The Black Range is an igneous mountain range running north-south in Sierra

Sierra County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.6% White*0.4% Black*1.7% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.3% Two or more races*8.6% Other races*28.0% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 and Grant

Grant County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*84.9% White*0.9% Black*1.4% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*9.8% Other races*48.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 counties in west-central New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, in the southwestern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Its central ridge forms the western and eastern borders, respectively, of the two counties through much of their contact. The range is about 55 miles (88 km) long from north to south and up to 18 miles (29 km) wide. The highest point is McKnight Mountain

McKnight Mountain

McKnight Mountain is the highest peak in the Black Range of southwestern New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. It is located about northeast of Silver City, in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness of the Gila National Forest....

, at 10,165 feet (3,098 m). The Black Range lies almost entirely within the Gila National Forest

Gila National Forest

The Gila National Forest is a protected national forest in New Mexico in the southwestern United States established in 1905. It covers approximately 3.3 million acres of public land, making it the sixth largest National Forest in the continental United States...

. The Mimbres River

Mimbres River

The Mimbres River is a river in southwestern New Mexico. It forms from snow pack and runoff on the south-western slopes of the Black Range and flows into a small endorheic basin east of Deming, New Mexico. The uplands watershed are administered by the US Forest Service, while the land in the...

 originates from the mountain snow pack and run-off. The Mimbres Mountains, the southernmost part of the range, are usually included as part of the Black Range.

Access to the range is primarily via NM Highway 152, which crosses the Black Range on its way from the small town of Kingston on the east towards the equally-small San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo, Grant County, New Mexico

San Lorenzo is an unincorporated community in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. San Lorenzo is east-northeast of Bayard....

 on the west. NM 152 crosses the range at 8228-foot (2508 m) Emory Pass, where there is a hiking trail that covers the entire north-south length of the mountains along the central ridge. There are also a number of campgrounds, some with hiking trails, along NM 152 as it goes down Iron Canyon on the west side of the range. With the exception of the areas along NM 152, most of the range is very difficult to traverse and almost entirely undeveloped.

The Aldo Leopold Wilderness

Aldo Leopold Wilderness

Aldo Leopold Wilderness, along with Gila Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness, is part of New Mexico's Gila National Forest. It became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1980 by an act of the United States Congress and has a total of...

 lies along the crest of the Black Range north of NM 152.

History

The southern portion of the Black Range, which are also known as the Mimbres Mountains, was occupied by the Mimbres people whose culture peaked about 1000 C.E. and ended about 1150 C.E. Their most famous site is the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

Silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 was discovered in the Black Range in the late 1870s, first in 1876 at Lake Valley, and then by Harry Pye

Harry Pye (prospector)

Harry Pye was a prospector and sometime mule skinner in New Mexico Territory who discovered silver chloride in the Black Range in 1879 initiating a multi-million dollar silver rush....

 in 1879 at Chloride, New Mexico. This led to a silver rush, and silver and gold mines flourished in the Black Range through the end of the 19th century.