Ortiz Mountains
| Ortiz Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Placer Peak |
| Elevation | 8,897 ft (2,712 m) |
| Coordinates | 35°20′8.1″N 106°10′11.3″W / 35.335583°N 106.169806°WCoordinates: 35°20′8.1″N 106°10′11.3″W / 35.335583°N 106.169806°W |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 17 mi (27 km) N-S |
| Width | 8 mi (13 km) E-W |
| Geography | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| Region | Santa Fe County |
The Ortiz Mountains are a mountain range in north central New Mexico, United States, in Santa Fe County, northeast of the Sandia Mountains and due north of the San Pedro Mountains. The Ortiz include Placer Peak, the highest peak in the range at 8,858 feet, Lone Mountain at 7,310 feet, Cedar Mountain at 7,041 feet, Cerro Chato at 6,965 feet, and the foothills known as the Los Lomas de la Bolsa.
The Ortiz Mountains are on the east side of the Rio Grande Rift, with the Santa Domingo Basin and Hagan Basin of the rift to their west, with the Sandia uplift to the southwest, and the Espanola Basin and the Estancia Basin to the east. They form part of the watershed boundary between the Rio Grande and the Pecos River.
The Ortiz Mountains are part of the larger Ortiz porphyry belt of Santa Fe County, and consist of late Eocene to early Oligocene intrusive igneous rocks and their sedimentary host rock. Other members of the Ortiz porphyry belt are South Mountain, the San Pedro Mountains and the Cerrillos Hills. These porphyry intrusions were followed by movement on the Tijeras-Canoncito fault and later mid Oligocene (31.4–27.9 ma) intrusions of and dikes with mineralization including both base and precious metals.
Placer mining for gold in the Ortiz Mountains was carried out by the early Spanish using Indian slave labor, but the first significant placer workings began in 1821. The underground Ortiz Mine was opened in 1822. By 1832, several gold-bearing veins had been discovered. The first gold lode mine in the West was in the Ortiz, as well as the first railroad in New Mexico. The gold separation mill was the work of Thomas Edison. But following World War I, mining costs had risen and the low grade ores and relative lack of water resulted in the last mines being closed.
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Wikipedia