Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
San Andres Mountains
San Andres Mountains of the southern Rocky Mountains, near the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
San Andres Mountains
mountains, New Mexico, United States
San Andres Mountains, segment of the southern Rocky Mountains, extending southward parallel to the Rio Grande for 150 miles (241 km), through Socorro, Sierra, and Doña Ana counties in southern New Mexico, U.S. Spanish missionaries named the mountains for Saint Andrew, the disciple of Jesus. Salinas Peak (9,040 feet [2,755 metres]) is the highest point in the range. The mountains are dry and barren and include the White Sands Missile Range, where the world’s first atomic bomb was exploded on July 16, 1945, at “Trinity Site.” The White Sands National Monument, encompassing a vast dune field made of decomposed gypsum (calcium sulfate) from the San Andres Mountains, lies just to the east.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.