Route 66, New Mexico

The road north from New Mexico to Colorado parallels the old Route 66, the highway used during the the 1930’s to the late 1960’s. This route was the main highway which joined the east coast of America with Los Angeles on the west coast, and was made famous by several songs and Hollywood movies. Some of the road is still evident today and it’s possible to drive along some of the abandoned pavement (bitumen). The bridge in the image was built in 1933 during the heyday of Route 66.

Of interest is the disparity between many of the states, such as California, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Although much of the wildlife is similar, this is where the similarity ends. The geology, geomorphology and vegetation is completely different. Sandy deserts give way to rocky deserts which in turn become flat top mesas and jump ups before becoming high snow covered mountains - all this within 500 miles! Further, within each area there are subtle ecozones. An example being the desert region on New Mexico where prairie style grasslands change to sandy regions within a very short distance. I found this subtle changes within a short distance to be exceptionally interesting.