# Black Range

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Mountain range in southwest New Mexico

For the Australian landmarks, see [Black Range Road Board](/source/Black_Range_Road_Board) and [Black Range railway](/source/Black_Range_railway).

Black Range Devil's Mountains View from the Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway Highest point Elevation 10,165 ft (3,098 m)[1] Coordinates 33°03′07″N 107°51′01″W / 33.05194°N 107.85028°W / 33.05194; -107.85028[1] Geography Location of the Black Range within New Mexico Location New Mexico Geology Mountain type Igneous mountain range

The **Black Range** (also called the **Devil's Mountains** or **Sierra Diablo**) is an [igneous](/source/Igneous_rock) mountain range running north–south in [Sierra](/source/Sierra_County%2C_New_Mexico), [Grant](/source/Grant_County%2C_New_Mexico), and [Catron](/source/Catron_County%2C_New_Mexico) counties in southwest [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico), in the [Southwestern United States](/source/Southwestern_United_States).

## Description

The range's central ridge forms the western and eastern borders, respectively, of the two counties through much of their contact. The range is about 55 miles (88 km) long from north to south and up to 18 miles (29 km) wide. The highest point is [McKnight Mountain](/source/McKnight_Mountain). The Black Range lies almost entirely within the [Gila National Forest](/source/Gila_National_Forest). The [Mimbres River](/source/Mimbres_River) originates from the mountain [snowpack](/source/Snowpack). The Mimbres Mountains, the southernmost part of the range, are usually included as part of the Black Range.[2]

Access to the range is primarily via [New Mexico State Road 152](/source/New_Mexico_State_Road_152) (NM 152), which crosses the Black Range on its way from [Kingston](/source/Kingston%2C_New_Mexico) on the east towards [San Lorenzo](/source/San_Lorenzo%2C_Grant_County%2C_New_Mexico) on the west. NM 152 crosses the range at 8,228-foot (2,508 m) Emory Pass, where there is a hiking trail that covers the entire length of the mountains along the central ridge. There are also a number of campgrounds, some with hiking trails, along NM 152 as it goes down Iron Canyon on the west side of the range. With the exception of the areas along NM 152, most of the range is very difficult to traverse and almost entirely undeveloped. The [Aldo Leopold Wilderness](/source/Aldo_Leopold_Wilderness), 202,016 acres (81,753 ha) in size, lies along the crest of the Black Range north of NM 152.

## History

The southern portion of the Black Range, which are also known as the Mimbres Mountains, was occupied by the [Mimbres people](/source/Mogollon_culture) whose culture peaked about 1000 C.E. and ended about 1150 C.E.[2] Their most famous site is the [Gila Cliff Dwellings](/source/Gila_Cliff_Dwellings_National_Monument). Silver was discovered in the Black Range in the late 1870s, first in 1876 at [Lake Valley](/source/Lake_Valley%2C_Sierra_County%2C_New_Mexico),[3] and then by [Harry Pye](/source/Harry_Pye_(prospector)) in 1879 at [Chloride](/source/Chloride%2C_New_Mexico).[4][5] This led to a [silver rush](/source/Silver_rush),[4] and silver and gold mines flourished in the Black Range through the end of the 19th century.[5]

Further information: [Massacre Canyon (New Mexico)](/source/Massacre_Canyon_(New_Mexico))

## See also

- [Mountains portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Mountains)

- [List of mountain ranges of New Mexico](/source/List_of_mountain_ranges_of_New_Mexico)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gnis_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gnis_1-1) [U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Black Range](https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/920566)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ungnade_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ungnade_2-1) Ungnade, Herbert E. (1965) "Black Range" *Guide to the New Mexico Mountains* Sage Books, Denver, pp. 132–133

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Charles R. Keyes, *Genesis of the Lake Valley, New Mexico, silver deposits*, American Institute of Mining Engineers Bulletin, Jan 1908, p.3.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Abarr_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Abarr_4-1) Abarr, James (14 June 1998) ["Frontier mining towns cling to life in southwestern New Mexico"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015859/http://www.abqjournal.com/venue/travel/tourism/heritage_ghosttowns.htm) *Albuquerque Journal* section I, p. 1

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Twitchell-271_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Twitchell-271_5-1) Twitchell, Ralph Emerson (1911) *The Leading Facts of New Mexican History* Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, [p. 271–272](https://books.google.com/books?id=ukQOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA271) [OCLC 3828708](http://worldcat.org/oclc/3828708)

## External links

Media related to [Black Range (New Mexico)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Black_Range_(New_Mexico)) at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Mountains of New Mexico Big Burro Mountains Soldiers Farewell Hill Big Hatchet Mountains Big Hatchet Peak Zeller Peak Black Range Black Mountain (Catron County) McKnight Mountain Chuska Mountains Beautiful Mountain Cookes Range Massacre Peak Fra Cristobal Range Fra Cristobal Mountain Jemez Mountains Cerro Grande Chicoma Mountain Redondo Peak Magdalena Mountains South Baldy Mogollon Mountains Mogollon Baldy Whitewater Baldy Organ Mountains Organ Needle Oscura Mountains Oscura Peak North Oscura Peak Peloncillo Mountains Steins Peak Pyramid Mountains Pyramid Peak Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field Capulin Volcano Laughlin Peak Rabbit Ear Mountain Sierra Grande Sacramento Mountains Cathey Peak San Andres Mountains Salinas Peak San Augustin Mountains San Mateo Mountains (Cibola County) Mount Taylor West Blue Mountain Sandia–Manzano Mountains Manzano Mountains Manzano Peak Sandia Mountains Sandia Crest Sangre de Cristo Mountains Cimarron Range Baldy Mountain (Colfax County) Mount Phillips Taos Mountains Gold Hill Ute Mountain Vallecito Mountain Venado Peak Wheeler Peak Others Baldy Mountain (Taos County) Hermit Peak Santa Fe Baldy Truchas Peak Mount Walter Zuñi Mountains Haystack Mountain Mount Sedgwick Others Aden Crater Alamo Hueco Mountains Animas Mountains Brazos Mountains Caballo Mountains Canjilón Mountain Canyon Creek Mountains Capitan Mountains Capulin Peak Cedar Mountain Range Datil Mountains Dirty Point Doña Ana Mountains Eagle Peak East Potrillo Mountains Elephant Butte (Hidalgo County) Elephant Butte (Sierra County) Fajada Butte Florida Mountains Franklin Mountains Granite Peak Guadalupe Mountains Guadalupe Mountains (Hidalgo County) Hosta Butte Hueco Mountains Huérfano Mountain Jicarilla Mountains Jornada del Muerto Volcano Ladron Peak Little Burro Mountains Little Hatchet Mountains Little San Pascual Mountain Luera Mountains Sierra Nacimiento Ocate Peak Ortiz Mountains Picacho Mountain Robledo Mountains San Antonio Mountain San Mateo Mountains (Socorro County) Sierra Aguilada Sierra Blanca Sierra de las Uvas West Potrillo Mountains

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Black Range](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Range) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Range?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.