Brazos Mountains to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny. To the east and northeast lie the Sangre de Cristo Mountains which share a similar geological history. The Brazos Cliffs, which form a dramatic backdrop to Tierra Amarilla, are formed of Precambrian quartzite. Brazos Mountains The Brazos Mountains is a range in far northern Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States. A high crest runs from the border with Colorado for over in a south-southeasterly direction. The high point of the range at is on Grouse Mesa, at the Brazos Benchmark. Two miles (3 km) to
Pink Cliffs cliffs are pink- and red-colored Claron Formation limestones, forming the upper riser of the Grand Staircase (which descends southward to the Grand Canyon in Arizona). The Pink Cliffs, as well as the other layers of the Grand Staircase, were named by geologist Clarence Dutton in the 1870s. While it is not an uncommon belief that the extent of the Pink Cliff is limited to the Bryce Canyon National Park area (being one of the best and most popular areas to view the cliffs), geographically, the cliffs actually extend well beyond the national park, forming a rough, but wide, "U" shape