Caja del Rio
| Caja del Rio | |
| Volcanic plateau | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | New Mexico |
| District | Santa Fe County, New Mexico |
| Borders on | Rio Grande-NW Canada Ancha-E Santa Fe River-S |
| Highest point | Cerro Micho |
| - elevation | 7,326 ft (2,233 m) |
| Geology | Cinder cones, spatter cones basalt outflows |
Caja del Rio (Spanish: "box of the river") is a dissected plateau, of volcanic origin, which covers approximately 84,000 acres of land in northern Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. The region is also known as the Caja, Caja del Rio Plateau, and Cerros del Rio. The center of the area is approximately 15 miles (23 km) west of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Most of the Caja is owned by the United States Forest Service and managed by the Santa Fe National Forest. Access is through New Mexico Highway 599, Santa Fe County Road 62, and Forest Service Road 24.
The landscape of the Caja del Rio Plateau is generally flat to rolling terrain, with numerous steep cones rising up to 800 feet above the plains. The highest points in the immediate area are Cerro Micho (7,326 feet), Montoso Peak (7,315 feet), Ortiz Mountain (7,188 feet), and Cerro Rito (7,296 feet) The entire plateau is within the watershed of the Rio Grande, although portions of the Caja drain into the larger river through two tributaries: the Santa Fe River and Cañada Ancha.
Virtually the entire perimeter of the Caja is ringed by cliffs or escarpments. White Rock Canyon forms the northwestern edge of the plateau. This canyon, through which the Rio Grande flows, has a maximum depth of over 1000 feet. Bandelier National Monument lies directly across the river to the west of the plateau. Along the eastern edge is Canada Ancha, an ephemeral stream that flows northward into the Rio Grande near Buckman. Another deep canyon (approximately 400 feet in depth) runs along the southern edge of the Caja, and is cut by the Santa Fe River. The canyon of the Santa Fe River separates the Caja from another land grant to the south: the Mesita de Juana Lopez Grant.
The western edge of the plateau is a large escarpment which is easily visible to highway traffic traveling north on Interstate 25 from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. After crossing the Santo Domingo Basin and the reservations of Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblo, the freeway makes a steep climb up the escarpment along a stretch of highway known locally as La Bajada (Spanish: "the descent"). This part of the plateau is dominated by Tetilla Peak (7,203 feet).
...
Wikipedia