Tijeras Canyon

Tijeras Canyon is a prominent canyon in the central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It separates the Sandia Mountains to the north from the Manzano Mountains to the south. Elevations along the bottom of the canyon range from 5,600 feet to 7,000 feet above sea level. The canyon drains to the west, into a large dry wash known as Tijeras Arroyo, which runs through Kirtland Air Force Base, passes just south of the Albuquerque International Airport, and then joins the Rio Grande. The arroyo heads at the historically important pass ), and this pass and the entire canyon are traversed by Interstate 40, following the path of historic U.S. Route 66.

A railroad, the Albuquerque Eastern Railway, was proposed to run through the Canyon in 1901, connecting to the New Mexico Central at Moriarity, with a branch to the coalfields around Hagan. Some grading for the trackbed was done but tracks were never laid in the canyon, and the project was abandoned in 1908.

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