Sandia Peak by Richardphotos

Photography • Landscape • posted on Apr 18, 2009

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Description

the vantage point is looking South West with Albuquerque covering the valley floor. the upper left is the local airport The Sandias are a small range, consisting of a single north-south ridge, which rises to two major summits: Sandia Crest and South Sandia Peak, 9,702 ft (2,957 m). The range measures approximately 17 miles (26 km) north-south, and the width in the east-west direction varies from 4 to 8 miles (6 to 12 km). The west side of the range is steep and rugged, with a number of sheer rock walls and towers near Sandia Crest. The east side has a gentler slope. The Sandias are part of a single larger geologic unit, the Sandia-Manzano Mountains. The other part consists of the Manzano Mountains which lie to the south of the Sandias. The two ranges are separated by Tijeras Canyon, which leads to a historically important pass; the canyon is traversed by Interstate 40, following the route of historic U.S. Route 66. Sandia Crest from the west, with adjacent radio and TV towers The Sandias are the highest range in the immediate vicinity, and are well-separated from the higher Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This gives Sandia Crest a relatively high topographic prominence of 4,098 ft (1,249 m). Lying to the east and northeast of the Sandias are two smaller ranges, the Ortiz Mountains and the San Pedro Mountains. The Sandia Mountains are home to the world's longest tramway, which is 2.7 miles (4.3 km) long. Over this period of 2.7 miles (4.3 km), the tram cars ascend over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) feet. The average speed of the tram car is 12 mph (19 km/h), and the length of the ride is approximately 15 minutes.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandia_Mountains the snow capped mountains to the west is San Mateo range(11301 f high) close to Grant New Mexico I believe except for the sand storm and snow storm in Utah Jocko500 and myself enjoyed crystal clear weather thanks for viewing and any comments