Full interview: Tom Swetnam, Professor Emeritus of Dedrochronology, Univ. of Arizona

In Episode 2 of the Lesser Known New Mexico Podcast, you heard Tom Swetnam, Professor Emeritus of Dedrochronology at the University of Arizona, talk about wildfire and his hope for the future. In the full conversation, he talks about the history of fire in the Jemez Mountains and his new book, The Jemez Mountains: A Cultural and Natural History. And, he reveals the amazingness that is Soda Dam. If you live in New Mexico, there’s a good chance you’ve driven past Soda Dam on Highway 4 north of Jemez Springs. And if you’re like me, you had no idea how it formed — or that in the 1960s, the Department of Transportation cut it in two to improve the highway.

For more information:

The Jemez Mountains: A Cultural and Natural History, by Thomas W. Swetnam

Episode 2 of the Lesser Known New Mexico Podcast

Did you think this was Soda Dam? (Looking upstream)

Highway 4 actually cuts Soda Dam in two. (Looking downhill)

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