Historical Marker
Strike Valley
Between Sapello and Mora, State Road 3 follows a narrow strike valley eroded into soft shale between ridges of resistant sandstone called hogbacks, both the result of uplift of the Rocky Mountains. To the east stretch the Great Plains and to the west, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains rise to elevations exceeding 13,000 feet. Elevation here 7,000 feet.
During World War II, New Mexico was the site of several top-secret military installations, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the atomic bomb was developed. The laboratory is still one of the largest employers in the state and conducts research in fields such as nuclear energy and national security.