their presence in the rock art scattered across the plateau,” said Gary Grief of the Taos Archaeological Society. In fact, the sheer number of ancient petroglyphs astounds researchers; pictured here are drawings incised into giant chunks of basalt deep in the gorge along the Big Arsenic Springs Trail. Other archaeological remains include pit houses, tools, projectile points, hunting camps, potsherds and villages. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte, Taos
The Spanish arrived in 1540, settling the village of Taos next to Taos Pueblo, a Native American town inhabited since at least 1000. About 300 years later, the Americans came, taking the area from Mexico by force and putting the Ute, Comanche and Navajo people under the boot of the fledgling empire. In the 1920s, World War I veterans attempted to homestead in what is now the national monument, but were discouraged by the lack of water, the long, bitterly cold winters and the roasting summers . After just 20 years out on “La Otra Banda” – the name given to the mesa’s western portion by the Hispanics who settled on the wetter and more fertile eastern side – the settlers moved on, leaving the remains of their homes melting slowly into the landscape. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte
For northern New Mexico’s agricultural communities, the national monument offers protection from extractive industries and unnecessary development. Traditional uses of the land, such as grazing sheep and cattle, collecting pinyon tree nuts and gathering medicinal herbs, were named as some of the main reasons for the monument’s creation. “My grandfather instilled in me the idea of conserving the land and our traditions for future generations,” said Esther Garcia, chairman of the San Antonio del Rio Colorado Land Grant, a 200-year old organisation representing traditional users of the area. “Without the national monument designation I am not sure we could continue our traditions. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte
The national monument’s diversity of landscapes create the perfect conditions for a wealth of biodiversity, including species such as river otter, mountain lion, black bear, badger, ring-tailed cat, rocky mountain elk, mule deer and trout. The monument is also a birder’s paradise. Along the river, heron and a wide array of water fowl come and go, and the gorge’s steep walls are perfect for nesting golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and falcons. In the summer, yellow-breasted chats, bullock’s orioles and blue grosbeaks pass along the rim of the canyon, while during autumn, masses of geese and even storks pass through on their way south for the winter. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte
About 80 years ago, the once-common bighorn sheep was hunted out of northern New Mexico. But in 2007, the Federal Bureau of Land Management, Taos Pueblo and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish cooperated on a wildly successful reintroduction programme. Today, you will be hard-pressed not to run into a herd of bighorns exploring along the rim of the gorge. As beautiful and curious as they are, keep your distance. They are still wild animals. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte, Wild Earth Llama Adventures
Numerous hiking trails weave through the national monument, and there are plenty of opportunities for mountain biking, bird watching and hunting. Hot air balloon and rafting companies operate within the monument, as do tour guides such as Wild Earth Llama Adventures. The company runs single or multi-day explorations with a unique twist: they use llamas to haul the food and equipment. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte
The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument sits at the centre of 14 protected wilderness areas along the Colorado and New Mexico border. This web of conservation safeguards some of the most important wildlife habitat in the Southern Rockies Ecosystem. To the east, in the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains (pictured), the Columbine Hondo Wilderness, Latir Peak Wilderness and Wheeler Peak Wilderness bring travellers above the grassy plateau into equally untrammelled alpine meadows and dark pine and spruce forests. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)
New Mexico, Rio Grande del Norte
Area residents are beginning to see the aesthetic and economic benefits of large-scale landscape protection efforts, and already, the same communities that came together for the monument are working to protect more land in the region. This means more opportunity for travellers, cleaner surrounds for locals – and a greater chance that an eagle might fly right over you on a warm summer evening. (Credit: Jim O’Donnell)