Franklin Mountains (Texas)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Franklin Mountains | |
| Range | |
 South and North Franklin mountains, shown left to right, El Paso, Texas, as seen from Fort Bliss
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | Texas, New Mexico |
| Highest point | North Franklin Mountain |
| - elevation | 7,192 ft (2,192 m) |
| - coordinates | |
| Geology | Sedimentary, Igneous |
| Orogeny | Laramide orogeny |
| Period | Cretaceous |
The Franklin Mountains of Texas are a small range (23 miles long, 3 miles wide) that extend from El Paso, Texas north into New Mexico. The Franklins were formed due to crustal extension related to the Cenozoic Rio Grande rift. Although the present topography of the range and adjoining basins is controlled by extension during rifting in the last 10 million years, faults within the range also record deformation during the Laramide orogeny, between 85 and 45 million years ago.
The highest peak is North Franklin Mountain at 7,192 feet (2,192 m). Much of the range is part of the Franklin Mountains State Park. The mountains are composed primarily of sedimentary rock with some igneous intrusions. Geologists refer to them as tilted-block fault mountains and in them can be found billion-year-old Precambrian rocks, the oldest in Texas.
 The Franklin Mountains as seen from Kilbourne hole 30 mi west of El Paso, Texas |
 Elephant-shaped bluff west of South Franklin Mountain, looking south on Transmountain Road, El Paso, Texas |
[edit] External links
- Franklin Mountains (Texas) from the Handbook of Texas Online
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