Guadalupe Mountains

For the smaller range in the southwest New Mexico Bootheel, see Guadalupe Mountains (Hidalgo County). For the mountain range in Extremadura, Spain, see Sierra de Villuercas.
Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
Highest point
PeakGuadalupe Peak
Elevation8,751 ft (2,667 m)
Coordinates31°53′28″N 104°51′36″W / 31.89111°N 104.86000°W / 31.89111; -104.86000
Dimensions
Length65 mi (105 km)[1]
Width20 mi (32 km)
Geography
Guadalupe Mountains is located in Texas
Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
Country United States
States
Borders on
  • Sacramento Mountains
  • Brokeoff Mountains
Geology
Rock agePermian
Rock typeCarbonate sponge reef complex

The Guadalupe Mountains (Spanish: Sierra de Guadalupe) are a mountain range located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The range includes the highest summit in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, 8,751 ft (2,667 m), and the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan, both of which are located within Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The Guadalupe Mountains are bordered by the Pecos River valley and Llano Estacado to the east and north, Delaware Mountains to the south, and Sacramento Mountains to the west. One of the clearest exposures of a prehistoric reef is preserved in the mountain range's bedrock geology.[2] Bedrock contains fossils of reef-dwelling organisms from the Permian period, and the geology is widely studied, mostly by stratigraphers, paleontologists, and Paleoecologists (see geology section).[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference gnis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ King, Philip B. (1948). Geology of the Southern Guadalupe Mountains, Texas. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  3. ^ "Geologic Formations - Guadalupe Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)".