The Sandia Mountains (Southern Tiwa: Posu gai hoo-oo, Keres: Tsepe, Navajo: Dził Nááyisí; Tewa: O:ku:p’į, Northern Tiwa: Kep’íanenemą; Towa: Kiutawe, Zuni: Chibiya Yalanne)[1] are a mountain range located in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, immediately to the east of the city of Albuquerque in New Mexico in the southwestern United States.

[3] Also, when viewed from the west, the profile of the mountains is a long ridge, with a thin zone of green conifers near the top, suggesting the "rind" of the watermelon.

The west side of the range is steep and rugged, with a number of sheer rock walls and towers near Sandia Crest.

The Sandias are the highest range in the immediate vicinity, and are well-separated from the higher Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

[9] The Sandia Mountains are a fault block range, on the eastern edge of the Rio Grande Rift Valley.

[11] This is topped by a relatively thin layer (approximately 300 feet (91 meters) of sedimentary rock (mostly limestone, and some sandstone) of Pennsylvanian age (circa 300 million years ago).

[12] Potassium-feldspar (K-spar) crystals embedded within the Sandia granite give the mountains their distinct pink color.

The Sandia Mountains also encompass four different named life zones from the base to the top, due to the large changes in elevation, temperature, and precipitation.

The desert grassland and savanna at the western base of the mountains (near the eastern edge of the City of Albuquerque, east of about Juan Tabo Boulevard) is part of the Upper Sonoran Zone.

From 5,500 to 7,200 ft (1,700 to 2,200 m) on the milder climate western slopes of the Sandia Mountains on mostly granitic bedrock, the Upper Sonoran Zone is found.

Broadleaf evergreen plants, some succulents, and those with Chihuahuan Desert affinities are mostly absent, though other characteristics correspond to the same life zones on the western slope, except at slightly lower elevations.

A road (NM 536) from the east provides access to the bottom of the ski area and also to the Sandia Crest itself, where there is a gift shop, restaurant, scenic overlook, and a large electronic communication site with numerous towers and antennas.

The Sandia Crest Scenic Byway is also a popular path for motorcycle riders with its miles of winding road to the summit.

[14] Hikers and climbers are urged to use caution when visiting the Sandias, where fatal accidents are not unknown[15] and search and rescue operations are commonplace.

[27] The cave can be accessed via a 1/2 mile trail in Las Huertas Canyon, on the northeast side of the range, near Placitas, New Mexico.