
Location of the Black Range within New Mexico
The 'Black Range' (also called the 'Mimbres Mountains') is an
igneous mountain range running north-south in
Sierra and
Grant counties in west-central
New Mexico, in the southwestern
United States. Its central ridge forms the western and eastern borders, respectively, of the two counties through much of their contact. The range is about 55 miles (88 km) long from north to south and up to 18 miles (29 km) wide. The highest point is
McKnight Mountain, at 10,165 feet (3,098 m). The Black Range lies almost entirely within the
Gila National Forest.
Access to the range is primarily via NM Highway 152, which crosses the Black Range on its way from the small town of
Kingston on the east towards the equally-small
San Lorenzo on the west. NM 152 crosses the range at 8228-foot (2508 m) Emory Pass, where there is a hiking trail that covers the entire north-south length of the mountains along the central ridge. There are also a number of campgrounds, some with hiking trails, along NM 152 as it goes down Iron Canyon on the west side of the range. With the exception of the areas along NM 152, most of the range is very difficult to traverse and almost entirely undeveloped.
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