The Forests

New Mexico has its share of cool mountain forests and fast streams. Those who have never visited may think of New Mexico as a barren landscape of never-ending plains and tumbleweeds. There are such places, yes. But several geological and physiographic provinces come together here, from the western edge of the Great Plains to the eastern margin of the Colorado Plateau, and from the southern end of the Rocky Mountains to the northernmost ranges of the Basin and Range, with the Rio Grande Rift slicing the center of the state from North to South. There is high country throughout the state.