Valles Caldera
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Valles Caldera (or Jemez Caldera), is a very large volcano, or supervolcano, at the heart of the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. Within the caldera, Valle Grande[1] is the largest valle (grass valley) and the only one with a paved road.
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[edit] History
Until recently, the Valles Caldera was part of the Baca Ranch, property of the Dunigan family. The family sold the entire surface estate of 95,000 acres (380 km²) and seven-eighths of the geothermal mineral estate to the federal government.
[edit] Valles Caldera National Preserve
On 25 July 2000, the Valles Caldera Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. Sections 698v-698v-10, created the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Noting that the careful husbandry of the Baca Ranch by its private owners, including selective logging, limited grazing and hunting, and the use of prescribed fire, had preserved a mix of healthy range and timber land with significant biodiversity, including New Mexico's largest herd of elk, thereby serving as a model for self-sustaining land development and use.[2] Funds for the purchase came from the Land and Water Conservation Fund derived from royalties the US government receives from offshore petroleum and natural gas drilling.[3] Under the terms of the Act, the Preserve will have to produce sustaining income; environmentalists had lobbied for the more inclusive protections of National Park status instead. The preserve is located in northeastern Sandoval County and southern Rio Arriba County, just west of Los Alamos. It has a land area of 89,716 acres (140.18 sq mi, or 363.07 km²).[4] It is administered from United States Forest Service offices in Jemez Springs.
[edit] Geology and science
Scientists are studying this area to learn about the fundamental processes in magmatism, hydrothermal systems, and ore deposition. With nearly 40 deep cores examined, resulting in extensive subsurface data, the Valles Caldera is the best explored caldera complex in the United States. It is the younger of two calderas in the region, having collapsed over and buried the Toledo Caldera (which might have collapsed over yet older calderas). These two large eruptions took place 1.4 million and 1 million years ago. The circular topographic expression of the Valles caldera measures 22 kilometers (14 miles) in diameter. The Jemez Volcanic Field, including the calderas, lies above the intersection of the Rio Grande Rift, which runs north-south through New Mexico, and the Jemez Lineament, which extends from southeastern Arizona northeast to the westernmost part of Oklahoma. The volcanic activity is related to the tectonic movements along this intersection.
The volcanic properties of the Valles Caldera make it a likely source for renewable and nonpolluting geothermal energy. However, some people oppose development of the geothermal energy, considering it destructive to scenic beauty and recreational and grazing use.[1] [2]
The lower Bandelier tuff which can be seen along canyon walls west of the Valles Caldera, including San Diego Canyon, is related to the eruption and collapse of the Toledo Caldera. The upper Bandelier tuff is believed to have been deposited during eruption and collapse of the Valles Caldera. The now eroded and exposed orange-tan, light-colored Bandelier tuff from these events creates the stunning mesas of the Pajarito Plateau.
[edit] List of films shot in Valles Caldera
Valles Caldera has provided several filming locations,[5] most for films in the Western genre. Some of these locations include exterior sets, such as the weathered "ranch house" visible from the highway in Valle Grande.
- 1971 Shoot Out with Gregory Peck
- 1977 Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion (TV) with Leif Garrett
- 1982 The Gambler (TV) with Kenny Rogers
- 1994 Troublemakers with Terence Hill
- 1995 Buffalo Girls (TV) with Anjelica Huston
- 1997 Last Stand at Saber River (TV) with Tom Selleck
- 2003 The Missing with Tommy Lee Jones
- 2007 Seraphim Falls with Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan[6]
[edit] References
- ^ In Mexican-accented English, "Valle Grande" is pronounced /ˈvaɪjeɪ ˈgrɑːndeɪ/ "VYE-yay GRAHN-day". Some people use pronunciations closer to Castilian Spanish.
- ^ 16 U.S.C. Section 698v(a)(5).
- ^ CNN.com "New Mexico's Baca Ranch soon to be public land".
- ^ Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County - United States Forest Service - October 10, 2007
- ^ Martin, Craig (2003) Valle Grande: A History of the Baca Location No. 1, All Season Publishing.
- ^ Hephner, Tracy (2006) See Us on the Silver Screen (Again!), La Ventana en los Valles, volume 1, number 2, page 3.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Valles Caldera National Preserve
- Valles Caldera Coalition
- Los Amigos de Valles Caldera (Friends of the Valles Caldera)
- Valles Caldera Rim Trails Project
- Forests.org documents the negotiations that led to the Preservation Act
- The Physics Institute of Brazil's Valles Caldera website (English)
- Geologic travel guide from American Geological Institute
- Valles Caldera is at coordinates Coordinates:
