Solo Traveler: Spectacular Rocks

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on October 22, 2014
- 4:24 pm

Beefsteak Hill on the road from Albuquerque to Los Alamos. Photo by Sherry Hardage

Fall color in the Jemez. Photo by Sherry Hardage

Solo Traveler: Spectacular Rocks

By SHERRY HARDAGE

When I returned to my home state in the 1980s, I bought Halka Chronic’s book, “Roadside Geology of New Mexico.” Her books are a great resource for people who want to know more about the amazing scenery they drive through.

But the New Mexico book left me cold because one of the prettiest drives in the state wasn’t even mentioned – the road from San Isidro north to Jemez Springs and on to Los Alamos’ NM 4.

Many people in Los Alamos drive this road. It’s a serene way to get to Albuquerque, even if it takes a little extra time. Years ago, on a geology field trip, a particular uplift was referred to as Beefsteak Hill by Dr. John Callender, the geologist who was instrumental in establishing the N.M. Museum of Natural History.

Beefsteak Hill dominates the landscape north of San Isidro. In the light of the rising sun it is deep red, like a rare steak, but by afternoon, cast into deep shadow, it is just another pretty hill. It is the first formation one sees of the deep red sandstone that dominates the scenery further north. I believe most of that red rock is part of the Entrada Sandstone formation.

It was once ocean bottom, laid down during the Jurrasic period, 140 to 180 million years ago. Sitting on top of it, further up the valley, is volcanic tuff deposited from the Jemez Volcano that last exploded just over a million years ago.

As the road runs north, it passes by Jemez Pueblo and through some of the darkest red rocks on the continent. Just north of the pueblo there is a visitor’s center, and across the highway, the pueblo has built a large picnic and ceremonial area with red cliffs as a backdrop.

On weekends, many tribal members sell baked goods, jewelry, and drums at the permanent stalls that line the road. Their round horno bread is light, crumbly and delicious.

Deep underground, below these formations, lies a band of magma known as the Jemez Lineament. It is the root of all the volcanos that stretch in a line to the northeast from the Jemez Volcano.

The Jemez caldera, known as the Valles Caldera, now a large bowl-shaped expanse of pastureland surrounded by pine forests, is just a few miles further up N.M. 4.

Along the route, there are hot springs pouring into the Jemez River. A couple of them feed the commercial bathhouse in the town of Jemez Springs. It’s a fun and funky stop, if you have time. The bathtubs are cast of concrete, perhaps dating back to the beginning of the business in 1876.

Just north of town is a soda dam, a barrier of stone that once stretched all the way across the river from one cliff face to the other. It was cut to make space for the road, but the bulk of the dam is still there. People can park and climb around on it.

It was created over eons by hot spring water that dissolved minerals in the rocks and then deposited them once the water emerged from the mountain. The hot spring is still there, gurgling out on the side of the road, its water now diverted under the pavement.

At the top of the canyon, where the walls narrow, is a formation called Battleship rock. Viewed head-on it resembles the bow of an enormous ship, but from the side, photographed in the setting sun, one can appreciate all the colors created by the different minerals in the volcanic ash and lichen growing on the surface.

N.M. 4 leads past the village of La Cueva. It meanders up onto the flanks of the Jemez Volcano, past the caldera, and then drops steeply down to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Another 15 miles takes you through open forest and mesa with extraordinary views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Santa Fe glittering to the east. The road finally ends after a pass through White Rock.

It is a memorable drive, no matter whether you start in White Rock or San Isidro. Be sure to take a camera. In the fall, the cottonwoods in Jemez Canyon can be spectacular with their golden leaves glittering in the afternoon sun.

Editor’s note: Sherry Hardage lives in Los Alamos and has been traveling solo in the Americas, Europe, and Asia since she retired from Honeywell in 2009. She is a photographer, writer, and guide who organizes tours of Chiapas, Mexico through her website: www.mexadventures.com