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56-468: The name of the mountains may refer to the occasional reddish hues observed during sunrise and sunset, and when alpenglow occurs, especially when the mountains are covered with snow. Although the particular origin of the name is unclear, it has been in use since the early 19th century. Before that time the terms "La Sierra Nevada", "La Sierra Madre", "La Sierra", and "The Snowies" (used by English speakers) were used. According to legend, "sangre de Cristo" were

112-654: A National Natural Landmark in 1976 as one of the best known examples of igneous dikes . The mountains can be seen from as far as 133 mi (214 km) to the north from Colorado Springs , 65 mi (105 km) to the south from Raton, New Mexico , and 85 mi (137 km) to the east from La Junta, Colorado . The Culebra Range runs almost due north and south, with its northern limit at La Veta Pass in Colorado, and its southern limit at Costilla Creek , just south of Big Costilla Peak in New Mexico. Its highest point

168-639: A commission to intercept Mexican caravans along the Santa Fe Trail, similar to that received by Warfield the year prior. After disbanding the volunteers under his command, Warfield located and joined the 190-man, Texas "Battalion of Invincibles", under the command of Snively. New Mexico Governor Manuel Armijo led Mexican troops out of Santa Fe to protect incoming caravans. But, after the Invincibles destroyed much of an advance party led by Captain Ventura Lovato,

224-664: A high ridge separating the San Luis Valley on the west from the watershed of the Arkansas River on the east. The Crestones are a group of four 14,000 feet (4,000 m)+ peaks ( fourteeners ) in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, Colorado . The Spanish Peaks are a pair of mountains, West Spanish Peak , 13,626 ft (4,153 m), and East Spanish Peak , 12,860 ft (3,920 m), located in southwestern Huerfano County , Colorado . The Spanish Peaks were designated

280-661: A rich agricultural history and has been the scene of land disputes between the descendants of Hispanic settlers and Anglo ranchers since the 1860s. The Taos Mountains span the western lobe of the range from Costilla Creek in the north, to Tres Ritos in the south. They include the highest point in New Mexico, Wheeler Peak , at 13,161 feet (4,011 m), which is part of the Wheeler Peak Wilderness . Other notable peaks include Pueblo Peak, which at 12,305 feet (3,751 m) rises dramatically above Taos Pueblo , and Latir Peak , at 12,708 feet (3,873 m). Williams Lake

336-538: A small band of men in the proximate vicinity of St. Louis, giving McDaniel the rank of a Texas captain. After Warfield headed toward the Rockies with a companion, McDaniel led a robbery in April 1843 (in present-day Rice County, Kansas ) of a lightly defended Santa Fe Trail trading caravan. This resulted in the murder of its leader Antonio José Chávez, the son of a former governor of New Mexico, Francisco Xavier Chávez . Warfield

392-561: Is Culebra Peak at 14,047 ft (4,282 m), which is notable for being the only fourteener in Colorado on private land with an access fee. Climbers wishing to ascend Culebra must pay a fee (currently US$ 150 per person), and the number of climbers per year is limited. It is also the most southerly fourteener in the U.S. Rockies. Standing to the east of the main crest are the two prominent Spanish Peaks (West: 13,626 ft (4,153 m), East: 12,860 ft (3,920 m)). These peaks were important landmarks for 19th century travelers on

448-541: Is located below Wheeler Peak in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness. Taos Ski Valley lies just to the west of Wheeler Peak. Much of the central portion of the Taos Mountains is on Taos Pueblo land. As viewed from Taos , they are locally called "Taos Mountain." The southern portion of the Taos Mountains, between Palo Flechado Pass and Tres Ritos ( U.S. Route 64 and NM Route 518), is lower and less dramatic than

504-504: Is only visible after sunset or before sunrise. After sunset, if mountains are absent, aerosols in the eastern sky can be illuminated in a similar way by the remaining scattered reddish light above the fringe of Earth's shadow . This backscattered light produces a pinkish band opposite of the Sun's direction, called the Belt of Venus . Alpenglow in a looser sense may refer to any illumination by

560-615: The American Southwest , leading to the construction of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway . As the name suggests, the intended eastern terminus was to be Atchison, Kansas . In Kansas, the AT&;SF roadbed roughly paralleled the Santa Fe Trail west of Topeka as it expanded between 1868 and 1874. When a railroad bridge was built across the Missouri River to connect eastern markets to

616-728: The Arkansas River . Branches of the trail followed both sides of the river upstream to Dodge City and Garden City . West of Garden City in southwestern Kansas the trail splits into two branches. One of the branches, called the Mountain Route or the Upper Crossing continues up the Arkansas River to the confluence with the Purgatoire River near La Junta continuing along the Purgatoire River to Trinidad , then south through

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672-573: The Boonslick region along the Missouri River , the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe. Santa Fe was near the end of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City . The trail was later incorporated into parts of the National Old Trails Road and U.S. Route 66 . The route skirted the northern edge and crossed

728-525: The Cenozoic Laramide orogeny . They are bounded on the west by the Rio Grande rift and on the east by a series of reverse and thrust faults . Vertical displacement along the faults is at least 4,200 metres (13,800 ft), and gravity measurements suggest the uplift has been thrust eastward great distances. This faulting places Precambrian basement rock in contact with sedimentary strata along

784-565: The Comanche nor the Apache of the southern high plains tolerated trespassers. In 1825, Congress voted for federal protection for the Santa Fe Trail, even though much of it lay in the Mexican territory. Lack of food and water also made the trail very risky. Weather conditions, like huge lightning storms, gave the travelers even more difficulty. If a storm developed, there was often no place to take shelter and

840-577: The National Register of Historic Places . In Missouri, this includes the 85th and Manchester "Three Trails" Trail Segment , Arrow Rock Ferry Landing , Santa Fe Trail – Grand Pass Trail Segments , and Santa Fe Trail – Saline County Trail Segments . The longest clearly identifiable section of the trail, Santa Fe Trail Remains , near Dodge City, Kansas , is listed as a National Historic Landmark . In Colorado, Santa Fe Trail Mountain Route – Bent's New Fort

896-460: The Pecos River . The peaks include Truchas Peak , 13,102 ft (3,993 m), as their highest point. Other notable peaks are Santa Fe Baldy (12,622 ft (3,847 m)) and Jicarita Peak (12,835 ft (3,912 m)). The Pecos Wilderness is crossed by many trails and is popular for backpacking and for fishing in its high alpine lakes. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains were uplifted during

952-716: The Raton Pass into New Mexico. The other main branch, called the Cimarron Cutoff or Cimarron Crossing or Middle Crossing cut southwest across the Cimarron Desert (also known as the Waterscrape or La Jornada ) to the valley of the Cimarron River near the town of Ulysses and Elkhart then continued toward Boise City, Oklahoma , to Clayton, New Mexico , joining up with northern branch at Fort Union . This route

1008-549: The Sangre de Cristo Wilderness in Colorado and the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico, as well as some smaller wilderness areas, such as Latir Peak Wilderness . The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve lies on the southwest side of the mountains in Colorado and are managed by the National Park Service. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are divided into various subranges, described here from north to south. Use of

1064-814: The lucrative overland fur trade in ports on the Pacific Coast. Santa Fe was near the northern terminus of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro , which led overland between Mexico City to San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico . Cargo mule trains were run from Fort Bernard in Wyoming to the Santa Fe Trail at Fort Bent in Colorado . In 1825, the merchant Manuel Escudero of Chihuahua was commissioned by New Mexico governor Bartolome Baca to negotiate in Washington, D.C., for opening U.S. borders to traders from Mexico. Beginning in 1826, prominent aristocratic families of New Mexicans, such as

1120-841: The 19th century after the Louisiana Purchase . Traders and settlers crossed the southwest of North America by the route connecting Independence, Missouri , with Santa Fe, New Mexico . Its major market in Missouri was St. Louis , with its port on the Mississippi River. In 1719, the French officer Claude Charles Du Tisne was tasked by French authorities to establish a route to trade with the Spanish colony of Santa Fe in New Mexico. This first expedition, which started in Kaskaskia, Illinois , failed, as it

1176-584: The Arkansas Valley was so numerous that bison herds were cut off from important seasonal grazing land. This habitat disruption , on top of overhunting, contributed to the collapse of the species. Comanche power declined in the region when they lost their most important game. In 1846, during the Mexican–American War , the United States Army used the Santa Fe Trail to invade New Mexico. After

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1232-458: The Chávezes, Armijos, Pereas, and Oteros, entered into the commerce along the trail. By 1843, traders from New Mexico and Chihuahua had become the majority of traders involved in the traffic of goods over the Santa Fe Trail. In 1835, Mexico City had sent Albino Pérez to govern the department of New Mexico as Jefe Politico (political chief or governor) and as commanding military officer. In 1837,

1288-466: The Dodge City cattle trail and Colorado coal mines, the railroad spurred the growth of Kansas City, Missouri . Building the railway westwards beyond the New Mexico border was delayed and placed the railroad under financial pressure. In response, they offered packaged "Shopping Excursion deals" to potential real estate buyers. The railroad began to discount such trips to visit its land offices and gave back

1344-526: The French explorer Pierre Vial made another pioneering trip on the route in 1792, and French traders and trappers from St. Louis gained progressively a fur trading dominance from the Spanish in Santa Fe as well as with the Indian tribes living in this vast region. Other French traders and trappers made trips on the trail from St. Louis, such as Auguste Pierre Chouteau and Jules de Mun in 1815, who were arrested by Spanish authorities in Santa Fe. After Louisiana

1400-457: The Missouri near Arrow Rock , after which it followed roughly the route of present-day U.S. Route 24 . It passed north of Marshall , through Lexington to Fort Osage , then to Independence . Independence was also one of the historic "jumping off points" for the Oregon and California Trails . West of Independence, it roughly followed the route of U.S. Route 56 from near the town of Olathe to

1456-569: The Republic of Texas and its president Mirabeau B. Lamar . Their intention was to persuade the people of Santa Fe and New Mexico to relinquish control over the territory under dispute with Mexico, and over associated Santa Fe Trail commerce. Knowing about recent political disturbances there, they hoped for a welcome by the rebellious faction in New Mexico. What was known as the Texan Santa Fe Expedition encountered many difficulties. The party

1512-507: The Trail soon dropped to merely local trade. After World War I the trail gradually became a paved automobile road. The eastern end of the trail was in the central Missouri town of Franklin on the north bank of the Missouri River . The route across Missouri first used by Becknell followed portions of the existing Osage Trace and the Medicine Trails. West of Franklin, the trail crossed

1568-598: The U.S. acquisition of the Southwest that ended the war, the trail was integral to the U.S. opening the region to economic development and settlement. It played a vital role in the westward expansion of the U.S. into these new lands. The road route is commemorated today by the National Park Service as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail . A highway route that roughly follows the trail's path, through

1624-417: The atmosphere after sunset or before sunrise . This diffuse illumination creates soft shadows in addition to the reddish color. The term is also used informally to include direct illumination by the reddish light of the rising or setting sun, with sharply defined shadows. When the Sun is below the horizon, sunlight has no direct path to reach a mountain. Unlike the direct sunlight around sunrise or sunset,

1680-587: The east side of the Cimarron Range. This is a minor subrange, significantly lower than the rest of the Sangre de Cristos; it lies east of the southernmost portion of the Taos Mountains. Rounding out the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the Santa Fe Mountains, which include all peaks south of NM Route 518. This group lies near Santa Fe and surrounds the Pecos Wilderness , which protects the source watershed of

1736-531: The eastern margin of the uplift except where igneous rocks have been intruded along the fault. Alpenglow Alpenglow (from German : Alpenglühen , lit.   'Alps glow'; Italian : enrosadira ) is an optical phenomenon that appears as a horizontal reddish glow near the horizon opposite to the Sun when the solar disk is just below the horizon. Strictly speaking, alpenglow refers to indirect sunlight reflected or diffracted by

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1792-590: The entire length of Kansas , the southeast corner of Colorado and northern New Mexico, has been designated as the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway . The Santa Fe Trail was a transportation route opened by the Indigenous people of North America as well as European trappers and traders in the second half of the 18th century. It was later used extensively by people from the United States in

1848-466: The forces of Rio Abajo (the lower Rio Grande, or southern New Mexico) led by Manuel Armijo . The Republic of Texas competed with Mexico in claiming Santa Fe, as part of the territory north and east of the Rio Grande which both nations claimed following Texas's secession from Mexico in 1836. In 1841, a small military and trading expedition departed from Austin, Texas , for Santa Fe. They represented

1904-441: The forces of Rio Arriba (the upper Rio Grande , i.e., northern New Mexico) rebelled against Pérez's enforcement of the recent Mexican constitution, new revenue laws taxing Santa Fe commerce and entertainment, and the large grants of New Mexico land to wealthy Mexicans. New Mexicans appreciated the relative freedoms of a frontier, remote from Mexico City. The rebels defeated and executed governor Albino Perez, but were later ousted by

1960-497: The governments in the Mexican provinces of New Mexico and Chihuahua and returning half of the spoils to the Republic of Texas . Houston agreed, provided the operation be conducted under the strictest secrecy. He commissioned Warfield as a colonel, who attempted to raise volunteers in Texas, St. Louis, Missouri; and the southern Rockies for a Warfield Expedition. He recruited John McDaniel and

2016-672: The governor retreated. Following this battle, many Americans resigned and Snively's force was reduced to little over 100 men. Snively planned to plunder Mexican merchant caravans on territory claimed by Texas, in retaliation for recent Texian executions and Mexican invasions, but his battalion was quickly arrested and disarmed by the US troops escorting the caravans. After disarming these men, Captain Philip St. George Cooke allowed them to return to Texas. In 1863, while railroad legislation underwent continual revisions, entrepreneurs grew more interested in

2072-611: The last words of a priest who was killed by Native Americans. Much of the mountains are within various National Forests: the Rio Grande and San Isabel in Colorado, and the Carson and Santa Fe in New Mexico. These publicly accessible areas are managed by the United States Forest Service and are popular for hunting , camping , hiking , mountain biking , backpacking , climbing , and cross-country and downhill skiing . The mountains include two large wilderness areas ,

2128-410: The light that causes alpenglow is reflected off airborne precipitation , ice crystals , or particulates in the lower atmosphere. These conditions differentiate between direct sunlight around sunrise or sunset and alpenglow. The term is generally confused to be any sunrise or sunset light reflected off the mountains or clouds, but alpenglow in the strict sense of the word is not direct sunlight and

2184-503: The livestock could get spooked. Rattlesnakes often posed a threat, and many people died due to snakebites. The caravan size increased later on to prevent Indian raids. The travelers also harnessed more oxen instead of mules—primarily for the greater hauling power of oxen but also because they were less valued by Indians and thus less risk of being raided. Segments of this trail in Missouri , Kansas , Oklahoma , and New Mexico are listed on

2240-542: The mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail . The western slope of the Culebras and the San Luis Valley are located within the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant , dating back to the 1840s but still a factor in the pattern of land ownership within the grant. The San Luis Valley is arid. The town of San Luis, Colorado has an annual precipitation of only 9.6 inches (240 mm).The surrounding area, traversed by Culebra Creek , has

2296-494: The murder of Chávez, Warfield began limited military hostilities in the region using recruits from the southern Rockies. He made an unprovoked attack on Mexican troops outside Mora, New Mexico , leaving five dead. Warfield lost his horses after an encounter in Wagon Mound , where the Mexican forces had made chase. After Warfield's men reached Bent's Fort on foot, they disbanded. In February 1843, Colonel Jacob Snively had received

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2352-511: The north-western corner of Comancheria , the territory of the Comanche . Realizing the value, they demanded compensation for granting passage to the trail. American traders envisioned them as another market. Comanche raiding farther south in Mexico isolated New Mexico, making it more dependent on the American trade. They raided to gain a steady supply of horses to sell. By the 1840s, trail traffic through

2408-463: The northern section, with its high point being Cerro Vista, 11,939 ft (3,639 m). The Fernando Mountains are a small subrange lying in this section, just south of US Route 64. The Cimarron Range lies across the Moreno Valley to the east of the Taos Mountains. It is a lower range, with its highest point being Baldy Mountain at 12,441 ft (3,792 m). The Philmont Scout Ranch lies on

2464-473: The opportunity to hold free land used wagon trains to follow various emigrant trails that branched off to points west. The political philosophy of manifest destiny , the idea that the U.S. should extend from one coast to another, dominated national political discussions. The trail connected interior port cities along the Mississippi and Missouri and their wagon train outfitters to western destinations. The trail

2520-478: The rosy or reddish light of the setting or rising Sun. This article about atmospheric science is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This optics -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri , with Santa Fe, New Mexico . Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell , who departed from

2576-548: The terms "Sangre de Cristo Range" and "Sangre de Cristo Mountains" is inconsistent and may refer to the northernmost subrange, the southernmost subrange, or the mountains as a whole. The Sangre de Cristo Range, the largest and most northerly subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, runs directly along the east side of the Rio Grande rift , extending southeast from Poncha Pass for about 75 miles (120 km) through south-central Colorado to La Veta Pass , approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Walsenburg . They form

2632-423: The ticket price as part of the purchase price if a sale was concluded. The railroad's sale of its land granted by congress fostered growth of new towns and businesses along its route, which generated railway traffic and revenues. With this financial base, the railway extended west, gradually adding new connections through rougher west country along the western Trail. With the development of rail transport, traffic on

2688-401: The town of Lyons . West of Lyons the trail followed nearly the route of present-day Highway 56 to Great Bend . Ruts in the earth made from the trail are still visible in several locations (Ralph's Ruts are visible in aerial photos at ( 38°21′35″N 98°25′20″W  /  38.35959264°N 98.42225502°W  / 38.35959264; -98.42225502 ). At Great Bend, the trail encountered

2744-546: The western border of Kansas. It enters Colorado, cutting across the southeast corner of the state before entering New Mexico. The section of the trail between Independence and Olathe was also used by immigrants on the California and Oregon Trails, which branched off to the northwest near Gardner, Kansas . From Olathe, the trail passed through the towns of Baldwin City , Burlingame , and Council Grove , then swung west of McPherson to

2800-532: Was and is continental: very hot and dry summers, coupled with long and bitterly cold winters. Fresh water was scarce, and the high steppe-like plains are nearly treeless. Water flows in the Pecos, Arkansas, Cimarron, and Canadian rivers that drain the region vary by 90 or more percent in their flows during an average year. Also on this trail, unlike the Oregon Trail , there was a serious danger of Indian attacks, for neither

2856-452: Was captured by governor Armijo's Mexican army under less than honest negotiations. They were subjected to harsh and austere treatment during a tortuous forced march to Mexico City, where they were tried, convicted and imprisoned for their insurgent activities. In 1842, Colonel William A. Christy wrote Sam Houston , president of Texas, requesting support for an overthrow scheme by Charles Warfield dependent on armed forces. He proposed deposing

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2912-553: Was generally very hazardous because it had very little water. In fact, the Cimarron River was one of the only sources of water along this branch of the trail. From Watrous, the reunited branches continued southward to Santa Fe. Part of this route has been designated a National Scenic Byway . Travelers faced many hardships along the Santa Fe Trail. The trail was a challenging 900 miles (1,400 km) of dangerous plains, hot deserts, and steep and rocky mountains. The natural weather

2968-423: Was reportedly unaware of the crime. McDaniel and one accomplice were tried, convicted and executed. Other participating suspects arrested by the U.S. were convicted and imprisoned. The newspapers reported that Americans and Mexicans were outraged by the crime. Local merchants and citizens at the U.S. end of the Santa Fe Trail demanded justice and a return to the stable commerce which their economy depended on. After

3024-479: Was sold to the United States in 1803 (Louisiana Purchase), Americans improved and publicized the Santa Fe Trail beginning in 1822, in order to take advantage of new trade opportunities with Mexico which had just won independence from Spain in the Mexican War of Independence . Manufactured goods were hauled from Missouri to Santa Fe, which was then in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Mexico . Settlers seeking

3080-501: Was stopped by Indian tribes in Kansas. Then, at the time of the Louisiana regime, under French and then Spanish sovereignty, the French traders Pierre Antoine and Paul Mallet made a first trip in 1739 and 1740, starting also from Kaskaskia, Illinois , reaching Santa Fe and returning. They made other expeditions in 1741 and 1750, which faced various challenges from Indians and Spaniards. Then,

3136-454: Was used to carry products from the central plains to the trail head towns St. Joseph and Independence, Missouri . In the 1820s–1830s, it was also sporadically important in the reverse trade, used by traders to transport foods and supplies to the fur trappers and mountain men opening the remote Northwest, especially in the interior Northwest: Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana. A mule trail (trapper's trails) led to points north to supply

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