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Cerro Pedernal

Coordinates: 36°09′48″N 106°30′14″W / 36.16323126°N 106.50380896°W / 36.16323126; -106.50380896
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cerro Pedernal
Pedernal viewed from Ghost Ranch
Highest point
Elevation9,866 ft (3,007 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence1,362 ft (415 m)[2]
Coordinates36°09′48″N 106°30′14″W / 36.16323126°N 106.50380896°W / 36.16323126; -106.50380896[1]
Geography
Cerro Pedernal is located in New Mexico
Cerro Pedernal
Cerro Pedernal
Location in New Mexico
LocationRio Arriba County, New Mexico, U.S.
Parent rangeJemez Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Youngsville

Cerro Pedernal, (Tewa: Tsip'in) locally known as just "Pedernal", is a narrow mesa in northern New Mexico.[3] The name is Spanish for "flint hill". The mesa lies on the north flank of the Jemez Mountains, south of Abiquiu Lake, in the Coyote Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest. Its caprock was produced in the Jemez Volcanic Field. Its highest point is at 9,862 feet (3,006 meters).

Pedernal is the source of a chert used by the prehistoric Gallina people. Its cliffs are popular with rock climbers. Georgia O'Keeffe made many paintings of it, and her ashes were scattered on its top.[4]

The Tewa name of the mountain is Tsip’in (tsi’i, obsidian; p’in, mountain). The Cochiti name is Hest'e'yanyik'othe (hest'e'yanyi, obsidian; k'othe, mountain).[3]

From near Coyote, New Mexico, in summer monsoon weather
From Youngsville, New Mexico, also in monsoon weather
View from summit in winter, looking north. Abiquiu Lake in foreground; Tusas Mountains on horizon

References

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  1. ^ a b "Dernal". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  2. ^ "Cerro Pedernal, New Mexico". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  3. ^ a b Harrington, J. P. (1920). "Old Indian Geographical Names around Santa Fe, New Mexico". American Anthropologist. 22 (4): 341–359. ISSN 0002-7294.
  4. ^ Gómez, Art (2004). New Mexico: Images of a Land and its People. UNM Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-8263-3257-9. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
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