Exploring Mount Taylor, Grants, New Mexico

Mount Taylor, located near Grants, New Mexico, is a dormant stratovolcano standing at 11,301 feet, the highest peak in the San Mateo Mountains and Cibola National Forest. Known as Tsoodził (Turquoise Mountain) to the Navajo, it’s one of their four sacred mountains, marking the southern boundary of their homeland and associated with the color blue and female deities like Turquoise Girl. The mountain was called Cebolleta by Spanish settlers and renamed in 1849 after President Zachary Taylor. Formed 3.3 to 1.5 million years ago, it was once possibly as high as 12,000–14,000 feet before a massive eruption reduced its size. Its slopes provided lumber for local pueblos, and it’s part of a volcanic field including Mesa Chivato and Grants Ridge. The area saw significant uranium mining starting in the 1950s, with the Mt. Taylor Mine developed in the 1970s but never fully operated; closure activities began in 2019. In 2008, over 422,000 acres around the summit were listed as a Traditional Cultural Property to protect its sacred status for tribes like the Navajo, Acoma, Laguna, Zuni, and Hopi, amid concerns over renewed uranium mining. Mount Taylor is also a popular hiking destination via the Gooseberry Springs Trail and hosts the annual Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon and a 50K ultramarathon.