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... are you sure about there being no rain shadow?
Rain falls in the higher elevations because of adiabatic cooling.
Technically, when a system comes in from the West, the mountain
"scrapes" the rain out of the clouds and the East side is in a rain shadow.
Similarly, when the rain comes from the East,
Albuquerque is in the rain shadow of the Sandias.
Similarly.2, when the rain comes from the South,
Placitas is in the rain shadow of the Sandias.
To call any side of the Sandias a "rain shadow" is just wrong
because of the many directions that moisture arrives here.
In Oregon, the vast - VAST - majority of the moisture comes in
off the Pacific and thus Eastern Oregon is essentially a desert.
The same goes for the West side and East side of the Sierra Nevadas, the South
and North side of the Himalayas, the West side and East side of the Andes, etc.
Those are all obvious rain shadows. Denver is in the rain shadow of the Front Range.
You can google "rain shadow" and "sandias" and there is all kinds of wrong stuff
about it, but as you know; you can put anything out there on the internet.
Albuquerque is drier than the East Mountains because it is lower. Go up into
Juan Tabo Canyon to 6500 ft or 7000 ft, what do you see? You see the same plants
that you see along Rt 14 at those elevations. Climb the La Luz Trail and compare it
point-by-point at 8k ft, 9k ft, and 10k ft. -- same thing.
I understand what you're saying, but my own observation is that the eastern side of
the Sandias is not only greener because of topography, but also because of significantly
higher rain fall. It's raining over there a heck of a lot more often than it is on the western
slope.
... eastern side of the Sandias is not only greener ....
because of significantly higher rain fall. ...
Well, yeah.
It's greener because it's higher.
It's greener because it rains more.
It rains more because it's higher.
It rains significantly more at that elevation.
It rains more at my house than it does in the UNM area.
My house sits at about 6,080 ft in the foothills. I often observe rain
falling just into the Sandia Wilderness area - beyond the last house
in the developed area - while my driveway is dry. I look up at that
part which is at the same height as the 'flat' areas on the East side.
If you lived there, you would also notice that it rains more on the
higher slopes of the Sandias as well as higher up the slopes of
the Ortiz and San Pedro mountains.
Ever notice how much less striking the height of the Sandias appear
from the East? Some of that is due to slope, some is due to the
height of the top relative to the elevation at the bottom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Horrell
... Maybe someone with hard stats can clarify?
There might be someone with a record of rainfall in the Juan Tabo Canyon area, but
even comparing rainfall in the foothills with rainfall in San Antonio would be an irrelevant
comparison since the foothills station is about 6,000 ft and San Antonio is at 7,000 ft.
You would need a data point somewhere in the wilderness on the West side.
Addendum: Technically, if you are talking about a "rain shadow" you
............... are talking about the "dry side" - not the East Mountains.
Like many things, the Sandias may be an acquired taste that develops over time. These mountains contain many secrets and hidden recesses that are a joy to discover and experience at different times of day and of the year. They don't reveal themselves to the casual observer. My dad would say he admired the mountains of the west and found them majestic, but he preferred the "intimacy" of the eastern mountains near where he grew up. I could certainly understand that. To each his own. I do find every trip into the Sandias an intimate experience, though.
I like the opening sentence of Howard L. Smith's book, "Mountain Harmonies", in which he experiences love at first sight:
"The shimmering globe slowly peeked its way over the black outline of the Sandia Mountains, and instantaneously I knew deep down that I had found my querencia, or home for my soul."
An unfortunate reality of the mountain, though, is that so many of its trees are dying. Many have been marked with a blue X, supposedly for removal. I don't know how it could be possible to remove so many trees. It definitely diminishes the enjoyment of hiking on certain trails.
Several years ago I accompanied a couple of forestry students from Africa up to the Crest as an interpreter. They wanted to interview a ranger up there. Since it was a while ago and since I was interpreting more than paying attention my memory is not accurate, but I seem to remember the ranger saying that before the Forest Service took over the mountain, the east side was heavily used for grazing and agriculture, and that 100 years ago there were very few trees on the mountain. So most of the forest there now grew up since then, perhaps that's why so much of it is dying off all at once now. I wonder if anyone can corroborate this.
Just to be clear for those not familiar with the woods here;
Trees are not dying off - leaving vast swaths of mountainside bare
of trees - as in a forest fire. There is a Spruce dyoff due to insect
infestation. This is a normal part of forests everwhere. Where this
is happening, other species will fill in the gaps. The areas where there
are currently a lot of dead Spruce will someday have more Ponderosa
and Aspen ( depending on the elevation ).
I lived in western Montana for many years - and traveled extensively through Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado: the Sandia's are fantastic. In comparison, I haven't found a more interesting, ever-changing range of rocks anywhere else in the US - especially this close to a large metro area. I was on La Luz over the weekend and was, once again, just blown away by their majesty. Seeing them rise like a huge black rock out of nothing on the way down 25 from Santa Fe still gets me every time. And I think the transition in landscapes in all directions around them creates a really unique "feel" you don't find anywhere else.
I lived in Maryland's Blue Ridge mountains for almost 20 years.
Mountains in Maryland, are between 1,500 and 3,000 feet high.
Mere hills by New Mexico standards.
The views from the upper ridges of the Sandia Mountains, are almost unparraled by East Coast standards.
Are they equivalent to the Colorado Rockies?
NO!!
But then, few mountain ranges in the lower 48 states are?
But to be able to go from downtown ABQ, to 10,000+ feet in less than an hour, is something 99% of Americans will never be able to do.
I think the Sandia's are a great natural resource, to be respected and treasured by all New Mexicans!
Addendum: Technically, if you are talking about a "rain shadow" you are talking about the "dry side" - not the East Mountains.
Yes, I'm fully aware of that and I see what I would call "rain shadow" almost every
week when the east mountains get significantly more rain than the western "foothills".
I understand what you're saying, but my own observation is that the eastern side of
the Sandias is not only greener because of topography, but also because of significantly
higher rain fall. It's raining over there a heck of a lot more often than it is on the western
slope.
Maybe someone with hard stats can clarify?
I think you and Mort are both right. The east side is greener because of greater precipitation where people live than on the west side. But, the main reason is the higher elevation where people live on the east side. The main source of moisture for most of New Mexico is the Gulf of Mexico. When moist intrusions come into New Mexico from the east, they certainly favor the eastern slopes of the Sandias with precipitation. Yet, when east winds come blasting through the gaps into Albuquerque, those east winds are bringing moisture with them that can lead to precipitation in the city (usually development of afternoon or evening showers the next day or so). There is a "shadow" effect, if you want to call it that, whenever east winds are flowing downslope into the city.
At other times, moisture from the Pacific plays more of a role and favors the western slopes. The role of the Pacific is actually much greater from the Continental Divide...westward.
Hard facts: Difficult to come by, but here are some numbers off the Western Region Climate Center web site:
Average annual precipitation at Sandia Park just above 7000 feet: 18.92 in.
Average annual precipitation at ABQ Sunport at 5310 feet: 8.72 in.
Average annual precipitation at ABQ Foothills station (6120 ft): 15.57 in.
Average annual precip at Tijeras Ranger Station (6310 ft): 15.31 in.
Now...the data from Tijeras Rangers Station is old, covering only a 13 years period in the 1960s and 1970s...but that was the closest thing I could find to compare to the ABQ Foothills station.
Mort makes a good point about the type vegetation at the same elevations on both sides...provided both have similar solar exposure.
If we had data for a point on the west side of the Sandias at the same elevation as the Sandia Park station (around 7000 feet), I think we'd see that the average precipitation over a multi-year period would be pretty close to that at Sandia Park...but I don't know that anyone has such data.
All that said...I think the Sandia Mountains are pretty dang interesting, myself!
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The Sandia Mountains are majestic to me
