{{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox landform | name = La Ventana Natural Arch | type = [[Rock arch]] | image = El Malpais National Monument, La Ventana Natural Arch, New Mexico, USA 2024 6.jpg | caption = Northwest aspect | elevation = {{cvt|7159|ft|m}} | elevation_ref =<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|id=1679025|name=La Ventana Natural Arch|access-date=April 1, 2025}}</ref> | pushpin_map = New Mexico#USA | map_caption = Location in New Mexico | pushpin_label_position = bottom | location = [[El Malpais National Conservation Area]] / [[Cebolla Wilderness]]<br />[[Cibola County, New Mexico]]<br />United States | coordinates = {{coord|34.8691667|N|107.8891667|W|type:landmark_region:US-UT_source:gnis|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref =<ref name="gnis"/> | geology = [[Zuni Sandstone]] | age = [[Jurassic]] | topo = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] ''North Pasture'' | length = {{cvt|135|ft|m}}<ref name=NAO>[https://www.naturalarches.org/db/nabs/alcov1.htm ''La Ventana Arch NABSQNO 13S-235924-3862355''], The Natural Arch and Bridge Society, Retrieved April 1, 2025.</ref> | height= {{cvt|80.|ft|m}}<ref name=NAO/> }} '''La Ventana Natural Arch''' is a [[natural arch]] in [[Cibola County, New Mexico]], United States.<ref name="gnis"/> It is the second-largest natural arch in New Mexico and is situated in [[El Malpais National Conservation Area]] which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/places/elma-la-ventana-arch.htm ''La Ventana Natural Arch''], National Park Service, Retrieved April 1, 2025.</ref> The arch is composed of [[Zuni Sandstone]] which was deposited as desert aeolian [[dune|sand dunes]] about 165–175 million years ago, during the middle [[Jurassic]] period.<ref>[https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/el-malpais-la-ventana-natural-arch ''El Malpais La Ventana Natural Arch''], September 11, 2006, United States Geological Survey, Retrieved April 1, 2025.</ref> Access is from [[New Mexico State Road 117|Highway 117]] and a 1/4 mile trail which transitions from paved to primitive as it enters the [[Cebolla Wilderness]].<ref>[https://www.blm.gov/visit/el-malpais-nca ''El Malpais National Conservation Area''], Bureau of Land Management, Retrieved April 1, 2025.</ref> This landform's toponym was officially adopted in 1989 by the [[U.S. Board on Geographic Names]] when it replaced the name "Alta Arch."<ref name="gnis"/> The name La Ventana is a Spanish term, meaning "the window."
==Climate== According to the [[Köppen climate classification]] system, it is located in a [[Cold semi-arid climate]] zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 |issue=5 |page=1633 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P | issn = 1027-5606}}</ref> This desert climate receives less than {{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=off|sp=us}} of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter. Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit La Ventana Arch.
==Gallery== <div style="max-width: 500px;"> <gallery mode=slideshow> File:El Malpais National Monument, La Ventana Natural Arch, New Mexico, USA 2024 7.jpg File:La Ventana Natural Arch (El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico, USA) 1 (29403918734).jpg </gallery> </div>
==See also== * [[Colorado Plateau]] * [[Geology of New Mexico]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|La Ventana Natural Arch}} * La Ventana Natural Arch: [https://www.yr.no/en/forecast/daily-table/2-5474984/United%20States/New%20Mexico/Cibola/La%20Ventana%20Natural%20Arch Weather]
[[Category:Natural arches of New Mexico]] [[Category:Sandstone formations of the United States]] [[Category:Landforms of Cibola County, New Mexico]]