New Mexico has many inspirational landscapes. Pilot knobs like Wagon Mound that guided pioneers across the open plains is one. Fajada Butte with its Sun Dagger is another. There is also Cerro Pedernal which like the others has its own fascinating story.
From Echo Amphitheater
Cerro Pedernal translates from the Spanish “Chert Mountain.” The prominent flat-topped mountain obtains its name from large outcroppings and veins of multi colored chert. Because of the cryptocrystalline structure and conchoidal flake-ability of this mineral, prehistoric people prized it for the manufacture of stone tools.
From the chert quarries on Pedernal, prehistoric people made projectile points, drills, knifes, scrappers and axes for hunting and for use in the tasks of daily life. Their workshops are scattered on promontories around Abiquiu Lake. You can often see detritus from their napping as you walk around the area.
I have hiked to the top of Pedernal and looked out over the vastness of New Mexico. I have felt inspired. The survey of the Pedernal area in 1975 was my first archeological project after moving to New Mexico. With the planned increase in water levels at Abiquiu Dam, we were tasked with surveying and documenting the distribution of lithic sites before they were submerged.
I made the image of Cerro Pedernal from Echo Amphitheater facing southeast.