Rio Grande del Norte National Monument

On March 25, 2013, President Obama signed a Presidential Proclamation which created the Rio Grande del North National Monument.  Just as a bit of information, it takes an Act of Congress to create a National Park, but only a Presidential Proclamation to create a National Monument.  This Monument covers about 245,000 acres of public land.  There are some private lands within this area, but they are not subject to the terms of the proclamation.  A couple of years ago, we saw the far southern end of this Monument, the Rio Grande Gorge, near Taos, but for this trip, we focused further north, near the town of Questa, to see the northern end of the Monument.

To preserve the great views from various points along this portion of the Monument, the Proclamation closed the area to mining, as well as mineral and geothermal leasing.  There were four “objects of value” that the Proclamation specifically outlined.  The first of these is Geology.  It states that this area is a testament to the geological history of New Mexico and over 70 million years of tectonic history of this area, which is the world’s major rift systems.  Believe it or not, ancient people used to live along the sides of this gorge.  Ancient images have been carved into the cliffs and artifacts have been found, resulting in Cultural and Historic Resources as being the second object of value listed in the Proclamation.

The third object of value is what’s called Ecological Diversity.  Specifically, they cite the variety of trees and sagebrush that can be found throughout the 245,000 acres in the Monument.  And, as you might guess, the fourth item is the wildlife that can be found there.  Fish, birds, elk, pronghorn antelope, and bighorn sheep – all of these and more can be found throughout the Monument.

But, it’s not all “serious” stuff at the Monument!  There are several recreational activities at the Monument – Fishing, Hunting, Birding, Boating (whitewater rafting), Hiking & Biking and Camping!  Check out the arrows in the above image to see the camping cabins at the base of the gorge along the Rio Grande River.  Of course, one would not only have to get down here, but also back up!!  These cabins are geared toward hikers and backpackers.  There are some campgrounds in the Monument, too!

To me, one of the coolest sights was this view from La Junta Point.  La Junta is Spanish for “meeting or joining” and that’s what happens off the Point – the Red River (on the left) joins the Rio Grande River (on the right).  The Point is also the widest (3/4 of a mile) and deepest (800 feet) part of the entire Rio Grande Gorge.  If you look closely at this image, you can see a sandy trail on the sort of triangle shaped piece of land where the rivers meet.  There was a trail, the La Junta Trail that started at the point where we were standing and made its way down to the point where the rivers meet.  However, it is closed indefinitely and perhaps forever, because there was a rockslide that wiped out part of the trail, and geologists and a variety of experts have determined that it’s just too dangerous to attempt to repair the trail due to the steepness of the trail and where the rockslide happened.  So, that sandy trail will be deserted and eventually, will be reclaimed by the environment.

Enjoy!