page_title: Pecos Wilderness
section_title: Environment
hierarchical_section_title: Pecos Wilderness / Environment
caption_attribution_description: English: Namb&#233; Lake, in the Pecos Wilderness area — Santa Fe County, northern New Mexico. Wilderness area is primarily within the Santa Fe National Forest, and also Carson National Forest. Over-enhanced to illustrate article on clich&#233;.
context_page_description: The Pecos Wilderness is a protected wilderness area within the Santa Fe National Forest and Carson National Forest. The Pecos Wilderness lies within the Camino Real Ranger District of the Carson National Forest, and the Pecos Ranger District and Espanola Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest.
  The Pecos Wilderness includes the southernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains in the sub-range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of north central New Mexico. One trail head for the wilderness is only 15 miles by road from Santa Fe, the state capital. Covering an area of 223,667 acres it is the second largest wilderness in the state after the Gila Wilderness. An area of less than 200,000 acres was given wilderness protection by Congress in 1964. Congress protected an additional 55,000 acres in 1980. The Wilderness boasts one of the highest concentrations of peaks exceeding 12,000 feet in elevation in New Mexico, including Santa Fe Baldy, 12,622 feet, the highest point in Santa Fe County, and South Truchas Peak, 13,102 feet, the second highest peak in the state.
  U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles.
context_section_description: The high altitude of the Pecos provides a cool change from the lower deserts and brushlands. Temperatures vary with season and elevation. Summer daytime temperatures average 70 °F, dropping to lows of 30 °F at nighttime. Fall and springtime highs range from 50s to lows in the teens. Winter temperatures below 0° are not uncommon. May and June are usually dry months, and July and August typically come with showers and thunderstorms. Annual precipitation is from 35 to 40 inches. About half comes during summer and half in winter.
  The Pecos Wilderness is made up of deep and narrow canyons, long and broad mesa tops, heavily forested slopes, and rugged ridges with peaks above timberline characterize the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Pecos Wilderness. This small mountain chain occupies the extreme southern extent of the Rocky Mountains.
  Fifteen lakes across the Pecos offer fishing and fly fishing to locals, tourists, and natives. The Pecos has around 150 miles of streams holding rainbow trout, brown trout, and cutthroat trout.
  The scenery ranges from 100-foot waterfalls and crumbled talus slopes to dramatic cliff rocks, towering peaks, and wildflower meadows.
caption: Nambe Lake at an elevation of 11.402 feet.
exif: {"Image Make": "PENTAX Corporation", "Image Model": "PENTAX K200D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.4.4", "Image DateTime": "2010:02:21 15:09:40", "Image ExifOffset": "210", "Thumbnail ImageWidth": "160", "Thumbnail ImageLength": "120", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "666", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8964", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "67/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:06:13 10:26:40", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:06:13 10:26:40", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "27", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Hard", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Hard", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "3"}