JEMEZ
SPRINGS
More than 2 million visitors each year take the Jemez
Mountain Trail scenic byway through Jemez Springs. The nationally
designated trail is a journey through time winding past amazing geological
formations, ancient Indian ruins, an Indian pueblo, and the remainders
of the area's logging, mining and ranching heritage. Both the Valles
Caldera and Bandelier
National monument are but a half hours drive from the village. Some
of the numerous day trips include Chaco
Culture Historical National Park, Bisti
Badlands wilderness, Aztec
National monument, Cabezon
peak, Acoma
pueblo and the Bosque
del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
GEOLOGY
Formed by explosive
volcanic actions far greater than Mount St. Helens, the Jemez Mountains
are a fascinating and diverse landscape of canyons, mesas, tent rocks,
hot springs, remnants of ancient villages, snow & spring fed rivers and
dramatic red rock formation. New Mexico Highway 4 is the only major road
hence it is the commercial, residential and natural corridor, which determines
the development and provides the experience of the Jemez.
Designated
a National Scenic Highway in 1998, the road meanders through wide valleys,
past the Jemez Pueblo and its startling red rock cliffs and through the
charming village of Jemez Springs with its ancient cottonwoods, adobe
buildings and sheer canyon walls. Just north of the village, Hwy 4 passes
the Jemez. State Monument, Soda Dam and Battleship Rock
(pictured at left). The road rises some 3,000 feet, moving through the
pinon-oak-juniper belt to the Ponderosa-Douglas fir forests. Then, it
reveals the openness of the 100 square mile Baca Land Grant; the Valle
Grande, plume of the largest volcanic calderas in the world and on
to Bandelier National Monument and Los Alamos.
This land of unusual and spectacular beauty fulfills the outdoor enthusiast's dream of hiking, camping, cross country skiing, fishing, hunting, mountain biking and soaking in spring-fed hot mineral pools. Elk, mountain lion, bear, mule deer and wild turkey are commonly seen in the easily accessible forested areas.
HISTORY
The original people who lived, hunted and dreamed in the canyons and on
the mesas starting about 600 B.C. were the ancestors of today's Jemez:
Indians. They lived at the mouth of the canyon in the Giusewa Pueblo meaning
"pueblo at the hot place." In the 1600s, the arrival of the Spaniards
mandated tremendous changes in their lives. They created communities some
as large as several thousand people on the mesa tops surrounding the present
village of Jemez Springs and eventually settled in the Pueblo about ten
miles to the south. "Civilization" has been slow to come to the Jemez.
Telephone service was available only in the 1960s. Part of the lure of
the valley and canyon lies in the feeling of being transported to another
place and time.
VILLAGE
Most of the land surrounding the village of Jemez Springs is four wild
National Forest, Catholic Church holdings or Indian lands. A narrow strip
of private land hugs the Jemez River and an even narrower strip of commercial
zoning follows the highway. The village of Jemez Springs is tucked into
the Jemez Canyon between sheer 2,000-foot high red-rock walls.
The population of approximately 500 represents many different cultures, interests and lifestyles all of whom share in an appreciation of the wild beauty of the land. Many people commute to work in Albuquerque or Los Alamos. Others work in the village or at home. Residents include old Spanish families, cowboys, loggers, writers, artists, scientists, contractors and trades people. Fresh water and air, almost constant sunshine, great stream fishing, hiking and fascinating history, draw over two million visitors per year.
6,300' elevation gets
some now in winter (Nov - May).
but our municipal road crew does a great job of
keeping
the roads safe for locals as well as travelers.
