Cerro Pedernal
.jpg?width=1600)
More photographs at the Wikimedia Commons category.
Cerro Pedernal rises to 3,003 m in New Mexico. Turkey Ridge stands 3,558 m to the south-southeast, 12 miles off. The nearest named place is Mesa Escoba, a peak 1.4 miles away. Jemez Mountain Trail passes 18 miles off.
The story
Cerro Pedernal, (Tewa: Tsee Pʼin, pronounced [tsìː pʼìŋ], lit. 'obsidian mountain') locally known as just "Pedernal", is a narrow mesa in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico. The name is Spanish for "flint hill". The basalt-capped peak lies on the north flank of the Jemez Mountains, south of Abiquiu Lake, in the Coyote Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest, near the boundary between the Colorado Plateau and the Abiquiu embayment of the Rio Grande Rift. Its highest point is at 9,866 feet (3,007 m). Pedernal is the source of a chert used by the prehistoric Gallina people. Its cliffs are popular with rock climbers. Georgia O'Keeffe made many paintings of it, and her ashes were scattered on its top.
The Tewa name of the mountain is Tsee Pʼin (tsee, 'obsidian' + pʼin 'mountain'). The Cochiti name is Hest'e'yanyik'othe (hest'e'yanyi 'obsidian' + k'othe 'mountain').
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5064957, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 3003 m
How to reach it
- 18.0 mi off the Jemez Mountain Trail, National
- 20.2 mi off the Puye Cliffs Scenic Byway
- 25.3 mi off the El Camino Real, National
Overlooks nearby
- San Diego Canyon Overlook Overlook Site · 22 mi
- Jemez Canyon Overlook · 22 mi
- Frijoles Canyon Viewpoint · 23 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Mesa Escoba: 1.4 mi
- Blanca Mesa: 3.4 mi
- Pueblo Mesa: 3.9 mi
- El Cerrito: 4.8 mi
- Cañones Mesa: 5.4 mi
- Ojitos de los Gatos: 10.4 mi
- Cecilia Spring: 16.2 mi
- Kidney and Stomach Trouble Spring: 18.6 mi
- Footbath Spring: 18.7 mi
- Sulphur Springs: 18.7 mi
- Tsi-p'in-owinge' Pueblo Ruins: 3.7 mi
- Time Capsule: 6.7 mi
- Old Spanish Trail Historical Marker: 10.7 mi
- Abiquiu Historical Marker: 10.8 mi
- Poshuoinge: 13.3 mi
- Pink Flamingo: 10.7 mi
- Nexus: 21.2 mi
- Mars Polar Lander: 21.7 mi
- Golondrina: 22.2 mi
- Touch the Sky: 22.4 mi
- Dominguez-Velez de Escalente Trail Historical Marker: 10.8 mi
- Valles Caldera National Preserve: 17.0 mi
- Senator Matias L. Chacon Recreational Park: 21.2 mi
- El Rito Historical Marker: 21.2 mi
- Kiva: 21.7 mi
- Echo Amphitheater Picnic Site: 13.6 mi
- Camp May: 19.3 mi
- La Cueva Picnic Ground: 22.0 mi
- Dark Canyon Picnic Ground: 22.6 mi
- Rincon Picnic Ground: 23.5 mi
- Tsi’pin Ruins trailhead (permit required via Coyote Ranger Station): 3.9 mi
- Abiquiu Dam Visitor Center: 6.8 mi
- Ghost Ranch: 11.8 mi
- Chimney Rock: 12.1 mi
- Echo Amphitheater: 13.6 mi
- Cerro Valdez: 6.6 mi
- La Cuchilla de la Monjonera: 12.8 mi
- Gates of Hell: 16.5 mi
- Red Rock Cliff: 18.5 mi
- Rincon Colorado: 19.3 mi
- Georgia O'keefe museum and home: 10.8 mi
- Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology: 11.7 mi
- Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology: 11.7 mi
- Hans Bethe House: 22.4 mi
- Los Alamos History Museum: 22.4 mi
- San Antonio Hot Spring: 17.3 mi
- Spence Hot Spring: 22.8 mi
- State Game Commission Land: 19.8 mi
- Bluebird Mesa Wildlife Management Area: 24.4 mi
- Rendija Arch: 19.8 mi
- Memorial Rose Garden: 22.4 mi
- Jemez Falls: 24.9 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 16.6 miles of Cerro Pedernal. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey Ridge | SSE 166° | 3,558 m | 12.4 mi |
| Chicoma Mountain | SSE 148° | 3,517 m | 12.6 mi |
| Polvadera Peak | SE 142° | 3,419 m | 9.0 mi |
| Cerro Toledo | SSE 163° | 3,323 m | 12.2 mi |
| Cerro de la Garita | S 187° | 3,225 m | 11.4 mi |
| Caballo Mountain | SSE 152° | 3,200 m | 16.4 mi |
| Cerro del Grant | SSW 192° | 3,174 m | 10.1 mi |
| Cerro Rubio | SSE 159° | 3,169 m | 16.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:10 | 18:44 | 19:18 |
| June solstice | 05:50 | 19:49 | 20:27 |
| September equinox | 06:55 | 18:31 | 19:04 |
| December solstice | 07:14 | 16:16 | 16:56 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 30 | 34 | 42 | 49 | 58 | 69 | 73 | 71 | 64 | 52 | 41 | 31 |
| Precip in | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Abiquiu DAM, 7 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 904987 — Cerro Pedernal, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.
OpenStreetMap element node/357593147
Day trips start here
- Española · 27 mi
- Bandelier National Monument · 28 mi
Take the scenic way to Cerro Pedernal.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.