Summary
Organ Needle is the highest point of the Organ Mountains in the south-central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It lies in Doña Ana County, 13 miles (20,921 m) east-northeast of Las Cruces and 4 miles (6 km) southwest of White Sands, headquarters of the White Sands Missile Range. It is at the southeast end of a narrow ridge of vertically jointed granite (more specifically, quartz monzonite) called The Needles.
| Organ Needle | |
|---|---|
 View of Organ Needle from the west | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 8982+ ft (2738+ m) NAVD 88[1] |
| Prominence | 3,700 ft (1,100 m)[1] |
| Coordinates | 32°20′42″N 106°33′41″W / 32.3450927°N 106.5613846°W[2] |
| Geography | |
| Location | Doña Ana County, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Parent range | Organ Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Organ Peak |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Off-trail hike/scramble, class 3+ or 4 |
Organ Needle is one of the most dramatic peaks in the state. True to its name, it is a steep, pointed summit. Moreover, it rises 4,000 feet (1,220 m) above the edge of the Tularosa Basin to the northeast in only 2 miles (3.2 km), and 5,100 feet (1,554 m) above Las Cruces, giving it as large and as steep a degree of local relief as any peak in the state, including Big Hatchet Peak, Sandia Crest, and Shiprock.
Climbing Organ Needle involves tricky route-finding, a vertical gain of about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and a difficult scramble (class 3+ or 4).[3]
References edit
- ^ a b "Organ Needle, New Mexico". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
- ^ "Organ Needle". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ "Organ Needle". SummitPost.org. Retrieved 2008-12-11.