Sierra Blanca Range (N.M.)

The Sierra Blanca (Spanish: White Mountains) is an ultra-prominent range of volcanic mountains in Lincoln and Otero counties in the south-central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The range is about 40 miles (60 km) from north to south and 20 miles (30 km) wide. Sierra Blanca Peak (White Peak) is the highest mountain in the range at 11,981 feet (3,652 m). It is southern New Mexico's highest peak, as well as the most prominent (5,533 feet) and the 40th highest in the entire state. It is also the most southerly peak and land area to exceed 11,000 feet in the continental United States (Only 19 feet shy of being the most southerly area above 12,000 feet). The peak is located on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, approximately 10 miles (16 km) west-northwest of Ruidoso and 30 miles (50 km) north-northeast of Alamogordo.