Rio Grande Gorge

The Rio Grande Gorge is a geological feature in northern New Mexico where the watercourse of the Rio Grande follows a tectonic chasm. Beginning near the Colorado border, the approximately 50-mile (80 km) gorge runs from northwest to southeast of Taos, New Mexico, through the basalt flows of the Taos Plateau volcanic field. The gorge depth is 800 feet (240 m) just south of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, which spans the gorge 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Taos.

Geologically, the Rio Grande Gorge is a rift valley, a separation in the earth’s crust caused by faulting and other earth movements when the North American and Pacific plates scraped against each other some twenty-nine million years ago.

The canyon ecosystem descends 800 feet (240 m) from rim to river, creating a unique diversity in plant and animal life. Ancient piñon and juniper forests are home to 500-year-old trees. Wildlife include mule deer, red-tailed hawk, mountain blue-bird, prairie dog and big horn sheep.

The climate is semi-arid with summer thunderstorms common in July and August, and snow possible from November through March. Summer temperatures range from 45 to 90 °F (7 to 32 °C) and in winter from −15 to 45 °F (−26 to 7 °C).

In 1968, the Rio Grande was among the first eight rivers the US Congress designated into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System to protect outstanding resources values. The Wild and Scenic River flows through the Rio Grande Gorge Recreation Area. The recreation areas include the Wild Rivers area in the north and the Orialla Verde area in the south, which provide hiking, boating, fishing and camping facilities.

The gorge and 242,500 acres (98,100 ha) of surrounding land was designated a National Monument, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, on March 25, 2013.

...
Wikipedia