Numerous Puebloan Indian tribes have lived in the Jemez Mountains region for centuries before the Spanish arrived in New Mexico.

Pueblos in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico consisted of compact multistoried buildings which enclosed small plazas.

[3] The highest point in the range is Chicoma Mountain (also spelled as Tschicoma or Tchicoma) at an elevation of 11,561 feet (3,524 meters).

This has produced a long-lived volcanic field, with the earliest eruptions beginning at least 13 million years ago[8] and continuing almost to the present day.

[15] Much of the material in these deposits now forms the Pajarito Plateau, a scenic region of canyons and mesas on which Los Alamos is situated.

Redondo Peak, the second-highest summit in the range at 11,254 ft (3431 m), is a resurgent dome in the middle of the Valles Caldera, which also contains several smaller volcanos.

In the Jemez Mountains, the Quaternary volcanic field, encompasses the Valles caldera and the connected Bandelier Tuff.

[16] The caldera is segregated by these structures and its rim into multiple lush grass valleys (valles in Spanish, hence the name).

[20] When the Spanish began their colonization efforts in the 17th century, they heard the Towa word Hemes, meaning "the people."

From the very beginning, the Jemez resisted the Spanish oppression, initiating two uprisings against them prior to the occurrence of the Pueblo Revolt in 1680.

[24] Within this community, all decisions are made by the tribal government, which are heavily influenced by traditional connections to the Jemez land.

[24] Increases in wildfires and bark-beetle outbreaks in the most recent decade are likely related to extreme drought and high temperatures during this period.

[25] There are over 720 plant species in the Jemez Mountain region with six community types that include, subalpine grassland, spruce-fir, mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, pinyon juniper, and juniper-grassland.

[28] The San Pedro Parks Wilderness in the northwest region, White Rock Canyon along the Rio Grande, and the desert shrublands at the extreme southwest part of the Jemez Mountains, particularly capture attention due to their distinctive plant life.