The Organ Mountains form an igneous range lying in New Mexico to the east of the Rio Grande Rift (a rift is where a continent is slowly pulling apart). It forms part of a more or less continuous line of mountains from the Franklin Mountains on the south to the Sandia Mountains in northern New Mexico and, arguably, farther north into the southern end of the Rocky Mountains. Peeking above the right shoulder of the range, the San Andres Mountains can be seen, as can the Sacramento Mountains in the far distance on the right skyline. The Tularosa Bolson lies between the Organs and San Andres on the west and the Sacramentos on the east.
The influence of the substrate types on vegetation can be seen clearly, and several areas of local internal drainage (playas) are visible. The entire Tularosa Basin itself has no outlet and, in a wet climate, would support a large lake until such time as the lake overflowed and cut an outlet. During the cooler, moister Pleistocene (the "Ice Age"), a fairly large lake formed on the western edge of the bolson.
Last Update: 8 Aug 2006