Datil Mountains
{{Short description|Mountain range in New Mexico, United States}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Datil Mountains
| photo = File:MadreMountainIRA LookingSouth.jpg
| photo_caption = Looking south at the Madre Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area in the Datil Mountains.
| map = USA New Mexico
| map_caption =
| location = New Mexico, United States
| nearest_city = Datil, NM
| coordinates = {{coord|34.291|-107.840|region:US|notes={{cite web|title=Datil Mountain Range|url=http://www.mountainzone.com/mountains/detail.asp?fid=4590656|publisher=Mountain Zone}} |display=inline, title}}
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = U.S. Forest Service, Cibola National Forest
| url = http://www.fs.usda.gov/cibola/
}}
The Datil Mountains are a small range on the northern edge of the Mogollon-Datil volcanic field, just northwest of the Plains of San Agustin in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The range lies in Socorro and Catron Counties, north of the town of Datil, New Mexico and takes its name from the Spanish word for “date,” dating back over two hundred years. In The Place Names of New Mexico, Robert Julyan suggests two possible explanations for the name: 1) that “the seedpods of the broad-leafed yucca sufficiently resembled dates” or 2) “the Spanish applied the name to the fruit of the prickly pear cactus.”{{cite book|last=Julyan|first=Robert|title=The Place Names of New Mexico|year=1996|publisher=University of New Mexico Press}} The area includes the major ridgeline of Madre Mountain (elev. 9,556 feet), which is sacred ground to the Acoma, Laguna, and Zuni tribes, as well as several other unnamed peaks and ridges.{{cite book|last=Basham|first=M.|title=Magdalena Ranger District Background Survey|year=2011|publisher=US Forest Service}} US Highway 60 crosses the Datil Mountains between the towns of Datil and Pie Town.
The majority of the Datil Mountains are part of the Magdalena Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest. There are two Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs) within the Datil Mountains: the Datil (13,974 acres) and Madre Mountain (19,855 acres) IRAs. The landscape is expansive and natural with steep-sided hills cloaked with dense conifer forest. The jagged Sawtooth Mountains can be seen to the west.
Ecology
The Datils contain scrubland, pinyon-juniper woodland, ponderosa pine forest, deciduous oak and grassland areas. At lower elevations, grasses include black and sideoats grama, poverty three-awn, burrograss, and galleta grass. Higher up, grass species include blue and hairy grama, and little bluestem. Shrubs include sotol, cholla, yucca, Apache plume, mountain mahogany, shrub live oak, gambel oak, and alligator juniper. Wildlife includes elk, mule deer, Merriam's turkey, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, bald and golden eagles, prairie falcon, kestrel, hawks, and owls as well as Gambel's, scaled, and Mearn's quail.
The range contains important breeding ground for mountain lion and the southern portion is important for mountain lion connectivity.{{cite web|last=Menke |first=K. |title=Locating Potential Cougar (Puma concolor) Corridors in New Mexico Using a Least-Cost Path Corridor GIS Analysis |url=http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/conservation/share_with_wildlife/documents/SwW08Menke.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515154114/http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/conservation/share_with_wildlife/documents/SwW08Menke.pdf |archive-date=2013-05-15 }} The Nature Conservancy identified the Datils as a key conservation area in New Mexico due to the range's ecological diversity and species richness.{{cite book|last=The Nature Conservancy|title=Ecological and Biological Diversity of National Forests in Region 3|chapter=Chapter 10: Ecological & Biological Diversity of the Cibola National Forest, Mountain Districts |year=2004|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r3/landmanagement/planning/?cid=fsbdev3_022067 |chapter-url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_021387.pdf }}
{{Gallery
|title=Wildlife in the Datil Mountains
|align=center
|width=100
|height=90
|File:mule_deer_fawn_in_snow.jpg|A mule deer fawn in the snow. Photo: US Forest Service.
|File:MountainLion OnMtTaylor USFS.Jpg|A mountain lion in the Cibola National Forest. Photo: US Forest Service.
|File:Kaibab Elk.jpg|The Datil Mountains are home to elk. Photo: US Forest Service.
|File:Bobcat at Tule Lake NWR.jpg|Bobcats live in the Datil Mountains. Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service.
|File:Bear on MtTaylor USFS.jpg|A black bear in Cibola National Forest. Photo: US Forest Service.
||Mirriam's turkeys are found in the Datil Mountains. Photo: NM Department of Game & Fish.
}}
Recreation
The Datil Mountains provide outstanding opportunities for hiking, camping, backpacking, hunting, rock climbing, horseback riding and other forms of primitive dispersed recreation given the natural and rugged character, high quality habitat, remarkable views, and size. Thompson Canyon features the challenging Enchanted Tower, and is a popular destination for rock climbers.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.fs.usda.gov/cibola Cibola National Forest official website]
- [http://www.socorrocounty.net/ Socorro County InfoNet]
- [http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/ New Mexico Game and Fish]
{{Mountains of New Mexico}}
Category:Cibola National Forest
Category:Magdalena Ranger District
Category:Mountain ranges of New Mexico