La Bajada ("the descent")
Posted by: 
Avi8torAce
N 35° 31.639 W 106° 09.396
13S E 395137 N 3932138
La Bajada ("the descent") Official Scenic Historical Marker
Waymark Code: WM38PA
Location: New Mexico, United States
Date Posted: 02/26/2008
Views: 64
La Bajada, or "the descent," marks the division between the Rio Arriba, or "Upper River," and the Rio Abajo, or "Lower River," sections of New Mexico. This steep and dangerous grade was long an obstacle to caravan traffic going from the Rio Grande Valley to Santa Fe.
After long days on the trail following the Rio Grande and El Camino Real to the promised land of Santa Fe, travelers from as far south as Mexico City during the colonial period finally reached the landmark that trumpeted the beginning of the end of their journey.
The towering escarpment had to be traversed before the travelers could reach the end of the road. Many trails and roads have been developed through the years to make it past this difficult stretch of El Camino Real. Today, automobiles speed up it as if it was just a little hill, but think back to the days of exen and horses, exhausted from weeks of travel only to find this arduous climb to their destination.
La Bajada hill is a major break in topography situated along a geological fault zone that separates the downfaulted Rio Grande Rift from the Santa Fe Plateau. The red formation tilted at various angles along the fault zone is the Galisteo Formation deposited in streams about 70 million years ago.
More recent volcanic lava deposits form the resistent caprock of the plateau above. Landslide deposits are prominent on the slopes below the lava cap. Total relief from the rim of the Santa Fe Plateau to Galisteo Creek at the foot of La Bajada is about 800 feet.
Link to History,Plaque or Sign:: [Web Link]
History:: Not listed
Additional Point: Not Listed
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