Sangre de Cristo Mountains

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/sangre-de-cristo-mountains

1. What is the location?
2. What is the geological affiliation?
3. What does the name "Sangre de Cristo" mean and why were the mountains named that?
4. Why do the Sangre de Cristo Mountains look red at sunrise and sunset?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the location?Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico, United States
2. What is the geological affiliation?Southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains
3. What does the name "Sangre de Cristo" mean and why were the mountains named that?It is Spanish for "Blood of Christ." The name was chosen because the mountains glow a deep red at sunrise and sunset.
4. Why do the Sangre de Cristo Mountains look red at sunrise and sunset?Sunlight reflects off the snow on the peaks and Rayleigh scattering gives the mountains a crimson or rosy hue during the golden hours.

Tectonic Forces: Powerful geological forces that shape the Earth's crust, causing mountains to form.
Rayleigh Scattering: The scattering of light by particles in a medium, responsible for the blue color of the sky.
Alpenglow: A natural optical phenomenon causing mountain peaks to glow pink or red at sunrise or sunset.
Alpine Ecosystems: Plant and animal communities found at high elevations, adapted to cold and harsh conditions.