Mount Taylor (New Mexico)

This article is about the volcano in New Mexico. For other uses, see Mount Taylor.

Mount Taylor
Tsoodził (in Navajo)
Highest point
Elevation11,305 ft (3,446 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence4,094 ft (1,248 m)[2]
Coordinates35°14′19″N 107°36′31″W / 35.238691747°N 107.608519189°W / 35.238691747; -107.608519189[1]
Geography
Mount Taylor is located in New Mexico
Mount Taylor
Mount Taylor
LocationCibola County, New Mexico, U.S.
Parent rangeSan Mateo Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Mount Taylor
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Climbing
Easiest routeHike
Mount Taylor, seen from the South
Map of Mount Taylor Volcanic Field in central New Mexico (modified from Crumpler, 1980).

Mount Taylor (Navajo: Tsoodził, Navajo pronunciation: [tsʰòːtsɪ̀ɬ] means "The Great Mountain"[3]) is a dormant stratovolcano in northwest New Mexico, northeast of the town of Grants.[4] It is the high point of the San Mateo Mountains[a] and the highest point in the Cibola National Forest.

It was renamed in 1849 for then-president Zachary Taylor. Previously, it was called Cebolleta (tender onion) by the Spaniards; the name persists as one name for the northern portion of the San Mateo Mountains, a large mesa. The Navajo, for whom the mountain is sacred, still call it Turquoise Mountain (Tsoodził).

Mount Taylor is largely forested with some meadows, rising above the desert below. The mountain is heavily eroded to the east. Its slopes were an important source of lumber for neighboring pueblos.

  1. ^ a b "Taylor". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  2. ^ "Mount Taylor, New Mexico". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  3. ^ Carey, Harold. "Navajo creation story – Nihaltsoh -The third World (Yellow World)". Navajo People.
  4. ^ Wood, Charles A.; Kienle, Jürgen (1993). Volcanoes of North America. Cambridge University Press. p. 287. ISBN 0-521-43811-X.


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