Mora County, New Mexico
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Mora County is located to the east of the southern part of Taos County, on the other side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Pre-colonization, it was home to various nomadic native American tribes until Spanish settlers from Las Trampas, Penasco, Picuris, Embudo and other areas were granted property rights in 1835. After the Mexican-American war ended in 1848, the area was claimed by the Republic of Texas, but in 1850 it became part of the newly created New Mexico Territory. In 1851, the American government built Fort Union on 8 square miles of private lands with no compensation to the owners, despite various treaties guaranteeing the continuity of Spanish and Mexican land grants.
The presence of Fort Union enhanced local trade and agriculture; grist mills were built as well as churches. The population peaked at about 14,000 residents in 1920. Government sale of timber and grazing lands made it increasingly difficult to make a living there; the population has decreased to about 4500 since the 1970s. In 2022, the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak forest fire further diminished local resources.
Mora County today is a wonderful place to visit for serene mountain lakes and scenery. The Pecos Wilderness near Rociada, New Mexico (home to the lithium mica deposits) is a spectacular area for outdoor activities, as are Morphy Lake and Coyote Creek state parks. The Fort Union National Monument is a popular tourist destination. The Cleveland Roller Mill is the only mill of its type fully restored and operational (today for demonstrations only) powered by water.
Geology of Mora County
Mora County lies east of the Rio Grande Rift, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains forming the western part of the county. These Precambrian basement rocks were uplifted around 70 to 40 million years ago. In the eastern and northeastern part of the county, the Jemez lineament (a zone of crustal weakness extending to the Jemez volcanic field) provided a route for the basaltic magmas associated with the Rio Grande rift to come to the surface, forming the Ocate Volcanic Field.
The eastern part of the county is part of the Great Plains physiographic province, underlain by Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary deposits of sandstone, shale and conglomerate.
Minerals and Mining in Mora County
In western Mora County, the Coyote Mining District of the eastern flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains contains localized sedimentary copper-uranium deposits, usually found in carbonaceous black shales.
In southwestern Mora County, near the La Rociada district, bordering San Miguel County, the famous Pidlite pegmatite is host to lithum-rich mica (lepidolite), cleavelandite, opaque topaz, beryl, and microlite as well as abundant quartz, albite and perthite. Similar in origin to the Harding Pegmatite of Taos County, this intrusive igneous body intrudes the Precambrian rocks of the area.