VallesCaldera.com – The independent resource about the Valles Caldera

Click on any photo below to view a full-size version. The photos in this first section below were taken on a low-altitude, single-engine, summer flyover of the Valles Caldera. Please note that the Spanish word cerro means mountain.

Click here to be sent to the "High-Altitude Views from the Sky" section.

	Sparkling San Antonio River – The San Antonio River flows by Cerro Seco (immediately to the right) and Cerro San Luis (to the left of Cerro Seco). Looking toward the east.
	From Above the North Rim – View from above the North Rim of the Caldera looking south. Valle San Antonio heads from left to right in the perspective, with Valle Santa Rosa intersecting it heading away from the view. Redondo Peak is the largest mountain seen, and the ring fracture domes in front of it are Cerro Santa Rosa, Cerro San Luis, and Cerro Seco.
	East Fork Flowing Into Hidden Valley – The East Fork of the Jemez River flows from the Valle Grande into Hidden Valley. With Los Griegos in the background, and South Mountain to the right. Looking southwest.
	Rincon de los Soldados and Valle Grande – The Valle Grande, with the Rincon de los Soldados in the foreground.
	Cerro Santa Rosa is in the center of the perspective. To its left is Cerro Abrigo. The valley on the left is Valle Toledo, with Valle San Antonio on the right.
	Redondo Peak, elev. 11,254 ft., from the south. Redondo Peak, a “resurgent dome,” is the tallest mountain in the Valles Caldera.
	Meandering East Fork – The East Fork of the Jemez meanders through the Valle Grande.
	Northeast Rim – The Northeast Rim of the Valles Caldera forms the backdrop to this perspective. Beneath it is Valle Toledo, and in the foreground is Cerro Abrigo.
	Ranch HQ – The Ranch Headquarters buildings in the Valle Grande nestled against the base of Redondo Peak. Redondito Peak is the bump to the right of Redondo.
	Valle Toledo and Valle San Antonio – Valle Toledo is on the left; Valle San Antonio is on the right.
	Western Valle San Antonio – The San Antonio River flows through the Western Valle San Antonio. The road heading to the right is the Sulphur Canyon Road (VC08), which runs between Cerro Seco (above) and San Antonio Mountain (below).
	Redondo Peak from the North.
	Valle Santa Rosa with Pedernal – View facing north from the center of the Caldera. In the foreground is Valle Santa Rosa, with Cerro Santa Rosa on the right. Further in the distance is Valle San Antonio, with Garita Peak (the North Rim of the Caldera) towering over the Valle. Cerro Pedernal, which was made famous by Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings, is in the distance. The Pedernal is in the Jemez but not in the Caldera.
	El Cajete Crater – This three-quarter-mile long meadow near the southern base of Redondo Peak was the volcanic vent for a massive pyroclastic eruption that occurred 55,000 years ago — the El Cajete eruption. This produced a sizable layer of pumice that blanketed the Jemez Mountains. The eruption that occurred in this crater also created Battleship Rock (Martin). View a 360° panorama of El Cajete Crater here.
	Meandering San Antonio River – The San Antonio River snakes through the Valle San Antonio as Cerro Seco looms in the background. The white specks on the left of the photo are the San Antonio Cabin structures. This perspective is from above the North Rim of the Caldera looking to the southeast.
	Valle Jaramillo – Redondo Peak towers over the Valle Jaramillo. Perspective looks to the southwest.
	Sulphur Springs and San Diego Canyon — The bleached patch of earth on the lower right of this perspective is the Sulphur Springs complex, a private inholding within the boundaries of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Sulphur Canyon flows into it from the bottom of the photo. In the distance is San Diego Canyon. The smoke visible is from the Valles Caldera community of La Cueva. This perspective faces southwest.
	Cerro San Luis is in the center of the photo, with Valle San Antonio beneath it. To its left is Cerro Santo Rosa, and to its right is Cerro Seco. Behind it is Redondo Peak, the South Rim, and the Sandia Mountains.
	Valle Grande from the Southwest Rim – The Valle Grande. Prominent in the perspective is Cerro la Jara – the little hill (ring fracture dome, formed 500,000 years ago) in the middle of the Valle. This view is from above the Southwest Rim, looking northeast.
	Valle Toledo – The Valle Toledo, with the Valle San Antonio to the upper right. Redondo Peak stands at the upper-left of the photo, and beneath it is Cerro Abrigo. Perspective taken from above Cerro Toledo (part of the Northeast Rim of the Caldera) looking to the southwest. View a 360° panorama of Valle Toledo.
	Valle de los Posos is in the foreground, with Valle Toledo in the background. The mountains in the center of the perspective are Cerros de los Posos. View from above the East Rim.
	Valle Toledo from the South – Looking northeast from Valle Jaramillo, through the valley separating Cerro Santa Rosa and Cerro Abrigo, into the Valle Toledo, with the North Rim (and Chicoma Peak) in the background
	The History Grove, an old growth forest of ponderosa pines in the vicinity of the Ranch Headquarters buildings at the base of Redondo Peak. Many of these trees are 300-400 years old.
	Hidden Valley and the South Rim – In the foreground is the North end of Hidden Valley; in the background the South Rim of the Caldera looms over Hwy. 4.
	Warm Springs Dome – The San Antonio River winds past the Warm Springs Dome, to the left of which is San Antonio Cabin. The San Antonio Warm Springs shack can be seen peering out from above the dome.
	Jaramillo Creek Flowing into the East Fork – The Jaramillo Creek at its confluence with the East Fork of the Jemez River in the Valle Grande. At right, the river crosses the road that travels from Hwy. 4 to the Valle Grande Staging Area. Perspective faces the South Rim of the Caldera in the background.
	Valle de los Posos from the East – Cerro del Medio stands over Valle de los Posos, with Redondo Peak in the background. To its right are Obsidian Valley and Cerro Abrigo. To the upper left is the Valle Grande.
	Cerro Piñon – The small hill in the center of this photo is Cerro Piñon. On the bottom is the Valle Jaramillo, and in the background is the Valle Grande. The U-shaped turn in the road (VC02) on the near-right side of the photo is located next to the Buffalo Girls film set. Just above Cerro Piñon is the Paddock Building, built by the Dunigans, the final owners of the Baca Ranch. In the background are the Sandia Mountains, overlooking Albuquerque. This perspective looks to the south.
	Another View of Valle Toledo – Valle Toledo, located between Cerro Abrigo (above) and the North Rim (below).
	Cerro Abrigo, demonstrating the destruction caused by decades of slicing more than 1,800 miles of logging roads through the forests of the Caldera. Garita Peak (part of the North Rim), and Georgia O’Keefe’s Pedernal form the backdrop to this perspective.
	The Valle Grande From Above the Southeast Rim, looking northwest.
	Cerro Seco from the North – Cerro Seco, to the right of which is Cerro San Luis. In the background is the South Rim of the Caldera, with the Sandia Mountains in the extreme distance.
	Valle Grande From Above the South Rim, looking north. Redondo Peak is on the upper-left. Hwy 4 is on the bottom of the photo.
	Ranch Fencing in the Valle Grande.
	Closeup of Ranch HQ – The Ranch Headquarters buildings.
	Another View of Ranch Headquarters.
	The Southwest Rim – The Valle Grande, with the South Rim to the left, and the Southwest Rim straight ahead.
	Southern Half of the Caldera – The southern Valles Caldera, with Cerro del Medio on the lower right, the South Rim on the left, and Redondo Peak on the upper right. Photo taken from above the East Rim of the Caldera.
	Obsidian Valley is in the center of this photo, with Cerro Abrigo to its right. Further to the right is Valle Toledo, and Valle de los Posos is on the lower left.
	East Side of Redondo Peak, from above the Valle Grande.
	Cerro Seco from the South – From bottom to top is Valle Seco, Cerro Seco, Valle San Antonio, the North Rim, and the Pedernal (on the upper right).
	Las Conchas – The East Fork of the Jemez River snakes through the forest at Las Conchas.
	Chicoma Peak (elev. 11,561 ft.), the tallest peak in the Jemez Mountains, is at the upper left. Cerro Toledo, covered with scars from forest roads, is at the lower right. Chicoma is not in the Valles Caldera; Cerro Toledo forms part of the Northeast Rim of the Caldera.
	Pajarito Mountain Ski Area, located on the East Rim of the Caldera. With the Valle Grande at right. Visit Pajarito’s website.
	North Rim Logging Roads (1) – Logging roads on the North Rim. With Indios Canyon on the right, and Valle Toledo in the background.
	North Rim Logging Roads (2) – More logging roads on the North Rim.
	North Rim Logging Roads (3) – Additional damage caused by logging roads on the North Rim.

High-Altitude Views from the Sky

These photos below were taken on three separate commercial airline flights from Albuquerque to Denver. This flight offers stunning views of the Jemez Mountains. If you have the opportunity to take this flight, be sure to ask for a window seat on the left-hand side of the aircraft for the most direct views of the Valles Caldera (or a seat on the right for the flight south from Denver to Albuquerque)

	Redondo Peak from High – The Caldera’s resurgent dome from the southwest.
	Caldera with Sangres and Pedernal – Spectacular shot of the Valles Caldera from the southwest. The Valle Grande is visible, overlooked by Garita Peak (the North Rim), Cerro Pedernal, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
	Ring Fracture Domes – High-altitude view of the oldest of the Caldera’s ring fracture domes, in order of eruption. From the left: Cerro del Medio, Cerro Abrigo, Cerro Santa Rosa (Cerro de Trasquilar is barely visible to the right), Cerro San Luis, and Cerro Seco.
	Caldera from the East – A view of virtually the entire Valles Caldera from the east. At left is the Valle Grande; to its right is Valle Toledo; above that is the Valle San Antonio.
	Clouds Over Valle Toledo – Most of the Valle Toledo, to the right of this photo, is obscured by clouds. Above it is Valle San Antonio.
	Caldera from the South I – Distant view of the Valles Caldera from the South.
	North Rim from High – View of Valle Toledo (center) and Valle San Antonio (upper right) as the North Rim of the Caldera towers above, to their right. Also visible is damage from logging roads on the northeastern portion of the rim.
	Caldera from the South II – The Valle Grande (center) and Valle Toledo (far right) can be seen from this perspective.
	El Cajete, Redondo Peak, and Valle Grande – The ovular clearing to the left of Redondo Peak is El Cajete Crater, the site of the most recent volcanic eruption in the Valles Caldera. Directly below El Cajete is the ring fracture dome South Mountain. The Valle Grande encompasses the bottom of this perspective.
	Verdant Caldera from the East – A green Valles Caldera as seen from the east. The Valle Grande is on the right.
	Caldera from the South III.
	Western Valle Grande – The western portion of the Valle Grande, shaded by a cloud.
	Distant Caldera from the South.
	Distant Valle Toledo – A snow-covered Valle Toledo. To its left is Cerro Abrigo (with its spiralling logging roads); behind it is Garita Peak; to its right is Cerro Toledo.
	Caldera from the South IV.
	Middle Caldera from High.
	Caldera from the South V.

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