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The Mesa de Maya is a prominent volcanic tableland rising to above the Great Plains in southeastern Colorado. A narrow finger of the mesa extends eastward through the northeastern corner of New Mexico and a few miles into Oklahoma where it is known as Black Mesa. The elevation of the Mesa de Maya ranges from at its easternmost extension to in the west.〔Google Earth〕 The high mesas eastward from Raton, New Mexico and Trinidad, Colorado are sometimes collectively called the Mesa de Maya, Raton Mesas, or the Raton mesa region. All the mesas are volcanic in origin caused by lava flows which solidified into basalt. Over time the softer sedimentary rock surrounding the basalt eroded leaving several distinct large elevated tablelands with precipitous sides which include the Mesa de Maya.〔Lee, Willis T. "The Raton Mesas of New Mexico and Colorado" ''Geographic Review'', Vol 11, No 3 (July 1921), pp. 384-397〕 ==Description== Mesa de Maya originated from a balsaltic lava flow 180 million years ago. Originating in Colorado at a place named Piney Mountain, the lava flow measures 55 miles long, from one-half (1 km) to wide, and thick. The uneroded portion of the lava flow consists today of the Mesa de Maya and Black Mesa.〔"BlackMesa" ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma'',http://disitallibrarokstate.edu/ENCYCLOPEDIA/ENTRIES/B/BL005.html, accessed 27 Aug 2013〕 Mesa de Maya's westernmost extension is 11 miles northeast of Branson, Colorado in Las Animas County, Colorado. The principal part of the mesa is about 24 miles long, extending southeast, and six miles wide with elevations from sloping downward to the east to .〔Google Earth〕 The top of the mesa is grassland, mostly shortgrass prairie and steppe vegetation; the slopes leading to the top are mostly forested, primarily by juniper and pinyon pine with a few ponderosa pines and quaking aspen in cooler and wetter locations.〔http://www.conps.org/pdf/Plant_Lists/MesadeMayaByGenus.pdf, accessed 27 Aug 2013〕 Mesa de Maya is the only place in Colorado where mesquite is found. North Carrizo Creek has its headwaters on the Mesa de Maya. From the core area of the Mesa de Maya, a long finger about one mile wide and called Black Mesa extends another southeastward into New Mexico and Oklahoma running between North Carrizo Creek and the Cimarron River and terminating at the junction of the two streams. The highest point of Black Mesa in New Mexico is and in Oklahoma is . A Nature Conservancy preserve of gives access to the summit of Black Mesa in Oklahoma. This is the only part of the Mesa de Maya and Black Mesa that is accessible to the public. All other parts of the Mesa are privately owned cattle ranches. Wildlife is abundant on and around the Mesa de Maya. Several ranchers supplement their income by permitting hunts of trophy elk on their lands. Mule deer, black bear, cougar, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and golden eagles are found. Several ranchers also permit bird watchers and naturalists to visit their lands for a daily fee.〔"2009--Mesa de Maya Ranch" http://www.sandcounty.net/initiatives/LCA/Winners/CO?ID=211; "Colorado County Birding" http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/countybird_a_county.php?name=Las Animas, accessed 27 Aug 2013〕 Only one public road (dirt) crosses the mesa at approximately its midpoint, and no large towns or cities are nearby. A few ranch families are the only residents near the mesa. The nearest settlements to Mesa de Maya are Kim, Colorado and Kenton, Oklahoma, both of which receive of precipitation annually, mostly in the three summer months. That total is probably representative of the precipitation on the mesa.〔"Weatherbase" for Kenton, Oklahoma and Kim Colorado〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mesa de Maya」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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