An aerial view of the area immediately north of the Cerrillos
Hills Historic Park.
North is at the top.
Much of the land in this view is privately held. Portions on both the left and
right sides are BLM-Cerrillos Hills Historic Park lands, and the strip along the
bottom, including the spring, is inside the Cerrillos Hills Historic Park.
Grand Central Mountain is in the upper left corner.
The disturbed area of the prehistoric and historic Mount Chalchihuitl turquoise
mine is partially visible at top center.
To the right and below Mt. Chalchihuitl is the Cash Entry Mine, a
lead-zinc-silver mine that operated well into the twentieth century.
Franklin Ridge extends south from Cash Entry. At the south end of Franklin Ridge,
left, center and right, evidence of several small prehistoric and historic
turquoise mines may be seen.
Between Franklin Ridge and the gravel mine, to the left of the arroyo and in the
midst of the gaggle of roads left behind by Occidental Mining in the 1970s, is the
long brown gash of the prehistoric (turquoise, copper and lead) Bethsheba mine.
This mine was partially excavated a decade ago by the
Albuquerque Archaeological Society,
which has yet to publish its findings.
The gravel mine is today much larger than shown in this view, and has been shut
down since early 2000. The Cerrillos Gravel Products company has been considering a
plan suggested to it by the County of Santa Fe for restoration and remediation of
this area.
Below and to the left of the gravel mine is what is probably the second-most
famous mine in the Cerrillos Hills. the Mina del Tiro, or "Mine of the Shaft".
The area was worked for turquoise, lead, and silver by all three peoples who
utilized this land -- American Indian, Spanish, and Anglo-Americans.
Immediately below the Mina del Tiro is a smaller gravel pit known as the
"BECHO SITE". This was an unpermitted gravel mine from
the early 1990s that was eventually closed down.
The spring in the Arroyo de las Minas is visible as a sharp bend in the road on
the left of the bottom edge of this view.
This website is maintained by the Cerrillos
Hills Park Coalition
and is dedicated to the creation, enhancement and stewardship
of an historical, recreational, and cultural open space in
the
Cerrillos Hills, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA
