2013
Taos and Santa Fe are both situated in north central New Mexico along the western edge of the Sangre de Cristo (Spanish for Blood of Christ) Mountain Range, which comprises the most southern subrange of the Rocky Mountains. Lying just east of the Rio Grande, both towns are at about 7,000′ elevation.
Santa Fe (69,000 pop.), New Mexico’s state capitol, is located 50 miles north of Albuquerque, with Taos (5,700 pop.) situated 70 miles further north..
The third and fourth highest mountains in New Mexico, 20 miles north of Santa Fe, are Truchas Peak (13,108′), and Santa Fe Baldy (12,632′), while immediately north of Taos, New Mexico’s two highest mountains are Wheeler Peak (13,167′), and Mount Walter (13,133′).