VallesCaldera.com – The independent news source about the Valles Caldera

An update on some recent news items regarding the Valles Caldera from recent weeks, from 8,200 feet high in the Jemez Mountains. Items from the Albuquerque Journal can only be read by non-subscribers by clicking on the “trial access pass” button in the lower left of the screen after clicking on links to the articles below:

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has denied federal protection for the caddisfly, which is found only in three locations, one of which is the Jaramillo Creek in the Valles Caldera (the prior link reveals a view from the sky of the Jaramillo Creek flowing into the East Fork of the Jemez River from below).

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Two Los Alamos High School students, Nathan Clements and Joe Abeyta, will be attending this month’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, CA, as a result of their work in attempting to determine the effect of cattle grazing on riparian areas of the Caldera. According to the students, as measured by crayfish populations, cattle grazing is not having a significant impact on the Caldera’s streams.

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A free fly-fishing clinic, focusing on the unique challenges of fishing the streams of the Valles Caldera, will be held on May 8 in Los Alamos.

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Former state legislator Al Castillo penned an editorial in the Albuquerque Journal urging New Mexicans to refocus efforts on conservation of our state’s land and water, urging support for Sen. Bingaman’s attempt to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which Castillo reminds readers was the source for the funds that purchased the Baca Ranch (which became the Valles Caldera National Preserve) in 2000: “Easily accessible from Albuquerque and Santa Fe, the preserve serves as a critical source for urban residents’ drinking water, as an outdoor laboratory for climate change studies, and as an extraordinary place to hunt, fish and hike.”

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The Los Alamos Monitor reported on a class conducted by Leadership Los Alamos that was recently held at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Covering topics from global warming to struggles of Preserve management, a Monitor editor also wrote an accompanying editorial describing her emotional reaction to visiting the Preserve for the first time.

This week, the Valles Caldera and Northern New Mexico were socked by three consecutive winter storms.  Storm totals in the Caldera ranged from 16 inches in the community of Sierra los Piños (nestled within the Caldera outside of the National Preserve) to 28 inches at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area along the Caldera’s western rim (with 52 inches of base depth at mid-mountain).  Sleigh rides continued to be offered at the Valles Caldera National Preserve on Saturdays and Sundays ($30/person, $24/seniors, $15/youth), as well as snowshoeing ($10/adult, $8/seniors, $5/youth).

We hope you enjoy this video we created, which includes over 100 majestic views from the Valles Caldera, set to some glorious musical masterpieces.  All photos were taken by VallesCaldera.com, except for the photos from space, which were taken by NASA astronauts.  About 80% of the pictures were photographed from behind the gates of the Valles Caldera National Preserve (and all were taken within the rim of the Valles Caldera). To watch this video, click below.

The first heavy snowstorm of the season blanketed the Valles Caldera on Monday and Tuesday. At least 10 inches of snow was measured near the Valles Caldera community of Sierra los Piños (elev. 8,200 ft.), while the Pajarito Mountain Ski Area (elev. 10,440 ft.), located on the Caldera’s eastern rim, reported 22 inches of new powder. The photo shown above, taken this afternoon, features a newly-coated Redondo Peak (elev. 11,254 ft.) from the south, the day after the storm left New Mexico and moved on to the Midwest.

Dozens of new aerial photos of the Valles Caldera have been added to our “Views from the Sky” page. Initially, this page simply featured photos taken from a single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft on a low-altitude private flyover of the Valles Caldera on August, 28, 2001, during the first full summer of ownership of the Baca Ranch by the American People.

We have just added another section to that page, entitled “High-Altitude Views From the Sky.” This section features photos from three separate commercial airline flights from Albuquerque to Denver, a flight that 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 closest views of the Valles Caldera (or a seat on the right for the flight south from Denver to Albuquerque).

Below are some samples of some of our new photos. Incidentally, if you have any of your own views from the sky, photos from space, 360° panoramas, or other photos you’d like us to post on VallesCaldera.com, email us here.

Click any of the photos below to enjoy a full-size view.

In this spectacular winter shot of the Valles Caldera from the southwest, the Valle Grande is visible, overlooked by Garita Peak (the North Rim), Cerro Pedernal (to the upper-right, world-famous from the paintings of Georgia O’Keefe), and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (background).

This is a 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.

This is 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.

Redondo Peak, the Valles Caldera’s resurgent dome, towers over the Jemez Mountains in this view from the southeast.

We have also added dozens of low-altitude Views from the Sky.  Above is a view from atop the North Rim of the Caldera, looking south. The dome in the middle of the photo is Cerro Santa Rosa. To its left is Cerro Abrigo. The valley on the left is Valle Toledo, with Valle San Antonio on the right.

It snowed six inches here on the Valles Caldera on Easter Weekend.